City University activists fight to “take back union”
Left activists at City University are running in their student union elections as part of a campaign to reclaim their union and make it an active, political campaigning organisation. For more information see their website, www.takebackyourunion.com
Upcoming Feminist Fightback events
Feminist Fightback steering committees have planned a number of actions for the next few months, including various actions on International Women’s Day (8 March), and a dayschool on abortion rights on 12 April. For more check back at the Feminist Fightback website or email feminist.fightback@gmail.com or one of the email addresses below
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Sussex “Education Not for Sale” campaign launched
Students at the University of Sussex have launched an “Education Not for Sale” campaign
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“Feminism of the Anti-Capitalist Left”: a contribution to debate
By Lidia Cirillo
At the beginning of this year the Sinistra Critica (Critical Left) political group in Italy had a discussion on drafting a feminist manifesto. While there are elements specific to Italy, and not everyone in ENS Women would agree with everything she says, the following notes on the discussions by Lydia Cirillo pose many important questions for the updating of a socialist feminist analysis.
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NUS Annual Conference
Blackpool. For more info, click here.
Trade Union and Community conference against Immigration Controls
SOAS, Central London. For more info, click here.
Stop the War national demo
Central London.
London socialist-feminist reading group
“The family: can we do without it?” For more info email cathyn56@hotmail.com
NUS Women’s Conference
Tuesday 11 - Thursday 13 March, Coventry. For more information click here.
Feminist Activist Forum
Including workshops from ENS Women and Feminist Fightback. For more info, email laura_schwartz2003@yahoo.co.uk
Feminist Fightback event on women and migrants’ rights
For more info, email laura_schwartz2003@yahoo.co.uk
Oxford Radical Forum
A free three-day outburst of political debate, encompassing speakers, workshops, films, bookstalls and magic. Subjects will include Palestine, Marxism, women’s reproductive rights, environmentalism, political theatre and queer art. For more info, click here.
Reclaim the Night march
Women congregate 6pm, Sackville Street, Manchester; men’s march starts at same place; mixed rally at 7.30pm, University of Manchester Students’ Union. Banner making at UMSU all day
Unite Against Fascism conference
TUC Congress House, Great Russell Street, London WC1
Deadline for amendments to NUS conference
Click here for ENS’s model amendments.
NUS anti-racism conference
UCU HQ, Britannia Street, London WC1X
Workers’ Climate Action meeting
Location: Sheffield. Venue tba. For more info, email lougified@hotmail.com. Workers’ Climate Action is a network of revolutionaries, anti-capitalists, and other radical activists within the labour and environmental movements who seek to develop working-class focused solutions to climate change.
Hands Off Iraqi Oil day of action
For more info, see http://www.handsoffiraqioil.org
Million Women Rise march
In Central London, as part of International Women’s Day. Assemble Hyde Park, 12pm
Essex University students reclaim their union
Students at Essex University have elected a radical left sabbatical team to run their student union. In the elections last week, four out of five sabbatical positions were won by members of the “Viva Essex” slate - Yousuf Joondan for Vice President Education, Zak Suffee for VP Welfare and Community, Arnold Ma for VP Services and Communications and Abu Sayeed for VP Sports and Societies. Viva Essex’s presidential candidate, Respect and SWP member Dominic Kavakeb, was defeated by only 30 votes, 825 to 855.
ENS offers Viva Essex campaigners our congratulations: this is a fantastic example of how rank-and-file activists can build mass support and begin to turn a student union around. More information and reports from Essex shortly.
Emergency motion on Kosova to NUS NEC 21/02/08
NEC notes
1. Kosova declared independence from Serbia on Sunday 17 February 2008.
NEC believes
1. We support the right to self-determination of Kosova, and condemn the pressure and threats against Kosovar self-determination from Serbia and Russia.
2. We also condemn the mistreatment of the Serbian minority in Kosova, and believe that the people of Serbian-majority area in northern Kosova, bordering on Serbia, should have the right to secede if they want to.
