Mapping a path to a socialist future

 

 

 

Greek comrades talking to delegates during a break

IT MAY have been cold and frosty outside but it was nice and warm in London’s historic Marx House as delegates and guests gathered for the 17th Congress of the New Communist Party of Britain.That historic house in Clerkenwell Green, with its memories of Lenin and the Marxist pioneers of the British working class movement, was once again the venue for the NCP’s triennial congress that took place over the first weekend in December. 

 

 

• Report of Congress

Thousands march for Gaza

AROUND 15,000 people last Saturday marched in London from Downing Street to the Israeli embassy in south Kensington to show their solidarity with the beleaguered people of Gaza.

 They marched in spite of atrocious weather and the fragile ceasefire reached after Israel’s latest bloody and brutal assault on the besieged and defenceless Palestinian territory.

 Eight days of brutal bombardment left 160 Palestinians dead, around 40 of them children – along with many more wounded and homes, schools and hospitals destroyed.

 And rebuilding from the last incursion four years ago has been impossible because of the Israeli imposed siege that prevents  building materials and tools – along with food and medicine – from  entering Gaza except by secret tunnels from the border with Egypt.

 In London the protesters showed their anger at the British government’s support for the Israeli attack and gave a message to the world that this support was not given in their name.

 The crowd was very diverse, with lots of young people and students and “Anonymous” masks mixing happily with hijabs and Palestinian scarves.

 The marchers chanted, waved banners and placards and were a constantly vibrant presence as they passed through some of the most affluent parts of London to the Israeli embassy gates, where we were greeted by Tony Benn, president of Stop the War Coalition, the first of the speakers to express solidarity with Gaza.

 Other speakers included delegates from the Palestinian town of Jenin, the Egyptian novelist Adhaf Soueif, the Palestinian ambassador to Britain Manuel Hassassian, Labour MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Andy Slaughter, speakers from the trade unions, and a representative from the SOAS students who occupied their university in solidarity with Gaza.

The demonstrators were united in their determination not just to protest at this latest outrage by Israel but to call for an end to the siege of Gaza and to see the day – after 65 years of occupation and brutal repression – when justice will be achieved for all Palestinians.

 They were encouraged by the sense that Israel had been forced to curtail its attack – at least in part – due to the changed balance of forces in the Middle East since the Arab revolutions, and in particular since the overthrow of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak.

 But the marchers showed anger at the distorted media coverage, especially from the BBC, which has often seemed little more than an adjunct to the Israeli propaganda machine.

 That the reason for Israel's attack may in part have been motivated by a plan to wage war next year against Iran – as Britain's chief rabbi

Jonathan Sachs revealed inadvertently on BBC radio – brought roars of anger.

 This particular Israeli attack may have ended, but there is no such thing as a stable Israeli ceasefire where Gaza or the West Bank are concerned.

Protesting against NHS closures

By New Worker 

correspondent

THOUSANDS of local residents in Lewisham, south London, took to the streets in the cold and pouring rain last Saturday to protest at plans to merge Lewisham Hospital with hospitals from the South London NHS trust – which has been declared bankrupt and is in administration.

 The changes that would follow from this would mean the closure of accident and emergency (A&E) and maternity services at Lewisham.

 It would leave just one A&E unit in south east London – at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on Woolwich Common, already seriously over-stretched – to cover a population of 750,000.

 The huge turnout surprised everyone, including the police, who failed to make provision for redirection of traffic so the whole area was in gridlock as the march passed.

 But the drivers and passengers of the buses, cars, vans, taxis and other vehicles stuck in the gridlock were mostly in good humour, tooting their support so that the whole of the town centre was a cacophony of blaring horns for large parts of the march.

 And shoppers and shopkeepers, despite being temporarily halted on a crucial shopping day before Christmas, also voiced their support. This was a march – estimated numbers between 10,000 and 15,000 – that really did reflect the views of the local community.

