It takes a thief to catch a thief: US cites ‘tech terror’ threat in China car ban Two weeks ago, the US Department of Commerce put forward a bill proposing to ban car parts and software linked to China or Russia. The White House held a press briefing and published a fact sheet justifying this, with implications that this was a measure to prevent terrorist attacks. The irony of such measures coming so soon after the US-sanctioned Israeli terror attack that was carried out using technological sabotage appears to have been lost on them.
Bangladesh: one worker shot dead and many more wounded After the dramatic fall of the Hasina dictatorship – the so-called ‘Bangla Spring Revolution’ – the mass of people in Bangladesh started to dream once again for their promised happiness. Little did they know how far they are from the promised ‘happy ever after’ fairytale.
China: steadily marching towards crisis As the world reels between escalating wars and economic stagnation, the Chinese masses are also suffering from the consequences of these developments.
Sri Lanka: a new chapter in the revolution ‘Marxist-leaning president wins Sri Lanka’s elections’: this is how the result of the country’s presidential elections on the weekend have been reported in the international press. The headlines are incorrect, but the facts are sensational enough.
Sri Lanka’s elections two dark years after the revolution Two years ago, the world bore witness to extraordinary events in Sri Lanka. On 9 July 2022, the Sri Lankan masses swept aside the heavy cordon of police outside the presidential palace as if it was little more than a cobweb. To the astonishment of the world, Gotabaya Rajapaksa had to flee in a panic.
Vietnam: the death of a strongman leader ushers in period of uncertainty In the past weeks, the ruling party of Vietnam, the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) experienced a sudden change of leadership after the death of its aging General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng on 19 July. Trọng had been the de facto supreme leader of the country for 13 years, and oversaw a process of concentrating power in the state and in his person, not unlike the process in China around Xi Jinping. What is the significance of this post being passed on to Tô Lâm, the President? How will all this affect the perspectives of Vietnam and its class struggle moving forward?
Malaysia: Anwar Ibrahim, Pakatan Harapan, and the limits of reformism The Malaysian ‘unity’ government, under the leadership of Anwar Ibrahim, has now been in power for nearly two years. The watchword of Anwar and Pakatan Harapan (PH), the largest coalition in parliament, has been reformasi – cleaning up corruption in politics, ‘strengthening democracy’, and promising a ‘humane’ economy that ‘prioritises the needs of the people’.
Indonesia: masses surge up through a crack in the bourgeois state On the morning of Thursday 22 August, upon learning that parliament planned to change an election law to the benefit of President Jokowi’s youngest son, tens of thousands of youths took to the streets and stormed parliament.
Pakistan: first communist school held by the Revolutionary Communist Party – the communists are coming! Between 9 and 12 August, the Revolutionary Communist Party in Pakistan organised their first country-wide three-day ‘Communist School’ in Rawalakot, ‘Azad’ (‘free’) Kashmir, with 350 students, workers, farmers and youth attending.
Bangladesh: the workers begin to move The revolutionary overthrow of the Hasina regime, sparked by the students and their courageous protests, have opened the floodgates for a fresh wave of class struggle in Bangladesh. The revolution surges forward!
170 attend RCI event: ‘where next for Bangladesh?’ On Sunday 18 August, 13 days after Bangladesh’s dictator Sheikh Hasina fell, the Revolutionary Communist International (RCI) held an online discussion to celebrate this victory and to offer a communist perspective and programme. The first phase of the revolution is over. Now it is necessary to complete the revolution! We include the recording of that discussion here.
Public meeting: Bangladesh – complete the revolution! The revolution in Bangladesh has scored its first victories – but it is incomplete! This Sunday, the Revolutionary Communist International is hosting a meeting to which all are invited. We will be discussing the revolutionary communist perspective, how the revolution can advance, and why you should organise with us if you agree. The speakers will include Fiona Lali; student activists directly involved in the struggle in Bangladesh; and leading comrades from the Revolutionary Communist International and the Inqalabi Communist Party in Pakistan.
India: rape and murder of young doctor sparks fury Amidst the pomp and pageantry of Independence Day, a furious protest movement following the rape and murder of a young medic tells the real story of Modi’s India. The Revolutionary Communists of India (RC(I)) demand justice – for the victim of this heinous crime as well as allwho suffer under capitalism, which poisons human relations and subjects billions to oppression, violence and misery.
Where next for Bangladesh? Since the revolutionary tide swept away Sheikh Hasina one week ago, the masses, led by the students, have continued to mobilise. Committees have been expanding across the country – especially, but not exclusively, among the students. In many places they have displaced the functions of the state. The ruling class is suspended in midair. A kind of dual power exists. But the revolution now faces new dangers – not only of conspiracies by the deposed Awami League, which continue, but of confusion as to the direction of travel.
The 1971 War of Liberation and Bangladesh’s unfinished revolution Today, Bangladesh is glowing with the white heat of revolution. The masses have once more entered the arena of struggle. They are rediscovering a rich revolutionary tradition that goes back decades. Really, the tasks of this revolution are the unfinished tasks of an unfinished revolution, which began more than fifty years ago and culminated in the War of Independence against the domination of Pakistan in 1971. Learning the lessons of that period is vital to not only understanding the present, but to ensuring that the revolutionary struggle today is carried forward to victory.