BY LISA MACDONALD
SYDNEY — Pakistani socialist Farooq Tariq wrapped up his Australian speaking tour with an April 12 public address at the Lidcombe offices of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU).
Tariq, who is general secretary of the radical left Labour Party Pakistan (LPP), arrived in Australia two weeks ago to attend the second Asia Pacific Solidarity Conference.
Following the conference he addressed public meetings sponsored by the Socialist Alliance in Newcastle, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart, Melbourne and Sydney on the topic "Afghanistan: Have Bush's bombs brought peace?"
While he was in Melbourne, Tariq addressed a state council meeting of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union and a branch meeting of the CFMEU, after which he had discussions with union officials on the possibility of the LPP working to create a construction union in Pakistan.
At his final public meeting, in Sydney, at which he was welcomed by CFMEU NSW secretary Andrew Ferguson, Tariq explained that the LPP was committed to establishing a union for Pakistani construction workers, who are among the most exploited of all workers in his country.
His detailed descriptions of the courage and commitment of ordinary Pakistanis, in particular women, in the face of the bosses' and the military's escalating attacks on living conditions and anyone who resists them, captivated and inspired everyone at the meeting. An appeal for funds at the end of the meeting raised almost $200.
From Green Left Weekly, April 24, 2002.
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