• Mark Jasen The organ Bed ain the trade.
ment, in Britain the trade unions and the Labour Party, has always been crucial for socialists in that it represents, in however a distorted form, workIng class people organising independently of the ruling class.
The struggle for socialism can only be achieved through the unity and independence of the working class and the oppressed, and as such socialists must work within the existing organisations in which workers and the oppressed are oreanised.
Though new organisations will be needed for carrying out the task of woria socialism, It such organisations are to be built they will be but througn working people learning the inadequacies of existing organisations and the need do develop new ones.
None of this means however, that the labour movement is natuTav deessive especialv since the Labour movement leadership has been almost invariablv procapitalișt. It has a number of times has actively campaigned for the exclusion of women, and has campaigned at certain points to exclude black people from the workforce.
The early labour movement in Britain campaigned for immigration controls and for a white Australia, for examole. Socialists should view the labour movement as a terrain of struggle for socialist Ideas, in which we tient to win working people from their misenders.
An integral part of the struggle for socialism is the struggle for unity of the class, which can only be achieved through equality within the working class.
This means that socialists must demand that the labour movement must take up struggles against racism, sexism, hetrosexism, national oppression or any other forms of inequality between workers, because they are essential struggles in and of themselves, but also because the unity of the class is impossible without them.
The anti-racist movement over the last couple of years has forced the labour little. In March of last year the TUC organised a national anti-racist demo for the first time ever.
The Transport and General Workers Union adooted a resolution that called for the closing down of Campsfield detention centre and opposed all immigration detentions.
These are important steps forward, but they in no way mean that the struggle against racism in the labour movement is over.
We must push these and other demands into all other unions and the labour party, but more importantly we must ensure that these are not just paper commitments.
We must ensure that labour movement bodies with anti-racist policies actively promote these policies and mobilise their membersnips around them. • George treated like criminals.
Thompson The State rejects 90 per cent of all appliWestern captta- cations and deports peoIst policies ple back to lanas were their lives are at risk. have created crises People who have lived throughout the world.
There for years are also Many people fleeing subject to dawn raids by these crises have found cops to be bundled the door to the European aboare canes. lov careUnion firmly shut. On ar- ner's tragic death was a rival here asylum seekresult of the Tories in. ers are now banged up sane deportation policy. indefinitely in prisons The and detention centres, • Koen de Clerk the police to constantly over narass the black community under the pretext they are searching for ilegal immigrants. They also call for ID Cards and restrictions on everyone's civil liberties using this excuse. The National Day of Actions to demand an end to detentions and deportations on June 24th deserved widespread Government allows support. Hundreds pickFührers. cist attacks. Yet racist message in Tories. Serious anti-fasState racism. make immigrants secemment measures are collaton s eted prisons and deten- benefits. We must comion centres to protest against our racist State and its immigration crime and unemploylaws. Liberation! supporters united with mi- age grant and refugees education and health to groups and labour movement bodies to show our •ons to solidarity with refugees.
State racism is more of olale, grassing on cor a threat to black commugrant workers. nities today tan Tascism. Racial hatred is more likely to be stirred up by Tory Ministers than blacks more likely to go the rantings of BNP to prison than whites for BOCKS are committing the same ofmore likely to die from fence. Under attack from police assaults than fas- fascists or cops we must State champion the local comracism and fascism feed munity's right to organone another. Some swal- ise and defend itself by lowing the government's any means necessary.
the Self-organisation is a run uo to the next Gen- necessity for oppressed eral Election could turn groups fighting for their to fascists rather than liberation. Yet there can be no black liberation cists cannot ignore without socialism and vice versa. The racist inApart from campaign- stitutions can only be deing to scrap all immigra- stroyed through tion laws, anti racist destroying capitalism. groups must turn to fight Revolutions develop Tory proposals which when strands of anticapitalist struggle like ond class citizens. Gov- black liberation combine. reducing their access to The divisions within the current anti-racist movement have proved an obbat Tory lies scapegoat- stacle to building the ing blacks for rising Kine or mass moosations necessary to make ment. We should encour- a real impact on the racworkers in ist system that we live under. Whilst it is untake action against Tory likely that in the short make them term unese ourerences agents of a snoopers will be overcome, we can make a start by organisleagues who may be mi- ing united actions open all sections of the We must challenge the movement. Together we racism of the police and can bring the walls of rajudiciary which makes cism crashing down!
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