Scottish Socialist Voice
Issue 275
25th August 2006
THE TRUTH ABOUT TOMMY SHERIDAN:
He
won his case but lost the party...
How
it got to the point of no return for Tommy and the
SSP
See pages 3, 5, 6&7
NEW
LABOUR’S STATE OF
Thousands
of people across
Witness
the 24 arrests on 10 August, following the foiling
of an alleged terror plot. The government and police
have released unprecedented detail of their investigation
into this alleged plot, before anyone has been brought
to trial, never mind found guilty.
Whatever
the truth of the matter, its reporting is designed
to make us fearful, and therefore more inclined to
support US-led invasions of ‘rogue’ states.
Ours
is a government that sanctions unjustified, random
acts of terror yet seeks to condemn others as terrorists.
Many
people are jittery and it is mostly members of Muslim
communities who are paying the price, through being
victimised, suspected, singled
out.
But
non-Muslims pay the price too, as lives are impoverished
by fear and distrust. But this summer’s anti-war marches
prove we can fight together for a better society,
in which war and racism have no place, and people
come before profits.
The
Scottish Socialist Party has always been at the forefront
of the anti-war movement, from the bombing of
Join
us in the struggle for peace and justice.
UNITY!
The socialist weapon that strikes fear into the stony
hearts of the powerful
Across
the globe, military and economic war is raging.
In
United
action swept away the Tsar in 1917, defeated Apartheid
and freed Mandela in
UNITY
was right then, and it is right now.
The
struggles waged by the SSP in support of civil servants,
nursery nurses and firefighters
among others have underlined the key combative role
of the party.
Work
on free school meals, against prescription charges,
for the end of the Council Tax,
lift the curtain on how things might be.
It
is not a choice of working in communities and workplaces
set against working in parliament but a commitment
to work where socialist ideas can be advanced and
there is a job to be done.
That’s
why we will be marching against the war, supporting
CND’s peace activity in September and standing in
next year’s council and parliamentary elections.
Those
dividing the unity that makes such work possible are
doing the bosses’ work for them and no amount of bluster
and posturing can hide that fact.
The
SSP will stand united to meet the challenge of those
who would split the left and, more importantly, the
rich and powerful who bring war, misery and poverty
to the world.
Unity
is Strength!
RALLY:
Unity,
Integrity, Socialism
Scottish
Socialist Party rally
Saturday
2 September, 4pm-6pm
Central
Station Hotel,
—page two—
news
Child deportation condemned
by Wullie McGartland
The
At
the moment, unaccompanied minors are granted discretionary
leave to remain in the
The
Home Office plans admitted that there will be occasions
when children are removed for the purposes of “immigration
control”, no matter if returning them to their country
of origin is against their best interests.
Many
of the Vietnamese children being considered for
forced removal are girls in their early teens smuggled
into this country by human traffickers and forced
into prostitution and slave labour jobs.
Bali
Hothi, of Dost, a project that works with young
refugees and victims of trafficking, including Vietnamese
children, condemned the Home Office proposals saying
that children could be returned to the families
and communities that sold them into trafficking
gangs in the first place.
This,
she said, was in clear “violation of basic human
rights.”
Discussions
at the meeting also exposed the Home Office is considering
forced returns of children to war-torn countries
such as Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Christine
Beddoe, director of Ecpat
“It
is counter to all
UK Government separates mothers from their babies
The
UK Immigration service has also come under attack
for its treatment of breastfeeding mothers.
Earlier
this year, a Vietnamese mother had her
However
it has now emerged that the same thing happened
to a Turkish mother.
Known
only as Mrs P, she was taken to Yarl’s Wood and
told she was to be deported after a routine weekly
visit to sign on at an immigration centre in central
She
spent two nights in detention before being reunited
with her child after a last minute reprieve allowed
her to stay in the
Annette
Elder, the solicitor for both women, stated that
if the women had been involved in criminal proceedings,
before the children were separated from their mothers,
proper childcare arrangements would have been made.
Patti
Rundall, of the charity Baby Milk Action, said both
cases “fly in the face of a number of UN resolutions
and conventions.
“There
seems to have been no regard for or understanding
of the needs and rights of the child or mother.”
Arms companies profiting from mayhem and misery
Anti-war
activists have demanded a ban on brutal cluster
bombs after reports that at least seven Lebanese
people have been killed by unexploded munitions
since the latest ceasefire began.
Sean
Sutton, of the charity Mines Action Group (MAG),
says that it is “absolutely impossible” to tell
how many explosives have been dropped by Israeli
forces.
“This
is an emergency situation. It won’t be solved overnight.”
The
charity said that seven villages that it had visited
around Nabatiyeh had reported deaths and injuries
from unexploded munitions, including cluster bombs,
aerial bombs, ground-launched artillery and mortar
bombs.
“We
(heard) about a 13-year-old boy who was picking
grapes when a cluster bomb in the branches exploded
and killed him.
“Cluster
bombs...are in houses, on balconies, roofs and fields.
We’ve seen villages completely covered in them.”
Cluster
bombs are often designed to look attractive to young
children who play with what are in effect booby
traps which then explode to deadly effect.
A
researcher for Land Mine Action, long-time campaigners
for a complete ban on this vile weaponry, commented:
“Even
before this latest war, Lebanese people were dying
from cluster bombs left over from the last war with
Meanwhile
anti-arms trade campaigners condemned the government’s
decision to sell the repressive Saudi Arabian regime
a new fleet of Tornado jets, complete with the new
Eurofighter, made by a consortium including BAE
systems.
The
widespread welcome from unions and business for
the grisly deal, reportedly worth £10billion, shows
how deeply embedded the weapons trade is in
“The
people of the
Airport staffing levels and cost-cutting risks lives
by Ken Ferguson
Responding
to the latest security crisis at
Brendan
Gould, TGWU national secretary for civil aviation,
warned that airline pressure to speed up security
checks could compromise security.
“As
the largest union in the industry, we are acutely
aware of the problems facing aviation, but the industry
must not dictate the way we fly according to business-only
considerations.
“Staff
have carried out a difficult job well, yet have
been bearing the brunt of staffing levels cut to
the bone.
“Whilst
the security threat has been downgraded for now,
the aviation industry has to recognise that an intensified
security regime in airports will remain in operation.”
The
union intends to bring its concerns to the Department
of Transport, the airlines and the airport authorities
as a matter of urgency.
Meanwhile,
talks to avert a strike by baggage handlers and
check-in staff at Stansted over the coming bank
holiday weekend are continuing between the TGWU,
GMB
and Swissport, the ground-handling agent for airlines
at the airport.
Workers,
disgusted at a ‘miserly’ pay offer, have voted three-to-one
for industrial action to win an improved deal.
TGWU
regional industrial organiser Maureen Byrne commented:
“The
company is trying to drive down costs by attacking
our members’ pay, which is already low, (starting)
on salaries of between £11,500 and £14,000 a year,
working in a
difficult and pressurised environment.”
—page three—
Editorial Comment
THIS IS OUR TRUTH
I’m
sick and tired of hearing things
From
uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocritics
All
I want is the truth
Just
gimme some truth
-
John Lennon
How
did it come to this? The SSP - the most
successful socialist party in
This
has not occurred because the SSP, which
just a few months ago had the vast majority
of socialist traditions in
The
differences within the SSP centre on what
is true and what is lies, on one man’s battle
to preserve his personal reputation at the
expense of the reputation of his party.
The
Voice has not commented on the events surrounding
Tommy Sheridan’s resignation for the last
year and a half, other than to recognise
the huge contribution he has made to building
socialism in Scotland, and to correct news
speculation that his resignation was caused
by infighting or a leadership coup.
Our
editorial at the time, in Voice issue 198,
was agreed with the entire Executive Committee
of the SSP, and Tommy himself. The Voice
said:
“There
is not one particle of truth in any of the
allegations of internecine battles or political
manoeuvring running behind what’s happened...
“Tommy
tendered his resignation after a meeting
that was extremely difficult. Not one member
of the Executive Committee voted on it without
questioning themselves again and again.
“But
the Executive emerged from the meeting unanimous
and united.”
