noordinarysun

Solidarity with Palestine

2009-01-03T20:54:00.000-08:00

Photos of the Tokyo demo in solidarity with the people of Palestine, from the Labor Net website.

Marxism 2008 Seoul

2008-08-18T01:54:00.000-07:00

We’ve just returned from Marxism 2008 in Seoul, an amazingly inspiring four day event hosted by All Together. Over 1200 activists crammed in to Korea University to take part in a whole range of discussions, debates and cultural celebrations.

The conference drew on the energy of the Anti-Mad Cow movement, and at the opening rally we were lucky to hear from some of the leaders of the movement, including three who have been forced to take refuge in a temple because they are being persecuted by the police.

(protest organisers addressing the opening rally via video conference)

On the second day there was a rally to commemorate 100 days of the candlelight demonstrations - this was viciously attacked and over one hundred protesters were arrested.

(Candle Girl - symbol of the mass movement)

UK socialists Jonathan Neale and Ian Birchall spoke on climate change, the future socialist society, and the legacy of 1968, while a huge range of Korean speakers - from All Together, from the teachers’ union, from student groups and doctors groups - introduced talks on everything from abortion rights to Korean history, immigrant struggles, liberation theology and alternatives to neo-liberalism.

The Anti-Mad Cow movement is challenging Lee Myung Bak’s reactionary government, and its effects are showing: his popularity rate has slumped to under 20%. Its no wonder, then, that the right-wing media have led a campaign against All Together and the Marxism conference -- Korea University cut power and water to the event, and generally tried to make life difficult. Police circled the venue on the first night hoping to arrest the keynote speakers. But none of this dampened the enthusiasm, dedication and commitment we saw from the activists there.

If there is hope...

2008-08-11T01:31:00.000-07:00

...then of course it lies in the proles. Problem is, for many left-wing writers and activists thinking about Japan, it has been hard to find recent reminders of this hope. With the right so aggressive and progressive movements disoriented and demoralised, it's not surprising that commentary on Japan can sometimes seem gloomy.

In this context, an unexpected revival of Takiji Kobayashi's Kani Kosen ("The Factory Ship") amongst youth is an inspiring hint of the discontent and alienation under the surface of official Japanese life. Takiji's story of oppression - and the beginnings of workers' organisation - on a crab boat has connected with young people, many of whom, as freeter and "precariat" workers, share experiences of casualisation, poor conditions and abuse. Critics - and readers themselves - have linked Kani Kosen's popularity to discontent amongst young people, and others see it as a sign of a shift to the left in popular consciousness. Some academics are reporting a rise in interest in the works of Marx on the campuses, and in discussions of capitalism, exploitation and theory.

Certainly, the official Left is rebuilding - the JCP is signing up a thousand new members a month, and sees Kani Kosen's revival as related to its own growth. The test is for socialists committed to emancipation from below to see if they can meet the challenge of this new mood.

There is some good stuff on Kobayashi on the web - including this excellent, and detailed, blog post that stimulated interesting comments, and this good piece - and there's plenty of Japanese material here. He was a matyr to the workers' movement in Japan - he died tragically young, tortured to death by the police - and, if nothing else, this latest publicity is welcome for bringing his work the attention it deserves.

Gavan McCormack on Nuclear Proliferation

2008-08-08T00:42:00.000-07:00

A late Hiroshima Day post.

"It is 63 years since mushroom clouds over Hiroshima and Nagasaki ushered in the nuclear age. The attacks on the two cities are now solemnly commemorated on 6 and 9 August, when the two city mayors issue their messages calling on the world to disarm, messages as necessary as they are certain to be ignored by the powers.

The five nuclear club members, led by the single super-power, refuse to carry out their obligation under the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty (actually an abolition treaty) to demolish their arsenals. At the most recent, five year, review meeting of the organization in 2005, they insisted that the function of the treaty be confined to blocking outsiders, other than those such as Israel, India and Pakistan to whom de facto honorary membership has been extended, from admission. The NNPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) becomes the NPPT (Nuclear Privilege Protection Treaty).

Super-powers and regional powers alike, unable to envisage their security without nuclear weapons, will therefore politely acknowledge but ignore the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Declarations. In the teeth of powerful citizen opposition, the British Labour government has already decided to maintain (renew) its Trident nuclear submarine-based “deterrent” into at least the mid 21st century...."

read Gavan McCormack on nuclear proliferation in full here.

