Anti Racist meeting
national |
rights, freedoms and repression |
news report 
Wednesday September 03, 2003 12:58
by Davy Carlin - W/Belfast SWP
carlindavid at hotmail dot com
In Belfast
A letter I have sent to various groups. Those interested in attending are welcome
Dear Brothers and Sisters
Over the past while we have seen the rise of racist incidents and attacks on ethnic minorities around Northern Ireland. We have also seen the overt rise of racist material, graffiti and groups springing up in various areas. This would be of concern to all those progressive forces that look to seek a socially just and inclusive society. Following a recent meeting held in the Multi Cultural Resource Centre in Belfast attended by human rights organisations, ethnic minority support groups, Asylum seeker lawyers, practitioners, development organisations, and other interested parties, it was decided a second meting should be held. This meeting is to discuss any practical and visible strategies that can be developed to raise awareness and to tackle this increasing problem. Various groups and organisations are and have been actively trying to tackle this problem but it was suggested a broader meeting to discuss all the various strategies and maybe finding some practical activity together, could be yet another way of helping to bring this issue to the fore.
The meeting is to be held in the Multi Cultural Resource centre, Sept 17th at 7pm. Address 9 Lower Crescent Bt7. {The street across from the Empire, and is beside the One World Centre in S/Belfast}. Those groups, organisations and individuals who would be interested in attending the meeting are welcome. It will be informal and open to all to have an input. For further information contact Nathalie at the Multi Cultural Resource Centre at Nathalie@mcrc-ni.org or alternatively you can contact myself at carlindavid@hotmail.com, PH 07974632485.
Davy Carlin
Agreed Conve
Comments (6 of 6)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6Another swp bandwagon fronted by davey
to Davy / anybody else in the SWP
You could ignore the above comment - it doesn't amount to much and it will hardly carry much weight with readers.
Or you could moan about indymedia being full of sectarian sniping (despite the fact that this is a single anonymous user on the internet who many have no connection whatsoever with indymedia or anything else for that matter).
Or you could use this criticism as a chance to explain what this anti-racist initiative is, why it is not a front for the SWP, what measures have been put in place to ensure democracy and so on.
I know which type of response makes the best impression on me.
I was going to stick to Chekov's first point but will briefly answer the points of his third statement.
Quite simply - at a meeting not called 'by the SWP' a proposal was put for a second meeting where two people from two other groups one a leading human rights group and another a leading development - solidarity organisation both with 'no SWP members' then proposed me 'an SWP member' {as I had introduced myself at the meeting} to convene the next meeeting, with which I am working with a person as above from the MCRS whom had hosted the first meeting.
What measures have been put in place?, well the meeting has not met yet but as stated above all progressive organisations are invited and as I stated above it will be informal {no top table - but round table as like the first meeting} and democratic {all can have an imput, with the outcome decided democratically by the meeting.
Again, but now in a different context why is it so strange to some in the South that we in Belfast get involved in various campaigns we have not initiated simply because we actually believe in helping the campaigns {we have members in Belfast actively working in campaigns for years which we had not initiated, which holds many different organisations working together still today, within the same campaign} Or indeed why is it so strange to people that various organisations would and do offer us support and like above, have and do propose us at various meetings in Belfast?
My response was not directed to 'anonymous' but to Chekov whom I can agree with some of the points he has made on the site over time.
Davey will you confire that your party will
(1) load the meeting to push your agenda.
(2) Will be selling the party paper?
(3) Will be trying to recruit.
(4) Will you confirm that when your party realise that the will not sell any papers or gain any recruits they will walk away on to the next bandwagon.
What comes first the party or socialism?
Answered many such questions time and again for those that are regulars on this site, and for those that matter and whom we work with, well they already know those answers. Signing off away to a campaign meeting.
Maybe you'd like to patronise foreigners some more, next you might stretch to greeting them in public, obviously only if noones looking.
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