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Volume 4
Issue 9
19th April -2015
Anti-dam protests in UP
surge after police firing
1 9 th A p r i l - 2 0 1 5
Observe 22nd April, CPI(ML)
Formation Day
The Central Committee of CPI (ML) Red Star has
called on all party committees to observe April
22, CPI (ML) Formation Day with the slogan –
‘Defeat revisionism, defeat anarchism, build unified
revolutionary communist party in India.’ At a time
when the activities of revisionists and anarchists of all
hues are discrediting the movement, and when even
some organizations who call themselves MarxistLeninists are joining hands with the revisionist camp
led by the CPI (M), observing of the Party Day with
this slogan has a great significance.
OPDR Krishna committee
president and communist,
Com M. Venketaratnam
passes away
75-year-old M. Venkataratnam, lifelong communist
and honorary president of OPDR Krishna district
committee, AP-TS, passed away in his house
in Kanuru on April 12 at 4 pm. He had been a
member of the undivided CPI, then a member of
the CPI(M), and from 1968 to 1978 a member of
the AP Communist Revolutionaries/UCCRI(ML) led
by comrades Tarimela Nagireddy and D V. He was
a member of OPDR-AP Krishna district committee
from 1977 to 1980. He rejoined OPDR, AP-TS in 2014
and remained its honorary president till his sudden
demise. In fact, he had actively participated in the
district general body meeting of OPDR from 11 am to
2.30 pm on 12 April, just less than two hours before he
suddenly collapsed and passed away. He is survived
by his 70-year-old wife, 3 sons, 3 daughters-in-law
and grandchildren. His son Maridu Prasadbabu, is
a well-known journalist in Vijayawada and a whole
time activist of OPDR, AP-TS, and daughter-in-law
Sayudha, an activist in the women’s movement. We
deeply mourn the demise of Com Venketaratnam,
which is a big loss to the communist movement of
Vijayawada in general and OPDR, AP-TS in particular
and a shock to his kith and kin. C Bhaskararao, the
general secretary of OPDR, AP-TS, paid homage to
the departed communist and leader of OPDR, APTS and conveyed condolences to the grief-stricken
family.
CONTENTS
Observe 22nd April, CPI(ML) Formation Day.
Rafale deal: mortgaging the country yet again.
Modi signals Areva to ‘make (nuclear disasters) in India’
Odisha: Protest against Land Acquisition Bill heightens.
OPDR Krishna committee president and communist,
Com M. Venketaratnam passes away.
Anti-dam protests in UP surge after police firing.
More Maruti workers get bail.
End the Saudi war on Yemen.
Seven allege sexual harassment by Yale doctor at clinic.
Palestinians in Gaza rally in support of Yarmouk under attack
by IS Criminals.
w w w. c p i m l . i n
C-141, Sainik Nagar,
New Delhi – 110059, Phone – (011) 25332343
Email: [email protected], [email protected]
Website: www.cpiml.in
RED STAR Online Weekly
Volume – 4
Issue – 9
19 April 2015
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01
Rafale deal:
mortgaging the country yet again
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s famous ‘Make
in India’ slogan has acquired a new – but hardly
unexpected – dimension with the Rafale Jet Fighter
deal, which has indeed allowed the moribund French
company Dassault Aviation (makers of Rafale jet
fighters) to ‘make in India’, that is save itself from
imminent closure by virtue of a coveted contract to
sell India 36 ready-to-fly fighter jets at an exorbitantly
inflated price. In fact, the Rafale deal has gained such
notoriety that BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has
threatened to take legal recourse if his government
finalizes the deal, pointing out that “the performance
of the French jet “turned out to be worst of all the
aircraft” in Libya and Egypt.”
Modi has infused fresh life into Dassault. The 36 jet
fighters alone have given the loss-making French
company a new lease of life, with costs for India now
expected to touch new heights. The maintenance and
sustenance of the 36 aircraft that will now be done by
Dassault with a price attached, will rev up the figures
substantially as spare parts and the infrastructure to
do so will be required for at least 40 years.
The initial tender for the 126 jet fighters was floated
by the Ministry of Defence in 2007. Dassault was
selected after the usual procedure to supply the
Rafale jet fighters at an estimated cost of $ 20 billion.
Under the agreement it was decided that 18 of the
fighters would be supplied in ‘ready to fly’ condition,
and the remaining 108 manufactured with Hindustan
Aeronautics Limited in India. The deal got bogged
down over differences centering around the French
resistance to the Indian demand that Dassault take
responsibility for the HAL produced fighters and
stand guarantee for the same. Modi’s announcement
in France, however, has not clarified the fate of the
original deal. Hence the informed speculation that
the deal can now be turned away from the public
sector participation from the Indian end, to private
collaboration between Reliance and Dassault.
