THE CAMPAIGN against the Immigration and Asylum Bill has brought together a number of different organisations.
We need to continue to support every action in opposition to the Bill-including the demonstration called by the Anti-Racist Alliance on March 23.
Government inspired racism must be fought by a unified national movement. Past attempts to establish such a movement have ended up as sectarian fronts for far left groups or bureaucratic talking shops. The majority of black activists and anti-racists have voted with their feet and concentrated on local organisation.
Of the existing anti-racist groups the National Assembly Against Racism has by far the greatest number of affiliation from anti-racist groups and the Labour movement and has been fully involved in CAIAB. Whilst the ARA demonstration also has an impressive list of sponsors, the labour movement leadership have done little to mobilise their membership or provide any kind of lead around either initiative.
CAIAB represents a great deal more in the sense that there are far more local branches of the campaign or anti-racist groups affiliated to the campaign that are organising public meetings, leafleting etc and mobilising on a grass roots level. It is a disgrace that there are essentially two national campaigns competing with each other in opposing the bill. A unified campaign could be mobilising tens of thousands more than existing demonstrations, and could place real pressure on the Labour Movement leadership to mobilise their memberships — as well as fighting for non-compliance with the bill and the benefit cuts.
Now we need a programme of action to build a movement that can respond to the needs of all those threatened with racism—people facing deportation, those attacked by racists on the streets and in their homes, and those facing criminalisation and beatings from the police.
The National Assembly Against Racism made a bold step in launching its anti-racist charter last year.
As it currently stands it will not be the best unifier of the movement although it could be a useful way of generating discussion. A Charter which emphasises reliance on the state to fight racism when that same state is the source of much of the racism black people face when the same state is the source of much of the racism black people face is highly controversial.
The only way fighting unity can be achieved is through the widest possible discussion and the maximum democracy. The National Assembly holds its second national meeting on March 9. This could prove an important step towards building on the energy of the CAIAB campaign and uniting the movement.
It should open up such a debate and establish real decision making structures. We cannot waste any more opportunities.
Simon Deville
Socialist Outlook 98 • March 2, 1996.