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Nota de Clajadep:
La ILPS es la International League of People´s Struggle (ellos ponen el apóstrofe después de la s: peoples´struggle), Liga Internacional de Lucha de los Pueblos. Algunas de sus organizaciones participan en la Vía Campesina, otras del Campo Antiimperialista, otras de la Corriente Leninista Internacional, otras en la AGP, algunas en todas ellas. Se distancian del reformismo de los partidos comunistas, del dogmatismo troskista y del fundamentalismo maoista, aunque muchas vienen de esta última corriente y la mayoría simpatiza abiertamente con el guevarismo.
Lo que les falta aún por superar es su contradicción con el anarquismo y su poca atención a la experiencia de autoorganización zapatista.
Nosotros como Clajadep nos sentimos cómodos con ellos y hemos ganado un espacio en sus encuentros, en especial en el Campo Antiimperialista, debido a nuestra manera de encarar la relación entre todas las formas de lucha y siempre hemos estado hablando con ellos de la importancia de reconocer la interlocución con los compañeros anarquistas.
Si visita su página en http://www.geocities.com/ilps2000/ verá arriba a la derecha la lista de members´emails, direcciones electrónicas de sus miembros en varios países, en especial asiáticos y árabes, lo que les hace interesante para nosotros en el sentido de conocer e intercambiar más con experiencias de esos lados.
Los intercambios normalmenter se hacen en inglés, pero nada dificultaría escribirles en castellano o portugués, para que tengan que buscar traductores, y así evitamos en una pequeña parte la supeditación a ese idioma.
El siguiente material viene en inglés y está muy largo como para traducirlo, pero si alguien tiene tiempo, puede hacerlo aunque sea una parte.
Anti-imperialists cannot stay within the Social Forum
The reasons why we participate in the International Anti-imperialist, Anti-capitalist Meeting in Athens (May 4-7 2006), by Manolis Arkolakis, ILPS
In early May, in Athens, the International Anti-imperialist, Anti-capitalist Meeting and the session of the European Social Forum will take place. These two parallel and politically antithetical international events raise again the issue on whether the anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist left forces should participate or not in the European Social Forum, if this participation is useful and significant.
This discussion, and many times the dispute, particularly the recent past years has taken international dimension and concerns seriously many social and political movements. The Mumbai-Resistance 2004, the RESISTANBUL 2004 and other similar initiatives before and after it like Thessaloniki-Resistance 2003, the anti-summit in Hong Kong 2005, the anti-imperialist conference in Caracas 2006 paved the way for the substantial criticism on the project, the political platform and the objectives of the Social Forum. The International Anti-imperialist, Anti-capitalist Meeting moves on the same common line of those initiatives.
The European Social Forum is ruled by the social-democrat, reformist and government European Left forces. These forces supported the NATO war on the Balkans and participated in governments that implemented neo-liberal policies. It is led –like the World Social Forum- by big western NGOs and political entities that pursue to humanize imperialism-capitalism and to adjust the radical social movements to embedment and submission policies. These forces, in view of the Athens session, pursue to turn the European Social Forum into a reformation power within the European Union and a supporting power of an alleged anti-neoliberal European constitution (!), as the ATTAC spokesman Susan George recently stated.
In Greece, the majority of the left is out of and in contrast to the Social Forum project. “Synaspismos” is the leading force in the Greek Social Forum, a party member of the European Left that supports European Union and cooperates with PASOK (social-democratic in words but actually a neoliberal, former government party). The two big trade union confederations, GSEE in private and ADEDY in public sector, have a decisive role both in organization and financial support of the European Social Forum session in Athens. They represent the submitted to the employer trade unionism, they repress the independent working struggles and only a few days ago they have signed a two-year social peace agreement with the Greek Industrialists Association for a slight wages increase and in complete contrast with the majority of the toilers in the country.
Unfortunately, in the European Social Forum participate a few small, radical forces of the left and they give to it a left alibi. Some of them have developed strong collaboration with the party of “Synaspismos”, both in trade unions and general and local elections. In the view of the European Social Forum session in Athens, they attempt, using anti-imperialism as a pretext, to draw radical and revolutionary forces and movements to the Forum’s structure, by raising the argument of mass participation and by taking advantage of the material support of this organizing provided by the Greek Social-democracy.