Politics and Aesthetics

2008-08-07T21:52:00.000-07:00

Two exhibitions in Tokyo of note for socialists:

Curator Shinya Watanabe has prepared "Into the Atomic Sunshine: Post-War Art Under Japanese Peace Constitution Article 9", to show at Daikanyama Hillside Forum until 24th August. There's an interesting feature on the exhibition in today's Japan Times.

Also, next week will be the last chance to see the fantastic "Springtime for the Russian Avant-Garde" at Bunkamura in Shibuya.

Troops Out of Iraq!

2008-08-06T20:02:00.000-07:00

March on September 20 in Tokyo

More on Korea...

2008-08-05T00:14:00.000-07:00

Another call for action, this time from Eric Lee's excellent LabourStart website:

August is a time when many of you (particularly those living in thenorthern hemisphere) are on vacation. Thousands of you won't even seethis message until you come back to work. If I were the leader of a country intent on crushing an independenttrade union movement, this would be a good time to do so. The outcry around the world will be limited. After all, it's August.

About ten days ago, the South Korean government issued arrest warrants for the leaders of the country's trade union movement. Among those named were the President, Vice President and General Secretaryof the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), as well asleaders of affiliated unions. The KCTU Vice President was arrested by police and she's now being held at the Youngdeungpo Police Station.The others are still at large.

Police have encircled the union headquarters in Seoul. The “crime” these trade union leaders are accused of committing is this: in early July, they called for a general strike. The South Korean government, in defiance of universally recognized human rights standards (including ILO conventions) has decided that this strike was illegal.

The KCTU has asked us all to take a moment and send off a strong message of protest to the South Korean government. LabourStart has launched a major new online campaign to do precisely that. Please go here now to send off your message:

http://www.labourstart.org/kctu

If you are on Facebook, sign also up the new Cause we've created,here:

http://apps.facebook.com/causes/107071

Time is of the essence and we need to mobilize thousands of our fellow trade unionists very quickly. I know that I can count on all of you. Thank you.

After the G8...

2008-08-02T03:14:00.000-07:00

There's a meeting in Tokyo tomorrow to report back on the anti-G8 demonstrations from last month and to look at where to from here for the movement. There will be speakers from ATTAC Japan, as well as solidarity activists and socialists who helped organise for the mobilisations. Details are here.

South Korea: Urgent Appeal for Solidarity

2008-07-27T22:23:00.000-07:00

Urgent Appeal for Action

Greetings of international solidarity!

Staring May 2, 2008, South Korean people took to the streets holding candle lights in protest to various policies (import of US beefs in danger of being infected with mad cow disease, privatizations of public broadcasting, health, and public corporations, and the grand-canal project) put forth by the Lee Myung-bak (LMB) government.

The protesters came from all walks of life including elementary school students to 80 years old seniors, ordinary working people to opposition parties National Assembly representatives. More than a million people just in the greater Seoul area alone gathered on June 10 for a peaceful candle light protest.

However, the LMB government responded with force repressing the peaceful candle light protests. It discharged fire extinguisher and water cannon, wielded shields and batons, and crushed the people with military boots. Police Commissioner Eo Cheong-soo is leading what he proclaimed in the mainstream media “the real 80s military dictator style” violent repression.

The South Korean police arrested an 81 years old man and a 12 years old elementary school student. They lashed out shields and batons to parliamentarians, human rights monitor groups, medical volunteers, and journalists. They even discharged fire extinguisher directly at the mothers with babies in strollers and stuck an opposition party National Assemblyman with a baton. At one time, a video of policemen violently kicking the head and body of a female college student who was down on the ground was released in the media and met by a public outcry.

On June 29, the Lee Myung-bak government completely closed off the assembly venue. The police used hundreds of buses to surround the Seoul City Hall and the plaza, the main gathering point of the candle light protests. This is clearly a serious infringement on the basic democratic rights of assembly and protest. In the last two months, the police arrested more than 1,000 people. They were all ordinary citizens who participated in a peaceful candle light march.

The LMB government is now repressing the coalition against mad cow disease which had been leading the candle light protests. The coalition consists of more than 1,700 civic groups, political parties, trade unions, and social movement organizations. The LMB government is currently detaining 3 members of the coalition: Ahn Jin-geol, Yoon Hui-suk, and Hwang Sun-won. It also issued arrest warrants to the leading members of the coalition (See below for the list of names). They are currently taking refugee at Jogye Temple located in downtown Seoul.

