The reasons why we participate in the International Anti-imperialist, Anti-capitalist Meeting in Athens (May 4-7 2006), by Manolis Arkolakis, ILPS
In early May, in Athens, the International Anti-imperialist, Anti-capitalist Meeting and the session of the European Social Forum will take place. These two parallel and politically antithetical international events raise again the issue on whether the anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist left forces should participate or not in the European Social Forum, if this participation is useful and significant.
This discussion, and many times the dispute, particularly the recent past years has taken international dimension and concerns seriously many social and political movements. The Mumbai-Resistance 2004, the RESISTANBUL 2004 and other similar initiatives before and after it like Thessaloniki-Resistance 2003, the anti-summit in Hong Kong 2005, the anti-imperialist conference in Caracas 2006 paved the way for the substantial criticism on the project, the political platform and the objectives of the Social Forum. The International Anti-imperialist, Anti-capitalist Meeting moves on the same common line of those initiatives.
The European Social Forum is ruled by the social-democrat, reformist and government European Left forces. These forces supported the NATO war on the Balkans and participated in governments that implemented neo-liberal policies. It is led -like the World Social Forum- by big western NGOs and political entities that pursue to humanize imperialism-capitalism and to adjust the radical social movements to embedment and submission policies. These forces, in view of the Athens session, pursue to turn the European Social Forum into a reformation power within the European Union and a supporting power of an alleged anti-neoliberal European constitution (!), as the ATTAC spokesman Susan George recently stated.
In Greece, the majority of the left is out of and in contrast to the Social Forum project. “Synaspismos” is the leading force in the Greek Social Forum, a party member of the European Left that supports European Union and cooperates with PASOK (social-democratic in words but actually a neoliberal, former government party). The two big trade union confederations, GSEE in private and ADEDY in public sector, have a decisive role both in organization and financial support of the European Social Forum session in Athens. They represent the submitted to the employer trade unionism, they repress the independent working struggles and only a few days ago they have signed a two-year social peace agreement with the Greek Industrialists Association for a slight wages increase and in complete contrast with the majority of the toilers in the country.
Unfortunately, in the European Social Forum participate a few small, radical forces of the left and they give to it a left alibi. Some of them have developed strong collaboration with the party of “Synaspismos”, both in trade unions and general and local elections. In the view of the European Social Forum session in Athens, they attempt, using anti-imperialism as a pretext, to draw radical and revolutionary forces and movements to the Forum’s structure, by raising the argument of mass participation and by taking advantage of the material support of this organizing provided by the Greek Social-democracy.
Reality is completely different. The majority of the working and youth movements in Greece, the largest and most militant part of the anti-war and anti-imperialist movement and the left do not participate in the European Social Forum. They are in constant and open confrontation with its policy and its objectives and on many occasions, the last past years, they have organized activities in contrast to its conciliatory and pro-European policy (i.e. against European Union, against the Anan Plan for Cyprus, against the anticommunist memorandum of the European Council and in support the Iraqi resistance).
In contrast with the Forum, the fixed structure and the reproduction, as a kind of “franchising” of huge events, the vast and countless multi-topic discussions, the shift of the discussion to seminars, the acceptance of financial support by powerful centres, governments and NGOs and the distance form the live social forces, the anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist international meetings raise another option. They raise substantial democracy, absolute independence, they secure that the ones who talk come mainly from “below”. The discussions are plain and palpable and they are in direct relation with every day struggle and the questions these struggles bring forth. The anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist meetings do not distinguish movements in good and bad ones, in militarist and democratic, in backward and modern ones. They declare their support to the armed, mass liberation movements; they support without reservations the Iraqi resistance, the guerrilla movements in Latin America and Asia. They do not submit to the directions of “proper western democratic reason”, the exclusions and the propagation of the western governments and media. They do not promote leaders, they do not collaborate with the western think tanks, they do not look for ways to communicate with the powerful ones, and they do not become the alibi to exculpate the western NGOs. They do not submit to Europe-centralism, they don’t submit to the line of reforming European Union and the constitutional quests of the European Left. Those who participate in the anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist meetings do not dream of centre-left governments; they reject governmentalism and the submission to social-democracy.
The International Anti-imperialist, Anti-capitalist Meeting in Athens is supported by many working, youth (students) and urban movements across Greece. It is supported by independent trade unions, student unions, anti-war committees, anti-imperialist and anti-bases movements. It is supported by parties and organizations of the Greek revolutionary left. It is supported by independent intellectuals and trade unionists. Forces that support the ILPS in Greece and Europe, participate in the I.A.A.M. In the Meeting have been invited and will participate delegations of the Iraqi Resistance, the Palestinian Intifada, delegations of the European anti-war and anti-imperialist movement, Turkish and Kurdish activists, immigrants and trade unionists from many Western Europe countries, from Asia and Latin America, left activists and trade unionists from the Eastern European countries.
The International Anti-imperialist, Anti-capitalist Meeting in Athens has the ambition to contribute in consolidating the internationalist relations between the movements. To consolidate the anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist line in them. To give voice to grassroots movements. To challenge the prevailing of reformism, social-democracy and NGOs in people’s and working movements. To advance the independence and militancy of people’s and working struggle. To declare that in order to make another world possible, this world should be socialist and not centre-left and pro-European.
Class Struggle (member of ILPS)
Militant Movement – Students (member of ILPS)
People’s Militant Movement (member of ILPS)
Committee against Military Bases and Dependency (member of ILPS)
Manolis Arkolakis
– Vice-Chairman of ILPS
– Chief Coordinator of ILPS European Coordination Committee
Chrisi Perperidou
– ICC member of ILPS
– Îœember of ILPS European Coordination Committee
e-mail address: iaam_athens2006.gr
web site: www.iaam-athens2006.gr
