[New-imc] IMC Belgium and proposed new IMC Vlaanderen

[lize]

Hi all,

The testsite of Indymedia Vlaanderen is now on for more than a month.
According to me, some progress has been made since my last mail
http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/new-imc/2003-August/004187.html  

As the imc.vl collective stated, they wanted to turn their endless
criticism on imc.be into a positive project by making Indymedia
themselves. On the process list of the testsite, the enormous waste of
energy on imc.be bashing seems to be ended and they finally got to work.
They made already 3 features. They are consistently hiding imc.be
bashing articles on their site. They send out positive signs asking to
work together with the other collectives and divide tasks.

One feature is taken over from imc.wvl with most of the articles coming
from imc.be, which proves a kind of imc networking in Belgium is
starting to get some shape. In my imc.be feature on Cancun I was also
happy to be able to take over the Cancun action agenda from imc.vl.

So I still think the Indymedia Vlaanderen project/site should go ahead.
If the collectives can't work together, it's better to work separately,
instead of not working and wasting all energy on bashing each other. I
guess with some imc experience the imc.vl collective will also
understand better some of the imc.be situations they criticized so hard
in their pre-imc.vl life.

After working a while and getting some experience I think (hope) a kind
of spontaneous task division will get along between the different
collectives. It is clear that it is stupid to do double work and as the
present imc.be collective is really too small, another group of people
helping to cover is very welcome in Belgium. I don't think the
overlapping region is a problem, after all this discussion was never
about regional but political division. 

The proposal of solving the discussion with a portal site is really too
complicated, I am sorry but it seems like a concept of a 'business plan'
to me. Like all grassroot movements, the Indymedia making in Belgium
will get shape by working and by action, not by endless theoretical
discussions about decision trees and competence divisions. I am
confident that we will find practical solutions as soon as practical
problems are presenting themselves. Let's not imitate our enemies and
leave the abstract thinking behind.

Finally, I hope the imc.vl collective will not get into the same
political propaganda making error as imc.be did during the elections,
because it is already clear that a lot of people behind imc.vl are also
involved in setting up a new political party in Belgium.

So, in my view, go ahead with making Indymedia Vlaanderen an official
imc centre.

Regards,

Lize