Reliance’s Mukesh Ambani who was present in
France had already signed an agreement with
Dassault in 2012 after Rafale was selected to supply
the fighter jets. Dassault Aviation in a statement at the
time had admitted entering into a MoU with Reliance
Industries Ltd for pursuing strategic opportunities of
collaboration in the area of complex manufacturing
and support in India. Modi, it is apparent, is as
keen to help Dassault amass profits as he is to help
Reliance further inflate its millions.
Anti-dam protests in UP
surge after police firing
UP police opened fire on anti-land acquisition
demonstrators, who were protesting against land
acquisition for a dam on the Kanhar river in Sonbhadra,
early on the morning of April 14, ironically Ambedkar
Jayanti. Around 8 people were seriously injured in the
firing and subsequent lathicharge by the police.
Thousands of men and women had assembled at the
site to intensify the protest against land acquisition
on Ambedkar Jayanti. The protesters were carrying
the photo of Dr Ambedkar to mark the day as ‘Save
the Constitution Day’. Despite there being many
women in the front ranks, the Akhilesh police opened
fire under orders from the Inspector of Amwar police
station, Duddhi Tehsil in Sonbhdara.
The barbarous act of the police, however, failed
to deter the people, who refused to buckle under
pressure and went on to stop the work of illegal
construction of Kanhar Dam being proposed in on
river Pangan and Kanhar in Sonbhadra. Following
the police firing, more than 7000 people converged
on the dam site and cordoned off the area. They
declared that they would not budge till there a CBI
inquiry into the police firing had been ordered and
action taken against the officials responsible for the
firing. The police force had to beat a retreat. The DM
has been compelled to call the activists for talks. If
the movement keeps gaining momentum, as it has
been doing, it is likely that the struggle against land
acquisition for Kanhar Dam Project will lead to victory.
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02
End the Saudi war on Yemen
Since March 26 Saudi coalition air forces have
launched more than 1,200 airstrikes against targets
throughout Yemen, with some strikes killing scores of
civilians. A bomb dropped on the Al Mazraq refugee
camp in northern Yemen on March 30 killed at least
30 civilians. An airstrike on a dairy factory in the port
city of Hodeida on April 1 killed at least 37 workers.
The Saudi monarchy, with US backing, has launched
a widespread air assault against Houthi-controlled
military targets as well as major urban areas. Street
fighting in Aden between Houthi forces and armed
forces opposed to them has left hundreds dead
and hundreds more wounded, littering the streets
with corpses. Saudi-US coalition airstrikes have
hit residential areas and homes as well as schools
and hospitals throughout the country, including in
the provinces of Taiz, Amran, Ibb, Al-Jawf, Sanaa
and Saada. Ivan Simonovic, UN Deputy Secretary
General for Human Rights, said that over 600 people
have been killed in Yemen so far, more than half of
whom are civilians.
While the United States has provided intelligence
and logistical support to the Saudi coalition from the
onset of the assault, it has been gradually increasing
its involvement in the conflict. American imperialism
has long sought to maintain its control over Yemen,
which lies next to the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, a major
oil choke point. According to the Wall Street Journal,
the Obama administration has a direct hand in the
selection of targets for airstrikes. Pentagon war
planners at a joint operations center are directly
approving every target selected by the Saudi military.
The conflicts in Yemen are based on political, social
as well as local/tribal differences. The (Sunni) Yemeni
Moslem Brother fraction, Al-Islah party, is led by the
Ahmar family, which is Zeidi. Hashed and Bakil, the
main two Zeidi tribes in the North, make up 20% of
the Yemeni population. Under the Monarchy as well
as under the Republic they played the major role in
deciding who was going to rule Yemen. All parties
responsible for this conflict are from Hashed: the
former President Saleh, the Houthis and the AlAhmar family (leaders of the Moslem Brothers). In the
past few years, the coalitions among these actors
have been pragmatically swapped. The fights with
Houthi militia as well as the separatist movement in
the South are the result of the Sanaa government’s
inability to fulfill the resolutions of the National
Dialogue Conference. This government itself was a
compromise imposed by Saudi Arabia to safeguard
its interests after Saleh’s resignation. It kept in power
the Al-Ahmar family as well as pro-Saleh fractions.
Both regional powers with vested interest, Saudi
Arabia and Iran, dragged their allies into the recent
escalation. While Saudi Arabia’s pressure on its allies
prevents the Iran-allied Houthis from sharing power,
the Houthi solo-attempt to take power seems to be
short-sighted. A solution can only be achieved on the
negotiation table between all Yemeni parties and not
by foreign intervention.
US, take your hands off Yemen!
Stop the aggression against Yemen!
For a political solution of the Yemeni conflict based
on democracy and participation!
For a democratic united Yemen!
