மக்கள் ஆதரவு, அஞ்ச மாட்டேன் - ஜெயா

கூலி உயர்வு கோரி `UK- ஜூனியனில்' தொழிற்சங்கப் போராட்டம்.

Tens of thousands take to UK streets in pay protest

The Guardian 19-10-2014

Union members march in London, Glasgow and Belfast to call for pay rises for workers whose real-term incomes have fallen

Tens of thousands of union members have marched through central London to highlight their calls for pay rises.

Members of Unite, Unison, the National Union of Teachers, the Communication Workers Union, the Royal College of Nurses and Equity took to the streets in the capital on Saturday, while other protests were held in Glasgow and Belfast. Pensioners and anti-nuclear activists also took part. The TUC, which organised the Britain Needs a Pay Rise demonstration to mark the end of industrial action by public sector workers, including nurses, midwives and civil servants, said up to 90,000 people were on the march.

Pay Rise Protest England LONDON

Midwives went on strike for the first time this month to protest against the government’s decision not to pay a recommended 1% increase to all NHS staff. Hospital radiographers and prison officers are due to take action next week.

Nurses and midwives were well represented on the march, with some wearing T-shirts bearing the slogan “What if nurses just said no”.

Member of the Fire Brigades Union held aloft a blimp bearing the slogan: “We rescue people, not banks.” Police civilian staff, who are being balloted for strikes over pay, also joined the protest.

The TUC said workers were facing a significant squeeze on incomes, with average wages down by £50 a week in real terms since 2007 and 5 million people earning less than the minimum wage.

The TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady, said the high turnout sent a strong message to the government that wages needed to rise.

Pay Rise Protest Scotland GLASGOW

“After the longest and deepest pay squeeze in recorded history, it’s time to end the lockout that has kept the vast majority from sharing in the economic recovery,” she said. “Meanwhile, top directors now earn 175 times more than the average worker. If politicians wonder why so many feel excluded from the democratic process, they should start with bread-and-butter living standards.”

Union leaders called on the Labour party to do more to support workers struggling against the effects of cuts.

Len McCluskey, general secretary of Unite, urged Labour to offer a “clear socialist alternative” at the next election. He said: “I say to Labour – stop being scared of your own shadow. Don’t shrink what you offer the British people.

He accused the coalition of “dismantling and destroying” every gain working people have made since 1945, adding: “Their mission is to dismantle the NHS – slicing it up bit by bit and handing it on a silver platter to their friends in the private health companies.

“They are seeking to destroy the welfare state – characterising anyone who uses the benefit system in their time of need as a scrounger.”

Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, said 600 public sector jobs had been lost every day since the coalition came to power.

Pay Rise Protest Ireland BELFAST

“We have a story of two nations – one where champagne corks are popping for the bankers and boardroom pay is soaring, while in the other world our people are suffering from poverty pay.”

Sadiq Khan, the Labour MP for the south London constituency of Tooting, who was on the march, tweeted that one third of Londoners were living in poverty, despite two thirds being in work.

The march, which began at midday, crossed Trafalgar Square and travelled to Piccadilly before ending in Hyde Park.

India's Public Health Crisis

The Opinion Pages | EDITORIAL

India's Public Health Crisis
OCT. 17, 2014

An infected person travels from West Africa to India and seeks treatment at an underfinanced and overwhelmed public hospital. There, substandard treatment unleashes an Ebola pandemic. It’s the nightmare scenario set out by Peter Piot, the British microbiologist who first identified the Ebola virus. About 45,000 Indians live in West Africa, and Indian trade with Nigeria, particularly in medical services and pharmaceuticals, has boomed.

However, India’s most troubling threat is not abroad, but at home: the crippled public health system. The nation spends less than 1 percent of its gross domestic product on public health care. There are only nine hospital beds per 10,000 in India, compared with 41 per 10,000 in China, and doctors, nurses and lab technicians are critically lacking.

The Indian government has already shown itself incapable of dealing with lethal viral diseases. As many as 80 percent of the 30 million Indians infected with dengue fever every year never seek medical care or are turned away from hospitals whose beds are full. Ebola would quickly overwhelm such strained hospitals. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised a universal health insurance plan inspired by the Affordable Care Act in the United States. This would help more people afford care but do little to plug the gaping holes in the system.