Reality is completely different. The majority of the working and youth movements in Greece, the largest and most militant part of the anti-war and anti-imperialist movement and the left do not participate in the European Social Forum. They are in constant and open confrontation with its policy and its objectives and on many occasions, the last past years, they have organized activities in contrast to its conciliatory and pro-European policy (i.e. against European Union, against the Anan Plan for Cyprus, against the anticommunist memorandum of the European Council and in support the Iraqi resistance).
In contrast with the Forum, the fixed structure and the reproduction, as a kind of “franchising” of huge events, the vast and countless multi-topic discussions, the shift of the discussion to seminars, the acceptance of financial support by powerful centres, governments and NGOs and the distance form the live social forces, the anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist international meetings raise another option. They raise substantial democracy, absolute independence, they secure that the ones who talk come mainly from “below”. The discussions are plain and palpable and they are in direct relation with every day struggle and the questions these struggles bring forth. The anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist meetings do not distinguish movements in good and bad ones, in militarist and democratic, in backward and modern ones. They declare their support to the armed, mass liberation movements; they support without reservations the Iraqi resistance, the guerrilla movements in Latin America and Asia. They do not submit to the directions of “proper western democratic reason”, the exclusions and the propagation of the western governments and media. They do not promote leaders, they do not collaborate with the western think tanks, they do not look for ways to communicate with the powerful ones, and they do not become the alibi to exculpate the western NGOs. They do not submit to Europe-centralism, they don’t submit to the line of reforming European Union and the constitutional quests of the European Left. Those who participate in the anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist meetings do not dream of centre-left governments; they reject governmentalism and the submission to social-democracy.
The International Anti-imperialist, Anti-capitalist Meeting in Athens is supported by many working, youth (students) and urban movements across Greece. It is supported by independent trade unions, student unions, anti-war committees, anti-imperialist and anti-bases movements. It is supported by parties and organizations of the Greek revolutionary left. It is supported by independent intellectuals and trade unionists. Forces that support the ILPS in Greece and Europe, participate in the I.A.A.M. In the Meeting have been invited and will participate delegations of the Iraqi Resistance, the Palestinian Intifada, delegations of the European anti-war and anti-imperialist movement, Turkish and Kurdish activists, immigrants and trade unionists from many Western Europe countries, from Asia and Latin America, left activists and trade unionists from the Eastern European countries.
The International Anti-imperialist, Anti-capitalist Meeting in Athens has the ambition to contribute in consolidating the internationalist relations between the movements. To consolidate the anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist line in them. To give voice to grassroots movements. To challenge the prevailing of reformism, social-democracy and NGOs in people’s and working movements. To advance the independence and militancy of people’s and working struggle. To declare that in order to make another world possible, this world should be socialist and not centre-left and pro-European.
