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May Day message MAY DAY is a public holiday this year in England and Wales. Scotland will, for some resson, have to wait til next year. But Lapour could not even take this decision in a firm way. This traditional workers holiday will be a Bank. Haliday - in other worde a bourgeois holiday on every Monday preceding 1 May. A symbolic indiciment ol Labour government policies.
It is alno ironic that the same Labour Government which declares May Day a holiday also imposes bans on demon strations. The one in London is due to be lifted on 29 April, but in Leads the ban remains. Accordingly Yorksrire miners and the Leeds ages Council are going to dely the ban and march on Saturday. Absolutely correct. That is the beat way to make a mockery of such bans.
SHADOW OF RACISM But May Day 1978 will be celebrated this year under the growing aladow pr faciant tue select committee propo sals, Thatcher's speeches, the refusal of the Labour lefta to fight on this issue, are all an objective aid to the peddles of race nate and Nazi ideas It the National Front is growing today if is because the policies of the Labour government have created the conditions for it to do so Our May Day message this year tharefore concentrates on replying to the racists. That is building the Anti Nazi Carnival. And that is why we say: All Oul thia Sunday. Distribution and why we have been autumn of 1977. In a short space of time it has achieved a number of successes. How best can we build it in the coming months? What are the problems and how can they be resolved? TARIO ALI poses some questions and suggests how they should be answered.
The founding statement of the ANL concentrated all its posed by the Nazis. It warned of the impact of the NF in the next General Elections and argued that the lad to be accordingly those opposed to fascism within 1 The leading foroe behind the ANL was the Socinlist Workers Party. Clearly worried by the isolation of the far-left and the obscene witch-hunts in the media following Lewisham and Ladywood, the SWP attempted to hreak out of the circle, It did by constructing a tacit alliance with a number of left ocialist-democrats and ignorng both the Communist Party and the rest of the revolutionary left. We pointed out at the time that this was an error. We still hold that opinion.
PROPAGANDA The main effort of the ANL producing MANS propaganda of an agitational character. They answered the fascist lies and arguments. Given that their propage ida was directed essentially at people far removed from any form of socialist politics this their leaflets and posters ure too "simplistic" cannot be sustained when it is understood who the ANL is trying to speak to and for what purpose We should acknowledge that it has done an the help of Rock ANT managed to reach layers 'of otherwise have remained totalIv unmane to the eronical pamphlets, press and other propaganda of the far left and many anti-racist committees The development of SKAN School Kids Against the Nazis) to counter the NF is one such example.
EVENTS Ifthe ANt had confined itself to simply producing propeganda and people to sponsor it, me would have been forced to conchide that it would remain stillhorn. For useful though its poster and leaflets are, they are not the rough But the ANL has CEIVENES such as the Carnival. It is ocunnine to oncanise loca activities and actions as well. It picketed and interrupted Judge McKinnon; it hounded the Waffen 55, etc. In other words it sees itself as an activist organisation, That is why it is continuing to have an impact.
And therein lies its importance.
PROSPECTS Hut what concrete focus does it offer the thousands and thousands of anti-racists in this country? Not just after the Carnival, but after the next general elections? It is difficult to say at the moment, Many veleran anti-racist activists are openly contemptuous: It's a sbort-termi operation. They'll be gone tomorrow and we'll be left to pick up the pieces. Now there is an imponant die truth in this How should problem?
In the first place we should organise local ANL branches "But they won't let us', reply No one can stop you" is our reply. Ser up ANL distribute literature and produce your own in every locality to take account of local problems. Where IDeal ANI groups exist work to build them. I can already bear protests: Stop stop. stop. What do where there are local antifascist committees?" An important point. But decisive criterion is whether they are activities. they ace, then they should affiliate to the ANL nationally, while maintaining their local identity CONFLICT We are clearly not in favour of counterposing ANL to bodies such as ALTARE (All London Teachers Against ALARM (ALl Lambeth Anti Racist Move. ment), or WARAF (Women Against Raciam and Fascism), but we do believe that they should affiliate to the ANL There is a disturbine division today between the older, more experienced activists in the Ba-tacist Colources tolany of them being delegates from Samour 300 cocal 000ic 8300 soung, nuacant our opinion this is an unnecessary and dangerous counter position. It can begot rid of int a stoke by calling a conference ANL in the autumn.
DEMOCRACY Such a confercace should be open tonal those active in the and it should do wo things which are, Jacking It should adopt two clear demands: No Platform for the Nuris and Repeal the Racist Immigration Acts. The growth of stale racism and the ise of fascismt are intimately -BREECHIS shauld be recognised by the ANL. Other by local ANL committees or by graups like SKAN, Doctors Against the Nazis, Media Workers Against the Nazis, etc. Secondly, it should elect Steering Committee to introduce the missing element of fascist activists of the ANt. In accountability in the functioning of the AND Such an orientation would enable the ANL to develop a mediuin-term political persper. tive and offer a real lend to all militants who want to cogsee ut anti-fascist and The forthcoming conference of the National Co-ordinating Consmitlee Against and Fascism wire DC the ts asseuibly of anti-racists since the formation of the ANL. It would be disastrous if this conference decided to ignore the ANL because of soine justified complaints. Instead what has to be napped out is a set of proposals to unite the old and the new. That is what the bulk anti-racist SULLIVINE RABE They are fod - up bickering and squabbles, gardiess of who is to blame Unless we stem the rot many of these will becolne passive in the corning months.