Labour Party Pakistan threaten general strike if the May Day rallies crushed
Labour Party Chairman Shoaib Bhatti arrested in Karachi
Labour Party Secretary Farooq Tariq arrested.
Report of LPP press conference, protest meeting on May Day, raids at Moro and comrade Shoaib Bhatti production in a court at Karachi
Labour Party Pakistan has threatened the military government of a general strike if May Day rallies crushed at Karachi and other cities. Speaking to a crowded press conference at Lahore Press Club today on 30th April, Farooq Tariq general secretary LPP told the reporters that there is an immense heatedness among the masses towards the economic policies of the military regime. The government has banned the May Day rallies so workers could not assemble to show their anger ness against IMF and World Bank policies.
He said that LPP will put forward a resolution in the next meeting of Alliance For Restoration of Democracy (ARD) leadership meeting to call a general strike against the possible suppression of the May Day rallies tomorrow. He told the reporters that there would be tremendous response by the masses if such a call were given by ARD. As part of ARD, LPP will make sure that the move has a support of the majority of the component parties of ARD.
Farooq Tariq told the press reporters that never before in the history of Pakistan, traditional processions of the workers were disallowed by any regime. “We will not sit quit and see the suppression of the May Day rallies” he said, LPP will take out a procession from Karachi and LPP senior vice chairman Rashid Ahmed Makhdoom alongside with Sind leadership will lead the demo despite all the police brutalities and suppression. LPP chairman Shoaib Bhatti is in jail already since April 28th.
Farooq Tariq told the reporter that Pakistan Peoples Party have already given support to a LPP Lahore protest meeting on May Day and most of the ARD parties will participate in the meeting at Lahore Press Club auditorium.
He demanded the release of all the political prisoners, a minimum wage of Rupees 7000, unemployment benefit of Rupees 3000 for all adult unemployed, seizing of all the foreign debts, immediate restoration of democracy, an end to privatization, down seizing, restructuring and cancellation of general sales tax.
ARD support the LPP protest meeting on May Day in Lahore
In a meeting of Punjab ARD held this evening on 30th April, it was decided after a heated and long discussion, that all the ARD component parties would participate in the protest meeting of LPP tomorrow on May Day at Lahore Press Club. They also decided that some of the leaders would try to fly to Karachi tomorrow in a bid to attend the Karachi ARD main public meeting. Most of the leaders appreciated the role of LPP in forming a fine strategy to fight the military regime in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, police produced LPP chairman Shoaib Bhatti in a court in Karachi. The court till 2nd May gave the police a remand and he will appear in the court again on 2nd May. Most of the Karachi newspapers printed color photographs of Shoaib Bhatti arrest scene on 28th April.
It has just been reported that police have raided the office of LPP at Moro, Sind. They have also raided the houses of LPP activists. But they were not able to arrest any one of the activists. The main leader Rashid Ahmed Makhdoom had already left for Karachi along three main comrades to lead the LPP main demo.
Report by Rizwan Atta 30th April 10pm
LPP central chairman Shoaib Bhatti is arrested this afternoon in Karachi from the residence of Shah Mohammed Shah, the president of Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD). He was one of the three main leaders of ARD who were able to reach the residence where ARD the central leadership had planned to meet today. The rest of the ARD leadership are either arrested or the government has banned their entry into Sind province. Many have also gone underground to be able to take part in the planned ARD May Day rally at Karachi Nishter Park.
Shoaib Bhatti arrived in Karachi only few hours before his arrest, from Lahore by train. Police has also raided the houses of many LPP activists at different area of Karachi including the office of LPP. The LPP leadership has directed its activists to go underground and to come out on May Day to take part in the planned rally.
The military government has arrested over 1500 activists of ARD from different parts of Sind in an attempt to foil the rally. It has also banned all rallies of the workers across the country. Despite the ban, many trade unions and the ARD are determined to hold rallies.
In a joint press statement issued from Lahore, LPP general secretary Farooq Tariq, Zafar Awan, general secretary LPP Punjab and Yousaf Baluch, ARD secretary Labour Punjab, warned the military government that the arrests of ARD leadership will have no effect on the rally and the rally on May 1st will go on as planned. They have directed the underground activists to come open and face the military repression to continue the traditions of the Chicago martyrs of 1886. LPP will take out a rally in Karachi from its headquarters come what may, they said in the press statement.
LPP leaders said that in Lahore, LPP activists in the morning would join the main rallies of Pakistan Workers Confederation. In the afternoon, LPP has organized a seminar at Lahore Press Club Building on the theme of Military Government, Imperialists Institutions and the working class. The main leadership of ARD who have not yet been arrested will address it.
Please send your protests to
Chief Executive General parvaiz Musharaff
[email protected]
Report by Rizwan Atta Member national committee LPP
please spread this message internationally
The general secretary of Labour Party Pakistan, Farooq Tariq has been arrested
in Lahore along other ARD (Alliance for Restoration of Democracy )leaders
near Lahore Airport today at 10:40 am, when they were going to the Airport for
Karachi.
Chairman of LPP Shoaib Bhatti has been already arrested on 28th April when he
was in a meeting of ARD,in Karachi.
In a meeting on Monday ARD Punjab leaders decided to participate in the public
meeting organised in connection with the May Day.This meeting is beeing
organized at Nishtar Park in Karachi to express solidarity with workers and to
condemn downsizing, rightsizing, price hike and unemployment.
Today evening, LPP with Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) will hold a seminar
"military regime, imperialist instituions and the working class" at Lahore
Press Club in Lahore.This seminar will be converted into a protest rally
against arrests and banning of May Day rallies.
Heavy police is present around Lahore Press Club. In the morning, police
stopped different May Day rallies in Lahore. Workers gathered one by one in
Bukhtiar Labour Hall in Lahore to hold the rally organized by All Pakistan
Trade Union Workers Confedration but heavy police stopped the rally.In another
rally organised by railway workers near railway station police charged batons
on workers as a result many workers were injured.
In Karachi police ceased all the ways to Nishter Park.
Reported by
Rizwan Atta