Pakistan: international solidarity for Comrade Amin’s release International solidarity is flooding in as people all around the world are demanding the release of Mohammad Amin. Comrade Amin was abducted by the Pakistan Rangers on 14 July 2020 in Karachi and his whereabouts are still unknown. His home was raided by the Rangers who forcefully entered his house without any legal permission. Originally published by the Pakistan Trade Union Solidarity Campaign.
Pakistan: Release Comrade Amin, abducted by Rangers in Karachi Comrade Muhammad Amin, an active member of the Progressive Youth Alliance in Karachi, was abducted from his home in the Shah Faisal Colony in Karachi by the Rangers (a paramilitary force in Pakistan) on 14 July. To this day no one knows his whereabouts, not even the police and high court in Pakistan.
Britain: the Tories vs China – Huawei ban shows farce of British sovereignty Last week, Boris Johnson announced that the UK would finally ban Huawei from its 5G mobile infrastructure. After years of indecision, this move might appear as a sign of its newfound sovereignty and resolve post Brexit. In reality, it proves the very opposite.
Pakistan: Comrade Amin from Karachi victim of wave of abductions to crush dissent As the economic crisis in Pakistan heads for a catastrophe, with millions being thrown into extreme poverty and death due to hunger and deprivation, state repression is also reaching unprecedented levels. Every avenue for expressing dissent and anger is being strangled. Progressive Youth Alliance activist, Comrade Amin, is one of many people abducted by the brutal state. Release Amin!
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Trade unions launch protests all over India The Central Trade Unions (CTUs), comprising 16 unions, called for protests all over India on 3 July, which took place throughout the country. Nearly 100,000 demonstrations occurred in all the states of India including Puducherry, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Odisha and Maharashtra. In these demonstrations, protestors agitated outside their union offices, in plants, and on streets and roads. This strike was accompanied by a coal workers’ strike against privatisation, lasting three days from 2-4 July.
End police brutality in India! End capitalism! Police brutality and intimidation, particularly against Muslims and lower castes, has been rampant in India for decades. Under prime minister Modi’s COVID-19 lockdown, it is getting even worse. Several cases have been making headlines in recent months. In the context of the global movement against racism and police brutality, ignited after the murder of black American George Floyd, Marxists vigorously raise the demand to end police brutality but explain that it is impossible without a fight against the capitalist system itself.
The crisis of the Indian healthcare system The COVID-19 crisis is hitting India hard. Despite only spending 1.2 percent of GDP on healthcare, Modi is assuring his fellow countrymen that they do not need to worry; that India is equipped with the required infrastructure to cope with the pandemic. This is a blatant lie. The Indian healthcare system was devastated even before COVID-19, and it is certainly no better under the current crisis. With the coronavirus hitting all major towns and villages, the rottenness of the Indian healthcare system is laid bare. Here, we will analyse the situation facing the health system in India, the state’s inability to address the pandemic, the role of the private sector, the limits of Indian...
The death of Hong Kong’s mass movement This week, the Chinese government dramatically curtailed the democratic rights of Hong Kongers by imposing onto the territory a new ‘National Security Law’. One way or another, the regime is desperate to end the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ principle, and gain the same control over Hong Kong and its population that Beijing exercises over the country as a whole.
Pakistan: successful first online congress amid rising deaths and collapsing system A successful online congress was held by the Pakistan Section of IMT, Lal Salaam, on 20-21 June via a webinar on Zoom. Total registrations for the Webinar included 418 delegates from across the country, along with the delegates from other countries in the region, including India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. There were also delegates from the IMT Sections of the USA, Russia, Italy, Sweden and Britain. Many expatriate Pakistanis participated in the Congress, including comrades from Britain, Australia, South Africa and the Gulf countries.
To save Indian capitalism Modi will sacrifice the people India now has the world's fourth-highest infection rate, with confirmed infections of 425,282 and an overall death toll of 13,699 and climbing. Without providing healthcare or aid for millions, Modi has washed his hands of the crisis, and turned his attention to saving Indian capitalism at the expense of workers and youth in his “Unlock 1.0 India” scheme. 10 major trade unions have called a new general strike on 3 July against attempts by Modi’s government to impose draconian working conditions on the working class.
Hong Kong: Beijing unilaterally legislates to suppress Hong Kong’s protest movement On 21 May, China’s National People’s Congress passed a National Security Law for Hong Kong, bypassing the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and imposing a number of anti-democratic legislations from the central government. This move was immediately seized upon by Donald Trump, desperate to distract attention from his crisis-ridden regime. The US ruling class is in no position to lecture anyone about democratic rights as it witnesses a nationwide uprising against police murder, racism and inequality. In truth, the real reason Trump wants to bash China is to strengthen himself by promoting US nationalism, the very same political and social base that stands against the mass movement in...
India: education only for the rich and privileged Years of cuts and austerity in the education sector have hit poor and middle-class families in India, depriving their children of basic education. The COVID-19 situation has only worsened the situation. The fraud of online education, combined with fee increases, budget cuts and job losses have undermined India’s already crumbling education system, with only wealthy families still able to educate their children.
The Netherlands and the decolonisation of Indonesia The Dutch King has apologised for violence committed by the Netherlands during Indonesia’s independence struggle. The crocodile tears of hypocritical elites do not make up for 300 years of brutal subjugation. The only real justice and road forward can come from the expropriation of Dutch capital: the common enemy of the Dutch and Indonesian workers.
Taiwan: Tsai administration attempts to maintain status quo under crisis On 20 May, Tsai Ing-wen officially began her second term as Taiwan’s president. Against the backdrop of the world capitalist system rapidly descending into a historic crisis, Tsai’s inauguration speech betrays her and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government’s intention to maintain the status quo for Taiwan as per usual. Yet, in the context of the unabating pandemic, the collapsing global economy, and the class struggles that inevitably will follow, the Tsai government, with its “progressive” image, could only pursue the course of attacking the workers to protect the status quo for the capitalists. The workers and youth of Taiwan must be prepared for these attacks ahead.