RE: SWP and London Assembly organised meeting 29th to close the ESF process.

Open letter to the European ESF movement

Hi fellow ESF organisers,

I phoned up David Holland (non political GLA bureaucrat) and he confirmed that everyone who signed the PROPOSAL, but subject to amendment, are not invited. This includes around 1/3 of those present at the last meeting.

The only people who are 'allowed' to speak at this meeting are medium-to-large regional or national groups who have unquestionably accepted the proposal. Even some groups such as the Oxford IMC network - part of the global IMC network - who seem to fit the criteria (at least one Indymedia activist put their name down) have been excluded arbitrarily.

This PROPOSAL was concocted in secret, forced through a meeting by acclamation, and seems clearly designed to exclude those who aren't mates of the SWP/GR and GLA. With this in mind I decided it was pointless to go to this meeting - the UK ESF bid is currently a farce.

It’s hard to know what can be done with this situation, though it is clearly unacceptable, as these people have long experiences of packing meetings, manipulating chairs, imposing agendas and telling lies through nit-picking truth. Without dialog between different groups the European Assembly (which will ultimately have to decide whether the UK ESF goes ahead) may find it difficult to continue the UK hosting of the ESF in 2004.

The group who dominate the process seem to have deliberately created the current stalemate in order to close down the process to them and their mates. The process should have been opened up long ago as outlined in WSF principals - but this would mean them and their authoritarian tactics would be gradually sidelined, so instead they continue to grimly cling on to the control they have gained.

They have declared their intention to destroy the process if they cannot quietly dominate it.

Hamish Campbell
ESF practicalities/culture/media working groups
www.undercurrents.org
www.oxford.indymedia.org.uk

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RESOURCES TO GET INVOLVED

* Mobilise lists

http://lists.mobilise.org.uk/wws/lists/esf (non official organising lists)
* Democratise_the esf list

http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/democratise_the_esf (non official organising list)
* esf_culture homepage

http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/esf_culture (ESF working group)
* esf_media homepage

http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/esf_media (ESF working group)
* Early stage open website

http://www.esf2004.net
* Closed website

http://www.mobilise.org.uk
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Hamish Campbell
e-mail: hamish@riseup.net
Homepage: http://www.undercurrents.org

Comments

Hide the following 9 comments

Destroy...

29.01.2004 20:12

If they feel that they'd rather destroy the process than allow it to open up to the grassroots then it will not be anybody's loss. The situation at the moment is untennable - and they know that. Without our support their project becomes a farce; with our support they lose control and have a tantrum. ESF 2005 anybody?

no ta. 2004 will do nicely

29.01.2004 20:52

lets have the esf as planned in london 2004, can't wait.
fortunately the GLA have the money (we need shit loads) and the big venues (dome). we need to get the bid in asap. unfortunately we have to rely on livingston et al for this, as far as i underrstand the meetings to plan the bureacratic side of the event. this needs to be done urgently b4 february other wise u can bet your arse that permission will not be granted for the esf to be held.

it would be stupid to postpone the event to 2005. i went to florence 02, there were debates but also action followed. 15 feb mass action against imperialism and war was called from florence ,internationally taken up and continues to cause all types of headaches for the ruling class.

fight the power

red letter

yes, (...but re: not some of yr previous interventions)

29.01.2004 21:14

An Open letter that rings true.

"Without dialog between different groups the European Assembly (which will ultimately have to decide whether the UK ESF goes ahead) may find it difficult to continue the UK hosting of the ESF in 2004."

>>> quite.

"They have declared their intention to destroy the process if they cannot quietly dominate it."
>>> well, time will soon tell.

Oh, and Hamish, yes I got my wires crossed b4, but in response to where you said: "You say add to the current agenda – but earlier you were saying that an agenda had’t been posted for this meeting so how can I add to it?" - my response is that before, I was actually saying: "the agenda is obvious for this meeting - no.1 point being 'report back from working Groups'" ...which didn't then happen of-course!

Hamish, despite your eloquent criticism of the ESF process and denouncement of particular actors within it so far in your Open Letter, I regret to say that some of your contributions have been divisive and unnecessarily agumentative, ....aka me with you.

markibrown

So HAmish...

30.01.2004 02:06

What do YOU want to do - destroy it?
Like, if I can't have MY party, YOU can't have yours?
If the process stinks so much as you say, then why bother? Why wreck other people's plans?
Seems pretty childish to me.

pickle

Holland bitters?

30.01.2004 10:16

Dave Holland is far from "non-political"
He is associated with the International Socialist Group ( descendant of the IMG and official representative of the United Secretariat of the Fourth International). Within the Socialist Alliance the ISG has studiously cleaned the boots of the SWP, toadying to them to a great degree.
To think this pompous bureaucrat used to be a member of an anarchist group at Oxford University in the 70s!

Big Bad Bakunin

Wreck Other People's Plans??

30.01.2004 14:14

So anyone who disagrees withprocess is just causing trouble, are they? "Why wreck other people's plans?" ? Well, I guess that would depend on what the plans are. And since these plans are to impose mainstream political structures onto a totally different style of movement (check out the ESF Principles), and to gain power and paid positions for "professional" politicos who otherwise would not have a snowflake's chance in hell, then I guess it is quite right to oppose them.

surprised

evidence?

30.01.2004 14:41

Did the SWP or GR really say they'd wreck the ESF if they couldn't control it? That's a very serious allegation! Have you got some evidence?
(sorry to sound like Hutton!)

kurious

Pish

30.01.2004 15:46

Oh for crying out loud of course they haven't announced their intention to "destroy the ESF if they can't control it"... I know some of you find it hard to believe, but there are groups and forces out there even bigger and more important than the SWP - like all the national trade unions, the NGOs, fuck it even the GLA... sorry kids, but there's no way on god's earth that a small organisation like the SWP could even hope to control a process like the ESF - they'd tear themselves apart just trying - so leave the paranoia behind and get on with doing something useful like making the event a success.

As for the comment about the ISG/Fourth International... give me strength. Get out more.

Stan

Destroying the ESF

31.01.2004 11:34

It seems to me that the only people out to 'destroy' the ESF are those who didn't want it here in the first place and even organised a petition last year to stop it.

Others, however, seem determined to make the thing a success. Good luck to them.