Chileans decry globalization, Iraq war

Compiled by Finn Finneran

Nov. 16 (AGR) — Protesters opposed to US President George W. Bush, the war in Iraq, and corporate globalization marched through the streets and clashed with police to protest the annual Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit and the visit of President Bush which took place in Santiago, Chile on Nov. 20-21.

On the eve of the APEC summit on Nov. 19, 25,000 to 40,000 protesters took to the streets in Santiago, Chile’s capital, and Valparaiso, Chile’s second biggest city. The march in Santiago, organized by the Chilean Social Forum and nearly 100 other groups opposed to corporate-led globalization, was the only legal means of mass protest the government was willing to authorize during the summit. But some other left-wing and anarchist groups have defied that ban and led smaller street protests of their own all week. Factions of the marches in both cities engaged in militant resistance to the US-led war in Iraq and the APEC summit, which protesters likened to a rich man’s club that does nothing for the poor.

Protesters threw Molotov cocktails and stones, burned US flags, attacked a McDonald’s and offices of the phone operator Telefonica. They ransacked the lobby of the four-star Prince of Asturias Hotel, breaking windows and dragging furniture into the street.

The militant demonstrators were met with water cannons and tear gas fired from the police’s armored vehicles, ending the riots abruptly.

Marchers also held up posters reading: “Bush, you stink,” and “Terrorist Bush.” They carried placards and banners portraying Bush as a vampire, flesh-eating vulture, demon and ghost, as well as Cuban flags and a large Iraqi flag bearing the encouragement, “Hang on Fallujah!”

One banner read: “Stupid Americans, Your Turn Will Come.”

“We want Bush to know that he is not welcome here,” said Monica Cerón, a college student. “Our government may want to do business with him, but the Chilean people oppose his genocidal war on Iraq and his designs on Latin America.”

Chilean news media reported that more than 180 people were arrested on Nov. 19.

The street fights marked the fourth straight day of confrontations between police and activists opposed to the APEC summit.

On Nov. 17 hundreds of students protesting against the APEC summit clashed with riot police. The students, many of them high schoolers, blocked traffic and built barricades in one of Santiago’s busiest thoroughfares. Estimates of the number arrested ranged from 120 to 500.

Also, a small bomb exploded on the night of Nov. 17 outside a bank according to the police.

On Nov. 23 BBC reported that 700 anti-APEC protesters have been detained in total.

In the lead up to the APEC summit, the international airport and immigration officials reportedly were given a “black list” of anti-globalization activists who were denied entry into the country.

Security precautions were extreme by Chilean standards, with an estimated 4,000 police officers in the streets or around leading hotels, helicopters in the air, streets blocked off and armored cars in reserve. The government declared a holiday in the capital on Nov. 19 to encourage people to stay off the streets.

In a flier distributed to schools and government offices, the national police warned that “Chile may be at the end of the world, but international terrorism is never far enough away.” The text made little distinction between antiglobalization and terror groups, and urged citizens to tell the authorities about any “suspicious attitudes” or “the places of anti-APEC meetings.”

A protest organizer, Sara Larrain, called the police flier “an effort to intimidate and spread fear” that was unjustified.

On Nov. 17, Chilean President Ricardo Lagos’ government took the unusual step of announcing that Bush would have diplomatic immunity during his visit. The declaration was made after activists filed a court complaint against Bush, claiming he and other US officials were guilty of war crimes in Iraq. The court complaint cited the same international accords that made possible the detention of Gen. Augusto Pinochet in Great Britain in 1998.

APEC continues plans for liberalizing trade

The powerful 21-member multinational bloc wrapped up its annual summit promising to strengthen trade liberalization and fight terrorism and corruption but excluded any reference to the North Korean nuclear standoff even though five participants of the six-party talks were present and President Bush’s failed attempt to rally support for his effort to shut down North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.

APEC adopted a joint statement in which they agreed to launch the “Santiago Initiative for Expanded Trade in APEC” aimed at liberalizing and facilitating trade and investment.

The Santiago Initiative aims to reduce business transaction costs by cutting “red tape,” embracing industrialization, and harmonizing standards, among other measures.

APEC members also agreed to expedite the Doha Development Agenda and promote free trade agreements, while supporting the entry of Russia and Vietnam to the World Trade Organization.

