MOUVEMENT ANARCHISTE DU CANADA/CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT:

LA LUTTE EN MARTINIQUE/THE STRUGGLE IN MARTINIQUE:







Bientôt à Montréal ... Rencontre avec l'auteur Matinik Doubout. Parrainé par l'Union Communiste Libertaire.
Coming soon in Montréal...meeting with author matinik Doubout. Sponsored by l'Union Communiste Libertaire.

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Conférence et discussion avec l'auteur du livre Matinik Doubout.
Date: Thursday, July 22, 2010
Time: 7:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: Studio Levier Noir (Métro Place St-Henri)
Street: 4525 rue St-Jacques
City/Town: Montreal, QC

Description.Matinik Doubout: Lutte anticolonialiste et lutte de classe en Martinique et dans les Antilles.

L’Union Communiste Libertaire-Montréal vous convie à une conférence estivale.

En février-mars 2009, la Martinique a été secouée par le plus puissant mouvement populaire du siècle dernier. Des milliers de Martiniquais-es se sont retrouvé-es dans un mouvement de grève générale qui s’est étendu comme une trainée de poudre dans les Antilles Françaises.

Nemo, enseignant, témoin et acteur de ces événements et militant d’Alternative libertaire présentera une conférence qui traitera de la lutte anticolonialiste et de la lutte des classes en Martinique ainsi que dans les Antilles. Il est l’auteur du livre Matinik Doubout, qui raconte au jour le jour le mouvement de 2009 et analyse les perspectives politiques et économiques qu’il a ouvertes.

Cette conférence abordera l’historique de ces luttes, la situation actuelle ainsi que les perspectives à l’ombre de la crise économique mondiale. Cette conférence sera suivie d’une période de discussion et de questions.

http://www.causecommune.net/
http://nefacmtl.blogspot.com/

Un billet portant sur le bouquin:
http://nefacmtl.blogspot.com/2010/07/chronique-litteraire-matinik-doubout-le.html

(english version)

Conference: Matinik Doubout - The anti-colonialist, class struggle in Martinique and the Antilles

The Montreal branch of the Union Communiste Libertaire invites you to a summer conference with the author of the book "Matinik Doubout".

When? Thursday 22 July 2010 at 7.00pm

Where? 4525 Rue St-Jacques, Montreal (metro Place St-Henri)

In February and March 2009, Martinique was shaken by the strongest popular movement seen in the country since the last century. Thousands of Martinicans found themselves as part of a general strike movement which spread like a powder-trail throughout the French Antilles.

Nemo, a teacher and member of Alternative Libertaire Martinique, was a witness to and participant in these events. He will be presenting a talk on the anti-colonialist struggle and the class struggle in Martinique and the rest of the Antilles. He is also the author of the book "Matinik Doubout", which gives a day-by-day account of the 2009 movement and analyses the political and economic conditions which lay at its root.

This conference will cover the history of these struggles and the current situation, also in the light of the global economic crisis. The talk will be followed by an opportunity for questions and debate.

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-GUADELOUPE/MARTINIQUE:

GENERAL STRIKES IN FRENCH CARIBBEAN END:

Two general strikes that paralyzed French possessions in the Caribbean and inspired workers back in France have ended. Here are two articles from the LibCom site on the end of the strikes.

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Martinique general strike called off:
Organisers of a crippling 38-day anti-inflation strike in the French island of Martinique lifted their protest Saturday with the signing of a protocol with the government.

"This protocol will mean the lifting of the strike call," said Michel Monrose, head of the February 5 Collective group which launched the protest.

But he added the Collective "reserves the right to re-launch the strike if the accords are not respected".

The signing ceremony drew a crowd of thousands who gathered outside the island's head administrative office. They repeatedly chanted a slogan "Matinik leve," or Martinique stand up in the local Creole language.

The Caribbean island, about 7,000 kilometres (4,350 miles) from Paris, has been paralyzed for over a month by strikes and protests against the high cost of living, with a similar strike in neighbouring Guadeloupe resolved earlier.

Unemployment on the island stands at 23 percent, while most of its food products, shipped in from France are very expensive.

The unrest has also sparked tension between the island's black majority and the local whites -- descendants of former colonisers and slave traders -- who control a large part of Martinique's economy and retail trade.

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Guadeloupe general strike comes to an end:
Union leaders on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe have agreed to end a 44-day-old general strike after most of their demands were met.

The announcement came after the LKP collective signed a deal with officials and business owners to raise workers' pay and lower the cost of basic goods. Negotiations are continuing in nearby Martinique over a similar stoppage.

The strikes have crippled the French overseas departments and on several occasions erupted into violence. Some residents alleged that a wealthy, white elite was controlling imports and prices.

Two weeks ago, union leader Jacques Bino was shot dead by rioting youths at a barricade in Guadeloupe's main city, Pointe-a-Pitre.

Hundreds of police and gendarmes have been deployed from France in recent weeks to support local security forces and help restore order. Dozens of protesters have been arrested since the strikes began.

Wednesday's agreement covered a wide range of issues, including the price of bread, the hiring of teachers and reduced air fares. But most importantly, it will see the wages of the lowest-paid workers supplemented with a 200-euro ($254; £178) monthly payment.

Prices on Guadeloupe and Martinique are generally higher while wages are lower than on the mainland. Unemployment - at more than 20% - is three times as high, and GDP per person just over half as big.

Negotiations on other union demands - including the lowering of the prices of 54 basic goods, are continuing.

Guadeloupe Prefect Nicolas Desforges, the highest representative of the French state, hailed a "new departure" for the island.

"This is an important moment," he said. "[Guadeloupe] must get back to work from tomorrow. It must make up the delay."

