~ Gesticht àls Gesticht ter Voorkoming v/d Maatschappelijke Randdebiliteit ~
~ HÉT "progressief" Orgaan Der "Hangmatsocialisten" ~ Gesticht àls Gesticht ter Voorkoming v/d Maatschappelijke & Politieke Randdebiliteit
01-08-2010
Wie is er fout, de burgemeesters of de "zigeuners"?????
We vragen ons nu toch wel
stilaan af hoe lang dat spelletje zigeunerpesten nog zal duren. Je kan
moeilijk iedereen verplichten zich te settelen in een bel-étageke,
laat staan een replicafermette of -pastoorswoning of een sociaal
appartement want van dat laatste zijn er al veel te weinig...Al sinds de
Middeleeuwen trekken hier zigeuners door het land en nu vinden sommige
burgemeesters het nodig om voor de pers te verklaren dat eventueel dan
maar het leger moet worden ingezet en blablaba.... Met klapstoeltjes
komt Janneke en Mieke zich vergapen aan hun illegale standplaatsen.
Illegaal, doodgewoon omdat er bijna geen plaatsen zijn waar deze mensen
een tijdje kunnen verblijven. Niemand wil ze in zijn gemeente een plaats
geven. In Dour waar er dan toch tenminste wat tijd wordt gegeven om te
verblijven, op voorwaarde de eerste twee jaar niet meer terug te komen
spreekt de burgemeester over de criminaliteitspiek in zijn gemeente
tijdens de vorige doortocht. Werden er daders opgepakt toen? Bijlange
niet...wij dachten dat iedereen onschuldig was tot het tegendeel wordt
bewezen...behalve voor zigeuners. Nu is er weer een groep opgedoken in De
Pinte die daar werd verjaagd en naar Zottegem moest uitwijken waar ze 1
nacht mogen blijven maar mits grondige controle en telling van de
keukens (?????) en met de vraag met welke voertuigen ze zijn
gekomen....tja, te voet zijn ze niet gekomen natuurlijk...
DE PINTE - Een deel
van de woonwagenbewoners die zondagnamiddag uit Pecq vertrokken, zijn
zondagavond aan de Bevegemse Vijvers in Zottegem neergestreken. De groep stond eerder
op de middag in De Pinte, maar kreeg er van de burgemeester de vraag om
voor 21 uur te vertrekken. De groep zigeuners aan het
jeugdverblijfscentrum Moerkensheide in De Pinte vertrok kort nadat de
politie met hen onderhandelde. De groep, met een 30-tal caravans, streek
even later neer aan de Bevegemse Vijvers in Zottegem. Burgemeester
Herman De Loor (SP.A) kwam ter plaatse en gaf de groep toelating om de
nacht op de parking door te brengen. 'Maandag moet de lokale politie
uitzoeken wie er precies staat en met welk soort voertuigen ze gekomen
zijn', zegt de Zottegemse burgemeester. 'Ons gemeentelijk
reglement bepaalt dat er op die plaats vijftien caravans mogen staan.
Een telling van het aantal keukens zal onder meer bepalen of dat er
teveel zijn of niet'. Maandagmiddag, na een evaluatie met de lokale
politie, zal de burgemeester beslissen of en hoe lang de zigeuners mogen
blijven.
We willen er aan
herinneren dat er sinds 2005 een omzendbrief bestaat van Marino Keulen
over het aanleggen van woonwagenterreinen...de zogenaamde omzendbrief
pleisterplaatsen...wel hoe ver staat het met de uitvoering van deze
omzendbrief, waarde burgemeesters???? Wie gaat er eigenlijk in de fout,
de zogenaamde zigeuners of de onwillige burgemeesters???
Je krijgt van ons het
linkje naar de omzendbrief gratis voor niks cadeau!
en er is meer: sinds
1998 blijkt er al een brochure te bestaan over de zelfde problematiek
maar we slagen er maar niet in de hand te leggen op dit document want
alle linkjes geven enkel een foutmelding....maar we zoeken verder.
De Noord-Koreaanse torpedo ...een verhaal helaas met echte slachtoffers
Onlangs was er nogal wat heisa over het tot zinken brengen van een Zuid-Koreaans oorlogsschip zogezegd door een torpedo afgevuurd door een Noord-Koreaanse onderzeeër. Sindsdien zijn er daar alle dagen militaire oefeningen gehouden door beide kampen en kwam er nogal wat schoon volk de grens bezoeken... Wij vonden een raar verhaal op de site van COUNTERPUNCH
The Sinking of the
Cheonan and Its Political Uses
By GREGORY ELICH
Much has been written
about the sinking of the South Korean corvette Cheonan, and the
evidence is widely regarded as clearly pointing to North Korean
culpability. In the Western press, the case has generally been presented
as solid and irrefutable. The tragedy is seen as one more example of
North Korean perfidy. Yet, doubts persist.
Following the sinking of the corvette Cheonan on
March 26, the government of South Korea established the Joint
Military-Civilian Investigation Group (JIG) to investigate and determine
the cause of the sinking. Two months later, on May 20, the group
completed its report and issued a press release outlining its
conclusions. In its press release, the JIG firmly announced, "The
evidence points overwhelmingly to the conclusion that the torpedo was
fired by a North Korean submarine. There is no other plausible
explanation."
The JIG concluded that the Cheonan was sunk by a
"shockwave and bubble effect" from an explosion set off by a homing
torpedo, which caused "significant upward bending" of the center keel. A
bubble jet effect is created when an explosion takes place underwater
and creates a dramatic change in pressure, resulting in the formation of
a strong column of water that strikes its target with great power. In
addition to the upward bending of the stern and bow sections at the
point of severance, the JIG found "water pressure and bubble effects" on
the bottom of the hull, and the ship's wires had been cut with no sign
of heat.
Furthermore, survivors reported "that they heard a
near-simultaneous explosion once or twice," water splashed on the face
of a sailor at the port-side, and a sentry stationed on the shore
observed a "pillar of white flash" rising about 100 meters for two to
three seconds. No fragmentation or burn injuries were found on the
bodies of the sailors who were killed, and seismic waves were detected
at eleven stations. (1)
All of this evidence is consistent with the JIG's
conclusion that a shockwave and bubble jet effect from a exploding
torpedo was the cause of Cheonan's sinking. (2) As further damning
evidence, components of a torpedo were brought up by a two fishing
trawlers in the proximity of the site of the sinking. The components
appeared to match that of a diagram the South Korean military had in its
possession of the North Korean CHT-02D torpedo. Inside the propulsion
system of the torpedo were written with blue magic marker ink in Hangul
characters "1 beon" (number 1 ). This was similar to a North Korean
training torpedo that the South Korean Navy had obtained seven years
before, in which there was written "4 ho" (unit 4). According to one
expert on North Korea, "North Korea does not frequently use the term
beon." (3) However, it cannot be said that infrequent usage rules out
the possibility.
The evidence appeared inarguable, yet from the
first it was apparent that there was a troubling lack of transparency in
the JIG's approach, typified by the secrecy surrounding the
investigation. The report itself remains concealed, and the public is
expected to accept on faith that the JIG's conclusions and brief
explanations are backed by the evidence.
Various alternative causes of the sinking were
briefly addressed by the South Korean Ministry of Defense. (4) The
possibility of a floating contact mine was rightly dismissed due to the
lack of signs of a contact explosion. However, most modern non-contact
mines rely on creating a shockwave and bubble jet effect to sink ships.
In general, the Ministry of Defense considers the possibility of a sea
mine having caused the explosion as "unlikely," given the maritime
conditions and fast currents in the shallow waters around Baengnyeong
Island where the Cheonan sank. Moored mines are rarely used in deeper
waters, where currents and swells are stronger than they are closer to
shore. According to Retired Rear Admiral Chris Bennet of the South
African Navy, "Their major use is therefore limited almost exclusively
to coastal or territorial waters." (5) In other words, it is in areas
such as around Baengnyeong Island where moored mines are best suited.
But the South Korean Navy's "detailed search" of the seabed failed to
locate the anchor that a moored mine would have needed. No details were
given to indicate the extent of the search beyond that one phrase.
Bottom mines rest on the seabed and are ideally
suited for deployment in shallow waters, but the JIG dismissed the
possibility of such a mine striking the Cheonan because it "cannot split
a ship when detonated at a depth of 47 meters." That was the depth of
water at the location where the torpedo components were retrieved.
However, when it sank, the Cheonan had been sailing in waters that were
no deeper than 30 to 40 meters. (6) According to the Robert S. Strauss
Center for International Security and Law, "bottom mines tend to work in
relatively shallow water (less than 164 feet)." That translates into
just under 50 meters, well within the range necessary to have struck the
Cheonan. (7) However, the JIG calculates the distance of the explosion
as just three meters from the Cheonan's gas turbine engine. (8) If the
JIG's calculation of the explosion distance is correct, then that would
preclude the possibility of a bottom mine.
There is another type of mine, one which the JIG
did not address in its summary of findings. That is the rising mine,
which is similar to a bottom mine in that it sits on the seabed. Where
it differs is that it contains an acoustic sensor, and when a ship
approaches, the mine is programmed to float upwards and explode at a set
distance beneath the hull. In essence, the result would be the same as a
non-contact torpedo, creating a bubble jet effect. In shallow water,
such mines tend not to be moored, hence there would be no anchor. (9)
There is also the torpedo mine, which when detecting an approaching
ship, opens up and fires a torpedo at its target. (10) This possibility,
too, was not mentioned in the JIG's summary.
The centerpiece of the case against North Korea is
without doubt the torpedo fragments retrieved by trawlers. At the JIG
press conference announcing the results of its investigation, a diagram
said to be that of the CHT-02D was displayed. It was not until over one
month later, after critics had pointed to discrepancies between the
diagram and the torpedo fragments, that the JIG admitted that it had
shown a diagram of the wrong torpedo, the PT-97W. This was said to have
been caused by a "mix-up by a staff member while preparing for the
presentation." (11) That such a mistake could be made is indicative of a
careless attitude concerning evidence.
