Committee for a Workers' International
Statement:
After Gothenburg -
No Criminalisation of Anti-Capitalists!
Throughout Europe the clashes around the Gothenburg EU summit have
been utilised to unleash a propaganda barrage against the growing
anti-capitalist movement in general and socialists in particular.
Completely wild and undefined accusations of being
"anarchists", "hooligans" etc. are being hurled
around indiscriminately against anyone who dares to challenge the rule
of the giant corporations.
A concerted attempt is being made to link anti-capitalism with
destruction and vandalism in an effort to criminalise the opposition
to capitalist globalisation. Already many protesters were detained for
no reason or refused entry into Sweden. Threats are now being made to
impose generalised travel restrictions on anti-capitalists and
socialists. While defending the "right" of capital to move
freely around the whole, the EU is preparing to try to stop the free
movement of its opponents. It is clear that the new right wing
Berlusconi government will, under the guise of "stopping
violence", try to prevent the protests planned against the Genoa
G8 summit.
The hypocrisy of the EU leaders is shown in their attitude to Putin,
the Russian President. Any damage done to Gothenburg is in no way
comparable with the Russian military’s devastation of Grozny, the
Chechen capital. The bombing of Grozny back into the Stone Age has not
prevented European leaders, along with US President Bush, from seeking
deals with Putin. British Prime Minister Blair immediately condemned
an "anarchist travelling circus" for being responsible for
the violence in Gothenburg. Blair has never condemned Putin in such
language, but then for capitalists "business is business",
likewise Blair has made no comment on the Swedish police shooting
unarmed demonstrators.
 The European Union summit exposed the government leaders’
inability to prevent the deepening of the gulf between themselves and
the general population. The Irish referendum vote against the Nice
Treaty was simply ignored. As far as the EU leaders are concerned
ordinary working people cannot be allowed to get in the way of the
business agenda. German Chancellor Schröder best typified the leaders’
arrogance when he said that the Irish people would have to vote again
in order to accept the Nice Treaty. But Schröder does not simply
ignore foreign peoples; his government is also turning a blind eye to
the opposition of the majority of Germans to the euro currency. Again
and again all the EU leaders show that, in practice, their policies
are for the benefit of the big companies and the rich.
Many of the populations in the countries applying to join the EU
hope that entry is the way to dramatically raise their living
standards and secure their democratic rights. But the opposition from
some EU leaders to setting a time table for entry and the proposed
limits on the freedom of movement of labour, but not capital, are
indications that these hopes are, in reality, illusions.
One of the spectres at the EU summit was the rapidly worsening
economic situation in Europe. While the summit was taking place the
German press reported on the "helplessness" within the
Berlin government as the economy deteriorates barely a year before a
general election. The day after the summit ended a jump in European
inflation to its highest level for eight years was reported; at the
same time there are daily reports of the mounting problems in the US
economy.
This is the background against which the EU governments’
spin-doctors have launched their propaganda offensive against the
growing anti-capitalist movement. Politically they want to discredit
the opposition to both the bosses’ EU and capitalist globalisation.
It is clear that in the immediate run up to the Gothenburg clashes
there was no sign of the "open dialogue" which the Swedish
police promised the demonstrators. Instead there were provocations. On
Thursday June 14 the police first built a wall of nearly 100 metal
shipping containers around, and then invaded, the Hvitfeldska
Gymnasiet school where anti-capitalist protesters had been allowed to
stay. The following day, Friday, saw the police using dogs to split,
and then encircle, part of a peaceful "anti-capitalist"
march.
These provocations succeeded in goading a small section of the
protesters to react by attacking buildings etc in central Gothenburg.
While fully understanding the anger felt, smashing shops, cafes and
restaurants is not the method of Socialists. It hands propaganda
weapons to the ruling class, helping it to attack activists and
introduction new repressive measures. Already there is talk of
limiting the freedom of movement for protesters between European
countries.
Socialists work to build an organised mass movement which can take
from the capitalists their ownership and control of property to enable
it to be collectively owned and used to meet humanity’s needs,
instead of the ruling classes’ profits. This is our aim, not the
destruction of property.
The brutality of the Swedish police, something not seen since the
workers’ struggles of the 1930s, is a warning of how some sections
of the bosses will want to deal with opposition in the future. If
demonstrations, strikes or other protest actions are attacked clearly
there is a right for self-defence, something which the workers
movement in every country has had experience of.
In recent years, most countries have not seen the workers’
movement seriously challenging the neo-liberal attacks first launched
in the mid- 1980s. This has resulted in many of today’s young people
not seeing that, potentially; capitalism’s main opponent is the
working class.
The Committee for a Workers’ International is committed to
helping in the rebuilding of a fighting, socialist workers movement
which can sweep away capitalism, not simply protest against its
inequities.
The CWI will continue to campaign for:
- A mass anti-capitalist protest in Genoa
- Defence of the democratic rights to demonstrate and travel
- An end to state and police provocations
- Building the anti-capitalist movement and convincing its
activists that socialism is the alternative.
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