TEN YEARS ago the British press uneashed a vicious witch-hunt against the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign. Its main argument was SHE SWAVI PS MASA INS ARO MRI OGE DEMACI MASU "foreigner', Le. a black. Its second argument was that the VSC march scheduled for Ociober 1968 wis winy lo lead lo massive violence, and that attempts were under way to occupy the Ministry OT IRTCI SEGEY SICNC SO LPOWBEEL BUCCE was The Tumes which ran a series of scurrilous articles attacking the VSC and its leaders. History is repeating itself und the furcical undertones are clearly present.
apparenily dominated by the SWP, and in order to substantiate anis claim une times accouny relers to te coor wau we published under the tille 'Hats Off to the SWP" after the first Carnival.
bevond dispute. To dear it is hoth toolsh and unnecessarlt pats us on the defensive. The centrul point to stress is that the SWP on ils own could not have succeeded.
froat with social-democrats in order to get the ANL. where it is at the moment. After all, the fact that a Labour Cabinet Minister und a major trade anion leader are speaking ut Hyde Purk this Sunday at liam is not an unimportant fact.
the counter offenove Why w it that the SWP could take such an initiative? Why was it not taken by the numerous politicians, strongly anti-racist?
Why could the Joint Committee Aginst Racism not get more than a thousand people at its rally supported hy the Labour, Liberal and Tory parties? To ask these questions is, in effect, to also give the we have stressed this before, the only way in which the ANL can tuke permanent roots is to extend the non-exclusive character of Hs Carnivals to its organisation at the base. To extend the cumpuigns and lo Dudo saDl ANs, brancae unroognou ine countrythe ANL into tiny instance, has four different ANL units, a factor which actualiy hampers the activities in that district and leads to a total lack of co-ordination. A conference is meeded urgently to discuss all these the moment prepared to be active were put together. The future of the ANL While the gutter press was in the forefront of this campaign, It Now The Times claims that the ANL b an 'ultrulelt plot'. it is That the SWP has played a major role in building the ANI. is It needed not just Rock Against Racism, but also the enited The best response to the wilch-hunters of Fleet Street is to go on Why did Rock Against Racism get such a popular response?
Which direction should the A.NL now lake? In our opinion, and These should he built to unite all anti-fascists by breaking down unils. Thus one boroues in London. Tor What would be disastrous is if the ANL supporters who are at allowed to lapse inte to receive the undivided attention of the mass media.
newspaper in Britain has devoted a lead article to attack the demand of the Anti Nazi League and the Campaign Against Racism in the Medeia for 'No plugs for NF thugs".
forward one: it would be anti-democratic to deny the such as the Daily Mirror and Guardian added would also be counter-productive.
about 'No plugs".
For the media bosses and managers, the composition of the platform al the "No plugs" meeting held in London on 12 September (soc photo p3) was most disconcertingADVOCATE Jonathan Dimbleby, David Edpar and Peter Hain called uncompromisingly for media workerx to ensure that Marlin Webster does not secure Live minutes of air-time to advocate the Front's virulent TacC hatred.
In addition to this demand for no party polltical broadcast for the Front , they stressed that uncritical coverage of the NF by the media during the campaign or at any other time The spokespersons for che Journalist and TV Technician Unions did not advocale the same DOLICICS aS speakers, NEIJ presideut Denis Ma Shane and ACTT general Yet over the past week, virtually every national The argument of the leader writers is a straightFront a party political broadcast, and — newspapers - it Socialists need to treat very seriously any apparent denial of democratic rights. GEOFFREY SHERIDAN, a founder of CARM, examines the arguments But both unions would back members who relused to handle racist material on the grounds oi constence Union militants know bow to JOICTAICE green-light action, and the picker of the BBC headquarters last Thursday in support of 'No plugs' was only the first in what is planned to be a series of pickets of regional and local radio and TV stations, Lengue spokesperson. Peter SALITI ONS run-up to the lection. has provoked tle media's hostility to the campaign is not any foad feelings towarus toc cron, eren Erin tbe Tory's Daily Telegraph: or persecution on grounds of colour is quite simply the greatest evil..
