Socialist Outlook : SO/04 - Autumn 2004

Editorial

The ESF and the politics of resistance

The Editors

The European Social Forum meets in London to debate an alternative progressive politics to the horrors unleashed on the world by Bush and the neo-cons in charge of the White House. But the ‘war on terror’ continues – in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Chechnya, in Palestine and elsewhere. Delegates to the Republican Convention applaud Bush for doing ‘God’s work’, while oppressed peoples suffer at the hands of US-led imperialism and Russian troops. Israel continues to receive support from Bush as the US’s strategic ally in the oil-rich Middle East. Iraqi oil we know about; but Afghanistan and Chechnya are also near oil-producing areas and have oil pipelines running either through or close to their territories.

It is not always easy to work out how best to oppose the US-led imperialist rampage and build solidarity with oppressed peoples. But the tragedy in Beslan is hugely damaging to the Chechen liberation struggle. Appalling tactics such as the taking hostage of one thousand children and their parents cannot be sanctioned. Such atrocities should not, however, deflect us from understanding that the imperialist powers continue to impose even greater suffering on the peoples of the region and that we should continue to support the Chechen fight for self-determination.

It is not yet clear who the hostage takers were. Russia’s claim that ‘Arabs’ were included amongst them cannot be trusted, though the Chechen rebels are supported by Saudi Arabian money. The Chechen leader Aslan Maskhadov denied that his men were responsible. Many in North Ossetia blame neighbouring Ingushetia, an accusation that nicely suits Putin’s tactics of divide and rule. But whatever the Russian authorities say, it is clear that their assault commandos were planning to storm the school from the start. Whether or not it was the hostage takers who set off the first blasts, the Russian operation, which led to the deaths of over 300 people, can only be seen as a complete disaster.

We can be sure of the likely result of all this. As in the aftermath of 9/11 in the US, in Russia there will be further attacks on democratic and civil rights and a tightening of borders, all leading to an increasingly authoritarian state. Social spending will suffer as spending on security is stepped up. Furthermore, it gives Putin another opportunity to support Bush, to pretend that the war in Chechnya is part of the international ‘war on terror’ and nothing to do with the brutal suppression of an entire people.

Socialists need to separate out the rightful demands of the Chechen people for national liberation and secession from Russia – which we support unconditionally – from the political leadership of the struggle and the tactics adopted. As with the IRA in Ireland, terrorist tactics fail to build the mass movement at home and especially fail to build solidarity movements abroad, including, crucially, in Russia itself. Similarly, the seizure of the French journalists in Iraq has only undermined the fight of Muslim women against the French state over the right to wear the hijab.

We also back the right of the Palestinians to national liberation, but we do not always support the methods of the PLO and Hamas. Desperation leads to desperate acts such as suicide bombing, but will such tactics force Israel to give way? The answer is no. And what of those Israelis who do support the Palestinian right to a homeland and the right of return for refugees, how do terror attacks help them build solidarity and support in Israel? The answer is they don’t.

Likewise, our unconditional backing for the Iraqi struggle against imperialist occupation does not mean that we support the ideologies of their (mostly) religious leaderships. Muqtada al-Sadr, leader of the Mahdi army, is totally opposed to US occupation – but if in power he would no doubt impose an authoritarian capitalist regime, Sharia law and continue the oppression of women.

Active solidarity with national movements for self-determination requires that we as socialists engage in critical debate with the political leaderships of these movements, for without a programme and tactics that build links with the working people and the oppressed at home and internationally, history has shown us there can be no long-term solutions.

The ESF

The politics of the movements that come together at the World and European Social Forums - building unitary campaigns and actions at the grassroots - represents, in the longer term, the most effective way to fight capitalism and imperialism. What mass self-activity achieves, in building self-confidence, solidarity and awareness, terrorism largely fails to do, depending as it does on the individual ‘heroism’ of the few who substitute themselves for the masses. While the Social Forums stress inclusivity and democracy, terrorism acts secretly and separately without regard for the repression unleashed on the whole of society by its actions.

The Social Forums, brought together by a combination of central organisation and grass-roots social movements, are a big gain in the fight against the depredations of global capital on the environment and peoples of the planet. The organisation of international days of action against the war in Iraq was a huge step forward against US-led imperialism. We did not stop the war, but the anti-war constituency’s continued presence represents a major problem for imperialist strategists. The main task today is to build a critical solidarity with the resistance and secure total withdrawal.

How the left groups relate to these major developments will be crucial, not just for the future of the Forums and the social movements but also for the left groups themselves. The tensions between the two types of organisations – the social movements and the socialist groups – can only be resolved in practice through working together, building trust and learning from experience. It is a long process, without short cuts, and those who are only in the Forums for short-term gain will be part of the problem rather than part of the solution.

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