The government has set up screenings for Ebola at international airports and prepared isolation wards. And, so far, no cases have been found in India. The nation has also contributed $12.5 million to contain the Ebola virus in West Africa and has pledged to use its expertise in producing low-cost drugs to develop an affordable vaccine.

But with the World Health Organization warning that Ebola infection rates could rise to 10,000 new victims a week by the end of the year in West Africa, and the fumbles dealing with Ebola in Spain and America, improving India’s public health system is a national emergency.

Jayalalithaa gets bail with caveats

Jayalalithaa gets bail with caveats

KRISHNADAS RAJAGOPAL
Updated: October 18, 2014 00:39 IST The Hindu

Sentences of other convicts also suspended; time limit set for appeal

Taking former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on her word that there will be no attempt to delay criminal appeal proceedings in the Karnataka High Court, the Supreme Court on Friday suspended her four-year sentence in the disproportionate assets case and granted her bail.

A three-judge Bench of Chief Justice H.L. Dattu and Justices Madan B. Lokur and A.K. Sikri also suspended the sentences of the three other accused Sasikala, Sudhakaran and Ilavarasi and granted them bail. All the accused have to furnish two solvent sureties to the satisfaction of the Special Judge, Bangalore.

Jayalalithaa’s lawyer and senior counsel Fali S. Nariman argued that continued incarceration of the accused at a crucial stage when her appeal was pending in the High Court would cripple her “valuable right of appeal against conviction” and reduce it to an “exercise in futility”.

“But how many years did you take to complete the trial itself?” Chief Justice Dattu interrupted Mr. Nariman. “Far too many, My Lord,” Mr. Nariman said.

“So, if we pass orders to suspend your sentence now, you will take another two decades to finish the appeal. Should we not take into consideration the conduct of the accused in the Special Court, in the High Court and even in the Supreme Court... the case went on for years and years and years,” Chief Justice Dattu said.

Mr. Nariman said he was willing to give an affidavit on behalf of his client that there would be no delay. But the court decided to repose faith in Mr. Nariman’s oral assurances. It gave the accused exactly two months to prepare the appeal in the High Court. This would be the litmus test of their assurances that they would not delay future proceedings in the 18-year-old case. The case was listed for hearing on December 18, 2014.

“You will prepare the paper books and keep it ready in two months’ time. We will post this case for December 18. If you are ready, we will ask the Karnataka High Court to hear the appeal in three months. But Mr. Nariman, if the paper books are not ready, we will not give you extension for even one day,” Chief Justice Dattu observed.
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ஜெயலலிதாவுக்கு ஜாமீன் வழங்கியது உச்ச நீதிமன்றம்

டெல்லியில் இருந்து இரா.வினோத் பாரதி ஆனந்த் தி.இந்து


சொத்துக் குவிப்பு வழக்கில் சிறையில் அடைக்கப்பட்டுள்ள தமிழக முன்னாள் முதல்வர் ஜெயலலிதாவுக்கு இடைக்கால ஜாமீன் வழங்கி உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் உத்தரவிட்டது.

அவருக்கு டிசம்பர் 18-ம் தேதி வரை இடைக்கால ஜாமீன் வழங்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. ஜெயலலிதாவுடன் சசிகலா, இளவரசி, சுதாகரன் ஆகியோருக்கும் ஜாமீன் வழங்கி உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் இன்று (வெள்ளிக்கிழமை) உத்தரவிட்டது.

மேலும், ஜெயலலிதா உள்ளிட்ட நால்வருக்கு விதிக்கப்பட்ட தண்டனை நடைமுறைகளை நிறுத்திவைத்தும் உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் உத்தரவிட்டது.

அதிமுகவின் 43-வது ஆண்டு விழாவன்று அக்கட்சியின் பொதுச் செயலாளர் ஜெயலலிதாவுக்கு ஜாமீன் கிடைத்துள்ள நிலையில், அக்கட்சியினர் கொண்டாட்டங்களில் ஈடுபட்டுள்ளனர்.

ஜெயலலிதா தாக்கல் செய்த ஜாமீன் மற்றும் மேல்முறையீட்டு மனுக்கள் உச்ச நீதிமன்றத்தில் வெள்ளிக்கிழமை விசாரணைக்கு வந்தன.

உச்ச நீதிமன்ற விசாரணை விவரம்:

உச்ச நீதிமன்ற தலைமை நீதிபதி, ஹெச்.எல்.தத்து, மதன் பி லோகூர், ஏ.கே.சிக்ரி ஆகியோர் முன்னிலையில் ஜெயலலிதா ஜாமீன் மனு விசாரணைக்கு வந்தது.