In
the following editions we got on with the
job of covering the too often ignored campaigns
against poverty and inequality which spring
up daily on
Moreover,
the Voice has given equal coverage to the
hard work carried out by all six of the
SSP’s MSPs since their election in 2003.
But
after the shabby pantomime that Tommy Sheridan
directed in the Court of Session - which
became the daily focus of every newspaper
in
We
also re-print the minutes of the 9 November
2004 Executive Committee meeting. While
some have claimed these minutes are fake,
they were ratified by an EC meeting on 24
November 2004. It has also been said that
the minutes are unnecessarily salacious,
containing more detail than ordinary EC
minutes and kept with the intention of being
used against Tommy.
In
fact, they are briefer than usual EC minutes,
containing only the bare bones of a four-hour
discussion.
They
record the reason the SSP Executive asked
one of the most outstanding campaigners
for socialism in
Since
then, he has spun a tale about a ‘vicious
faction’ that sought to undermine him and
in so doing, put the SSP itself on trial.
He
has talked at length in the press about
this faction, which he claims controls the
machinery of the SSP and enjoys a majority
on the Executive Committee.
The
EC was elected by SSP members at conference
less than six months ago. The vast majority
of SSP members are not members of any platform
within the SSP - even the misnamed ‘SSP
Majority’ faction, set up to support Tommy,
comprises only a small minority of SSP members.
In
fact no network, platform or grouping within
the SSP held a majority on the EC - yet
Tommy and his supporters decided, in the
wake of his court victory, to walk away
from the SSP nonetheless.
The
two groupings within the SSP who have decided
to exit with him - the Socialist Workers’
Platform and the International Socialist
Platform (CWI) - have handcuffed themselves
to a deadweight, who
will sink them like a stone.
In
leaving the SSP, they are leaving the most
democratic political party in
That
is the nature of democracy - we must all
take responsibility for our actions and
face the consequences.
But
rather than take responsibility for his
actions, Tommy Sheridan has lied his way
through his court case, screeched “scab”
at those who refused to support his corrupt
effort to clear his name, and now, realising
that he was unlikely to reclaim the convenorship
of the SSP and lead an expulsion purge of
those who have told the truth, he has chosen
to establish his own party, in opposition
to the SSP.
He
pleads victimisation, claiming to have been
hounded out, but in truth, he is running
from those who would not allow him to rewrite
history - he is running from the truth.
Tommy
Sheridan is attempting to build a new party
on a landfill site of lies, and it is destined
to sink into the muck on which it is founded.
—page four—
one world
GIE’S
PEACE
– Morag Balfour
Morag is a long term activist in the peace movement and is the SSP’s peace and disarmament spokesperson
Arrested development
The
other week I attended the Trident Ploughshares camp. It was
the usual mix of serious work and play for us anti-nuclear activist
- and a great opportunity to put my pal Barbara’s spanking new
hip to the test. Her state of the art ceramic hip is actually
called a trident.
We
set out for camp tooled up with cans of spray paint and the
trident replacement hip.
We
did our first action on Monday 7 August.
We
arranged to get picked up from our B&B at 10pm by a mate
who was passing the door anyway.
In
case you’re wondering, the battle to camp outdoors was lost
by me many moons ago so I have to put up with looking decadent.
To
our surprise, we saw no MoD Police patrols when we approached
our target railway bridge.
With
some help we decanted from the car and set to work. I was attempting
to write ‘Jesus hates bombs’ AGAIN!!
I
guess my biggest concern was being nicked too soon as it would
be shameful to leave ‘Jesus hates’ - although I know he isn’t
in a position to sue me for libel. Miraculously, I completed
my phrase and Jesus doesn’t have to sue me!
Meanwhile,
Barbara used up a can of paint and vented spleen impressively.
Then
we sat and waited.
After
a wee while, I phoned the Trident Ploughshares legal support
phone number and asked them to inform the Coulport MoD Police
that we were waiting to be arrested.
I
made a couple more phone calls before they arrived.
They
were bemused and confused when we explained that we’d called
in our own criminal activity.
One
of the things I’ve always loved about our movement is its level
of accountability.
I’m
not ashamed of what I do so I don’t mind proclaiming it to the
rafters. Anyway, we told them that we didn’t get out much, had
no friends, were miserable decrepits and only spray paint stuff
so we can have some company.
Barbara
ate far more wheat than she should’ve that week, which lead
to some comic farting. She let me know when they were on their
way and then we fell about laughing.
Wednesday
9 August was
We
got everything painted that we wanted and then a wee police
car drew up beside us.
I
went this time for ‘No nukes! Not now! Not ever!’ and put down
my spray can expectantly.
They
parked the car next to me but didn’t get out. I asked Barbara
why we weren’t getting nicked and she didn’t know either, so
we just picked up our cans and set to again. These were MoD
police new to the job.
Senior
officers who arrived shortly afterwards expressed audible incredulity
at their decision to sit watching us. I wasn’t arrested or charged
properly. The wee souls were reading off laminated cards.
Coming
back to the subject of accountability, I must admit I tend to
be a bit of a hard-liner. If people are not prepared to take
responsibility for their particular behaviours they should change
their behaviour. I joined the Iona Community for similar reasons.
Their
economic accountability is very disciplined and I find it quite
challenging. I benefit from robust accountability structures.
I get suspicious when people shy away from the truth. I become
incensed when people distort or pervert the truth for their
own selfish reasons.
Understand
this folks, I’m pro-truth, not anti-Sheridan.
It’s
a work of great malevolence to label honest people as scabs.
I
woke up in a parallel universe the other week. Apparently deceit
and slander are now noble and righteous.
Now
that is perverse.
Coke told to can it
by Ken Ferguson
Coca-Cola
and Pepsi Cola, those iconic symbols of the all-American way,
have been banned in the South Indian state of Kerala.
The
Left Democratic Front government has banned the production and
sale of the toxic fizzies throughout the state.
The
companies will be asked to close their operations entirely.
As
seven other Indian states consider following Kerala’s example,
the state’s Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan told journalists
that the ban was being imposed in order to combat the health
hazards posed by the products.
He
commented:
“We
have arrived at the decision to ask both Coke and Pepsi to stop
production and distribution of all their products, based on
scientific studies which have proved that they are harmful.”
The
government was also clearly influenced by community campaigning
in Plachimada on the issues of falling water levels and soil
and groundwater pollution associated with Coca Cola’s bottling
operations.
Coca-Cola’s
bottling plant in Plachimada has remained shut down since March
2004 because of community opposition.
Toxic
Both
government and independent studies have found the presence of
toxic waste around Coca-Cola’s bottling plants across
Environmental
campaigning body the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE),
a research and advocacy group in
Coke
and Pepsi have now been banned in government buildings and educational
institutions in many states in
“We
welcome the move to completely ban the manufacturing and sale
of Coca-Cola and Pepsi in Kerala.
“The
cola companies have inflicted a lot of damage to the fabric
of the community in Plachimada, by destroying lives and livelihoods.
“We
are now putting the companies on notice that they must make
reparations to the affected community members, and the campaign
will move to a new stage.”
Across
Regulations
Amit
Srivastava, of the India Resource Centre, an international campaigning
organisation, spelt it out:
“The
government of
*
For more information, visit www.IndiaResource.org
R.
Ajayan, Plachimada Solidarity Committee (
Amit
Srivastava,
+1
415 336 7584. Email: amit@indiaresource.org
Coca-Cola:
the charge sheet
Drought:
Coca-Cola leaves you thirsty. The company uses so much water,
even building pipelines to divert water supplies direct to its
bottling plants, that local communities go short.
For
ordinary people, this means long journeys for fresh water, while
for farmers, it’s certain death, as no water equals no livelihood.
Pollution:
Coca-Cola is a dirty company. The company is guilty of distributing
toxic waste, including cadmium and lead, to farmers, claiming
it was fertiliser. The long-term effects this may have on human
health are as yet unquantified but likely to be devastating.
Sickness:
Coca-Cola makes you ill. The sugar content is the least of it.