They also discussed ways to realize the 1994 agreement in Bogor, Indonesia, under which advanced member countries must complete trade and investment liberalization by 2010, with developing nations doing so by 2020.

For Chilean officials, the summit is a kind of coming-out party affirming their nation’s status as South America’s most dynamic economy. In January, Chile became the first country on the continent to enter into a free-trade agreement with the US.

APEC’s 21 members represent 55 percent of world trade and 57 percent of global GDP. Together, they are home to 40 percent of the world’s population — roughly 2.5 billion people — and accounted for 70 percent of global economic growth over the last decade. The APEC summit is defined as a meeting of economies, not countries.

Sources: AFX, AP, BBC, Detroit Free Press, Infoshop.org, IPS, Korean Herald, LA Times, NYT, Reuters

Mosque raid ignites violence in Baghdad

Compiled by Greg White

Nov. 23 (AGR) — A US-Iraqi raid on the Abu Hanifa mosque in Baghdad -- one of the most revered sites for Sunni Muslims -- spawned a weekend of street battles, assassinations, and a rash of bombings.

On Nov. 19, US and Iraqi government forces stormed the mosque in the Sunni neighborhood of Azamiyah as worshippers were leaving after midday prayers. Witnesses said three people were killed and 40 were arrested.

The Muslim Clerics Association said Iraqi troops first stormed the mosque, fired percussion grenades and then opened fire when furious worshippers began to chant “Allahu Akbar” (God is Great) and tried to beat back troops. US military vehicles surrounded the mosque but entered the mosque after Iraqi forces opened fire, witnesses said.

The Iraqi government has said the raid was carried out because of suspicions of “terrorist activity” there. It appears the operation was part of a crackdown on militant Sunni clerics, many of whom are believed to have links to some insurgent groups and who had spoken out against the Fallujah operation. The government warned that Islamic clerics who incite violence will be considered as “participating in terrorism.”

The next day, heavy street fighting erupted in Azamiyah between US and Iraqi forces and insurgents who tried to storm a police station. The fighting, involving mortars, rocket propelled grenades, and roadside bombs, raged for several hours and left several stores ablaze, according to witnesses.

Almost simultaneously, clashes broke out in at least five other Baghdad neighborhoods. In all, at least 10 people, including one American soldier, were killed throughout the capital.

In downtown Baghdad, a suicide bomber blew up his vehicle just after noon on a bustling commercial street. One Iraqi civilian was killed and another wounded in the blast, which sent black smoke rising above the city center and set several cars ablaze.

In the western part of the city, gunmen in a car chased down a vehicle carrying employees of the Ministry of Public Works on their way to work, opened fire and killed four of them, a ministry spokesman said. An adviser to the ministry in charge of urban planning and three employees from her office were killed.

The chaos has fanned sectarian tension and deepened Sunni distrust of interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a Shiite installed by the US five months ago. It has also heightened the anxiety of the Baghdad’s 6 million people - already worn down by years of sanctions and tyranny, then war, military occupation, crime, and deprivation.

“Baghdad is now a battlefield and we are in the middle of it,” said Qasim al-Sabti, an artist who kept his children home from school Saturday, which is a work day in Iraq.

In a sign of public unease, merchants in the outdoor markets, where most people buy their meat, vegetables and household supplies, say crowds are below normal. Many shops near sites of car bombings have closed.

Adding to the unease, US military helicopters have begun flying lower over the city. The distant roar of jets has become a fixture of Baghdad at night.

US troops also raided a Sunni Muslim mosque in Qaim, near the Syrian border, a cleric said, calling it retaliation for opposing the Fallujah offensive. Imam Maudafar Abdul Wahab said his mosque was gathering food and supplies to send to Fallujah, and that US troops took about $2,000 meant for repairing his mosque.

Video shows US soldier killing wounded insurgent

Video footage taken inside a mosque in Fallujah showed a Marine shooting dead an unarmed Iraqi insurgent who had been taken prisoner.

The footage, taken on Nov. 13, showed several Marines with a group of prisoners who were either lying on the floor or propped against a wall of the bombed-out building. One Marine can be heard declaring that one of the prisoners was faking his injuries.

“He’s fucking faking he’s dead. He faking he’s fucking dead,” said one Marine. At that point a clatter of gunfire can be heard as one of the Marines shot the prisoner. Another voice can then be heard saying: “He’s dead now.”

