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Spark Audio: Interview with Phil Ferguson

The Joel Cosgrove Variety Hour recently interviewed Phil Ferguson who spoke at Workers Resistance 2009 on Karl Korshe and Historical Specificity. As well as Korshe this interview includes discussion of the current economic situation and Marxist economics. Download the MP3 here.

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Launch of PFLP solidarity campaign

The Workers Party NZ is launching a national solidarity campaign to support the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

Resistance to the Zionist state of Israel as a political, military and economic entity which is inherently racist and through its policies and actions denies Palestinians their land, their freedom and their rights; is not terrorism.

The PFLP has been one of the leading left secular progressive forces in the Palestinian struggle for justice and emancipation since its inception in 1969. They were the second biggest political force within the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), next to Fatah when it was lead by Yasser Arafat. When the PLO entered into the “Peace Process” the PFLP vigorously opposed this path and while remaining a member withdrew its support for the PLO while it continues to pursue this action.

Instead the PFLP sees the path to liberation as a single secular state in all of Palestine, with the right of return for Palestinian refugees and where all people regardless of race or religion have equal rights.

The PFLP continues to struggle both militarily and politically for the single secular state and fights alongside all Palestinian forces that oppose the Zionist state of Israel.

We believe that it is the responsibility of the progressive left in the west to show solidarity with the progressive left in Palestine. The Workers Party sees the PFLP as the most consistent and progressive left force in Palestine and we believe that it is the duty of progressive people in New Zealand to support their struggle.

One of the important points of the Solidarity Campaign is to support the right of Palestinians to all forms of resistance including armed resistance. In many western nations the PFLP has been branded as a terrorist organisation, we believe it is the right of any people facing a military occupation to resist.

We call for:

1. The removal of the PFLP from terrorist designations and

2.       The immediate release of Ahmad Sa’adat, General Secretary of the PFLP who is being held in solitary confinement in an Israeli jail

The campaign is being launched at 11:30 a.m. Saturday the 30th of May at the Wellington Central Library on the Mezzanine floor. All those who wish to support Palestinian Resistance can purchase a T-shirt at the launch, give donations or order on-line from www.workersparty.org.nz   or contact the Workers Party directly in your area.

All profits from the T-Shirts and Donations received will be given to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

END.

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Oppose the expulsion of Workers Party activists from Victoria University

 Join the protests:  Auckland Solidarity Protest for expelled anti-war Victoria Uni students Wednesday, May 27, 2009 12:00pm – 1:00pm Assemble in main quad, Auckland University

Wellington 12 -1pm on Friday, May 29, at Kelburn Parade (by Victoria University)

Students Alastair Reith, Joel Cosgrove and Ian Anderson have been expelled from Victoria University for burning the New Zealand flag. They did this in protest against New Zealand imperialism and New Zealand’s involvement in such imperialist ventures as Iraq, East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, the occupation of Afghanistan and elsewhere.

The students are not allowed to reenrol until next trimester, and are banned from sitting their exams. As a result they will fail all their courses, and as they are not being issued a refund they are essentially receiving a fine of several thousand dollars each.

The University is claiming that they were expelled for “health and safety” reasons. However this is clearly not the case. The flag was burned outside, in the rain, on the soaking wet smoker’s smokers’ deck outside the Mount Street Bar, and despite the false claims of the University the students had a bottle of water with them with which to put the fire out, and extinguished it themselves with water taken from inside the bar.

And if this was really about “health and safety”, why is Ian Anderson being expelled for filming the event? He had no direct role in burning the flag, and his only involvement was recording on camera what took place. Another student and Workers Party member, Marika Pratley, has been issued an official warning for simply being present on the deck while the flag was burned!

You don’t have to agree one hundred percent with the expelled student’s students’ politics, or with the act of burning the flag. But whatever way you look at it, this is an outrageous abuse of power by the University which sets a worrying precedent. This is an issue of freedom of speech, freedom of expression and the right to engage in political activity without fear of reprisal. If you support basic civil liberties and democratic rights, you should do everything you can to oppose the University’s decision and support Alastair, Joel and Ian being reinstated.

This coming Friday (the 29th), midday on Kelburn Parade, there is a protest being held against the expulsion of the students. If you think this is an over the top punitive action and support the right of student’s students’ to protest and take part in political activism in a free, open and democratic environment, you should come along and make your voice heard. Don’t let the University silence free speech!

Workers Party press release on the expulsions.

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Victoria University kicks out students for anti-war protest

PRESS RELEASE

Victoria University has disenrolled three students for an anti-war protest around Anzac day, and issued a warning to another student. Deborah Willis, Dean of the Humanities faculty, has disenrolled Joel Cosgrove and Alastair Reith, claiming a flag burning protest they held was serious misconduct. Ian Anderson who filmed the protest outside the Mount Street bar on campus has also been disenrolled, and Marika Pratley who was present, was issued a warning. The university has also banned all four from the Mount Street bar. The protest on 6 May was to highlight New Zealand involvement in wars of aggression from the Boer War, the World Wars, Vietnam to Afghanistan.

All four students are members of the Workers Party.

“The 20 second flag burning, which took place outside, in the rain, posed no danger to anyone” said Workers Party secretary Daphna Whitmore. “Universities are supposed to be the critical conscience of society. The actions of the University are political harassment and an attack on political freedom of expression on campus” she said.

The students are rejecting the university’s draconian actions against them and say they will continue to attend classes. They are calling on staff and other students to support their right to freedom of expression. END

Contact Daphna Whitmore 029 4949865   Joel Cosgrove 027 6009282

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Statement on Jasmine Freemantle’s expulsion

On the 12th of May, the Workers Party expelled current VUWSA president Jasmine Freemantle for flagrant violations of core working class, socialist and party principles. Since then her response has been to attempt to cover up the fact that she was expelled for consistently attempting to ride roughshod over VUWSA employees and for refusing to argue for basic socialist and Workers Party principles in VUWSA.

In particular, Freemantle undermined the Workers Party on campus and made restrictions on the right to strike. The unrestricted right to strike is in our policy platform, which was democratically ratified while she was a member. We, however, have no interest in wasting our time responding to every piece of Freemantle’s lurid fiction, personal attacks and self-justifying antics.

People who know the Workers Party will have little difficulty in recognising that subsequent comments by her bear little connection to reality.