In
Violence:
Coca-Cola doesn’t pull its punches. In Mehdiganj, near Varanasi,
a 1500-strong anti-Coca-Cola protest, in November 2004, was
met at the gates of the bottling plant by armed police, brought
in to ‘protect’ the premises. Many protestors were severely
beaten up.
—page five—
your voice
Tommy
admitted that he confirmed sex club visit to EC meeting
On
Friday 4 August 2006, Tommy Sheridan left the Court of Session after
receiving £200,000 damages over allegations about his private life that
were printed in the News of the World.
It
was presented as a victory for truth and justice.
During
the case, 11 leading members of the Scottish Socialist Party stated
that Tommy Sheridan attended an SSP executive meeting on 9 November
2004 and admitted visiting a sex club in
The
Daily Record front page headline of 7 August 2006, reads, “I’ll destroy
the scabs who tried to ruin me”.
The
11 people Tommy Sheridan wants to “destroy” have spent their entire
adult lives in the labour and trade union movement - including Richie
Venton, the party’s industrial organiser, and Colin Fox, the party’s
convenor. Yet, all they have done is stand in court - against their
will - and tell the truth.
Now,
as the possibility of a perjury investigation looms, we cannot stand
by and watch this grotesque, Orwellian situation continue.
To
protect the integrity of these witnesses, and others, we are forced
to come forward and state that at a series of individual discussions
arranged by Tommy Sheridan in 2005, he confirmed to each of the people
below that he attended the SSP executive meeting stating that he was
the unnamed MSP at the centre of allegations in the News of the World
involving a sex club in Manchester.
We
call on Tommy Sheridan to publicly retract the accusations that he has
made against the honest, decent men and women whom he has slandered.
David
Archibald, Govan Branch; Steve Hudson, Dennistoun Branch; Charlie McCarthy,
Coatbridge and Airdrie Branch; Nick McKerrell, Shettleston Branch; Jim
McVicar, Baillieston Branch; Liam Young, Maryhill East Branch
Defend
the honest eleven
Obviously
those who continue to accuse eleven Scottish Socialist Party Executive
members of “concocting” a story have no sense of irony.
In
late 2004, The Herald ran an article about a closed meeting of SSP members
in
Many
hundreds of SSP members must therefore have been made aware of the reasons
behind the resignation.
Given
this fact and the press coverage of the
Tommy
and his allies are telling the rest of us either that these meetings
didn’t happen or that the content of them was not what we heard with
our own ears.
How
ironic is it that Steve Arnott suggested in court that there was a case
of mass delusion among those who believed the testimony of the eleven
Executive members.
Every
SSP member who attended one of those meetings knows full well that the
concoction of stories is coming from those hell-bent on destroying the
Executive members who had the audacity to tell the truth.
It
is imperative that these party members act on this knowledge and support
the Executive members who are under a wholly unwarranted and baseless
attack.
David
Stevenson, Cambuslang
‘The
lie will unravel’
Tommy
Sheridan has destroyed the reputation of the SSP in order to protect
a lie. But the lie will unravel.
I
am a member of the SSP and was well aware that
History
will not absolve
A
victory for us all?
We
must not fall into the trap that Michael Jones QC laid for the jury
in the Tommy Sheridan case. There is no reason to believe that the jury
had any view, one way or the other, regarding the testimony of SSP comrades.
For the News of the World to win its case they had to prove that the
damaging allegations contained in their published articles were “substantially
correct”.
Of
all the allegations, from committing adultery through to snorting cocaine,
only a fraction had any support from credible witnesses - hardly “substantially
correct”. Additionally, if the jury had found for the News of the World,
it would have indicated to the press that published stories could contain
scurrilous allegations only a fraction of which need be credibly supported
in court. Such a decision would not be in the public interest. The jury’s
verdict is a victory for us all, regardless of the veracity of Tommy’s
evidence. The case against the News of the World did not hinge on whether
or not Tommy had visited a swingers club a couple of times. That was
not, by any means, the most defamatory allegation. It follows that SSP
comrades had little to gain (and much to lose) by lying about the EC
meeting of 9 November 2004 - either way. Katrine Trolle’s evidence was
far more convincing than anything said on that score by current SSP
members. It is a tragedy that, apparently, two of our MSPs thought it
necessary to lie in court. That throws a very unpleasant light on the
relationship that this party has with the truth. Left wing politics
has a reputation for splitting more easily than Welsh slate, but now
we face a real divide - and it is ethical, not political.
Christine
Chandler,
Rebel
Ink
- Kevin Williamson
Kevin is an award winning writer and publisher, causing havoc at the cutting edge of Scottish culture
KEVIN SIGNS OFF
Nine
years ago - on the exact date of the 700th anniversary of William Wallace’s
famous victory at
Over
the last few weeks, being a member of the SSP has seemed akin to being
trapped in a sack full of angry wasps. The atmosphere has become ugly
and toxic.
Which
is (partially) why, after thinking things over, I’ve decided - with
much sadness and regret, but no bitterness - to end my eight year membership
of the SSP.
So
this’ll be my last weekly column in the Voice. (I’ve sent a formal letter
of resignation, with the reasons why, to the party’s National Secretary
- a copy of which I’ve posted up at http://myresignationletter fromtheSSP.blogspot.com.)
I’m
still reflecting on the events surrounding the recent court case between
Tommy Sheridan and the News of the World. I can’t say I’m unhappy with
the verdict as I thoroughly despise the Murdoch press and everything
it represents.
But
the idea that the means justifies the end is morally repugnant. The
methods will always be incorporated into the end result. Tommy compared
the trial to
But
politically, Tommy is finished. He has lost his reputation for honesty
and integrity and has gone into bed with the opportunistic dinosaurs
of the Brit left. Soon he will discover that he will either have to
dance to their tune on Scottish independence or face being dumped by
them.
Tommy
and the Brit left camp are a remnant of the days when the left embraced
the cult of personality, and thought that socialist politics was all
about leaders and followers, with the great (male) orators up on the
podium and the applauding masses down below. They have been left behind
in the previous century.
With
the benefit of hindsight, the idea of uniting the left in
For
similar reasons Tommy’s new Solidarity party - with its unstable marriage
of convenience between Brit left opportunists and progressive pro-independence
lefts - will also be torn apart over the question of Scottish independence.
My
own politics have evolved over the last eight years. Support for the
principles underpinning Scottish independence, feminism and libertarian
socialism are now non-negotiable.
I’d
like to think the SSP can be won over to such principles. But I’m not
yet convinced. From now until the crucial independence Election in May
2007, I’m gonna step up my own involvement in the fight for Scottish
independence.
I’d
like to thank the editor(s) and staff of the Voice for their hard work
and support over the last ten years. Youse have been great. I’ve really
enjoyed writing this weekly column, stirring up a bit of debate.
I’m
leaving the SSP with no bitterness towards anyone on either side. Life’s
too short. The SSP has many members I’m proud to have called comrades
and friends. All the best for the future. The fight goes on.
—centre pages—
No secrets - no lies: The truth behind two turbulent years in the SSP
2004
Sun
30 Oct: The News of the World (NotW) runs a front page account,
by Anvar Khan, of a visit to a sex club with an unnamed,
married MSP.
Two
members of the SSP Executive Committee (EC), aware that
the article refers to Tommy Sheridan, ask him to apologise
and resign as convenor as soon as he is named as the MSP
involved. He refuses.
A
further attempt is made to deal with the situation privately,
with Tommy invited to attend an informal meeting on Sat
6 Nov. He refuses and an emergency EC meeting is called.
Tues
9 Nov: Tommy admits to the emergency EC meeting that he
is the unnamed MSP, saying he attended the club twice, in
1996 and 2002. He adds that he has taken legal advice, and
will continue to publicly deny the story as he is confident
no proof exists. He leaves the meeting early. There is a
unanimous vote not to comply with his strategy of denial,
and a consensus is reached that he should be given until
Sat 13 Nov to resign as party convenor.
Thurs
11 Nov: Tommy’s resignation is reported on Daily Record
front page. Tommy is quoted as saying he intends to spend
more time with family. Feverish media speculation follows.