Palestinians in Gaza rally in support of
Yarmouk under attack by IS Criminals
The National and Islamic Forces in Gaza organized a
mass march in support of the struggling Palestinian
people in Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria, who are
now threatened with the massacre at the hands of
the criminal gang ISIS. Thousands attended the
march in Nuseirat with broad participation from
many Palestinian organizations, including the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The
march was led by a vehicle calling out slogans and
songs of solidarity with Yarmouk camp, and marched
through Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza. Participants
carried Palestinian flags and signs in solidarity with
fellow Palestinians in Yarmouk, emphasizing the
urgent need to stop the bleeding of their people and
remove ISIS from the camp. The marchers called
on the Palestinian leadership to take action to end
the suffering of Palestinians in Syria. Imad Al-Helou,
speaking on behalf of the National and Islamic
Forces, said “Today, we all stand here together to say
that Yarmouk camp will not fall, and will defeat all
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03
of the conspiracies targeting our people in Yarmouk,
the capital of the diaspora.” He also emphasized the
need to end the bloodshed in the camp practiced
by armed groups, and to end the siege of Yarmouk
camp, which has prevented the entry of aid and food,
and for urgent Palestinian action to defend and save
Yarmouk camp, which remains home to thousands
of Palestinian refugees, despite the fleeing of over
160,000 people from Yarmouk. “We demand the
expulsion of armed extremists from the camp and
an end to the conspiracies against our people inside
and outside Palestine. We need to resolve this
issue through implementing the right of return of
Palestinian refugees and ensuring this remains our
highest priority.”
Comrade Hani Khalil of the PFLP said, “Today, we
stand in recognition of the steadfastness of our
people in Yarmouk camp and together with their
suffering and tragedy in light of the ongoing and
escalating crimes committed by groups such as ISIS
and Jabhat al-Nusra against Palestinian refugees
in Yarmouk. This is part of a process of human and
political extermination directed against Palestinian
refugees.” He said, “We must break the siege on
the camp and liberate the camp from these groups,
and aid the return of displaced persons to their
homes inside the camp,” calling for a joint force of
Palestinian factions to liberate the camp.
Odisha: Protest against Land Acquisition Bill heightens
The all-India Protest Week against Land Acquisition
Bill-2015, from 8-15 April, was observed in Odisha
with great vigour and militancy. Posters were put up
and leaflets distributed at Khurda, Ganjam, Bhadrak,
Cuttack, Nayagarh, Dhenkanal and Korpaut districts.
The week-long campaign culminated on April 15
with programmes at many places. A protest rally and
demonstration was organized by the Bhubaneswar
Area Committee of CPI(ML) Red Star. The effigy of
Narendra Modi was burnt at Mahatma Gandhi Marg.
A 5-member delegation led by Comrade Chintamani
Moharana met and submitted a memorandum to
the Governor of Odisha demanding scrapping of the
Land Acquisition Bill. Central Committee member
Comrade Pramila, State Committee Member
Comrade Bijaya Barik and others spoke at the
protest meeting held there. On the same day, Ganjam
District Committee organized a rally and protest
demonstration at Berhampur and also burnt an effigy
of Narendra Modi. A memorandum was submitted to
the RDC, Berhampur. Another protest meeting, led
by State Secretary Comrade Sivaram, was held at
Badamba, Cuttack. The Party State Committee has
started a signature collection campaign against the
Land Acquisition Bill, which is to be submitted to the
President of India.
The ‘Campaign against Land Acquisition’, Odisha
(Jami Adhigrahan Virodhi Abhiyaan, Odisha) organized
a joint mass demonstration demanding scrapping of
the anti-people, pro-corporate Land Acquisition Bill
at Bhubaneswar on April 10. Thousands of people,
mainly peasants, agricultural workers, dalit and tribal
people from different anti-displacement movements,
slum dwellers and other oppressed sections,
representing various mass organizations like AIKKS,
Krishak Mahasabha, Odisha Krushak Sabha, Akhil
Bharat Kishan Mazdoor Sabha, Chasi Mulia Sangha,
Odisha, Posco Pratirodha Sangram Samiti and Akhil
Bharat Krishak Mahasabha participated in the protest
rally and dharna at Lower PMG, Bhubaneswar. The
rally began from Bhubaneswar railway station and
reached the Lower PMG dharna ground where a
public meeting was held. Leaders of the different
mass organization like Abhay Sahu, Jagannath
Mishra, Jayant Bhoi, Sekh Abdul Wali, Sankar Sahu,
Narayan Reddy, Pramila Behera, Henarani Barik,
Braja Tripathy, Balgopal Mishra, Kisan Pattnayak,
Bhagaban Majhi, Sini Sai, Narendra Mohanty,
Balaraj Gemel, Satya Banchhor, Tapan Mishra and
others spoke about the anti-people nature of the
bill and called for a massive democratic movement
against this draconian bill. The leaders declared that
the movement would be spread all over the state,
10 lakh signatures collected against the bill and a
3-day protest programme held in front of all district
collectors’ offices and also block headquarters from
25th April. A team led by Suresh Panigrahi, Rabi Das,
Abhya Sahu, Narendra Mohanty, Pramila Behera,
Kishan Pattnaik and others submitted a memorandum
for the President of India to the Governor of Odisha.
