BUILDING A MOVEMENT

national | miscellaneous | news report Tuesday March 25, 2003 22:47 by BUILDING A MOVEMENT - BUILDING A MOVEMENT

BUILDING A MOVEMENT

BUILDING A MOVEMENT "International solidarity is not an act of charity: It is an act of unity between allies fighting on different terrains toward the same objective. The foremost of these objectives is to aid the development of humanity to the highest level possible." - Samora Machel (1933 - 1986) Leader of FRELIMO, First President of Mozambique

The anti-war movement has done a Herculean job of putting people into
the streets, now it is time for it to transform itself into something
more. Some thoughts:

After the more "televised" aspects of the War in Afghanistan stopped,
the anti-war movement largely turned away. The fact that the status
of most of that country and most of its people was still miserable
went largely unnoticed. There was no solidarity movement in support
of the people of Afghanistan. There have been no demonstrators in
the streets demanding democracy or human rights for a while now.
That must not be the model for the future. The anti-war movement has
to become also a solidarity movement. When the War in Iraq ends the
movement cannot just wait for the next Bush war. It has to be out
there in solidarity with the people of Iraq in what will be their
struggle to build a new, democratic, progressive state for all
Iraqis. It has to locate and provide real support for the democratic
and progressive forces that arise. While the great distance and the scale of the need involved
make the provision of material aid in the aftermath of the conflict
by the anti-war movement difficult, perhaps some way to overcome
these obstacles--such as the organization of sister city programs--
could be conceived and carried out. Efforts could be made to
organize speaking tours for activists of the Iraqi opposition and
victims of oppression by the Ba'ath Party regime such as Kurds or the
Marsh Arabs, whose unique and remarkable homelands in the south of
the country were intentionally dried up and depopulated by the
government as retribution for participation in the 1991 rebellion.
Delegations of activists or interested persons could visit Iraq's
cities and villages and bring back firsthand accounts of the struggle
to rebuild a country that has suffered so much due to authoritarian
government, international economic sanctions and the lust of the
world market for the country's chief commodity, oil.

· The Anti-war movement as it transforms itself needs finally to lay
out on the table the set of principles for which it is willing to
fight and to apply them consistently across the board and let the
cards fall where they may.

· Mistreatment of people because of race, gender, ethnicity,
nationality, class, religion, sexual orientation, etc. is wrong
wherever it occurs and we should be outspoken about that.
· It is time for us to lay out our beliefs and make it clear we
support those who hold something akin to them, and oppose those who
don't. This means we can't have "our" bad guys be exempt just because
they and the US are currently at loggerheads or because the US views
them as enemies.
· The US cannot be allowed to do whatever it wants to whomever it
wants (This includes, in addition to the obvious, "our" refusal to
participate in things like the biological and chemical weapons
protocols, our abandonment of treaties that don't suit us, or
disregard for international law when it applies to us).
· We should support forces fighting for things we believe in and
working to overthrow oppressive regimes wherever they may be and
whoever they may be. Reactionary Mullahs are no better then
reactionary generals, preachers, and Presidents around the world.
Oppression in Iran is not somehow better than oppression in
Guatemala. Both need our attention.
· We have to be clear, we have to be able to understand and explain
what is most complex. We have to be consistent. We have to put on the
table the type of society we are fighting to create. We have to learn
to cast aside worn out dogmas and understand the world we live in. We
can't continue on "reacting." We can't make our decisions based on
what our enemies decide. We have to present the people ("whoever they might be") a clear picture of what we believe, a
clear picture of how those beliefs are played out in the world, a
clear choice for a just future.
· Fundamentally we have to say who we are, what we are, and what we
believe, and we have to apply it across the board, no matter the
situation.

