>Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2000 07:37:25 -0800 >From: Green Left Parramatta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > >The following article appeared in the latest >issue of Green Left Weekly (http://www.greenleft.org.au), >Australia's radical newspaper. > >***************************************************** > >Marxism 2000 conference reaffirms Marxism in the 21st century > >By Margaret Allum > >``In the world, the tendency today is to bury Marxism and >communism. The equation is simple: the collapse of the European >socialist bloc is the end of the ideology and the theory that >inspired their existence. But Marxist and communist ideas have >today, perhaps more than ever, the possibility of demonstrating >their viability.'' > >With these words Maria Luisa Fernandez, the Cuban consul-general, >opened the Marxism 2000 conference in Richmond, just outside of >Sydney, from January 5 to 9. Her speech followed a welcome by >Colin Giles, a representative of the local Darug Aboriginal >people. > >Marxism 2000, initiated and organised by the Democratic Socialist >Party (DSP), was the second Asia Pacific Solidarity Conference; >the first was held in April 1998, also in Sydney. > >Far from being a collective international obituary to the ideas >and practice of Marxism, Marxism 2000 was instead a vibrant >reassertion of the urgent need to build an alternative to the >capitalist system and a reminder that such an alternative is the >only way to solve massive global inequalities. > >DSP political committee member Peter Boyle, in a >speech on the first day of the conference, strongly >reasserted the relevance of Marxism in the 21st century, a theme >taken up by many of the subsequent speakers. Boyle said that >whenever capitalism experienced one of its regular crises, even >commentators in the establishment media would ponder whether >Marx, in his analysis of the world economic system, was right >after all. > >For the 450 participants in the conference, the question of >challenging the profit-driven policies of neo-liberal governments >and corporations was not an academic one. Most of the 53 >international guests were from parties and organisations in the >Asia Pacific region. All are building socialist movements to >challenge the pro-big business economic and social policies of >their own governments -- governments which are working in >conjunction with or are under extreme pressure from the US-led >International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. Most Australian >attendees are also involved in democratic and progressive >struggles in this country. > >Globalisation and internationalism > >A lively challenge to the pessimistic world view of >``globalisation'' was presented by international keynote speaker >James Petras, a professor of sociology at New York University and >an expert on Latin American politics. It's not a new insight, he >said, to point out that the capitalist economy is operating on an >global scale, it has been for many years. > >The propaganda about ``globalisation'', he said, was aimed at >demobilising those who challenge capitalism. It seeks to instill >a belief that the struggle against ones' own government is no >longer relevant or possible, and that the worldwide capitalist >system is invincible. > >Because every company still operates under the laws and >regulations of the nation-state to which it principally belongs, >Petras argued that even if a company employs labour and utilises >materials from many different countries, struggles against that >company will continue to occur, and can still be effective, on a >national, as well as international scale. The task of socialists >is still to organise against the small layer of the rich and >powerful within their own countries, he argued, while >simultaneously developing strong and binding forms of >international solidarity with others elsewhere. > >It was this internationalism that flavoured many of >the more than 100 plenaries, talks and workshops >during the conference. Many participants spoke of increasing >political links between struggles in different countries, >particularly within the same geographical region. > >Some international speakers, particularly speakers from the >Indian subcontinent whose governments are involved in bitter >rivalries, said that the conference provided the first >opportunity to meet with and plan collaboration between >socialists who, despite close geographical proximity, had been >unable to meet previously. Others, such as the representatives >from different organisations on the Philippines left, found that >the conference opened up space for a dialogue that had previously >been difficult. > >DSP political committee member Doug Lorimer presented the party's >analysis of the international neo-liberal forces and the >prospects for resistance to this by socialist movements around >the world. Sue Bolton, from the DSP's national executive, >described the fight back against the Coalition government's >offensive in Australia. > >John Percy, the DSP's national secretary, outlined the party's >views on the best basis for international left collaboration and >socialist renewal. He argued for internationalism, solidarity and >collaboration through a non-sectarian network of socialist >parties, rather than a centralised international structure. > >He explained that past and present attempts at forming tight >internationals, whose member parties related only to a narrow >range of international collaborators, had restricted the >opportunities for building a healthy worldwide movement for >socialism. ``Because we're internationalists'', he said, ``we're >desperate to help others to build revolutionary parties, to build >better collaboration, to build a real network, to build parties >that can make revolutions, in all the countries of the world''. > >East Timor and Indonesia > >The independence struggle of the people of East Timor and the >fight for democracy in Indonesia were given prominence at this >conference, having been high on the list of priorities for the >DSP's international solidarity efforts for many years. > >Avelino da Silva, the secretary-general of the Socialist Party of >Timor (PST) and a member of the East Timor Transitional Council, >received a rousing welcome from conference delegates. He spoke of >the transitional period to full independence and the enormous >task of rebuilding East Timor, both physically and politically. > >Da Silva said that international solidarity with the struggle of >the East Timorese had been instrumental to their victory, and >thanked all those who had displayed this internationalism. Da >Silva and Naldo Rai from Fretilin later discussed strategies for >the left in East Timor in a well attended workshop. > >One of the few political parties within Indonesia that displayed >such solidarity with the people of East Timor was the People's >Democratic Party (PRD). PRD president Budiman Sujatmiko, recently >released after three and a half years imprisonment for political >opposition to Indonesia's Suharto regime, was welcomed with >thunderous applause from an audience including many people who >had campaigned tirelessly for his release. > >Joining him in presenting the PRD's view of the political >challenges facing the radical mass movement were members of the >Indonesian Committee for Socialism, Gatot, Machmud and Jazz. PRD >leaders Dita Sari, also released from imprisonment in 1999, and >Mugianto, from the PRD's international department, addressed the >conference on efforts to build the movement for full democracy in >Indonesia. They said there was a need for a party which would >encourage workers to pick up where the student movement of 1998, >which had caused the overthrow of Suharto, had left off. > >Struggles against the Indonesian dictatorship were also described >by representatives from the Australia-Aceh Association and the >Free Papua Movement. > >Rebuilding trade unions > >Dita Sari, who is also the chairperson of the Indonesian National >Front for Labour Struggle, spoke on a panel bringing together >trade union militants from across Asia. Activists from Australia, >Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Nepal, South Korea >and Sri Lanka joined her in a discussion of the possibilities for >revolutionary trade union collaboration in the region. > >Speakers stressed the need for international solidarity between >workers' struggles, especially in the wake of the economic crisis >that hit the Asian region two years ago, causing mass >unemployment and widespread increases in poverty. Dita Sari >estimated that almost 30 million workers lost their jobs during >the economic crisis in Indonesia. > >A representative from the newly formed Power of the Working Class >organisation in South Korea told of worsening conditions for the >South Korean working class. He argued that four features were >necessary for trade union effectiveness and strength -- >democracy, independence, militancy and solidarity. Identifying >the lack of international contact as one weakness of the South >Korean movement, he explained that the conference was providing >opportunities to overcome isolation. A video of the 1100-day >long, ongoing protest of workers dismissed by steel giant POSCO >was shown and many conference participants signed a petition >demanding that the company reinstate the workers (see article on >page 22). > >Farooq Tariq, Labour Party Pakistan general secretary, explained >the state of workers' struggle in Pakistan, where Islamic >fundamentalist organisations are now infiltrating the trade >unions. Only 6% of Pakistan's working class is organised in trade >unions, he said. > >Other sessions on trade union activism included a workshop on the >experiences of rank and file challenges to bureaucratic union >leaderships in Australia, such as Members First in the Community >and Public Sector Union in the ACT and the Workers First group, >which recently won leadership of the Australian Manufacturing >Workers Union in Victoria. > >A plenary session on strategies for Marxist trade unionists >enabled the exchange of ideas on how workers can be organised >through trade unions and, through their experiences, become >involved in the fight for socialism. Speakers described tactics >and strategies for winning workers to socialism in advanced >capitalist countries, where one of the main obstacles remains the >grip of social democratic forces, such as the ALP in Australia, >on the trade union movement. > >Barry Sheppard, from Solidarity in the United States, maintained >that unions must break with the capitalist state in order to >become effective agents for workers' struggles. Discussion of >Marxist strategies for organising workers in less economically >developed countries centred on issues of union independence and >democracy, but also on working with other sectors such as >students, peasants and the urban poor. > >South Asia > >Tariq explained the effect on the Pakistani people of the October >military coup. The coup's leaders have billed their takeover as >necessary to end the corruption of the previous government. Tariq >explained, however, that far from the military providing a >different direction for Pakistan, its leaders are carrying out >the dictates of the IMF, including privatisation of public >utilities, a process started by the government that the military >overthrew. > >Tariq also said that religious fundamentalism, which is now >presenting an ostensibly anti-imperialist face, is a growing >problem. > >B. Sivaraman, a member of the central committee of the Communist >Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) and the editor of Liberation, >reported on the rapid rise of the Hindu right wing in his >country, and on the neo-liberal agenda pushed by parties >committed to India's further subordination to the world >capitalist economy. Under these conditions, India's working >people, the largest labouring class in any underdeveloped >country, face extraordinary challenges, but a movement uniting >the millions of workers and poor peasants could lead to a >powerful socialist force. > >Sivaraman also discussed the party's stance on the issue of >Kashmir, the subject of a bitter struggle between the Indian and >Pakistani governments, which many fear may trigger the use of >nuclear weapons. > >Other international guest speakers from the Indian subcontinent >included Nurul Anowar, general secretary of the Bangladesh >Agricultural and Farm Labourers Federation, Pradip Nepal and >Rajan Bhattarai from the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist >Leninist) and Priyantha Pushpakumara Wickramasingh from the Nava >Sama Samaja Party of Sri Lanka. The issue of self-determination >of the Tamil people came up as a major difference on the Sri >Lankan left, and a member of the Australasian Federation of Tamil >Associations addressed the Tamil national liberation struggle in >a workshop. > >Other questions of national liberation were raised throughout the >five days, including the break up of former Yugoslavia and the >fight of the Cordillera and Bangsa Moro peoples in the >Philippines. > >The left in the Philippines was represented by Sonny Melencio, >Reihana Mohideen and Rasti Delizo from the Socialist Party of >Labour, Yusop Abutazil from Alab-Katipunan and Archie >Buenaventura and Thelma Carnaje-Martinez from the National >Federation of Labour. Francisco Nemenzo, president of the >University of the Philippines and long-term Philippines socialist >had been billed as a keynote speaker but was refused permission >to attend the conference by the Philippines' President Estrada. >Maung Maung Than from the Free Burma Committee, and Vikki Johns >from the Bougainville Freedom Movement also prepared workshop >presentations. > >Socialist movements in Europe and North America were represented >by activists from Alternatives in Quebec, Canada, the >Revolutionary Communist League in France, the Scottish Socialist >Party and Solidarity in the US. Solidarity activists Caroline >Lund and Malik Miah were unable to attend due to illness, but >Barry Sheppard and Hayden Perry from Solidarity reported on >different aspects of the US socialist movement. Sheppard, a >former leader of the US Socialist Workers Party, presented an >educational series on the history and decline of that party. > >Petras outlined the three waves of left parties and organisations >in Latin America from the 1960s to present day organisations such >as the Mexican Zapatistas, the Workers Party in Brazil and >peasant movements for land reform. Speakers from the PSTU in >Brazil and the MIR in Chile also addressed the conference. > >>From the Middle East, representatives of the Worker Communist >Party of Iraq spoke and Green Left Weekly correspondent Adam >Hanieh reported on the latest news from the Palestinian struggle. >Another Green Left Weekly correspondent, Renfrey Clarke, recently >returned from almost a decade in Russia, summarised his rich >experience of Russian politics in a talk on the lessons of the >collapse of the USSR and the Eastern bloc countries. > >Educational > >Green Left Weekly editor and DSP political committee member Lisa >Macdonald addressed the question of women's liberation and its >relation to the fight for socialism. A range of talks and >workshops examined issues faced by women today and explained the >Marxist analysis of women's oppression and liberation. > >A Marxist educational series took up some of the classic writings >of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Trotsky and James P. Cannon, and Marxist >economics and philosophy, while issue-based workshops addressed >the environment crisis, the student movement, the history of >revolutionary struggle and propaganda tools for socialist >activists today. > >As at many conferences organised by the DSP, the politics >continued well into the night, but in a more relaxed and >unstructured style. Many of the international guests braved the >stage to join in a Songs of Struggle evening, and what was >sometimes lacking in talent was make up for in enthusiasm. > >A rally featuring the work of the DSP, plus a multimedia >presentation, showcased the breadth of political struggles in >which the party is involved. Finally, political satire came to >the fore with a cabaret on the last night of the conference. > >The last conference session ended with a passionate singing of >the socialist anthem, the ``Internationale''. The fact that the >rendition included several language versions sung simultaneously > >embodied the internationalist spirit that ran through this >overwhelmingly successful Marxist conference. > >[Future issues of Green Left Weekly and Links magazine (see >advertisement on page 21) will carry a range of articles based on >talks presented at the conference. More information is also >available on the DSP's web site at <http://www.dsp.org.au/>.] >----------------------------------------------------------------- > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi ___________________________________ [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe/unsubscribe messages mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________
