Leaked internal bulletin of SWP Ireland

Thursday May 30, 2002 22:46

by Anon - Trotwatch Ireland

The following information has been taken from two internal party bulletin's of the Socialist Workers Party which are for use in the party's coming conference which is taking place on Friday 7th June to Sunday 9th of June. We have acquired this information via a disgruntled source inside of the SWP. We believe that the information inside of the Discussion Bulletin's are of perticular interest to the activist community in ireland. Considering the SWP has used its weight in recent years to try and control the movement in Ireland we believe that publishing this information via Indymedia is a justified act.

Introduction

The following information has been taken from two internal party bulletin's of the Socialist Workers Party which are for use in the party's coming conference which is taking place on Friday 7th June to Sunday 9th of June. We have acquired this information via a disgruntled source inside of the SWP. We believe that the information inside of the Discussion Bulletin's are of perticular interest to the activist community in ireland. Considering the SWP has used its weight in recent years to try and control the movement in Ireland we believe that publishing this information via Indymedia is a justified act. The bulletin's which are written by the Political Committee of the SWP shed light on what has at times been refuted by members of the SWP (ie. the party is based around recruiting and paper sales) and the fiasco that was the aftermath of the RTS party. It also shows how out of touch the SWP is with the people it claims to represent. It shows how the SWP is lost in a movement that has a conscience of its own and doesnt need the "leadership" of the SWP. This is not the entire content of these Bulletin's but we have taken information which directly relates to how the SWP works with the rest of the activist community and how it really works. No elements have been changed or spruced up to make it interesting. This is word for word quotes with some ommisions of material we dont think is very interesting. Another reason we havent posted the entire content is that there is alot and its alot to type out. Enjoy!

Conference Discussion Bulletin #1

The SWP on rising to the challenge.

"Over the last few years, the SWP has earned it right to be in the forefront of that movement, through the leading role we have played in the fight against racism, the anti-capitalist movement, the movement against the war, as well as countless local campaigns and protests. In the process we have taken enormous strides forward in terms our ability to lead and initiate protests. The SWP stood the test of war as well. We were the main instigators of the Irish Anti-War Movement, which called two enormous demonstrations against the Afghan War in Dublin and dozens of anti-war protests around the country. Without the SWP, with a tradition of sizeable marches in the capital, it is doubtful whether the rest of the Irish Left would have risen to the challenge... We need to throw our resources into building the movement against the war and against capitalism. But we will also need to strengthen the party through this involvement. In practice this means:

We need to recruit widely to the party, on the straightforward basis that we are for building the biggest possible movement and that we have the most consistent explanation of the connection between war and capitalism. Despite our reputation for pushing recruitment, far more members need to be involved in this...
We need to move to a weekly newspaper during the next year. That means developing Socialist Worker now as the paper of the movement, as the centre of a wide network of activists. This can only be done through widespread changes. We need regular paper drops to replace the emphasis on street sales. Every member needs to be selling in the workplace... The paper also has to function as the eyes and ears of the party, generalising the growing spirit of resistance in the working class.

Conference Discussion Bulletin #2

On implementing SWP strategies.

"9. The key in implementing all of this is a much stronger SWP… The profile of the SWP rose enormously throughout the election campaign and in the aftermath of the police riot in Dame St. We now have to reflect the wider changes that are taking place."

"united front work has brough important results. The Irish-Anti-War Movement , for example has a large central grouping of around 15 people of which SWP is in a minority. We work well with other political forces and have suceeded in organising big mobilisations..."

On getting members and branches more active via paper sales.

"The key to that is serious paper distribution. Socialist Worker is the eyes and ears of the party."

On the RTS demo.

"11. We have entered an enormously political period where ideas learnt in theory can quickly be translated into practice. The SWP needs a high immersion in struggle but it can only do so successfully with a sharp theoretical axe.

Take a simple example. On the bank holiday weekend the police attacked the Reclaim the Steets march, hoping to break the rising spirit of protest. One response from RTS was to refuse to talk to the corporate media and to look into more conspirational tactics. Our members in Globalise Resistance argued for a broad based demonstration that involved reformist politicians. We faced a huge assault from the sectarian left about 'hi-jacking' which in turn was picked up in the mainstream media.

But the balance sheet is that Globalise Resistance pulled off a huge well stewarded demo of over 3000 against the police. It was the combination of a sharp intervention and wider discussions on the role of the state which did the trick. The SWP's huge strength is that it is ideologically cohesive and strong at translating its ideas into practice."

On recruiting.

"12. Finally the SWP needs to recruit massively over the coming period. But the style and methods needs to be different."

More to come?

Trotwatch Ireland