Over the last months, political situation in Belgium was marked by great demonstrations around two main matters: the struggle against austerity plans of Michel-De Wever’s government, and the refugees.
Workers went out to the streets on October the 7th, to express their weariness and objection to this government’s anti-social measures: this was a year of cuts and wage restrictions, a year of gifts to the bosses! In response, the government pretended not to hear our demands and, even more, it repressed the demonstrations and attacked the right to strike.
Certainly, once again, demonstrations over traditional Nord-Midi region only will not be enough. We have to drive a strong action plan, a Trade Union unity of action around our demands, and a non-precedent mobilization of unions’ base, which we must develop if we want a victory on this struggle against the attacks to our life quality.
The other burning issue of last fall was the massive arrival of refugees, most of them expelled out of their homes because of the war. Active and concrete support was amazing, and political solidarity became evident through several demonstrations. Meanwhile, the government received refugees terribly, by making a selection of those who could be useful for the entrepreneurs, and implementing a strongly restrictive policy to all the others.
On the other hand, there is something we cannot forget: if Syrian people ran out of their country, it is because it has been five years since imperialist countries only observe, in accomplice silence with Bashar al-Assad and IS’ atrocities. If IS grew up to the point where it executes barbarian attacks such as in Syria and in Paris, it is because imperialist powers are even much more barbarous, leading sanguinary occupations over the strategic region of Middle and Near East for decades, now.
Austerity policies are so general, we have to approach to, and analyze, the refugees’ matter in the context of the European region as a whole. Regarding current European process, where national bourgeoisies’ policies all point in the same direction, although at different paces, the European masses’ response also continues to grow. More or less advanced, political and labourist reorganization elements can be seen everywhere. In Spanish State, an iniciative of combative unionist is being established; in Germany, the International Automotive Workers’ Conference is organizing international solidarity among this sector.
Immigration, political and military imperialist interventions, attacks, austerity policies, political and labourist reorganization, as many other current aspects of class struggle, must ‘light us up’ to make our own proposals and responses, and to act over concrete struggles.
Finally, one word in regards to our Journal: regular readers must have noticed the change, after 19 years and 100 editions of Presse Internationale. The first numbers were published by comrades of IWL, who came to Belgium to defend the program of our international organization and, above all, to express an international reality. Ten years later, LCT was founded. Our commitment to the struggle, inside Belgium and all over the world, has not changed. It has just become more concrete, with further integration of national struggles. And it was about time to express this, including through our publication’s name: The Struggle. An unbreakable commitment to class struggle imposed by the capital.
Originally published in En Lutte N°101, December 2015.
Read this and other related articles in www.lct-cwb.be and www.litci.org.
Translation: Sofía Ballack
