[New-imc] Re: [iraq-supporters] Funding al-muajaha - some questions

[boud]

hi rosa, yasir, majid, everyone,

On Tue, 22 Jul 2003, jvalens wrote:

> Nope. They have already decided to go through the new-imc process -
> http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/new-imc/2003-June/004072.html. - first
> step of new imc-process; so it's a new-imc group business.

Thanks for the link - this application looks like it comes from the locals. :)

yasir, majid: hi, glad that you have some email access and are able to
directly communicate with the indymedia network :))). Once more people in 
Iraq have email access, you should consider making an email list
imc-baghdad where most of the discussion will be by and among people *in Iraq*,
for example for discussions about how to have a non-profit budget and avoid any
risk of commercialism, risk of hierarchy, etc.

i thought christopher mitchell was helping you through the new-imc organising
process, but maybe he's busy with other stuff, and maybe rosa or a bristol or
UC person wants to help you, or else you can simply read the stuff and do it
yourselves. If you have web access, please look up:

http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/NewImcHowTo

You should probably save a local copy of this page, also save local
copies of

http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/PrinciplesOfUnity
http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/MembershipCriteria

and then work through them. Please carefully read  the NewImcHowTo page.
You've probably already done a lot of it, but some things you may not
have thought of before - it may take time to discuss these locally 
in your collective and decide in what way you accept them, or if there
are some points that you do not accept, it's better to say that and be
honest. 
 
IMHO, many indymedia people would be uncomfortable if your collective
wanted to become for-profit. This is clearly a sensitive point which
you should discuss in your collective. When my local IMC was getting
organised, even though the people participating are real activists,
the neoliberal brainwashing here in Central Europe is so
widespread that even real anti-corporate, pro-human rights,
pro-ecology activists here had difficulty realising that IMC PL could
get organised and function without any "sponsorship", and that the
word "sponsorship" itself is about accepting money in return for losing
independence... If we're going to accept any money, we should at least
use a more neutral, "independent" word.

You are of course welcome to contact a few indymedia groups around the
world directly if you want to "test" what opinions there are on this
theme apart from Bristol and urbana-champaign - horizontal
local-to-local links are definitely to be encouraged. Full contact
info is here: http://www.indymedia.org/contact.php3

Regarding the BBC, i suggest you read through the links at
    http://www.almuajaha.com/newswire/display/725/index.php
to understand why some people would be concerned.
Some time ago many people in the indymedia network were quite
upset at the idea of accepting money from the Ford Foundation; people
might also be upset at the idea of accepting money from CNN/Fox
News/BBC/Rupert Murdoch/Conrad Black/Lagardere/...

In any case, it's something (among others) for you to discuss locally,
just as deciding on a decision-making process, and editorial policy, etc.
also need to be done.


> I understand Petros concerns - he says that people are diying because of
> this war. But that's the reason why we need to give all support to Baghdad
> IMC. Bristol IMC and UC IMC are doing a terrific job helping them, and
> Baghdad IMC is an extraordinary victory to the Indymedia network and to
> freedom of speech. By the way, everybody already calls Al-Muajaha the
> "Baghdad IMC". The situation there is so urgent, desperate and exceptional
> that I think we should even consider putting them in the cities list
> immediatly, with or without the remark "provisional".

rosa: in that case, you are welcome to help them through the organising
process - the page for a new-imc helper is

http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/NewImcHowHelpUs


solidarity
boud (new-imc + IMC PL volunteer)