The history of the anti-racist movement in Belglum is very much linked with the electoral breakthrough of the fascist Vlaams Blok (Flemish Bloc) in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking north of Belgium where three-fifths of the ten million Belgians live.
The first breakthrough goes back to 1988 when the Vlaams Blok achleved 10 per cent of the votes in the town council elections In Antwerp, the largest town of Flanders with half a million inhabitants.
But the most important breakthrough was achieved with the national elections of 1991, when they got 10 per cent of all Flemish votes. This phenomenon was due to the fact that the struggle against austerity In the first half of the 1980s was ended with the Soclal Democrats going into government In 1987. trayed their voters, who as revenge voted for the fascists.
The Soclalistische Jonge Wacht/Jeune Garde Socialiste (Socialist Youth Guard) was active since 1987 with Its campaign "Here I am, here I'll stay! Equal rights and opportunities!"
Together with others we launched a pluralist campaign, "School Without Racism". Petitions were distributed in schools to obtain 60 per cent of the votes of pupils In order to declare their school a "School Without Racism".
The campaign was a real success, but after some time the sectarian policles of the Maoist/Stalinist component caused the movement to cease to exist as an Independent organsation before 1991.
Together with others, we organised a pluralist Anti-Racist Youth Committee, and called for a strike of students as a reaction against the electoral rise of fascism exactly a year after the 1991 elections. The strike was a big success, with 20,000 participants and was repeated in 1992 and 1993.
- Her They beGelive These Youth Committees acted In solidarity with the large movement Hand in Hand, who organised massive demonstrations in Brussels (100,000 and 60,000 partIclpants).
Of course all this protest against fascism didn't solve the problem which is a soclal, economic and political one. But It helped in Isolating the fascists politically - that's why we even participate in small actions against fascist meetings - and making It difficult for them to gain even more ground. It was also a learning process In which people learned to distinguish between anti-racists who want to stay within the framework of neoliberalism and those who take a clear position In favour of working-class people. Hopes in the traditional political parties were proved wrong. cecnun-coalleoorous values.
At the moment the situation is far from easy. The mass movement based on the shock of 1991 is over Its peak. Neither on the issue of equal rights, nor on that of an alternative socioeconomic policy, are successes at hand.
However the anti-racist movement remains an Important forum where those questions are posed. And It forms an Important militant framework for political and social change, equality and solidarity being its fundamental That's why we are Involved in building the Anti-Racist Youth Committees as a pluralist organisation against racism that is willing to Isolate the fascists and take up the Issues of unemployment and neo-liberal policles in order to oppose capitalist logic.
• Racism • riots • Netherlands • clear answers to social problem: needs to give The anti-racist movemen Riot against racism?
• Simon Deville Recently, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Condon, backed up by Home Secretary Michael Howard claimed that black people were responsible for 80per cent of muggings in the country"s capital.
This manipulation of statistics covers over the fact that black people form a major part of the most oppressed sectlons of the working class. No mention has ever been made by Condon of the levels of poverty faced by those who feel driven to such desperate measures, nor is it made of the ethnic make up of the victims of muggings. Moreover, no mention has been made of statistics that show white people to be responsible for the majority of muggings in, say, Glasgow. The fact that Condon attempts to use a dodgy statistlc to reinforce the racist stereotype that "all black people are muggers" Is not insignificant. This clearly shows the Get Active! right wing's attempt to Get the CARF whip up racism as we approach the next General (Campaign Election in order to win Against Racism racist votes, but It also Is & Fascism / preparing the way for an Newsletter offensive on the innerfrom BM Box city working class. 8784, London Over the last few weeks WCIN 3XX. rlots have broken out in Bradford, Luton and If wars, Leeds. Right wing politicians have struggled to provide explanations - the Bradford riots were blamed on Islamic fundamentalism and on the asian youth "caught between two cultures", though this explanation couldn't apply to riots involving a number of white youth. In Leeds organised crime was found to be responsible and in Luton it was the fault of lawless youth. A common thread running through all of these though, was that they all took place in deprived inner cities that have faced heavy-handed, paramilitary style policing, though the right-wing seem to have overlooked this blatantly obvious fact. Condon's remarks seem to be aimed towards an even greater level of "satura tion" pollcing which will almost certainly provoke a number of other riots. Riots may be a laugh for some people or a chance to have a go at the police who have been harassing our communitles, but whilst they remain sporadic, disorganised outbursts of anger, they generally achieve very little. They may also serve to rally the right around racism and "law and order". To make a real Impact we need to organise working class people around clear social demands that we can take throughout the labour movement. This would provide a real alternative to the present that would challenge both the Torles and also the Labour leadership's "tough on crime" stance and their prorich social policies.