 The march was organised by Save Lewisham A&E – an umbrella group of campaigners such as NHS Public

 The unions were there in force: Unite, Unison, GMB and non-health service unions like PCS, NUT, FBU and many more. Contingents came from neighbouring boroughs of Greenwich, Bexleyheath, Bromley and even from Tower Hamlets on the other side of the Thames.

 Many activists had worked very hard publicising the march but they were amazed at the number or ordinary people who turned out in response, especially considering the foul weather.

 The marchers included a complete spectrum of ages – from dozens of babies in buggies to Lewisham Pensioners’ Action – and the diverse local ethnic community.

 Chants included: “No if, no buts, no NHS cuts,” and: “We won’t die for PFI”.

 The march progressed from a roundabout near Lewisham Station, through the town centre and made its way to the hospital where a human chain around the threatened hospital was originally planned but was scrapped so as not to disrupt services at the hospital.

 Marchers were diverted to a rally in Ladywell Fields – a park behind the hospital.

 By that time what murky daylight there had been was fading fast and the park was a mud bath but spirits were still high, spurred on by a local campaigning choir and a German Oompah band in fancy dress costume.

 One marcher was Sarah Upton whose nine-year-old daughter suffers from cerebral palsy. She says those responsible for the proposals should be "sectioned".

 The 35-year-old, who lives in Catford, said: "She's used that hospital three times in two months when she's stopped breathing.

 "If that happened and I phoned the ambulance we might not make it all the way to Woolwich.

 "The person who proposed these plans needs to be sectioned. They need hospital treatment."

 NHS Public spokesperson Frances Hook said: "It was very lively. It was across the generations – teenagers, youngsters, parents. And ethnically it was a representation of the borough. It was completely fantastic.

 "Lots of traffic must have been stuck for hours. There was complete support – bus drivers had their thumbs up."

 She went on to say that the march has galvanised the cause and campaigners will now look at the Trust Special Administrator's (TSA) documents to prove that the figures are not correct.

 Unison branch secretary at Lewisham Hospital Conroy Lawrence added: "We are overwhelmed by the response of the local community; that in the cold and incessant rain over 10,000 people from all parts of the community would rally to defend the hospital, is truly inspiring to the staff at the hospital.

 "This campaign has the full support of the medical, nursing and professional staff and their unions and with the support of the local community we are unstoppable.

 "The people have spoken and the politicians and bureaucrats would do well to listen."

Art is political!

Hermes Pittakos at the screening of his film

By Anton Johnson

IN THE RUN-UP to the TUC demonstration last month, OUT Against Austerity paired up with the London Underground Film Festival to provide an opportunity for those attending the Speak OUT Against Austerity event at Unite House to see the screening of Hollow Bone by emerging Queer artist Hermes Pittakos. This striking film showcasing Hermes’ talents as a make-up artist impacted on the viewers, who could not help but reflect on the film’s sights as they made their way home on the bus.

Why did the organisers of Speak OUT Against Austerity arrange for people to be able to see Hermes’ film?

The Bolsheviks after 1917 realised the importance of communicating the message of the revolution to the population, of whom the majority, following the Czar’s rule, were illiterate. So the Bolsheviks used art – performance art, film and graphics to communicate to the masses. The Agitprop train travelled the country from town to town organising processions and ad hoc performance art to explain the revolution to people and that they could throw off the shackles of medieaval government and the Orthodox Church.

The Bolsheviks challenged bourgeois values that had been instilled by the Church for the Imperial State, as part of the revolutionary process of change. Artists were given freedom in order to challenge these old values and create a new world. For this reason artists from all over Europe and North America flocked to the USSR in the 1920s and 1930s to take advantage of the revolutionary culture there.

This importance given to art and experimentation carried into the new government to set up facilities to encourage artists, also to allow all people to have access and experience all mediums.

Challenging avant-garde art was a tool for the Bolsheviks to encourage people to be free and take forward the ideals of the revolution to create a new world, an alternative to the capitalist one.