But the issues the leader writers and columnists have Tash need ta he considered seriously hy socialists. The most cogent argument in the press against the ANL/CARN initiative came last weekend from the political editor of the Sunday Times, Hugo Young, Captaliom is in rrisi.. The leaders of the Lahour Part amd the trader uninns offer salutiums lat ane in the intenest, not ef the worker, hut of the copende ihe iwe vital tasks consronting teadencies is opposition lo mosemual. Theie showld he nun-eschashe aga wide range of pulitical vieus •Te begin in figlu for the creation of a unitled und deucratic reriutordr) socialist organisation which can, shregle an application nf aniled front ladis begin tir he teen as au alterative by thun ands of warkers emeaped in sirugel The singek forsocialem soeks m unine the light of the Markers gains onh he actiesed hy eremting new organs of poser and defeasing witk all i Hair's jostificution (for the «No plugs" position) hails down - to two nonis. First he says thal hecaase the Front stirs up racial Terment and has an interest io violence it sbould be silenod. A Lintited anyway — by libel, one more limitation would be The pragmatic answer to these arguments is obrious enciugh," Young's article continued. Censorship would only worsen the evil Mr Hasn seeks to eliminate: giving more pubaicuy to ue rronl, added horrot of allowing the depict themselves as martyts...
"If Mr Hain gets his way in bendine the rules apainst th National Front, what argument could then be used ngainst some other organised group at same other time that wished to silence the SWP. or whichever cause Mr Hain was theb assocILLAS TLIN CRUX The crux of the matter is this.
A fascist organisation ainu lo serve a baricwa for major sections of Capital: it is to heighten the extraction of surplus value by physically and in doe course "legaliy" liquidat. ing the organised workers' moverent.
At the very core of their programme, therefore, is the AMAIO E HORE OLEHE limited democratic (as well as MESLEILNEEANUL that unionists and parties of the left have made The leaders of the National Front do nOL publically acknow ledee their adherence to socialen in ihe ESSK an Ca-teen & urupr hate in theeses of the milliums of woeker throsahuut the warld, e are epposed bo them and sill affer fell suppoe in ail those fichtieg Iot soculi demtas - The Interess nf wurkers and capils Amena. Africh and Asia from Ircland and besting the trich people deserminr shrie noe futurr The Communist Pardes in Karnpe arr mure tarparhle shas aser the prose dine chres deonte-. Hat-ich piries air and Journals such as Searchlight reveal, the evidence is readily to be found in interna] NF documents and letters.
At the present time the Froot centres its propaganda on the systematic denigration of black people in Britain: les and abuse wuch go hand in hand with the widespread physical assaults on Oppression of a people is a protound denial of democratic plank in the NF's "solution". oxi d nor possiby be achieved without the most brutal violence, on a par with that of the Thad Reich's holocaust.
Above all, it is in defence ot the democratic righrs that soc salists call for extreme and action aguinse thefasciste. When such rights are REAE DUNT HUSUE HE one source of action that can ECCLES SEISL WILELL threat; that of the workers The course of such action has to be: No platform far fascists. It is a slogan that bas to be applied with care. We must ensure thai Martin Websterand bis friends cannot effectively Da ace mem eves 8s mansrs Hencethe ANL/CARM slogar BUTLE mAEDH VO ULTIM coverage.
lated into election coverape? It mea candiare tar support candidare or supporter saust not be angricaly repor.
If at were technically feasble and politically plausible for statements of fact about the Nf To be inserted into Wehster"s party political broadcas, tien by all means let us support thal and call for the plugs co be pulled if the demand is denied, As a general principle, where we advocate the right of reply, that would be the course of action wc should insist on. But the right of reply is not what we relation to the fascists: it is No Platform While we should not shun a debate with Enoch Powell on a public plattosm, cortanly fascist on any platform. We de not 'reply" to the Front. To de so would he to dignity them with the status of an ordinar political party In the local elections May, journalists on the East Ender newspaper in East London published the manifestos ol ali the local candidates Bar thai of the Froet. In its place was a statement about what the NT represents Thar action is esemplary The Front has made no secret of why it wants the maximim possible number of candidates in the Cineral Election: for the sake of publicity. Pull the plugs on the thugs!
a will be intiniie more demarratir than what nise Thie salai-t mudch uf ae Copetabem hak not onle create a warl warkes, ie has ura wale. Ehis polly will in the long rus he dechiye in deteating buth fn In Hitsin it implice demanding the immedieie witheramat sf nlich Irmp Eato communis soe the pru-Muscow singe has anp meaninciol sealeas for the averroe nt the capitatet sel Are recetiesar J sicalisi parties are more feceeons thun eir helarc. Condities lolas
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passivity. For the only real basis for the ANL is a self-active base, which vastly outnumbers the members of the CP. SWP and IMG
arid polles. Thes wetight for wark.ing claes units wn an inenti imperialist regimes in tie West and the hestal dictatorships thee sustain in Lamir
anke ie huil be rojectin sectarianie and seeing internat domncres toe Foa Josen hut as a sical neusso. The means the right in sepan se factim-and
PLAUSIBLE How shoald this be trans-