BY VIV MILEY
More than 200 young socialist activists from across the country met in the Victorian sea-side town of Anglesea for the 30th annual Resistance conference on September 28-29. A central focus of the conference was how to build opposition to the new US-led war drive against the Third World.
Presenting the opening report, "Opposing the war on the Third World", Canberra Resistance organiser Stuart Munckton stated: "On September 11 the war finally came home" to the United States. Munckton noted that although the "war on terrorism" had not yet begun, the number of Afghans who had died from starvation either within the country, or in makeshift refugee camps along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, had already matched the number of casualties in the attacks on the US.
With Washington threatening to launch its massive firepower against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, that number seems set to rise dramatically.
The report gave a fresh analysis of world politics leading up to and since September 11. "The war on terrorism is no more real than the 'war drugs'", Munckton stated. "Rather, the war on terrorism is simply the latest cover for US imperialism."
The second main report was presented by Melbourne Resistance organiser Fred Fuentes. Titled "Educate, agitate, organise", it focused on the political situation in Australia and analysed the major parties' rabid scapegoating of refugees.
Discussion was lively and centred on the lessons Resistance has learned through its experience of leading anti-corporate struggles. Delegates discussed how to further build the anti-corporate movement and of the challenges it now faces with the rise of a new anti-war movement.
A particularly interesting aspect of the discussion, which lasted more than two hours, was the young socialists' many ideas on the best ways to build a mass movement in high schools, universities and in the streets to oppose racism and the drive to war.
Later on the first afternoon, workshops were held covering a broad range of contemporary political topics as well as historical analyses of anti-capitalist struggles. These ranged from the political history of Afghanistan and the rise of the Taliban and an account of the development of the anti-corporate movement in the US to a discussion about the relevance of the ideas of Lenin in his classic book, The State and Revolution, to the growing anti-corporate struggles. Other workshops looked at the various strategies and tactics used to bring about radical change in society as well as how to building a movement against sexism and homophobia.
That night, a feature talk was presented by South Korean activist Park Myoung-hye, a member of the Power of the Working Class group. Park gave an inspirational account of her experiences as a political and trade union activist, fighting against the neo-liberal attacks of the government and multinational corporations.
In particular, she highlighted the repression faced by activists struggling to improve the lot of women workers. She described how on several occasions she has suffered beatings due to her political beliefs and how some of her comrades had died at the hands of the police or company thugs.
This was followed by the "Revolution ... bring it on!" conference rally, hosted by Michelle Brear and Matt Rich, an event which reflected the political activity that Resistance members had been involved in over the past year. It highlighted Resistance activists' role in building and leading the two Australian mass anti-corporate protests, S11 and M1.
Adelaide Resistance co-organiser Lisa Lines gave an emotional account of the recent bus trip to the Woomera refugee detention centre. Lines spoke of the peaceful nature of the action, which seemed more like a picnic than an protest.
However, this atmosphere was disrupted when police attacked the refugees inside the camp in an attempt to demoralise and coerce the protesters to leave. However it had the opposite effect, Lines noted, only making the protesters more determined to fight for the rights of refugees.
The conference rally was also a chance to reflect on the movement which created Resistance. John Percy, national secretary of the Democratic Socialist Party and one of the founding members of Resistance, recalled his involvement in the protest movement against the Vietnam War. Resistance and the DSP were formed during this militant and very successful anti-war movement.
Percy pointed out that Bush's latest war differs from the Vietnam war in that it is not simply over access to a particular market or resource, rather it is about keeping the Third World, and all those who dare to question US policy, in line.
The first report on September 29, The fight for socialism: Building a revolutionary youth organisation, was presented by Nikki Ulasowski, Resistance's national coordinator. She posed the questions: "How can we best build Resistance as an organisation to combat increased racism and scapegoationg of refugees and peoples in the Third World for the problems created by global capitalism?" and "How can we build an organisation that offers an alternative to the dead end provided by capitalism?".
That afternoon more workshops were held to give participants the theoretical knowledge needed to participate in political movements, and some practical skills knowledge for campaigning. Topics included debunking fair trade; terrorism and justice US-style; and a workshop designed to prepare conference attendees for all eventualities during mass protests.
In the closing speech to the conference, Susan Austin spoke about how some young activists may be feeling overwhelmed by the present world political situation. She stressed that this feeling could only be overcome by joining and participating in an organisation like Resistance, which brings people together to discuss the issues and get a clear understanding of how to change them.
"That's the good thing about being in Resistance. We know that we can't escape reality, so we may as well face up to it. It's great to be able to talk seriously about all the stuff going on the world and to discuss the most useful strategies for trying to change things. To produce alternative news and info for Green Left Weekly and to get out there and make a difference."
The final event for the conference was a feature address by the Tafadzwa Choto, the national coordinator of the Zimbabwe International Socialist Organisation (ISO). Choto presented an impressive example of how an organised group of revolutionary activists can change the political situation for the better.
Choto described how the Zimbabwe ISO's role was critical in organising general strikes against the Zimbabwe government's implementation of the International Monetary Fund's structural adjustment policies. She also gave an account of her party's role in the formation of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change and the struggles that have taken place between the ISO-led left-wing of that party and the neo-liberal MDC leaders.
Originally the conference had been scheduled to continue on September 30, however the conference decided to return to Melbourne to participate in a mass anti-war rally.
Ulasowski told Green Left Weekly that the decision to shorten the conference "was a very positive one. Resistance members made an enormous impact on the march, giving it a militant and colourful thrust. Resistance and DSP members also sold more than 600 copies of Green Left Weekly on the march. It proved that Resistance is not a talk shop but an organisation of activists".
If you would like to join Resistance, visit <http://www.resistance.org.au>.