Worker's Romania Association speech at the UISTAACT International Meeting in Dakar, Senegal
Dear colleagues, dear comrades of our common struggle in the UISTAACT,
It is a great pleasure to send to you my warmest greetings!
With the issue it addresses, this congress - which takes place under the sign of Africa - is destined to become a prominent event in the global trade union movement, while also making a positive contribution to strengthening cooperation between trade unions and progressive organizations, to better understanding and closer ties between peoples, and, why not, to the cause of understanding and peace in the world.
As you know, contemporary humanity faces extremely complex problems, such as those related to energy, raw materials, and food. Unfortunately, instead of solving these problems, the major powers of the world dedicate immense material and human resources to the production and improvement of weapons of mass destruction, whose use in times of war would result in the destruction of the civilization that we, the peoples, have forged over so many millennia. In this context, I believe that we, the peoples and the trade unionists, must vigorously oppose the policy of militarization. Nor should we forget the military factor, which currently determines the degree of war risk; I want to emphasize once again the enormous nuclear potential possessed by the major powers, as well as the fact that in Europe there are political leaders who speak only of war, war, and war, without thinking at all about peace.
The damage caused by war is enormous, irreparable, and tragic; there will be no winners or losers, only tragedies, and that is why our Association "Worker Romania", above all, invites all international actors, from all angles, to think about peace.
Furthermore, I consider it a serious anomaly that, today, in an era of the greatest scientific and technical advances, there are still vast regions of the world where people do not enjoy the benefits of modern civilization, and that approximately two-thirds of the world's population are in a state of underdevelopment.
Faced with Israel's large-scale attack on the civilian population of Gaza, the "Worker's Romania" Association reaffirms its solidarity with the Palestinians who resist daily occupation, apartheid, and exile.
The "Worker's Romania" Association believes that the only solution to the conflict between Palestine and Israel is for the international community to guarantee Israel's respect for the various resolutions regarding the occupied territories that it has systematically violated, to guarantee Palestine's right to be a sovereign and independent state, and to immediately implement a peace process guaranteeing the end of the armed conflict.
The "Worker Romania" Association of Bucharest, Romania, also reaffirms from this platform our solidarity with the Palestinians who resist daily occupation, apartheid, and exile, and, by all means, we will make known the genocide they are suffering. We pray for peace and extend our hand in solidarity!
We are also aware of the peaceful demonstrations that took place in Santiago de Cuba, in eastern Cuba, at the end of March, due to food shortages and power cuts. These problems are mainly due to the American blockade imposed for 60 years and which has significantly strengthened in recent years.
Cuba is subjected to the longest economic blockade in history. As a result, it becomes practically impossible for Cuba to use the dollar to make purchases abroad. It is also much more difficult for families to send money to Cuba. The result is economic contraction and shortages on the island.
In the United States, politicians and right-wing groups, those who are fully involved in the blockade, continue to interfere in the internal affairs of the island to incite the population. They cannot and should not be hypocrites.
Anyone who truly cares about the Cuban people should now demand that the US government lift this crippling embargo.
The "Worker's Romania" Association of Bucharest, Romania, condemns those who, in the United States and elsewhere, cynically exploit the situation to further destabilize Cuba and supports Cuba's right to sovereign development.
The "Worker's Romania" Association urges the Biden administration to end the blockade of Cuba. This will allow for the immediate unlocking of aid to alleviate the economic crisis on the island, leaving Cuba room to use its resources and have exchanges with the outside world, whose sole purpose will be the development of its economy for the benefit of its people, who have been blocked, embedded for more than 60 years.
Furthermore, I would like to emphasize here that we, at the "Worker's Romania" Association, are very concerned about the new Pandemic Treaty project. We are in favor of a review of the role of international health organizations based in the Global North in shaping the new global pandemic preparedness and response treaty before its finalization at the World Health Assembly next May.
We believe that international health policies should prioritize low-income countries and we classify the current project as colonialist and full of lies, whose only purpose is to steal our sovereignty and lock us up again in our homes, deprive us of medical care, and kill our economies!
The lockdown rules, imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic and further reinforced in the project's instruments, were a school, not a scientific instrument. They have caused significant collateral damage to low-income people and have proven to be useless. This has only disrupted economies and education, reinforced poverty and multigenerational inequalities, while increasing national debt directly related to the debt crisis that everyone is experiencing today and, above all, your continent, Africa.
The "Worker's Romania" Association therefore speaks out against this pandemic treaty project!
NOW, LET'S TALK ABOUT THE SITUATION IN ROMANIA:
What surprises us here is the lack of worker participation in political decisions through political parties that are increasingly less class parties. The most militant workers had, before this scene, the feeling of being "demobilized", in favor of "bourgeoisified" officials.
Romanian small and medium-sized entrepreneurs will definitely go bankrupt. All laws are given to multinationals to kill the rest! The political parties that claim to be left-wing are actually created by businessmen who have nothing to do with workers, they only protect their own businesses, their own interests.
Last year, the PSD-PNL coalition, now in power, decided to lower the threshold for the income tax of micro-enterprises, from 1 million euros to 500,000 euros. Thus, SMEs with turnover between 500,000 euros and one million euros will no longer pay a tax of 1% of turnover, but 16% of profits.
The European Commission considers that the current threshold of 500,000 euros is still too high and does not comply with the recommendations of the World Bank, so it demands a decrease in value by the end of this year. Obviously, our Prime Minister, Ciolacu, as a fervent obedient, will adopt this measure that will bury Romanian small and medium-sized entrepreneurs!
Discontent is growing in Romania. The country accumulates protests from farmers, carriers, and healthcare professionals during a key year for the government due to the accumulation of electoral processes.
Nearly 50% of Romanians think life was better under the communist system than under the capitalist regime, compared to only 34% who think otherwise. This is what a new survey published by the most right-wing television channel in Romania shows: Digi24.ro. Its survey was conducted last December.
On the one hand, 48.1% of Romanians consider that the communist system was very positive for Romania and its citizens, while 42% consider it negative. It is noteworthy that data from recent years show that the favorable opinion of communism is constantly increasing (in 2013, those who considered communism good for Romania were 45% and those who thought it was negative were 44%). On the other hand, 47% of Romanians consider that life was better under the communist system than under the capitalist regime (compared to 44% in 2013), while 34% consider that they live better today than before 1989 (in 2013, 33%). Those who think life is the same in both cases are now 13%, while in 2013 they were 15%).
Despite the continued attempts of the capital elites, the only beneficiaries of the coup imposed by capitalism in the 90s, and the bombardment of propaganda, year after year, the Romanians continue to demonstrate that they do not forget the achievements and economic and social progress they built during socialism, while the years of dictatorship of capital have only brought, with a few exceptions, the loss of social rights and the destruction of all the economic potential acquired until 1989.
I would have liked to conclude this analysis with a positive conclusion, but that is not possible...
Still, I am convinced that this conference will be a new contribution to the trade union effort to achieve our noble ideals, and it is with this spirit that I wish you every success in this meeting and dream of a better world!
Warm regards,
Ciprian - Dorel Pop
General Secretary of the "Worker's Romania" Association
Cu respect /Best regards/Con atentos saludos/보냄
Asociatia Romania Muncitoare/Romanian Worker's Association
OSIM-M-2005-06220; ISSN-1224-2543
CUI: 9001670
Act autorizare: 479/12.11.1996
Telephone: 0040/724717293
Niciun comentariu:
Trimiteți un comentariu