The footage was taken by a team from the NBC network that was embedded with the Marine Corps during last week’s seven-day battle to capture the city of Fallujah. The film was then pooled and made available to other media.

NBC correspondent Kevin Sites said that the five wounded Iraqi fighters had been left in the mosque after Marines had fought their way into that part of the city. Instead of being passed to the rear lines for treatment the wounded Iraqis were left in the mosque until a second group of Marines entered the building, following reports that the building may have been reoccupied.

“The prisoner [who was shot] did not appear to be armed or threatening in any way,” Sites said in the segment.

Sites suggested that three other Iraqis may have been shot just before he entered the mosque. Their bodies and the body of the man who was shot dead in the video footage were flown to an American military mortuary in Delaware for autopsies as part of a broadening inquiry into whether marines shot wounded prisoners.

46 groups will boycott Iraq vote

Dozens of political organizations, many with largely Sunni Muslim members, announced that they would boycott elections planned for January as the government’s leading political parties met in northern Iraq to discuss forming an alliance before the vote.

The groups’ decision, announced on Nov. 18, casts doubts over efforts by the US-backed interim Iraqi government to ensure participation by Sunni Muslims in the elections. Without substantial Sunni involvement, any elected government would be fragile.

Nov. 18 was the deadline for political parties to register with the Iraqi Electoral Commission. So far, the electoral commission has certified 80 political entities and 50 more have submitted applications and are awaiting approval, said Hussein Hindawi, the chairman.

The attack in Fallujah apparently prompted the Muslim scholars group and others to decide to sit out the elections, said Harith Dhari, head of the Muslim Scholars Association.

“These elections will not represent the real will of the Iraqi people,” Dhari said. “The election will be faked because there is no accurate way of counting the Iraqi population because of the lack of security.”

Pentagon spending $5.8 billion a month in Iraq

The Pentagon is spending more than $5.8 billion a month on the war in Iraq, according to the military’s top generals.

That is nearly a 50 percent increase above the $4 billion-a-month benchmark the Pentagon has used to estimate the cost of the war so far.

The Army alone is spending $4.7 billion a month while the Air Force is spending $800 million a month transporting soldiers and flying combat missions. The Marine Corps is spending $300 million a month, the four service chiefs told the House Armed Services Committee Nov. 17.

Since 2003, the Pentagon has received some $160 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in supplemental funding - that is, in addition to its annual budget. It will be requesting another multibillion-dollar supplement early next year to cover the continuing cost of the war.

Sources: Associated Press, Independent (UK), Los Angeles Times, MSNBC, New York Times, United Press International

14 dead in violent dispersal of Hacienda Luisita strike

Nov. 19 — All they wanted is to own a piece of land to till for a living. What they got was a piece of mound to lay their bodies to rest till eternity.

In a violent strike dispersal in Hacienda Luisita last Nov. 16, 14 people were killed, including two children aged 2 and 5 years old who died from suffocation from teargas thrown by the police and army dispersal teams. One of the victims was allegedly strangled after being shot and his dead body hanged in the factory’s gate. At least 35 people were reported to have sustained gunshot wounds, 133 were arrested and detained, hundreds were wounded and another hundred are still missing.

Nine of those killed in what is now called the Hacienda Luisita Massacre were identified as Jun David, Adriano Caballero, Jhaivie Basilio, Jesus Laza, Jaime Pastidio, Juancho Sanchez, Neng Balete, Boy Versola and Jessie Valdez. Of the 133 arrested, 117 were detained at Camp Macabulos in Tarlac while 16 people were detained at the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) - Tarlac. Majority of those arrested were released Nov. 18.

As if in a war zone, three armored personnel carrier (APC), several fire trucks and 10 military trucks were stationed in the area to assist the police. Elements of the 69th and 703rd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army were also deployed in the area. Combined elements of hundreds of military and police forces with high-powered firearms attacked the picketing workers and thousands of its supporters. As the APC rammed into the workers’ barricade, the military and police repeatedly used water cannons, high-powered rifles, night sticks and teargas to disperse the strikers and their supporters and to eventually open the factory gates.