ஜெயலலிதா தரப்பில் மூத்த வழக்கறிஞர் ஃபாலி எஸ்.நாரிமன் ஆஜரானார். ஃபாலி எஸ்.நாரிமன் சிறப்பாக வாதாடினார். ஊழல் வழக்குகளில் உச்ச நீதிமன்றத்தில் முன்னர் வழங்கப்பட்ட தீர்ப்புகளை மேற்கோள் காட்டி அவர் வாதாடினார்.

சுப்பிரமணியன் சுவாமி வாதம்:

சுப்பிரமணியன் சுவாமி மனுவில், "ஜெயலலிதா வருமானத்துக்கு அதிகமாக சொத்துக் குவித்தது தொடர்பாக நான்தான் முதன்முதலாக‌ வழக்கு தொடுத்தேன். எனவே எனது கருத்தை கேட்ட பிறகே அவருக்கு ஜாமீன் வழங்குவது குறித்து முடிவெடுக்க வேண்டும்" எனக் குறிப்பிட்டிருந்தார்.

மேலும் நீதிமன்றத்தில் அவர் இன்று முன்வைத்த வாதத்தில், சொத்துக் குவிப்பு வழக்கில் முதன்முதலாக‌ வழக்கு தொடுத்தவர் என்பதை கருத்தில் கொண்டு நீதிமன்றம் அதிமுகவினர் வன்முறைகளுக்கு முற்றுப்புள்ளி வைக்க வேண்டும்.

ஜெயலலிதாவுக்கு சிறைத் தண்டனை விதிக்கப்பட்டதிலிருந்து அதிமுகவினர் தமிழக்த்தில் வன்முறைகளில் ஈடுபட்டு வருகின்றனர். கர்நாடக நீதிமன்றத்தையும், தீர்ப்பு வழங்கிய நீதிபதியையும் அவமதித்து வருகின்றனர்.

கர்நாடக உயர் நீதிமன்ற நீதிபதி கன்னடர் என்பதாலேயே ஜெயலலிதாவுக்கு ஜாமீன் வழங்க மறுத்ததாகவும் அவதூறு பரப்புகின்றனர். நான், சென்னைக்கு சென்றால் எனக்கு அச்சுறுத்தல் இருக்கிறது. ஜெயலலிதா, அவரது கட்சித் தொண்டர்கள் சட்ட விரோத செயல்களில் ஈடுபடக் கூடாது என அதிகாரப்பூர்வ அறிக்கை விடுத்தால் மட்டுமே வன்முறைகள் முடிவுக்கு வரும். இதை நீதிமன்றம் கவனத்தில் கொள்ள வேண்டும் என்றார்.

சுவாமியின் வாதத்தை ஏற்றுக் கொண்ட நீதிபதிகள், அதிமுக தொண்டர்கள் தமிழகத்தில் சட்டம், ஒழுங்கு பிரச்சினையை ஏற்படுத்தக் கூடாது என ஜெயலலிதா அவர்களுக்கு வலியுறுத்த வேண்டும் என உத்தரவிட்டனர். அதற்கு பதிலளித்த நீதிபதி நாரிமன், அதிமுகவினர் வன்முறையில் ஈடுபடக்கூடாது என ஜெயலலிதாவே அறிக்கை வெளியிடுவார் என உறுதியளித்தார்.

நாரிமன் வாதம்:

ஊழல் வழக்கில் ஒரு நபர் குற்றம் நிரூபிக்கப்பட்ட குறிப்பிட்ட காலத்திற்கு தண்டனையும் பெறப்பட்ட நிலையில் அவர் சார்பில் தீர்ப்பை ரத்து செய்யக் கோரி மேல் முறையீட்டு மனு தாக்கல் செய்யப்பட்டிருந்தால் அதை உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் சற்று தாராள கொள்கையுடன் அணுக வேண்டும்.

உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் இதற்கு முன்னர் சந்தித்த பல்வேறு வழக்குகளில், தண்டனை கைதி மேல் முறையீட்டு மனு நிலுவையில் இருக்கும்போது அவரை தொடர்ந்து சிறையில் வைப்பது என்பது நீதிக்கு எதிரானது.

