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John McDonnell speaks in Balham |
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By Pablo Roldan
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Friday, 29 September 2006 |
On Thursday, September 14, around 80 people attended a meeting called
by Wandsworth Stop the War Coalition at the Baptist Church in Balham to
which Hands off Venezuela was invited to have a stall.
Various speakers spoke including Mark Steel, the columnist from The
Independent, who gave a humorous touch to the evening. However the main
speaker ofthe evening was John McDonnell MP, who, on a leftwing
programme, has decided to openly bid for the leadership of the Labour
Party once Blair quits.
John was warmly welcomed by the audience, who understood that the only
alternative to New Labour is within Labour itself and, therefore,
recognised the Hayes & Harlington MP and his voting record against
the war in the House of Commons as the only viable solution to ensure a
change in British foreign policy.
After making a couple of jokes about Bush’s fear of horses and his
inability to live up to his own image of a tough cowboy, John went on
to touch on more important issues. He spoke about the British foreign
policy and how British culture and tradition is embedded in violence.
“You only need to have a look at our public monuments and statues, all
devoted to Generals, Field Marshals, etc.”
Speaking about Labour and his challenge for the leadership, he said:
“They (Labour leadership) did want just a smooth transition, a transfer
of powers. They did not count on the rank and file; they did not count
on Labour Party democracy.” And called on all Labour Party members who
had left the party disgusted at New Labour policies to rejoin and fight
to reclaim Labour for left policies. “If you do not have the stomach
for it, well, I understand. Fight then within your Trade Union, use
your vote there”.
After John McDonnell spoke, 10 minutes were given for interventions and
question from the floor. Will Roche, from Socialist Appeal, asked: what
can people do when their government does not represent them any more?
He mentioned Venezuela and how the Bolivarian process has moved
democracy from the purely formal level of representation to a deeper
one, through participatory democracy. However, when he tried to link
this up with the struggle of the Mexican masses against the latest
electoral fraud, which has mobilised millions of people in a way not
seen since the Great Mexican Revolution of Zapata and Villa in the
1910’s, the chair decided to cut his intervention short.
In that sense, it was a shame that there were no time to raise the
issue of Venezuela and the dangers that the Bolivarian government and
the Venezuelan revolution face from within and without its borders.
Most speakers at the meeting identified the wars devastating the Middle
East as imperialist wars. However, imperialism does not only operate in
the Middle East.
The attempts to demonise Venezuela are intended to prepare the ground
for an offensive on the Bolivarian government. Whether this aggression
will take place from without of from within Venezuela will depend on
which option suits American imperialism best. The terrible events
in the Middle East and Afghanistan are part of a wider assault by
imperialism in defence of its interests. It is a process that links the
continuing imperialist wars to the events in Latin America and the rest
of the world.
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