G8: make poverty history – make capitalism
history
Come and join 150 young socialists from all over Europe
The campaign to bring young people from England and Wales to our ISR
camp in July is steaming ahead. We have already smashed through our
target and should continue to invite those who want to make poverty
history to come to our camp to discuss how we can make capitalism
history.
Sarah Sachs-Eldridge
An International Socialist Resistance (ISR – an international
socialist youth organisation) contingent on the protest against the G8
meeting in Sheffield had a fantastic response (see page 8).
A 6th-former from Wakefield bought the socialist at the protest and
later that night emailed us to say that she would like advice on
organising a walkout. Over the next few weeks, we will be going to
schools and colleges to meet the many others who will want to join the
protests either in Edinburgh or in their local area and to help them
build support.
The response to the MPH campaign is an indicator of the will of
ordinary people, particularly young people, to end the horrific
inequality that blights our world.
At our camp we will be offering the opportunity to participate in an
international campaign to raise socialist and internationalist ideas as
an alternative to the very flawed and limited promises of the G8 and to
the wishing and hoping of many of the charities involved.
So far we have 63 from England and Wales, 45 from Belgium, others
from the Netherlands, Austria, Germany and France, eight from Northern
Ireland and six from Southern Ireland definitely attending the camp. We
have dozens of others who are very tempted. The agenda of discussions
and workshops we are planning may help convince some of those!
Monday 4 July
Why French and Dutch workers voted NO! An evening rally on what
happens now for Europe after the defeated referenda
Afternoon workshops:
a) 1905 revolution – when workers gained a glimpse of power
b) Music and politics
c) Women in struggle
Tuesday 5 July
The struggle for socialism today
A debate with the Scottish Socialist Party
Afternoon workshops:
a) Education under attack across Europe – Plan the fight back
with speakers from each countryb) Can we plan green growth? What socialists say about
the environmentc) The Spanish Revolution
- The camp costs £50 for those staying from Saturday 2 July until
Thursday 7 July, including food.
For those staying for part of that time the price will be £10 per
night plus £5 towards the booking costs etc so if you stay one night
it will be £15, two nights will be £25 etc.
International Socialist Resistance (ISR) will be part of the huge
demo on 2 July and is co-organising an international youth camp from 1-6
July with the International Socialists, the Scottish affiliate to the
Committee for Workers’ International (CWI).
The CWI is an international socialist organisation with members in 40
countries around the world, including the International Socialists in
Scotland and the Socialist Party in England and Wales.
For more information
ISR: www.anticapitalism.org.uk,
020 8558 7947, PO Box 858, London E11 1YG.
International Socialists : www.cwiscotland.org
Committee for a Workers’ International:
Why I’m going to the G8
Interview with Nele Verschelden, a 21-year-old student social
worker, Antwerp
Why are you going to protest at the G8 summit?
When I heard for the first time that there were going to be protests
at the G8 summit in Scotland, I immediately decided that I wanted to go.
The G8, the club of the 7 richest countries and Russia, are planning
discussions concerning climate change and the African continent .
But their policies are not in the interest of the majority of the
population. They are incapable of finding a solution for the horrors of
the African continent and for the rising number of ecological disasters.
Bush and Blair will be at the G8. What are their answers concerning
the problems in Africa? Their rhetoric on debt cancellation is only
meant to divert attention from their imperialist war in Iraq and their
neo-liberal policies.
What do you want to do on the protests?
We will protest massively against their presence, just like we did in
Genoa and Evian. Millions of young people and workers want the living
conditions of the neo-colonial world to improve. In the meantime we’ll
discuss further the crisis of capitalism and the necessity of a
socialist alternative.
What do you expect of an international protest?
A week of intense action and reflection. International pro-tests with
socialists from Europe have a huge impact. It makes being part of an
international organisation more visible and concrete. It will
undoubtedly be a very educational and motivating experience for the
future.
International Youth Camp
A 4-star campsite in Strathclyde National Park in very pleasant
surroundings with toilets, hot showers and cooking facilities. A coach
will transport us to the different places we will be going to for
meetings and protests.
Francois, a member of our Belgian sister organisation and a chef,
will be ensuring the provision of tasty food (included in the price –
see below).
Each morning we will meet to discuss issues and developments and to
make plans for the day. There will also be organised political
discussions.
Transport
A coach will leave London at 10.30pm (i.e. travelling overnight) on
Friday 1 July from York Way, Kings Cross, for all those travelling from
the South west, South east, East and Midlands.
Other areas should look at getting student unions to organise
transport but also where possible cars and minibuses driven by members
will be very useful for the duration of the camp. There will be a coach
back to London on 7 July for those who stay for the camp.
Transport from London – £35 unwaged, £55 waged
Transport and camp – £85 unwaged, £105 waged
We need a £20 deposit immediately.
Saturday 2 July
Make Poverty History demo
A city centre venue has been booked for an international rally with
speakers from all over Europe. A coach will leave at midnight for those
who have come for the day.
Sunday 3 July
G8 alternatives forum
The case for socialism – CWI workshop at the forum. ISR will
participate in two workshops and we invite everyone to attend. We will
post details when they become available.
Monday 4 July
Faslane Nuclear Base blockade
Tuesday 5 July
Dungavel Detention Centre
A mass action at Dungavel to demand equal rights and an end to
detention and deportation of asylum seekers.
Wednesday 6 July
March against the G8
Gleneagles Hotel, Gleneagles, Perthshire or alternative venue.
G8 news
Tony’s crony
One of the leading members of Tony Blair’s Commission for Africa is
Meles Zenawi, the prime minister of Ethiopia. He has delayed the results
of the country’s elections for more than six weeks, amid widespread
claims of ballot rigging and in the face of overwhelming support for the
opposition party, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy.
Following the elections he banned all public demonstrations and took
control of the security forces. Now Ethiopian police have killed 22
protesters on an anti-government demonstration, following the police
firing on a peaceful demonstration at Addis Ababa university on 6 June,
killing a student and arresting 500 others.
Tsunami land grab
AS THE Tsunami-hit communities in Sri Lanka struggle to rebuild their
lives, the right-wing coalition government of President Chandrika
Kumaratunga is stealing the victims’ land.
A report in The Independent (10/6/05) shows that the government is
enforcing a 200 metre wide ‘safety buffer zone’ in coastal areas
preventing local fishing communities from returning. This land is
however being acquired by the tourist board which locals fear will be
used to develop hotel businesses. In Argum Bay, housing units planned
for displaced residents are one mile inland.
As previously reported by the United Socialist Party (USP – the
Socialist Party’s Sri Lankan counterpart) in the socialist, despite
their heroic relief efforts with the support of the Committee for a
Workers’ International, the relief response of the Sri Lankan and
Western governments, six months after the Tsunami, has been a failure.
The USP has demanded that aid and reconstruction be under the
democratic control of the working people and their communities and has
produced a campaigning newspaper – the Voice of the Tsunami people – in
both Tamil and Sinhalese to fight for this demand.
$1 trillion on arms
Global arms spending reached $1 trillion in 2004 – for the first time
since the Cold War, according to the Stockholm International Peace
Research Institute. The US spent $455 billion with Britain, on $47
billion, the second largest spender. At the same time the amount spent
on aid was $78 billion.
Even more shocking, the Campaign Against the Arms Trade reports that
seven of the G8 nations are among the world’s top ten arms dealers, half
of whose exports ($12 billion) went to the developing world. Five
members of the G8 – the US, Britain, France, Germany and Russia were
responsible for 89% of arms sales to developing countries.