Sun
14 Nov: The NotW prints additional allegations of an affair,
to which Tommy had never admitted at the EC, and which were
never considered by EC members in discussions regarding
Tommy’s resignation. A second emergency EC unanimously agrees
a statement, saying “...The Executive completely dismisses
the rumours that have circulated in the press that Tommy’s
resignation was provoked by a leadership challenge, a factional
power struggle or any other form of internal in-fighting...
We understand that recent allegations in a Murdoch newspaper
may be the subject of a future libel action by Tommy Sheridan
and consequently the Scottish Socialist Party does not wish
to comment on matters concerning the allegation.”
Wed
24 Nov: A further emergency EC agrees and ratifies the minutes
of the two previous meetings and unanimously agrees proposals
regarding the forthcoming National Council (NC) meeting,
including a verbal report on the reasons for Tommy’s resignation
and an argument in favour of keeping the minutes of the
three EC meetings confidential.
Sat
27 Nov: The Herald runs article headlined, ‘SSP leaders
to face the party without crucial meeting’s minute’.
Emergency
NC is attended by more than 100 party delegates. Allan Green’s
verbal report is endorsed by Tommy Sheridan. A motion endorsing
the EC’s decisions is passed by 85 votes to 20.
Tommy
Sheridan issues a press statement saying, “I wholeheartedly
support the SSP Executive Committee statement agreed at
today’s meeting. The Scottish Socialist Party has today
showed great maturity in reaching a unified position on
the way forward.
“I
would like to take this opportunity to confirm that my resignation
as party convenor has nothing at all to do with internal
power struggles. There is not and never has been any internal
squabbles or back-biting about a leadership challenge. We
are a party of principle and action.
“We
have drawn a line under these internal deliberations. I
will now work alongside the other party MSPs and the wider
party membership to campaign for justice, equality, peace
and socialism.”
2006
Thurs
11 May: In connection with Tommy Sheridan’s libel case against
the NotW, four SSP members are cited to appear in court
in order to hand over documents relating to his resignation,
including the minutes of the 9 November 2004 emergency EC.
Fri
12 May: Colin Fox and Allan Green meet with Tommy. Allan
Green shows him the minutes and both ask him to withdraw
his libel action, pledging to raise funds to help him with
costs incurred so far. Tommy asks them to defy the court’s
demand to hand in the minute.
Sun
14 May: An emergency EC agrees that Alan McCombes is to
take sole possession of the minutes and refuse to hand them
in to the court.
Tues
16 May: Alan McCombes goes to the Court of Session, where
he explains, on the grounds that the party has the right
to hold private discussions on confidential matters, that
he is not prepared to release the minutes. He is warned
he faces contempt of court charges.
Sun
21 May: A scheduled EC meeting endorses the decision to
defy. It withdraws, in the interest of unity, a motion agreed
previously calling on Tommy to drop his libel action.
Week
beginning Mon 22 May: At the Court of Session, Judge Lady
Smith announces her intention to call Tommy Sheridan and
members of the Cardonald SSP branch to explain a resolution
circulated on Tommy’s parliamentary email demanding that
the EC minutes are destroyed.
At
some point this week, a fake set of minutes are sent to
the NotW, which include the initials of a number of EC members.
Whoever sent them this fabricated document handed over the
names of SSP members who would later be dragged before the
court to testify.
Fri
26 May: Alan McCombes is jailed for 12 days by Lady Smith
at the Court of Session. She says that Alan is “flouting
the law. It is difficult to resist drawing the conclusion
he puts his loyalty to the Scottish Socialist Party above
his duty to this court.”
Sat
27 May: SSP offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and Alan’s
home, are raided by Sheriff Officers, instructed by the
court to search for the minutes. They don’t find them.
Sun
28 May: Emergency NC meets in
The
meeting votes 82 to 67 in favour of ending the strategy
of defiance. Without discussion, the NC is forced to vote
on a motion offering
Sun
18 June: An EC meeting agrees that those SSP members now
cited as witnesses in the libel action should go to court
under protest but neither perjure themselves nor place themselves
in contempt of court. Two EC members vote against this statement,
but offer no alternative strategy.
Tues
4 July: Court case begins.
Fri
4 August: Tommy Sheridan wins his libel action, and is awarded
£200,000. He immediately announces he will challenge Colin
Fox for the SSP convenorship. He later states he will stand
for the position if he can secure nominations from at least
25 branches.
Mon
7 August: As part of a series of exclusive, paid-for interviews
with Tommy, the Daily Record’s front page headline reads,
‘I will destroy the scabs who tried to ruin me’. The inside
pages run pictures of four SSP MSPs, with the word ‘scab’
printed over each.
Wed
16 August: In a statement released on the ‘SSP Majority’
website, Tommy Sheridan and Rosemary Byrne call a meeting
to discuss a new party of the left in
Two
platforms within the SSP - the CWI and SWP - announce their
intention to leave the SSP and join Tommy’s new formation.
“Court quotes…”
Katrine Trolle - Tues 18 July
Mike
Jones QC: Are you lying about having a sexual relationship
with Mr Sheridan?
Katrine
Trolle: No, it’s embarrassing enough without making it up.
My colleagues, clients, friends, my boyfriend and his family
have read all about this... I did do these things, but I’ve
changed a lot in recent years... I wouldn’t have caused
this pain to those nearest me.
Allan Green - Wed 19 July
“You can lie, accuse me of monstrous frame-ups, none of it the truth. For you to turn round and accuse me of monstrous frame-ups it is shameful Tommy, it is shameful.”
Carolyn
Leckie - Thurs 20 July
CL:
Our mouths have been clamped for the last 18 months. We
have maintained confidentiality, you have continued to lie
to your family. The lurid headlines would have been chip
paper by now.
TS:
You voted against political solidarity?
CL:
I voted against you jumping off a cliff and jumping off
with you.
Tommy Sheridan - Fri 21 July
Mike
Jones QC: ‘The courts should have been properly defied’;
this was your position?
Tommy
Sheridan: Yes. A difference of strategy, I would have told
the court there was no minute. Going to the court and saying
‘we have a minute’ was stupid.
Mike
Jones QC: So lies are justified?
Tommy
Sheridan: When you’re fighting the most reactionary scab
outfit in the world, yes, sometimes you have to fight dirty.
Mike
Jones QC: Not a question of truth but of whose side you
are on?
Tommy
Sheridan: Some people have not just lied but have politically
scabbed.
Rosemary Byrne - Mon 24 July
“There was a lot of hysteria [at the 9/11/04 Executive Committee meeting], allegations and accusations were thrown about. It was a kangaroo court.”
Steve Arnott - Wed 26 July
During
his sworn testimony, Steve Arnott, SSP regional organiser
for the Highlands and Islands, suggested that those who
testified that
Courage and honesty
Tommy
Sheridan has repeatedly attacked the 11 SSP members who
gave honest evidence in court as “scabs”.
Tommy
made a half-hearted effort at retraction in interviews with
the mainstream press over the weekend. He implied it was
a spur of the moment reaction, but went on to say he would
have made the scab accusation in internal meetings.
In
fact Tommy, and supporters of his, used the word both in
the run up the court case, while giving his evidence, where
he said witnesses had “politically scabbed”, and again after
the case.
Here,
SSP workplace organiser Richie Venton gives his view on
the ‘scab’ allegations.
It
takes courage to be honest, but only an honest, open, campaigning
socialist party is capable of winning mass support for the
vision we all hold dear - of an independent socialist
We
refused to join him in scorching the very earth the SSP
stands on...
Tommy
defied all friendly advice from me and others and forged
ahead with his court case. By doing so he put the party
on trial as much as News of the World (NotW).
Do
our accusers know what a scab is? Which picket line have
I or the ‘SSP 11’ ever crossed? What strike have we broken
or undermined? When have we sought personal or financial
gain out of defying the majority decisions of a workers’
organisation?
Using
‘scab’ as a term of abuse against fellow socialists at best
devalues the whole meaning of the word in the class struggle.
Such anathema, such a vile judgement on my integrity as
a socialist of 35-years of selfless activity, cannot become
an accepted ‘fact’ through repetition in the socialist and
trade union movement...
Tommy’s
misnamed SSP Majority faction made a cold, cynical calculation
when they portrayed his libel action against NotW as part
of the class struggle - and that we had to choose between
him and them.
