SHUT DOWN THE PENAL CAMPS! WITHDRAW FROM US LED WARS! UNIONS MUST DEFEND REFUGEES!
Above: Part of the week
long picket at Lady Cilento Hospital in South Brisbane for Baby Asha. Many
rallied daily to demand to allow an injured baby and her mother to stay in
Australia, rather than be shipped back to a detention camp on Nauru. Photo from
www.thecouriermail.com.au
20-02-2016 – As we go to press, the protest by refugee
supporters outside the Lady Cilento Hospital in South Brisbane has won a
partial victory. Baby Asha, a one year old girl and her mother were transferred
from the hospital to “community detention” in Brisbane, rather than be sent
back to the hell-hole of Nauru. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton claimed that
this was not a back down in the face of protests, and that the issue had been
“hijacked” by refugee advocates.[1] The Liberal Party Minister
went on to state that the baby and her mother could yet be returned to Nauru.
The 10-day picket by refugee supporters has once again highlighted the
barbarous practice of the detention of children, and indeed adults, in
off-shore detention centres which are little more than penal camps specialising
in the imposition of unbearable torment.
Baby Asha was amongst 80 children which was part of a
group of 267 refugees which faced imminent deportation to Nauru.[2] Australia has already
become notorious internationally for its appalling treatment of refugees and
asylum seekers. As if to further entrench Australia’s backward status, the case
of Baby Asha followed a High Court ruling that the Australian government has
the power under the constitution to detain people in other countries, and that
such conduct was within the law! [3] If ever there was an
exhibition of the limits of the rule of law under the profit system, this is
it. When the detention and effective torture of innocent people fleeing
desperate situations is found to be legal, the entire system condemns itself.
It is a dead end seeking justice in such courts. These are the very courts
before which working people cannot afford the small fortune required to either
defend themselves, nor bring a case before them. It is another lesson
reaffirming the negative case with regard to the alleged neutrality of the
capitalist state.
The barbarous practice of the rape and/or sexual assault
of refugees by detention centre guards on Nauru and Manus Island rightly horrify
all those with a bare minimum of human compassion, on top of the already atrocious
situation of incarceration without committing any crime. Combine this with
reports that asylum seekers on Nauru are told that they will never be settled
in Australia. The psychological trauma this could trigger is almost
unimaginable. The scale and extent of the pain inflicted on those who have
harmed no one and are looking for a safe place to live, is difficult to believe
IF one looks at the situation in
isolation. However, it can and must be explained if we are to move towards a
strategy which can finish it.
Groups such as the Refugee Action Collective (RAC)
perform laudable work organising meetings, rallies and pickets in an effort to
put an end to the abominable treatment of those seeking protection. However,
the valuable organisational work RAC performs is undermined by a political
outlook which tends to focus on appealing to the humanity and compassion of
people from all walks of life, from the rich to Union officialdom, from workers
to politicians, from the churches to the business elite. All those “who care”
are encouraged to take part. The approach tends to be one which assumes that
the sum total of a movement is greater than its constituent parts. The
political outlook is that of a “broad” or “popular” front. Workers plus Union
officials plus church ministers plus students plus liberal political parties or
groups and so on add up to – an unstoppable movement, or so the conventional
wisdom goes. However, if the strategy should be a mere matter of one plus one,
simply building in a linear fashion until “everyone” is on board is all that is
required. Unfortunately, politics does not work solely by the method of simple
arithmetic. If this was the case, there would be no need for science, nor
study, nor theory.
No matter how complex modern day society has become, it
is a basic Marxian precept that it rests on the turbulent relation between
labour and capital. This is not only the case for the historically required
workers insurrection, but the reality for political struggles now, including
the struggle for refugee rights. One of the main reasons why there is a
deepening of the cruelty towards refugees and asylum seekers now, as opposed to
the 1970s and 80s, is that the capitalist economic system is in far worse shape
than it was in previous decades. It is true that the Australian Labor Party
(ALP) introduced mandatory detention in the early 90s, but world capitalism
entered a precipitous decline beginning in 2008, and has yet to recover, if it
ever will. Accordingly, the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers worsens
almost in direct relation to how far the rate of profit for the “captains of
industry” declines. The capitalist class, and its political machines, are
acutely aware of how much they need to increase racism and nationalism in a
time of economic crisis, to prevent workers from uniting against them. If
skilful enough, the financial elite can divert all anger at the deteriorating
living conditions towards “the other” – refugees, migrants, or anyone “not from
here”.
