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It matters little where the imperialist warlords
hold their conclaves, the masses have come out in militant actions against these
gangsters. Since Seattle, not a single meeting of the international mafia has
been able to get by without serious clashes in the streets. Whether it was the
WTO, IMF, World Bank, or meetings of other imperialist scum .... they had to
face the wrath of the masses. Their meetings could only proceed, when defended
by a fortress of armed police. After Seattle, it was Washington, Davos,
Canberra, Thailand, Prague, .... and now Nice.
The lengthiest summit meeting in the history of the
European Union was held between December 7 to 11th 2000, at Nice, France. The
meeting, which was held to discuss the expansion of the EU, witnessed
acrimonious squabbling within and pitched battles on the streets outside.
Of the four major issues for discussion, not one
could be clinched. They concerned the voting and other powers of the individual
members and the influence they would wield in an expanded EU. With the 13 added
members planned, from the East European and Balkan states, and also Turkey,
Cyprus and Malta, it is set to become the largest trading bloc in the world. The
two most powerful members, France and Germany, battled for increasing control,
while Britain sought to preserve its "special relationship" with the US. In the
final agreement worked out, Germany, due to its large size, was able to extract
the biggest concessions for domination over the EU. The meeting also further
strengthened the powers of the Big Four (Germany, France, Britain, Italy), while
cutting back on the clout of the smaller states. This has left countries like
Belgium, Portugal, Luxembourg, Austria and others seething. The number of votes
allocated to each country has been re-weighted in favour of the Big Four.
During the 4 days, Nice was virtually a city under
siege. 6,000 policemen patrolled the streets, while helicopters hovered above.
Sharpshooters took positions on rooftops of buildings.
Over 1 lakh demonstrators converged on Nice. They
were from all over Europe — French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese.
There were violent clashes between the heavily armed police and the protesters.
The demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails, smashed shop windows, overturned cars
and set fire to a bank. The police fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowds.
20 policemen were injured, one of them seriously. Nearly 100 demonstrators were
arrested.
The battle raged on, while the imperialist dons
squabbled over the lavish banquet laid out for their chieftains.
Those demonstrating represented a broad spectrum of
dissidents, unhappy with the vehement attacks on the people in this period of
globalisation. They ranged from pacifists, environmentalists to anarchists and
socialists. Most have no alternative to the existing system except vague utopian
dreams. Such demonstrations are likely to wear itself out unless they come
forward with concrete alternatives and work in that direction on a daily basis.
Such an alternative can only be a socialist system achieved through a
revolutionary overthrow of the existing order.
Taking advantage of the temporary setback in the
socialist forces worldwide, and the discredit of the communists resulting from
revisionism, the NGO outfits seek to divert this discontent into acceptable
channels. They act as a safety valve, convenient to the imperialists, that
attempts to dampen people’s anger and rage at the system. Many such, attack
socialism/communism more vehemently than they oppose the ills of imperialism.
Yet, such demonstrations have gone beyond their ‘peaceful’ controls. With the
growing influence of revolutionary and Maoist forces worldwide, the genuine
fighters against the muck of imperialism, will seek revolutionary alternatives.
It is this, that these gangsters fear the most.
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