The Fourth International in Britain

Beheading the Dragon– popular revolution topples Tunisian tyrant!

This statement on the revolutionary

situation in Tunisia is from Al Mouna-

dil-a, an Arabic-language website of the

Fourth International, published by the

Moroccan section.

After 23 years of tyranny, robbery and

oppression, the dictator Ben Ali has

been forced to flee Tunisia. Since 1987, Ben Ali and his corrupt sup-porters, the families of his wife and his relatives, the Trabelsis and Materis have relied on a huge apparatus of repression to prop up a re-gime characterised by sys-tematic plundering of the economy leading to humilia-tion and starvation of the people. He controlled a po-lice force of 150,000. This equals one policeman for every 27 citizens. The regime was a loyal client of French imperialism and the global financial institu-tions which cynically con-doned the dictatorship of Ben Ali for the sake of their share in the so called “Tunisian Miracle” which made the country the Hong Kong of North Africa. Now the re-gime’s erstwhile backers have had a rude awakening by a true miracle, an explosion of popular anger from the victims of Ben Ali and the neoliberal policies of the World Bank. The current revolt was sparked in Sidi Bouzid, a month ago, when the young Mohamed El-Bouazizi set fire to himself as a protest against unemployment and indignity. This fire turned into a popular flame which spread across Tunisia and rocked it to its foundations.

From one demonstration to another, from barricade to barricade and martyr to mar-tyr; the uprising flourished and grew as it resolutely made its way towards the pal-aces of the Carthage torturer, demanding the head of the old dragon. The old tyrant fled in panic - marking a great victory not just for the people of Tunisia but for all the oppressed and ex-ploited peoples of the Maghreb, the Arab

world region and countless millions across the globe. This is living proof of the in-domitable will of the people and the possi-bility of revolution to bring down reac-tionary regimes across the Arab world. The Tunisian revolution has made a huge step forward, but its fate is not yet de-cided. There are still enemies of the revo-lution to uproot and sweep aside. The remnants of the old regime have not yet been decisively defeated and the dragon of the counter-revolution could still rear its

head. The old state machine is tottering but still has control of the police force and other means of repression. Therefore, the revolution will not succeed in achieving the hopes of the Tunisian people unless the old regime is smashed and replaced by a new government repre-senting the revolutionary people. We need a government of the workers, poor peas-

ants and popular masses overseeing the election of a constituent assembly to create a new constitution. The revolutionary people cannot simply wait for an interim government to form. We must seek to form workers’ councils and peo-ple’s assemblies in facto-ries, neighbourhoods and schools and also in the bar-racks to win sections of the army to the side of the revo-lution. Such councils should be convened at the local and national level and be based on directly elected delegates subject to imme-diate recall. The councils must be a revolutionary power to run the country and also to defend the gains

of the revolution. They must oversee the arming of the people as a guarantee against both internal counter-revolution and the possibility of foreign intervention. We cannot trust the former allies of Ben Ali who still remain. Beware the liberal politicians who now seek to ride to power on the coat-tails of the people’s victory! “All power to the revolutionary people!” is the slogan that should unite Tunisian revolutionaries.

www.socialistresistance.org

The situation as with any revolution is changing from hour to hour. Any evalua-tion will undoubtedly be overtaken by events within a few hours or days. But already we can say that the Tunisia and Egyptian people are writing the first pages of the revolutions of the 21st cen-tury. They are sending shock waves throughout the Arab world, from Alger to Ramallah, from Amman to Sanaa in Yemen. These revolutions result, within the particular historical conditions of this society, from the crisis that is shaking the world capitalist system. The “poverty riots” are combined with an immense mobilisation for democracy. The effects of the world economic crisis combined with the oppression of dictatorships are making these countries in the current situation the weak links in imperialist domination. They are creating the condi-tions for the opening of processes of social and democratic revolutions. Demonstrations, strikes, mass meetings, self-defence committees, mobilisations by trade unions and civil associations, mobilisation of all the popular classes, “those below” and “those in the middle” who are swinging over into insurrection, “those above who can no longer rule as before”, convergence between parties from the radical opposition against the system, these are all the ingredients of a pre-revolutionary or revolutionary situa-tion that is today ready to explode. It is today the turn of Egypt to see hun-dreds of thousands of workers, young people and unemployed stand up against the dictatorship of Mubarak. In Tunisia, a bloody dictatorship was cut down. It was the focus of the hatred of a whole society, the popular classes and especially of youth. The Ben Ali regime, his repression, his corruption, a system supported by all the imperialist powers, France, the USA, the European Union, had to be thrown out. It is this same movement that is sweep-ing through Egypt today. There are, of course, historical differ-ences between the two countries. Egypt is the most populous country in the Arab world. It has a decisive geo-strategic place in the Middle East. The structures

