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23 February, 2009
A general strike in the French West Indies territories of Guadeloupe and Martinique turned deadly last week when a fifty-year-old union leader, Jacques Bino, was killed as he approached a road block set up by disenfranchised youths in Point-à-Pitre, the largest city of Guadeloupe. His car was hit three times by 12-gauge shotgun slugs, one of which hit the tax and union official in the chest.
Six policemen were also wounded in Guadeloupe that same evening, 17 February, as widespread rioting took place on the Caribbean island. It is thought that Bino may have been killed after being mistaken for a plainclothes policeman.
The general strike started 20 January by a grouping of 50 trade unions and associations, under the banner “Liyannaj Kont Pwofitasyon” (Stand Up Against Exploitation). The strike is over a social caste system that harkens back to the days of slavery on the islands.
On 14 February, thousands of workers marched through the town of Le Moule to the chant, “Guadeloupe is ours, it’s not theirs.”
Elie Domota
Elie Domota, spokesperson for the Stand Up Against Exploitation stated, “Guadeloupe is a colony, because in a French department they would never have let the situation deteriorate this much before intervening.” Demonstrators have targeted the island’s ‘békés’, descendants of white plantation owners who still control much of the island’s economy. They account for less than 1% of Guadeloupe’s 450,000 population.
Citizens of Guadeloupe are victimised because most food is imported and is far more expensive than in France. However, wages are much lower and unemployment levels reach 20%. The Sarkozy administration in Paris has refused calls to recognise a demanded €200 per month increase in the minimum wage, or to address a demand that price cuts to basic essentials such as food and fuel be lowered by 20%.
It took until the fourth week of the strike, only last week, before Sarkozy did intervene. He spoke of the need for profound changes in the island’s economy, but failed to give any concrete proposals.
Similar demonstrations have occurred in neighbouring Martinique, while the strike has threatened to spread to the territories of French Guyana in South America, and the Indian Ocean island of Reunion. Protests could spread to mainland France in the coming days and weeks.