ஊழல் தடுப்புச் சட்டத்தின் கீழ், மேல் முறையீட்டு மனு மீதான வழக்கு முடியும் வரை உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் சம்பந்தப்பட்ட நபரின் சிறைத் தண்டனையை நிறுத்தி வைக்க அதிகாரம் உள்ளது. இதை கருத்தில் கொண்டே கர்நாடக உயர் நீதிமன்றத்தில் ஜெயலலிதா ஜாமீன் மனு விசாரணக்கு வந்தபோது அரசு தரப்பு வழக்கறிஞர் ஜெயலலிதாவுக்கு நிபந்தனை ஜாமீன் வழங்க எதிர்ப்பு இல்லை என பவானி சிங் தெரிவித்தார்.

பவானி சிங் வாதத்தில் தவறேதும் இல்லை. ஆனால், அவர் ஏதோ ஜெயலலிதாவுக்கு ஆதரவாக செயல்பட்டதாக பேசப்பட்டது. எனவே, ஊழல் வழக்குகளில் உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் ஏற்கெனவே வழங்கிய தீர்ப்புகளின் அடிப்படையில் ஜெயலலிதாவுக்கு ஜாமீன் வழங்க வேண்டும். அவரது உடல் நிலையை கருத்தில் கொண்டு அவருக்கு ஜாமீன் வழங்க வேண்டும். தேவைப்பட்டால் ஜெயலலிதா வீட்டுக் காவலில் இருக்கவும் தயாராக இருக்கிறார்" என்று நாரிமான் வாதிட்டார்.

நீதிபதிகள் கூறியதாவது:

ஜெயலலிதா தரப்பு வாதங்களை கேட்ட நீதிபதிகள் அமர்வு, "ஜெயலலிதாவுக்கு டிசம்பர் 18-ம் தேதி வரை இடைக்கால ஜாமீன் வழங்கப்படுகிறது. எந்த ஒரு ஜாமீன் வழக்கிலும் உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் குற்றவாளிக்கு ஜாமீன் வழங்குகிறதோ இல்லையோ, ஆனால் தனி மனித சுதந்திரத்தை வலியுறுத்தும் அரசியல் சட்டப்பிரிவு 21-ஐ இந்த நீதிமன்றம் மதிக்கிறது. எனவே வீட்டுக் காவலில் வைக்கும் உத்தரவை உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் பிறப்பிக்க முடியாது. இந்த வழக்கில் ஜெயலலிதா, சசிகலா, இளவரசி, சுதாகரன் ஆகிய 4 பேருக்கும் ஜாமீன் வழங்கி உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் உத்தரவிடுகிறது.

சொத்துக் குவிப்பு வழக்கில் ஜெயலலிதா கடந்த 18 ஆண்டுகளாக வழக்கை இழுத்தடித்தார். அதை கருத்தில் கொண்டால், அவருக்கு ஜாமீன் வழங்கினால் கர்நாடக உயர் நீதிமன்றத்தில் நிலுவையில் உள்ள மேல் முறையீட்டு மனுவை இன்னும் 20 ஆண்டுகள்கூட இழுத்தடிப்பார்.

எனவே, ஜாமீன் வழங்கியத்தில் இருந்து 6 வாரத்துக்குள், அதாவது டிசம்பர் 18-ம் தேதிக்குள், கர்நாடக உயர் நீதிமன்றத்தில் ஜெயலலிதா தரப்பில் இருந்து சொத்துக் குவிப்பு வழக்கு தொடர்பான ஆவணங்கள் அனைத்தும் சமர்ப்பிக்கப் பட வேண்டும் என இந்த நீதிமன்றம் உத்தரவிடுகிறது.

கர்நாடக உயர் நீதிமன்றத்தில் ஆவணங்களை தாக்கல் செய்வதில் ஒரே ஒரு நாள்கூட தாமதிக்கக் கூடாது. குறிப்பிடப்பட்டுள்ள டிசம்பர் 18-ல் கட்டாயம் ஆவணங்கள் தாக்கல் செய்யப்படாவிட்டால் கடுமையான நடவடிக்கை பாயும்.

அதேபோல், ஜெயலலிதா மேல் முறையீட்டு மனு தொடர்பான ஆவணங்கள் சமர்ப்பிக்கப்பட்டதில் இருந்து மூன்று மாத காலத்துக்குள் கர்நாடக உயர் நீதிமன்றம் வழக்கை முடிக்க வேண்டும் என நீதிமன்றம் உத்தரவிடுகிறது. அதிமுக தொண்டர்கள் தமிழகத்தில் சட்டம், ஒழுங்கு பிரச்சினையை ஏற்படுத்தக் கூடாது என ஜெயலலிதா அவர்களுக்கு வலியுறுத்த வேண்டும்.