They
then branded 11 socialists as scabs - and call us ‘collaborators’
with Murdoch’s rag. This way they hope to win the support
of trade unionists in particular - out of their healthy
instinct for solidarity.
Examine the facts:
One
man made sure SSP members were forced to appear in Court
- Tommy. It was him that took legal action, not the NotW.
We
repeatedly advised him against this, warning it would drag
his name through manure and embroil the SSP in what is nothing
more nor less than an unsavoury celebrity sex scandal.
Once
summonsed as witnesses, what were we supposed to do? Not
turn up? Face warrants for our arrest? Go on the run (with
or without our families)? It is grotesque distortion to
say we ‘collaborated’ with NotW - we were hostages, not
witnesses - dragged there by Tommy’s reckless, selfish actions...
We
faced a choice (under oath) of EITHER admitting the truth
about why we asked Tommy to resign as convenor (precisely
to prevent him being exposed as a liar and hypocrite whilst
still SSP convenor) or corroborate his monstrous allegations
about being framed, stitched up, dumped for factional reasons
- with forged or ‘dodgy’ minutes to back it up.
Virtually
no SSP member disagreed with our sad, unavoidable decision
to ask Tommy to resign as convener at the vast number of
well-attended meetings in 2004.
If
we had not kept a true and accurate record (minutes) of
why the most effective socialist convener in decades had
been asked to resign, whose version would you now believe?
The truth - or the lie created by a very effective orator
and media operator in defence of his own reputation?
Whatever
you think of us keeping minutes, even if they had not existed
we would have been quizzed by the QC about our recollection
of the EC meeting which asked Tommy to resign - that’s what
we actually faced in court.
Do
you think we could have got away with lying in court but
telling the truth to the SSP membership? Apart from the
legal risks, how the hell can a party of our public standing
get away with lies in a public courtroom, followed by a
different public explanation outside the court - and retain
any respect?
An
isolated sect or underground conspiracy might get away with
that - but not a broad, open, campaigning socialist party
that working class people can believe in, which the SSP
has always aspired to be.
*
This is a shortened version of Richie’s statement, which
is available in full at : www.scottishsocialistparty.org
SSP emergency EC minutes - 9th Nov 2004
EC Minutes 09.11.04
SSP
Executive Committee - minutes Emergency Meeting - Tuesday
9th November 2004 -
Tommy
Sheridan’s contribution
The
meeting began with an introduction by Tommy Sheridan. He
responded to a recent article in the News of the World which
alleged that a married MSP had visited a swingers/sex club
in
Alan
McCombes’ contribution
Alan
McCombes then gave his account of the issue. He stated that
this was the most painful discussion he had ever been part
of and that himself, Keith B and Tommy S had worked together
for over 20 years with no previous trace of acrimony. Alan
stated that he had first been made aware of this incident
in 2001 at the annual Socialism event when Nicky McKerrell
had informed him that someone was trying to sell a story
to the media about the club in
Alan
voiced his concern about the NUJ being involved in this,
as their help had been enlisted with false information.
He cited the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky affair and pointed
out that the most damaging part of that to Bill Clinton
was the public denial. He felt it would be political suicide
to deny these allegations in the press.
Tommy’s
refusal to comply with this advice led to Alan and Keith
talking to other comrades, however Tommy refused to meet
with this group and began acting independently of the party,
for instance arranging the Rose Gentle demonstration at
the weekend unilaterally.
Alan
finished by asking Tommy again to tell the truth and stand
down as Convener, and not to ask the Executive to participate
in a cover-up.
General
Discussion
Duncan wished to clarify the situation regarding the North
East. Additional allegations were circulating in the press
about Tommy and an SSP member from
There followed a long discussion. Tommy left the meeting
at 20:15 after the following comrades had contributed: Duncan,
Catriona,
Before he left, he repeated that he did not believe there
was any evidence which would prove him to be lying. He did
not accept that he should admit the visits to the club and
felt that no-one should comment on private lives. He said
he would not be forced into a course of action by the News
of the World.
The discussion continued after Tommy left with the following
people taking part: Colin, Catriona, Alan Me, Kevin, Rosie,
Felicity, Allan G, Carolyn, Rosemary, Graeme, Steven,
Without exception all contributors disagreed with the strategy
of denying the allegations. All felt that this would be
the most damaging strategy for the party. The general feeling
was that this was a bad situation, and that the “least worst”
option must be found. All agreed that it would be better
if Tommy changed his mind about denying the allegations.
The
following proposals were put forward:
1)
Tommy to be given until 10:00 tomorrow morning (Wed 10th
Nov) to resign as Convener and the story to be run in the
Voice, thus giving the party the upper hand rather than
waiting for our enemies to fire the bullet
2)
Tommy to be given until Saturday 13th Nov to resign, thus
giving him the chance to think it over and talk to his family
etc
3)
Tommy to stand down at February conference citing family
reasons
4)
To comply with Tommy’s strategy of denial
There
was a vote:
Option
1 - 7
Option
2 - 9
Option
3 - 0
Option
4 - 0
For
the purposes of clarity, a unanimous endorsement of Option
2 was sought and obtained.
It
was agreed that Colin and Frances would speak to Tommy tonight
if possible and no later than tomorrow morning (Wed 10th
Nov). He will also be asked to withdraw his First Minister’s
Question tabled for Thursday 11th Nov.
The
EC will meet on Saturday 13th rather than the planned Sunday
14th meeting to plan the announcement of Tommy’s resignation,
first to the party membership and secondly to the press.
The
Regional Organisers will set up meetings to explain to members.
The
meeting closed at 22:30.
Barbara
Scott
—page eight—
Postcards from the cutting edge (or, what SSY did on their holidays...)
On wine, women’s issues and song
by Lynsey MacGregor
Having
missed last year’s camp, I can’t really comment on whether Secret
Squirrel has improved or not, but on the whole I thought it was an
excellent weekend.
The
workshops were run in an extremely inclusive way.
We
use popular education methods where everyone breaks into groups and
each person gets a chance to talk.
We
believe this raises the confidence of new members and encourages independent
thought.
I
particularly enjoyed meeting with the SSY Women’s Group.
We’re
about to get our campaign against abstinence-only sex education in
schools underway.
It
was really heartening to have a meeting with a group of young socialist
women about what kind of education we actually want to see in our
schools.
The
men in SSY also had a meeting - facilitated by Catriona Grant - aimed
at making them examine their own attitudes and behaviours.
I’m
glad SSY as a whole is taking a really progressive attitude towards
gender politics and hope that this continues.
The
most heartening thing for me though is just how many ideas SSY members
had for the camp.
I’m
on the SSY National Committee and I, along with the other NC members,
had the job of cutting down the list of proposed workshops to a number
that we could do in two days.
It
was an absolutely mammoth task but I’m not complaining; it gives me
real hope for the future to see just how much our members are thinking.
And thanks for all the crisps
by Blair Milne
The
political and social aspects have to be some of the most memorable
of my summer, with several positive outcomes and a commitment to the
continuation of our organisation.
The
workshop I facilitated was nerve-racking; The men’s meeting, correspondent
to the SSY women’s meeting, was a thought provoking experience; in
its first attempt, the band night was a huge success (maybe one day
everybody will appreciate my music); and the non-stop campfire party
was a blast.
But
too often at events like these, those who committed themselves to
the organisation and smooth running of the event are forgotten. The
people who committed to cooking meals, running the bar and tidying
the site at the end of it all never get the mention they are due.
The transporting of food, drink, equipment and resources are also
tasks easily forgotten. Like everything in life, the camp’s success
had more to do with hard graft than abstract ideas.
Sitting
at the campsite on Monday, waiting for the cars to arrive that would
take the equipment, and myself back to
Open air, open minds
by Rowan Muir
Good
weather, great people, interesting discussions and a healthy dash
of food and drink! I’ll expand....
The
camp went off with a bang on Friday night, with sing-songs around
the campfire; a good initial bonding for SSY members and guests alike,
many of whom knew few of the faces sporadically lit by the jumping
flames.