Class Struggle (member of ILPS)
Militant Movement - Students (member of ILPS)
People’s Militant Movement (member of ILPS)
Committee against Military Bases and Dependency (member of ILPS)
Manolis Arkolakis
- Vice-Chairman of ILPS
- Chief Coordinator of ILPS European Coordination Committee
Chrisi Perperidou
- ICC member of ILPS
- Μember of ILPS European Coordination Committee
e-mail address: iaam_athens2006.gr
web site: www.iaam-athens2006.gr
Program of the meeting
ΤετάÏτη, 05 ΑπÏίλιος 2006
THURSDAY 5/4
19:00 DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS – TERRORIST LAWS – TERRORIST HYSTERIA IN SOCIAL AND WORK PLACES 20:30 URBAN MOVEMENTS AND THE RADICAL LEFT
FRIDAY 5/5
11:00 ASSAULT ON THE POLITICAL AND EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS OF YOUTH YOUTH AS A CONTESTATION POWER
20:30 CAPITAL’S ASSAULT AND THE COMMON STRUGGLE OF EUROPEAN TOILERS – THE EXPERIENCE OF THE FRENCH MARCH AND THE STRIKE OUTBURSTS IN EUROPE
SATURDAY 5/6
11:00 IMPERIALIST WAR – PEOPLES’ RESISTANCE AND SOLIDARITY IN THE BALKANS AND THE MIDDLE EAST – IRAQI RESISTANCE
12:00 UPRISINGS IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE LEFT
12:30 GREEK-TURKISH DISPUTE AND THE CYPRUS QUESTION QUEST OF COMMON RESISTANCE
SUNDAY 7/5/2006
10:00 THE LEFT IN THE 21ST CENTURY THE REVOLUTIONARY AND SOCIALIST PERSPECTIVE
Last Updated ( ΤετάÏτη, 05 ΑπÏίλιος 2006 )
FOR AN INTERNATIONAL ANTICAPITALIST- ANTIIMPERIALIST MEETING IN ATHENS ON SPRING 2006
On the 4-7 May of 2006, Athens will be host to the European Social Forum. The conducts of Forums constitute international political events that affect not only the movements of the later years (movement against globalization and anti-war movement), but also the future of the international left movements. They give rise to several conversations and initiatives of all currents associated to these movements. Moreover, these events affect the political balances of every country, by strengthening several viewpoints or undermining others concerning the left and especially the revolutionary left and its perspective.
We believe that it is necessary to underline our view in the conversations that will take place during that period, through the conduction of a great international anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist meeting in Athens. Therefore, there is the need to reach an agreement concerning the context and the specific formation of the meeting, its international aspects, the components that may participate, and its relation with the general effort for the creation of the pole of the anti-capitalist Left.
INTEGRATION OR ANTICAPITALIST STRUGGLE?
It has been a while since the upmost moment of the movement against globalization in Genova, as well as from the “battle of Thessaloniki 2003”.
Since then several important events have happened, not only concerning the politics of the rivals but also concerning the international left.
The enlargement of the EU and the beginning of the integration process of Turkey, the continuous so called laws against terrorism, the Bolgenstain directives, the endless war in Irac, the new phase of the imperialistic plans in the area (independence of Kosovo, Monterego), the course of events in Palestine, form the general field of the wider plans of capital, internationally.
On behalf of the international left there also is important progress that has brought about the discussion, the interest and the expectations for millions of persons concerning the future of the left.
First of all, there is the great victory of the rejection of the European Constitution in both France and Holland and the dynamics that this produced. Then, there is the success of the “Left Party” in German, the formation process of the “center-left coalition” in Italy as well as the first Congress of the European Left Party that took place on the 27-29/10 in Athens.
Of great importance are also the recent events in Latin America (Venezuela, Bolivia), as well as in Asia (with the recent rural mobilizations in India). The basic conclusion of the above is that despite the blows the movement has experienced, as well as the great difficulties of the period, we witness the birth of contradictory, challenging currents against the new order, that are capable of creating significant political facts, forcing all the existing left political currents to take a stand in order to affect them.
Will these great movements of the past years lead the way towards a direct reformist, even governmental logic, will they become the path for the “renewal” and in particular “via the movement” of a new round of center-left proposals, or will they become the starting point for the emergence of several radical, anti-capitalist and revolutionary political currents of the next period? This is the main political question of this period.
We believe that the conduction of the Congress of the “European Left Party”, as well as the European Social Forum in Athens move towards the first direction, meaning the direction of the reformist and governmental Left. We, on the contrary, should act decisively aiming at the growth of the second logic.
The relation between the European Left Party and the conduction of the Forum is obvious, as the majority of the leading forces of the European Left Party are also the main forces of the Forum. (Communistic Re-foundation Party, Coalition of the Left etc).
The programmatic base of the structure of the European Left Party is openly administrative and considers itself as part of the central-left, of the EU with a “human face”, of the embellishment of the European imperialistic center and its emergence as “the opponent awe against the USA”, that may even justify the wars (in the name of keeping “equal distances”, between the USA and the “terrorism”) .
