UPON THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL FORUM
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The 3rd European Social Forum (ESF) has been organised in London, the capital city of the United Kingdom, between the dates of 14-17 October 2004. More than 20 thousand people, representing different nationalities of Europe and also coming from other countries of the world, have discussed upon the search for "another world" for four-days in more than 400 seminars, plenaries and workshops. The occupation of Iraq and Palestine and the resistance against them have formed the subjects that went ahead in the debates during the ESF. The neo-liberal attacks in Europe and the struggle against it was, essentially, not being made the subject of plenaries by the organisers of the social forum, but was discussed within the various seminars and workshops.

The 3rd European Social Forum become the sphere of debates and struggle on different ideological and political positions and understandings. Despite the efforts of the organisations, those who hold organisation of the Forum in their hands and essentially carry pacifist and reformist bourgeois understandings and politics, the participants have put their own wills forward on many points. The ideological struggle has exposed itself in two main fields.

One of them was the debates between the ones in which our Party has also taken part with, those who directly tried the imperialist war and occupation and clearly took the side with resistance in Iraq and Palestine, and the other various reformists, including the forum organisers, who say that they are against the war and occupation but in fact approve the imperialist occupation and secretly brought the collaborators of the occupation to talk there. These chauvinist and social chauvinist understandings, aiming to legitimise the occupation, were protested by not letting the occupants and their collaborators speak. The representative of the Federation of Trade-Unions in Iraq, Masadani, who approves the occupation and is a collaborator, was sent back without making his speech as a result of protests led by our Party and other revolutionary organisations. Ken Levingstone, the mayor of London from the Labour Party -a partner of the imperialist war- became the one who were also not allowed to speak by protests.

The other debate -where the differences have clearly appeared- was on the subjects of "what sort of Europe do we want?" and "the struggle against neo-liberal attacks". There were two understandings that were put forward on these debates. One understanding has represented the idea that the concept of "social state" in imperialist capitalist Europe is being filed-down, and therefore defended the adjustment of the dosage of the neo-liberal attacks and the protection of "social and democratic Europe". But the other understanding has defended that the only alternative of the imperialist capitalist Europe is a socialist Europe and the struggle against neo-liberal attacks should target to destroy capitalism. Our Party has presented the socialist alternative to tens of thousands of people, those who came to the ESF in a search, by distributing tens of thousands of materials and making speeches at the seminars and plenaries under the slogan of "The Alternative of Capitalism is Socialism".

The other noticeable fact in the ESF was the organisers' anti-democratic attitudes such as counting the masses as nothing and trying to exclude those who were approaching critical. For example, they have taken the decision of organising the 4th ESF in 2006 in Athens without achieving consensus among the delegates, including the delegates from Greece, and presented it as the decision of the social forum. Also the resolution was prepared behind closed-doors, and only pre-decided people were allowed to talk on but other participants were not allowed when they brought it to the assembly of social movements at the last-day. Many people protested against the announcement that "the plenary agrees with the final resolution in its prepared form".

As it was in Paris last year, the demonstration that has been organised at the end of the forum in London this year became a splendorous action where the communist and revolutionary parties, organisations and trade-unions have expressed themselves. The demands of freedom to Palestine and support to the resistance against the imperialist occupation in Iraq have come to the forefront at the ESF and the demonstration. The participation of Che Guevara's daughter, Aleida Guevara, and her speeches has strengthened the fight against the imperialist barbarism.

It must be the task of all forces who are struggling for socialism to participate in the social forums where thousands come together, ideological and political struggle is at the forefront and in order to take the alternative of socialism against the bourgeois understandings that represent the imperialist capitalist system as the door of the search for another world.

MLCP, up to today, has tried to show that socialism is the only one alternative and liberation by participating in the continental and country social forums in Europe, the World Social Forum in India and by taking her place at the mass demonstrations against the imperialist summits. Our Party is going to continue to do her responsibilities on these fields hereafter also.
 