ஜெயலலிதா உத்தரவின் பேரில் சட்டம் ஒழுங்கை சீர்குலைக்கும் நடவடிக்கைகளில் அதிமுகவினர் ஈடுபட்டால் கடும் நடவடிக்கை எடுக்கப்படும். நீதிமன்றங்களையோ, நீதிபதிகளையோ விமர்சிக்கும் வகையில் ஜெயலலிதா கருத்துகள் வெளியிடக் கூடாது" இவ்வாறு நீதிபதிகள் கூறினர்.

LTTE Vs Council Case: GCEU Press Release No 138/14

General Court of the European Union
PRESS RELEASE No 138/14

Luxembourg, 16 October 2014

Judgment in Joined Cases T-208/11 and T-508/11
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) v Council

The Court annuls, on procedural grounds, the Council measures maintaining the

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on the European list of terrorist organisations

However, the effects of the annulled measures are maintained temporarily in order to ensure the

effectiveness of any possible future freezing of funds.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are a movement which opposed the Government of

Sri-Lanka in a violent confrontation which resulted in the LTTE’s defeat in 2009.

In 2006, the Council placed the LTTE on the EU list relating to frozen funds of terrorist

organisations and has maintained them on that list ever since, referring to, inter alia, decisions of

Indian authorities.

The LTTE contest their maintenance on the list. They submit that their confrontation with the

Government of Sri-Lanka was an ‘armed conflict’ within the meaning of international law, subject

only to international humanitarian law and not to anti-terrorist legislation. In addition, the

maintenance on the list relating to frozen funds is based on unreliable grounds which do not derive

from decisions of ‘competent authorities’ within the meaning of Common Position 2001/931/CFSP*.

In today’s judgment, the Court finds that EU law on the prevention of terrorism also applies in

‘armed conflicts’ within the meaning of international law. Therefore, the LTTE cannot claim

that the existence of an armed conflict precludes a possible application of EU law with regard to

them.

As regards the decisions of Indian authorities relied upon by the Council, the Court finds that an

authority of a State outside the EU may be a ‘competent authority’ within the meaning of

Common Position 2001/931. However, the Council must carefully verify at the outset that the

legislation of the third State ensures protection of the rights of defence and of the right to

effective judicial protection equivalent to that guaranteed at EU level. The Court finds that the

Council did not carry out such a thorough examination in the present case.

The Court finds that the contested measures are based not on acts examined and confirmed in

decisions of competent authorities, as required by Common Position 2001/931 and case-law**,

but on factual imputations derived from the press and the internet.

Therefore the Court annuls the contested measures while temporarily maintaining the

effects of the last of those measures in order to ensure the effectiveness of any possible future

freezing of funds.

The Court stresses that those annulments, on fundamental procedural grounds, do not imply any

substantive assessment of the question of the classification of the LTTE as a terrorist

group within the meaning of Common Position 2001/931.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* L 344, p. 93)
** See Article 1(4) of the Common Position and Case:C-539/10 P and C‑550/10 P Al-Aqsa v Council and Netherlands v
Al-Aqsawww.curia.europa.eu
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: An appeal, limited to points of law only, may be brought before the Court of Justice against the decision of the General Court within two months of notification of the decision.
NOTE: An action for annulment seeks the annulment of acts of the institutions of the European Union that are contrary to European Union law. The Member States, the European institutions and individuals may, under certain conditions, bring an action for annulment before the Court of Justice or the General Court. If the action is well founded, the act is annulled. The institution concerned must fill any legal vacuum created by the annulment of the act.
Unofficial document for media use, not binding on the General Court.
The full text of the judgment is published on the CURIA website on the day of delivery 
Press contact: Christopher Fretwell  (+352) 4303 3355
Pictures of the delivery of the judgment are available from "Europe by Satellite"  (+32) 2 2964106

PFLP salutes the solidarity movement with the Palestinian people in Britain

PFLP salutes the solidarity movement with the Palestinian people in Britain
Oct 15 2014


 House of Commons vote needs meaningful action in order to render it more than symbolic.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine praised the growth and escalation of the solidarity movement with the Palestinian people in Britain, including the growth of the boycott movement, the large and increasing trade union support for Palestine, and the popular pressure on the British government to change its policy of adherence and support for the Zionist entity.