Amendments on Palestine to NUS NEC 21/02/08
Delete Further believes 3 and replace with
“3. That supporting free elections and the right of the Palestinian people to choose their own representatives does not mean we have to welcome the election of Hamas, or cease to criticise that movement’s reactionary, bigoted politics - any more than it previously meant failing to criticise Fatah’s corruption, elitism and authoritarianism.”
Further believes 4 delete
“the resistance of the Palestinian people to imperialist aggression.”,
replace with
“the determination of the Palestinian people to resist oppression and fight for self-determination.”
Resolves 1, add
“Demand immediate Israel withdrawal from the Occupied Territories and the creation of a really independent Palestinian state alongside Israel in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem; full equality for national minorities on both sides; and aid to the Palestinians to help them rebuild their shattered economy and society.”
Delete “support the suspension of the EU/Israel trade agreement until Israel ends its occupation”
Delete Resolves 2
Add new Resolves “2. To work with Palestinian and Israeli, trade unions, students’, women’s and LGBT organisations fighting for a democratic settlement (including the Israeli peace movement) - opposing both Israel’s oppression of the Palestinians and the reactionary politics of Hamas.”
Replace Resolves 3 with “To ask the proposer of this motion to circulate detailed information about the “60 years of Nakba” demonstration on 10th May as soon as possible, so that the next NEC meeting can consider requests for support in an informed way.”
Motion on the siege of Gaza to NUS NEC 21/02/08 from Respect
NUS Believes:
1. The siege being imposed on Palestinians is making life a living hell in Gaza.
2. The World Food Program has said that food imports only cover 41 per cent of demand. Palestinians are suffering from hunger and malnutrition, and those seriously ill are being prevented from accessing essential medical treatment outside Gaza by Israel sealing the borders.
3. Israel is cutting fuel and electricity supplies, and 210,000 people are able to access drinking water for only 1-2 hours a day.
4. Over 40 Gazans have died as a direct result of being denied medical treatment by the Israeli authorities.
5. Twenty per cent of essential drugs and 31 per cent of essential medical supplies are no longer available inside Gaza.
NUS further believes:
1. The Israeli, EU, US and British governments are systematically attempting to overturn the results of the last Palestinian parliamentary elections, declared free and fair by the international community.
2. The siege is punishing Palestinians for simply exercising their right to choose their own representatives.
3. An even greater assault maybe on the horizon. Senior Israeli figures have make clear that if the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza does not succeed in ensuring that Palestinians submit to the will of the state of Israel , they are preparing for massive military action inside Gaza.
4. Ordinary Gazans breaking the border with Egypt to allow supplies into Gaza is a heroic example of the resistance of the Palestinian people to imperialist aggression.
5. That NUS opposes collective punishment of the Palestinian people and supports their right to national self determination.
6. That the coming demonstration against the Nakba on May 10th has taken on added importance given the catastrophe in Gaza.
NUS resolves:
1. Support the following demands and place them clearly on our website and encourage Student Unions to write to their MP supporting our position.
- Demand the Israeli government lift the siege and ends all collective punishment imposed on the civilian population of Gaza
- Demand the EU restores funding to Gaza
- Respect Palestinian democracy and engage with elected Palestinian representatives
- Ensure Israel release the Palestinian elected representatives it has abducted and imprisoned
- Support the suspension of the EU/Israel trade agreement until Israel ends its occupation.
2. Support the “60 years of Nakba” national demonstration on the 10th May.
Amendments on Venezuela to NUS NEC 21/02/08 from SBL
Amendment – Delete believes two and three, and resolves one, and insert:
Add at end of point 1:
`PDVSA employs some 17,000 people and has a management structure independent of the government’.
add further points:
2. That February 2 marked the ninth anniversary of a government led by Hugo Chávez in Venezuela. This government has positively transformed the lives of Venezuela’s poor majority and working people.
