[Imc-india] Fwd: <nettime> world social forum digest
evan
evan at protest.net
Mon Jan 12 20:51:26 PST 2004
This is a digest of articles related to the WSF and projects various
groups are working on.
see everybody soon,
evan
Begin forwarded message:
> From: "geert lovink" <geert at xs4all.nl>
> Date: Mon Jan 5, 2004 23:21:24 US/Eastern
> To: "Nettime-l" <nettime-l at bbs.thing.net>
> Subject: <nettime> world social forum digest
> Reply-To: "geert lovink" <geert at xs4all.nl>
>
> (official homepage of the World Social Forum (Mumbia, January 16-21):
> http://www.wsfindia.org/. I wonder who from nettime will be attending
> the
> wsf in Mumbia (I am not...) and if someone would like to a report or
> diary
> from there and if others perhaps would like to co-compile this nettime
> digest with me. I am in particular interested in discussion papers,
> such as
> the one from Peter Waterman. /geert)
>
> 1. New Digitised System for Translation
> 2. Dialogues on the Knowledge Society Workshop
> 3. Democratization of Information with a Focus on Libraries
> 4. Networking the Free Media (Ciranda)
> 5. Archaich Left Challenges WSF (PeterWaterman)
> 6. Sarai @ WSF
>
> 1. MUMBAI WORLD SOCIAL FORUM
> A NEW DIGITALISED SYSTEM FOR TRANSLATION
>
> During the next World Social Forum, which will be held
> in Mumbai, India, 16-21 January 2004, a new
> translation system will be used. The interpreters are
> volunteers: Babels guarantees this service, as it did
> with success during the last European Social Forum.
> For the first time, we will not have to rent equipment
> at exorbitant rates thanks to the combined use of FM
> transmitters (for Indian languages) and a computer
> based system that will digitalise the translation.
> This system, called Nomad Interpreting Free Tools
> (NIFT) uses a simple computer which is able to make an
> interface between the speakers, the translators and
> the audience. NIFT is a joint effort of several
> groups, including APO33 and Babels, together with
> free-software actors in various countries. This is an
> ongoing process needing support from a wider variety
> of actors and groups.
> NIFT reduces the costs, enables the debates and
> conferences to be broadcast via audio streaming in all
> the languages translated, and to archive and index, by
> speaker, the contents of these debates and conferences
> through different media, such as DVD, CD and websites.
>
> Today, we have three different propositions to make.
>
> The first is to offer the possibility to diffuse, by
> Internet, languages that will not be officially
> translated in Mumbai. The second is a request to make
> your website available as a mirror site to broadcast
> the conferences and debates during the WSF. And third,
> we are inviting you to join the NIFT project that will
> be developed using free software and GNU licence.
>
> This is a proposal for those who want to translate the
> debates of the WSF into languages that will not be
> officially translated in Mumbai. (The official
> languages are Hindi, English, Marathi, Castillian,
> French, Japanese, Thai and Korean.) For this to
> happen, the interested organisations or institutions
> need to provide one or more translators and to help
> share the costs. The cost is probably about $200 to
> rent a computer for one conference room and to
> contribute to the costs of the internet connections,
> but the cost will be much less if the translators has
> his/her own laptop able to work with linux.
>
> If you are interested, please let us know very soon to
> wsf_stream at ras.eu.org with:
> The language you want to translate
> The number of ?channels? you want to use. A ?channel?
> is a conference room where translations is in place,
> but it is possible to change the ?channel? from room
> to room with minimal delay at no additional cost.
> The number of translators you will have for the job.
>
> 2. This is a request to set up mirror sites to stream
> and to archive the translated conferences. As you
> know, streaming uses a lot of band space and by
> sharing we can resolve this problem. Each site that
> wants to be part of this mirroring system can do it in
> one or several languages and will take the stream
> directly from the provider installed for the WSF in
> Mumbai.
>
> The mirror sites will be linked to www.wsf.india.org.
>
> If you are interested, please send the following
> information to: wsf_stream at ras.eu.org
> Organsiation
> Country
> Languages you want to broadcast
> Are you in India for the WSF?