As an example, paraphrasing the words of the petition circulated late
last year by the Campaign for Peace and Democracy (and adding a
couple of my own thoughts) a US Solidarity Movement with the Peoples
of the Middle East could push the following principles:
· Renunciation of the use of military intervention in the region
· Withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Middle East
· Ending all US support for corrupt and authoritarian regimes
· Ending one-sided support by the US for Israel in the Palestinian-
Israeli conflict
· Opposing all forms of terrorism worldwide not just by Al Qaeda,
Palestinian suicide bombers and Chechen hostage takers, but also by
Colombian paramilitaries, the Israeli military in the Occupied
Territories and Russian counterinsurgency forces in Chechnya
· Support of the right of national self-determination for all
peoples in the Middle East, including the Kurds, Palestinians and
Israeli Jews
· Calling for the renunciation of weapons of mass destruction,
including nuclear weapons, and vigorously promoting international
disarmament treaties
· Demanding that the US abandon IMF/World Bank economic policies
that bring mass misery to people in large parts of the world
· Calling upon the US to undertake a major foreign aid program
directed at popular rather than corporate needs
· Demand for the recognition of the rights of all peoples in the
region to basic human rights including an end to all forms of racism,
of economic, ethnic, religious, sexual, and class exploitation
· Opposition to any and all fundamentalist religious extremists and
organizations as well as all forms of theocracy no matter from which
religious perspective they arise

The truth is such principles need to be pushed on a global scale. An
internationalist outlook is key. We should always be fighting for
those broad and specific principles in which we believe - and in a
non-sectarian manner (for example, personally, I believe in a form
of socialism with a democratic face, but that would not have to be a
principle of a mass organization). If a mass movement develops along
these lines that in effect "preempts" the US or any other nation bent
on aggression or domination, it will forever eliminate the convenient
cover that intervention is happening suddenly to "liberate" some
people in the name of freedom. We will be able to ask more
convincingly, "Where the hell have you been and why in the hell have
you been propping up these authoritarian regimes until now." We will
be more convincing because we will have been "there" all along.
Never again should anyone be allowed to make the argument that
the "anti-war" movement is really supporting "Saddam Hussein."

SOME EXAMPLES OF SOLIDARITY ORGANIZATIONS

Colombia Support Network

Colombia Support Network is an activist grassroots organization that
works through sister communities to help Colombians create a peaceful
participatory democracy and an economically just Colombian society.
We condemn violations of human rights by all actors involved in the
conflict, including guerrilla groups, military, paramilitary, police,
multinational corporations and foreign agents, including U.S. defense
contractors. We support and provide political space for organizations
and individuals that work for a non-violent, just political solution
to the conflict in Colombia.

I. GOAL AND PROGRAM- Sister Communities
To organize and coordinate a movement of local CSN chapters in the
U.S. that maintain direct relationships with peace-seeking sister
communities in violence-torn regions of Colombia.

ACTIVITIES:
1. Delegations to and from sister communities in Colombia.
2. Personal and regular communications with our sister communities
about conditions, events, needs, and hopes.
3. Where possible, direct aid to sister communities.
II. GOAL AND PROGRAM-HUMAN RIGHTS IN COLOMBIA
To promote human rights in Colombia (as defined by the UN Universal
Declaration of Human Rights) that are necessary grounds for the
creation and maintenance of civil society and grassroots democracy in
that country.

ACTIVITIES:
1. Create and distribute "Urgent Actions" worldwide based on
information supplied by Colombian social organizations, peace
communities and churches to initiate actions for the protection of
communities and individuals under siege.
2. Influence U.S. policy through
a. educational/lobbying efforts with the U.S. Congress and
Administration
b. non-violent demonstrations
c. encouragement and organization of Congressional delegations to
Colombia
3. Serve as an active link within the national and international
network of Colombia peace and justice organizations.
4. Support and actively participate in international campaigns for
peace and justice that originate in Colombia.
5.Support and actively participate in the U.S. peace and justice
movement.

III. GOAL AND PROGRAM- CORPORATIONS AND DEMOCRACY
To expose the complicity of multinational corporations in anti-
democratic and repressive activities as they relate to Colombia, and
promote the alternative of a grassroots, democratic civil society.

ACTIVITIES:
1. Development of a model "Colombia Law" similar to the anti-
apartheid laws of the 1980s.
2..Promote human rights in Colombia (see Goal #2)
3. Educational/Outreach activities in the U.S. (see Goal #4)

IV. GOAL AND PROGRAM-EDUCATION AND OUTREACH
To educate the U.S. public about the realities of the conflict in
Colombia and U.S. policies toward Colombia.

