Date: Tue, 08 Apr 2003 14:55:03 +0200 From: "Peter Dwyer" <Dwyerp at nu.ac.za> To: <debate at lists.kabissa.org> Subject: [DEBATE] :Why anti-war protesting still matters
'Demonstrating is not enough' can be a healthy desire for more effective action or it can be an echo of the oldest lie our rulers pump at us that there is no point in resisting the system because all resistance is useless.
For those who dismiss the impact of mass demonstrations let's just quote the Egyptian journalist Hani Shukrallah in last Thursday's (UK) Guardian:
'One million people demonstrated in London, three million in Rome [on 15/2]; it was a day the like of which the world had never seen. In the Arab world there was almost silence.'
He goes on to say that 15/2 had a 'profound effect... on popular consciousness in Egypt & in the rest of the Arab world.'
Not only was the perceived confrontation between Arabs & Muslims on the one hand & a monolithic west on the other proved absurd, but western Christians & atheists were defending an Arab cause much better than the Arabs themselves could hope to do.
He went on to say that: 'On Thursday, day one of the invasion, thousands of protesters collected in Tahir Square, in Cairo, "It's like Hyde Park", (The London 15/2 Demo of 2 million-PD) was the common refrain, expressed in exhilarated tones.'
This means the global protests have helped spark mass protests across the Arab world despite the riot police in Cairo & Amman. Certainly (having just come back from the UK this weekend) it is clear they have helped spark the school strikes, workplace stoppages & much else.
And to return to the old myth that protest doesn't work - today Robbin Island is a museum & Nelson Mandela walks free & proud because of protest & solidarity; today we have the vote & democratic rights because of protest.
I know comrades in the UK Stop The War office have been getting e-mails from across the world saying how inspiring the UK (and European) protests have been and this includes Palestinians and others in the Middle East who have seen the protests on Al-Jazeera TV (No wonder the imperialist, murdering, bastards bombed it again yesteday-not quoting the Geneva convention today are they!) .
As an intersting aside a teacher friend told how, last week, having had football 'banned' at playtime (because it made the kids too exciteable and aggressive-interesting in and of itself) by the headmaster, a few 10 year olds (at the worst resourced school in the city - in the poorest part of the city) sat and started a protest that
others quickly joined. The song they chanted was: "What do we want: footbal!. When do we want it: Now!" (This is a common protest tune used on the anti-war demo's in the UK-ie what do we want-peace...).
Incidentally, Colin Powell warned an online conference between the 'coalition' high command & the joint chiefs of staff last Tuesday that if the war continued for more than a month that it might lead to unpredictable consequences in international politics. That is tribute to the impact of the global anti-war movement.
Peter
Peter Dwyer Post-Doctoral Researcher, Centre for Civil Society, University of Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa. Tel (031) 260 2116 or 0847694133 www.nu.ac.za/ccs _______________________________________________ DEBATE mailing list DEBATE at lists.kabissa.org http://www.lists.kabissa.org/mailman/listinfo/debate