Given the hegemony of the forces of the European Left Party inside the Forum, we can estimate that the basic political orientation of the European Social Forum in May 2006 will be the strengthening and the establishment of the hegemony of the above ideas within the movement. Therefore, we stand contradictory and we clearly dissociate ideologically, politically and organizationally from this process.
Naturally, the European Social Forum does not identify with the European Left Party. Within the European Social Forum participate radical forces that are not members of the European Left Party. The French LCR, the English SWP, the independent trade unions SUD and COBAS, and many others forces such as the Attack. Hence, the European Social Forum constitutes an alliance among several powers that either move towards a reformist and European-friendly logic, or towards a radical and sometimes anti-capitalist logic, but under the hegemony of the first. The first currents determine the orientation and the limits of the whole effort. The second ones take over the role of the opposition, trying to force the Forum to move towards more “left prospects” and by doing that, they lose contact with the social radicalism, the possibility of the growth of the movement and the independent political action, all in the name of the “wide intervention in the lowbases of the reformist political forces”.
The arguments on behalf of the radical left forces concerning their participation to the European Social Forum are week. Because no one can truly assert that within the Forum a radical political orientation exists, so the only thing one may say is that the Forum is a neutral field of dialogue and a field in witch several social voices of opposition coexist. However, the Forum is neither of the above. It is an extremely controlled as well as bureaucratically structured “field of dialogue” in which certain forces have several privileges, while others are excluded, and this is something that is decided in advance. But even if it was an open field of dialogue this, would not mean much. We do not wish to discuss about the future of the labour movement with the bureaucratic leadership of the reformist labour movement. Not to mention what will happen when we will try to reach to certain conclusions. Moreover the European Social Forum is not so Social as it claims. It is not about a meeting of several social organizations but a meeting of certain political forces and certain social organizations with certain political ideas.
Considering the “social organizations”, the bureaucratic organizations like GSEE (National Workers’ Union of Greece), do not represent any “social or fighting current”. On the contrary they have become a bourgeois institution, an institution of the bourgeois class within the trade-union movement. Not to mention that in the organizational committee of the Forum in Athens, participate the majority of the bourgeois trade unionism (GSEE, ADEDY, EKA and other Labour Centers). As far as the political forces that participate, we can speak for a “firm” coalition of the party of the Collation of the Left with some organizations of the extra-parliamentary left (Network of Social and Political Rights, Internationalist Labour Left, Communist Organization of Greece etc.
FOR AN INDEPENDENT ANTICAPITALIST ANTIIMPERIALIST MEETING
Taking into consideration the experience of the previous Forums, these days are days of meetings and discussions among the forces that relate with the movement against globalization, the labour movement etc.. This is understandable because:
a) despite the different and competitive tendencies within the labour movement, the movement itself has an independence and is a point of reference for numerous different political currents, b) there exists a wide “intermediary part of political forces” (some are dissidents within the Forum, others are outside the Forum but they keep an eye on what it does), and c) the sense of the transitivity of our period enforces the trend towards wider discussions, and the Forum attempts to appear as the leading force in that direction.
The rich experience of the activity of the radical and anti-capitalist currents during the last period allow us to conclude that the success or not of the several “alternative formations” depends on the political direction, the social factor and the context of the activity of the currents that constitute them.
Therefore, it is necessary for the radical left to form a massive, multiform and rich in context, independent, national and international political activity, during the days of the European Social Forum in Athens. Aiming at the formation of an independent Anti-capitalist, Anti-imperialist Meeting.
The political objective of this meeting is to enforce the communication and the political unification of the widest possible radical potential that exists, in the working places and the places that the youth gathers, in the neighborhoods, speaking for issues such as the ecology, the political theory and the civilization. Consequently we want this meeting to become an essential step towards the formation - from bellow, of a left, anti-capitalist political current in our society.
This objective is of great importance concerning the economic situation nowadays, where the radical left movement is facing great and total battles. We speak about the social field and the unlimited attack to the labour and youth rights, the evolutions in the political system, the turn towards the parliamentary and administrative totalitarianism that will be countersigned by the New Constitution. All these battles will form the balance between the ruling block of power and the forces fighting for the subversion of the situation, moreover, they will form the future of the left. But, in order for these struggles to succeed there is a need for a higher level of context and of political unification among the forces of the social and political, radical left. The International Anti-capitalist, Anti-imperialist Meeting can and must contribute towards this direction.
