SHUT
DOWN “RECLAIM AUSTRALIA” ! FOR A UNITED
FRONT AGAINST FASCISM !
Above:
Photo of the April 4 “Reclaim Australia” rally showing a supporter adorned with
Nazi tattoos. Nazi groups are using the banner of “Reclaim Australia” to
recruit to various fascist organisations.
19-06-2015 – Almost to the day, 70 years has
passed since the Soviet people sacrificed 27 million lives in an epic struggle
which defeated Nazi led fascism, and handed the world relative peace for some
decades. Yet in 2015, with capitalism once again entering a period of steep
decline, fascism is rearing its ugly head, as if on cue. This time, there is no
USSR, and workers of the world must defeat the hydra of Nazism by their own
hands. Here at home, the nucleus of fascism is appearing under the guise of
“Reclaim Australia”. If anyone has any doubts about what “Reclaim Australia” is
really about, check the Nazi tattoos amongst the Australian flag waving
ultra-nationalists on April 4 this year. Sure, it is dressed up in all kinds of
garb about equality of rights, equal rights to all religions and so on.
However, fascism always preys on the politically disenfranchised and misguided.
So it was in Nazi Germany in the 1920s, so it is in Australia in 2015.
Fascism becomes the
last option for the capitalist ruling class when their system enters a stage of
deep crisis. For the Western capitalist economies, this period began with the
2008 “global” financial crisis, and has arguably worsened since then. Working
people have borne the brunt of this collapsing system, a system they had no
part in building. Thousands of job cuts, deepening cuts to social services,
education, healthcare, public transport, deteriorating wages and working
conditions, bullying, threats and harassment by managers at work, and a
skyrocketing cost of living has become “normal”. Coupled with ever deepening
corruption, mass unemployment and ever increasing wars overseas, the whole
socio-economic system offers little hope for any kind of future for the
middle-aged, let alone the youth. The shredding of any semblance of democratic
rights and civil liberties for working people, harassment by police and
security services on public transport and in public is a sure sign that the
ruling class are prepared to put any measures in place to prevent workers and
the oppressed rebelling against their vanishing standard of living. Yet it is
also a sign that the ruling class fears workers combining in action.
While the hollowing
out of first world living standards for workers represents one end of the
capitalist economic crisis, the other end is occupied by unending wars of
domination and occupation overseas, currently against countries in the Middle
East and North Africa, where Islam is a predominant religion. These wars are
the basis for the extreme Islamophobia whipped up by the very ruling classes
which are waging these criminal bombardments. Currently there are around 1000
Australian and New Zealand troops in Iraq and Syria, allegedly to “fight ISIS”.
The real aim is to overthrow the secular state of Syria, and increase the power
of the US, Saudi Arabia and Israel in the region. An ISIS/Al Qaeda “victory” in
Syria will no doubt end up no better than obliterated Libya, which was
destroyed by NATO in 2011. The jihadists fighting to overthrow the popularly
elected Syrian government certainly act with unequalled brutality. Yet they
could not do this without the material arms and funding provided to them by the
US, France, the UK, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey, Qatar, Jordan and the United
Arab Emirates – the US and its allies. There is documented evidence of US and
UK warplanes air dropping supplies to ISIS/Al Qaeda/Al Nusra and other
jihadists. The jihadists are also being treated, at no cost, in Israeli
hospitals. There is reportedly daily contact between the Israeli Defence Forces
and all of the jihadist groups operating in Syria. Far from attempting to stop
ISIS, the Western proxy war, joined by the Australian Armed Forces, is actively
working with and for, all of the mercenary barbarians operating in Iraq and
Syria.
War and fascism are
often strongly linked. If anyone has any doubts about the Australian ruling
class and their capacity to lend support to fascism if they judge that their
capital is in danger, look at the disastrous situation in Ukraine currently. On
February 22 last year, a fascist coup, backed by NATO, overthrew the government
of Ukraine. It proceeded to wage war against anti-fascist resistance fighters
in the east of Ukraine. With the support of the US, the fascist Kiev coup
regime slaughtered at least 6000 Ukrainians, bombing them in the streets of
their home towns. Who has backed the fascist Kiev government internationally? None
other than Tony Abbott and Bill Shorten, railing against “Russia”. In reality, for all its faults, Russia is
currently stemming the advance of NATO-led imperialism.
Workers here thus
have a dual task – to oppose the imperialist wars being waged by the US Empire
backed by Canberra AND to stop the encroachments of a rising fascist movement
here. The two tasks are linked, and both can be stopped by determined working
class action. Stopping fascism is a matter of physical self-defence for
workers. Big business, and indeed small business, have little to really fear
about a fascist takeover. In fact, their businesses will probably turn over
more profit, and it may alleviate the drastic recession afflicting all
capitalist economies. Workers can only lose under fascism, however. Trade
Unions, workers’ organisations, and all left parties and any worker suspected
of supporting such organisations are likely to be targeted for elimination.
Vicious racism will be raised to a fever pitch, placing men, women and children
who are not “white” in immediate danger. Fascists openly rallying in public
poses a clear and present danger for working people. It is for this reason that
the aim of the anti-fascist counter-rallies must be to shut down “Reclaim Australia”, and
sweep the core fascist organisers and all of their supporters off the streets.
This must be the aim of the counter-rally to the fascist provocation currently
organised for July 19.
There was debate
amongst those organising to counter the first “Reclaim Australia” rallies on
April 4 earlier this year. Some argued that what was needed was a rally against
“Racism and Bigotry” because, they claimed, people would be turned off by a
call to “smash fascism”. This argument contains both a strategic and a tactical
error. The strategic error is a mistaken view that “racism and bigotry” stems
from poor ideas, which can be countered by education, or perhaps even promoting
ideas such as “multiculturalism”. While it is of course important to always
counter racist and bigoted views, it must be recognised that the fascist
movements that are now arising are a response to the breakdown and decay of the
capitalist economic and political system. No amount of education will be able
to overcome ideas which emerge from a capitalist system which must turn to
extreme violence – even fascism, in an attempt to save itself.
Real,
material action is thus needed, by those most affected – the working class. The
tactical error is a proposal to have the rallies only take such action which can
be joined by those who are only prepared to voice their opinion, rather than
stand in the front line of a barricade. This course, however, allows those who
only oppose fascist ideas – predominantly political liberals, well-heeled lawyers,
academics, etc – to set the agenda. Rather, setting the agenda should be
workers who aim to defeat the entire economic and political project of fascism,
for they have both the material interest and the power to do so. The Trade
Unions should be at the forefront of this struggle, as workers organisations.
However, an obstacle to mobilising the Unions are many of the conservative
officials who are mainly concerned with their own well-paid positions.
Therefore, the MLG calls for a united front against fascism, led by
workers, which can then both pressure the Union bureaucrats and draw in the
most pro-worker elements of the middle classes as well as other oppressed
layers in one strong movement. There is not a moment to lose.
STOP
WAR AND FASCISM!
SHUT DOWN “RECLAIM AUSTRALIA”!
MARXIST-LENINIST GROUP e: mlgroup271@gmail.com ph: 0421 408 692 www.ML-Group.blogspot.com.au
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