By Kerryn Williams
Melbourne organisers of the Resistance national high school walkout against racism arrived at the rally venue on August 28 to find members of the socialist group Militant setting up a counter-platform and PA system.
Our worst fears were realised. Members of Militant were going ahead with their attempt to hijack the rally and march. The aggressive threats from a handful of thugs they'd brought along indicated that, failing their hijack attempt, they were quite prepared to sabotage the whole event: a physical confrontation among the left would have been lapped up by the establishment media, and been used to discredit anti-racism actions and discourage future attendance by high school students.
Following the huge success of the July 24 national high school walkout and rallies called by Resistance, Resistance decided to call another national walkout for August 28. Melbourne Resistance put the proposal to a meeting of Students Against Racism on July 29, requesting the group's support. (SAR only exists in Melbourne, and sponsored the July 24 walkout.)
At that meeting, Militant members argued against SAR supporting the action because, in their opinion, it would isolate the more conservative high school students who had attended the July 24 rally. It was argued that Hanson's support had been reduced in Victoria and another rally was not needed.
Subsequently, the July 29 SAR meeting voted against supporting the August 28 walkout, and rejected offers to have SAR speakers and stalls at the rally. Militant members have since confirmed that a Militant meeting beforehand had decided to argue against SAR supporting the August 28 walkout.
The following meeting of SAR, on August 5, confirmed that Militant opposed the August 28 walkout.
At a meeting of representatives from community groups opposed to racism held at the Victorian Trades Hall Council on August 12, Resistance high school student Jacquie Moon distributed leaflets advertising the August 28 walkout and rally against racism, and asked for support for the action from the groups present. The groups gave their support.
A Militant university student and self-appointed SAR "representative" Matt Wilson lied to the meeting, stating that SAR knew nothing of this walkout and rally, and attempted to undermine support for the action.
At the August 12 SAR meeting, by which time the momentum for Resistance's national walkout had become evident, Militant proposed that Resistance hand over the August 28 walkout to SAR. This was despite SAR's previously persistent refusal to even support the rally, or take up Resistance's proposal that SAR at least provide a speaker.
At the August 19 SAR meeting, Resistance members presented a written statement explaining why we were going to continue to build the Melbourne leg of the national walkout under Resistance's name. Militant members then argued that SAR hold a counter-rally, beginning half an hour before the scheduled Resistance rally, at the same venue.
On the Wednesday preceding the rally, Resistance activists attended a SAR meeting with the intention of convincing SAR not to proceed with the counter-rally.
Militant members argued that SAR should pursue the hijacking operation on the basis that the high school anti-racism movement should not be "led by socialists". Matt Wilson from Militant argued that a rally under a socialist banner would "put people off" and that it would be to the "detriment of the movement to see socialist parties leading high school students when the majority of society are not socialists".
The meeting was eventually restricted to high school students who voted not to hold a counter-rally. The 12-11 vote included Militant's only high school activist voting against a counter-rally.
On the morning of the walkout and rally, Resistance activists were told that leading Militant member Steve Jolly (suddenly a high school student) had "reconvened" the Wednesday meeting later that evening and had taken the vote again.
Militant's high school member reported to Resistance that at the reconvened "SAR meeting", Steve Jolly motivated the counter-rally using a host of lies, including that the two trade union speakers organised for the Resistance rally, Craig Johnston from the metalworkers' and Leigh Hubbard, secretary of Victorian Trades Hall Council, had told Jolly they would happily speak at a SAR rally, but would not speak at a Resistance-organised rally. (Militant's action had the result of deterring both from attending on August 28.)
One Militant member said the "SAR meeting" had been reconvened by the SAR "executive". When it was pointed out that SAR did not have an executive, this Militant member replied that Resistance was naive if it did not realise that all new groups inevitably have a self-appointed executive.
Faced with physical intimidation from Militant and their counter-platform, Resistance high school activists were forced into "negotiations" in order to prevent a physical confrontation and the degeneration of the whole event.
Militant member Dave O'Brien seemed to be in charge of the thuggery, and his behaviour indicated what was likely if Resistance members refused to give in to his blackmail: he threatened to "jump up and down on the PA and speakers" and "take them out". Other Militant members repeatedly screamed at Resistance members to "fuck off". When asked by a woman Resistance activist if Militant trained all its members to be sexist, O'Brien responded, "you don't know the first thing about sexism. In fact you don't know the first thing about sex".
Militant's physical intimidation, abuse and sexual harassment, and its threat to physically destroy the rally, forced the Resistance high school activists who were "negotiating" to hand over the platform at the walkout meeting place to SAR/Militant. The "agreement" forced on Resistance was to have SAR speakers at the GPO assembly point, Resistance speakers at the first point the walkout marched to, the State Library, and for Resistance to chair the rally.
Fortunately, the march and rally at the State Library proceeded without further incident, and the majority of high school students who attended would have been happy with the event. The meeting at the State Library enthusiastically endorsed Resistance's call for a further national walkout against racism on the Wednesday before the federal election.
Militant's action has damaged the development of the high school anti-racism movement and indicates a definite turn by this organisation towards political irrelevance.
Any left organisations and campaigns which have anything to do with Militant in the future would be well advised to act cautiously. It is clear that Militant has abandoned any commitment to political democracy and basic honesty, and will resort to threats and thuggery against political opponents to get its way, while giving scant consideration to the overall interests of the movement.
[Kerryn Williams is organiser of the Melbourne branch of Resistance.]