It is one year into the 21st century, but you could be forgiven for thinking we were back in the 19th century. In the imperialist capitals there is ominous talk of the "clash of civilisations" and the need for the "enlightened" West to lend a firm hand to whole regions of the world, which are supposedly "backward".
Imperialist politicians and commentators are trying to turn the people of the First World against those of the Third World.
Content to erode women's rights when it suits them, they justify their cowardly assault on Afghanistan in the name of defending them; content to impose dictatorships and counter-revolutionaries from Korea to Nicaragua, the imperialists now manipulate our revulsion against the Taliban (and all religious fundamentalism) to unleash a ghastly war of terror.
In Australia, the racist war on refugees has been unleashed. Those arriving on our shores to escape oppression and poverty are demonised as crafty "queue-jumpers" and dangerous invaders. These xenophobic attacks inevitably incite hatred against Australians of Middle Eastern, Asian and African backgrounds. Moreover, the war against refugees has turned the poor island nations of the Pacific into Canberra's penal colonies.
But the imperialists' attempts to undermine solidarity between peoples are not yet successes. It is still an open political struggle, one in which the objective mayhem of the world capitalist system provokes fight back by the world's oppressed and elicits sympathy from vast numbers of people in the First World. Note the explosive crisis in Argentina.
Another factor to be reckoned with is the worldwide movement against neo-liberal globalisation. The mobilisations in Genoa in July and against the European Union summit in Brussels last month show there has been no major downturn in the movement. Indeed, in Italy, there were mass protests of up to 300,000 people against the war and neo-liberalism. In New York, activists are gearing up to mobilise against the World Economic Forum at the end of this month.
In the face of the solidarity of the warmongers, we cannot let the solidarity among the global oppressed and exploited weaken. Indeed, the progressive and radical movements of the world need to take this solidarity to a new level. Our solidarity has to pave the way for a worldwide counter-offensive, reminiscent of the global upsurge late '60s and early '70s.
The second Asia Pacific International Solidarity Conference in Sydney, March 29-April 1, will seek to build such a process. Many of the radical forces in the international and Australian anti-war and global justice movements will converge in Sydney to discuss the political framework and approach to building such a counter-offensive.
The conference will build on the renewal of anti-capitalist forces that has taken place over the last decade and the political alliances that have come together in the last few years. Those attending will include new Marxist parties, parties from different socialist traditions seeking international collaboration, and those participating in socialist alliances and regroupment projects in England, Scotland, France, Portugal, Australia, the Philippines, South Korea and elsewhere. Many of these organisations are at the heart of mass struggles in their countries. Many independent radical activists from a range of movements will participate.
This international convergence will be one of the most important meetings for the anti-capitalist left in many years. All those active in the global justice, anti-war, Third World solidarity, trade union, student, environment, women's, anti-racist and other movements should ensure they attend. The conference will not be a talk-fest, but one that will provide serious activists with a compass in an increasingly tumultuous world. It will be a venue for serious dialogue between and among activists from the Third and First Worlds.
That's why Green Left Weekly is throwing its full support behind the conference. We urge all our readers to help build and participate in the conference. Its success will ensure a deepening of global solidarity, strengthen the anti-capitalist left and further left unity at home and abroad.
From Green Left Weekly, January 16, 2002.
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