BY NICK EVERETT
SYDNEY — Following the decision by a wing of the Walk Against the War Coalition (WAWC) to initiate a new anti-war group — the Sydney Peace and Justice Coalition (SPJC) — a campaign has begun in earnest to maintain a united, active anti-war movement.
Two of the three co-convenors of the WAWC — former Labor senator Bruce Childs and Communist Party leader Hannah Middleton — are moving to wind up the coalition at its next meeting on August 18. Their motion calls for two-thirds of the coalition's funds to be transferred to the SPJC and the remaining one third to be transferred to the "Socialist Alliance 'No War' group".
By August 16, seven organisations and 59 individuals had endorsed a notice of motion opposing the move to split the WAWC. This motion argues that the anti-war movement's mobilisation of "tens of thousands of opponents of the war between November 2002 and April 2003", and 500,000 on February 16, was made possible by the unity of the anti-war movement.
The unity motion's endorsees include the Canterbury-Bankstown and Newtown peace groups, as well as Sawiyan Coalition for Palestine, the Socialist Alliance, Socialist Alternative. Individual endorers include Wendy Bacon (from the the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism, Stephen Langford, secretary of the Australia East Timor Association, Vince Caughley and Marina Carman, from Global Justice Sydney, four members of the NSW Greens and members of seven local peace groups.
After a vigorous debate, the NSW Greens annual general meeting on August 9 decided to abstain on both motions.
At a joint meeting of the Newtown and Chippendale-Darlington peace groups on August 14, 19 people participated in a lively debate on the two motions. Bruce Cornwall, representing the SPJC, argued that the WAWC had been rendered inoperable because of the role of a minority in blocking decisions.
Cornwall argued that the "Trotskyite No War group" had refused to accept an "amicable separation". He also asserted that the SPJC affiliates were "being told what they could and can't do" by the rest of the WAWC.
In discussion, it was pointed out that there is no such thing as "Socialist Alliance-No War". The No War on Iraq coalition, which helped form the WAWC last October, had contained within it members of the Socialist Alliance, Socialist Alternative, the Australian Democrats, the ALP and the Greens, as well as several activists not affiliated to any political organisation. It still maintains an email discussion list with more than 1000 subscribers.
Many local peace group activists were angry that the WAWC's funds might be carved up between constituent groups and argued that the money belonged to everyone active within the WAWC's affiliated organisations.
They also expressed concern that the move to split the WAWC had been carried out in secret, without any of the local peace groups being notified of the decision of a section of the coalition to establish the SPJC. It was noted that while the SPJC affiliates had every right to establish their own network it was unreasonable of them to expect that the WAWC could simply be displaced by the SPJC, which excludes significant sections of the anti-war movement.
The call by the US Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) coalition for an international day of action on October 25 against the US occupation of Iraq — now endorsed by the US Veterans for Peace and Not in Our Name anti-war coalitions — was also discussed at the meeting. Peace group members expressed support for marking the October 24-26 weekend with a rally in Sydney and continuing to organise the broadest possible opposition to the occupation of Iraq.
[Nick Everett is a co-convenor of the Walk Against the War Coalition. To endorse the call, email <nicholasjeverett@yahoo.com>.]
From Green Left Weekly, August 20, 2003.
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