Dramatic events are unfolding in the
Middle East. Today (Tuesday) Egypt was rocked by a wave of nationwide
demonstrations demanding the end of the Mubarak regime, which has
oppressed the people of this proud nation for nearly 30 years. This was
the biggest protest movement Egypt has seen for decades. In Cairo and
other cities thousands of anti-government protesters demonstrated on the
streets and fought with police.
This leaflet is available for download for comrades intervening in the
student movement against the cuts, in particular the demo against the
abolition of the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) this Wednesday. Click here to download.
Joby
Hart, who attends Abbey Grange high school, has been involved with the
recent wave of political activity by school students in Leeds and the
surrounding area. Joby is part of a layer of young people radicalised by
the attacks of the Tory government and its Lib Dem stooges, and brought
into activity by the occupation at Leeds University last year. While
Militant Student is not in full agreement with everything that is said,
Joby is all too aware of the wider implications of the struggle, and the
need for the working class as a whole to come together and defeat this
government. Luke Wilson from the Leeds Trades Council spoke to him.
The news has just broken that Brian Cowen has resigned as Fianna Fáil
leader, but insists that he intends to fight the General Election as
Taoiseach. FF is split from top to bottom and those among the leadership
who aren’t intending to resign with a fat pension in a few weeks time
are maneouvering for position.
Amid scenes of confusion embattled
Taoiseach Brian Cowen finally has finally hauled up the white flag and
announced the General Election date for March 11th. His intention to get the finance bill passed through the Dáil was in serious trouble this morning after his attempt to organise
a cabinet reshuffle threatened to be the final straw for the Green
Party who despite supporting the government through thick and thin over
the past period have suddenly developed a survival instinct.
Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th saw the
continuation of mass demonstrations all over Tunisia against the “new”
national unity government and demanding an end to the RCD ruling party.
Tens of thousands marched throughout the country under the slogan “RCD
degagé” (Out with the RCD), clearly identifying the national unity
government as a continuation of the old regime.
School students took to the streets of
London against coalition education reforms again on Wednesday, this time
to demonstrate against the abolition of a grant, the Education
Maintenance Allowance (EMA), a weekly payment for 16- to 18-year-olds
whose household income is under £30,800 to encourage them to stay in
education. Students travelled from as far away as Sunderland and
Cornwall to protest against the scrapping of the EMA. The allowance had
already been closed to new applicants.
As soon as Ben Alí was on the plane to
Saudi Arabia on Friday, January 14, ousted by the mass revolutionary
movement of the Tunisian workers and youth, the Tunisian ruling class
and its imperialist puppet masters started manoeuvring to make sure that
they remained in control of the situation.
In the past days, Tunisia has
witnessed rapid developments, the most important of which was the
announcement by Prime Minister, Mohammad Al-Ghannoushi, that he was
taking over temporarily as President due to Ben Ali’s inability to carry
out his duties, and the announcement of a state of emergency in all
areas of the country. We publish here a translation of an Arabic
language article published on marxy.com as the dramatic events in
Tunisia were unfolding.
Around 350 Labour Party members, trade unionists and socialists
attended the 2011 LRC (Labour Representation Committee) “Resist the
Cuts, Rebuild the Party” conference at Conway Hall in London on January
15th. LRC Conference tends to major on the big events of the day. Two
years ago it was the economic crash and last year the general election.
This year the conference was not surprisingly dominated by the threat of
cuts and the need to defeat them.
The marvellous revolutionary movement of the Tunisian workers and youth is an inspiration and an example to the whole world. For more than one week Tunisia has been living through a revolution of epic dimensions. The mass uprising in Tunisia has ended in the overthrow of the hated dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali after 23 years in power.
Events in Tunisia are unfolding by the hour. The news services are carrying reports of the Tunisian president’s hurried departure from power.