This was not the only point of confusion. One day
before the JIG's final results were announced, a Korean government
official was quoted as saying that investigators had determined that
North Korea sank the Cheonan with a Chinese-made torpedo, as Chinese
characters were written on the torpedo fragments collected from the
site. It was said that the torpedo was thought to be a YU-3G, the type
North Korea had imported from China more than twenty years ago. (12) One
day later, nothing more was said of the matter, and now it was claimed
that the torpedo fragments originated from a North Korean-built CHT-02D,
with a Korean word written in blue ink. It is true that at one time
Hanja (Chinese) characters were incorporated into general usage in
Korea, but that practice has long since passed, and not since 1949 have
they been used in North Korea. (13) Because the JIG's report remains
shrouded in secrecy, it is impossible to know whether or not Chinese
characters were truly found on torpedo fragments. If so, that would be
at variance with a report that U.S. intelligence had traced the
propulsion system on the found torpedo to its manufacture two years ago
at a North Korean factory. (14)
It should also be mentioned that the information
South Korea had on the CHT-02D was obtained from an export catalogue, as
the weapon is among those that North Korea sells abroad. In other
words, the torpedo apparently has buyers, and therefore the source of
manufacture does not automatically correspond to ownership. So, was the
torpedo a Chinese-made YU-3G or a North Korean-made CHT-02D? Or perhaps
something else altogether? It is a CHT-02D, the JIG now asserts, without
addressing the discrepancy in its claims.
Traces of RDX, a high explosive chemical commonly
used in torpedoes and mines, were found on the Choenan's smokestack,
stern, and in sand taken from the seabed. South Korean Defense Minister
Kim Tae-young dismissed speculation that the RDX was residue from naval
drills that had been conducted in the past in the area. Although one
South Korean government source claimed that RDX is not used in mines,
this was contradicted by the Defense Minister (15). Indeed, RDX has been
used in naval mines since the Second World War. (16)
While the presence of RDX would be consistent with a
torpedo attack, it cannot on its own be considered as proof of that.
Consider that when Canadian authorities intercepted the Princess Easwary
as it was transporting illegal immigrants, swabs taken from the ship
showed traces of RDX. No torpedo or mine had struck the Princess
Easwary. Its past history of gun-running meant that the mere presence of
explosives had been enough to leave a residue. (17) The Cheonan, as a
military vessel, routinely carried explosives and engaged in naval
exercises. Among the Cheonan's armaments were six Mark 46 torpedoes, two
Otobreda 76 mm guns, two 40 mm Bofors guns, and twelve Mark 9 depth
charges. (18) Both torpedoes and depth charges utilize RDX, and the
bursting charge of projectiles fired by Bofors contain RDX. (19)
Certainly, explosions from test-fired depth charges would have spread
RDX around rather liberally.
It is a striking anomaly that none of the 58
surviving sailors of the Cheonan witnessed a rising pillar of water,
without which it is difficult to imagine that a bubble jet effect
explosion could have taken place. (20) Perhaps all of those on deck
perished during the incident. That might account for this oddity,
although it does seem unlikely, given that most of the casualties were
said to be of those who were below deck. There is, of course, the
shore-based observer who reported seeing a pillar of water, but one
would feel more comfortable with his veracity were it backed by other
witnesses. Indeed, the Korean organization People's Solidarity for
Participatory Democracy reports that survivors who spoke at the JIG
press conference said they saw no pillar of water. Those who spoke
included port-side lookouts, who would have been hard-pressed to miss
such a significant sight. (21)
The recovery of torpedo fragments in the vicinity
of Cheonan's sinking appears persuasive. It is a strong point in support
of the South Korean government's argument. Yet, it is not such an
unusual event for torpedoes and components of torpedoes to be found
underwater. All sorts of things get dumped at sea, including, it seems,
dangerous weaponry. A live torpedo was inadvertently pulled up in a
fishing net more than two years ago off the British coast, as was one
off the coast of Rhode Island in 1985. (22) In a survey covering the
period of March 2002 through February 2003, the British Royal Navy
reported that "at least 15 items of explosives ordinance or their
components had been recovered in the nets of fishing vessels operating
in coastal waters around the British Isles." Among the ordinance
recovered were "torpedo components." It was also noted that some items
had been "dispersed from their original dumping or loss positions by
water movements." Oceanographic factors "can lead to quite substantial
movements of large munitions." In the 15-year period ending in 2000,
German fisherman reported to officials in Lower Saxony having found a
total of more than 11 tons of munitions, while Dutch fisherman net an
average of ten explosives per year. (23) The torpedo recovered by South
Korea may have been associated with the sinking of Cheonan, but it could
also have been dumped at sea, or test fired during military exercises
at some point in the past.
It should also be noted that the Cheonan was sunk
in disputed waters. After the Korean War, the U.S. unilaterally drew the
Yellow Sea border between the two Koreas with a line that curved
sharply northward to North Korea's disadvantage, rather than in a
straight line, as existed with the East Sea border and which would have
been common practice. (24) The area has been the site of periodic naval
clashes between the two Koreas, and it is not unusual for North Korean
vessels to cross over this line that it does not recognize.
The JIG did conduct a simulation to demonstrate how
a bubble jet effect would have impacted a ship's hull. it is an
indication of the predetermined approach the JIG adopted that the
simulation was not completed until after its report was finished and
results were announced. Although a bubble jet effect is capable of
severing a ship in two, the JIG's simulation failed to do more than
deform and cause a small break in the hull. (25)
What tied the recovered torpedo fragments to the
sinking of the Cheonan was not only its proximity to the site of the
sinking, but also a chemical analysis of adhered substances on both the
torpedo and the Cheonan's hull that were shown to be identical. (26) Two
Korean-American physicists, Seung-Hun Lee and J.J Suh, managed to
obtain a copy of one section of the JIG's secret report, in which it was
stated that the compounds were a result of an explosion. These
compounds were indeed the same on both the torpedo and the ship, the
physicists concluded, but the data were not consistent with the
conclusion that they had formed during an explosion. The samples, they
asserted, "have nothing to do with any explosion, but are most likely
aluminum that has rusted after exposure to moisture or water for a long
time." Korean-Canadian geologist Panseok Yang determined that the
spectroscopic analysis of the compounds reported by the JIG closely
matched that of gibbsite, a mineral formed under intense weathering
conditions, and often found in clay deposits. (27)
When a South Korean congresswoman asked the JIG to
release its samples, only two out of the three were made available. The
JIG claimed that they had used up all of the third sample, yet the
spectroscopic and X-ray analyses done are non-destructive. Seung-Hun Lee
and Panseok Yang observed that either the JIG had completely mishandled
the samples or they were intentionally hiding them. (28)
The South Korean Ministry of Defense rejected their
conclusions, pointing out that the physicists' laboratory tests did not
fully replicate conditions during an explosion, and were thus invalid.
(29) The physicists argued that their results were "consistent with
previous scientific studies." In their experiments they had scaled down
both the weight of the explosive and the weight of the water in a metal
container to retain the proportion equivalent to that of a torpedo. Full
access to the JIG's data and objective analysis would do much bring us
closer to the truth, whichever direction it leads, but Seung-Hun Lee
finds that the JIG's report contains "several serious self-contradicting
aspects and their interpretations have serious flaws, to say the
least." (30)
The propulsion unit of the torpedo was severely
corroded, an apparent result of the coat of paint having been burnt away
by the heat of the explosion. It seems odd that the "number 1" written
in Korean by a blue magic marker would survive intact. The boiling point
for ink is less than half that of paint, so it would be more vulnerable
to loss. (31) One cannot be sure that the handwriting was not added
later by South Korean military officials for enhanced dramatic effect
when presenting their evidence.
In the opinion of Seung-Hun Lee, "The government is
lying when they said this was found underwater. I think this is
something that was pulled out of a warehouse of old materials to show to
the press." (32)
It seems that the JIG's investigation was something
of a rush job, intended to be completed in time to give a boost to the
South Korean ruling party in local elections. Among the members of the
JIG were a small number of representatives from the opposition
Democratic Party, one of whom, Shin Sang-cheol, felt disappointed that
members of the team were not given briefing materials or basic
information such as the navigation course record and other data. What
struck Shin was that the investigation began with the premise that
there had been a torpedo attack, and during his time on the team no
effort was made to examine other possibilities. (33)
With the South Korean military's mind made up
before it began, little effort needed to be wasted on analysis.
According to one anonymous South Korean military source, "If you leave
out the time spent moving the torpedo, removing water and dust, and
writing a report, the whole examination [of the torpedo components] only
lasted about three days. The government has invited distrust by being
excessively greedy." In that span of time, the JIG was not able to even
determine how long the torpedo had been corroding underwater. (34)
Shin Sang-cheol was quickly booted out of the JIG
for not singing the same tune as the military authorities. With years of
experience as a ship navigator and as a shipbuilding inspector at
various Korean shipyards, he was not entirely without expertise. He sent
a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in which he
included maritime maps of the waters around Baengnyeong Island. These,
he pointed out, are marked by shallow waters and rock fields. It was his
contention that the Cheonan had run aground, backed out, and then
collided with some object. Among the indications Shin cited as evidence
were deep scratches on the hull and propeller blades bent forward; that
is, toward the direction of the point where the ship split in two,
rather than away from it. Perhaps not surprisingly, Shin is being sued
for libel by the South Korean military. (35)
Shin's theory, however, does not seem particularly
more convincing than that of the South Korean military. The JIG ruled
out the possibility of running aground as the ship's sonar remained
undamaged. Shin counters, correctly, that a hull can run aground at one
point while another is unaffected. But it could be that the ship's
propellers were damaged when the stern hit bottom after the Cheonan
split in two. Or indeed, the damage to them may have resulted from some
previous incident. It is far from certain that Shin's theory accounts
for what actually happened to the Cheonan. The JIG's summary points out
that there are no signs of collision on the Cheonan, and the hull damage
does appear more consistent with that of an external explosion than of a
collision. But the possibility of a collision did merit consideration.
What is perplexing is that none of the various explanations that have
been put forward quite seem to fit the totality of evidence.
One's already low level of confidence in the South
Korean military's sincerity was undermined when it was revealed that it
had deliberately fudged initial reports on the sinking of the Cheonan.