> Name of the technical contact
> Email
> Telephone
> Url of your site:
> Does your provider allow streaming?
> Have you done it before?
> What is your available bandwidth?
>
> 3. Third is an invitation to join the NIFT project.
> This software will be available on 2 January at
> http://sourceforge.net/projects/targ/. We welcome any
> comments, suggestions of new functions or help to get
> rid of the bugs
>
> In solidarity
>
> NIFT
>
> --
>
> 2. From: <indigen at vsnl.net>
>
> Dear Friends,
>
> The Dialogues on the Knowledge Society workshop has been allotted two
> sessions:
>
> January 17--------------------------------- 1P.M. to 4.P.M.
> January 19----------------------------------5P.M. to 8.P.M.
>
> You can get more details at
> http://www.wsfindia.org/event2004/search.htm
> Search by typing <Indigen Research Foundation> in the text box .
>
> There will be presentations by
>
> Krishna Gandhi, Jhansi
> Tenzin Gigzin, Pune
> Ananya Vajpeyi, Bangalore
> Sunil Sahasrabudhey, Varanasi
> Krishnarajulu Naidu, Hyderabad
> Jinan K.B., Aruvacode
> Amit Basole , Durham
> Avinash Jha, Delhi
>
> WSF2004 is being held at NESCO grounds in Goregaon East, Mumbai. You
> can see
> the
> map at http://www.mumbainet.com/cityinfo/citymap.htm
>
> Please send mail for any more information.
>
> Surendran
>
> --
>
> 3. TISS/LIB/WSF
> 29th Dec 2003
>
> World Social Forum (WSF) is taking place in Mumbai 16-21, January
> 2004.On
> this occasion Network Institute for Global Democratization (NIGD),
> Bytes For
> all, and Sir Dorabji Tata Memorial Library, Tata Institute of Social
> Sciences are jointly organizing a library focused International
> Workshop on
> Sunday 18th January 2004 at Mumbai. Details of the workshop can be
> found on
> the website: www.nigd.org/libraries/mumbai.
>
> Theme: Democratization of Information with a Focus on Libraries
>
> Date: Sunday 18th January 2004
>
> Timing: 09.00am Registration
> Venue: Sir Dorabji Tata Memorial Library, TISS, Mumbai
>
> IFLA Chair Ms.Kay Raseroka will be delivering the Key Note Address.
>
> Sub themes for Panel Discussions
>
> 1. The Right To Memory
> 2. Library Paradigm - Library Power
> 3. Alternative Knowledge Formation
> 4. Information Literacy And Capacity Building
> 5. Open Source Systems In The Library And On The Net
>
> Dr.Muttayya Koganuramath
>
> Librarian and Coordinator
>
> Sir Dorabji Tata Memorial Library
> Tata Institute of Social Sciences
> Deonar, MUMBAI-400088
> Tel:022-25563290 Extn.285
> Fax:022-25562912
> Email:journalslib at tiss.edu
>
> --
>
> 4. Indymedia's Radio Group - D.R.O.P. project will Produce a Live
> Internet Broadcast: Thursday January 31st - Monday February 4th.
> For Immediate release, Monday, January 28th, 2002
> Contact: imc-audio at indymedia.org
>
> http://radio.indymedia.org
> 1. The World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil
> 2. The World Economic Forum and protests in New York City
> 3. The Munich Conference on Security Policy protests in Munich
> 4. Additional Programming from India, the UK, San Francisco and
> Seattle,
> among others.
>
> The World Economic Forum
> Some very important people are missing from the headlines and the
> stories of
> the world's most influential economic institutions like the
> International
> Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the Free Trade
> Area
> of the Americas. The real players--corporate representatives--meet
> for the
> World Economic Forum (WEF) this year in New York City with minimal
> remote
> press access. Teach-ins and protests planned in New York City get to
> the
> heart of corporate globalization and US economic power.
>
> http://www.weforum.org
> http://www.anotherworldispossible.com
>
> The World Social Forum
> Also missing from the headlines are the alternatives devised by
> grassroots
> organizations and the world's non-elites. Set to happen at the same
> time as
> the WEF is the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil, a conference
> exploring such alternatives to an increasingly standard corporate
> agenda.
