Immediate Acquittal for the oil workers of Las Heras!
The government of Kirchner and the oil companies, who rul Santa Cruz and the entire Country want to imprison for life the oil workers ....
Acquittal to the oil workers of Las Heras
They fought against the tax on the wages and labour precarization
On June 17 in the Criminal Chamber of the Second Legal division of Caleta Olivia the trial against twelve oil workers of La Heras will start (Province of Santa Cruz). They will be judged by the tribunal and judge Lembeye, employees paid by the imperialist oil companies. They will be put on trial because in 2006 they carried on a historical fight rejecting the taxing on wages and for the unity of the worker ranks under the war cry “for Equal work, for equal payment!” They said the oil workers under the UOCRA (Construction) Collective agreement must be under the oil collective agreement. During such fight one of their spokesmen, Navarro, was arrested by the police and jailed in the city police station and so the oil-workers rallied together with Las Heras townspeople to protest to the Police Station’s gates and police responded with a bloody repression using tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition.
In this “pueblada”/popular uprising attacked by the big capital’s hound-dogs, a police died. The oil companies, Cristina Kirchner government and their judges want to accuse the worker fighters of such event. For that reason, they want to keep hiding and in secret the file of the lawsuit, so, they prepare in that way a summary, express trial of the kind of Videla’s military tribunals to lynch workers. Against this conspiracy, must demand and impose to set lawsuit and files public to unmask this trial fabricated using false charges by the oil companies and government against the entire working class. And the worker organizations must launch an appeal to break the fence settled in the Las Heras City occupied by the Gendarmerie who imposes a terror regime against exploited.
For these fabricated charges, 6 comrades remained in jail being under a regime of systematically tortured for 3 and a half years and other 4 workers were released on parole and were not allowed to leave the city. By this new blow, Kirchner, and US oil TNC’s –the same oil companies that applying their oil-war massacred millions of exploited in Iraq, Afghanistan and keep thousands of anti-imperialist fighters as hostages in the CIA’s and Pentagon’s jails (like Guantánamo)- are seeking revenge and trying to punish the whole worker movement, especially, against the 6500 fighters under prosecution for confronting the slave and misery conditions imposed by the imperialist pirates and their agents of the Kirchnerist government. Because Sayago, the dead policeman, was personal guard of the Kirchners and in his “record” he has in his list nothing less than violently repressions against workers like in Caleta Olivia in the plant Termap where this murderer together with his friends in uniform kicked women on the floor provoking the lose of their pregnancy.
Today, the same parasitic and lifelong caste of judges that belong to the Judicial Power who yesterday sought to become legitimate by giving 15 years prison to Pedraza for the murder of the revolutionary young Mariano Ferreyra, will be who want to condemn Las Heras workers to life sentence. Thus, by putting an equal sign between killers like Pedraza and workers who fight for their family subsistence they are re-editing the theory of the “two demons” in an attempt to have “legitimacy” to apply their desired lynching against oilworkers. The working class must stop it!
There are several of worker organizations of different parts of the country and student unions as well that have already taken in their hands the struggle for the acquittal of the workers unfairly attacked. First, a massive assembly of the oil workers in the same city of Las Heras that voted by unanimity the acquittal of the 12 workers put on trial the last April 25.A “Committee in support for the acquittal of the Oil workers of Las Heras” has emerged in Buenos Aires with workers of Garrahan Hospital, Linea 60 (bus public transport), and Paty workers at the head. This Committee gathered first time on April 13 in the office of ATE-Capital together with dozens of organizations and they have carried out numerous activities: hand out leaflets, sticking advertising posters, assemblies in factories, schools, etc., to spread among the working class and exploited masses the fight in defense of the comrades. As well different worker organizations have set up in their provinces like in Neuquén this “committee“ to support the persecuted workers. In the Zona Norte in Great Buenos Aires, a committee of worker organizations has also been set up and the meetings are developed in the SUTNA-San Fernando. On May 28, The general assembly of students of the Social Science University, UBA, already voted the support to Las Heras workers and to participate in the demonstration towards Santa Cruz House located in Buenos Aires the day the trial begins.
After 7 years the oil workers of Las Heras have achieved to break the isolation. It’s time to develop and extend all along the country these organs that begin to emerge so that in every factory, workplace, college, University in every province and neighborhood they defend LH comrades. Side by side the family of the exploited massacred in Ledesma (Jujuy), the Qom of Formosa and Chaco, the martyrs of the Indoamericano, comrade Mariano Ferreyra, it is necessary to unify the demands for the judge and punishment of all the repressors and murderers of workers and People, and for never again a worker can be put in a tribunal or the jails of the TNC’s and slavery boss.
Oil workers of Las Heras belong to the entire Argentinean and world working class!
FIT must break with his passivity and be at the head of the fight to conquer the acquittal of the workers!
However, unfortunately, the “Left Front” composed by PO, PTS, and IS known as FIT among the militant vanguard have not declared themselves officially yet to launch this fight, they are not still integrated in the “Committee of Support” to the comrades.
The first candidate Altamira in some TV programs-like the interview he gave in METRO channel- is saying that the combination of the “legislative militancy and the worker mobilization are a weapon of massive destruction”. Well, so he must put the militancy and electoral campaign at the service to call on workers and their fighting organizations to fight in support of Las Heras oil workers, the political prisoners and the 6500 fighters under prosecution.
FIT already has parliamentary seats: a provincial deputy in Neuquén and a provincial legislator in Córdoba. They must put them at the service of the defense of the persecuted comrades. LH workers don’t demand amnesty because they didn’t commit any crime. They don’t ask either for projects of laws to save them. Unfortunately, the FIT’s parliamentary representatives that say that the working class can obtain favorable laws in the parliament by presenting law projects till today have not yet taken this initiative to support Las Heras workers. What are they waiting for?