ACTIVITIES:
1. Public presentations
2. Websites
3. Publications

Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala

The mission of NISGUA is to support the social movement in Guatemala
for a democratic, multiethnic and multicultural society, based on
socioeconomic justice and full respect for human rights and freedom
of _expression. In addition, we work to educate and empower U.S.
citizens in their efforts to influence U.S. policy towards Guatemala
in support of the above goals, to build links between social justice
initiatives in Guatemala and the U.S. and to promote grassroots
organizing efforts that forge ties of solidarity and understanding
between the peoples of both countries."
What NISGUA Does
· Organizes North Americans to work effectively for justice in
Guatemala though our yearly programs and campaigns
· Provides educational tools through our publications
· Supports a large existing network
· Builds people-to-people links between the United States and
Guatemala by sponsoring educational tours of Guatemalan grassroots
leaders to the United States and delegations of U.S. citizens to
Guatemala
· Provides human rights monitors in resettled or otherwise at risk
communities
· Sends out urgent action alerts during human rights emergencies
· Lobbies for responsible U.S. policy for social justice and human
rights in Guatemala
· Works in coalition with other non-governmental organizations to
address regional issues and build a more peaceful future world wide

Committee in Solidarity With The People of El Salvador

We are a grassroots organization dedicated to supporting the
Salvadoran people's struggle for social and economic justice. The
alternative they are building is an example to all people who seek a
world free of injustice and oppression. We also recognize the
struggle of poor and working people, immigrants and refugees against
the new economic order sponsored by the US government. We
particularly focus our work on El Salvador because of the US
government's role in sponsoring the unjust 12-year war there.
We work to achieve two basic goals:
· To end US economic, political, and military intervention in El
Salvador, Central America, and the Caribbean. In the current context,
to end US-sponsored global economic policies that devastate local
cultures and economies, specifically in El Salvador.
· To give political and material support to the grassroots movement
in El Salvador for economic democracy and social justice. We support
labor, women's, gay and lesbian and other grassroots organizing. We
stand in solidarity with the Farabundo Martí National Liberation
Front (FMLN), as we have since our founding, because of its central
role in building a new society.
We also support the other progressive forces in Central America and
the Caribbean that are working for human rights and democracy,
including the FSLN, the popular movement in Nicaragua, the URNG in
Guatemala, the FZLN in Mexico, and the Cuban Revolution.
CISPES's organizing methodology is one of empowerment and respect for
all people regardless of their race, gender, and sexual orientation.
We challenge ourselves to meet the goals we struggle for globally in
the actions of our own organization.... to be an activist community
that reflects our vision for society as a whole.
CISPES uses a wide variety of creative tactics to achieve our goals.
These include: public protest and education, grassroots lobbying of
elected officials and fundraising for both our own work and
humanitarian aid to El Salvador.

Mexico Solidarity Network

The Mexico Solidarity Network is a coalition of 88 organizations
struggling for democracy, economic justice and human rights on both
sides of the US-Mexico border. The Network believes that civil
society must play the leading role in development of these values.
Civil society must develop as a political force with democratic
spaces that are outside of the party/establishment context, but
always interacting with this context to force social change. The
program of the Network increases grassroots democratic spaces, and
develops grassroots consciousness and organizing skills. The program
also increases effective contacts between grassroots activists and
politicians.

The program of the Network also reflects our commitment to developing
effective bi-national strategies within civil society to confront
common problems. Our program increases links between Mexican and US-
based civil society; increases educational opportunities so that
people on both sides of the border can better understand their common
problems and can develop effective strategies; and increases
opportunities for strategic, effective activism that will impact bi-
national policies.

The base of the Mexico Solidarity Network is located in cities and
towns across the US, and every program is coordinated closely with
the base. The ambitious program of the Network would not be possible
without the thousands of volunteers who make it happen. For example,
a typical speaking tour is coordinated on a national level by staff,
but all local arrangements, from event venues to press conferences,
are organized by the grassroots. Educational materials are produced
by national staff, but the vast majority of distribution is done by
the base. Staff works closely with volunteers across the country to
develop organizing skills in outreach, media work, fundraising and
education. The Mexico Solidarity Network works with 200 local
coordinators in communities and universities across the US.