Below is the editorial from Workers' Liberty magazine No.29 Feb 2003
Inside:
Editorial: Stop work to stop the war
Follow the lead of Western Australian unions: Unions taking action against
the war
Socialist Alliance:
* Victorian Trade Union Solidarity Committee
* Sydney Branch anti-war discussion
Diversity in Safe Communities: Rally to stop the Blackshirts
Unionism and contract work in private English colleges
Queensland: Beattie to slash public service jobs
China: Free the Liaoyang workers under threat of death sentences
Defend workers in Hong Kong
To find out more:
http://australia.workersliberty.org/
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Leon Parissi
Editorial
Stop work to stop the war
Once again, the US prepares to unleash the horror of war to ensure the
interests of big capital. Once again, an Australian government follows
along slavishly. But also once again, a powerful movement is developing
to oppose that war.
The anti-war movement has got off to a much earlier start than the
movement against the Vietnam War. Already we are able to arrange street
marches of many thousands. These protests are an important part of
building the movement of opposition. But in themselves they will not
stop Australian involvement in the war. Howard can resist very large
protests. He ignored the huge reconciliation marches. But Howard has
staked his credibility on this war. In order to achieve the object of
stopping the war we would have try to make the ruling class fear that
society could become ungovernable. To put it another way the working
class movement and its allies would need to make prosecution of the war
too costly.
In the movement against the Vietnam War, unions played a pig part. We
need to learn from that experience and adopt one of the main mobilising
slogans "Stop work to stop the war". Unionists everywhere should learn
from the example of the West Australian Trades and Labor Council which
has taken the lead in proposing industrial action in the event of war.
(see Unions against the war page 4)
Workers and our unions have central importance in taking action that can
actually stop this capitalist war. We can act by refusing to handle any
military equipment and material that might be used in a war on Iraq.
Unionists can also have an impact through a range of disruptive actions,
such as strikes, pickets, walk-outs, civil disobedience and occupations.
We can win support for these actions in unionised and unorganised
workplaces and in our communities.
As an initial rallying point, for workers and unions who want to stop
the war, we can campaign for our unions, trades and labour councils and
the ACTU to organise a national day of protest and rallies supported
with stop-work and other industrial action as already proposed in
Western Australia (see accompanying article).
Socialist Alliance has rightly made union anti-war work its top
priority. SA is seeking signatories to a statement urging union action
and distributing a model motion for union meetings. (see accompanying
article.)
We cannot predict the progress and outcome of this war. If we don't stop
it, it could be very short and devastating, over before we even have the
time to end it ourselves. It is barely a year since US troops invaded
Afghanistan, and Bush and Blair promise a never-ending "war on terror"
with North Korea next. The war on Iraq is in this bigger context which
means that the anti-war movement needs to take on the ruling classes of
the major capitalist countries who are driving this war without end. As
such, slogans to withdraw troops from one particular theatre of war will
be rapidly redundant, and we need to stop the whole war machine. We also
need to take up policies on broader issues based on democracy and
international solidarity; for serious disarmament and an end to the
waste of military expenditure; for freedom from political, religious and
sexual persecution by political Islam; for national independence for
peoples of the Middle-East, including Kurds, Israeli Jews and
Palestinians; for refugee rights; oppose all corrupt or dictatorial
regimes whether in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Israel or Egypt.
The Socialist Alliance is taking the fight against the war up to the
political front by campaigning in elections. The anti-war campaign needs
a political voice, a voice in parliament for a working class anti-war
struggle. The Greens' opposition to the war is clear but it is not
anti-capitalist, and the Greens do not recognise the centrality of
working class action against the war.
Whilst socialist candidates or MPs cannot stop war alone, they can voice
the possibility of a government on our side and support struggles by
unions and community groups.
A sustained working class movement against war will necessarily come up
against the capitalist ruling class on all fronts, political, industrial
and ideological. Its struggle could rekindle working class
self-confidence in solidarity. It would have the potential not only to
stop this war, but also to fight for and win other demands, including an
end to the waste of military expenditure. In such campaigns, we could
learn our own capacity to run our country in the interests of all, and
take power from the wealthy, privileged minority who are indifferent to
human suffering and need, who spend poor peoples blood for a rich man's war.
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