Saturday
began on a slower note, the excitement of the camp however still very
much in the air.
The
workshops were very refreshing, something I think the SSY and SSP
alike should be proud of.
The
move towards different kinds of educational sessions are essential
for grabbing the attention of newcomers, and maintaining and developing
the interests of the more experienced socialists.
What
I took from the camp was that people entered the sessions with open
and interested minds, and instead of being lectured to and interest
quickly dissipating, the workshops were challenging; encouraging discussion,
the exploration of relevant issues and consequently, the formation
of opinions.
The
most lasting impression of the camp for me is one of hope, as clichéd
as it may be!
There
was undoubtedly for many members a background air of frustration at
the current situation, with papers being poured over on their arrival.
However the unity and friendship of the youth members there made the
future look a far less daunting place.
Sunday
night, sat around the campfire with full bellies and drinks in hand,
brought the summing-up of the weekend and one message repeatedly:
We
the youth have a highly political, progressive, democratic and forward-thinking
movement of which we are very proud, and which we will fight to maintain,
ensuring the bright future of socialism in Scotland.
Seeing ourselves as others see us
by James Nesbitt
The
Umbrian hills in
Many
levels of success and optimism were expressed.
It
was particularly heartening to learn from the Greek and French sections,
who both have recent experiences of mass movements of young people
entering into conflict with the current system.
We
were saddened, yet inspired, after speaking with the Filipino comrades,
who shared their experiences of state repression, armed resistance
movements and comrades being brutally murdered by Maoist guerrillas.
Each
of the delegations we met with expressed keen interest in the progress
of the SSP - our project is looked to internationally as a massive
step forward for Left regroupment and the fight for socialism.
To
this end we deemed it crucial to engage with the other major regroupment
‘projects’, particularly the Portuguese Left Bloc, the Danish Red-Green
Alliance and Rifondazione Comunista of Italy.
Each
of our situations presents important lessons for the anti-capitalist
Left. Meeting with the delegation from
The
Danes told us of their continued development and growth, but expressed
some concerns at a perceived stagnation and feelings of frustration
amongst much of the membership.
Rifondazione
seems to hold the bleakest prospects (the party is being torn apart
in a civil war over its participation in the centre-left government),
with some comrades speaking of Rifondazione as “dead” or “a thing
of the past”.
The
international socialist movement must learn from all of these parties.
We
felt that we managed to make a positive intervention, in giving an
insight into the situation in
At
the camp commission’s closing ‘balance sheet’, we were praised by
both the Danish and Belgian sections for our commitment to revolutionising
educational methods on the Left, particularly through participatory
meeting techniques and the use of popular education.
This
came as a refreshing break from the slightly stale and at times alienating
practice at some of the larger meetings of long lectures by perceived
‘experts’.
This
is intended as a constructive criticism - I personally felt that much
of the political content was more developed and advanced than the
current level in the SSP.
The
USFI seem to have worked to recognise the crucial nature of class
issues such as LGBT liberation, internationalism, women’s liberation
and Marxist ecology. In particular, they make no bones about their
commitment to feminism, something which would undoubtedly be contentious
in the SSP.
Our
delegation came home satisfied, having learned a lot, had fun and
made important new contacts.
The
USFI are not the only show in town on the international far-left,
but SSY were glad to have been involved and grateful to the organisers
and delegations for their friendliness, hospitality and solidarity.
I would strongly recommend young members attend next year and to learn
more about the USFI, their history and their current perspectives.
*
For more info, see: internationalviewpoint.org
—page nine—
Agit gypsy punk underdogs
Gypsy Punk - Underdog World Strike by Gogol Bordello. CD out now
by Matt Preston
Gypsy
Punk - Underdog World Strike is the title of Gogol Bordello’s
third album. A better description of their music, and their
intent, is hard to find.
The
album is a visceral, giddy mix of Eastern European gypsy folk
and agitational, agitated punk rock.
“This
is my life and freedom is my profession,” sings the wide-eyed
and mustachioed Eugene Hutz on Undestructable - a passionate
call to arms for the downtrodden.
Hutz
discovered punk under Soviet censorship by swapping bootleg
tapes of the Sex Pistols and the Dead Kennedys recorded from
illicit radio stations. He later found his gypsy roots when
his family fled from
Returning
to
For
Hutz, struggle is central to the music:
“Culture
is a living being. The minute the culture is not challenged,
it dies. In order to keep it alive, you have to be countercultural.”
The
album, produced by Steve Albini, reflects the wild energy of
the band; yet it is restrained when compared to their live show.
Combining
elements of cabaret, situationist theatre, and often violently
self-destructive, the band have been shunned by
But
for Hutz this is not mindless chaos: “I feel like we’re going
against ironic treatment of the world and culture and life.
Unless you see more people speaking from the heart, we’re gonna
continue to rage about that - drunk, sober, or lobotomised.”
This is a band who have the power to uplift and unite, to make
you dance like a maniac and feel “undestructable”.
Yet
in the relatively sober song Illuminating, Hutz reminds us that
we should not expect to find a Pied Piper to lead our dance
to freedom:
“There’ll
be no saviours any soon coming down. And anyway illuminations
never come from the crowned.”
Gogol
Bordello invite their listeners to discard any rose-tinted,
safe vision of the world they may have fostered and simultaneously
revile and celebrate the truth of human existence.
*
Gogol Bordello play Glasgow Barrowland on November 1. See www.gogolbordello.com
New
play looks at impact of
The
“It
seems that we have always been fighting over this place”, as
a soldier reflects in the play. The history of modern
In
1917 it was the British who tried to call the tune in
The
neo-Cons were ably seconded by Tony Blair and his spin-doctors.
Yet there were those who protested at the blatant lies and illegality,
insiders like the British international law expert Elizabeth
Wilmshurst and the millions who marched throughout the world
(100,000 in Glasgow alone).
There
is another kind of story, which is represented in the course
of this play. These stories are of Iraqis not as hapless victims
but as people supporting their families and neighbours come-what-may
and hoping still for a better future for their country. This
kind of story invites compassion and in its humanity offers
us hope.
*
Babylon Burning is on at 7.30pm, at Theatre Workshop (box office
0131 226 5425),
Viva Sabina!
Preview: Viva Zapatero! (cert 15) directed by Sabina Guzzanti. Glasgow Film Theatre, 28-29 August
by Anna Battista
Many
Latin and Greek authors produced astonishing pieces of satire,
among them Aristophanes, Lucilius and Horace. Later on, Molière
coined a definition of this genre, stating that satire “castigat
ridendo mores” (criticises customs through humour). Satire may
have been a popular genre in the past but, in
One
of the victims of the purge was Sabina Guzzanti. The daughter
of former left wing journalist Paolo Guzzanti - who became in
recent years a Berlusconi supporter and a Forza Italia party
senator - Sabina’s name has always been linked in Italy to satirical
TV shows in which, together with her brother Corrado and her
sister Caterina, she mocked left and right wing politicians
and showbiz icons. The Berlusconi curse fell on Sabina in November
2003 when her programme RaiOt was cancelled after just one episode.
The title of the programme echoed the pronunciation of the English
word ‘riot’, but also stood for ‘Rai Eight’, a phantomatic eighth
TV channel free from any political influence that Sabina hoped
one day would exist.
Entitled
‘Weapons of Mass Distraction’ and dedicated to censorship and
information, the first episode of the programme featured a monologue
by Sabina about Berlusconi’s TV monopoly and an analysis of
the Legge Gasparri (Gasparri Law), a law meant to reform the
Italian means of communications that takes its name from the
previous Minister for Telecommunications Maurizio Gasparri.
Sabina’s
film Viva Zapatero! (2005) - a Michael Moore-style documentary
- is the story of how RaiOt was censored, and how, a few days
later, Berlusconi’s company Mediaset sued it for damages for
her jokes on the Gasparri Law (as if Mediaset were the press
office of the Ministry for Telecommunications), and for causing
losses to the company in the stock exchange on the morning after
the first episode of the programme was broadcast. RaiOt was
never broadcast again despite a judge issuing a sentence in
its favour.
