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Labour Party Pakistan
under attack, Help us to fight back:
Several supporters and members of Labour Party Pakistan
are locked up if different jails of Pakistan. 9 textile
workers including Fazal Ilahi a leading member of LPP
are in Faisalabad jail. 15 activists are in Gilgit jail
including Baba Jan, en elected member of LPP Federal
Committee. They are not terrorists. They are political
activists. However, all of them are charged with anti
terrorist laws.
Prime
Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said on 14th
November speaking at Mandi Bahuldin, that there are no
political prisoners at this time in Pakistan. He was my
university fellow, I am telling him that I know at least
24 members and supporters of Labour Party Pakistan are
in jail for political reasons. There are many other
languishing in jails of Baluchistan apart from those who
are missing.
6 among nine political
prisoners in Faisalabad are convicted by an anti
terrorist court to a shame full 490 years. There crime
was to lead a strike of textile workers in 2010. When a
boss opened fire from a factory, workers retaliated in
anger. The boss is free and workers are convicted to 490
years.
In Gilgit, when police
opened fire and killed two, son and father for demanding
a just compensation for all the effecties of Atta Abad
Lake victims, people retaliated and occupied the area.
The police officers involved in killing of two are free,
however, Baba Jan, a former member of district council
Gilgit, and a leading political activists of the region
along 14 more are in jail. Where is the justice?
In Faisalabad, it is
Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz that is after us including
the provincial law minister Rana Sanaullah, who wants to
teach us a lesson for building a movement of the textile
workers in the city, never seen before. In Gilgit, it is
Pakistan People’s Party including the chief minister
Mehdi Shah who wants to teach us a lesson for siding
with revolting masses of Gilgit Baltistan against
injustices and malpractices.
We are not going to give
up and are going to fight back by building a movement
for the release of these political activists. We need
your moral, financial and political support.
A Track
Record of building movements
Labour Party Pakistan,
established in 1997, is a small left wing political
party that is helping to build the social and political
movements in Pakistan. In 2000/2001, we initiated to
build support for Anjaman Mozareen Punjab in Okara. The
peasant movement went on to set best examples of
Pakistan peasant’s history. They fought back against the
military farms administration, took over 68000 acre of
land and are still defiant.
In 2003/2004, we played an
important role in building the power looms workers
movement in the third largest city of Pakistan. Labour
Qaumi Movement, whose leadership is member of LPP, led
thousands of workers for better wages and labour
conditions. They are now under attack.
In 2007/2008, we played a
role in building the lawyers movement. All of us went to
jail again and again. We were there every week with
lawyer’s demonstrations and rallies, we were part of the
long march and we led the famous GPO Chouck rebellion in
Lahore with police.
We were one of those who
opposed the military takeover of general Musharaf from
day one unlike many of those who are now claiming to be
champions against military establishment. Almost all LPP
leadership was arrested several times during Musharaf
period. For example, I was arrested 12 times during the
General Musharaf dictatorship.
Building
alternative media
LPP had been busy to build
an alternative media to counter the influence of
commercial media. LPP printed a weekly paper Mazdoor
Jeddojuhd from 1997 to 2010 without any advertisement.
It is now printed as a monthly magazine because of
financial constraints.
Socialist Pakistan News (SPN)
started in 2004, is now the largest political email list
with over 7500 members. Activists of LPP work every day
for over an hour to moderate this list on volunteer
basis.
We are also part of the
team that is producing View Point On line, one of the
best read on line magazine.
Solidarity
and Relief Work
LPP supporters and members
have been active in 2005 earth quack and 2010
devastating rains and floods to raise funds and help
those in difficult times.
We did all this to build
mass workers political party
to build socialist,
democratic, feminist, environmentalist campaigns and
movements in Pakistan, in particular, and globally, in
general.
Send
your donation now
We want to raise at least
five hundred thousand (500,000) Rupees before 26th
November 2011. On 26th November, LQM plan a
protest public meeting in Faisalabad. We are expecting
thousands to attend. We need your financial assistance
to build this rally and support for the victim families
who have no other mean to live on.