>
> http://www.forumsocialmundial.org.br/eng/index.asp
>
> The Munich Conference on Security Policy
> This annual meeting brings together the government officials and the
> military of NATO and the EU. Much of the coalition behind the military
> coalitions that brought us the wars in Afghanistan, Kosovo, and Iraq
> are
> forged in conferences like this security conference. The last few
> months
> have seen military coalition involvement from Japan and Germany
> unprecedented since WWII. European activists are planning to bring
> their
> message held by most of the world: not to expand the "War on
> Terrorism" to
> more countries.
>
> http://www.carneval-against-nato.de/
> http://www.anti-nato.de.vu/
>
> During our broadcast, Stations can:
> 1. Stream the live broadcast any time
> 2. Download audio highlights from the live stream for broadcast; or
> 3. Download produced MP3 programs giving background, updates,
> headlines,
> stories and wrap-ups.
>
> The live internet stream will begin on January 31st and last through
> February 4th from stations in Seattle, San Francisco, Vermont, New
> York,
> Munich, Porto Alegre, and India.
>
> To View a Schedule of the Broadcast please go to
> http://www.Protest.Net/drop/
>
> To broadcast or listen to the Stream link to one of the following
> url's:
>
> http://freeteam.nl:8000/drop - 24kbps
> http://live.waag.org:7800/drop -24kbps
> http://xaos.pvl.at:8000/drop - 24kbps
> http://radio.uk.solpsists.org:8000/drop - 24kbps
> http://www.autistici.org:8000/drop - 24kbps
> http://radio.us.solpsists.org:8000/drop - 24 kbps
> http://notowar.com/blast.m3u - 16kbps
>
> For archived mp3's of the broadcast go to
> +http://radio.indymedia.org/drop/archive.html
>
> Some portions of the stream may be in Portuguese, Spanish, French, or
> German.
>
> If you have any questions about playing the broadcast, please email
> imc-audio at indymedia.org
> For more details, go to:
> http://radio.indymedia.org
>
> Since the WTO protests in Seattle, 1999, the Independent Media Center
> (IMC)
> has been covering the voices of those critiquing these global
> institutions and their impact on democratic structures, then streaming
> it
> over the internet. Likewise, the IMC will produce live breaking
> coverage of
> the forums and protests in Brazil, New York, and Munich. Hundreds of
> media
> activists will be calling in reports, conducting phone interviews and
> collecting audio on the front lines, in workshops, and at teach-ins.
>
> For more about the IMC, go to:
> http://www.indymedia.org
> http://www.indymedia.org/about.php3
>
> See also Microradio.net for more information about live web streaming:
> http://www.microradio.net
>
> --
>
> 5. World Social Forum 2004: Networking the Free Media
> Information is a public service, not merchandise.
>
> To build another world, we need to make another media possible-- a
> media
> that is not subjugated by the interests of corporate controlled media
> and
> one that operates outside the realm of market and financial
> considerations.
>
> This is an initiative to build a strong independent press. We call all
> political and not-for-profit publications and independent journalists
> who
> want to join hands against the increasingly evident association between
> media firms and political and economic power. This initiative will give
> publications the right to freely publish each other's work, provided
> the
> source and the authors are acknowledged.
>
> WSF 2004 at Mumbai will have a mosaic of 1200 conferences, panels,
> seminars,
> workshops and cultural and political activities with journalists
> reporting
> on debates, the progress made in the design of alternatives,
> limitations,
> consensus building and other controversial aspects. In practical
> terms, this
> is a sure way to ensure wider coverage of WSF.
>
> The initiative has a name-Ciranda-and a history, that is two World
> Social
> Forums old.
>
> What is Ciranda? It is an international independent form of information
> exchange, a copyleft[1] exchange among alternative press publications
> and
> journalists (reporters, broadcasters, photographers) worldwide that has
> become a trademark of this platform searching for global alternatives.