The success of the meeting will strengthen the political ability, independence and self-confidence of the members of the radical left, convincing them that they are able to produce significant and massive political facts. It will be a powerful answer against the logic which claims that relating to the lowbases of the parties of the reformist left, in our case the Forum and consequently the Coalition of the Left, is the only way for the development of a massive anti-capitalist movement in our society. For decades now, it has been clearly proved that whoever choose to put himself under the political and organizational frame of the opponent forces, trying to become their “left and reliable version”, not only does he influence these forces, but gradually is alerted and becomes a part of their current.
The formation of an anti-capitalist current in the society will never be created through the “political initiatives” of one current within the base of another. It will be formed through the development of the social and class confrontation fighting for the changing of the balance between labour and capital, for the emergence of a totally different political perception and the formation of those political and organizational structures that will promote these ideas in everyday life.
The Struggle Initiative managed to affect some social parts, due to its views and practice. It managed to do so not because it “propagandized the need” of a fighting anti-imperialist action, but for carrying out this action, for performing the struggle at Souda. Not because it wasted its time trying to convince the Coalition of the Left for the need of several anti-EU actions but for demonstrating on the 16th of April during the Athens Summit for the EU Enlargement. Not because it tried hard to convince the base of Forum that it was necessary to break the red zone at Marmara, but for doing it. Only through the real and everyday action one can manifest openly to the society that the way we suggest is not only necessary but also possible. When one political current chooses to abandon the independence of its effort, diffusing itself into the political and organizational forms of other powers “trying to affect them”, then, it can easily become another one of the many “left alibi” of forces like the Coalition of the Left, the forces that constitute the more right-wing and reformist forces within the left…
Therefore the conducting as well as the success of the International Anticapitalist - Antiimperialist Meeting, is of great importance for every fighting person who does not wish to witness the radical action of the movement to be wasted into the field of the administrative left. The international Anticapitalist Antiimperialist Meeting should and may be:
1. A voice for the development and the strengthening of the anticapitalist and revolutionary answers concerning the fundamental problems of our period. Against the idea which claims that the today’s strategic attack of the murderous capitalism cannot be confronted, therefore abandons the revolutionary struggle and restricts itself in fighting for the comeback of the “welfare state”, we promote the idea of the anticapitalist struggle and the communist refoundation, aiming at the overthrow of capitalism.
2. A voice of communication and unification of the activity of all the political initiatives, the left groups and the independent fighters. This “field” can truly play a role in the existence and the initiatives of the independent, radical currents in the working places and the youth places, in the neighborhoods, in the promotion of the antiwar action, in the theory and the culture. It can become a place of reference for every social and political effort that the radical Left tries to form in every place, facing so many difficulties.
3. It can be a voice of international communication, information, and coordination of the many different currents that also act socially and politically, trying to form an independence anticapitalist prospect, diversifying themselves from the today’s reformist and governmental left.
We speak about several significant parts of the movements that have an independent, radical activity. These are powers that belong to the field of the independent and radical left. Here, we must note that the presence of organizations from the Middle East and Turkey, the Palestine, the Balkans etc. is very important. As it is the presence of independent parts of the movement against globalization such as the PGA, or even particular initiatives (Kristian Rakofski Balkan Center). Finally, we speak about the voices that are questioning and criticize from within the big parties of the left and the radical left in Europe (Communist Re-foundation, Left Block in Portugal, League etc).
The discussion can first focus in five categories, and there will be many workshops, initiatives etc, during those days and before.
· Work and Labour Movement nowadays.
· War in our region and worldwide.
· Environment, city and the movements of the cities.
· Youth - Education and student movement today.
· The Left and the possibility of subversion in the period of murderous capitalism in Europe and the world.
The organizational committee and the web page is open to proposals and ideas for discussions and laboratories, up to the middle of April.
International Anticapitalist Antiimperialist Meeting of Athens,
4-7 May, Pantio University, Athens