Popular fronts - can we really work with the vanguard left?

There is also the associated issue of how we react to some of the groups the left brings with them - in the instance of STW/RUC- the Muslim Association of Britain.

Will try.

There was a series of debates on Urban 75 re the Muslim Association of Britain, and the SWP's uncritical pitch towards the LEADERS of the Muslim community in Britain. A range of Anarchist views were put forward, including some exposes of the Muslim Association of Britain that showed it to be a deeply unpleasant group.

This is perhaps part of the problem enrager is facing - some Anarchists, for a variety of reasons, probably put more effort into U75 than their own groups websites, or enrager!

On the danger to the left of a non-critical alliance with Islamic groups, I have frequently cited "Rebels Without A Cause - The Failure of the left in Iran" by Maziar Behrooz (IB Taurius 2000).

This book outlines how groups on the revolutionary left failed to work with each other, or with more Liberal groups, throughout the days of the collapse of the Shah's regime, the Islamic Revolution, and the four years of chaos that followed before a fully Islamist Republic was set up.

Instead Marxists preferred to work with Islamists, as they were "the most committed anti-imperialists" (read of course anti-American)

The Ayatalloah's accepted their support, purged the country of Liberal and Western elements, then when finished ruthlessly turned on the left.

Marxists in Iran quite literally paid for their liberal approach to radical Islam with their lives.

We are not of course in a comparable situation here - Islamic Revolution is not about to break out in Portished! But the craven approach of the British left - uncritical, unprincipled, opportunistic and nieve - is in my opinion identical to their former comrades in Iran.

It's my understanding that the national STW coalition called for a number of regional protests to support the global day of action marking the outbreak of war. A short while later the national demo in London was advertised.

In some ways it's a shame that people went from Bristol went to London as we could've done with the two coach loads of people to increase the size of e the local protest.

Hello,

(Munkee Unit = James Venables)

Just to clarfify a few things which MH has raised. Tree Boy (see above) has already clarified that the Global Day Of Action, and the Bristol Demo, were called prior to the National Demo, & the National Demo itself was a clumsy about-face from the steering committee, who had already declared a National Day Of Action.

On the issue of the RUC, Bristol put a motion to the National STW conference, which was passed by conference, which states that:

"This conference recognises the achievements of the Stop the War Coalition in involving people across the political spectrum and re-affirms the political non-alignment of the Coalition."

So, the RUC is not a way forward for BSTW, and while they are the new arrivals on the scene, they have put themselves forward as a mainstream reformist party, so to ask whether the RUC is a way forward for BSTW, is really no different to asking whether any mainstream reformist party is the way forward for BSTW, and their newness doesn't change that.

the STW coalition, for all it's flaws and layers of hijacked structures, should answer to itself, and needs to address the question of it's future internally, and not through questions of the extent to which external structures (such as the RUC) should be imposed upon it as a solution to any problems of direction we may have.

With this in mind I chose not to mention the few words from the RUC speaker on Saturday, as the speeches we're impromtu, my report was a personal choice of who to promote, and formally the RUC should not expect to use our events to promote themselves, as ratified by conference. That's not to say they should be excluded, but they certainly aren't going to be preferentially promoted.

As for this...

"In Bristol the fragile unity of Bristol STW seems to have been broken..."

We have rifts between us more serious than disagreements over flyposting. It's is annoying, but not really that important an issue. There are also bonds within BSTW which are stronger than people may be given to believe given the excessive focus given to the habits of the SWP.... The fragile unity remains firmly in place.