May 30, 2010 – Capitalism and Climate – Mo

This sign-on letter was circulated by the Bolivian government prior to the negotiations that began on May 28, 2010 in the UNFCCC to push for key proposals made in the Cochabamba People's Agreement to be included in negotiations.The People's Agreement was a key document of the World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth, held in Bolivia in April 2010.

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May 28, 2010 -- This is the pronouncement of the World People's Movement for Mother Earth, which demands that the United Nations climate change negotiations be inclusive, transparent and equitable, and incorporate the proposals presented by the World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth in order to find real solutions to the climate crisis and save humanity and our Mother Earth as we know it.

By Walden Bello

May 25, 2010 -- Nearly a week after the event, Thailand is still stunned by the military assault on the Red Shirt encampment in the tourist centre of the capital city of Bangkok on May 19. The Thai government is treating captured Red Shirt leaders and militants like they're from an occupied country. No doubt about it: A state of civil war exists in this country, and civil wars are never pretty.

The last few weeks have hardened the Bangkok middle class in its view that the Red Shirts are "terrorists" in the pocket of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. At the same time, they have convinced the lower classes that their electoral majority counts for nothing. "Pro-Thaksin" versus "Anti-Thaksin": This simplified discourse actually veils what is — to borrow Mao's words — a class war with Thai characteristics.

Epic tragedy

By Federico Fuentes, Caracas

May 23, 2010 -- In recent weeks, local and international media have attacked the left-wing Venezuelan government over alleged “economic woes” and electricity problems (see article below). Pointing to Venezuela’s inflation rate — the highest in Latin America — and an economy that shrank 3.3% last year, the private opposition media is raising fears of a serious economic crisis.

These same media outlets, which have been predicting the fall of President Hugo Chavez for years, argue recent government actions will worsen the situation. Venezuelan business federation Fedecamaras warned on May 5 that Venezuela faces an “economic and social crisis”. The federation helped organise a 2002 military coup against Chavez that briefly installed Federcamaras leader Pedro Carmona president before a mass uprising restored Chavez.

Sri Lanka: 60 Years of "Independence" and Beyond
Edited by Ana Pararajasingham,
Published by the Centre for Just Peace and Democracy, Switzerland 2009

Review by Chris Slee

May 30, 2010 -- This is a very useful book for those wishing to gain a thorough understanding of the history of Sri Lanka since its independence from Britain in 1948. The 27 authors in the collection are diverse in their ethnic backgrounds, including Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims from Sri Lanka, as well as outsiders. They are also diverse in their political outlook, including liberals, Marxists and Tamil nationalists.

Av Paul Kellogg

Den voksende massebevegelsen og åpningen mot venstre i Hellas er oppmuntrende.
Det er i den bevegelsen det ligger håp om at det en gang kan vokse fram et virkelig progressivt Europa.

By Justin Alick, Bangkok

May 27, 2010 -- On March 3, 2010, the red-shirted leaders of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) held a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand to outline the details of the coming mass rally to be held in Bangkok. The purpose of the rally, they said, was to force an army-backed government to make a choice: to embrace democracy and hold general elections, or to embrace authoritarianism and kill its own citizens. When asked by one journalist how the UDD would respond in the case of the government choosing the latter, the answer from Red Shirt leader Jaran Ditthapichai sent a palpable chill across the room: “We may see Thailand descend into civil war.”

STOP PRESS: Nepal PM agrees to step down May 30, 2010 -- Morning Star -- Nepal's three main parties have held talks to try to hammer out a new coalition government after the prime minister finally agreed to resign to avert a political crisis.

Madhav Kumar Nepal of the Communist Party of Nepal -- Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML) said that he would step down in a last-minute bid to secure the support of Maoist MPs for a government Bill to extend parliament's term.

It was due to end on May 28, which would have left the country without a functioning legislature.

The Unified Communist Party of Nepal -- Maoist (UCPN-M) and its supporters have been protesting both in parliament and on the street for months to press Mr Nepal to go The UCPN-M controls most seats in the assembly and their support was required to get the two-thirds majority to pass the Bill.

CPN-UML leader Pradeep Gyawali said: "Leaders of the Nepali Congress, the CPN-UML and the Maoists are now in deep discussions on how to take Friday's agreement forward."

SWAPO's Sam Nujoma.

By Henning Melber

May 26, 2010 -- For environmentalists, Indigenous rights activists, feminists, socialists and all progressive people, Latin America is a source of hope and inspiration today. The people of Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia, Ecuador and El Salvador, among others, are showing that radical social change is possible and a better, more just society can be imagined and built.

The tide of rebellion and revolution now sweeping Latin America is posing a serious challenge to imperialism’s brutal global rule. For anyone who wants an end to war, exploitation and oppression, Latin America’s struggles to create alternatives are crucially important.

Australia's leading socialist newspaper Green Left Weekly is strongly committed to supporting the growing “people’s power” movement in Latin America. We are proud of the fact that GLW is the only Australian newspaper to have a permanent bureau in Latin America, based in Caracas, Venezuela. Through our weekly articles on developments in the region, GLW strives to counter the corporate media’s many lies about Latin America’s revolutions, and to give a voice in English to the people’s movements for change.

Solidarity protest at the embassy of Thailand, Jakarta, Indonesia, May 25, 2010. Another slideshow below. Made with Slideshow Embed Tool.

Democracy and humanity for the people of Thailand

Jakarta, May 25, 2010 -- Since March, the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), also known as the Red Shirts, began a massive protest against the Abhisit Vejjajiva government. A government that came to power not through democratic elections but installed by the military and endorsed by the monarchy.