The Naval Operations Command reported that the sinking occurred at 9:15
PM (which was later corrected to 9:22 PM) and that there was the sound
of an explosion. The Joint Chiefs, however, altered the time to 9:45 PM
and omitted mention of an explosion in order to cover up their slow
responsiveness. Then the Ministry of Defense botched the release of
thermal observation device recordings by using those from thirteen
minutes after the sinking, while ignoring recordings taken from just
three minutes afterwards. It was also eventually revealed that the
on-duty Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was drunk that night, and
only arrived at command control headquarters at 10:42 PM, where he
managed to stay awake at a meeting for ten minutes before falling
asleep. (36)
That high-ranking military officers would so
causally lie and distort facts during a moment of crisis does not
encourage confidence in their reliability to objectively analyze data
and come to a considered conclusion in the investigation into the
sinking of the Cheonan. Certainly not when political pressure to reach a
predetermined conclusion would have been so intense. Interestingly, the
investigators who probed into the military's mishandling of its initial
response to the sinking of the Cheonan revealed only a portion of the
problems they had found. Information which they considered militarily
sensitive was excluded. (37) That would seem to imply that additional
distortions or misrepresentations had taken place.
The South Korean military believes that it was a
North Korean Yono (Salmon) class midget submarine that fired a torpedo
at Cheonan. Of limited range, midget submarines must be ferried and
launched by larger submarines. They can operate in shallow waters,
unlike their larger counterparts. Even so, the waters around the sinking
were too shallow even for a midget submarine, so it is thought that it
had to have been operating from much farther away, in deeper waters.
South Korea did track the departure of a Yono-class submarine and its
mother ship from a North Korean port days before the sinking of Cheonan,
as well as their return to base days after the incident. For the JIG,
that constituted direct evidence of North Korean responsibility,
although logically speaking, this is not in fact direct causal proof any
more than a man would be proven guilty of murder simply because he was
away from his home at the moment the murder took place. The most that
could be said of the submarine tracking is that it is suggestive of a
possible connection.
Oddly, the Cheonan's sonar failed to detect
anything unusual, but a South Korean military source pointed out that
the ship's sonar "is an old model with a limited range, so there's a
strong possibility that it failed to detect the torpedo which was
launched from far away." (38) That may be true, but one must add that
sooner or later a torpedo fired from long-range distance would approach
closely enough to be detected. Kim Jong-dae, editor-in-chief of D&D,
a defense journal, observes, "A submarine is supposed to be difficult
to detect militarily, but most torpedoes can be detected. It is doubtful
they would have been completely unable to detect the launch." (39)
No one would call the JIG's investigation a model
of transparency. It was led by South Korea, who chose the nations that
would participate: the U.S., Great Britain, Australia and Sweden. On the
Multinational Combined Intelligence Task Force, Canada replaced Sweden.
Aside from Sweden, what all of these nations share is a uniformly
hostile attitude towards North Korea. Sweden, according to CBS News, was
"a reluctant partner in blaming the North Koreans." (40)
Unquestionably, the South Korean government is
sincere in its belief that a North Korean submarine fired a torpedo at
the Cheonan. But in one sense that is the problem. So convinced was the
JIG, that the team had a set of blinders on during the investigation, so
that only one outcome was possible. And nothing would seem amiss if,
whether knowingly or blindly, evidence was fudged or ignored to
strengthen that case, as that would not change the overall facts as the
team perceived it.
The report itself remains secret, and all requests
for it to be made public have been rejected. A copy did go to U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who pronounced the evidence against
North Korea "overwhelming." If the evidence is truly so convincing, it
would only help South Korea's case for it to be made publicly known. Or
could it be the case that the evidence falls short of Clinton's
assessment? South Korean legislators have not seen the report, nor have
they been given access to even partial information of relevance.
Assemblyman Choi Moon-soon of the opposition Democratic Party comments,
"We asked for very basic information - interviews with surviving
sailors, communication records, the reason the ship was out there." But
no information was forthcoming from the government. (41)
North Korea vehemently denies the accusations being
made against it. As the accused, North Korea is an interested party. It
feels it has the right to see the evidence supporting the charges.
North Korea asked on two occasions to send its own inspection team to
operate under the joint control of both South and North Korea in order
to conduct an investigation, but its requests were turned down by the
South Korean government. North Korea sent a similar suggestion to the
United Nations, only to be rebuffed by the United States, who indicated
that the case against North Korea was already proven. Instead, the U.S.
pushed hard for the strongest language in a UN Security Council
statement, and attempted to browbeat China into going along. China,
though, held firm in the interests of peace, ensuring that a more
moderate UN statement resulted. With the U.S. and South Korea committed
to taking a hard line, even North Korea's proposal to reopen talks on
denuclearization was snubbed.
China, which has received a modicum of information
from South Korea, remains unconvinced. "I have to say the majority of
Chinese policymakers and academics feel that the Cheonan report does not
hold water," remarks international studies scholar Zhu Feng. (42)
In order to bolster its case, South Korea agreed to
allow a team of Russian naval military experts to visit and analyze the
evidence. For the first time, there would be an objective assessment of
evidence. There was good cooperation during the visit, and then the
Russians returned home where they spent several weeks in analyzing the
data. Russia, however, was in a delicate position when it came to
publicizing its determinations. Openly backing Seoul would only
encourage attempts by the U.S. to ratchet up tensions in the region,
whereas dissenting from the JIG's conclusion could strain relations with
South Korea, an important trading partner. So it was not surprising
when it was announced that Russia would not publicize its own report.
There have been various leaks and comments made to
the media which gave a fair indication of the Russian team's evaluation
of the evidence, clearly regarded as inconclusive. Russia supplied its
report to the U.S. and China, but not to the South Koreans, apparently
in a bid to avoid antagonizing them. But it did not take long for South
Korea to be apprised of the results, no doubt by the U.S. Whereupon the
Russian ambassador was called to the South Korean Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and given a heated reception.
According to a South Korean diplomatic source, "The
Russian investigation team's primary interest was in whether North
Korea, which had been unable to produce its own torpedoes until 1995,
suddenly was able to attack the Cheonan with a state-of-the-art bubble
jet torpedo." It has been pointed out that this technology is possessed
only by a small number of countries, and the weapon has been
successfully used only in test firings on stationary targets. (43)
If a North Korean source speaking on condition of
anonymity in Hanoi is to be believed, Russia informed North Korean
officials that it did not trust the results of the JIG investigation.
"The Russian delegation said if the truth is revealed, then South Korea
and the United States could be caught in an awkward position," an
apparent reference to the manipulation of evidence. (44)
Yet there was still much that the Russian team was
unable to determine. It sent requests for further information, but so
far South Korea has failed to respond. "We still have some questions
regarding the results of this work to which we have not received clear
answers," Naval Commander Vladimir Vysotsky said. Whether or not answers
would be supplied, he added, "doesn't depend on us." (45)
In an explosive recent development, the South
Korean newspaper Hankyoreh obtained a copy of a Russian
documented summarizing their investigators' findings. The Russians
agreed with the JIG that the Cheonan sank as a result of a non-contact
external explosion. Commenting on the propeller blades that were bent
forward, the Russians noted that remnants of a fishing net were tangled
around the right screw axle. They posited that while the Cheonan was
sailing close to shore the ship touched bottom, damaging the propellers,
and became entangled in a fishing net. As a result of the net and
damage, the Cheonan "must have experienced restrictions in its speed and
maneuvers." No definitive determination could be made as to the cause
of the explosion, but the Russians felt that the most likely explanation
was that as the Cheonan struggled to maneuver to deeper waters, it
struck a non-contact sea mine. "The area of the ship's accident is at
risk of ocean mines, which is indirectly proven by the fact that the
docking locations and voyage paths are restricted to the west seacoast
of the Korean Peninsula." (46)
As for the recovered torpedo components, the
Russian investigators reported, "It may be possible that the presented
torpedo part was made in North Korea, but the ink mark is inconsistent
with the normal standards of marking (the locations and the method of
the mark). Visual examination of the torpedo part indicates that the
torpedo had been in the water for more than six months." In other words,
long before the Cheonan sank. "We do not conclude that this particular
torpedo was launched to and impacted on the Cheonan ship." (47)
The South Korean Ministry of Defense dismissed the
possibility of sea mines being present around Baengnyeong Island, saying
that it had disabled all of the mines that it had laid in the area. A
retired South Korean admiral, however, testified that sea mines were
present, and that if the sheath of the leading wire were removed on a
mine, then the voltage going through the Cheonan would have been enough
to set it off. (48)
It is interesting to compare the U.S. response to
Cheonan's sinking with its reaction to the Israeli attack on a ship
bringing aid to the Gaza Strip, in which several unarmed civilians were
shot dead by soldiers storming aboard. Whereas in the case of the
Cheonan, culpability remains uncertain and evidence is contradictory,
there was no ambiguity about the Israeli action. It was an unprovoked
attack on a ship operating in international waters. There was no
question as to who attacked the ship. In response to that incident, U.S.
officials worked behind the scenes to prevent the UN Security Council
from giving the go-ahead for an investigation into the attack. U.S.
officials argued that instead Israel should investigate its own action.
U.S. Ambassador Alejandro Wolff saved his harsh criticism for those who
had been delivering aid, calling their effort "neither appropriate nor
responsible." (49) Punishment for Israel is swift in coming. The
proposed U.S. 2011 budget calls for $3 billion in aid to be provided to
Israel. (50)
Contrast that with U.S. plans for North Korea. That
nation is quite likely correct when it claims that it had nothing to do
with the Cheonan's fate. But who needs an ironclad case when there are
geopolitical goals to be achieved? The U.S. and South Korea launched
large-scale joint military exercises in the East Sea, including the
aircraft carrier USS George Washington, and for the first time U.S. F-22
stealth fighters flew in Korean airspace. The war games were clearly
intended to be intimidating.