of the State, the institutions, the role of the Army are different there. But it is the same basic movement that is affecting the two countries. The Tunisian masses could longer stand an economic system - “a good pupil of the world economy” according to Mr. Strauss-Khan - which starved them. The explosion of the prices of basic food-stuffs, unemployment of almost 30%, and hundreds of thousands of trained and qualified young people without jobs con-stituted fertile ground for the growth of a social revolt that, combined with a po-litical crisis, led to a revolution. There were dramatic price rises for all essential products, including rice, wheat and corn, between 2006 and 2008. The price of rice tripled in five years, passing from approximately $600 per ton in 2003 to more than $1800 per ton in May 2008. The recent increase in the price of the grain is illustrated by a jump of 32 % recorded during second half of 2010 in the compound index of food prices. The big rise in prices of sugar, cereals and oilseed took world food prices to record levels in December, exceeding those of 2008, which had started riots throughout the world. At the same time, the IMF and the WTO are demanding the lifting of all tariff barriers and end of to all food subsidies. The recent speculative rise in food en-couraged the worldwide development of famine on an unprecedented scale, which is hitting a series of countries of Africa and the Arab world. Egypt has also experienced the effects of this explosion of the food prices. The economy does not create enough jobs to provide for the population’s needs. The neoliberal policies implemented since 2000 have caused an explosion of ine-qualities and an impoverishment of mil-lions of families. Nearly 40% of the 80 million Egyptians continue to live on less than two dollars per day. And 90% of the unemployed are young people under 30. The other remarkable thing is that the Egyptian national trade-union federation – led by members of the government –

has partly withdrawn its support for the government in the two weeks since the Tunisian insurrection. They wanted price controls, wage rises and a system of sub-sidised distribution of foodstuffs, the people not being able to obtain basic necessities such as tea or oil. That the union leaders should demand this is un-precedented because they have been convinced neo-liberal supporters. That is the impact of the Tunisian events In Tunisia, this revolution has deep roots. The current social movement is the result of a cycle of mobilizations and movements which draw their strength from the history of the struggles of the Tunisian people and its organizations, in particular, many associations for human rights and democratic freedoms and trade unions like many sectors of the UGTT (General Union of the Tunisian Workers). We remember the fight of certain per-sonalities for freedom of expression and to travel in 1999, the high-school stu-dents’ movement in 2000, the mobilisa-tions against the war in Iraq in 2001, the second Intifadah in 2002-2003, strikes and demonstrations in Gafsa in 2008, Ben Guerdane in June 2010, and Sidi Bouzid, which at the end of 2010 opened up the way for the revolution. It is a historical movement that started with this combination of social revolt and overthrowing a dictatorship but which today seeks to go further. It is a radical democratic revolution that has anticapitalist social demands. Ben Ali had to flee, but the essence of his gangster system stayed in place. The force of the mobilisation has constrained the former Ben Ali supporters to leave the government gradually, but as we are writing this statement, the Prime Minis-ter is still the Ben Ali supporter Ghan-nouchi. And the revolution wants to go further: “RCD out! ”, “Ghannouchi out! ”, be-hind these demands, it is the whole of the political system, all the institutions, all the repressive apparatus that should be eradicated. It is necessary to finish with the whole Ben Ali system, and to establish all democratic rights and free-

In Tunisia & Egypt revolutions are underway Statement by the Bureau of the Fourth International

“The most indubitable feature of a revolution is the direct interference of the masses in his-

torical events. In ordinary times the state, be it monarchical or democratic, elevates itself

above the nation, and history is made by specialists in that line of business - kings, ministers,

bureaucrats, parliamentarians, journalists. But at those crucial moments when the old order

becomes no longer endurable to the masses, they break over the barriers excluding them

from the political arena,(...). The history of a revolution is for us first of all a history of the

forcible entrance of the masses into the realm of rulership over their own destiny.”