 

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UPON THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL FORUM
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The 3rd European Social Forum (ESF) has been organised in London, the capital city of the United Kingdom, between the dates of 14-17 October 2004. More than 20 thousand people, representing different nationalities of Europe and also coming from other countries of the world, have discussed upon the search for "another world" for four-days in more than 400 seminars, plenaries and workshops. The occupation of Iraq and Palestine and the resistance against them have formed the subjects that went ahead in the debates during the ESF. The neo-liberal attacks in Europe and the struggle against it was, essentially, not being made the subject of plenaries by the organisers of the social forum, but was discussed within the various seminars and workshops.

The 3rd European Social Forum become the sphere of debates and struggle on different ideological and political positions and understandings. Despite the efforts of the organisations, those who hold organisation of the Forum in their hands and essentially carry pacifist and reformist bourgeois understandings and politics, the participants have put their own wills forward on many points. The ideological struggle has exposed itself in two main fields.

One of them was the debates between the ones in which our Party has also taken part with, those who directly tried the imperialist war and occupation and clearly took the side with resistance in Iraq and Palestine, and the other various reformists, including the forum organisers, who say that they are against the war and occupation but in fact approve the imperialist occupation and secretly brought the collaborators of the occupation to talk there. These chauvinist and social chauvinist understandings, aiming to legitimise the occupation, were protested by not letting the occupants and their collaborators speak. The representative of the Federation of Trade-Unions in Iraq, Masadani, who approves the occupation and is a collaborator, was sent back without making his speech as a result of protests led by our Party and other revolutionary organisations. Ken Levingstone, the mayor of London from the Labour Party -a partner of the imperialist war- became the one who were also not allowed to speak by protests.

The other debate -where the differences have clearly appeared- was on the subjects of "what sort of Europe do we want?" and "the struggle against neo-liberal attacks". There were two understandings that were put forward on these debates. One understanding has represented the idea that the concept of "social state" in imperialist capitalist Europe is being filed-down, and therefore defended the adjustment of the dosage of the neo-liberal attacks and the protection of "social and democratic Europe". But the other understanding has defended that the only alternative of the imperialist capitalist Europe is a socialist Europe and the struggle against neo-liberal attacks should target to destroy capitalism. Our Party has presented the socialist alternative to tens of thousands of people, those who came to the ESF in a search, by distributing tens of thousands of materials and making speeches at the seminars and plenaries under the slogan of "The Alternative of Capitalism is Socialism".

The other noticeable fact in the ESF was the organisers' anti-democratic attitudes such as counting the masses as nothing and trying to exclude those who were approaching critical. For example, they have taken the decision of organising the 4th ESF in 2006 in Athens without achieving consensus among the delegates, including the delegates from Greece, and presented it as the decision of the social forum. Also the resolution was prepared behind closed-doors, and only pre-decided people were allowed to talk on but other participants were not allowed when they brought it to the assembly of social movements at the last-day. Many people protested against the announcement that "the plenary agrees with the final resolution in its prepared form".

As it was in Paris last year, the demonstration that has been organised at the end of the forum in London this year became a splendorous action where the communist and revolutionary parties, organisations and trade-unions have expressed themselves. The demands of freedom to Palestine and support to the resistance against the imperialist occupation in Iraq have come to the forefront at the ESF and the demonstration. The participation of Che Guevara's daughter, Aleida Guevara, and her speeches has strengthened the fight against the imperialist barbarism.

It must be the task of all forces who are struggling for socialism to participate in the social forums where thousands come together, ideological and political struggle is at the forefront and in order to take the alternative of socialism against the bourgeois understandings that represent the imperialist capitalist system as the door of the search for another world.

MLCP, up to today, has tried to show that socialism is the only one alternative and liberation by participating in the continental and country social forums in Europe, the World Social Forum in India and by taking her place at the mass demonstrations against the imperialist summits. Our Party is going to continue to do her responsibilities on these fields hereafter also.