There are plans afoot for the possible deployment
of an advanced airborne communications network on the Korean Peninsula,
which would enable U.S. troops to overcome the limitations of
communication in the mountainous terrain prevalent in North Korea. (51)
Also on the U.S. drawing board is an expansion of psychological warfare
against North Korea, including the use of internet technology, leaflets
and radio broadcasts. (52)
More importantly, as political commentator Stephen
Gowans puts it in a nice turn of phrase, "The United States has
announced that it is adding a new tranche to the Himalaya of sanctions
it has built up since 1950 against North Korea." (53) The U.S. State
Department and Department of Treasury plan to expand the list of
businesses and organizations subject to sanctions, freeze bank accounts,
work with various foreign governments to stop North Korean trading
companies from doing business on the allegation that they are involved
in illegal operations, impose travel restrictions, and implement a host
of other measures. (54) Approximately 100 bank accounts linked to North
Korea are to be frozen. "The U.S. has continued to consult the banks and
will likely induce them to quietly close the accounts," a diplomatic
source revealed. (55)
It is planned that the effort will induce foreign
banks to stop doing business with North Korea, and thereby deny that
nation the possibility of engaging in normal trade. According to a
source speaking on condition of anonymity, the larger Chinese and other
foreign banks dealing with North Korea could be adversely impacted, as
all of their transactions are processed through the U.S. "This means
that for everyone dealing with North Korea, it will become difficult for
them to send money from the North." (56)
As a consequence of blacklisting North Korean
organizations and individuals, a diplomatic source says, the U.S. will
suspend ties with any banks dealing with them. "Think of Citibank or
Bank of America suspending business ties with Bank of China or Bank of
Shanghai. That will be a great burden to China." (57) There is debate
within the Lee Administration as to how hard a line to pursue against
North Korea. There are many who want to use the opportunity to topple
the North Korean government, while those who favor dialogue are
concerned that a harsh approach "could give rise to severe disorder."
According to one South Korean source, "If the government decides to
continue sanctions for more than six months even after the G20 summit,
it could be interpreted as an important strategic choice to actively
pursue regime change in the North." (58) Leaving aside the question of
the inevitable hardship and misery for the North Korean people that
would ensue from tightening the screws, there could be a heightened risk
of conflict between the two Koreas if the situation deteriorates out of
control.
The assertion that the North Korean accounts to be
targeted are linked to illegal operations is reminiscent of similar
efforts by the George W. Bush Administration, when North Korean accounts
engaged in legitimate business were closed and banks throughout the
world were threatened with harsh financial consequences if they
continued to allow North Korea to conduct normal international financial
operations. All that was done under the unproven (and in some cases
clearly disproven) contention that the accounts were connected with
illegal activities. The intent was to dry up North Korea's access to
foreign currency, and thus its ability to import essential items such as
food, spare parts and machinery.
Indeed, even before June the U.S already began
freezing North Korean accounts held in foreign banks around the world.
According to an unnamed diplomatic source, "The moves should be
interpreted as a part of new sanctions on the North to hold it
responsible for the sinking of the Cheonan." U.S. diplomat Robert
Einhorn plans to visit a number of countries in an attempt to pressure
them to enforce sanctions against North Korea. (59) It is not difficult
to imagine the effect on the people of North Korea. Already existing
sanctions have caused a shortage of raw materials, says Korean economic
analyst Cho Boo Hyung, which has led to reduced output. And a decrease
in food production will trigger negative economic growth. Cho feels that
sanctions could produce another famine in North Korea, comparable to
that of the 1990s. (60)
President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea has also
seized the opportunity presented by Cheonan's sinking to further his
goals. As a long-time opponent of the Sunshine Policy of his two
predecessors, Lee never hid his ambition to dismantle all of the
progress that had been made in recent years with relations between the
two Koreas. No sooner had Lee taken office than he announced that he had
no intention of observing the agreement signed by former President Roh
Moo-hyun that set up a joint fishing area in the disputed waters at the
Northern Limit Line, and which included measures to discourage military
clashes there. Several economic agreements that had been reached were
put on hold.
Once the JIG had announced the results of its
investigation, Lee outlined a new policy with his northern neighbor.
"From this moment," he said, "no North Korean ship will be allowed to
make passage through any of the shipping lanes in the waters under our
control, which has been allowed by the Inter-Korean Agreement on
Maritime Transportation." In addition, "Trade and exchanges between the
Republic of Korea and North Korea will also be suspended." Relations
between the two Koreas have deteriorated to their lowest point since the
period of military dictatorships in South Korea, and U.S. sanctions
will only exacerbate tensions.
Did a North Korean submarine fire a torpedo at the
Cheonan? I do not know, but it seems improbable. If it was a torpedo
that sank the Cheonan, then it certainly was not the one that the JIG
put on display. It would have been foolhardy for the North Korean
government to order such a strike. It had nothing to gain, and
absolutely everything to lose by such an act. It may be that a rogue
commander ordered the attack as revenge for an incident near Daecheong
Island the previous November, when South Korean ships chased a North
Korean patrol boat, firing on it and sending it up in flames, thereby
causing the deaths of several sailors. That attack, incidentally, failed
to elicit any concern whatsoever from the same U.S. officials who so
sternly pontificate on the unacceptability of allowing the sinking of
Cheonan to go unpunished.
While reviewing the evidence, it began to appear to
me that the most likely cause of the Cheonan's sad fate was having had
the misfortune to inadvertently sail into the path of a sea mine, and
this feeling has only been strengthened by the reports of the Russian
investigation team's findings. Given the fast-moving currents in the
waters near Baengnyeong Island, it may be that over time a rising mine
gradually migrated from where it had been initially deposited, so that
its position was unexpected. That is just speculation, of course, and
other possibilities exist. A broad-based international investigation
needs to take place, and its results made fully public. The 46 sailors
who lost their lives when the Cheonan sank deserve the truth, whatever
it may be. As do the peoples of both Koreas, whose future is intertwined
in so many ways. But geopolitical considerations guarantee that no such
international probe will take place. Tensions are likely to remain high
as long as South Korean President Lee remains in office. No conceivable
change in U.S. administrations will bring about an improvement in the
security environment on the Korean Peninsula, but the 2012 election in
South Korea might. That is something to hope for.
(3) "Questions Raised Following Cheonan
Announcement," Hankyoreh (Seoul), May 21, 2010.
(4) "Investigation
Result on the Sinking of ROKS 'Cheonan'," Ministry of National
Defense, Republic of Korea, May 20, 2010. Much later, a video,
photographs, diagrams and further details were appended to the May 20
press release.
(5) Chris Bennet, "Mine Warfare at Sea," African
Security Review, Vol. 7, No. 5, 1998.
(6) "How Did N. Korea Sink the Cheonan?", Chosun
Ilbo (Seoul), May 22, 2010.
(7) "Strait of Hormuz: Assessing Threats to Energy
Security in the Persian Gulf," The Robert S. Strauss Center for
International Security and Law.
(11) "Cheonan Investigators Presented Wrong
Torpedo Diagram," Chosun Ilbo (Seoul), June 30, 2010. Kim Deok-hyun,
"Investigators Admit Using Wrong Blueprint to Show N. Korean Torpedo
That Attacked Cheonan," Yonhap (Seoul), June 29, 2010.
(12) "N. Korea Used Chinese-Made Torpedo in Attack
on S. Korean Ship: Source," Yonhap (Seoul), May 19, 2010.
(14) "U.S. Pinpoints Where Torpedo that Sank the
Cheonan was Made," Chosun Ilbo, July 23, 2010. "NK Torpedo Produced
in Gaecheon 2 Years Ago: Sankei," Korea Times, July 22, 2010.
(15) Chang Jae-soon, "Defense Chief Confirms
Explosive Chemical Found in Sunken Ship," Yonhap (Seoul), May 10, 2010.
"Torpedo Explosive Detected in Sunken Ship: Official," Yonhap, May
7, 2010.
(17) Walter Jayawardhana, "Canadian Authorities
Tell Immigration and Refugee Board that LTTE Ship Contained Traces of
High Explosives Like RDX," LankaWeb, November 25, 2009.
"Canadian Officials Find Three More Traces of Explosives on Tamil
Ship," Colombo Times, November 24, 2009.
(20) Jung Sung-ki, "Investigators Point to Air
Bubble," Korea Times, April 25, 2010.
(21) Junghye Kwak, Huisun Kim, Taeho Lee, "The
PSPD's Stance on the Naval Vessel Cheonan Sinking," People's Solidarity
for Participatory Democracy Issue Report IR-20100601, Seoul.
(22) "Navy Detonates Torpedo Caught in Fishing
Nets," Defence News, January 29, 2008.
"Navy Detonates Torpedo Caught in Fishing Nets," UPI, December 18,
1985.
(23) J. Beddington and A.J. Freng, "Munitions
Dumped at Sea: A Literature Review," Imperial College London, June 2005.
(25) Seunghun Lee, J.J. Suh, "Rush to Judgment:
Inconsistencies in South Korea's Cheonan Report," The Asia-Pacific
Journal: Japan Focus, July 12, 2010.
(26) Seunghun Lee, J.J. Suh, "Rush to Judgment:
Inconsistencies in South Korea's Cheonan Report," The Asia-Pacific
Journal: Japan Focus, July 12, 2010.
(27) "Investigation
Result on the Sinking of ROKS 'Cheonan'," Ministry of National
Defense, Republic of Korea, May 20, 2010. Specifically mentioned in
the detailed section appended to the May 20 press release.
(287) Seunghun Lee, J.J. Suh, "Rush to Judgment: Inconsistencies in
South Korea's Cheonan Report," The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus,
July 12, 2010.
Seung-Hun Lee, "Comments on the Section 'Adsorbed
Material Analysis' of the Cheonan Report Made by the South Korean Civil
and Military Joint Investigative Group (CIV-MIL JIG)," http://arxiv.org/vc/arxiv/papers/1006/1006.0680v2.pdf
(32) Seunghun Lee, J.J. Suh, "Rush to Judgment:
Inconsistencies in South Korea's Cheonan Report," The Asia-Pacific
Journal: Japan Focus, July 12, 2010.