Throughout
the film Sabina the “jester”, as she defines herself, interviews
many prominent Italians such as journalist Enzo Biagi (who was
himself fired from Rai for having invited on his programme,
broadcast before the 2001 elections, actor and director Roberto
Benigni who poked fun at Berlusconi), Nobel Prize winner Dario
Fo and comedians Beppe Grillo and Paolo Rossi, and meets their
foreign counterparts Rory Bremner and the French group Le Grand
Guignol, drawing comparisons between satire in Italy and abroad.
There’s actually no José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in the film:
Sabina uses his name as a reference since the Spanish Prime
minister abolished laws in
Viva
Zapatero! is not an anti-Berlusconi film: it is a way to document
the state of the mass media and of freedom of speech in
The
film is also meant to stimulate the debate and wake up that
part of the Italian population that has been caught for a few
years in a Berlusconi-induced slumber. Guzzanti’s Viva Zapatero!
is a very powerful film even now that Berlusconi is not in power
anymore. It is indeed naïve to believe that everything is fine
in
Journalist
Michele Santoro - another victim of Berlusconi’s censorship
- stated during last year’s Venice Film Festival where Sabina’s
film received a 15-minute ovation, that Viva Zapatero! is about
what
Until
proper laws that ensure media pluralism in
—page ten—
Belfast remembers hunger strikers
by Gerry Corbett
The
25th anniversary of the Long Kesh hunger strikers has seen a year-long series of events
across
The
march was lead by the ‘blanket’ men and women, marching
along the route with fists raised defiantly.
They
were followed by ex-prisoners dressed in white shirts,
cheered on by local people lining the route.
Equally
enthusiastically received was a group of people representing
Hezbollah.
The
march continued with banners from across
The
route was further enlivened by the presence of open-backed
lorries on which different mini-plays,
depicting various scenes from the Irish struggles, were
enacted throughout the day.
Four
similar events took place simultaneously, in the north,
south, east and Twinbrook areas
of
ETA issues warning as govt allows peace process to stall
by Voice Reporter
ARMED
Basque group ETA has warned that the peace process, launched
with the group’s declaration of a ceasefire five months
ago, is now facing a serious crisis.
The
Basque group accused Spanish politicians of dragging their
feet over finding an end to the conflict.
In
a statement sent to the Basque pro-independence newspaper
Gara, ETA made a veiled threat
to retaliate if the Spanish government continues its repression
of Basque pro-independence activists.
This
was clearly a reference to such actions as bans on rallies
by the outlawed Batasuna party,
which is the leading pro-independence force in the Basque
country and faces fierce repression from the Spanish state.
The
statement warned:
“If
the attacks against the Basque country continue, ETA will
respond.”
ETA
pointed out that the government had agreed to a “ceasefire”
of its own in talks leading up to the ETA truce, apparently
agreeing to stop arresting ETA members.
But,
charge ETA, the government is
not living up to this commitment.
The
government has repeatedly denied having made any promises
to ETA to win the ceasefire, which began in late March.
Prime
Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero announced formally in late June that his government
would hold talks with ETA.
However,
he insisted that he would make no concessions towards
independence. The government is due to report to parliament
in September on how the peace process is progressing but
Zapatero has already said that
a breakthrough is years away.
In
the statement to Gara, ETA accused
the ruling Socialists and the Basque Nationalist Party,
which governs the Spanish part of the Basque country,
of “showing a clear will to delay the steps to be taken.”
Neither
party is interested in negotiating any real changes to
the Basque country’s status within
Leading
Spanish daily El Pais reported Madrid policy-makers as saying that the statement
highlighted ETA frustration with the government’s refusal
to allow all-party talks in the Basque region on its future
until Batasuna regains legal
status by ‘renouncing ETA and violence’.
—page eleven—
international news
Palestinians may pay price for Israel’s humiliation in Lebanon
“Dead
bodies are arriving in our hospitals so mangled, with their
flesh torn in such a grotesque way, that it is clear the occupation
army is using a new type of weapon.”
While the world watched Israel drop bombs on the civilians of
Lebanon, events in Gaza and the West Bank continued to deteriorate
for the Palestinians.
Even as the shaky ceasefire came into effect on Monday past,
an Israeli Merkava tank fired into a house in northern Gaza,
killing a woman and her two children.
Overworked medical staff, struggling for supplies as the Israeli
siege of finances and imports pinches harder and harder, are
now reporting injuries they have never seen before, leading
them to suspect that Israel is road-testing new weaponry on
a people who are becoming increasingly invisible to the rest
of the world.
Since the beginning of July, 187 Palestinians have been killed
by the Israeli army.
Riyad Awad, the director of Gaza’s Health Information
Centre, comments: “Not a day passes without the Israeli
army killing an average of five or six Palestinians, mostly
children and women and other innocent civilians. Israel feels
the world is giving it a mandate to kill and maim at will.”
Humiliated
But it gets worse. Humiliated by Hezbollah’s resistance,
and under pressure at home from hard-liners, the Israeli government
may go in even harder on Gaza and the West Bank to bolster its
damaged military reputation.
And to punish them for showing solidarity with Hezbollah, an
organisation whose fierce military and political resistance
has inspired Palestinians, during the summer conflict. Palestinians
live like inmates of a prison, every aspect of their lives controlled
by the occupiers and in constant threat of violence and death.
All the while, their democratically elected Hamas government
is still unable to function, starved as it is of monies and
resources, and with half its ministers in Israeli jails. Currently,
Hamas leaders are trying to pull together a government of national
unity in Gaza, while Israeli shells fizz through the air.
Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniyeh is urging that the
Palestinian Authority be dissolved.
There is no point, he says, “in deceiving ourselves and
giving the world an erroneous impression that there is a Palestinian
national government when the Israeli occupation army is killing
every shred of authority and abducting ministers and law-makers
and forcing officials to go underground.”
Incredibly, Israel continues to play the victim in this, as
it has over Lebanon.
It had to attack Gaza and root out militants, it insists, because
one of its soldiers had been abducted.
Double standards
Yet, just a day before, two Gaza civilians, Osama and Mustafa
Muamar, were kidnapped and remain in Israeli custody. The international
press barely noticed.
These double standards came into play regarding Lebanon too.
Apparently, it was all Hezbollah’s fault, for kidnapping
two Israeli soldiers.
Never mind that Israel has been aggravating at the border for
months. Or that Israel is hated by the Lebanese for its horrendously
bloody invasion of 1982. Or that, it appears, Israel had this
attack planned at least a year in advance and was just waiting
for an excuse to wade in.
The World Council of Churches, whose delegation recently visited
Beirut, Jerusalem and Ramallah, are in no doubt. “(T)his
was a planned operation all ready to go.”
The air force was practically taxiing along the runway and,
swiftly and is if reading from a well-rehearsed plan, its first
move was to knock out five bridges, a power plant, the international
airport and major roads, bringing Lebanon to its knees but making
little impact on Hezbollah, the supposed targets.
In fact, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle,
an Israeli army officer was making Power Point presentations
outlining this very operation to selected Western audiences
over a year ago.
The echoes with US attacks on Iraq are more than coincidental;
Israel is working on an American agenda here, perhaps as its
battering-ram, preparing the ground for a US-led assault on
Iran - the real force, they insist, behind Hezbollah.
America is hell-bent on portraying Iran as a crazed, anti-democratic
enemy. Thus they ignore whatever is inconvenient. For instance,
that in 2003, the Khatomi government offered to negotiate with
the US, including over nuclear power and a two-state solution
for Israel-Palestine.
The Bush administration’s reaction was instructive; the
Swiss diplomat who bore the message was censured.
Iran reiterated its support for a two-state solution again in
2006, as did Hamas, though you wouldn’t know it, given
Israel and America’s insistence that Hamas wants only
the destruction of Israel and therefore cannot be tolerated
as a government.
Selective hearing, and reporting, is a common feature of this
ongoing conflict.
The 33-day war on Lebanon resulted in at least 1300 dead, from
resistance fighters incinerated in their cars to whole families
crushed beneath the weight of their homes, their arms still
gripping each other even in death.
