Sydney Labor for Refugees opposes ban

BY PETER BOYLE

SYDNEY — On March 13, the Sydney Labor for Refugees group decided
to oppose the attempted exclusion of members of the Democratic Socialist
Party, International Socialist Organisation and other activist left groups
from the Sydney Palm Sunday 2002 committee.

In doing so, Labor for Refugees joins other groups such as the NSW Greens,
the Italian immigrant workers organisation FILEF, the Australia East Timor
Association and many individual movement activists in opposing this undemocratic
policy.

The policy of political exclusion was initiated by a handful of disgruntled
activists who failed to impose their conservative agenda on the Sydney
Network Opposing War and Racism (NOWAR), the open activist group which
organised several successful rallies and marches against the war on Afghanistan
last year.

This group — headed by former Communist Party member Peter Murphy —
decided that they did not want to work with activist left organisations
and set up a new group called the Working Group Against War and Terrorism,
which later transformed itself into the Palm Sunday committee. The committee
adopted a political exclusion policy, using the device of restricting participation
to invited groups and individuals.

This committee decided to make “Compassion for Refugees” the focus of
the silent march on March 24, while at the same time excluding members
from three activist committees which are playing major roles in campaign
for refugee rights in Sydney: the Refugee Action Coalition (RAC), Free
the Refugees Campaign (FRC) and Action in Solidarity with Asia and the
Pacific (ASAP). These three groups have been responsible for organising
the biggest marches and rallies for refugees held in Sydney this year and
have also organised several successful suburban community rallies and public
meetings.

The Sydney Palm Sunday committee claims to be “broad, with representation
by invitation across racial, religious, social and political divides, with
no group dominating”, but ALP and pro-ALP groups are clearly dominant in
the committee.

On March 11, under pressure from opponents of the ban (particularly
the NSW Greens), the committee belatedly began to make some concessions,
accepting some activist groups previously excluded, such as the FRC, ASAP
and RAC. According to committee organisers, the socialist youth group Resistance
has only been accepted as an “observer”, a category that appears to have
been invented in the midst of hasty attempts to fend off the mounting criticisms
of the policy of political exclusion.

More and more activists are realising that they have to take a public
stand against this exclusion policy which could set a dangerous precedent
for the movement. Who decides who meets the criteria of being politically
acceptable enough to be invited to campaign committees? And on what basis?

Readers who would like to support the campaign for political inclusiveness
in the movement should contact me at <peterb@dsp.org.au>
or (02) 9690 1230.

[Peter Boyle is a member of the national executive of the Democratic
Socialist Party.]

From Green Left Weekly, March 20, 2002.

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From GLW issue 485