The Front considers that the vote in the House of Commons, which calls for the British government to recognize Palestine as a state, reflects the growing weight and power of the solidarity movement in Britain. However, the vote itself is, on the part of the British state, at best merely symbolic and lacking in meaningful action to change the situation in Palestine.

Britain as a colonial power is directly responsible for the historical injustice suffered by the Palestinian people, through its major historical crime of the colonization of Palestine and the establishment of the Zionist entity in Palestine. To this day, Britain continues to provide political, military and financial support for the Zionist entity and provides cover for its crimes in international forums.

The Front pointed out that the parliamentary vote came in response to the escalating popular movement of rejection of the occupation’s crimes, in Europe and around the world, especially those committed by the occupation army in the Gaza Strip during the recent aggression.

The PFLP noted that the British state has an obligation to recognize not only the state of Palestine, but all of the rights of the Palestinian people, boycott and sanction the occupation state, apologize to the Palestinian people for the Balfour Declaration, colonization and the ensuing crimes, and provide material and moral reparations and compensation, in addition to acting to ensure the implementation of Palestinian rights, including the right of return of Palestinian refugees.

This is what is necessary if the British state wants to begin to atone for part of its historical crime of the Balfour Declaration. This British statement endorsing the establishment of a “Jewish national home” in Palestine resulted in the displacement of the Palestinian people around the world in al-Nakba, the catastrophe which is still ongoing today.

Further, the Popular Front extended its salutes and appreciation to the Palestinian and Arab communities and all progressive forces, trade unions and student movements who lead the boycott campaigns in Britain, for their sustained and dedicated efforts which have played the major role in placing significant pressure on the Parliament and demanding meaningful change and support for Palestinian rights.

பாலஸ்தீன அரசியல் கைதிகள் விடுதலைப் பிரச்சார இயக்கத்தில் பங்கேற்போம்!

PFLP calls for broad participation in days of action to free Ahmad Sa’adat, Georges Abdallah
Oct 12 2014

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine calls upon all to participate in the activities and campaigns that have been launched to support the Palestinian prisoners in occupation prisons and demand their freedom. Events, organized by the Palestinian prisoners’ movement, the Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa’adat, and organizations around the world supporting Palestine, will take place on October 17-25, demanding freedom for Palestinian prisoners and focusing on the case of imprisoned General Secretary Ahmad Sa’adat, denied family visits by occupation forces, and imprisoned Arab struggler Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, held in French prisons for 30 years.

The Front praised Sa’adat for rejecting the denial of family visits, refusing to sign the order denying him visits with his family, and noted that he is planning to launch an open hunger strike if the prison authorities do not cancel the order denying family visits and end the ongoing policy of depriving hundreds and thousands of prisoners of their most basic human rights. It urged all to raise their action and commitment to meet this challenge and stand with Sa’adat and his fellow Palestinian political prisoners as they demand their rights, especially the most basic right to family visits.

The Front said that the denial of family visits is being imposed in order to isolate Palestinian prisoners from the national movement, and a desperate measure aimed at breaking the will of the leadership of the prisoners’ movement. It noted that this is a new form of isolation, recalling that Sa’adat has been denied access to most of his family members since being kidnapped from Jericho prison on March 14, 2006 by invading occupation forces, and was held in isolation with no family visits at all for three years. It noted also that there are a large number of prisoners who are suffering from these unjust orders which escalated against them during the Zionist aggression against Gaza.

The Front demanded that Palestinian official institutions, especially embassies and missions around the world, uphold their responsibilities to their people on the issue of the prisoners, and called on international human rights bodies to take responsibility and expose and act against these violations of prisoners’ rights, saying that there is a need for concerted effort to “bang on the walls of the tank” and expose the struggles of the prisoners’ and their oppression inside the enemy prisons, in particular the orders of occupation authorities prohibiting family visits.

The Front also saluted and urged additional events in solidarity with Arab struggler Comrade Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, held in French prisons for 30 years, to put pressure on French authorities for his release. The struggle to free him is an extension of the struggle against the policy of imprisonment and isolation by the Zionist occupation against our Palestinian and Arab prisoners.

