KENYA: SALUTE TO THE BRAVE YOUTHS! WORKERS MUST NOW ENTER THE FRAY TO DEFEAT AUSTERITY AND REPRESSION!
The following is reprinted from our comrades of the Revolutionary Workers Group of Zimbabwe (Section of the International Leninist Trotskyist Tendency-ILTT)
Since early last week young people have been protesting against the Finance Bill introduced by the government at the behest of the IMF and the west. The purpose of the Bill was to squeeze the working masses by raising taxes to service the national debt. After arrogantly threatening protestors, deploying the army, killing over 20 of them and abducting others, the president was forced to backtrack yesterday. He has rejected the Bill, ordered budget cuts in government departments and called for dialogue with the youth and the rest of society.
This partial retreat must not confuse the youth organising through social media who have resisted the might of the state for over a week now. Instead, it should be a catalyst to escalate, broaden, deepen and clarify their increasingly ideologically anti-establishment protests which up to now have been largely loosely coordinated. While it is understandable that young people are sceptical of leadership and organised formations, these make the difference between a decisive victory and gradual defeat. The reluctance to organise under a clear leadership can be overcome by electing accountable leaders in organisations under the democratic control of the masses.
The partial and strategic retreat by the government, most likely at the insistence of the US imperialist bloc and its agent the IMF, is meant to diffuse the protests but most critically to do so before the working class enters the fray. The West is justifiably concerned about the possibility of China/Russia hijacking the protests for their own imperialist interests. We salute the youth for seeing through this and coming out again yesterday demanding that the president resigns. It is necessary that workers, rejecting the collaborationist union leaders, strike in support of the demands by the youth and at the same time make their own demands.
Forward with the fight against IMF sponsored austerity and poverty!
For independent action of the youth, working and poor masses!
Form Action Committees and Defence Guards in communities, colleges and workplaces!
For the ranks of the military to refuse to suppress the protests and come out in solidarity with its aims!
For a General strike to decisively defeat austerity, poverty, repression and capitalism!
For a Workers’ and poor Farmers government to expropriate without compensation the property of the imperialist oppressors and their national comprador capitalists!
