A rally was held by Red Workers Front RWF in Lahore on 21 January from Edgerton Road to the Press Club. The demonstrators condemned the privatization policy of the government and demanded that it should be stopped immediately. They said that government is privatizing hospitals, schools, colleges, railways, Airlines, Electricity and other public sector departments made by the money from taxes of poor people. This policy is bringing more unemployment, misery and poverty while majority of population will be denied these basic necessities due to manifold increase in their price.
At this moment national organizer of RWF, Aftab Ashraf made a revolutionary speech highlighting this issue in which he put forwarded a program to prepare for General Strike by workers of all departments of Pakistan against this policy.
When this speech was uploaded on Facebook with English subtitles it immediately went viral. The latest figures at our disposal for the people to whom this speech has reached, as of today Friday 26 January at 4:30 p.m. (Lahore time) was 184,501 and rising.
The response and solidarity has been overwhelming. We have received congratulatory messages from India, Nepal, Dubai, Turkey, USA and many other countries of the world. Most of the comments saying Red Salute to their Pakistani comrades.
Here are just a few of the comments we have received:
- Comrade you are right we are with your ideology go ahead, from India
- Lal Salam(Red Salute) from Bangladesh
- Lal Salaam to comrades of Pakistan. Comrades of Lahore spread to whole country. (Written in Hindi from India)
- In solidarity comrades, from Western Australia
- Revolutionary greetings from Bengal, India
- Red Salute from Brazil
- Workers all over the world need to see a right to a decent life, we are the 99% by Winnie Murphy
- Great Speech. Reminds me of the ‘firebrands’ that have fought for people's rights in Scotland, from UK.
And many others…
From the bottom of our hearts we thank all those who sent us such encouraging messages and pledge ourselves to continue to the fight to the finish!