Solidarity 200, 6 April 2011

Two years ago in Rosarno, southern Italy, thousands of migrant agricultural workers rose up in open revolt against the grotesquely obscene living and working conditions imposed upon them by a mafia-linked network of farmers and the local state. It was all legitimated by the conniving silence of the Italian trade union movement. Now the brutal face of Italian racism reveals itself again on the island of Lampedusa, where thousands of desperate people fleeing Libya and its borders sought refuge, hoping for the necessary conditions to help them rebuild their shattered lives. But the government of...

Mike Sambo of Zimbabwe’s International Socialist Organisation spoke to Solidarity . Tell us about the recent repression in Zimbabwe. Recent arrests of ISO comrades as well as officials from different trade unions, show [ruling party] ZANU PF’s desire to send a clear message to the Zimbabwean working class and opposition — do not attempt to emulate North Africa! Mugabe shares power with two MDC [Movement for Democratic Change, previously the main opposition party] factions in a Government of National Unity after a deal brokered by the South African Development Community in September 2008...

The UN has intervened in civil war-stricken Ivory Coast as Laurent Gbagbo continues his attempt to cling onto power. In an election which the UN oversaw, Gbagbo was defeated by Alsanne Outtara but has refused to step down. As we went to press, forces loyal to Outtara were claiming to have overrun Gbagbo’s residence in Abidjan. UN and French helicopters had previously conducted airstrikes against Gbagbo’s arsenals. Nearly 500 people have been killed since the disputed election in November, with more than one million fleeing the country. Both Gbagbo and Outtara have historically whipped up...

The government has cut the budget of Arts Council England (ACE) by 30%, or £118 million. Some projects have had their Arts Council funding withdrawn completely. Theatre companies in particular have been hit badly. Some are criticising the cuts because the “cultural industries” are apparently vital to the British economy. The director of the Serpentine Gallery was quick to criticise the cuts from this point of view in the Evening Standard : “In an HSBC survey, 57 per cent of entrepreneurs thought that the UK’s primary focus should be ‘world class creative industries.’” We need to guard against...

With the referendum on Alternative Voting fast approaching, most people in the UK can barely contain their excitement. People have been known to faint simply upon knowing that an election circular from either side had arrived in the house, and sales of Eddie Izzard DVDs have gone up by 341%; a fact we can only attribute to his starring role in the “yes” campaign. Election material from the “yes to fairer votes” campaign has been delivered to every elector in the country, with a minor storm being generated because black poet Benjamin Zephaniah was left off its leaflets for outside of London...

Thousands of striking workers marched and rallied in Tower Hamlets as members of NUT and Unison took action together as part of a strike against the council's budget cuts that will make hundreds jobless. Countless schools and local government workplaces across the borough were closed for the day. Others had their functioning severely reduced, and most big workplaces had lively, well-attended and high-spirited picket lines. Pickets at the Phoenix and Central Foundation Girls' Schools turned their section of Mile End Road into a miniature carnival for several hours in the morning, keeping up a...