Modi signals Areva to ‘make
(nuclear disasters) in India’
Apart from the Rafael deal, an agreement on
proceeding forward on the stalled nuclear project in
Jaitapur in Maharashtra was also among the 17 pacts
signed after the summit talks between Modi and
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04
French President Francois Hollande. The Jaitapur
project, where French company Areva is to set up
six nuclear reactors with a total power generation
capacity of about 10,000 MW, has been stuck for
long not only because of differences over the cost of
the power generated but also due to a powerful mass
movement against nuclear power. However, paying
scant regard to the aspirations of the thousands of
anti-nuclear protesters and local residents who are
determined to abort the dangerous Jaitapur project,
Modi went ahead with the agreement that actually
urges Areva to ‘make nuclear disasters’ in India.
Seven allege sexual harassment by Yale doctor at clinic
For the second time in less than a year, the prestigious
Yale School of Medicine in the US is embroiled
in charges of sexual harassment. A nephrology
professor, Dr. Rex L. Mahnensmith, who worked at
the university for over 20 years, has been accused
of a pattern of sexual harassment while he was
medical director of the New Haven Dialysis Clinic,
where university physicians treat their patients. Last
year, when the accusations boiled over but were
being handled quietly by Yale, the clinic removed
him, and Yale forced his resignation. But now, two
federal lawsuits have been filed against him in
Connecticut, detailing a history of sexual misconduct
that stretches back more than a decade. The federal
court cases have been filed on behalf of seven
present and former employees of the dialysis center,
including nurses, a social worker and a dietitian. The
center is run by DaVita, a private company based in
Denver. The center is a defendant in the cases, along
with Yale and the doctor.
This is not the first time that the university has had
a complaint about Dr. Mahnensmith. In a separate
case a decade ago, not previously made public, a
young nephrologist filed a formal university complaint
of sexual misconduct against Dr. Mahnensmith. The
complaint was resolved when he was ordered to
attend sensitivity training, an outcome that faculty
members familiar with the case say was at the time
considered a major victory for women’s rights at Yale.
Reports reveal that DaVita, the private company
running the dialysis center where the incidents of
sexual harassment took place, stressed to its staff
its ‘intent to keep Dr. Mahnensmith happy to protect
its contracts with Yale’, because Yale contracts
afforded DaVita both financial gain and status. To
preserve that connection, court papers say, DaVita
failed to act when clinic administrators reported Dr.
Mahnensmith’s misbehavior. Thus when in December
2013, Elizabeth Chiapperino, a DaVita facility
manager, contacted a DaVita vice-president about
the doctor’s conduct, the vice-president trivialized
the matter and expressed concern about how the
accusations might affect DaVita’s relationship with
Yale. Ms. Chiapperino had to resign.
The Yale case has once again brought to the fore that
women are not free from sexual harassment even in
the most prestigious of institutes, in the supposedly
most honourable of professions, and in the ‘Land of
Liberty’ profit motive triumphs over women’s rights
every time.
More Maruti workers get bail
The heroic struggle of the Maruti workers in the
face of tremendous odds is gradually bearing fruit
with more and more workers sent to jail on charges
of murder in July 2012 getting bail after nearly two
years. On July 18, 2012, the HR manager of the Maruti
Suzuki plant at Manesar had died under suspicious
circumstances after fire broke out on the premises.
The management was quick to crack down on the
struggling workers who had for some time been
leading movements for better wages and working
conditions. A total of 147 workers were arrested in
connection with the incident while the management
terminated the services of 550 permanent and over
1,800 contract workers.
In February this year, 31 months after the arrest, the
Supreme Court granted bail to two of the incarcerated
workers, following which the Gurgaon District Court
granted bail to 77 more workers. More bails followed.
Two more comrades, Vijender and Pardeep, got bail
earlier this week. 93 of the 147 imprisoned Maruti
Suzuki workers are now out on bail. Pardeep’s name
also figured in the original FIR with 55 names, though
there was next to no evidence against him. The next
date for bail hearing of 11 workers is on April 28 and
for 2 more workers on May 4.
Workers across the country should unite in solidarity
with the Maruti workers and join them in their struggle
for justice.
Long live workers’ struggle! Long live workers’
solidarity!
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