>
> It brings together hundreds of journalists and dozens of independent
> print
> and electronic publications from all over the world and offers a
> special
> coverage of the WSF meeting in several languages through the Internet
> (www.ciranda.net). During the previous two WSF's, the information
> distributed by Ciranda over the web was reproduced by dozens of printed
> publications and other media throughout the world.
>
> Who's already on board: Le Monde Diplomatique and Media Solidaire in
> France;
> The Nation and Zmag from the US; Il Manifesto, Liberazione and Carta
> from
> Italy; TaZ from Germany; One World from England; Rebelion from Spain;
> Focus
> on the Global South from Australia/Thailand and dozens of publications
> of
> Brazilian union and social movements among others.
>
> The gaps? Media from Africa and Asia. The run-up to WSF Mumbai will
> see us
> pulling Ciranda's net over these gaps. Just as the World Social
> Forum's move
> from Brazil to India has mobilised a different half of the world.
>
> Last year's hits: 60,000 a day.
>
> Nature and Scope: The vast majority of alternative media initiatives
> in this
> part of the world are in the print medium that need to be drawn into
> this
> initiative. We perceive our role as initiators and expect alternative
> media
> organisations particularly net based initiatives to come forward and
> take a
> lead role.
>
> Our long term vision perceives this initiative as a step towards
> building an
> independent alternative news wire service from South Asia that could
> continue even after WSF moves on to a different locale next year.
>
> Who can register? All journalists of the alternative, independent
> press who
> intend to come to WSF 2004 may join Ciranda. Publications can become
> partners (their logo and link will be featured on the Ciranda website)
> and
> can assist in the pre-event planning as well as during the event along
> with
> the existing Ciranda team and members of the WSF communications group.
>
> How do I join Ciranda?
>
> Only accredited journalists will be able to cover events at WFS 2004.
> As the
> first step you will have to:
>
> 1. Register on line for free (or fill the two enclosed press
> accreditation
> forms) at the official WSF site: http://wsfindia.org/pressroom.php
>
> 2. Downlload the registration form(available in the press room of the
> website), fill it and mail it to us at
> office_communication at wsfindia.org.
> Or, post the enclosed form to us at the address provided below.
>
> Note: Those who participated in the previous meetings, must register
> again.
>
> Submitting Articles: Articles/images will be uploaded by journalists
> by way
> of a password which will be provided by the Ciranda organising team.
> With
> the use of the document sharing program Publique!, the information is
> posted
> immediately. Registered journalists will receive information on the
> training courses available for the use of specially designed software
> Publique! which will be offered in Mumbai one day before the start of
> the
> forum.
>
> Ciranda editors: Articles will have to go through a group of editors,
> who
> will review titles and lead-ins, only in cases where the text exceeds
> the
> number of characters set by the graphic design.
>
> The content of the articles will not be altered. Participants are
> completely
> free to choose what activities and themes they are interested in
> covering at
> the Forum. The Ciranda staff will indicate activities where coverage is
> still in need of support.
>
> Translation: Ciranda will publish articles in the original language,
> unless
> authors themselves provide translations.
>
> WSF 2004 will provide a meeting and workspace( including computers&
> Internet
> access) for this project.
>
> Those interested in finding out more write to us at
>
> World Social Forum 2004
> Bhupesh Gupta Bhawan III Floor, Leningrad Chowk, 85 Sayani Road,
> Prabhadevi,
> Mumbai 400 025
> Telephone: + 91 22 2421 6249 / 2421 6251 Fax: + 91 22 2421 6382
> E-mail: office_communication at wsfindia.org Website: www.wsfindia.org
> Contact Persons: Minu Jose: 9820052377 Damayanti Bhattacharya: 98190
> 28409
>
> --
>
> http://www.opendemocracy.net/debates/article-6-91-1576.jsp
> Archaich Left Challenges the World Social Forum
> By Peter Waterman
>
> In early November 2003, the coordinating committee of farmers'
> organisations
> from across India decided not to associate themselves with the World
> Social
> Forum. Instead, they are creating a separate 'Global Peasant Forum
> under the
> banner of Mumbai Resistance-2004 along with other genuine
> anti-imperialist
> forces in India and abroad'.