(33) Barbara Demick, "Doubts Surface on North
Korea's Role in Ship Sinking," Los Angeles Times, July 23, 2010
(34) Junghye Kwak, Huisun Kim, Taeho Lee, "The
PSPD's Stance on the Naval Vessel Cheonan Sinking," People's Solidarity
for Participatory Democracy Issue Report IR-20100601, Seoul.
(35) Lee Yong-inn, "Questions Linger 100 Days
after the Cheonan Sinking," Hankyoreh (Seoul), July 3, 2010.
(37) "Cheonan Probe Says Military Made Grave
Errors," Dong-A Ilbo (Seoul), June 11, 2010.
"Uncovering the Truth About the Cheonan," Hankyoreh
(Seoul), June 11, 2010. "Wide-Ranging Incompetence and Cover-ups
Took Place Night of Cheonan Sinking, Audit Reveals,"
Hankyoreh (Seoul), June 11, 2010.
(38) Ser Myo-ja, "Military Found Inept, Lying in
Responding to Cheonan," JoongAng Ilbo (Seoul), June 11, 2010.
(39) "How Did N. Korea Sink the Cheonan?", Chosun
Ilbo (Seoul), May 22, 2010.
(40) "Questions Raised Following Cheonan
Announcement," Hankyoreh (Seoul), May 11, 2010.
(41) "South Korea to Unveil Evidence of North
Sinking Navy Ship," CBS News, May 19, 2010.
(42) Barbara Demick, "Doubts Surface on North
Korea's Role in Ship Sinking," Los Angeles Times, July 23, 2010.
(43) Sunny Lee, "China Has Different View on
Cheonan," Korea Times (Seoul), July 18, 2010.
(44) Lee Yeong-in, "Government Protests Russia's
Conflicting Cheonan Finding," Hankyoreh (Seoul), July 10, 2010.
(45) Yoo Jee-ho, "N. Korea Warns 'Physical
Response' Against South - U.S. Military Drills," Yonhap (Seoul), July
23, 2010.
(46) "Russian Specialists Have Questions on S.
Korean Corvette's Sinking - Navy Commander," Interfax (Moscow), July 24,
2010.
"Russian Experts Unable to Give Answers on Cheonan
Sinking - Navy Commander," RIA Novosti (Moscow), July 24, 2010.
(47) Colum Lynch and Debbi Wilgoren, "U.N. Calls
for Impartial Probe of Israeli Raid," Washington Post, June 1, 2010.
(48) "Lee Administration Response to Russian
Investigation Report," Hankyoreh (Seoul), July 28, 2010.
(49) Colum Lynch and Debbi Wilgoren, "U.N. Calls
for Impartial Probe of Israeli Raid," Washington Post, June 1, 2010.
(50) Danielle Kurtzleben, "Despite Rift, Israel
Gets More U.S. Aid Than Iraq," U.S. and World News Report, July 6, 2010.
(51) Jung Sung-ki, "US to Deploy Airborne Network
in South Korea," Korea Times (Seoul), July 2, 2010.
(52) Michael Sheridan, "Clinton to Wage Digital
War on Kim for Sinking Ship," Sunday Times (London), May 23, 2010.
Credit cards do more
than drain money from your wallet -- they may actually create an
"implicit money transfer" from the poor to the rich, according to a new
study from the Boston Federal Reserve. The study, titled "Who Gains and
Who Loses from Credit Card Payments? Theory and Calibrations", suggests that, as
card use becomes more frequent, merchants have raised their prices to
compensate for card-processing charges. (Hat tip to the WSJ) As a result, the study
suggests, the poor -- who usually lack access to reward-paying credit
cards -- end up paying more for everyday goods. Over the last two
decades, the paper notes, the percentage of households using credit
cards has remained stable at around 75 percent. But total card-spending
has jumped from nine percent to 15 percent. The increased use of cards
drives up fees paid by merchants, who raise prices to cover the costs of
the cards. As
card-using households make more and more purchases with credit cards
and jump to take advantage of card rewards programs, "cash-using"
households bear the brunt of higher prices without any of the benefits
of cards. Here's
more from authors Scott Schuh, Oz Shy and Joana Stavins: On average, each
cash-using household pays $151 to card-using households and each
card-using household receives $1,482 from cash users every year. Because
credit card spending and rewards are positively correlated with
household income, the payment instrument transfer also induces a
regressive transfer from low-income to high-income households in
general. The
authors suggest a few approaches policy makers could take to mitigate
the damage caused by credit cards, including allowing merchants to
adjust prices based on whether a purchase is made by cash or credit, a
practice that is currently against the law.
en voor de echt
geïnteresseerde lezertjes zit er een gedetailleerde studie bij op de
hierboven vermelde site van de Huffington Post of je gebruikt het actieve linkje in de tekst...
NEW ORLEANS - (AP) Oil
is spewing from a damaged well north of a bay where officials have been
fighting the spill from the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The Coast Guard says a
tow boat called Pere Ana C. hit the wellhead near Mud Lake early
Tuesday. No injuries were reported. The Coast Guard did not know who owns
the small well or how much oil has leaked. But a sheen has been spotted
in the lake. Jefferson Parish Councilman Chris Roberts says oil is
spewing from the wellhead. Coast Guard Lt. Brian Sattler says a
helicopter has been dispatched to survey the area, which is accessible
only by boat. Mud Lake is part of a network of bayous and lakes north of
Barataria Bay, an ecologically sensitive coastal estuary where
authorities have been fighting waves of oil from the Gulf spill.
Jan De Nul baggert verder in Panama... tegen Suntracs
Nu een uitstapje naar
het exotische Panama waar onze nationale trots namelijk de baggeraar Jan
De Nul actief is in een consortium dat verwikkeld was in een hevig
sociaal conflict. Ter verdediging van onze baggertrots mag wel worden
gepreciseerd dat hij daar niet de hoofdverantwoordelijke van het
consortium is...maar een woordje uitleg is hier toch wel op zijn plaats
want vrijheid van organisatie ligt ons hier nauw aan het hart en moet
een grondwettelijk recht zijn in alle staten. Spijtig genoeg merken we
dat de verdedigers van flat tax meestal niet erg opgezet zijn met dit
soort rechten voor de meerderheid kleine verdieners...
Hevig sociaal conflict
en bloedige repressie op Panamese werf van Jan de Nul
Via de Internationale
vakbond van Bouw- en Houtwerknemers (BWI - Engelse afkorting) werd ACV
bouw industrie & energie de voorbije dagen op de hoogte gebracht
van een hevig escalerend sociaal conflict in Panama.
De aanleiding van het
conflict is tweeërlei. Enerzijds is er de goedkeuring van de nieuwe
nationale Wet nr. 30. Deze wet wil het recht op vereniging en het recht
op staken en betogen aan banden leggen met forse straffen. Anderzijds is
er het sociaal conflict op werven van het consortium Bouwgroep
verenigd voor het Kanaal (Grupo Unidos por el Canal).
Hoofdaannemer in het
tijdelijke consortium is het Spaans bedrijf Sacyr Vallehermoso S.A..
Ook het Belgische baggerbedrijf Jan De Nul maakt deel uit van dat
consortium. Zo kon Jan de Nul mee lucratieve contracten in de wacht
slepen voor de verbreding en verdieping van het Panamakanaal en de bouw
van het nieuwe sluizencomplexen.
Op de werven van het consortium brak begin
juli een staking uit. De Panamese bouwvakkers, lid van de vakbond
SUNTRACS, legden het werk neer om te protesteren tegen de loon- en
arbeidsvoorwaarden. Eisen van de stakers zijn: meer loon, betalen van
overuren, hygiënische was- en slaapgelegenheden, veilige
werkomstandigheden. De staking werd massaal opgevolgd. Na 4 dagen gingen
alle arbeiders echter opnieuw aan het werk omdat gedreigd werd alle
stakende werknemers te ontslaan. Tijdens de actie werden alle toegangen
tot de werven gecontroleerd door politie en moesten werknemers zich
identificeren, dit met de bedoeling de stakingsleiders te kunnen
arresteren. De volgende dagen werden meerdere vakbondsverantwoordelijken
van SUNTRACS aangehouden. Een aantal van hen bevinden zich nog steeds
in de gevangenis.
Het conflict over Wet nr 30 en het sociaal conflict op de
werven van het Panamakanaal raakten op een bloedige manier met elkaar
vermengd. Ook al omdat de repressie van de regering tegenover de stakers
en vakbondsverantwoordelijken een voorproefje lijkt van wat de nieuwe
wet zal brengen. De voorbije 2 weken kwamen tijdens protesten al 9
arbeiders om het leven, honderden raakten gewond. Tegelijk werden
minstens 300 betogers en stakers gearresteerd.
De Internationale
vakbond van Bouw- en Houtwerknemers (BWI) volt de zaken op de voet en
coördineert de internationale syndicale reactie.
Te midden van al deze
gebeurtenissen wil ACV bouw industrie & energie haar grote
bezorgdheid kenbaar maken. Daarom zal ACV ACV bouw industrie &
energie actief deelnemen aan de internationale campagne van de BWI om de
repressie een halt toe te roepen en werknemers te steunen in hun strijd
voor waardig werk. ACV bouw industrie & energie zal ook deelnemen
aan de solidariteitsmissie van de BWI die eind augustus ter plaatse de
feiten gaat natrekken. ACV bouw industrie & energie ondersteunt de
vraag van de BWI om een zo snel mogelijk een officiële IAO-delegatie
naar Panama te sturen.
Ondertussen roept ACV bouw industrie &
energie de Panamese regering op om met hoogdringendheid het geweld te
stoppen en de anti-syndicale Wet nr. 30 onmiddellijk in te trekken.
Daarentegen vraagt ACV bouw industrie & energie dat de Panamese
regering en het consortium van werkgevers de internationale normen
inzake het recht op vereniging, syndicale vrijheden en het recht op
staken ten volle zouden eerbiedigen.
ACV bouw industrie & energie zal
zo snel mogelijk een onderhoud vragen met de directie van het Belgische
bedrijf Jan de Nul als lid van het consortium om haar standpunt in
deze zaak te kennen.