"It must work twice as hard("Twice" as hard? Do they get paid "twice" as much-Molly) because, in order to be paid an additional 200 euros, there must be companies to pay that sum, and for them to pay it, they must prosper, and for them to prosper, they must work."

But LKP leader Elie Domota warned that unions would resume the strike if the government or businesses reneged on their promises.

"This means work will resume, but we'll remain mobilised over the coming days and weeks," he said.

LE TRAVAIL INTERNATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL LABOUR:
QUAND LES ANTILLES MONTRENT LA VOIE/WHEN THE ANTILLES LEAD THE WAY:
Tandis que les syndicats de la France préparent une soi-disant grève generale(une affaire de un jour) pour la 19ème de mars les syndicats mars dans les colonies françaises dans les Caraïbe ont placé un exemple beaucoup plus fort. Voici un communiqué de presse de l'anarchosyndicalist CNT français au sujet de ces nouvelles négligées.
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While the trade unions of France plan a so-called general strike (a one day affair) for the 19th of March unions in the French colonies in the Caribbean have set a much stronger example. Here is a press release from the anarchosyndicalist French CNT about this neglected news.
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[CNT] [communiqué de presse confédéral]
Quand les Antilles montrent la voie...‏ :
La CNT s'interroge très fortement su l'attitude actuelle des huit centrales ou unions syndicales qui viennent par un communiqué du 9 février d'annoncer une prochaine mobilisation nationale pour le… 19 mars. Pourtant la Guadeloupe a plus que montré l'exemple après trois semaines d'une grève générale, qui s'étend maintenant à la Martinique et est annoncée à La Réunion. Pendant que les Antilles montrent la voie, la mobilisation dans les universités porte la promesse d'une lutte sociale d'ampleur pouvant s'implanter en métropole. Le combat contre La loi sur l'autonomie des universités est un combat pour l'indépendance de la recherche, l'accès de tous à ses enseignements, et contre une université gérée sur le modèle de l'entreprise.




La grève du 29 janvier ne pouvait être qu'un prélude. Dans un contexte de licenciements massifs, le lit de la révolte grossit assurément, alorsque le gouvernement profite de la crise pour multiplier les cadeaux aux entreprises et aux revenus aisés : après les cadeaux aux grandes fortunes à son arrivée au pouvoir, Sarkozy annonce la baisse de l'impôt sur le revenu et rien de moins que la suppression de la taxe professionnelle, alors qu'il continue dans le même temps de mener tambours battants la disparition des services publics et de la Sécu au nom de la rigueur. Et le gouvernement refuse toujours de parler de hausse des salaires comme en Guadeloupe où il adopte le mépris comme méthode de négociation.




La crise a bon dos, et c'est une véritable politique de classe qui est menée par un transfert massif de l'argent public, détourné des budgets sociaux vers les capitaux privés, comme l'a montré l'utilisation des revenus du livret A pour financer les banques. Les caisses de l’Etat ne sont pas vides pour tout le monde…




Face à la forte mobilisation du 29 janvier où s'est exprimée une révolte massive, dans le privé comme le public contre la politique gouvernementale, l'attentisme des directions syndicales démontre une fois de plus que les travailleurs ne peuvent se contenter d'attendre leur appel pour une grève d'un jour renvoyée aux calendes grecques. Comme en Guadeloupe et en Martinique, comme dans l’éducation avec la coordination nationale unitaire, comme ils le font maintenant dans les universités avec les étudiants, les travailleurs doivent imposer leur volonté aux directions syndicales afin de construire un mouvement de grève et de blocage suffisamment large, et durable pour faire plier le gouvernement. Une grève d'un jour, même massive, ne peut créer un vrai rapport de force.




Nous ne paierons pas leur crise, grève interprofessionnelle reconductible !
CNT
http://www.cnt-f.org/
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[CNT] [confederal press release]
When the Antilles show the way…:
The CNT s' very strongly questions the current attitude of the eight union centrals which came via an official statement on February 9 announcing a forthcoming national mobilization for… March 19. However the Guadeloupe has more than shown an example after three weeks of a general strike, which extends now to Martinique and has been announced in Réunion.. While the Antilles show the way, the mobilisation in the universities carries the promise of a social struggle which can be established in the metropolis. The fight against the law on university autonomy is a fight for independence of research, universal access, and against a university managed like a business model.




The strike of January 29 can be only a prelude. In a context of massive dismissals, the basis of the revolt undoubtedly grows bigger , while the government benefits from the crisis to multiply gifts to business and the easy incomes: after the gifts of the millionaires to his arrival in power , Sarkozy announces the lowering of the income tax and nothing less than the abolition of the business tax. Then he continues at the same time beating the drum for the disappearance of public services and social security in the name of discipline. And the government always refuses to speak of raising wages as in Guadeloupe where it adopts contempt as a method of negotiation.




The crisis goes a good way back, and it is a true class policy which is conducted by a massive transfer of public money, diverting the social budget towards private capital, as shown by the use of bank deposits to finance the banks. The coffers of the State are not emptied for everyone…




Faced with the strong mobilization of January 29 when a massive revolt was expressed, in the private sector as well as the public one against the government policy, the wait-and-see policy of the trade-union directions shows once more that the workers cannot be satisfied to heed their call for a one day strike put off to the Greek calends. As in Guadeloupe and Martinique, as in education with unified national coordination, as they do now in the universities with the students, the workers must impose their will on the trade-union managers in order to build a strike and blockade movement sufficiently broad, and durable blocking to make the government fold. A strike of' one day, even a massive one cannot create a true show of force.




We will not pay for their crisis, indefinite general strike !
CNT
http:///www.cnt-f.org