3. that these include
A massive expansion in access to education, which has seen illiteracy eliminated; more than doubling of investment in social education as a percentage of GDP; hundreds of thousands of students now enrolled in HE due improved financial support;
A greatly expanded programme of national health care and vaccinations, which has amongst its many benefits seen infant mortality reduced significantly, from 21.4 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1998 to 13.9 deaths in 2007.
Access to drinking water increasing from 80% of the population in 1998 to 92% in 2007
Taking four million people out of poverty reducing extreme poverty from 20.3% of the population in 1998 to 9.4% today.
Introducing a constitution initiated by the Chávez government to guarantee civil rights and equality for women, black and indigenous populations, and with a greater emphasis on combating homophobia, discrimination against disabled people and many other forms of social exclusion and discrimination.
An enormous expansion of workplace rights, including huge increases in the rate of the minimum wage to the highest in Latin America, at $283 per month.
Millions more workers being entitled to pensions.
4. These advances in human rights have also seen a huge increase in democratic participation in Venezuela and increases in the population’s satisfaction with democracy. The recent respected annual Latinobarómetro poll of 18 Latin American countries found that Venezuela has the second highest satisfaction rating with democracy in all of Latin America, with a satisfaction rating of 59% compared to a regional average of 37%.
Further believes:
1.This expansion in social progress and rights has been because of the government’s policy to reclaim control of the oil industry, through nationalisation, enabling it to redistribute wealth and put resources into social programmes.
2.Venezuela’s right to control its own natural resources has met deep hostility from the Bush Administration in Washington and has led to numerous attempts to overthrow the Chávez governmental, including through an illegal coup, sabotage of the oil industry in order to attempt tot decimate the economy; an international campaign of disinformation.
3.The latest example of such attacks is the case brought by ExxonMobil, the world’s largest and richest company, to freeze Venezuelan assets in a clear violation of national sovereignty and its rights to use its national resources to benefit all the people equally. On 7 February legal rulings in the US, UK, the Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles froze US$12bn of assets of PDVSA.
4.This move was in response to the Venezuelan government policy last year to adopt majority control of the country’s oil resources. ExxonMobil, unlike other foreign firms which reached agreements with Venezuela with 30 out of 32 contracts renegotiated, refused the terms that were offered.
Resolves:
1. To defend Venezuela’s national sovereignty and the right of its elected government to control its own resources, economic policy and oil industry, including most recently in its legal fight with Exxon Mobil.
2. To continue, in line with current NUS conference policy, to support the advances in democracy and social progress in Venezuela.
Motion on Venezuela to NUS NEC 21/02/08
NUS believes
1. That Orlando Chirino, an oil worker union activist and one of the leaders of the UNT union federation in Venezuela, has been sacked from his job by the management of the country’s nationalised PDVSA oil company.
2. That Chirino is unpopular with the authorities because he led a campaign for an abstention in the recent referendum on a new constitution which the Chavez government narrowly lost.
3. That Chirino is a socialist who played a major role in defeating the right-wing, US-backed coup against Chavez in 2002, helping to defend the oil industry against the bosses’ lock-out which took places.
NUS resolves
1. To sign the statement of protest being circulated by socialists and trade union activists in France.
Motions and amendments to NUS NEC, 21 February
Motions and amendments to the NUS National Executive Committee meeting on 21 February 2008.
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Saturday 23rd February - ENS open steering meeting
Open steering meeting for ENS, with a caucus for ENS women, 12-4pm on Saturday 23 February at the Exmouth Arms pub on Starcross Street, Euston, London.
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Long Road College anti-Stagecoach campaign
From Sam Wade, NUS rep, Long Road Sixth-Form College Students’ Union
The Students’ Union at Long Road Sixth-Form College has recently launched a campaign calling for a rate on buses for students of whatever age or type of education, and that the buses in Cambridge be run in a fashion that serves the best interests of the students who rely on them so heavily.
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Anoosheh Azaadbar for NUS Honorary VP!
For a PDF of Anoosheh’s manifesto, click here. For the text, see below. For her list of nominators and supporters, see here.
