DEM VOLKE DIENEN

Following the death of five People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) fighters in Chatra district in early April in an encounter with reactionary Indian forces, the Communist Party of India (Maoist) called for an armed strike on 14 and 15 April. The call was made in the states of Bijapur and Jharkhand and reportedly the turnout was extremely high, especially in the districts of Hariharganj, Pipra, Naudiha, Pandu and Hyder Nagar. Even local shopkeepers stopped work on both days and kept their shops closed, as can be seen in the picture above. The region was largely at a standstill on both days.

This week, the Red Collective Bremen mobilised for a presentation on the mass protests in France against the pension reform of Macron's government. After an introduction about the political situation in France and the necessity of the reform for French imperialism, the development of the protests since the beginning of the year was described in detail, focusing on the French masses' unwavering willingness to struggle.

Colonia Dignidad (translated as "Colony of Dignity") is one of the darkest chapters of the FRG's foreign policy. In 1961, the German paedophile Paul Schäfer and other German emigrants built a settlement in the middle of the Chilean countryside. In this religious sect settlement, hundreds of people were killed, tortured and abused for over four decades - with the knowledge and protection of the German embassy in Chile. German involvement even went so far that German diplomats brought the escaped victims of abuse back to the settlement at that time. During the time of the bloody military dictatorship under Augusto Pinochet, the Chilean secret service DINA, with the support of Paul Schäfer, set up a prison camp on the site. The fate and whereabouts of the prisoners have not been clarified to this day. In the meantime, numerous perpetrators from Colonia Dignidad are living in Germany. There has been no criminal prosecution! All preliminary proceedings have been dropped. Nothing remains for the victims and their relatives. Not even a place of mourning. The former torture site is now a tourist attraction. Now tourists can enjoy "Bavarian cuisine" at the torture site, which is now called Villa Baviera (translated "Bavarian village").

As reported, truck drivers mainly from Georgia and Uzbekistan have been on strike for several weeks at the Gräfenhausen freeway service area near Darmstadt. The reason is unpaid wages of up to 4000 euros each. The truck drivers are employed by the Polish Mazur group. This company hires the truck drivers from non-EU countries as bogus self-employed persons via so-called garbage contracts ("Umowa smieciowa").

Norway

On Thursday April 13th activists from Kampkomiteen (The Struggle Committee) in Trondheim organised a manifestation in support of the Mexican People. The activists stood with a banner with the slogan ”Support the struggle of the people in Mexico!” and leaflets with the slogan ”The Interoceanic Corridor (CIIT) plunders and kills poor peasants and indigenous peoples in Mexico!” were distributed in great quantity.

In the days following Easter US-President Biden visited the occupied six counties and the Irish Free State. During his visit, which was accompanied by massive protests, he emphasized Ireland's role in fulfilling US-Imperialism's political goals in Europe and put forward its economic aspirations

Yesterday, Saturday, the Alliance against Imperialist Aggression (BgiA) organised a manifestation at the Steindamm in Hamburg and denounced the renewed attacks of Israel on the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Gaza Strip, as well as the repression against the supporters of the Palestinian struggle here in the FRG. Especially the repression against the comrades of Samidoun, whose demonstration was banned by the Berlin police, was condemned. In the past week, there have also been calls from senior German politicians for Samidoun to be banned.

The traffic light government has now set out its plans for the long-announced legalization of cannabis, which were already mentioned in the cornerstone papers of the coalition agreement at the end of 2021. In the future, it is to be legal to grow up to three cannabis plants of one's own via so-called "cannabis clubs" with a maximum of 500 members and to obtain up to 25 grams of cannabis per day and a maximum of 50 grams per month there. At a later date, sales via regional specialized stores and commercial supply chains will also be pushed.