> Mumbai Resistance-2004 (MR2004) describes itself variously as a
> 'genuine',
> 'anti-imperialist', 'class', 'activist', 'socialist', 'revolutionary'
> forum
> (see http://www.mumbairesistance.org).
>
> It is a counter-hegemonic movement from the period of
> national-industrial-colonial capitalism. This was a machine-age
> capitalism,
> and it gave rise to mechanical interpretations of Marxism. MR belongs,
> more
> specifically, to the 'Marxist-Leninist' (Maoist) tendency and is
> linked (in
> more than a cyberspace sense) with the International League of Peoples
> Struggles, (ILPS) and the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).
>
> This movement considers discussion and analysis of the rights and
> wrongs of
> globalisation to be a derogation from a 100-year-old Leninist theory of
> imperialism. It is therefore suspicious of or hostile to the
> anti-globalisation movement. The only concession it will make to the
> new
> movement is that it has managed to capture a widespread and
> multifarious
> discontent internationally. It therefore becomes a suitable object for
> penetration and/or competition.
>
> This movement pursues a Marxism of binary opposition, a Manichean
> Marxism
> with oppositions like these:
>
> Capitalism/Socialism
> Reform/Revolution
> Bourgeoisie/Proletariat
> Imperialism/Nationalism
> NGO/People's Movement
> WSF2004/MR2004
> Mass/Vanguard
> Civil Society/Class Struggle
> Post-Modernism/Marxism
> Revisionist Marxists/Revolutionary Marxists
> Reflection/Action
> Communist Party of India (Marxist)/CPI (Marxist-Leninist)
> Workers Party in Brazil/Shining Path in Peru
> Lula/Fidel
> Ideology/Science
> Globalisation/Imperialism
> False anti-imperialism/Genuine anti-imperialism
> ATTAC/International League of Peoples Struggles
>
>
> In such a Manichean Marxism, the Proletariat is either 'suffering from
> false
> consciousness' (misled by Reformism, Bourgeois Ideology, a Labour
> Aristocracy, a Union Bureaucracy, a Wavering Petty-Bourgeoisie,
> Imperialism), or led correctly by a Vanguard (representing Science,
> Revolution, the long-term general interest of the international
> Proletariat).
>
> It has little or nothing to do with a dialectical Marxism, which
> recognises
> internal contradiction (for example, within each of the apparent
> opposites
> above), interpenetration (socialism within capitalism, capitalism
> within
> socialism) and, I would suggest, mutual dependency (that 'reform' and
> 'revolution' are part of each other's meaning). Nor does it have much
> to do
> with a historical Marxism (specific to a time and place, developing
> over
> time, such as Marxism-Feminism, or Libertarian-Marxism).
>
> Rather it is one that is Essential (fundamental, already present in
> Marx-Engels, or Immanent and later revealed by the speaker's favoured
> prophet), Universal (applicable worldwide) and Infinite (true for
> ever).
> This tendency was well represented by Lenin when he said that 'Marxism
> is
> All-Powerful Because it is True'. This can, did and does lead to
> unfortunate
> corollaries, such as 'I am all-powerful, therefore what I say is true
> is
> Marxism'.
>
> Whilst it is easy to recognise, and satirise, the discourse linking
> those
> associated with MR2004, it is more difficult to decide what attitude
> one
> should take toward them. There is a matter of who they meaningfully
> represent (as distinguished from their customarily-inflated claims, and
> their problematic notions of 'representation'), and what kind of
> threat they
> represent to the healthy development of the process of which the World
> Social Forum is a central part.
>
> The best example - the major example - of Manichean Marxism on these
> sites
> is where they engage with the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO).
> Within
> their discourse, the NGO occupies the position of Extreme Evil - even
> if the
> speaker's particular party is not named as representing Highest Virtue.
>
> NGOs, in this view, are agents of imperialism, confusing, corrupting
> and
> misleading the masses. Much evidence and argument is mustered to drive
> home
> these points. Statements from the World Bank, MNCs and other agents of
> imperial power are quoted to show how shamelessly these promote NGOs.