Wreaking
havoc
Yet the news reported it as if the Israeli casualties were comparable,
as if the rockets firing into Haifa were wreaking anything like
the havoc that aerial bombardment was wreaking in Tyre and Sidon,
where dozens were dying at a stroke, and the injured had no
hospitals to go to, and no roads to travel to them on anyway,
where journalists had to put down their cameras to pull old
women and men out the rubble because everyone else was dead
or gone, where electricity was off for hours and food and water
supplies had stopped.
Yet Israel is not undamaged. Not only is its government mocked
by its failure to smash Hezbollah, whose support has grown and
who, as Israel retreats, is at the forefront of the reconstruction
in Lebanon. Israel has also lost its sheen of invincibility,
and that could prove very dangerous in the years to come. For
everyone.
Afghan fighting ‘worst since Korean war, if not WWII,’ says British general
by Ken Ferguson
Only a few
short months ago, Defence Secretary and born again imperialist
John Reid assured worried MPs that British troops bound for
Afghanistan would be involved in nothing more deadly than building
schools and brewing tea.
They would probably carry out their “mission”, the
Airdrie sage assured us, “without firing a shot.”
Perhaps he even believed it. In the face of the fact that Afghans
have taken on all comers, from Queen Victoria’s Sepoys
to Brezhnev’s Red Army, and fought them to a standstill.
While the constantly career-changing Reid strikes his latest
hard man pose in the safety of the Home Office, the garrisons
despatched to Afghanistan are facing the most sustained fighting
since the Korean war.
Who says so?
None other than Lt General David Richards, commander not just
of the Brits in the area but of all NATO forces.
In a brutally frank assessment of the crisis, the general told
reporters that the fighting in Afghanistan was the most sustained
since certainly the Korean war in the early 1950s and perhaps
even since World War II.
He drew a picture of isolated garrisons holding fixed positions
under almost constant attack and facing exhaustion through intense
heat and lack of sleep.
In the last 40 days, a dozen soldiers have died and the general
himself described the Brits as “pinned down”.
Now we hear there is to be a major offensive involving 10,000
British, Canadian and other NATO troops, who will undertake
‘search and destroy’ missions while the Afghan army
literally holds the forts now held by the Brits.
If all this sounds familiar to older readers it is because it
is.
It’s a carbon copy of scores of colonial conflicts, from
Algeria to Vietnam and another imperialist disaster is inevitably
on the cards.
From the quagmire of Iraq, where dozens die almost unremarked
every day through the terror bombing in Lebanon to the gathering
crisis in Afghanistan, this Labour militarist’s chickens
are coming home to roost.
However, the body bags that will return as a result of this
bloody folly will not be filled by the sons of the Labour Party
elite but by young men from the schemes of Glasgow, Edinburgh
and Dundee still being sucked in to serve British Imperialism.
As the actions at Prestwick and the protests against the war
have demonstrated, there is an alternative view to the Blair/Bush
madness.
The need for an independent Scottish socialist republic which
breaks the links with Britain’s bloodstained imperialism
has never been more urgent.
—page twelve—
A&E
to close in
by Roz Paterson
The
axe is about to fall on Monklands Hospital A&E department, despite
months of angry protest and the expert opinion of concerned health professionals.
To
no-one’s surprise, the Scottish Executive endorsed the brutal decision
by Lanarkshire health board to downgrade casualty services to a minor
injuries clinic, despite this being an area with the highest incidence
of heart disease in
So
Monklands it had to be.
Unfortunately
for everyone who has to live with this decision, Hairmyres and Wishaw,
who must now cope with those who would otherwise have gone to Monklands,
are struggling to cope with their patient-load as it is.
People
are being turned away, waiting lists are rising - this axing can only
make matters worse.
And
this is by no means the end of the story.
Plans
are already afoot to close seven out of 15 A&E units across West
and
Like
many, he is incensed that the public consultation proved to be such
a sham, and that Labour MSPs tried to save their political necks through
campaigns promoting one hospital over another, crudely trying to pitch
communities in opposition to each other, “while accepting the logic
that one A&E unit had to go. Our position has always been that Lanarkshire
needs all three units.”
SSP
MSP for
She
believes that local politicians should be held accountable for this
decision.
“Local
Labour politicians have to answer for the fact that their party’s policies,
such as PFI contracts for hospital buildings, are at the heart of why
this decision has been made.
“They
undermined the unity of the campaign by attempting to play one community
off against another and their strategy has spectacularly backfired.
“The
people of Lanarkshire should hold them to account for their claim that
the NHS is safe in their hands which has been shown by this announcement
to be no more than a hollow sham.”
Carolyn
has pledged to give her continued support to the campaign against the
Monklands closure.
SCHOOL MEALS BILL ESSENTIAL
by Simon Whittle
It
was revealed last week that globally, there are now more overweight
people than those who are undernourished. A staggering 1billion people
are now overweight, while 800million go hungry.
Professor
Barry Popkin, from the
Not
only did more kids stay in school (eventually) to enjoy healthier meals
where Jamie and his magic touch had been, but public backing knocked
the Labour government into a corner and forced them to act on the issue.
Or so they promised at the time.
But
in a follow-up documentary to his groundbreaking series, which will
be screened on Channel 4 next month, Jamie says the government has failed
to deliver on its promises.
When
he won two TV Baftas earlier this year, Jamie accused successive education
ministers of using “the same bloody excuse” (that they’d just started
their new job after a cabinet reshuffle) for not doing anything about
it.
In
Earlier
this year,
The
West of Scotland SSP MSP recently told the Sunday Herald:
“Making
meals healthy...is only half the equation.
“We
have still got 50 per cent of young people of secondary age who are
not getting that healthy school meal and, in order to get them eating
it, we’ve got to make them free.”
Only
political hypocrisy will stop Frances Curran’s Free School Meals Bill
going through, as the arguments against it are extinct.
Just
look at the facts:
Nearly
a quarter of Scots children (240,000) live in households officially
recognised as poor. Parents often go without food themselves in order
to provide for their children. Around 25 per cent of low-income families
can’t afford to give their children the food they want to.
Means-testing
creates stigma that discourages uptake of free school meals. Low-income
families spend nearly £11 a week less on average than the Family Budget
Unit estimates is essential to provide a healthy diet. Extending entitlement
to free school meals would help increase the disposable income of some
of our poorest households by up to £27 per week.
Poor
diet in children is linked to disease in later life. Scottish children
eat only two of the five recommended portions of fresh fruit and vegetables
a day. Around 75 per cent of Scottish children appear to eat no green
leafy vegetables. Nutritious food at school improves cognition, attendance
and classroom behaviour.
With
Frances Curran’s Free School Meals Bill,
M74 fight still on
by Arlene Nunnery
An
activist workshop event on Sunday 13 August marked the reinvigoration
of Jam74, the campaign against the M74 extension.
The
event, called for by SSP activists, was a bid to kick start the anti-motorway
campaign after the collapse of a legal challenge last year.
The
challenge, a judicial review of the Scottish Executive’s right to overturn
a Public Local Inquiry’s decision that the road should not be built,
collapsed at the Court of Session on only its second day last month.
It was a disappointment, undoubtedly, but SSP members involved in Jam74
always argued against focussing all our energy on what was a fairly
weak legal challenge.
The
financial costs involved were massive but our main objection was to
Friends of the Earth and Green Party members advocating the abandonment
of other campaign activity, in particular direct action, which they
claimed would adversely affect the outcome of the case, i.e. don’t upset
the judge.
As
a result, the campaign stalled for a year whilst the Greens and FOE
fundraised for the ill-fated court case.
Now,
communities and activists along the proposed route are getting back
to grassroots, and Sunday’s event provided a welcome opportunity to
re-orientate the campaign and develop a plan of activity for the next
three months.
In
the main, this will focus on street work and direct action in an attempt
to raise awareness of the motorway plan locally and nationally, and
build a bigger resistance to the extension being built.
Anyone
interested in getting involved is very welcome, regardless of where
they live, as this motorway will affect more than those who work or
reside in its shadow.
Estimated
to cost between £500million and £1billion, this five-mile road is set
to become one the most expensive road-building programmes in history,
one that will impact on all public spending in Scotland.
*
For further info check the website: www.jam74.org