Open Letter of FARC-EP to the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR)

The following is an open letter from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army (FARC-EP) to the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). The text is available in the original Spanish on the website of the FARC-EP, and is reposted here as translated by Pravda:

Although the Colombian government held the door closed to dialogue with the insurgency, sparked by an illusion of military victory and interference from Washington, we want to reiterate to the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) our unyielding desire to seek a political solution to the conflict.

The FARC’s side of the story

The following article is from Aljazeera:

In Cauca, Colombia is still at war. You find trenches in every corner, tanks, Blackhawk helicopters and lots of soldiers. Fighting takes place here almost every day and people have gotten used to it. More than that, they are certain that on election day there will be attacks.

Fight Back! at the U.S. Social Forum

The following is from Fight Back! News:

Detroit, MI – Supporters and friends of Fight Back! are building towards the U.S. Social Forum in Detroit on June 22-26. There will be thousands of activists, students and organizers for social change. Many are hoping to learn about building the people’s fight back during the current economic crisis. Students will be discussing how to oppose cutbacks to education while the White House spends billions on wars and occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Latin America solidarity leaders from across the country will speak about stopping seven new U.S. bases in Colombia and the spread of U.S. militarism.

On Friday, June 25 the Freedom Road Socialist Organization and the L.A. Labor Community Strategy Center are doing a workshop to discuss strategy for revolution in the U.S. It promises to spark lively discussion, based on mutual respect for each other’s organizing experiences. Come along and look for Fight Back! at the Freedom Road Socialist Organization table and other locations. Below is a list of workshops about some of the peoples’ struggles and movements covered by Fight Back!

Socialism and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat

The following article was sent to The Marxist-Leninist by Professor Toad, and is the first part of a series of articles on China:

The term socialism and the term dictatorship of the proletariat refer to two different concepts. Socialism describes a particular relation of production in which the means of production are socially owned and the exploitation of man by man is abolished. The dictatorship of the proletariat is a political situation in which the working class — in all known cases, acting in alliance with the peasantry — has seized political power in a country. In the real world the two are very closely linked, and if you find one, the other is not far off. But in analyzing countries very near in time to a revolution, the failure to understand this difference can lead to confusion.

Cubans march against homophobia

The following article is from the Associated Press:

HAVANA – Hundreds of gay and lesbian activists, some dressed in drag and others sporting multicolored flags representing sexual diversity, marched and danced through the streets of Havana on Saturday along with the daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro as part of a celebration aimed at eliminating homophobia around the world.

Choosing the Maoists: Conversations with young, female revolutionaries in Nepal

The following article is from MYREPUBLICA.com:

KATHMANDU, May 13: In the aftermath of the Maoist-called ´indefinite´ strike which ended up lasting for the entirety of six days, many contentious issues with regards to the roots of the party´s supports were raised. While the party leadership, namely the Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal claimed that the urban population of Kathmandu was branding the supporters a variety of things, and while the media itself indeed played a role in this portrayal; the supporters in the streets did not comprise of solely uneducated and rural masses that flooded into Kathmandu for the strike.

CP of the Philippines: People will confront incoming Aquino regime with pressing demands

The following statement by the Communist Party of the Philippines is from the website of the National Democratic Front:

With the reactionary elections coming to a close, it now appears that the Philippine neocolonial state will be headed next by Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.

FARC-EP: May 1st, the Workers’ Day!

The following is a translation for The Marxist-Leninist of the statement for International Workers Day, May 1, from the website of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army (FARC-EP), where it can be read in its original Spanish:

“Proletarians of all countries, unite!” – Karl Marx and Frederick Engels

It has been 162 years since the greatest thinkers and philosophers of the proletarian class, Marx and Engels, united in an unprecedented friendship in the history of humanity, and invited us to the unity, fraternity, and solidarity between exploited peoples of the world with the Communist Manifesto. These two great thinkers and tireless workers of intelligence armed the proletariat ideologically, and created consciousness in the proletarian class. More importantly, they scientifically described the universal historical mission to transform it, to bury the bourgeoisie as a class, and on its tomb, to build a new society without classes, where man gives up on being its own enemy.

PFLP leader Leila Khaled blasts Palestinian Authority

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. (Also available from Fight Back New Service – an interview with Leila Khaled on the Israeli attack on Gaza, conducted in Beirut, Lebanon Jan. 1, 2009 by Fight Back! editor Mick Kelly.)

Comrade Leila Khaled calls for dismantling the Authority that undermines the Palestinian national cause

Comrade Leila Khaled, member of the Political Bureau of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine called for dismantling the Palestinian Authority if that body is the cause of Palestinian division, speaking in Damascus on April 27, 2010.

Nepal at a standstill for third day of Maoist-led indefinite general strike

 

The following article is from The Red Star, a newspaper of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist):Kathmandu, May 04 – The nationwide general political strike has entered into third consecutive day called by the Unified CPN (Maoist). The normal life throughout the nation has come to a complete halt.