FRFI 215 June/July 2010

The British General Election turned out, as predicted, to be a fraud and a farce. Now two of the three major parties have constructed a coalition in order to run the country on behalf of the ruling class, implement savage cuts and further attack the working class. Meanwhile the other party, Labour, licks its wounds, worries that it should have been even harsher on immigrants and deliberates on who its next leader should be. For the mass of British people nothing has changed.

In the run-up to the election most of the British left either supported the Labour Party on some conditional/critical basis, or campaigned for the few candidates of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition and other irrelevant groupings, which between them mustered few votes. In contrast, FRFI supporters used the election to hold meetings and street events, pointing out how the election was constructed so that whoever ‘won’, the outcome would be the same agenda of cuts and attacks. We debated with those who consider that voting is the only way forward, and talked about the ways to build a real opposition movement on the streets instead of relying on the sham democracy of Parliament.

London FRFI held two meetings entitled General Election – General Fraud and on the streets staged mock elections, with members of the public casting ‘votes’ for the issues that mattered to them – from opposing the closure of Whittington Hospital A&E to putting the Labour government on trial for war crimes, as opposed to voting for political parties or personalities with the same corrupt capitalist policies.

In Newcastle FRFI activists also organised several ‘street parliaments’. Many people stopped to discuss the war in Afghanistan, the racism of the British police and immigration system, and the cuts to public services. Over the megaphone, speakers pointed out that only under socialism is society organised for people not profit, so people are treated as human beings not commodities. In revolutionary Cuba the right to recall elected representatives is enshrined in the electoral system, ensuring that they represent their voting constituencies or face being removed from office. The expenses scandal would never have been possible in Cuba, where there are no career politicians and no material incentives to enter politics – that means no corruption, no lying and no cheating.

In Glasgow we concentrated on street work in the working-class area of Govanhill. The vast majority there did not need to be told that the General Election was a complete fraud. In fact, we often had to explain that we were not out for votes before people would speak to us! On 11 May we held an inspiring, angry meeting in Daisy Street community centre, where important points were raised about the need for collective action on the part of poor and working class people outside electoral politics and the role of police, racism and drugs in destroying communities. On 25 May, we met again in Daisy Street for a meeting entitled Enough is Enough! where we discussed the need for unity among the poor in order to confront the unity of the exploiters.

Victory to the intifada! Defend the right to defend Palestine!

Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! is actively supporting the Gaza Demonstrators Support Campaign (GSDC). The campaign was set up by a group of activists to defend the people criminalised for demonstrating in 2008/09 against the barbaric Israeli onslaught on Gaza, after it had become apparent that Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Stop the War, which had organised the protests, were not going to organise this defence. Demonstrators have been handed down severe sentences in a clearly racist and Islamophobic attempt to prevent future solidarity with the Palestinian struggle. On 18 May the FRFI society at the London School of Economics hosted a meeting entitled ‘Defend the right to defend Palestine!’ (see page 16).

Weekly pickets of Marks & Spencer continue in London and Newcastle. Following a particularly successful picket in Newcastle on 8 April, activists decided to establish a new independent local campaign, Palestine Action Group, to coordinate pickets, film showings and other solidarity actions. This group has developed out of networks which began in the protests against Israel’s attacks on Gaza at the beginning of 2009, and have been sustained and developed through weekly pickets and larger street actions since then.

On 22 May in Manchester FRFI’s Victory to the Intifada campaign held another successful rolling picket, responding to the Palestinians’ call for consistent solidarity and making their case heard in the busiest street in Manchester. Outside H&M shoppers were shocked at the company’s decision to open six new stores in Israel at a time when the UNHCR has accused Israel of breaking international law, using illegal weapons, committing war crimes and deliberately attacking the whole people of Gaza. We will be holding another rolling picket in few weeks time.

Fight racism!

Newcastle FRFI has continued to be active in Tyneside Community Action for Refugees, which resolved at a general meeting on 22 May to add a section to the organisation’s principles expressing solidarity with Muslims under attack from both the British state and organised racists. FRFI has been centrally involved with building opposition to the English Defence League Newcastle mobilisation on 29 May. FRFI came together with a diverse collection of socialists, anarchists and other anti-racist activists at the Tyne and Wear May Day march to establish a new network, North East Against Racism (NEAR), to oppose the EDL march. Leading members of Unite Against Fascism were part of this discussion, but they walked out half-way through, refusing to be part of any mobilisation that they did not control and called a separate march on their own. In the event, the EDL was only able to mobilise hundreds rather than the thousands predicted, and they were constantly harassed by NEAR supporters until the police sealed off their assembly points.

On 28 May London comrades attended and spoke at a meeting in defence of US political prisoner and former Black Panther, Mumia Abu-Jamal, organised by the Pan Afrikan Voice and the Pan Afrikan Society Community Forum. On 19 May this was followed up by a demonstration outside the US embassy for Mumia, who is on death row in the US facing execution.

Viva Cuba! Viva Venezuela! Viva socialism!

In April and May Venezuelan comrade Rafael Ramos toured the country, speaking about the revolutionary process in Venezuela at meetings organised by FRFI’s Cuba campaign Rock Around the Blockade (RATB) in Manchester, Liverpool, London and Newcastle. Rafael is an art student at the Experimental University for the Arts (UNEARTE) in Caracas, and a member of the youth wing of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (JPSUV).

In response to questions, Rafael said the Revolution would survive whatever happened to Chavez, because the people were now awake and could not possibly go back to sleep. He identified US imperialism as the key force behind attempts to destabilise the country and destroy the Bolivarian revolution. He also condemned the surrender of sovereignty of Colombia to the US with its agreement to accept the establishment of seven new military bases, but made clear that Venezuelans saw the Colombian people as ‘our brothers’. People who attended the meetings agreed it was a privilege to hear a representative of the Venezuelan people speak about the Revolution and provide meetings of real political substance during the farce of the British general election.

In London, as part of our monthly anti-imperialist film club, RATB previewed its new documentary Cuba: defending socialism, resisting imperialism to a packed audience. Showing it just days before the British bourgeois elections drove home the points about alternative systems and real democracy. The film includes significant interviews with a lawyer and an economist, who provide intricate and insightful detail into the Cuban electoral system, the impact of the blockade and Cuba’s economy. There is inspiring footage of the 2009 May Day parade and the film abounds with the enthusiasm of the Cuban people, their awareness of the country’s achievements and the ever-present need to defend the revolutionary process, their honesty about the problems and preparedness to constantly analyse and adapt while never losing sight of the ultimate goal of building socialism. RATB congratulates comrades Anthony and Ethesham, who have produced this amazing film following their participation in RATB’s 2009 brigade to Cuba. It is a substantial contribution to our work in solidarity with the Cuban Revolution and enables us to take the discussion about socialism to a much wider audience.

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