PFLP:Evo's victory, victory for freedom and social justice

PFLP: Victory of President Evo Morales in Bolivia is a victory for the values of freedom and social justice
Oct 13  2014

On behalf of the General Secretary, Ahmad Sa’adat, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine expresses its sincere congratulations to the people of Bolivia, the popular movements of Bolivia, and the progressive forces of the world on the occasion of the victory of internationalist Bolivian President Evo Morales for a third term. This victory is a victory for the values of freedom and social justice, confrontation of imperialism and its policies on a global level, and for the Palestinian people and their struggle for liberation.

The victory of President Morales, who is of the indigenous people of Bolivia, is a clear demonstration of the Bolivian people’s support for his policies in the direction of the country, the escalation of the struggle for socialism, building support for the popular classes and Bolivian masses, and confronting the capitalists and wealthy forces who were defeated in this election.

These election results provide further support to the Palestinian people in their just struggle against the Zionist occupation, noting in particular the clear and bold positions taken by Bolivia upholding the rights of our people, including the statements of President Evo Morales during the recent aggression on the Gaza Strip, including his statement that the occupier is a terrorist state.

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine

தர்மபுரி: மோடி அரசு எதிர்ப்பு கழகப் பொதுக்கூட்டம்

Mideast crisis widens as Turkey bombs PKK militants

Smoke rises from the Syrian town of Kobani, seen from near the Mursitpinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province October 14, 2014.
CREDIT: REUTERS/UMIT BEKTAS

Mideast crisis widens as Turkey bombs Kurdish militants
BY DAREN BUTLER AND HUMEYRA PAMUK
ISTANBUL/SURUC Turkey Tue Oct 14, 2014 10:13am EDT

(Reuters) - War against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq threatened on Tuesday to unravel the delicate peace in neighbouring Turkey after the Turkish air force bombed Kurdish fighters furious over Ankara's refusal to help protect their kin in Syria.

Turkey's banned PKK Kurdish militant group accused Ankara of violating a two-year-old cease-fire with the air strikes, on the eve of a deadline set by the group's jailed leader to salvage a peace process aimed at halting a three-decades-long insurgency.

At least 35 people were killed in riots last week when members of Turkey's 15-million-strong Kurdish minority rose up in anger at the government for refusing to help defend the Syrian border town of Kobani from an Islamic State assault.

"For the first time in nearly two years, an air operation was carried out against our forces by the occupying Turkish Republic army," the PKK said. "These attacks against two guerrilla bases at Daglica violated the ceasefire," the PKK said, referring to an area near the border with Iraq.

The unrest in Turkey raised serious concerns that a peace process between Turkey and its Kurds could be in danger of collapse, a new source of turmoil in a region consumed by Iraqi and Syrian civil wars and an international campaign against Islamic State fighters.

U.S. President Barack Obama, who ordered a bombing campaign against Islamic State fighters that started in August, was to discuss the strategy on Tuesday with military leaders from 20 countries, including Turkey, Arab states and Western allies.

Washington has faced the difficult task of building a coalition to intervene in Syria and Iraq, two countries with complex multi-sided civil wars in which most of the nations of the Middle East have enemies and clients on the ground.

In particular, U.S. officials have expressed frustration at Turkey's refusal to help them fight against Islamic State. Washington has said Turkey has agreed to let it strike from Turkish air base; Ankara says this is still under discussion.

NATO-member Turkey has refused to join the coalition unless it also confronts Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a demand that Washington, which flies its air missions over Syria without objection from Assad, has so far rejected.

Meanwhile, Islamic State fighters have been fighting their way into the mainly Kurdish Syrian border town of Kobani, where the United Nations says thousands could be massacred within full view of Turkish tanks that have done nothing to intervene.

The fate of Kobani could wreck efforts by the Turkish government to end the insurgency by PKK militants, a conflict that killed 40,000 people but largely ended with the start of a peace process in 2012.

The peace process with the Kurds is one of the main initiatives of President Tayyip Erdogan's decade in power, during which Turkey has enjoyed an economic boom underpinned by investor confidence in future stability.

The unrest shows the difficulty Turkey has had in designing a Syria policy. Turkey has already taken in some 1.2 million refugees from Syria's three-year civil war, including 200,000 Kurds who fled the area around Kobani in recent weeks.

"PROVOCATIONS COULD BRING MASSACRE"

Jailed PKK co-founder Abdullah Ocalan has said peace talks between his group and the Turkish state could come to an end by Wednesday. After visiting him in jail last week, Ocalan's brother Mehmet quoted him as saying: "We will wait until October 15 ... After that there will be nothing we can do."