ACV bouw industrie & energie zal ook contact opnemen
met de Panamese ambassadeur in Brussel om protest aan te tekenen tegen
de gang van zaken en zal aan de Belgische Minister van Buitenlandse
Zaken, Steven Vanackere, vragen hetzelfde te doen.
Ten slotte wenst ACV
bouw industrie & energie haar solidariteit te betonen met de
protesterende bouwvakkers, omdat waardig werk de beste garantie is
voor waardig leven.
ACT NOW! Panama:
Anti-union repression and arrest of SUNTRACS leaders
"Once again, the BWI
has forwarded a strong protest message to the president of Panama
protesting at the government's anti-union repression of SUNTRACS leaders
- Sindicato Único de Trabajadores de la Construcción y Similares -,
members of our International," said Carlos Salguero, regional
representative of the BWI Latin America and Carribbean office. The
police arrested SUNTRACS leadership and members on 10 July 2010 while
the trade union held a meeting in a hotel in the city of Panama. Among
the union's demands, wages, working conditions at the Panama canal site
and the adoption of check off system for trade union fees.
According to
information received by the BWI, the striking workers were also
protesting against the decision by the Government of Panama to impose
Law 30, which undermines fundamental rights, such as the right to strike
and freedom of association. Law 30 also penalises workers who take
their protests to the streets, an offence which can result in up to two
years in prison.
According to the latest news, the
government has called a cabinet meeting, which is expected to adopt
further repressive measures, such as arrest warrants against specific
trade union leaders. The suspension of fundamental rights is also a
possibility.
In letters to the authorities of
Panama, the BWI firmly condemned the violent repression of the strike
movement and urged the President of Panama to take concrete measures to
order an investigation into the deaths to find out how they happened as
quickly as possible, identify those responsible and apply the relevant
penal and administrative measures.
In its campaign, the BWI also demands
the immediate repeal of the controversial Law 30, which creates a
climate of violence that led to the events of 10 July and the
persecution of construction workers. Please ACT NOW and sign our online
campaign hereunder.
Panama City,
Jul 9 (EFE).- A union denounced a Panama Canal contractor's decision to
dismiss 10 workers and its apparent refusal to participate in talks to
resolve a labor dispute.
"At this moment there
are no signs. Talks have stagnated," said Marco Andrade, one of the
Suntracs construction-workers union's representatives in talks with the
Grupo Unidos por el Canal consortium, which was awarded a $3.1 billion
contract to build a third set of locks for the international waterway.
"They
(the consortium) didn't tell us anything; they just didn't show up,"
Andrade said, adding that the GUPC is "seeing if it can solve this
problem by force."
The Suntracs representative said the
consortium on Thursday fired 10 workers involved in the construction of
the third set of locks and that police have been deployed to the area.
A
spokesman for the GUPC consortium, which is led by Spanish construction
firm Sacyr Vallehermoso, confirmed the dismissals and told Efe "there
was no strike, that's the wrong term; instead there was an illegal work
stoppage" and the Labor Ministry authorized the firings because those
individuals had stopped working for six days.
"After
an illegal work stoppage, we are legally authorized to proceed to fire"
(workers), the spokesman said.
He added that the
consortium acknowledges its lack of compliance with Panamanian labor law
in some instances - violations that workers have denounced - and is
working to resolve those issues.
The strikers
began protesting Saturday to press for a salary hike, a solution to a
lack of transportation for workers and more sanitary working conditions,
among other demands.
The GUPC spokesman,
meanwhile, said construction work on the third set of locks has resumed
on the Pacific side, although he did not did not indicate why the
consortium was no longer taking part in the negotiations.
Suntracs
and executives from the four companies that make up the GUPC consortium
said Wednesday that progress had been made in the talks and that there
was a willingness among the different parties to reach an agreement.
In
addition to Sacyr, the other members of the GUPC consortium - whose
project is the most important component of a canal-expansion plan -
include Italy's Impregilo, Belgium's Jan de Nul and Panama's
Constructora Urbana.
Andrade said the
workers will continue their strike until an accord is reached that meets
their demands for better working conditions and a salary increase.
Panamanian
President Ricardo Martinelli said Thursday that the GUPC has not
complied with some labor laws but that those problems were being
resolved.
Andrade, meanwhile, also denounced the
continued incarceration of 28 union members who were arrested Saturday
in the Caribbean city of Colon during a protest in support of the
strikers.
He said Suntracs will evaluate what actions
to take to pressure for their release.
The goal of
the canal-expansion plan, which encompasses several projects and is
estimated to cost a total of $5.25 billion, is to double the waterway's
annual capacity from 300 million tons to 600 million tons.
The
canal, designed in 1904 for ships with a 267-meter (875-foot) length
and 28-meter (92-foot) beam, is too small to handle the "post-Panamax"
ships that are three times as big, making it necessary for some time to
expand by building the new set of locks.
Canal expansion
strike enters sixth day with 28 workers in jail Thursday, 08 July 2010
07:18 More
than 500 workers engaged on the most important part of the widening of
the Panama Canal, remain on strike after five days. Another group of 28
all members of the Construction workers Union (SUNTRACS) are being held
in a Colon prison.The strike by more than 500 workers in the area of
Gatun, where works has started on the third set of locks yesterday
reached its fifth day work stoppage to demand better wages, working
conditions, safety, transportation and other needs that have, in the
eyes of the union,been violated by the four nation Consortium that got
the multi million contract. The strikers who stopped work on Saturday
have warned that their actions will not stop despite the threats of
layoffs and pressures from the Ministry of Labor and Workforce
Development and representatives of the consortium, said SUNTRACS leader,
Eustaquio Méndez. Twenty eight workers detained on Monday by the National
Police during the protest in Puerto Escondido remain in jail.Mendez said
:"We repudiate these repressive measures against our colleagues whose
individual rights have been violated Meanwhile, the legal defense teamof
SUNTRACS has file a writ habeas corpus in the corresponding instance to
prevent the workers being transferred to Nueva Esperanza prison. Commentators have
noted that the strike and detention of workers could affect not only
work on the canal, but also the future of the US-Panama Free Trade
agreement (FTA), already opposed by Union groups in the U.S. because of
what they consider repressive labor laws.
July 13, 2010 09:13AM
EDT [general.addtranslation] [article.get_as_pdf] [ insert language bar
] General
Strike begins in Panama today after last week's massacre A General Strike has
begun against a vicious anti-union law. Por El José
Alcoff Last month President Martinelli passed Ley 30 (Ley Chorizo)
attacking unions, environmental safeguards and defending police who
murder. Against protests and strikes, he has let his national police
shoot hundreds of people leaving six dead, and has gone on a national
manhunt for dozens of top union leaders. Today, the social movements
seek to turn the tide with a general strike. Keywords: Panama- Antonio Smith
was a member of the Cambio Democratico party. Last year, he campaigned
for Ricardo Martinelli for President. As a twenty-five year old bananero
(banana worker) and leader in his militant union, his loyalties were
first with his co-workers and his community in Changuinola, Bocas del
Toro.
When Martinelli's
government passed Ley 30 last month, so-called the Chorizo Law,
outlawing closed shop unions, criminalizing street blockages, offering
impunity to police, and allowing the permanent replacement of striking
workers, Smith followed his union and other movements in outrage. The
bananeros went on strike, took the streets, and joined national
demonstrations.
On Thursday of this past week, police
fired into a crowd of about seven thousand workers in Bocas. One hundred
and twenty-three were wounded, according to mainstream newspaper La
Prensa. Smith and another bananero were among up to killed.
In the ensuing days,
forty-seven of those casualties had to be transferred to bigger cities
that could deal with those wounds. Up to five other people were killed, a
journalist was among those wounded, Bocas towns were shut down, and a
morning round-up arrested some three hundred union leaders and others
across the country. Militants from across labor and the left, not so
much taking a card from a Greek or Thai playbook as revealing their own
style, burned down a bank, blockaded more streets, and took a few police
captive who have since been released. A general strike starts today.
"This is war. Anything
can happen now," says Cesar Santos, a Marxist based in David, in the
province of Chiriqui, just south of Bocas del Toro.
Martinelli Comes to
Town
How did Martinelli, a
white, ultra-conservative grocery chain magnate come to be president on
such a ethnically mixed, traditionally defiant isthmus? He campaigned in
favor of flat taxes. He pushed a neo-liberal agenda far out of line
with most Panamanians' thinking and experience. He was called the Loco
because of his hot temper and bipolar disorder. And his main supporters
actually took on that label, with shirts and bumper stickers declaring
"Los Locos Somos Mas", one of which I randomly have in my possession
thanks to a conservative aunt.
The Panamanian left is strong, but it
has no electoral organ, and so the spectrum of parties comes in a
variety of different hues of right wing. On the left of that right wing
was the last President, Martin Torrijos, son of a former dictator and
running under that military regime's Partido de la Revolucion
Democratica. Torrijos organized for free trade agreements and
privatizations, kept a tempered foreign policy, was socially moderate,
and began a re-militarization of the national police and coast guard in a
country whose US-imposed 1990 constitution refuses it the right to have
a military. He also began to escalate the repression of SUNTRACS, the
40,000 member Marxist construction union which often serves as the focal
point of radical movements here. Three members were gunned down by
police or goons between late 2007 and early 2008.
Martinelli, socially
conservative and more stridently libertarian, campaigned in part on a
platform against the surveillance and militarizing legislation
championed by Torrijos. He campaigned against corruption as well, as all
Panamanian candidates do, which always means a crackdown on the
corruption of your predecessor so as to put your own cronies and systems
of graft in place. Low voter turnout helped, and he brought together a
coalition of ego-centered far right parties (some with pro-fascist
histories) that culminated in his election victory.
And the man who owns
his own racing horse stable was off, cutting the relationship with
Venezuela, sending Cuban doctors who provide free medical aid packing,
and lending diplomatic support to the coup d'etat and ensuing regimes in
Honduras. He tampered with the judiciary in ways not uncommon by local
standards, and reneged on his promises to demilitarize Torrijos'
reforms. His appointments and chosen candidates in local elections have
been mired in corruption scandals.
