May Day is the Day of the International Working Class

For too long May Day has been a ritual with no meaning for the working class. May Day was originally meant to be a day of international workers solidarity, but today on the May Day demonstrations all we see is leftists of various colours calling on the working class to back different nationalist groups. Whether it be the Turkish nationalist left calling for an ‘independent Turkey', and screaming against the imperialists while at the same time ignoring the fact that Turkey is a member of NATO, or those who disgusted by the state's barbarity in the South East side with the Kurdish nationalists, and their hideous mirror image of Turkish nationalism, or even the anti Americanism of the left loudly shouting "Yankee go home". What for? Then we can have our own ‘nice' Turkish capitalist bosses. All of this disgusts us. It saddens us that it is left to a small group of internationalists to defend the principles of international working class solidarity.

When we look to America, we see not only Bush, but also the 100,000 workers that marched against racist immigration laws on March 10th in Chicago

We see not only the imperialist war machine, but also the over 6000 American soldiers who have deserted, and crossed the Canadian border rather than go to fight for ‘their' country in Iraq. .

When we look at Britain, we see not only Blair, but also the 1,000,000 people who marched on the streets of London against the Iraq war.

We see not only the British Government's obedience to America, but also Malcolm Kendall-Smith, the RAF officer who was sent to prison on April the 14th for refusing to go to Iraq.

Similarly, when we look to Iraq, it is not only nationalist, and Islamic resistance that we see, but also the thousands of workers who demonstrated in Kirkuk to protest against the high cost of living and lack of electricity and fuel.

When we look to Iran, it is not only President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and the states drive to obtain nuclear weapons that we see, but also the massive strike wave all across Iran, which has included bus drivers, textile workers, miners, and car workers.

Workers, Look to the recent strikes in France, thousands of students demonstrating alongside striking workers to defeat a law making it easier to sack young workers. Look to Britain, where over 1,00,000 workers struck in the biggest strike for eighty years to defend their pension rights. Look to the workers of Iran struggling valiantly against capitalism, and the state despite the oppression from the regime. Look to the working class not nationalists of whatever shade.

The workers have no country

For internationalism and worker's struggle

Enternasyonalist Kömunist Sol

Solkomünist@yahoo.com