The events of Seattle have reverberated around the world. Manydifferent groups have, or want, a stake in the future, Who are these groups, and are they really part of the movement against capitalism?
The battle for the mantle of Seattle.
The events in Seattle have reverberated around the world; all the elements of the broad coalitions involved and various elements who weren't, are now looking to build on the 'success' of Seattle. In the UK they include, minority political parties, bothleft and far-right, non-governmental organisations, and what'soften called 'the direct action movement', or by the media, 'the anarchists'.
The most visible attempt to build on the eventsin Seattle has been a series of public lecture-cum-meetings organisedby the Socialist Worker Party (SWP) called 'People and Protest: where now after Seattle?'. The meetings have provided a forum for the SWP and other speakers on the panel - often including the GreenParty and NGO's such as the World Development Movement and Jubilee2000 - to present their perspectives on the new "anti-capitalist movement".
Attempts by the SWP,and others from the authoritarian left, to jump on the bandwagon ofburgeoning new movements is not a new phenomenon. Dynamic, vibrant and fluid resistance movements have time and again become victim to the dogma and drudgery of the politics of the past. The passion andcreativity seen in the Spanish anarchist collectives of 1936, in the factories and universities of Paris '68 and now on the streets of Seattle have been jealously seized upon by such elements of the left. Radical challenges to the power structures which dominateour lives are assimilated and recuperated by those who claim to be onour side but whose primary goal is simply to become the new elite.
Equally worrying is the potential for recruitment byfar-right political groups being opened up by debates around issues such as national sovereignty and the empowerment of local economies -issues being highlighted by some of those resisting the worst excesses of the global economy. While far-right groups in the UK arealmost non-existent, in Australia nationalist groups sent messages of support to those taking action on June 18th 1999, while in Belgium the anti-MAI (Multi-lateral Agreement on Investment) coalition was destroyed through the involvement of the extreme right.
Non-Governental Organisations are adiverse grouping, however they do share some common traits. Who are NGO's responsible to? These are usually either mostly middle-class people who pay subscriptions, for example Greenpeace, or a mixture of subscribing supporters and government grants, forexample Oxfam. No NGO is going to bite the hand that feeds it so none will ask for any measure which may upset the middleclasses. While Christian Aid back the Brazilian landless peasants movement, they would never publically support radical land struggles in the UK, for fear of alienating their funding base. Thus while many people's first involvement in political protest is via local NGO groups, these groups cannot be the agents of the sweeping social change required.
Equally important isthe impact of NGO's in the Third World. They usually focus on local projects benefiting a small section of the population, while their 'self help' ideology helps divert popular attention from the sources of poverty - shifting the perspective from looking upward atthe owners of land, industry and banks to looking down at scarce resources and the poor working hard to solve micro-problems at alocal level. NGO's compete directly with social movements for the loyalty and activity of the poor, often depolitising and demobilising movements while their foreign funding co-opts local leaders.
Unlike those groups described above, those of us involved in putting together this publication come from the direct action movement. Direct action, unlike joining a political party or ideology, or lobbying for reforms, is about the total reclamation of all life. It is about people, both individually andcollectively, creating their own means of confronting and dismantling the power structures which dominate our lives and are destroying our planet. We have no leaders and no party line, only the dream of a free and ecological world in which competition and coercion are replaced with community and co-operation
How to get involved:
Its easy to get involved in the PGA. Just send us your annual membership and you will receive a monthly bulletin which you can read from the comfort of your own home. Once you have become member you can log onto our web site and download pro forma letters and petitions to send to your pet hate corporations andpoliticians. Best of all once a year you can participate in amass action organised for you by a team of specialists working fromcentral PGA Headquarters in Geneva.
Well actually NO:
The PGA is founded around the concept of direct action, and direct action is about changing things through our own self organisation andultimately taking direct control of our lives and communities. The role of PGA is simply to help such action to be communicated and co-ordinated across the world.
To get involved is to get into the information flows, to spread your own information, to reflect on the ideas, to find out about and worktogether with direct action groups in your local area or to gettogether with friends and set up your own action group. To getinvolved is to highlight the common causes of diverse issues locallyand to use and remake the PGA bulletin, web site and e-mail networksto forge links internationally. To get involved is to helporganise regional PGA conferences which can support and co-ordinatewith the international PGA conferences. To get involved is to recognise that the abolition of capitalism, domination and hierarchy will require sustained global grassroots action by co-ordinated and autonomous, groups, networks and organisations working together. YOU ARE THEPEOPLES GLOBAL ACTION www.agp.org
Prisioners:
Direct Action has its risks, of the many who go through the courts an unlucky few end up in prison. (while many others successfully sue the police for wrongful arrest). Prisoner support is vital to any attemptat large-scale social change. If you challenge corporations or the state, and you begin to be effective, strenuous efforts will be madeto criminalise you or your movement. If the innocent deserveour support, the 'guilty' do more so!
-Prisoner support: For reasons of space we could not evenbegin to list the addresses of all of those inside, or even all ofthose imprisoned for explicitly anti-capitalist activities. Wehave provided the contact addresses of a few UK based prisoner support groups who can keep you informed about new prisoners alongwith the latest information on releases and addresschanges.
Life in prison can be hard, but receiving support from others can make a lengthy sentence appear much less daunting. If you'venever written to a prisoner before and are not sure what to say, whynot just send a postcard. Prisoners addresses available from contacts below.
-June 18th Prisoners: Although surprisingly few arrests were made on J18 itself, the State has been waging a campaign of intimidationin its aftermath. The photographs of hundreds of people suspected of committing offenses on the day have been circulated to police forcesaround the country, published in the press and displayed on the Cityof London Police web site. As a result arrests have been made.
Unfortunately investigations and arrests are likely to continue. If you are arrested you should remember - and take advantage of - your right to silence. You areobliged to give your name and address but nothing else. Even if you are shown photographs of yourself committing offenses do not be tempted to make a statement. It is their job to prove to a court that the photograph is actually of you.
Ask to speak to a good solicitor and contact the Legal Defence and Monitoring Group (LDMG) as soon as possible.
LDMG contact: BM Haven, London, WC1N 3xx, 0181 533 7116
Earth Liberation Prisoner (ELP): Supports all of those imprisoned for ecological direct action, and publishes the reguarbulletin Spirit of Freedom. Contact them c/o Cornerstone ResourceCentre, 16 Sholebroke Avenue, Chapeltown, Leeds, LS7 3HB, U.K.
or e-mail: earthlibprisoner@hotmail.com
Watch out for the terrorism bill. The state is running scared... The British Government is pushing through sweeping new laws disguised asa bill to prevent domestic terrorism attempting to put a stop topolitical dissent outside the "proper" channels. If youhave ever supported the ANC or any similar foreign struggle, if youhave ever gone to a demo where property may be damaged, if you haveever suggested action which may risk anyone (including your own)"health or safety", if you have spoken at a meeting supportingsuch political dissent, posse's a leaflet about, or are suspectedby the police of any of the above... then you could be branded a"terrorist" and have your rights removed and be jailed foryears...
campaign contact Pilgrim on 0171 428 0872
http://www.blagged.freeserve.co.uk/terrorbill/index.htm