Perhaps most astoundingly, Martinelli
reopened the gates for the United States military. Panama had been the
home of US troops from an 1846 treaty all the way to 2000. Many decades
of struggle, in the streets and by those in the presidential palaces
forced the United States abdication of the Panama Canal Zone and its
sixteen bases. This is a point of pride for most citizens, one that
Martinelli reversed last year opening at least four locations to naval
bases in a meeting with President Barack Obama.
Ley Chorizo
Chorizo can be
prepared using the scraps of pork left over in facility, molded together
and placed either into an intestine or an artificial casing, and
seasoned. It is popular across the Spanish speaking world, as long as
people don't need to watch how it is prepared and exactly what goes into
it. Think of a hot dog or sausage made of ground leftovers that can be
eaten whole or reground for any recipe. It tastes good, don't it? But
you don't want to know what went in it.
That's how the
resistance movements in Panama characterize two new laws recently passed
by the National Assembly after being ground and molded together by
conservative President Ricardo Martinelli. The legislators didn't bother
to read them, and they quickly passed them the way a hungry child might
devour chorizo.
Ley 30, also known as the "9 laws in
1", covers a myriad of concerns. It begins with a part acquiescing to
joint demands by airline workers and businesses. It then tailspins into
such an extreme assortment of changes that even both the airline pilots
union and business groups have joined the moderate and radical factions
of the left to order the law repealed. The Ley Chorizo: ends environmental
impact studies on projects that are in the 'social interest', public or
private, that include highways, hydroelectric dams, strip mines, and
anything else it deems worthy. bans mandatory dues for workers in
union shops. This is known as closed shops in US labor parlance, and
they are now banned, effectively turning Panama into a "right to work"
(under union busting conditions) state. allows employers to
fire striking workers and permanently hire scabs. Employers and scabs
are then granted police protection during scabs. Strikers are not
afforded the same protection, though they are the ones typically slain. criminalizes street
blockades, which are an almost daily occurrence in Panama, with
sentences of years in prison. protects police from prosecution or
pre-trial incarceration for murder and other charges. Its sister Chorizo law
offers concessions for strip mining, and provides for 'transparency'
guidelines for non-profit organizations operating in Panama that will
effectively shutter many of them. Ley 30 as passed on June 12th, and
resistance was immediately planned. Its sister was passed a couple of
weeks later.
Waking the Sleeping Giant
The Panamanian leftist
social movements had perhaps not been so challenged since the killings
of SUNTRACS workers in 2007, or Torrijos' attempt to privatize social
security which was partly defeated by struggle involving a one month
general strike. They have slowly begun to put aside long held divisions,
and as usual led largely by the more radical elements they have had
summits and marches to begin the battle cry.
Environmentalists hit
the streets in the thousands in what the Panama News says was the
biggest protest in their history, accompanied by union workers, militant
students, indigenous activists and others. Then the radical unions of
the CONUSI labor federation, and the rank and file within the moderate
CONATO federation, hit the streets, themselves accompanied by the
environmentalists and feminist groups.
At the end of June, large marches and a
one day general strike were held. To keep militancy apace, different
unions took their own strike actions. Workers on the Canal expansion
went on strike, and the government attempted to impose that forty-eight
of them were fired for striking on the Canal. The foreign corporation
that had the contract later worked out a settlement and rehired all of
the workers on its own.
The banana workers, using a dispute
over wages, began a strike at the beginning of the month that led to
street blockages and other militant activity in the predominantly
indigenous and Afro-Panamanian province of Bocas del Toro, on the other
side of the country from the capital. Four thousand workers with the
SITRAPBI banana union were joined in solidarity by three thousand
workers of the banana cooperatives who had their own grievances.
The repression had
already begun in the streets, and radical leaders in the capital like
Genaro Lopez of SUNTRACS were quick to place the ominous national
atmosphere at the blame of Martinelli. International letters of
solidarity began to come in from Catalan, and workers were preparing
barricades. The workers knew that the state was ready to escalate its
violence, but they didn't know by how much.
On Thursday, July 8th,
bananeros marched on a Bocas highway they had blockaded. National
Police arrived on the scene in armor, and began shooting teargas. They
then fired buckshot into the crowd, and other cops fired from a
helicopter. Dozens fell. Antonio Smith took his last breaths. Protesters
set fire to government cares amid the gas. When the smoke had cleared,
local doctors were calling it a humanitarian crisis and begging the Red
Cross for assistance.
The government admits at least one
other unnamed banana worker died, but the radical umbrella of social
movements FRENADESO puts the death toll at six. La Prensa says that at
least an eight month old baby and an elderly protester died, both of
asphyxiation from tear gas. One hundred and twenty-three people were
wounded, and twenty were added to that figure the next day. Eighteen
were initially in critical condition, and forty-seven had to be moved to
a hospital all the way in the capital because of probably permanent
damage to their eyes, according to La Prensa.
Workers began their
retaliation. They burned down the Global Bank and are said to have begun
ransacking other major businesses. Reminiscent of militant resistance
in San Salvador Atenco, Mexico, workers took three or four police
hostage, who were released two days later. Labor and movement leaders
returned to meetings to attempt to come together so that they could hit
the streets united. Members of the Naso and Embera indigenous nations
have mobilized their people to join the protests in Bocas fully aware of
a possible second massacre.
People took to the streets across the
country that Friday, and police fired back. A journalist was among those
wounded, keeping in line with Martinelli's recent arrest of three
reporters under Panama's draconian laws against attacking public
officials. Another reporter, this one from mainstream newspaper Panama
America, was detained and strip searched for taking pictures of police,
while 70-year old reporter Carlos Nunez remains in custody despite heart
problems.
This past Saturday,
Kaosenlared.net reports that three hundred movement leaders across the
country were arrested, the very same number of communists arrested the
night of the 1968 military coup. This included not just radicals like
the Chiriqui leader of SUNTRACS, but leaders in the less polarizing
social security union, and many other unionists and radicals, arrested
at a large meeting or in the hospitals where they lay wounded. Most were
released within hours around the same time as the siege on their hotel
was ended, but others are still being held, and SUNTRACS'
second-in-command Saul Melendez is on the run for incitement charges, a
government ploy he last defeated during the previous president.
Meanwhile, back in
Bocas del Toro, the epicenter of the conflict in Changuinola has been
cut off from the outside world. Police blockade the streets and control
the airport, and tourists have been evacuated. Few have internet, but
those that did were able to leak information to their friends in David
or the capital. Martinelli tried to tell the world his government had
negotiated a settlement to end the banana strike and postpone Ley
Chorizo for three months, but this hasnt postponed todays general
strike. Guillermo Puga, a union leader in the CTRP there did an
interview last night saying the situation is still dire in Bocas.
Radical labor
federation CONUSI and their moderate brethren in CONATO have called a
national general strike for Tuesday. These same groups are calling a
boycott on Martinellis Super99 grocery chain and his Assembly ally
Varelas liquor brands, and some are speculating that the wrath of the
citizenry will lead to more than one Super99 burning to the ground. Panama is in its wet
season, where when it rains, it pours. Anti-labor and environment laws
that even scare business lobbyists towards the opposition have bred
organized disatisfaction. That has been met with brutal repression. Now
the resistance to Martinelli, who is eyeing changing the constitution to
give himself a second term, is uniting often disparate elements, and
they are quite clear that no state terror will make them back down.
(Much of the news of
this was gleamed from a combination of business press sources,
Kaosenlared.net, ThePanamaNews.com, Bananamarepublic.com, and personal
interviews with reporters and activists across Panama. Imprecise numbers
are given where there are conflicting reports.)
José Alcoff is a
Panamanian-American free lance reporter and organized based in Brooklyn.
He will be in Panama soon, and can be contacted at
Tuesday, July 27 2010 @
08:00 AM UTC Panama: Strikes and protests force climbdown on anti-strike
laws Thursday,
July 15 2010 @ 04:06 AM UTC Contributed by: WorkerFreedom Views: 218A ten-day strike by
banana plantation workers in Panama has come to an end after the
government agreed an package of concessions that included the suspension
of its anti-strike legislation, Law 30. Strikes and protests
force climbdown on anti-strike laws A ten-day strike by banana plantation
workers in Panama has come to an end after the government agreed an
package of concessions that included the suspension of its anti-strike
legislation, Law 30. The strike by over 4000 banana plantation
workers began on July the 2nd after workers at the Bocas Fruit Company
had the portion of their pay used to pay their union subs withheld by
the company in line with the recently introduced law. As the protests
spread, they were joined by around 2000 independent banana growers. Protests by plantation
workers in the Bocas del Toro province on the 9th of July led to street
fighting with police, who were ordered in by president Ricardo
Martinelli. Demonstrators burned down a bank and several other
businesses were attacked, while roadblocks were set up around the
Atlantic city of Changuinola. The rioting has led to the death of two
workers at the hands of police named as Antonio Smith and Fernán
Castillo - and the wounding of more than 100 more. Over 115 workers were
arrested, while demonstrating workers took four police officers
hostage. Union official Rafael Chavarria has claimed that the situation
is much worse than the government version of events, and that a further
four protesters were killed. 27-07-2010 om 22:23
geschreven door Vorser-Raadgever
WASHINGTON The Pentagon said Monday it was trying to assess
the damage caused by the leak of some 91,000 classified documents on
the Afghanistan war. The documents are described as battlefield
reports compiled by various military units that provide an unvarnished
look at combat in the past six years, including U.S. frustration over
reports Pakistan secretly aided insurgents and civilian casualties at
the hand of U.S. troops.
Wikileaks.org, a
self-described whistleblower organization, posted 76,000 of the reports
to its website Sunday night. The group said it is vetting another 15,000
documents for future release. Col. Dave Lapan, a Defense Department
spokesman, said the military would probably need "days, if not weeks" to
review all the documents and determine "the potential damage to the
lives of our service members and coalition partners." The White House says
it didn't try to stop news organizations who had access to secret U.S.
military documents from publishing reports about the leaks. However,
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said it did ask Wikileaks through
reporters who were given advanced copies of the documents to redact
information in the documents that could harm U.S. military personnel. It was not clear
whether Wikileaks decision to withhold 15,000 of its files was related. The Pentagon declined
to respond to specifics detailed in the documents, including reports of
the Taliban's use of heat-seeking anti-aircraft missiles. "Just because they are
posted on the Internet, doesn't make them unclassified," Lapan said. The Pentagon says it
is still investigating the source of the documents. The military has
detained Bradley Manning, a former Army intelligence analyst in Baghdad,
for allegedly transmitting classified information. But the latest
documents could have come from anyone with a secret-level clearance,
Lapan said.