Leon Trotsky, Preface to History of the Russian Revolution

doms: right of free expression, right to strike, right to demonstrate, pluralism of associations, trade unions and parties Abolish the presidency and install a pro-visional revolutionary government! Get-ting rid of the dictatorship and of all op-erations that want to protect the power of the ruling classes means today opening a process of free elections for a constituent Assembly. This process must be based on the organisation of committees, coun-cils, coordination and popular councils that have emerged from the process if it is not to be confiscated by a new oligar-chic regime. In this process, the anticapitalists will defend the key demands of a programme breaking with imperialism and capitalist logic: satisfaction of the vital needs of the popular classes - bread, wages, jobs; reorganization of the economy on the basis of fundamental social needs - free and adequate public services, schools, health, women’s rights, radical land reform, so-cialization of the banks and key sectors of the economy, broadening so-cial protection for unem-ployment, health and re-tirement, cancellation of the debt, national and popular sovereignty. This is the programme of a democratic government that would be at the ser-vice of the workers and the population. At the same time, whether it is to organize the de-fence of the districts, to drive out RCD leaders of state administration or big companies, to reorganize the distribution of the food substances, workers and young people are organising their own assemblies and committees. The most combative sectors and most radical must support, stimulate, organize and coordi-nate all these self-organization struc-tures. They are something to build on to establish a democratic power of the popular classes. In Egypt, at the time we are writing this statement, the country is in a state of insurrection. In spite of bloody repres-sion, the waves of mobilization of the people develop. Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators are in the streets of Cairo, Alexandria and Suez. The party office of the ruling NDP and symbols of the regime have been attacked. The ha-tred for the Mubarak system, the total

rejection of corruption, and the demand for satisfaction of vital social demands against price rises have provoked and stimulated the mobilisation of all the popular classes. The regime is vacillat-ing. The Army leadership supported by the USA has tried a « self-managed coup » putting Omar Suleiman, head of the secret services and pillar of the current regime alongside Mubrak as Vic-president. The army is strained. There have been scenes of fraternisation be-tween the people and the soldiers but faced with the determination of the Egyptians the Army leadership could also choose confrontation and harsh re-pression. The demand of the millions in the streets is crystal clear: Mubarak must go, but it is the whole dictatorship, the whole repressive apparatus that must be brought down and a democratic process wit all rights and freedoms set in place. The call for a day of mobilisation on 1st

February is the next step. In Egypt too, it is necessary to finish some with a dictatorship and to found a democratic process with all the rights and fundamental democratic liberties. The current movement is the most im-portant since the 1977 bread riots but here again it has deep roots. For the last 30 years Mubarak has main-tained a dictatorial regime, imprisoning and murdering his opponents, suppress-ing any independent expression of the social movement and political opposi-tion. The electoral masquerade of No-vember 2010, entirely controlled by the NDP which won more than 80% of the seats, is the latest example. In the lat few years there have been important strike movements particularly of the textile workers of El-Mahalla, general strikes

and demonstrations and protests by dif-ferent social categories, big anti-imperialist mobilisations against the military occupation of Iraq and Afghani-stan in 2004, marking the disavowal and isolation of a regime that is held up only by the USA and the European Union. Egypt is, with Israel and Saudi Arabia, one of the three pillars of imperialist policy in the region. The USA, Israel and Europe will do everything they can to prevent Egypt escaping from their zone of influence and will do everything they can to oppose a revolutionary de-velopment of the protests. The Tunisian revolution set the Arab world ablaze. It is also for a whole gen-eration their first revolution. Everything can change today with the rising of the Egyptian people. The mobilisation will undoubtedly have repercussions through the region, in particular encouraging the Palestinian despite the shameful state-

ment of Mahmoud Abbas. We have to build a solidarity wall around the revolu-tionary processes which developing in Tunisia and Egypt, supported by active solidarity with the mobilizations throughout the Arab world. We cannot ignore the possibility of bad blows from the repressive appa-ratus of Ben Ali, or the threats of his friend Khadaffi. Also, if the regime

decides on confrontation the Army lead-ers could unleash bloody repression. Faced with the deepening of the revolu-tionary process, the western powers and the ruling classes will try to take back control by breaking this immense hope. The Tunisian and Egyptian people must be able to count on the whole of the in-ternational labour movement, on all the global justice movement. In the trade unions, associations, the left parties, we must support the fights of these peoples and the revolt thundering through the Arab world.

Long live the Tunisian and

Egyptian revolutions!

Solidarity with the fights in the

Arab world!