Urgent
Finance appeal for “Faisalabad 6”
As you all are aware, six
labor leaders from Faisalabad have been handed jail
sentences of 490 years in total. Their only crime was to
lead a peaceful strike for an increase in minimum wages
as announced by the government. They are Akbar Ali
Kamboh, Babar Shafiq Randhawa, Fazal Elahi, Rana Riaz
Ahmed Muhammad Aslam Malik and Asghar Ali Ansari. Four
of them were arrested in July 2010 while the other two
were arrested in July 2011 on the same charges.
There are three more
workers in jail waiting for trial to begin.
All of them are leaders of
a power looms works organization called, Labour Qaumi
Movement (LQM) in Faisalabad, the third largest city of
Pakistan. LQM is a community based labour organization
fighting for the rights of the textile workers since
2004.
An anti-terrorist court
judge on November 1, 2011, sentenced six leaders under
terrorism charges in Faisalabad. As is frequently
observed that Terrorists are set free by these courts
and workers leaders are charged under terrorist laws in
Pakistan
They were accused of
burning down a factory during the strike. This is a
fabricated charge. The facts are that on the day of
strike, July 20, 2010, gangsters in the pay of the
factory owner started shooting at the workers who were
leaving the factory to demand better wages. Some workers
dared to go inside the factory and forced the gangsters
to stop firing. Some of them were beaten up by the angry
workers.
During the trial, the
workers' advocate asked if the factory had been burned
down then how was it able to be operating again three
days later.
More than 100,000 power
loom workers in Faisalabad district went on strike on
July 20, 2010, for an increase of wages that had been
announced by the government during the presentation of
budget 2010-11. The government announced 17 percent rise
in the minimum wage for the private sector workers. The
LQM in Faisalabad, Jhang and other districts had been in
negotiations with power loom owners for three weeks
before the strike.
The long term jail
sentences of these workers leaders has been a
devastating blow to the workers movement in Faisalabad,
and indeed across the country. That the court could hand
out such a draconian anti-labor judgment was beyond
anyone's expectations, especially since this judiciary
itself had been restored through the support of a
powerful people's movement. Yet, the anti-terrorist
court chose to give a verdict with the sole aim of
damaging the power loom workers movement which was
slowly becoming a symbol of working class militancy all
over the country.
One of the principal
methods of disciplining labor under capitalism is to
push them to the point where they are only left with an
option of negotiating with the bosses on the latter's
terms. This is done either through brute state force or
by financially crushing the working class so that they
only have the option of compromising in order to survive
within the system.
The bosses have used the
latter tactic to ensure that these labor leaders become
examples for anyone who dares to raise his/her voice
against the injustices meted out to the workers. All of
our jailed comrades are married and were the primary
breadwinners of their families. Their families have been
pushed to the brink of a financial catastrophe. The
families are contemplating removing children from the
schools since they are unable to even buy enough
groceries.
Knowing that this is part
of the political strategy of the bosses to subjugate the
workers, and that it is having severe consequences for
the families of the jailed leaders, the Labour Party
Pakistan, the Labour Qaumi Movement, the National Trade
Union Federation and the Labour Education Foundation are
launching a finance appeal to support the families of
our jailed comrades.
These families deserve our
generous support not only because these comrades are
suffering due to their involvement with a working class
movement. But also, because the outcome of this
movement, and our ability to extend solidarity and
support to our comrades in difficult conditions, will
dictate whether this particular event will deter working
class militancy (as wished by the bosses) or act as a
shining example of working class solidarity against the
hideous tactics of the ruling classes.
On behalf of the LQM,
NTUF,the LPP and the LEF, we urge you to donate
generously for the families of these victims of
state-terrorism. These families are in dire need
of financial support and we can only sustain them with a
collective effort. The bank details are as follows,
A/C Title: Labour Education
Foundation
A/C Number: 01801876
Route: Please advise
and pay to Citi Bank, New York, USA Swift CITI US 33 for
onward transfer to BANK ALFALAH LTD., KARACHI, PAKISTAN
A/C No. 36087144 and for final transfer to BANK ALFALAH
LTD., LDA PLAZA, KASHMIR ROAD, LAHORE, PAKISTAN
Swift: ALFHPKKALDA for A/C No.
01801876 OF LABOUR EDUCATION FOUNDATION.
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