24.03.2005
Neither numbers nor politics
Two years after the imperialist invasion of Iraq, March 19 was the latest in a series of demonstrations organised by the Stop the War Coalition. Nobody seriously expected a repeat of February 15 2003, so I would have thought the turnout of perhaps 70,000 was reasonable in the circumstances. No longer does the Daily Mirror offer its support, while the Liberal Democrats are nowhere to be seen. However, if the demonstration is to be regarded as a barometer of public opinion, then it certainly represents a bad omen for Respect, whose electoral chances do not look rosy. There is now a mass of people who are alienated and disillusioned, but it does not seem likely that Respect will be able to transform this into votes for itself. Converging in Hyde Park, the usual plethora of left groups were in evidence - CPGB, CPB, CPGB-ML, SWP, SP, AWL, IBT "¦ amidst this sea of initials it is no wonder the working class is not flooding into the left! It made me wonder about the potential for a single revolutionary party, if only the left could cast aside its sectarianism. The political situation, both nationally and internationally, cries out for Marxist unity. It was interesting that George Galloway made a point of approaching CPGB members at Speakers Corner to inform us that in his view the Weekly Worker had "gone off the rails" in our "attacks on the biggest force on the left". We must be honest, though: Respect is tiny and is very far from the type of party we need - one that has working class socialism at its very heart. If we are to have any chance of defeating capitalism and imperialism we will need tens of thousands of dedicated activists organised on that basis. Respect may indeed be "the biggest force on the left", but it does not even set itself the aim of overthrowing capitalism, instead deliberately trying to attract non-working class, non-socialist forces. Comrade Galloway should think about our criticisms - which, of course, are aimed first and foremost at the Socialist Workers Party leadership. SWP stalls dominated the entrance to the park, just as the SWP, for all its rotten opportunism, dominates the left. Aside from Marxists, the usual motley crew of greens, hippies and peaceniks were present and at lunchtime the march moved off under blue skies along its snakelike route to Trafalgar Square. It is always a wonderful sight to see thousands of chanting and banner-carrying protesters on the streets, no matter how ill deserved the leadership. Through the pleasant streets of affluent London we marched, past businessmen in suits, shoppers and tourists. Whilst numbers had seemed small in Hyde Park, looking back along Piccadilly you could see that tens of thousands of people were present. The sunshine and beating of drums added to the carnival atmosphere. The highlight of the march was when we passed the American Embassy in Grosvenor Square. It was there in 1968 that thousands converged chanting "Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh". The victim of the war has changed, but the military adventures of the US and their allies remain. Unfortunately the utopianism of 1968, along with the absence of a revolutionary Communist Party, also remain. Now, as then, the state can be described, in Engels' words, a "body of armed men" - or, in this instance, hundreds of police ringing the embassy in two rows (by contrast the Canadian embassy had to make do with two bobbies). Others took dozens of photos of individual protestors, while there must have been a thousand more waiting in vans in side streets. Arriving at Trafalgar Square, the march was greeted by the sight of the stalls of the same left groups. The speeches left much to be desired, with the usual suspects prattling on about 'illegality'. The complaints about 'breaking international law' struck me as rather naive, and about as purposeful as walking into a brick wall. Compared to the demonstration following the European Social Forum - with large screens magnifying the speakers - the set-up was disappointing. No matter how critical we are, though, we must recognise the efforts of the Stop the War Coalition in organising another demonstration. It is just a pity that they do not have the politics to match (at least they did not have Charles Kennedy speaking this time) l Ted North
Worker