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News Briefs

7 August 2002

Pakistani teachers arrested

Some 200 teachers were arrested in Lahore on July 29. They were about to protest against the Punjab provincial government's decision to privatise schools. Hundreds of cops had been deployed since early morning to ensure the rally did not go ahead. The action followed meetings of thousands of teachers in the week before. An appeal has been put out by the All Pakistan Professors and Lecturers Association.

Indonesian Reebok workers protest

On July 29, over 1000 workers at Reebok's West Java factory protested at the US embassy, chanting �Reebok the oppressor! Reebok the killer�. They set fire to huge cardboard replicas of Reebok shoes. The workers were protesting cuts to wages and the threat of moving operations to Vietnam. In February, labour leader Dita Sari rejected Reebok's US$50,000 �human rights award�.

Philippines: US troops pack up as protests erupt

In the city of Zamboanga, 32 busloads of protesters converged from around the country on July 29 to protest against US troops sent to wage war on Mindanao. The troops ended their 6-month tour on July 31. Further protests took place when US Secretary of State Colin Powell visited Manila to sign a Mutual Logistics Support Agreement on August 3.

Sri Lankan army withdraws from schools

On July 29 the Sri Lankan army withdrew from two schools in Jaffna and the Batticaloa district after 12 years of occupation. Withdrawal of the army from public places is part of the ceasefire agreement signed in February between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government.

KCTU demands pardon for unionists

On July 30, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions called on the government of President Kim Dae-jung to officially pardon its president, Dan Byoung-ho, and 1800 other union activists who are either in jail or on the run for organising strikes deemed illegal.

[Compiled by Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific. Visit ASAP's web site at < http://www.asia-pacific-action.org>.]

From Green Left Weekly, August 7, 2002.
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page.