The images in Hermes Pittakos’ film would challenge and add to the awareness of any event.  And this experience was repeated at a concert held in London last week by the composer Othon Mataragas and acclaimed singer Ernesto Tomasini. The experience was augmented by the talents of Hermes Pittakos adding visual impact. Othon and Ernesto had performed at a Sertuc event to mark LGBT History Month in 2008; both they and the visuals of artist Fabio Boxikus left the audience moved and talking it about for years after.

The audience was exposed to something new and striking. Interestingly some members of the Sertuc LGBT Network on the right of the labour movement argued against the work of Othon and Fabio, stating that it was not for ordinary people.

 This as communists we must challenge. Under the Bolsheviks workers, ordinary people were encouraged to access and enjoy all art from the Kino reels to ballet, which had been previously the preserve of the rich.

 We see this today in the fact that tickets to Convent Garden are out of the reach of those on benefits and ordinary wages. The Tories have been altering the syllabus for state education since 1979, reducing the arts and bringing in rote learning so that working class children can fit into where capitalism wants them as opposed to developing enquiring minds. The working class should have access to all forms of art from classical music to performance art.

 The rich have a vested interest in feeding the working class with pulp on television to keep people “dosed” up and anxious. Look at the films of today – pessimistic, nihilistic and stacked with violence and destruction.

 The art of Othon and Hermes encourages the audience to think; to question and look at an alternative world people need to be encouraged to think.

Queer artists have led the way in encouraging people to question and think through seeing their art. New York based artist Gio Black Peter challenges bourgeois standards through his music and visuals often being censored.

Next month he and other Queers are bringing out a magazine that will showcase other artists who challenge and do not accept the norms of the capitalist society. These artists are not confined merely to Europe and North America. In Mexico you have radical political performance art by the group Patitos Punk and Felipe Osorino who take extreme performance art, using their naked bodies onto the streets, just as those on the Agitprop train or the group Down with Bourgeois Shame did in1920s Russia. 

The work of these artists is important in challenging and giving pleasure to all people, not just the wealthy elite. In a civilised society those artists would be supported by the state, given freedom to experiment and encouraged. We as progressives should encourage people to access the work of these pioneers and promote their work as Left Front Art does in the LGBTQ communities and our Movement.

Students protest in London

by Daphne Liddle

TENS OF thousands of students from all over the country braved stormy weather and assembled in London on Wednesday to protest against the Con-Dem Coalition’s cuts and how they are affecting young people.

They are especially angry at rising tuition fees that are deterring many young people from seeking higher education.

"Education should open doors, but the government is slamming them shut," said National Union of Students (NUS) leader, Liam Burns.

"The damaging effects of recent changes to education have restricted access for future students and created new barriers for those currently studying," he said.

A recent survey published by the NUS indicated that voters are still angry with the Liberal Democrats on their broken promise never to increase tuition fees. The survey of 2,025 adults indicates 58 per cent of those with children under the age of 18 believe that MPs who broke their promise over tuition fees should not stand at the next election.

It found that 62 per cent of these parents aid they would not vote for an MP who had broken their election pledge on fees.

"Nick Clegg won the trust and votes of young people and their parents by signing the pledge, but has now lost them once and for all by breaking it," said Liam Burns.

Two years ago a similar protest saw the anger of some students boil over, leading to an attack on the Tory party headquarters and clashes with the police. This year’s march was more peaceful but the anger was still there.

The main march organised by the NUS but was joined by a separate feeder march by the more radical National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts.

After passing through central London and the Embankment the march went south of the river to end in a rally in Kennington Park.

Roger McKenzie, assistant general secretary of the Unison union, told demonstrators: "Tory education policies are turning the clock back to the time when education was the preserve of the rich.

"Young people, especially those from poor families, are already being put off going to university by the huge cost.

The loss of the EMA [Education Maintenance Allowance] has forced many others to drop out of school altogether.