A pro-Kurdish party leader read out a statement from Ocalan in parliament on Tuesday in which the PKK leader said Kurdish parties should work with the government to end street violence.

"Otherwise we will open the way to provocations that could bring about a massacre," Ocalan said in the statement, which the party said he wrote last week.

There was no immediate comment from the military on the report that it bombed Kurdish positions, once a regular occurrence in southeast Turkey but something that had not taken place for two years. The PKK said the strikes took place on Monday, although some Turkish news reports said they happened on Sunday. There was no immediate explanation of the discrepancy.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the Turkish military had retaliated against a PKK attack in the border area. "Yesterday there was very serious harassing fire around the Daglica military outpost. Naturally it is impossible for us to tolerate this. Hence the Turkish armed forces took the necessary measures," he told a news conference, without referring specifically to air strikes.

Hurriyet newspaper said the air strikes caused "major damage" to the PKK. "F-16 and F-4 warplanes which took off from (bases in the southeastern provinces of) Diyarbakir and Malatya rained down bombs on PKK targets after they attacked a military outpost in the Daglica region," Hurriyet said.

The general staff said in a statement it had "opened fired immediately in retaliation in the strongest terms" after PKK attacks in the area, but did not mention air strikes.

"TOO LATE FOR US"

The battle for Kobani has grinded on for nearly a month, with Islamic State slowly advancing and now in control of much of the town. Kurdish fighters known as Popular Protection Units (YPG) want Turkey to allow them to bring arms across the border.

"There are fierce clashes, with no retreat or progress (by Islamic State). Yesterday, (IS) detonated three suicide car bombs in eastern Kobani," said Ocalan Iso, deputy head of the Kobani defence council.

In the Turkish town of Suruc, 10 km (6 miles) from the Syrian frontier, a funeral for four female YPG fighters was being held. Hundreds at the cemetery chanted "Murderer Erdogan" in Turkish and also "long live YPG" in Kurdish.

Sehahmed, 42, at the cemetery to visit the grave of his son who was a YPG fighter and died only a few days ago, said if Turkey had intervened in Kobani, the town would have been saved.

"For days now they are just watching our people get killed. Obama is too late too. (Islamic State) is now inside the city, they're on the streets. The air strikes won't work, it will only delay the inevitable. Its too late for us. Our poor people, we face one disaster after another."

The U.S.-led coalition has hit Islamic State positions in and around the town but failed to halt the advance. At least six air strikes were heard from the Turkish side of the border on Tuesday. Gunfire and shelling were audible from the Turkish side, where Kurds, many with relatives fighting in Kobani, have maintained a vigil, watching the fighting from hillsides.

"I hear that people say (Islamic State) control the east and southeast but in fact they are scattered all across the city. That is why clashes are taking place pretty much everywhere," Adil Selmo, 28, said on the Turkish side. His brother-in-law in Kobani had told him no weapons or ammunition had made it.

Kurds complain that hundreds of refugees were detained after crossing into Turkey, and that wounded fighters died at the frontier because Turkish border guards would not let them in.

"If they had received help, even up to one hour before their deaths, they could have lived," said Omar, 34, a Kurdish activist who brought three wounded fighters to the frontier last week and watched them die. "Once the (Turkish) soldiers realised they were dead, they said, 'Now you can cross with the bodies.' I cannot forget that. It was total chaos, it was a catastrophe."

Kurds in neighbouring Iraq, who are also fighting hard against Islamic State, said they had sent ammunition to help their Syrian brethren in Kobani. Syrian Kurds said the shipment could not get to Kobani without Turkey opening a supply route.

In Iraq, Kurdish forces and government troops have rolled back some Islamic State gains in the north of the country in recent weeks, but the fighters have advanced in the west, seizing territory in the Euphrates valley within striking distance of the capital Baghdad.

The United States used helicopter gunships against the militants last week for the first time to prevent what Washington described as a threat to Baghdad's airport.

The White House says it will not send U.S. forces back into ground combat in Iraq, where Obama withdrew all troops in 2011 after an eight-year occupation. U.S. commanders have spoken of increasing U.S. advice and support for Iraqi ground forces.

(Additional reporting by Jeff Mason and Phil Stewart in Washington; Writing by Peter Graff and Oliver Holmes; Editing by Peter Millership)