Asia Pacific Solidarity Conference — a timely initiative
By John Percy
The Asia Pacific Solidarity Conference taking place in Sydney, April 9-13, will bring together nearly 70 international speakers and participants from parties and movements in Asia, the Pacific, Europe and the Americas, and hundreds of activists from around Australia. It has proved to be an extremely timely initiative, exceeding even the initial ambitious plans of the organisers.
The idea for such a conference was first put to the Democratic Socialist Party's January 1997 conference, and enthusiastically endorsed by delegates. In early 1997, the Asia Pacific Institute for Democratisation and Development was established, and agreed that one of its initial projects would be to initiate and organise the conference for Easter 1998.
The first drafts of the call for the conference outlined some possible aims:
- To analyse and discuss the meaning of "globalisation" and the role of multinational corporations in the region, to highlight the social and environmental impact of their exploitative control and the neo-liberal austerity policies imposed on the region, and to expose the connections and responsibilities of First World governments and their international institutions such as the World Bank, the IMF and GATT.
- To discuss ways to challenge this domination and devastation, and exchange experiences of struggles.
- To promote collaboration between the people's organisations in the region that are resisting this domination and fighting for democracy and workers' rights.
- To further the solidarity campaigns within Australia with struggles in the region, exposing and opposing the role of the Australian ruling class and its governments.
The response from the region to this initiative was very encouraging. Key representatives of important parties and movements agreed to attend, and many local solidarity movements were enthusiastic.
Conference attendance has expanded so that now there are not many countries in the Asia Pacific region that will not be represented by at least one delegate. Four days now look far too short for such a gathering. It will be hard to do justice to the huge range of talks and workshops on the agenda.
Asian economic crisis
The economic crisis that has exploded throughout the east and south-east Asian region since last July has made the conference even more relevant and timely.
The economic and political problems confronting the vast majority of the workers, peasants and urban poor of the region have been exacerbated. The hype of the Asian miracle has been shattered; the false hope of a capitalist "free market" road out of poverty for the people of the Third World has been exposed; the membership list of the club of rich men's First World nations has been shown to be closed.
Many of the conference sessions will directly address the escalation of the crisis and discuss ways to build and coordinate the popular fight back.
The escalating political crackdown in Indonesia has also made the conference timely and urgent. A special focus will be solidarity with the struggle of the Indonesian people, against dictator Suharto's repression, and providing support to the People's Democratic Party.
Specific solidarity action is urgently needed to free the political prisoners and expose the new "disappearances" perpetrated by the regime. Proposals will be presented for Australia-wide and international days of action.
The conference will also be asked to endorse and help build the actions to counter the APEC summit in Auckland in September 1999.
The conference will be an intensive educational experience for Australian solidarity activists and for anyone keen to learn about the real struggles of the people of the region.
It will also give activists from different countries the opportunity to exchange experiences and establish or strengthen communication and collaboration.
Future steps
Already, the conference looks assured of achieving its initial goals. Just bringing together such a diverse and broad range of activists, movements and parties guarantees a useful discussion and improved contact and collaboration. But we shouldn't be satisfied with that. What other steps can be planned?
We can organise further gatherings like this. There are several countries in the region where political conditions exist to allow it and the local movement has a sufficient base to organise it.
We can organise faster responses to acts of repression and more extensive coordinated solidarity actions.
We can cooperate to build a stronger left and progressive movement in all countries.
The forces of exploitation and repression are well organised, well financed and well armed. We're up against the state forces of the dictatorships in the region, plus the vast military and economic might of imperialism. They've got their international organisations — the World Bank, IMF, GATT, APEC — and their think-tanks and research foundations. They have their weapons of "aid", and they control the mass media.
At the moment, the popular forces are weak. We have no armies or fleets or air forces, and very few economic resources. Potentially we are strong — the workers, the peasants, the poor are a big majority in each country. But our main potential weapon — organisation — we do not use well, neither in our local and national struggles, nor on a regional or global scale. Our opponents are vastly better organised.
Through conferences like this we can start to bridge the gap. A better exchange of experiences, ideas and analysis can lead to closer collaboration on projects of resistance and solidarity. This can lead to active solidarity with each other's struggles to win human rights, democracy and real popular power in each country — that is, freedom from the stranglehold of imperialist rule.
Without it, the lot of the vast majority of people in the region will be continuing impoverishment, exploitation and repression and ongoing environmental degradation, when the potential exists to provide a life of comfort, happiness, and freedom for all.
[John Percy is the national secretary of the Democratic Socialist Party.]