Story
continues below
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange
promised on Monday that the release of documents one of the largest
unauthorized disclosures in military history was just the beginning. Assange told reporters
in London that he believed that "thousands" of U.S. attacks in
Afghanistan could be investigated for evidence of war crimes, although
he acknowledged that such claims would have to be tested in court. Assange pointed in
particular to a deadly missile strike ordered by Taskforce 373, a unit
allegedly charged with hunting down and killing senior Taliban targets.
He said there was also evidence of cover-ups when civilians were killed,
including what he called a suspiciously high number of casualties that
U.S. forces attributed to ricochet wounds. The Defense Department
declined to respond to specifics contained in the documents, citing
security reasons. But Lapan said that coalition forces have made great strides
in reducing the number of civilian deaths in Afghanistan. White House national
security adviser Gen. Jim Jones said the release of the documents "put
the lives of Americans and our partners at risk," while Pakistan
dismissed the documents as malicious and unsubstantiated. Pakistan Ambassador
Husain Haqqani said the documents "do not reflect the current on-ground
realities." Islamabad's ministry of foreign affairs issued a similar
statement, defending Pakistan's intelligence agency, the ISI, against
allegations it has supported insurgent networks. "The people of
Pakistan and its security forces, including the ISI, have rendered
enormous sacrifices against militancy and terrorism," the ministry
wrote. NATO
refused to comment on the leak, but individual nations said they hoped
it wouldn't harm current operations in Afghanistan. British Foreign
Secretary William Hague said there has been significant progress
recently in building up the Afghan state "so I hope any such leaks will
not poison that atmosphere." German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle
warned about possible "backlashes" and urged all sides in Afghanistan to
work toward national reconciliation. Rep. Ike Skelton, chairman of the House
Armed Services Committee, said the documents reflect his view that U.S.
war strategy was adrift last year, before President Barack Obama's
decision to retool the war plan and add tens of thousands of U.S.
forces. Skelton,
D-Mo., warned Monday that the documents are outdated and "should not be
used as a measure of success or a determining factor in our continued
mission there." U.S. government agencies have been bracing for the deluge of
classified documents since the leak of helicopter cockpit video of a
2007 fire fight in Baghdad. That was blamed on Manning, the 22-year-old
Army intelligence analyst who was charged with releasing classified
information earlier this month. Manning had bragged online that he downloaded
260,000 classified U.S. cables and transmitted them to Wikileaks.org. Assange on Monday
compared the impact of the released material to the opening of East
Germany's secret police files. "This is the equivalent of opening the
Stasi archives," he said. He also said his group had many more
documents on other subjects, including files on countries from across
the globe. "We
have built up an enormous backlog of whistleblower disclosures," he
said. Assange
said he believed more whistle-blowing material will flood in after the
publicity about the Afghan files. "It is our experience that courage is
contagious," he said. ___ Associated Press reporters Raphael Satter in
London, Kimberly Dozier in Washington, Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin and
Robert Burns in Washington contributed to this report.
Vandaag maken we een uitstapje naar een bij de Belgen zeer populaire vakantiebestemming namelijk Turkije. Maar eerst wippen we even binnen bij onze ollandse vakbondscollega's van het FNV waar ze het hebben over UPS, je weet wel het koeriersbedrijf met die rare bruine ijskarachtige voertuigen...ze houden er daar rare praktijken op na bij UPS-Turkije maar houden het wel erg stil!
Misstanden bij UPS Turkije Bij vervoersbedrijf UPS in de Turkse vestigingen worden werknemersrechten niet gerespecteerd. Ondanks intimidatie van UPS staken werknemers al tweeëneenhalve maand. Op UPS-vestigingen in steden als Istanbul en Izmir zijn nogal wat misstanden. Werkdagen van vijftien uur zonder pauze, inhoudingen op het salaris als prestaties niet gehaald worden en in de kantine in Istanbul één theelepeltje voor 2.500 werknemers.
Intimidatie De mensen van UPS Turkije willen lid worden van de vakbond TÜMTIS. Dan kunnen ze samen iets aan die misstanden doen. UPS maakt het mensen echter vrijwel onmogelijk lid te worden van TÜMTIS.
Ontslagen Ben je lid, dan word je geïntimideerd en bedreigd. De kans is groot dat je ontslagen wordt, alleen maar omdat je lid bent. Dat is al meer dan honderd mensen overkomen. Daarmee schendt UPS een mensenrecht.
UPS speelt het ontslag zo, dat je ook geen recht op een uitkering hebt. Families van ontslagen mensen zitten zonder geld en met honger thuis.
Geweld tegen TÜMTIS-demonstranten Desondanks lukte het UPS-werknemers in opstand te komen. Er is een staking aan de gang die nu al meer dan tweeëneenhalve maand duurt.
UPS gebruikt zelfs geweld om die protesten te breken. Zo is een manager met zijn auto ingereden op protesterende UPS-medewerkers. En heeft een onderaannemer van UPS heeft geschoten op protesterende werknemers.
Hoe reageert UPS? Niet. In de rest van Europa probeert UPS de misstanden, het conflict en het geweld dood te zwijgen. Er is geen officiële mening over de problemen in Turkije. Immers, er iets over zeggen, is hetzelfde als erkennen dat er een probleem is!
Steun je Turkse collegas Binnenkort start FNV Bondgenoten een tweede actie om je Turkse collegas te steunen. Je kunt daaraan vanuit huis een steentje aan bijdragen. Duitse en Belgische bonden doen ook mee.
ITF condemns shootings and further dismissals at UPS in Turkey 2 July 2010
The ITF has denounced a reportedly violent attack against employees of global delivery firm UPS, as well as further sackings and intimidation. Speaking yesterday from the picket line outside UPSs offices in Istanbul, Turkey where workers represented by ITF-affiliated union TÜMTİS are staging a protest against the dismissal of 119 UPS employees - Mac Urata, ITF inland transport section secretary condemned the latest reported attacks. It is believed, he said, that shots were fired. Urata commented: Unbelievably the attacks which have been reported to include sackings and intimidation today became even worse. In Izmir this morning shots were fired, allegedly by a manager of the UPS subcontractor, who the trade union believes was forcing workers to resign their union membership at the office of a notary public. Thankfully no one was wounded, and the perpetrator is reported to be in the hands of the police, at least for now. Meanwhile, the continuing complaints about the injustice of the treatment of the members of the ITF-affiliated TÜMTİS union appear to be falling on deaf ears, with further layoffs apparently imminent. They have got worse, rather than better; following the return of UPS Turkeys manager from the companys head office in Atlanta, USA, last week, 30 workers were promptly laid off. Mac Urata is at the Istanbul protest with Eduardo Chagas, general secretary of the European Transport Workers Federation (ETF) as part of an international solidarity effort. Others attending the picket line protest also include UNI Global Union. The dispute became international in April 2010 after TÜMTİS appealed to the ITF for international support, following the sackings of UPS Turkey workers apparently in connection with their carrying out trade union activities. The ITF will call on UPSs head office to intervene immediately; the ETF will also be raising the matter with the European Parliament. Both organisations will jointly contact the Turkish prime minister on the issue. Watch a video clip direct from the picket line: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIhS_uqgeaU http://www.handyshippingguide.com/shipping-news/shots-fired-as-freight-parcels-service-unrest-continues_1893
05 July 2010 Shots Fired As Freight Parcels Service Unrest Continues  Dispute with Union Turns Ugly in Turkey Whilst Bahrain Simmers
TURKEY BAHRAIN - A dispute which has rumbled on at depots in Ankara, Izmir and Istanbul since April is still in deadlock according to transport union association International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) which represents the interests of over four and a half million staff as members of fifty nine major unions. In a conflict which has been little reported 33 UPS employees were allegedly sacked for encouraging union membership at the parcel shipping groups terminals. Following an outcry 24 were reinstated but the situation worsened and a further 70 plus staff were dismissed in May prompting mass rallies by Dutch and German union sympathisers at the Turkish picket line in Istanbul on the 5th and 6th June. By last week the number of staff dismissed by UPS had apparently reached 119 and, according to the ITF, relations have got steadily worse following the return of the UPS depot manager from a visit to company headquarters in Atlanta after which 30 workers were dismissed. In the latest development last week, shots were apparently fired, allegedly by a manager of the UPS subcontractor who the trade union believes was forcing workers to resign their union membership at the office of a notary public. Speaking from the picket line outside the UPS Turkey offices in Istanbul, Mac Urata, secretary of the ITFs Inland Transport Sections, confirmed the shooting and said: Thankfully no one was wounded, and the perpetrator is reported to be in the hands of the police, at least for now. We will once again be speaking to UPS head office to ask them to intervene immediately with their subsidiary in Turkey, while our colleagues in the European Transport Workers Federation (ETF) will also be raising the matter with the European Parliament, and jointly we will do the same with the Prime Minister of Turkey. Despite requests from the Handy Shipping Guide we have received no response from UPS regarding the dispute. In the meantime the Arabic press report that a four month long dispute at rival parcel carriers DHL is beginning to worsen. Union officials employed at the companys facility in Bahrain say they wore yellow armbands for ten days last month to express their dissatisfaction with pay levels. They then switched to red armbands as a visible warning to the company that the situation was becoming more serious. DHL are adamant that all their staff are fairly treated and insist that, having paid an across the board average salary increase in April and extended medical and other benefits by the 27th June, the employees have no cause for complaint. The union admit the concessions made include staff family health benefits, transport expenses and a heat allowance but state these do not answer their primary grievance of low pay and poor conditions. A strike is now mooted to begin with a fortnight having already been postponed from the 18th June whilst talks continued. It is to be hoped that ongoing negotiations will resolve the matter. Photo: Picket Line at UPS Istanbul