> Figures are provided revealing the extent to which the Ford Foundation
> in
> the US, or the ICCO in the Netherlands, may be funding or otherwise
> supporting the WSF. All this evidence may be accurate, if not
> particularly
> new. But the general interpretation of them is somewhat problematic.
>
> Earlier this year, there was created in the USA a body called
> NGOWatch. The
> neo-conservatives behind this project share a Manichean - although
> not, of
> course a Marxist - view of NGOs, seeing them as unrepresentative,
> agents of
> communalism, and even enemies of major US corporations!
>
> One awaits with some interest the Manichean Marxists's response to
> NGOWatch.
> To be consistent with the Conspiratorial Manifesto, they would have to
> say
> that NGOWatch has been created in order to mislead the masses into
> believing
> that NGOs are not agents of imperialism!
>
> What this confirms, in my view, is that 'NGO', like 'Civil Society' is
> a
> fiercely disputed term (like all the interesting ones), and that what
> they
> are or mean can only be understood according to how they are
> articulated
> with other phenomena and discourses, such as those of class,
> capitalism,
> patriarchy, imperialism and - today particularly - globalisation. This
> means, I guess, that we need to consider such concepts relationally,
> historically and concretely. And then to discuss different
> understandings so
> as to be able to achieve effective emancipatory action internationally.
>
> A dialectical and historical approach to the NGO phenomenon (Marxist
> or not)
> must come to terms with its complex and contradictory nature (see, for
> example, Mary Kaldor on accountability), and to surpass, rather than
> simply
> accept, a negative definition which only tells us what these are not.
>
> In the meantime I would like to suggest that the rise of NGOs is
> simultaneously an indication of an ideological/political crisis of
> capital
> and state (increasingly challenged from civil society) and an attempt
> to
> circumvent or dominate this (through the creation, surveillance and
> discrimination of NGOs). To assume that because those with power
> favour,
> fund or legitimise something, it is reduced to their mere instrument
> is to
> underestimate both the social forces working in another direction and
> the
> sophistication of the bourgeoisie.
>
> If, for example, the Ford Foundation is funding the World Social
> Forum, as
> it is, this suggests to me that the Ford Foundation is cleverer than
> the
> Manichean Marxists. Do contradictions hold up when they reach the
> doors of
> the Ford Foundation? I don't think so. Contradiction is everywhere. I
> recall, in 1970, asking a US radical, researching workers in Northern
> Nigeria, how he could possibly be funded by Ford. He said: 'I am the
> internal contradiction in the Ford Foundation!'. I do not recall his
> consequent PhD as being notably functional to US imperialism. Lisa
> Jordan,
> who works for Ford, has produced a thought-provoking, if telegraphic,
> slideshow on NGO accountability. This could, again, be considered
> functional
> to Ford, but it actually raises democratic challenges to NGOs where the
> Manichean Marxists simply issue rhetorical condemnation.
>
> The Ford Foundation has to also legitimate itself in the public eye.
> It is a
> rich, powerful and quite obviously unaccountable force (except for such
> legal requirements as may apply in the US), funding the WSF, or
> participants
> therein. But to assume that what it is, or does, or wishes, will
> express a
> unique interest (or function on behalf of a similarly single capitalist
> interest) is to engage not in dialectical analysis but in conspiracy
> theory.
>
> Indeed, I would like to suggest that both Kaldor's and Jordan's pieces
> on
> NGO accountability could and should be used in relationship to the
> vanguardist political parties, the unions and women's organisations,
> and the
> WSF itself! At least until and unless the latter produce more
> appropriate
> criteria and practices on the matter.
>
> The World Social Forum is a field in which many forces are at play. It
> combines features of a 'new' politics with those of an 'old' politics
> (see
> Sen, Jai, Anita Anand, Arturo Escobar and Peter Waterman - eds - The
> World
> Social Forum: Challenging Empires. New Delhi: Viveka, forthcoming).
> So, it
> may talk about equality, horizontality, transparency, accessibility,
> accountability and plurality, whilst itself practicing hierarchy,
> verticality, secrecy - and being heavily influenced by the culture of
> the
> international NGOs of the 1990s.
