SWP Cyberspace walk-outs!!!!

national | miscellaneous | news report

Friday March 07, 2003 17:59

by Belfast school student St.Marys - About to join Youth Against the War

People with ingrowing toenails against the war!

An organisation a day keeps reality at bay!

An organisation a day keeps reality at bay! Dan Buckley, Indymedia correspondent, Belfast SWP member and Schools Against the War “activist” has just appeared in the Belfast Telegraph as the spokesman of “Students against the War”.
What, you’ve never heard of them! Don’t worry, neither has anyone else. The fact that this organisation only made its first public appearance on March 6th doesn’t prevent Dan from claiming that it, along with Youth Against the War,(whisper that bit) “supported” the March 5th school student walkouts!
What happened to Dan’s former plaything, Schools Against the War? Well it might have disappeared from the real world but it still exists on Indymedia postings. Dan and other SWP members are busy claiming that SAW “jointly” organised the protests which involved up to 10,000 school students.
The “facts” they give about what took place and what they did on the day show only that weren’t involved and don’t even know what happened.
They are claiming that they “led” a 500 strong march in West Belfast. There was no march in West Belfast. Perhaps they are referring to the protest in St Mary’s, organised by Youth Against the War. Hundreds of St Mary students, including the YAW organisers were physically stopped by senior staff from going to the protest at the gates. They escaped by running out the back of the school and down the Monagh bypass.
It was the same story in schools across the north. CBS students across the road climbed the fences while senior teachers formed a chain across the gates. In Newry six students from Abbey Grammar had to force their way out by climbing the fences to attend the 1000 strong YAW rally in the town centre.
And where were the Schools Against the War “Joint organisers” while all this was going on? Schools Against the War was set up and as exists in an organised form only in Methody. There was no walk out from Methody. Instead the SAW organiser and spokeperson collected 65 signatures against the war in the school. This was the sole SAW contribution to the day.
Aware that SAW played no role, Dan begrudgingly tries to play down the YAW role by saying that the protests weren’t organised by either group. They just happened! Rallies and demonstrations just came from nowhere!
Back in the real world it makes no difference what Dan thinks, the hundreds of school students now setting up YAW groups in the schools know different and know different because they were pushing their way past teachers or climbing fences, not sitting at their desks!
By the way, the only event called for by Schools Against the War” via Dan Buckley’s website, was a rally at 4.30pm at Belfast City Hall. It didn’t happen, unless, that is, Dan had set up a new organisation - “Invisible Students Against the War” - specially for the occasion.
What a pity the class struggle can’t be fought and won in cyberspace!
But who cares; another day, another organisation. Anyone can do it. Before you go to bed type out “Against the war” and leave a blank in front of it. When you get up in the morning fill in the blank and, hey presto, its done.
Try it. Here are a couple of suggestions to get you going – “one man and his website against the war” “Everyone in the world called Dan Buckley against the war”. Hey there must be plenty of Dan Buckleys. It could be his biggest triumph yet!