The Fourth International in Britain www.socialistresistance.org An “International Declaration of Support for the Tunisian Revolution” is being supported by the Fourth International. To add your name, please send an e-mail with surnames, first names, position/organisation, and country to: solidaritytunisia@gmail.com

The Tunisian Revolution is beautiful Spontaneously, without directives, without organization, the Tunisian peo-ple have risen up to overthrow Ben Ali, a dictator who had at his disposal a powerful police machinery and many tentacles, a dictator supported by all major powers under the false pretext that it constituted a “wall against Is-lam.” Almost unanimously with “Ben Ali Get Out” as the main slogan, the Tunisian people triumphed against the predatory despot who ruled over them. Within weeks of intensive mobilizations driven by the tragic sacrifice of a street vendor from one of the most disadvantaged regions of the coun-try, the history of Tunisia, and perhaps the entire Arab world, has been shaken. Beyond this first success, the mobilization continues since everyone knows that the major institutions set up by the deposed president continue to func-tion. Against the forces of normalization, the forces of change demand in the first place the dissolution of the Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD), which more than a political party is an organ of repression, surveillance and clientelization. Everyone knows that without a real break from the institu-tions set up by the dictator, the popular masses that led the revolutionary movement, particularly youth, run the risk of being deprived of their victory in the name of a smooth transition that would provide no more than some minimal concessions from the demands of the people, similar to what Ben Ali “generously” offered a handful of hours before being hunted by power-ful popular demonstrations. Everyone knows that Tunisians do not expect a façade of democracy, nor do they in any way want an economic policy dic-tated by the European Union and international financial institutions, whose neo-liberal credo always leads to more unemployment and misery. They in no way want a foreign policy subjected to the interests of imperial powers in a hurry to end the Palestinian Resistance. Everyone in Tunisia knows that the shock wave this Revolution has had in the whole Arab world is a formi-dable achievement that raises much hope and, consequently, disappointment would be disastrous. Historical experience has shown that, confronted with dynamics of this magnitude, the powerful of the world over, those who perpetuate oppression and exploitation, will not stop to reduce its reach, cut its roots and, if the threat persists, destroy it with violence. In Tunisia, as could happen in other places, we have no doubt that some, starting mostly from within the services of the imperialist states, are preparing the counter-revolution to repress the popular mobilization once and for all. This is why we, activists, intellectuals, citizens, all committed to democracy and social justice, we welcome the Tunisian people and its Revolution of dignity. We give our unconditional solidarity in their efforts to deepen the democratic process and we commit to be on their side to preserve their achievements and to oppose all counter-revolutionary attempts.

London Socialist Resistance meeting

Can capitalism 'solve' the debt crisis?

PLO’s total capitulation by Tariq Ali (from LRB Blog)

The ‘Palestine Papers’ being published this week by al-Jazeera confirm in every detail what many Palestinians have suspected for a long time: their leaders have been collaborating in the most shameful fashion with Israel and the United States. Their grovelling is described in grim detail. The process, though few accepted it at the time, began with the much-trumpeted Oslo Accords, described by Edward Said in the LRB at the time as a ‘Palestinian Versailles’. Even he would have been taken aback by the sheer scale of what the PLO leadership agreed to surrender: virtually everything except their own salaries. Their weaknesses, inadequacies and cravenness are now in the public domain. Now we know that the capitulation was total, but still the Israeli overlords of the PLO refused to sign a deal and their friends in the press blamed the Palestinians for being too difficult. They wanted Palestine to be crushed before they would agree to underwrite a few moth-eaten protectorates that they would supervise indefinitely. They wanted Hamas destroyed. The PLO agreed. The recent assault on Gaza was carried out with the approval of Abbas and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, not to mention Washington and its EU. The PLO sold out in a literal sense. They were bought with money and treated like servants. There is TV footage of Ehud Barak and Bill Clinton at Camp David playfully tugging at Arafat’s headgear to stop him leaving. All three are laughing. Many PLO supporters in Palestine must be weeping as they watch al-Jazeera and take in the scale of the betrayal and the utter cynicism of their leaders. Now we know why the Israel/US/EU nexus was so keen to disregard the outcome of the Palestinian elections and try to destroy Hamas militarily. The two-state solution is now dead and buried by Israel and the PLO. Impossible for anyone (even the BBC) to pretend that there can be an independent Palestinian state. A long crapulent depression is bound to envelop occupied Pales-tine, but whether Israel likes it or not there will one day be a single state in the region, probably by the end of this century. That is the only pos-sible solution, apart from genocide. Comment on this article at www.collectiveresistance.org

Ozlem Onaran and Stathis Kouvelakis,

8th Feb, 7.30, ULU, Malet St