>
> This is where the pejorative concept of 'NGOisation', or ongización,
> comes
> from. But the critics are themselves involved with the new social
> movements,
> the NGOs and global civil society, and seek to remedy the problems.
>
> Nevertheless, many of the criticisms being made by MR supporters hit
> home.
>
> It is, for example, true that Prakash Karat, then an activist of the
> Communist Party of India (Marxist) produced a major tract in the 1980s
> - of
> the 'NGOs = Imperialist Agents' genre. This was called Foreign Funding
> and
> the Philosophy of Voluntary Organisations. It is also true that the
> CPI(M)
> today, a major force within WSF2004 in India, has pragmatically
> abandoned
> this position, and thrown itself energetically into the funding
> practices it
> previously demonised. Without, as far as I am aware of any similar
> major -
> or even minor - tract, explaining and justifying its reversal of
> position.
> Karat is now a national Politburo (Soviet language) member of the
> CPI(M).
> Indeed, he recently participated in an event in West Bengal which not
> only
> referred, neutrally, to (state- or party-approved?) NGOs, but implied
> that
> such were to be subject to CPI(M) supervision:
>
> "The NGO office-bearers must remain accountable to the
> state/district/zonal/local committees in accordance with their
> geographical
> area of operation; in the task of organising festivals and fairs,
> Party's
> committees concomitant to the location/area of the event must be
> consulted
> with and the event must be organised under the supervision of the
> concerned
> Party committee."
>
> (This report is worth reading in full, in so far as the
> bureaucratic-authoritarian style, of ''criticism and self-criticism'
> reproduces that of Stalinist parties, whether in power or not). The
> failure
> of the CPI(M), or Karat, to publicly qualify or reverse a major
> theoretical/strategic option of the past, is unsurprising. Power
> (however
> petty) has its reasons, which do not require justification or even
> explanation, to the Powerless - or even to those with simply Less
> Power.
>
> It is also true that those with power within the World Social Forum -
> or
> such regional emanations as the European or Asian Social Forums - are
> both
> willing and able to interpret WSF Charter principles (e.g. on the
> presence
> and role of political parties, or their front organisations) at will,
> and
> customarily without explanation or justification. There even seems to
> be,
> within the WSF, a more particular sensitivity toward the 'threat' from
> the
> old militarist left and the new libertarian one, than toward those on
> the
> right. Even leaders of the activist Call of Social Movements within
> the WSF,
> are less transparent, less open to challenge, less willing to engage in
> dialogue than they might claim to be - or to urge on others (see
> Waterman
> 2003).
>
> A final problem is formed by the endorsement of the Mumbai Resistance
> boycott/alternative by a whole range of Indian organisations,
> including at
> least one major network of farmers. In so far as this network seems to
> similarly raise a question about its relationship with the
> 'International
> Farmers' Movement' - for example Via Campesina - the matter goes
> beyond the
> WSF to affect the global justice and solidarity movement more
> generally. Via
> Campesina is a new international network of peasant and small farmer
> organisations, independent of the World Social Forum and taken to be an
> example of the new social movement internationalisms.
>
> This piece is not intended to provide an adequate response to the
> Forward
> March of the Manichean Marxists. It merely provides some evidence,
> attempts
> some analysis, and raises some problems.
>
> If MR2004 is now reproducing, with respect to the global justice and
> solidarity movement in general, a traditional vanguardist politics
> (which
> can include 'entryism' as well as condemnation and external
> competition),
> then the WSF is going to have to draw on all the resources of the new
> counter-hegemonic movements in order to surpass the challenge of the
> old.
>
> --
>
> 6. SARAI @ WORLD SOCIAL FORUM, MUMBAI
> Panel discussion: Crisis Media of the Millennium
> January 20, 2004, 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
> Venue to be announced shortly
>
> Speakers:
> Ravi Sundaram, Sarai-CSDS (Chair)
> Toby Miller, New York University
> Shuddhabrata Sengupta, Sarai-CSDS
> Lawrence Liang, Alternative Law Forum
>
> A Bookstall, at the WSF venue, will also sell our publications, and
> take
> advance orders for Sarai Reader 04.
>
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