On July 24 the LMB government issued arrest warrants to the executive leaders of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU): Chairperson Lee Seok-haeng, Vice-Chairperson Jin Yeong-ok, and Executive Director Lee Yong-sik. The police has surrounded the building where the main office of the KCTU is located ready to move in and arrest the leaders.
The repression also extends to the trade unions that struck in support of the candle light protests. The LMB government issued arrest warrants to Chairperson Jeong Gap-deuk and First Vice-Chairperson Nam Teak-gyu of the Metal workers Union, Chairperson Yoon Hae-mo of the Hyundai Auto Workers Branch of the Metal Workers Union, and 6 other trade union officials. It plans to issue more arrest warrants and detain more members of the coalition and trade union activists. It is also issuing arrest warrants to ordinary protesters.

President Lee Myung-bak and Police Commissioner Eo Cheong-su are trying to go against democracy and to push back the time to that of the military dictatorship.

The candle light movement of South Korea urgently appeals for international solidarity to defend the democratic rights of assembly, protest, and expression against the violent repression of the LMB government. In addition, we strongly urge everyone to voice their protests in the strongest terms possible against the detaining and issuing arrest warrants to protesters.

We thank you in advance for your solidarity.

Coalition against mad cow disease (www.antimadcow.org)

The list of names with arrested warrants
Lee Seok-haeng, Chairperson, KCTU
Jin Yeong-ok, Vice-Chairperson, KCTU
Lee Yong-sik, Executive Director, KCTU
Bak Won-seok, Joint Director of the Field Office of the Coalition
Han Yong-jin, Joint Director of the Field Office of the Coalition
Kim Dong-gyu, Director of the Organizational Team
Kim Kwang-il, Director of the March Team, All Together Steer Committee member
Baek Eun-jong, Vice-Representative, Anti-Lee Myung-bak Internet Café
Baek Seong-gyun, Representative, MadCow.com
Kwon Hye-jin, Director of Education Movement Headquarters of the Young Korean Academy

Detainees
Ahn Jin-geol, Director of Organizational Team
Yoon Hui-suk, Volunteer Staff
Hwang Sun-won, Volunteer Staff

What you can do:
1. Write protest letters to President Lee Myung-bak and Police Commissioner Eo Cheong-su.
Use a sample letter of protest below or write your own and send them to the following addresses.
President Lee Myung-bak
Office of the President
1 Cheongwadae-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 110-820, South Korea
Email: foreign@president.go.kr
FAX: +82-2-770-4735

Police Commissioner Eo Cheong-soo
Korean National Police Agency
Euijoo-ro 91 (Migeun-dong 209)
Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 120-704, South Korea
Email: cnpa100@police.go.kr

Please send copies to defendantimadcow@gmail.com.
2. Write solidarity messages and send to defendantimadcow@gmail.com.
3. You are welcome to organize your own action or protest in solidarity with the candle light movement in your local areas such as protesting or having a press conference in front of the Korean embassy or consulate office. Please send a report to defendantimadcow@gmail.com.

A sample letter of protest

In the last two months, the Lee Myung-bak government arrested more than 1,000 persons and is threatening the people by violently repressing the demonstrators in the streets. The violent repression against the peaceful candle light protests that are taking place in South Korea is a serious infringement on people’s democratic rights including the rights of assembly and protest, and freedom of speech. We are deeply concerned of the seriousness of the situation.

There is no justification whatsoever in arresting and issuing arrest warrants to the leading members of the coalition against the mad cow disease. We intend to inform the world of the current situation and protest in the strongest terms possible in cooperation with South Korean organizations in defense of the coalition.

We demand the followings to the Lee Myung-bak government:
1. The LMB government must immediately stop the violent repression of the peaceful protests.
2. The LMB government must immediately release the detainees and call off the arrest warrants.
3. The LMB government must swiftly compensate any loss or damage incurred by the victims including the wounded.
4. The LMB government must guarantee fully the rights of peaceful assembly and protest.

Freedom of Speech?

2008-06-01T21:08:00.000-07:00

The BLF in Australia used the slogan "When they jail a man for speaking his mind, it's a rich man's country yet."

In Japan, Obora Toshiyuki, Onishi Nobuhiro and Takada Sachimi were jailed. Their crime? Leafletting a Self Defence Force barracks with anti-war material -- for this trespass they did jail time, and their anti-war group has had to foot a legal bill running to millions of yen. But they're still here and still fighting.

You can read an interview with Obora and Onishi that has been translated at Japan Focus.