66 lines
3.7 KiB
Plaintext
66 lines
3.7 KiB
Plaintext
Libertarian Labor Review #15
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Summer 1993, page 2
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Editorial:
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HOW TO BUILD THE INTERNATIONAL
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At its conference on Eastern Europe and Russia last fall, the
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International Workers Association (IWA) decided to give the
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responsibility for publishing its Eastern European newsletter to
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the IREAN (Initiative of Revolutionary Anarchists). The IREAN is
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a small propaganda group which split from the KAS (Anarcho
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Syndicalist Confederation) a couple years ago. This development
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startled members of KAS, who had hoped to maintain good relations
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with the IWA, and see little hope that this will be the case with
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IREAN filtering the information which the IWA gets about the
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syndicalist movement in the countries of the former Soviet Union.
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Perhaps what should trouble the international syndicalist movement
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is the prospect that this may lead to IREAN's recognition as the
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IWA's affiliate in Russia, and put an end to IWA efforts to bring
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KAS and CMOT into the international.
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We don't intend this to be a criticism of IREAN. We know very
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little about IREAN and its politics. What we question is the
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wisdom of the IWA in setting up an intermediary in its relations
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with Russian anarcho-syndicalists without getting input from the
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largest syndicalist organizations. The IREAN is a splinter group
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from KAS. It is therefore not in the interests of IREAN that the
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IWA be on good terms with KAS. Whether this was the IWA's
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intention or not, by giving official recognition to IREAN, the IWA
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is furthering a split in the syndicalist movement of that country
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and may be cutting itself off from the majority of Russian
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syndicalists. Bringing IREAN into the IWA may give the
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international another affiliate, but does this serve the cause of
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international unity?
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This is not the first time the IWA has permitted sectarian
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syndicalist groups to draw the international into internal feuding.
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In 1984 we warned the IWA about a similar situation with a group of
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anti-IWW syndicalists, the Workers Solidarity Alliance (WSA), who
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were seeking recognition as the IWA's U.S. affiliate. The IWA
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ignored these warnings, and the WSA was given a blank check to
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carry on sectarian warfare against the IWW and pro-IWW anarcho-
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syndicalists, all in the name of the international. Perhaps it is
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not surprising that when the IWW passed a referendum in 1989(?) to
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affiliate with the IWA, this received no follow-up from the IWA.
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The IWA decided it must rely on the judgement of WSA, who told them
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to ignore the IWW's prospective affiliation.
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The policy of the IWA should be to seek the widest solidarity
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between syndicalist organizations of all countries. IWA Statutes
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allow only one affiliate in each country. This is supposed to
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discourage sectarian feuding. Ironically this rule has been used
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as a weapon by splinter groups to encourage it. Knowing that the
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IWA rarely refuses a request for affiliation from a country where
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no IWA section exists, these minority splinter groups take
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advantage of the IWA's goodwill. Once they are in the
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international, the IWA feels it must support these minority
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sections in their political feuds, without making a serious
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investigation into what these disputes are all about.
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To build a strong international, the IWA needs to reassess its
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affiliation process. The goal must be to federate with the
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majority syndicalist organization in each country. Where splits
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have occurred or where a small propaganda group seeks IWA affiliate
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status, the IWA should try to get input from the majority
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organization before committing itself. Certainly foot-dragging by
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the larger group should not stop the IWA from having contact with
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sympathetic minorities. The IWA, however, needs to be more aware
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of the consequences of giving these minorities official
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recognition.
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