Dear friends, the Corona Pandemic is currently a global health crisis and is keeping the world in suspense

The capitalist health systems are not prepared and are reaching their limits. Just now, when we cannot come together personally, we must stick together and give each other strength. In many places, the "corona crisis" is being used by the industrial monopolies and financial capital to shift the consequences of the world economy and financial crisis onto the workers and the masses.

Many governments are also taking advantage of the situation to further restrict civil and democratic rights. Here we must be vigilant and develop common methods to fight against the restrictions and shifting of burdens (softening of environmental and labour protection etc.) on us. The exchange of experience and ideas is particularly important now. Tell us about the situation in your countries, what measures are being taken by governments, how are workers and their families coping, how do people deal with it? How is solidarity developing among the population, what thoughts move you? Until now it was planned to hold a European Conference of the miners with the former Soviet states in Germany in September this year. The extent to which this is still feasible is not yet clear at the present time because of the Corona crisis. I thank you for the reports from the Congo, Morocco, Peru and Turkey. You can read them on our homepage www.minersconference.org and you can also write your own reports for the homepage.Here in Germany, the attempt to enforce emergency laws for an unlimited period of time, which would have overruled the right of assembly and strike, has failed, because there was an outcry in the public opinion when a Prime Minister announced these considerations.

Best wishes and "Glück Auf" from Germany, above all stay healthy and don't let yourselves be defeated! To the militant international cooperation. Andreas Tadysiak, Main Coordinator of the International Miners' Coordination