All this is well known to the left parties which buttress
RAC, such as Solidarity (SOL), Socialist Alternative (SALT) and Socialist
Alliance (SALL). Despite their sworn allegiance to Marxism, however, in
practice such groups commit the cardinal error of entering an unprincipled bloc
with the liberal wing of the ruling class – either in the form of
pro-capitalist Union officials, or self-serving political parties and groups
such as the ALP, the Greens, or GetUp! What this means for the refugee rights
movement is that almost all of the actions initiated by RAC, while necessary in
themselves, become politically subordinate to forces which aim to prevent
any systemic challenge to capitalist rule. Such actions are thus confined
within a liberal framework – the shell of pleading for reprieves from “our”
politicians and other elites. Far from applying “pressure” to the system, such
actions strengthen the very “democratic” façade which, with a federal election
looming, will be wheeled out once again. Refugees, however, continue to suffer
regardless.
Occasionally, the forces of the “left” wing of the
capitalist class directly involve themselves in the struggle for refugee rights
– precisely in order to restrict the political demands, or even to garner
support for their political ends. A
classic case was the picket at the Lady Cilento Childrens Hospital in mid
February. While this action involved many people who wanted to contribute, and
did temporarily prevent a deportation to Nauru, it was also politically handed
over, at crucial times, to operatives of the ALP, GetUp! and the conservative
Union bureaucracy, including representatives of the Queensland Council of
Unions. (QCU). The takeover of the movement by such forces was both a help and
a hindrance. Numbers swelled, and protestors were heartened by some backing
(finally!) by some Unions. However, it soon became apparent that the real aims
of the QCU, the ALP, GetUp! and the Greens were both the upcoming Brisbane City
Council and Federal Elections, and the political containment of the
refugee rights movement in an election year. Some Union officials gave fine
sounding speeches, it is true, but it was not backed by Unions mobilising workers.
For example, members of Together/ASU – the main public sector Union in
Queensland – were not even sent an email about the action!!
The left parties who predominate the organising
committees of RAC (SOL, SALT, SALL) were either oblivious to this manoeuvre, or
willingly took part in it. Moreover, their strategy remains that of building
the broadest possible front on the lowest possible common denominator. They
apply their theory that the broader the movement, the more politically powerful
it is. This is an inversion of reality.
The broader the movement (in terms of the left and right joining hands),
the more powerless it becomes – and the refugee rights movement is
forced to refight its battles over and over and over again. Parties and groups
representing a section of the “left” wing of the ruling class (i.e. the ALP,
GetUp!, the Greens, Union officialdom etc) cannot “free the refugees”, or
anyone else for that matter. This is because these forces have a material
interest in preserving, not abolishing, the real source of refugee oppression
– the capitalist economic casino.
The theme of this year’s Palm Sunday rally is “Stop the
War on Refugees”. This is rich coming from RAC and its SOL, SALT and SALL
apparatchiks. These groups have stood solidly behind the US led imperialist
wars of regime change in Libya and Syria, wars which have created untold
numbers of refugees. They were also silent when NATO installed a fascist junta
in Ukraine, to undermine Russia. Such groups whine about “Russian imperialism”,
which is an implicit endorsement of the NATO juggernaut. They are even more
silent while the US is relentless with its hostile provocations against Red
China, especially in the South China Sea, but also against the DPRK (North
Korea). This is the golden thread which binds these left parties to the
nationalist Union bureaucrats, the ALP, the Greens, and “community” groups such
as GetUp! – “grassroots community activism”, in the service of
imperialism. GetUp! is at least halfway
honest about where its funding comes from – some Union leaderships, but it also
admits being a part billionaire financier George Soros’ death star like
constellation of regime change NGOs, such as Avaaz.org and MoveOn.org.[4] SOL, SALT and SALL, who do
not receive such funding, nonetheless continually deny ever politically backing
US/UK/FRA/Turkish/Saudi/NATO armed jihadists in Libya and Syria, while at the
same time being the loudest voices calling for the overthrow of the African or
Middle Eastern states targeted by the US Empire. Neither have SOL, SALT or SALL
raised virtually any call for the withdrawal of Australian troops from the
Middle East. Indeed, while Australian troops assist the US empire in the
horrific game of regime change – an aim they share – why would they?
