This photograph shows the struggle in Marikana, South Africa, after the police assassination of the striking platinum miners  at Lonmin in 2012. The comrades in South Africa are organizing ICWP among these workers now.

June 11—Revolutionary greetings comrades! I've got very exciting news here. I was invited to attend a screening of Miners Shot Down by Uhuru productions. I had the privilege of interacting with striking mineworkers. I introduced them to ICWP and they were interested in the correct political line of ICWP. I promised to keep in touch with them and send them the Red Flag pamphlet regularly. This is an interesting development: to have a presence in the mineworkers in the Platinum Belt.

These are very young brothers and sisters; they are now back at Welkom in the North West province in Marikana. Yesterday, I called one of them who assured me that they are still firm in their resolve; they are not going back without the employer meeting their demands. These brothers and sisters are determined and are prepared to die for their demands. They despise their employers and the African National Congress (ANC) government.

 Mineworkers have been fighting the same struggle they were fighting in August 2012. Their struggle for a living wage lies at the heart of an industry which has enjoyed gigantic profits in the past 15 years. The ANC, through its investment arm Chancellor House, has become on of the richest organizations in the world.

The strike continues in the platinum mines. The negotiations between the independent AMCU union and the mine bosses brokered by the minister of minerals and energy had collapsed. The ANC statement on the ongoing mineworkers' strike indirectly blames the strike on the influence of foreigners and everybody else besides the mine bosses who are refusing to accede to the legitimate and genuine reasonable demands of the workers.

 I noted that in Brazil, in the capital Sao Paulo, workers are on strike demanding a 12.5 % wage increase whilst employers are offering a meager 8%. 

These militant waves of strikes in South Africa, Brazil and elsewhere are unfortunately reformist: they do not seek to change the capitalist system but to win some gains which are going to be reversed or eroded anyway. It is important therefore for workers and the poor of each and every country to desist from these reformist battles and fight for communist revolution on a worldwide scale that will bring an end to world capitalism. Marching forward! Phambili nedabi lokuwisa ongxiwa phambili!

We send revolutionary greetings from South Africa to everyone in the ICWP.  We pledge solidarity with the striking workers in Brazil, for fearlessly raising the plight of the exploited workers. We salute the workers in Sao Paulo for standing firm in their resolve to highlight the treachery of the soccer world cup. Qina msebenzi qina!!! Amandla!

 We had a very fruitful meeting today. We were joined by exciting young comrades. The future of ICWP in South Africa looks bright; these comrades are knowledgeable and eager to learn and contribute meaningfully to the working-class struggles around the world. We do not know how we are going to fit in that small venue. We are expecting more numbers when we meet next Sunday. We are going to cross that bridge when we get to it.  What we have decided to do beginning next week is to read the Dialectical Materialism series. There is more exciting stuff coming. We are the future. Nobody can stop us.

Also, I am very happy to announce that I have received from the post the Mobilize the Masses for Communism banner (flag) which we will use in our next meeting and all other activities. We wish to express our gratitude for such a wonderful gift, we will treasure it. Everyone has taken photo shoots of it flying high.

Phambili ICWP Phambili!!! With the correct political line of Communist Revolution, we can never go wrong.

June 17—Striking rail workers fought police in Lille, France (pictured) and other cities as a massive nationwide railroad strike entered its second week. Strikers oppose reform legislation that would open the door to privatization and job cuts. A week earlier, transit workers in Sao Paulo, Brazil tied up the city on the eve of the World Cup.

And on June 14, US President Obama signed an order that squashed a one-day strike of 400 rail workers in Philadelphia that had threatened to spread to thousands of bus drivers, mechanics, and other transit workers.

The tremendous power of these angry industrial workers must be turned against the capitalist system itself. We invite – we urge! — transit workers who read and discuss Red Flag in Los Angeles, Oakland and elsewhere to take the lead in spreading communist ideas far and wide among coworkers and their public.

"Prosperous days are coming," said Modi, as he addressed 700 million people on live TV on becoming the new Prime Minster of India.  Within days the second most powerful minister in his government died in a mysterious car accident believed to have been staged by Modi.  This incident reflects serious division among the Indian capitalists who brought the fascist-led Modi government to power. They are fighting over which imperialist to ally with to best further their interests.

India, a nation of over 1.2 billion people, only produces 30% of the oil it needs. The remaining 70% comes mostly from the Middle East.  The US invasion of Iraq quadrupled the price India has to pay for oil.  This escalating cost of energy forced India to rapidly expand energy based on coal plants.  In the last ten years China has given loans to major Indian capitalists to build coal based plants. It sold over $50 billion of equipment related to energy.  China has become India's largest trading partner.

The rise of a fascist government in India gives the Indian capitalist class the opportunity to take advantage of growing rivalry between the US and China.  As US power declines rapidly, it needs India as an ally to counter China.  US Vice President Biden proposed an increase in US-India trade, from about $65 billion currently to $500 billion in five years.  In return for opening US markets to Indian capitalists, the US rulers want India to be a military ally against China.  There is a section of the Indian capitalist class that wants to build the India- Japan relationship with China to completely upstage the US from Asia.  Another section wants to ally with the US and others with Russia.

The new Indian government led by the fascist BJP has started a gigantic plan to create strategic highways along the China border to bolster India's military reach.  All the capitalists around the world are preparing for war, just as Biden's half a trillion dollar trade with India wants the 'military component' to be a guiding aspect of the bilateral relationship. 

Millions of workers in India are not fooled by Modi and his fascist government.  In the 1940's, tens of thousands of communist workers and peasants in India rejected the nationalist movement led by Gandhi and took up arms to fight the nationalists, religious fanatics and British colonialism. 

International Communist Workers Party (ICWP) is building the revolutionary movement to smash capitalism and replace it with communism.  Many of our friends and readers of the Red Flag in India and other countries are now willing to step forward.  Building ICWP now will pave a way for smashing capitalism-imperialism and building a communist society in which millions of workers mobilize to meet the needs of workers everywhere.

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