Palestinians have stepped up protests against the Israeli government's decision to build 6,500 housing units for Jewish residents at Jabal Abu Ghneim, in East Jerusalem. The construction would complete a ring of settlements cutting off the Arab portion of the city from the West Bank. Five hundred Palestinian students marched from the center of Bethlehem to the construction site March 20, chanting, "Jabal Abu Ghneim, we're coming to liberate you." Once there, students threw stones at the 150 Israeli soldiers guarding the entrance. Tel Aviv's troops launched tear gas and began shooting live ammunition at the protesters, who had broken through the Palestinian police force, trying to block them. One of the youth was hit by a rubber bullet. The Zionist regime had to send in two more busloads of troops to disperse the crowd.

The next day more than 1,000 Palestinians demonstrated in Hebron, a mostly Palestinian city in the West Bank, protesting the settlements. They hurled firebombs and stones at riot cops, setting one of them ablaze. Israeli soldiers fired live ammo and tear gas into the crowd. Palestinian police with gas masks picked up the tear gas canisters and threw them back at Tel Aviv's occupation army.

Algerian gov't kills 40 rebels
A dozen Algerian rebels were killed March 11 in a standoff with the French-backed government troops. The Algerian government has stepped up its efforts to extinguish antigovernment forces, killing over 40 rebels in the past several weeks. Antigovernment forces began military operations in 1992, after the government canceled elections that Islamic parties and organizations were expected to win. More than 60,000 people have been killed in the course of the past five years. The government receives support from Paris, which ruled Algeria as a direct colony until being kicked out by a revolution in 1962.

Italian workers rally, strike
Some 200,000 workers marched through the streets of Rome March 22, demanding the government take action to reduce unemployment. The demonstration was called by the country's three major union federations. Two days earlier, Italian transport workers held a one-day strike to protest Rome's laggard progress in renewing their contract, which expired over a year ago. The strike shut down subways, left few buses running, and brought traffic to a standstill, as taxis, cars, and pedestrians jammed the streets of Rome, Milan, and other big cities.

Polish shipbuilder unrest swells
More than 1,000 shipbuilding workers in Gdansk, Poland, marched in sub-freezing temperatures March 20 against government plans to shut down the shipyard there and lay off 3,800 workers. Warsaw has refused to subsidize the shipyard, which it owns 60 percent of, declaring it bankrupt and $136 million in debt. The government did offer a proposal to "save" 2,000 of the jobs, by closing the Gdansk yard and using the assets to start up another yard. In their eighth day of protest, youth hurled firebombs, paint, and rocks at the government headquarters. Riot police blocked entry into the building and "pleaded for calm over the loud speaker," reports the Associated Press. Cops fired water cannon as they tried to hold off the demonstrators. "Don't try to build a second Albania in Poland," Polish prime minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz nervously warned in a speech to the parliament after the shipyard workers occupied Warsaw ministries March 19.

Hungarian farmers protest
Hungarian farmers took to the streets March 11 against tax and social security payment increases. Farmers in Budapest halted traffic with lines of tractors, while smaller actions took place in 150 other locations in the country. Protests began in February with wine growers, but according to the Financial Times of London, this was "the first time they have reached the capital." Budapest argues that the austerity measures must be taken to reduce the budget deficit, and the "burden of social security contributions on western companies in Hungary," the Times reported.

Ukrainians demand their pay
Reuters reports on March 18, about 85,000 people joined demonstrations across the Ukraine demanding unpaid wages and pensions. "An effigy of a businessman hanging upside down with American dollars falling from his pockets," expressed "resentment against the new dollar-rich class that has emerged since independence [from the Soviet Union] in 1991," the news agency article stated. The rallies included supporters of the former Stalinist regime who called for return of the so-called "Communists."

Japan exports rise, imports dive
Under a weak yen, Japanese capitalists have been able to sustain a 6 percent rise in exports, boosting corporate profits there. Companies in Japan like Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., and Pioneer Electronix Corp. are taking advantage of the low domestic costs to export cars and electronic products abroad at a bigger profit.

At the same time imports have lagged, raising tensions with their competitors, particularly in the United States, who have lost 4 percent of their export profits while increasing their import expenses 7 percent in relation to Tokyo. The Clinton administration has already begun to complain, saying that Tokyo should buy more in order to spur economic growth.

El Salvadoran peasants protest
"So that there is corn and beans for the people, cancel the agrarian debt now." This was the slogan of the March 6 mobilization of more than 10,000 peasants in the streets of San Salvador, El Salvador. The demonstration was organized by three major unions of agrarian workers. The current debt of small farmers to the state banks is $75.6 million - down from the $252 million almost a year ago, after the government canceled 70 percent of the debt in April 1996.

Congress approves bill banning late-term abortion procedure
On March 20, with an over two-thirds majority, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would criminalize a type of late-term abortion. The Senate is scheduled to vote on the measure after their Easter recess. Clinton said he would sign the bill, which he vetoed last year, if it provided exceptions for health, as well as life or death reasons. But the measure presented this year is identical to the last one. Rep. Gerald Solomon, head of the House Rules Committee, said Congress should give the president "another chance" to sign the bill, based on testimony on the number of these procedures performed each year.

In addition to criminal penalties for doctors who perform the procedure, dubbed a "partial-birth abortion" by antichoice forces, the bill allows the father of the fetus to sue a woman who has such an abortion for damages. An amendment was rejected that would have prohibited lawsuits by men who abandon or abuse the women involved.

N.J. Senator: STD + sex = felony
New Jersey senator James Cafiero has introduced a bill to "deal with the problem of AIDS" - making it a felony for people with sexually transmitted diseases to have sex, even if protected. Currently this so-called offense is a misdemeanor, carrying a maximum penalty of a $500 fine and a month in prison. If the bill passes the penalties would go up to a $7,500 maximum fine and 18 months in prison. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, about 25 states already have similar laws.

- BRIAN TAYLOR  
 
 
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