tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30598467.post7638337418608910493..comments2023-08-16T12:07:22.995+00:00Comments on The Daily (Maybe): Saturday's Stop the War Coaltiion conferenceJim Jeppshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17410387006098326671noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30598467.post-25067902536879841562009-04-30T20:41:00.000+00:002009-04-30T20:41:00.000+00:00Aaron - glad you enjoyed it!
Jimbob - yeah, I've ...Aaron - glad you enjoyed it!<br /><br />Jimbob - yeah, I've got sympathy for a lot of what you say there and you're right that many anti-war groups do feel alienated from the coalition but also feel that they need to take part.<br /><br />For me I think that the concept of the organisation is 100% right, but the practice of it has got too bogged down with old guard who've been in charge from day one.<br /><br />I don't think we need to scrap it and start again - I think generally (minor criticisms over this or that decision aside) the Gaza operation was good. However we do need a process of renewal and to draw in all those anti-war voices who've not felt able to engage with stwc. Which is partly why the Craig Murray thing is worrying because it means another good person who'll be keeping the stwc at arms length from now on - and there quite a lot of them.Jim Jeppshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17410387006098326671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30598467.post-47705181522670703542009-04-30T18:39:00.000+00:002009-04-30T18:39:00.000+00:00Got it, it's the excellent Yassamine Mather!Got it, it's the excellent Yassamine Mather!Aaronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01530489078188780416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30598467.post-70135243414420047472009-04-30T18:38:00.000+00:002009-04-30T18:38:00.000+00:00Interesting report.
I went to a couple of the STW...Interesting report.<br /><br />I went to a couple of the STWC conferences a few years and found them horribly undemocratic, pretty much a joke actually.<br /><br />There was just the single slate of candidates for their executive, with the same figures standing as before and the delegates basically asked to ratify this pre-agreed decision. Some delegates objected to this and halted proceedings and there was a tremendous brouhaha, followed by a viciously sectarian speech by Chris Harman that is particularly memorable.<br /><br />In addition, there was no real discussion of oganisational points or how the STWC conducted itself permitted. It felt more like a pointless rally rather than a genuine conference. <br /><br />From my experience in the anti-war movement, many activists I met were completely alienated by STWC and didn't really identify with it. The fact that there are the same people pulling the strings - and up to the same tricks - five years later only underscores how superficial is the organisation's internal democracy. I guess it mirror's the SWP's own brand of "democratic centralism".<br /><br />Why was it a job to get the Green party speaker on to the platform?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12993308539313927209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30598467.post-50085196194422245232009-04-30T18:36:00.000+00:002009-04-30T18:36:00.000+00:00How disappointing, HOPI should be fully involved w...How disappointing, HOPI should be fully involved with the StWC. Btw, do you remember the name of the woman who spoke at the HOPI fringe at Green Party Conference?Aaronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01530489078188780416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30598467.post-71017956823637814832009-04-30T18:16:00.000+00:002009-04-30T18:16:00.000+00:00They were astoundingly weak.
The speaker against ...They were astoundingly weak.<br /><br />The speaker against said that you couldn't oppose the Iranian regime without making the case for war and sanctions (which isn't true), that it was up to Iranians to make these decisions (which has an element of truth to it but if taken to its logical conclusion means that solidarity work is impossible, including the work of the stwc), that argument also makes the assumption that solidarity work is the same thing as overthrowing the regime from the outside - which seems facile to me.<br /><br />Most of his speech was taken up with saying why the stwc shouldn't take up the policies of hopi - which is a complete irrelavance to the debate.<br /><br />Andrew Murray's arguments were equally weak. They centered around the fact that in 2006 Mark Fisher of the CPGB said nasty things about the stwc. It was jaw droppingly thin - but delegates were pre-disposed to vote against hopi affiliating i think - and having heard some of the bizarre things people come out with about it sometimes I think there's a whispering camapign against it, which is probably where that vote was really won.Jim Jeppshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17410387006098326671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30598467.post-22919887075613855182009-04-30T18:09:00.000+00:002009-04-30T18:09:00.000+00:00What were the arguments for blocking Hands off Ira...What were the arguments for blocking Hands off Iran?Mr Andy Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15291005585731263640noreply@blogger.com