The revolution has been privatised. Although the upheaval in Ukraine was driven by disgust at the authoritarianism and corruption of Leonid Kuchma’s regime, those who assumed leadership have very quietly, but very rapidly, embarked on an agenda of International Monetary Fund (IMF) restructuring and privatisation.
The Turkish anti-war movement has taken a lead in protesting against the threats by Bush against Syria. I was one of a delegation of 60 trade unionists, doctors, writers, journalists and peace activists that visited Damascus last week to give solidarity and support to its people.
George Bush’s recent visit to Belgium was not the sweet love-in envisaged by European Union governments and the European Commission, as this picture shows. The US president was greeted by three days of demonstrations in Brussels, called by various non-governmental organisations, peace groups and trade unions. Despite the best efforts of the weather and the police, the protests were lively and noisy, attracting up to 5,000 people.Hugh Jenkins Brussels
By this time next year there will only be seven deep coal mining pits left in this country, and a further 520 miners will have lost their jobs at the whim of an increasingly avaricious free market system. As the pangs of a fuel shortage still rumble away in the distance, growing ever nearer, the government is sticking to its Thatcherite ideal of laissez faire economics.
Time to make poverty history Last week I visited a local sixth form college in my council ward in Preston. As I walked in, I was met by students wearing white bands, and a building covered with white paper chains. The college was going all out to raise issues of debt and poverty as part of the Make Poverty History campaign.
Amnesty International has reported its grave concern that families returning to Syria are being imprisoned, and that children are being tortured in custody.
I AM reeling from shock and anger, and I just had to tell as many people as possible about a great scandal and injustice. So I have written to you. My old workmate, James Maguire, had to watch his wife, Teresa, die from cancer.
THE PROBLEM of debt repayment is at its most acute in Africa where countries already blighted by war are also forced to spend billions repaying or simply servicing debt. This means that there is no investment in infrastructure, education or health. As a campaigner for refugees in Glasgow I have been working with the African community to stop deportations.
Working class Glaswegians have responded much more positively to the dispersal of asylum seekers to their city than many media reports have suggested, according to a recent study. The Building Bridges report, by Dr Karen Wren, identifies the voluntary work of local people within community networks as the single most positive aspect where the integration of asylum seekers in Glasgow is concerned.
"I SAW recruits bullied to death. It was disgusting and I’ll tell that to the inquiry." Those were the words of Scott Knowles, a former serviceman who served at the notorious Deepcut army training camp in Surrey between 1992 and 1997.
THE INTRODUCTION of identity cards is not a small step in the fight against terrorism—it is a giant leap towards a police state that will affect the privacy of every person in the country.
