May 24, 1999
The U.S.-organized NATO forces bombed the central market and a hospital in Nis, Yugoslavia, in midday May 7, killing 14 civilians. They blasted the Chinese embassy in downtown Belgrade that night, killing three people.
As protests erupted around the world over the embassy bombing, Washington stepped up its campaign of destroying factories, infrastructure and working-class neighborhoods across Yugoslavia. The resulting death toll is rising. These events reveal a bit more of the brutal face of imperialism.
“Age-old ethnic rivalries” are not the cause of the carnage in Yugoslavia. The rich legacy of the Yugoslav revolution after the second World War proves the opposite. Workers and farmers of all nationalities fought together in the struggle against fascist occupation during the war and against the capitalists and landlords, taking power out of their hands.
May 24, 1974
Top U.S. military officials have been conducting secret negotiations with South African military brass and with NATO officials over plans to defend the white supremacist regimes in southern Africa in face of the rising independence struggles in the Portuguese colonies.
Freedom fighters in Mozambique, Angola and the independent nation of Guinea-Bissau have stepped up their actions against the occupying Portuguese troops. The rebels have rejected proposals from the new Portuguese government to lay down their arms and accept continued domination in the form of a “federation” with Portugal.
The New York Post reported that “American and NATO military officials are actively engaged in secret contingency planning that could turn into a commitment to defend the white minority regimes of southern Africa against both internal and external threats.”
May 23, 1949
Calling upon all labor organizations to join in a drive for a shorter work week to combat layoffs and unemployment, the CIO Oil Workers International Union has announced that it will need a 36-hour week in the oil industry with no reduction in take-home pay.
Almost simultaneously, a demand for shorter hours was made by the CIO Shipbuilding Workers Union who called for a 35-hour week in place of their current 40-hour week without any cut in pay; an additional wage boost; a health and welfare plan and other demands not yet published.
Both statements show the increasing awareness of the need to defend labor’s ranks against the scourge of unemployment. The Oil Workers’ appeal to all unions should become a starting point for a national campaign to safeguard remaining jobs, and restore employment to five million victims of present layoffs.