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May Day unrest hits Asia

Australia rally
Police and demonstrators clashed in Australia at the start of May Day activities  


Staff and wires

HONG KONG, China -- Restive workers across the region have hit the streets for traditional May Day rallies, causing chaos and unrest in some areas.

Police in Australia have arrested dozens of people demonstrating against the country's detention of asylum seekers.

A brawl broke out in Sydney as about 500 demonstrators tried to block access to the offices of a private security firm which runs the country's detention centers for asylum seekers.

"Our aim today is to actually shut down the offices of ACM," protest organizer Zanny Begg told Channel Seven television.

"We feel that their treatment of refugees is so inhumane that for one day we are actually going to imprison them so they know what it feels like, in the way that they imprison refugees."

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CNN's Lisa Barron reports on labor unrest in Asia and Australia on May Day (May 1)

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The Australian government has come under attack from human rights and religious groups for its policy of mandatory detention for all boat people who arrive in the country to seek asylum.

Australian trade unions are hijacking May Day, which they say is meant to promote worker solidarity. Unions plan to hold a march on Sunday to allow all workers to attend.

In the Philippines and Indonesia demonstrations are expected to turn violent as thousands of workers gather on the streets to protest their governments' disregard for workers' rights.

In Indonesia, some 10,000 workers and activists are expected to gather outside the presidential palace to demand the government renews its commitment to labor reforms.

Police in the West Java capital of Bandung are also on alert, after massive labor rallies in the area last year left scores injured.

The demonstrators are also expected to demand a 100 percent salary increase, and to declare May 1 as a holiday.

Heightened security

Australia
Demonstrators in Australia are calling for the closure of detention centers  

Security is unusually tight in the presidential palace of Malacanang in Manila, where Labor Day coincides with the anniversary of a bloody May 1 siege of the palace.

As well as police and troops being deployed, the palace has been fortified with fire trucks, barbed wire and forklift trucks.

During Labor Day last year, some 50,000 supporters of deposed President Joseph Estrada stormed Malacanang and demanded the ouster of his predecessor Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

The protest sparked massive riots and looting in the area. Scores of protesters and a number of policemen were injured during the siege.

Estrada is currently in detention at a military hospital and facing charges of corruption and plunder. His supporters are expected to rally for his release and his return to power.

Lift morale

While no major celebrations have been planned for May Day in China, President Jiang Zemin is taking measures to restore the low morale of workers.

Jiang is trying to pacify the country's workers by vowing to preserve their status as the "vanguard" of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and nation.

It is understood that after a spate of labor unrest in March, which hit a dozen-odd provinces, Jiang has given orders to ensure that livelihood subsidies for laid-off workers must be delivered to them in time.

New guidelines have also been given to the police to ensure that they use a minimum of force when handling protracted labor protests.

The Labor Ministry admitted last week that in the coming four years, unemployment would remain at the level of more than 20 million.

But speaking in advance of May Day, Politburo member Wei Jianxing, who heads the official trade union, said the government would use "a thousand means" to ensure the livelihood of laborers, particularly model workers who had rendered special services to the country.

Beijing also approved on May Day a draft legislation protecting workers from toxic substances.

Western diplomats said Jiang was afraid that disgruntled workers might form a political alliance with the party's leftists, or remnant Maoists opposed to economic reform.



 
 
 
 







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