We support Anoosheh Azaadbar for NUS Honorary Vice-President
Above the line are those who formally nominated Anoosheh before the deadline on 1 February. Below the line are those who have expressed support since then. We want as many students as possible to support the campaign, so please get in touch: education.not.for.sale@gmail.com
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Four ways you can show solidarity with student activists in Iran
Since 7 December, the Iranian regime has imprisoned dozens of left-wing student activists for demonstrating, or attempting to demonstrate, against it, as well as against the threat of a US-Iranian war. Please help us make solidarity with our comrades in Iran.
For more on the struggle in Iran, see http://freeirstudent.blogspot.com, run by activists from the left wing Freedom and Equality-Seeking Students group. It includes a post on our campaign (thanks, comrades!)
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Strippers in student unions
Strippers were recently brought to perform in Hull University student union; ENS supporters at the university were involved in the response. Here, Laura Schwartz, an ENS supporter on NUS Women’s Committee, responds to the protests organised by NUS Women’s Campaign.
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Model amendments for NUS Conference 2008
Please find below ENS’s model amendments for NUS Conference 2008.
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Let Flores study! Let the Sukulas stay in Bolton! Against deportations and racism!
Flores Sukula has lived in Bolton for the past seven years, successfully passed courses at Bolton Sixth Form College and secured a place on the Health and Social Care degree course at Manchester Metropolitan University. After completing her degree she wants to go on to train as a midwife.
The future looks bright? Unfortunately, it’s not so easy as Flores like thousands of others of young people has been blocked from taking up her place at university because as an asylum seeker (from the Democratic Republic of Congo), with the attendant racist immigration controls, she is being denied access to the course. The university are insisting on treating her as an overseas student and saying that to register for the course she would have to pay fees of around £6000- all without recourse to even so much as a student loan.
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Hands off Zohreh and Azar Kabiri! Stop the stoning of “adulterous” women in Iran!
Two women are to be stoned to death on adultery charges in Iran.
Zohreh and Azar Kabiri are sisters, 27 and 28 years old respectively and both mothers. They were arrested on 5 February, 2007 following allegations of adultery by Zohreh’s husband. A month later they were prosecuted and sentence to 99 lashes. After the sentence was executed, both were returned to prison for unknown reasons; and six months later they were tried again and sentenced to death by stoning.
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Yes, left unity was possible: but it was not ENS that scuppered it; Student Broad Left cheapens anti-racism with libel against ENS
February 6th 2008
By Sofie Buckland, NUS NEC
George Woods of the Student Broad Left group has issued a statement accusing Education Not for Sale of responsibility for scuppering negotiations for a united left slate at the 2008 NUS conference. It can be read here. (We urge SBL to reciprocate by publishing a link to this reply, but are under no illusions that they will do so.)
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Vote Education Not for Sale, for a democratic, campaigning NUS - and continue the Fight for left unity, at NUS Conference and beyond
February 5th 2008
The Education Not for Sale network has nominated four candidates for the full-time positions on NUS National Executive:
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Defend LGBT organisations in Turkey!
The third hearing of the closing case against the Turkish LGBT group Lambda Istanbul will be
held on 31 January 2008.
Opening lawsuits to shut down LGBT organisations has almost become a bureaucratic ritual of governorships in Turkey; a ritual that one has to go through while establishing an LGBT organisation with a legal entity.
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Feminist Fightback takes on the Christian Medical Foundation
About 25 people attended the Feminist Fightback picket of the Christian Medical Foundation on 25th Jan. Our aim was to raise awareness about the lies that the CMF had been telling about abortion and to take a step towards getting the pro-choice voice out on the streets again. We wanted also to use this picket as a trial towards further actions around reproductive freedoms- to show that with a few home-made placards and a handful of enthusiastic feminists it was possible to stage small-scale events like this that did not require too much organisation but which nevertheless were an effective way of getting out message across. We plan to do more in future.
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