What this means for the vitally important refugee rights
movement is that while it remains politically subordinate to imperialism
domestically and internationally, it will remain a plaything in the hands of
those we should be protesting against. Thankfully, the intervention of the Russian,
Iranian and Hezbollah forces on the side of the overwhelmingly popular Syrian
government has tipped the balance in Syria in favour of the world proletariat.
As we write, a ceasefire between the US led forces and their armed mercenaries,
and the anti-imperialist forces of Syria, Russia, Iran and Hezbollah is being
etched out. Regardless of whether it holds completely, the situation on the
ground is that the NATO powers have been soundly defeated in Syria. Hundreds of
thousands have paid with their lives for this victory, something that should
never be forgotten. But it is another example which demonstrates that the US
Empire and its murderous reign at the apex of world capitalism does not always
win. This is something we need to keep in mind as we struggle for refugee
justice.
We would suggest that the refugee rights movement’s tasks
are threefold. Firstly, it needs to seek to combat the influence of liberal
capitalist elements (the ALP, Greens, Union officials, GetUp! etc) and not cede
leadership to such elements when they barge their way into the movements to
bolster an election campaign or to back yet another US led war. This means
seeking to politically combat left parties which act as proxies on the ground
for more conservative political forces. The aim should be the mobilisation of
all working class forces and their supporters independently, not only
from the major parties, but all political groups working for them, be they paid
or unpaid.
Secondly, the refugee rights movement needs
to orient to the mobilisation of Unions in defence of refugee rights.
This is not just because the movement backs anyone who is progressive, but
because the mobilisation of labour is one of the few things that has the
possibility of winning lasting gains for refugees and asylum seekers. We must
reiterate that the main reason why the unspeakable abuse of refugees recurs is
to divide the working class yet further, in order to prepare for further
attacks, as the capitalist system slides deeper into recession. Unions will not
be able to defend themselves if they do not defend refugees. The main obstacle
to the mobilisation of workers and their Unions are the self-serving Union
officials, who seek only to extend their well-remunerated careers, rather than
fight for the cause of working people. Such officials must be positioned so
that they MUST call meetings of members and start organising. Refugee rights
supporters should not accept no to a demand for a meeting of members and
delegates to address urgent issues.
Thirdly, the refugee rights movement needs to oppose
all imperialist wars, which generate and exacerbate an already dire
refugee situation internationally, as a result of the ongoing failure of free
market capitalism. Today this means opposing the US led war on Syria, NATO
belligerence in Ukraine and Eastern Europe, and US warmongering against Red
China. It means demanding that all Australian troops be withdrawn from the
Middle East (Iraq, Syria) and be withdrawn from all war games with the US aimed
at China and the DPRK. Anyone of these conflicts could spill over into a world
war – an unprecedented nightmare for refugees and the world’s working people.
The struggle to end war should be simultaneously a struggle for socialism – a
collectivised world economy where working people are free to move based on an
international division of labour.
SHUT DOWN THE PENAL CAMPS! WITHDRAW
FROM US WARS!
UNIONS MUST DEFEND REFUGEES!
MARXIST-LENINIST
GROUP (MLG)
PO BOX 66
NUNDAH QLD 4012
Ph: 0421 408 692
W: www.ML-Group@blogspot.com.au
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