Workers’ strike for land, wages and jobs

More than 5,000 sugar mill workers and sugarcane farmers of Hacienda Luisita went on strike last Nov. 6. Members of the Central Azucarera de Tarlac Labor Union (CATLU) barricaded the factory’s Gate 2 while members of the United Luisita Workers’ Union (ULWU) simultaneously locked up the mill’s Gate 1. CATLU is the employees union while ULWU is the farm workers union.

The strike arose from the deadlock in the negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between CATLU and Hacienda Luisita, Inc. (HLI) and the illegal dismissal of 327 farm workers belonging to ULWU last Oct. 1. Among those illegally dismissed were ULWU president and vice president, Rene Galang and Ildefonso Pingul, respectively, and eight other union officers.

CATLU demanded a $1.78 salary increase and hospitalization benefits. But the Central Azucarera de Tarlac (CAT) management said that it can only provide a measly 21 cents hike and a $23 bonus. Negotiations ended in a dead lock.

Land distribution remains to be the major demand of Hacienda Luisita workers. The workers, led by ULWU, are calling for the scrapping of the Stock Distribution Option (SDO), which is used to purportedly escape land distribution to tenants under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). Ironically, it was then Presedent Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, whose family owns the Hacienda, signed the CARP law in 1987.

The deceptive SDO resulted to massive retrenchment and suppressed collective actions of the two unions. They also said that contrary to the claim of the Cojuangco family that 33% of the plantation’s income goes to the farm workers being part-owners, only 3 percent are being distributed to them in stocks.

Under CARP, workdays were skimmed down to once a week, which forced some workers to do laundry work, collect junk and get odd jobs for a living. While their gross income is $3.39 a day, the farm workers only get a take home pay of a measly 17 cents due to loan deductions and cash advances. This means that the farm workers have to subsist on a 17 cents weekly budget brought about by the once-a-week work scheme.

Hacienda Luisita is a sprawling 15,000 acre property of the Cojuangco family. It is owned and managed by HLI which was incorporated on August 23, 1988. HLI incorporators are Pedro Cojuangco, Josephine Reyes, Jose Cojuangco Jr., Teresita A. Lopa and Paz Teopaco — all brothers and sisters of former President Aquino. HLI had 5,067 farm workers and 487 employees in 2002. Based on submitted documents at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company posted a net income of $250,000 in 2002 and had total assets of $28 million in the same year.

Over the years, Hacienda Luisita has become very controversial because of its exemption in the land distribution program through its SDO scheme. It has become a symbol of the peasants’ long battle for genuine land reform.

Social and class struggle

In a statement, the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) condemned “in the strongest possible terms the excessive use of military force and the violent dispersal that caused deaths and injuries to the striking farm and sugar mill workers of Hacienda Luisita.

“The strike at Hacienda Luisita is more than just a strike. It is a concrete illustration of the lingering social and class struggle between the exploited Filipino people and exploiters from the landlord, big comprador ( an intermediary) bourgeoisie and capitalist classes,” stressed KMU Chairman Elmer Labog.

The strike has enjoyed massive support from various communities in Tarlac and other sectors nationwide. On Nov. 15, some 12,000 – 15,000 people from 10 surrounding communities came to the picketlines to show support to the workers. Together, they thwarted an attempt by the police and military to dismantle the workers’ barricades.

The bloody dispersal is the fourth such incident in the 11-day old strike of farm and sugarcane workers. Nov. 16 is also the third massacre case involving the Cojuangco clan and a member of its family. The other two were the Mendiola Massacre that killed 13 peasants on January 22, 1987 and Lupao Massacre (also in Central Luzon) on Febuary 10, 1988, with 17 peasants killed. Both carnages took place during the time of President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino’s term.

At present, the remains of the slain victims lie at the gates of Hacienda Luisita. The victims’ families and the two labor unions vowed to parade the bodies of the 14 fatalities as a grim reminder of the brutal carnage. They also declared they would regroup and restore the picketlines, stressing that the bloodshed all the more fortified their resolve to continue with the fight. “It is better for us to die fighting than die of hunger,” said the workers.

Nov. 18, an independent fact-finding mission was held simultaneous with the visit of four representatives from progressive party-list groups Anakpawis, Bayan Muna and Gabriela. The four militant lawmakers, accompanied by workers and representatives from other sectors, went to the Hacienda to gather testimonies and evidence on the bloody dispersal. They were initially barred from entering the gates but were allowed to after a 30-minute negotiation.

Source: LabourStart