An alternative rally was held on the steps at the back of Trafalgar Square, with several dozen people listening to militant speeches by activists such as the Mitie/Willis cleaners and a speaker from the International Federation of Iraqi Refugees. The Coordinadora had produced a Spanish-language leaflet “Amnesty for some, or papers for all?”, criticising the tepid politics of London Citizens and its claim that some immigration controls are “necessary”."Several dozen", eh? Not enough for anyone to notice -- apart from the several dozen, of course -- but just enough to make it hard for some people to hear some of the speeches. Presumably that's how some people think you change the world?
According to 'Commune', London Citizens "have an extremely conservative stance similar to that of Mayor Boris Johnson".
Hence the backing from the Morning Star, of course!
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ReplyDeleteHi there,
ReplyDeleteI'm a socialist who was there and you wont hear any criticism of the event from me - I thought it was excellent - kudos to the organisers.
The Morning Star have awful nationalist politics - like many of the Communist Party's sister parties like the PCF. Hence the "No2EU" campaign, the British road to socialism, their protectionist solutions to the crisis, etc., etc. ad nauseam...
ReplyDeletePlenty of people at the demo were interested in anti-borders materials, chanted papers for all and do not have the politics of the march organisers.
Jim, how can you not have any criticisms of this campaign's slogans?
I find the tone of this entry very insulting. I was part of the sizeable group which formed on the back steps, and most people there are active in the struggles of immigrants to this country.
ReplyDeleteSiC does not have a monopoly on what can and can't be expressed. Supporting illegal immigrants does not require union flag waving or joining the enforced singalong of God Save the Queen!
SiC created a space to discuss the situations of illegal immigrants. The demonstration was not 'infiltrated' by a counter-demonstration, we marched alongside but aired different opinions. Deal with it and try responding to us in a more mature way.
SiC replies: I didn't mean to suggest that those who had different views from the organisers had "infiltrated" the rally -- there were many different people with different views present, and they were all welcome. 'Infiltration' happens when people -- in this case, No Borders -- piggybacks on the organisation to hold their own, disruptive, parallel meeting, in which they express their alienation from the campaign and their opposition to it. "Marching alongside" and "airing different opinions" does not capture what happened, which was a noisy, disruptive, parallel meeting which made it hard for many people to hear the speeches. Simple courtesy -- even if the obligations of solidarity don't wash with you -- demanded that you did not disrupt. It was possible to be there and not sing God Save the Queen; it was possible to be there and not wave a Union Jack; it was possible to be there and seek to engage the organisers at a separate time about the campaign's philosophy and objectives. And it was possible, if none of these could be managed, simply to stay away.
ReplyDelete'No Borders' has organised its own demos and protests over the years, managing, in 2006 or 2007, I think about 400 people. The media didn't notice, and public opinion was unaffected; the rights of immigrants were advanced not at all. We assembled 18,000. More important than numbers, what SiC did was designed to bring about political change, and it has already been effective -- Lib Dem backing, Boris Johnson backing, media coverage, debates, EDMs, adjournment motions in Parliament. We're not there yet, but look how far we've come. I'm sorry if all this is regarded as sordid, bourgeois, capitalist politics, but in a democracy it's how you move things along and make the world a better place. Alienation, anger, frustration, and clinging to a vision of the world-as-it-should-be is no alternative to the messy hard work of real political engagement; and, given the very real plight of so many undocumented migrants who are crying out for a more dignified existence, morally reprehensible precisely for that reason. This is a very extended apology for the "insulting tone" you heard, and I hope you feel that what is written here is responding to you in a more mature way.
I agree, and as someone who's had a similar exchange on the Indymedia UK site, I'd add that "infiltrated" was someone from noborders' choice of words. Sounds cooler and more subversive maybe.
ReplyDeleteHi, I was part of the rally until the organisers said they wanted people to sing 'God save the Queen'. Now perhaps the idea of this was to be inclusive, but as a British person who has no truck whatsoever with 'our' national (imperialist) symbols it served to exclude me, and I immediately left. I will not be coming to any future Stangers into Citizens events.
ReplyDeleteThanks for rubbing in that NoBorders gather a fraction of the masses you do - ever thought that the fact that they have a fraction of your resources may be a reason for it? SiC have salaried people for whom campaigning is part if not all their job. NoBorders people put money from their own pockets; when they're lucky, they make some money in benefit gigs in squats.
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