News
STRIKE ERUPTS AT PLDT
Members of the Manggagawa ng Komunikasyon sa Pilipinas (MKP) union of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) spent Christmas at the picketline as they kicked off a nationwide strike on December 2003. The MKP decide to push through with the strike when a deadlock stalled negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the union and the management which started on December 18. The workers had been holding different forms of protests since November.
The 6,700-strong MKP opposes the retrenchment of 550 telephone operators (most of whom are in the provinces) and the planned restructuring of the PLDT. MKP president Pete Pinlac said that sooner or later, restructuring would lead to the replacement of regular workers by contractuals.
BARRIOFOLK BARRICADE NAPOCOR PLANT
The Masinloc coal-fired plant of the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR) was forced to stop operations when residents, including barangay officials, of Barangay Bani, Masinloc, Zambales barricaded the plant. The people demanded more damages for the destruction wrought by the NAPOCOR to their community. Two power generating units stopped operation as a result of the protest action. The NAPOCOR loses around P4.9 million daily due to the closure of the power generating units.
TRANSPORT STRIKE LAUNCHED IN CEBU, PANAY
Striking drivers, conductors and mechanics paralyzed transportation in Cebu City and Panay in December.
Almost 90% of transportation within and outside Cebu City was paralyzed by the strike launched bydrivers and operators belonging to the Transport Unity Forum on December 16. The organization, which comprises seven large drivers' associations, opposed the city's antidriver ordinances and traffic rules.
Meanwhile, in Panay, members of the Seventy Six Liners Drivers and Mechanics launched a strike to oppose management's violation of their CBA and attempts to bust their union.
In Luzon, workers of Philippine Rabbit Bus Line returned to work on December 21 after a 50-day strike. The union said that of their 10 demands, only two have yet to be met by management.
MALTREATMENT OF DEPORTEES ASSAILED
Migrante International condemned the maltreatment of 85 Filipino deportees by US Imiigration authorities on December 14. According to Migrante, most of the deportees were handcuffed and chained while aboard a US plane. This is the second such incident, the first one being in June 2002 when 63 deportees from the US also arrived handcuffed and chained.
NEPALESE STUDENTS STAGE STRIKE
More then 500,000 students from 2,000 private and 2,000 public schools boycotted their classes in Kathmandu Valley in response to the five-day strike declared by the All Nepal National Free Students' Union-Revolutionary (ANNFS-R) from December 9 to 13. The ANNFS-R called for the strike to assert the right to free education of everyone up to the age of 16 and demand lower tuition fees in private institutions. They also demanded that the government withdraw its terrorist tag on the ANNFS-R.
EU SUMMIT DENOUNCED
The closing of the European Union Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark on December 12 was met with protests from 5,000 rallyists. In a march on the city's streets, the demonstrators expressed their concern over the widespread poverty in the world and the looming US war on Iraq. Fifteen activists from Frnace, Germany, Norway and Sweden were arrested by the police.
ILLEGAL ARRESTS IN ITALY CONDEMNED
Tens of thousands protested in different parts of Italy in December against the illegal arrest and repression of people who participated in the November 9 rally against the European Social Forum and the biggest antiwar demonstration in the country attended by one million people. Thirty thousand people staged a rally in Florence while 60,000 protested in Cosenza to press for the release of the political prisoners.
Forty-two people were arrested in 45 raids by Italian police between November 14 and December 14. Various charges were filed against those arrested, including production and possession of explosives, vandalism and disrespect for authority.
PROTESTS IN ARGENTINA GROWING
Tens of thousands of people launched a protest action from December 19 to 20 in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires against the economic crisis and to demand the ouster of the government.
Participants in the two-day protest march criticized both the past and present governments for the widespread hunger, poverty and unemployment in the country. They barricaded the streets and burned the flags of the United States and the United Kingdom to demonstrate their indignation over the policies of imperialist "globalization," saying such policies have brought about a severe financial crisis in the country.
They cited as an example the 70% devaluation of the Argentine peso vis a vis the dollar.
Anti-US protest actions spreading
South Korea. The Korean people reiterated their demand for the pullout of the 37,000 US troops in the country after a court acquitted two American soldiers who had run over and killed two Korean schoolgirls in June. The incident took place while the soldiers were holding a military training exercise.
The Korean people held protest rallies almost daily. On December 15, around 100,000 protested in Seoul and over 4,000 staged rallies in 61 cities and towns. Protests erupted again on December 21, a week after the election of South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun. Formerly taking a militant anti-US stand, Roh now favors the policies of US President George Bush.
Germany.The people's opposition to the existence of US military bases in this country is likewise gaining strength. On December 14, they held a rally in front of the Spangdaheim Air Base and other US basesin Ramstein and Rhein-Mane, calling on the German government to be firm in its opposition to US war plans against Iraq. They averred that the use of the US military bases and German airspace in the planned attack on Iraq should not be allowed. The protest actions were launched despite the very cold winter.
United States. Hollywood actors launched the "Artists Say Win Without War" movement against the planned a t tacks on Iraq. Activist and awardwinning actor Martin Sheen said they were against the Bush government's plan to launch a "preemptive military strike" on Iraq. In this regard, actor Sean Penn visited Iraq on December 14. In a speech, Penn told Iraqis that m i l i tary aggression would undermine peace and security not only in the Persian Gulf states but in the whole world.
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