As they did on November 20 in Moyano strike: FIT must propel the Strike and pickets all along the country
FIT leads and influences hundreds of worker organizations, internal commissions, delegates’ bodies, student unions. FIT must be at the service to fight for thousands of workers and militant students to mobilize against Santa Cruz House in Capital Federal this June 17. For thousands of exploited to surround the tribunals in Caleta Olivia where workers will be put on trial. And for all along the country to convene demonstrations, blockades of routes, strikes, pickets and assemblies.
FIT can no longer be in silence. Las Heras oil workers have been suffering this martyrdom more than 7 years. FIT must be at the head of this struggle against Cristina Kirchner government and boss justice that both seek to keep the worker vanguard under discipline by trials and prosecutions. It is no longer possible to lose time, the fight for the Acquittal of Las Heras workers is a struggle concentrating all the most feeling demands of the worker movement and exploited, that is, the fight against the taxing on wages and the labor flexibility, for equal payment and decent work, against the justice and police repression, against the pillage of the imperialist oil companies, the MERCOSUR’s TNCs, the mining companies and big planting pool (so-called pool de siembra TN) that plunder the nation.
FIT have obtained 600.000 votes in the 2011 presidential elections. They represent a real force of the worker vanguard. Moreover, many of the fighters under prosecution belong to the “Front”. For that, FIT has the duty to be at the head of the struggle for this June 17 to become the beginning of a Fighting Plan and National Strike to defend Las Heras workers, to free the political prisoners and to impose the non-prosecution (drop the charges) of the 6.500 workers. FIT must demand Moyano, Michelli and other CGT and CTA union leaders to convene it.
If they don’t do it, FIT will continue leaving Las Heras workers in isolation; workers who have been a great sample for the entire Argentinean and world working class showing in their struggle how to fight against capitalists, their governments, and imperialist TNC’s.
In 2006 when the repression against Las Heras oil workers’ strike was carried out, more than 200 worker organizations gathered in a meeting taking place in Bauen Hotel located in Capital Federal and declared their public support for workers. Today, in 2013, these same 200 organizations and FIT, together with the very same Navarro- to whom Las Heras workers set free that night- must put immediately at the head to confront this fake trial and send delegations to surround the oil workers and their families with effective solidarity. At the same time, it is urgent to set up again the Delegates’ Body that unified the oil workers with construction workers to again guarantee the oil strike to defend the comrades.
This June 17 the CGT and CTA of Moyano and Michelli must call a
FIGHTING PLAN and NATIONAL STRIKE!
Moyano and Michelli, who have call to fight against the “wage taxes” and say to be opposite to the government, must call the CGT and CTA this June 17 a beginning to a Fighting Plan and a National Strike in support to the comrades of Las Heras. Nobody can allow that the oil companies who plunder thousands of dollars, want to condemn to life sentence the workers who upsurge in order to defend their wages and against the outsourced work.
The truck workers, the civil servants and the entire worker movement must go out to take the streets. As they did last November 20th. It is necessary to block all the roads and highways of the country. The Picket movement must go out and block the Pueyrredon Bridge in Avellaneda to fight back for Trial and Punishment to all the responsible of the murder of Kostequi and Santillan. It is necessary to paralyze the country and start a great fight against the government, the bosses, the oil companies and the corrupted judges. This is what the ones who live from the work and effort of the working class deserves.
Freedom to all the prisoners for fighting! Drop the charges to the 6.500 comrades chased! Trial and Punishment to all the responsible of the murder of Mariano Ferreyra and other martyrs of the working class!
Down with the wage taxes! No limit to the family asignaciones! 10.000 minimum indexed wages! Decent work for all! Full time worker the ones that are with contracts, outsourced and paid under the table! 6 hours of labour shift and an extra shift in all the factories and establishments so the unemployed workers have work!
This June 17 the world working class must demonstrate in the Argentina embassies and consulates!
The oil workers of Las Heras with their fight were part of this anti-imperialist vanguard of the world working class who fought against the oil workers and their war of conquest, looting and colonized.
They were brothers of the fight of the workers that in Iraq resist the occupation of the US military troops, and also part of the US worker movement who went out in the fight against the imperialist war.
They were part of the fight of the Bolivian workers and peasants when the Bolivia insurrected they up rose against the US imperialism and the transnational companies at the war cry of: “Nor 30%, neither 50%: nationalization of the hydrocarbs!”
They were and are brothers of the fight for the freedom to the 4.500 Palestinian prisoners kept as hostages for this military enclave at the service of the US imperialism which is the fascist Zionist state of Israel.
They were and are brothers of the fight for the freedom of the Anti-imperialist fighters who are in Guantanamo jail, that are keeping them as prisoners for more than 10 years in inhuman conditions.
The world working class cannot allow that this 12 comrades, who will be taken to the court in Caleta Olivia (Argentina), and will become the current “Chicago martyrs”. In all the countries this June 17 the working class must be present and demonstrate to all the Argentina Consulates and Embassies to fight for the acquittal of the oil workers of Las Heras!
Freedom to the 4.500 Palestinian prisoners kept by the fascist Zionist state of Israel!
Freedom to the prisoners of Ayo-Ayo in Bolivia!
Freedom to the anti imperialist fighters in Guantanamo jail!
Freedom to the 147 workers of Suzuki in India and all the world worker prisoners to fight against capitalism and its world of oppression and misery!
Editorial Board of
Democracia Obrera
