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May Day Rotterdam demo report
mayday - 01.05.2004 18:29
In Rotterdam, at 1 p.m. people
began to gather in front of the city hall, Coolsingel, for a big May Day demonstration; against Bush's war and Balkenende's cutbacks.
May Day in the 1920s, with comic characters Bulletje and Bonestaak
May Day 2004 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands: for peace and socialism; against Bush
May Day 2004 saw millions in action all over the world, for peace,
workers' rights, and international solidarity. Also in many places in
The Netherlands: from the small village of Beerta in the North to Maastricht in the South to Utrecht to Delft.
In Rotterdam, the second city of The Netherlands, at 1 p.m. people
began to gather in front of the city hall, Coolsingel 40. The big
crowd varied from supporters of the PvdA (Labour) Young Socialists
to communists and everyone in between. There were many immigrant workers and refugees: Kurds and others from Turkey and Iran; Tamils from Sri Lanka.
The main slogan was "Against imperialist war, for peace and socialism".
Other slogans: Socialist Party. Long live international solidarity. There were pictures of Che Guevara and Kurdish Workers Party president Öcalan, a political prisoner in Turkey. Red flags and Kurdish flags floated. On the city hall steps, a Brazilian percussion band played.
An introductory speech attacked Bush for his war policy; the Dutch government for their cutbacks on social services; and the Rightist local authorities for their recent plan to ban poor people from parts of the city.
Among the organizations taking part in the march were: Aksi Setiakawan (Indonesian); International Bolshevik Tendency; Rotterdam against the "new" war committee; the Rotterdam branch of the trades union congress FNV; one million and a half people in The Netherlands are FNV members. Turkish Workers' League.
When far over a thousand people had gathered, they started to march
through the shopping streets of the city center. People shouted:
Down with George W. Bush! Bush, Blair {Dutch Prime Minister} Balkenende, get the troops out of Iraq!
Motorists honked along with the May Day slogans.
As the marchers arrived back at the Schouwburgplein near the city hall, a swift flew overhead, screaming. This migratory bird always comes back to The Netherlands around May Day.
There were speeches on the Schouwburgplein. First, Aksi Setiakawan thanked people for their support against militarism in Indonesia. Then, the organization DHKC from Turkey spoke (they had the biggest single continent on this march). They said the Bush administration and their allies falsely accused them of terrorism. However, today on can see in papers and on TV the torture by US and British troops in Iraq. That shows who really are terrorists.
Then, the Turkish Workers’ League demanded that occupation troops should leave Iraq. The cutbacks by the Dutch Balkenende government should stop. A speaker of the Kurdish Federation warned against the government setting people of different nationalities against one another. The Iranian Kurdish organization Komala pointed out the attacks of the Iranian government on workers’ and women’s rights.
After a speech in Turkish by a woman representing the Marxist Leninist Communist Party, the need for continuing support for Black US political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal was pointed out. Next, a member of “Offensief” said that the 19th century original May Day fights were for an eight hour working day. Unfortunately, today the bosses try to introduce 12 hours in some cases. Wages for workers are frozen in The Netherlands, while directors give themselves 39% or more raises. In Afghanistan, oil corporations get a pipeline to Pakistan. Iraq is getting more and more like Vietnam.
Wim van Wijk of the refugees' organization PRIME spoke. He
criticized the Dutch government, which wants to send refugees back to
unsafe Afghanistan and Iraq; and expels refugees from their houses.
Then, finally, a choir sang the "Internationale" with everyone joining in.
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| Read more about: anti-fascisme / racisme globalisering militarisme wereldcrisis | | supplements | | | some supplements were deleted from this article, see policy | | Zo'n beetje de enige grote | hans - 02.05.2004 12:58
De 1 mei optocht in Rotterdam is nog zo'n beetje de enige grote optocht in Nederland. En dat dankzij de kameraden van voornamelijk Kurdistan. Dit jaar stond ook de 1 mei viering weer eens op de agenda van de SP. Beter ten halve gekeerd dan ten hele gedwaald.
 Website: http://www.eeneerlijkekijkopcuba.tk
| | "Massamoordenaars geeerd" | . - 03.05.2004 17:31
Uit het Parool van vandaag, maandag 3 mei 2004:
Massamoordenaars geeerd.
Portretten van onder meer Stalin en Mao werden zaterdag meegedragen in de 1-mei demonstratie in Rotterdam. Zo'n 500 mensen liepen mee onder de leuze 'weg met de imperialistische oorlogen'.
Tja, het is dan wel de burgerlijke pers, maar hier kan ik ze geen ongelijk in geven. Er staat een foto bij die waarschijnlijk niet eens vervalst is, en waarop inderdaad zo'n spandoek met het beruchte kwintet wordt meegezeuld.
Miljoenen mensen zijn vermoord en nog meer mensen hebben gruwelijk geleden onder de fascistische regimes van Stalin en Mao, maar toch zien enkele malloten zonder enig historisch benul er geen been in om anno 2004 nog te gaan rondlopen met portretten van deze misdadigers. Wanneer houdt deze waanzin eindelijk eens op?
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