"Young people, faced with a tough jobs market or an education they cannot afford, are left without options."

Liam Burns said that student anger at the tripling of education fees was not the only issue causing concern for students. He spoke of the lack of blighting the young generation as a result of education funding cuts, including the educational maintenance allowance (EMA), and high youth unemployment.

Burns said that today's students know they are going to be "tens of thousands of pounds in debt before they even graduate and they know there's little prospect of graduate employment".

He added: "There's a sense of desperation that people have. They're slowly seeing opportunities being taken away and are powerless to do anything about it."

Prior to the march in a U-Tube video, Burns told students: “You’ve got a lot to be angry about.

You’ve had your education systematically attacked across the board by the coalition. And even if you get to the other end, what have you got to look forward to?

“Youth unemployment is at an all-time high, getting on the property ladder is next to impossible and we don’t even have the safety net of pensions to look forward to any more.

“In a year in which there are no votes in parliament and no legislation coming before politicians, it’s about time we started setting the agenda.”

Thousands protest at Israel's brutal onslaught

By New Worker correspondent

THOUSANDS of protesters turned out in major towns and cities throughout Britain last week to protest at Israel’s latest brutal onslaught against the people of Gaza.

 In London protesters assembled near the Israeli Embassy in South Kensington in demonstration organised by the Stop the War Coalition.

 They brought placards, banners and flags and described Israel as a “terror state”. On a podium, speakers also condemned the British government and Foreign Secretary William Hague, who had said that the Hamas government in Gaza bore “principle responsibility” for the new outbreak of bloodshed.

 On Thursday the Stop the War Coalition said: “Unless something is done to stop the violence…we could see yet another humanitarian crisis….”

 Also on Thursday, the Arab Organisation for Human Rights, a British-based NGO that works on human rights issues in the Arab World, called on Egypt to “take urgent action” to save the Gaza Strip in the face of Israeli strikes.

 The Israeli military frequently carries out air strikes and other attacks on the Gaza Strip, saying the acts of aggression are being conducted for defensive purposes. However, in violation of international law, disproportionate force is always used and civilians are often killed or injured.

 The attacks rage on while Israel keeps up its crippling blockade on Gaza, which it imposed on the enclave in 2007.

 The public sector union Unison issued a statement: “The escalation of violence following the assassination of Ahmed Jabari by Israel on 14th November will only lead to the loss of more innocent lives in both Gaza and Israel and will do nothing to lead to a lasting peaceful resolution of the conflict in which a viable, independent Palestine exists alongside a secure Israel.

 "In fact, the so-called Operation ‘Pillar of Defence’ is further proof of the failure of Israel’s six-year blockade, including the brutal attack on Gaza in 2008/9. Unison calls for an immediate cessation of violence and an end to the Israeli blockade on Gaza.”

 By Monday over a hundred had been killed, including at least 13 children, hospitals were overwhelmed by the hundreds more who have been wounded, 1,350 sites have been attacked, two media centres bombed, injuring eight journalists, including one who lost his leg.

 Newly re-elected President of the United States Barack Obama blamed the victims. “There's no country on earth that would tolerate missiles raining down on its citizens from outside its borders."

 This from a US president whose first term was characterised by raining down missiles on citizens from outside its borders – in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Iraq, Yemen and Somalia – and was comfortable enough with that to make jokes about his use of pilotless drone attacks.

 As for the possibility of a land invasion, which Benjamin Netanyahu is intimating could be imminent; Obama says it would be "preferable" if this could be avoided "because if Israeli troops are in Gaza, they're much more at risk of incurring fatalities or being wounded".

 Obama will give his unqualified support to Israel, whatever carnage and mass slaughter is inflicted on the people of Gaza.

 As will the British government, with David Cameron and William Hague both parroting Obama in supporting Israel's "right to defend itself" – by using the world's fourth most powerful military to bombard a defenceless population of 1.7 million Palestinians trapped in a strip of land which across its narrowest point is barely six miles wide.