ANSWER activist meets anti-war movement in Netherlands
Workers World interviewed Judi Cheng, an anti-war
activist from the ANSWER coalition in New York who toured the
Netherlands for a week, meeting with the anti-war movement
there.
WW: What groups invited you to do the speaking tour in
the Netherlands?
JC: International ANSWER was invited to take part in a
speaking tour of the Nether lands from Feb. 10 until Feb. 17,
meeting with Dutch peace activists and holding political
discussions. The tour was organized by the National Platform, a
broad coalition that represents the anti-war and peace movement
in the Nether lands. The National Platform includes the New
Communist Party of the Nether lands, student activists, labor
organizations, religious affiliations and immigrant-rights
organizations. It has been actively organizing against what
they call "the New War" since December 2001. The National
Platform is organizing for the international demonstration on
March 20 from cities all across Holland.
Tell us what the tour was like.
There were six public forums, one each day of the week, held
in various cities, including The Hague, Amersfoort, Zwolle,
Arnhem, and Amsterdam. They were held in community centers
where community members and activists came together to hear
about the work that was taking place in the United States in
preparation for the international march and demonstration on
March 20.
The meetings drew up to 50 people of all generations, races,
and levels of political consciousness. Generally, the Dutch
activists were very aware of issues such as depleted uranium,
the U.S. war against Vietnam, the power of media propaganda and
economic/social issues facing the Dutch people.
Some of the organizers told me, however, that just as in our
own anti-war movement, it is a continuous challenge to raise
the level of political consciousness among the average Dutch
citizens and to engage the Dutch people in activism against
their own government, which has sent 1,100 Dutch military
troops to Iraq.
Most Dutch citizens oppose their government's involvement in
the U.S./UK invasion of Iraq. Before the invasion, on Feb. 15,
2003, the Dutch people sent a strong message to the government,
as 80,000 people protesting the upcoming war filled the streets
of Amsterdam, joining 15,000,000 people in 600 cities all
around the world. The National Platform is calling for the
Dutch troops to be brought home.
What kinds of questions came up in the
discussions?
The questions that came up most frequently were: What are
people in the United States doing to mobilize against war and
imperialism? Are people in the United States aware of the power
of the media monopolies? Will the upcoming presidential
elections have an impact on the situation in Iraq? What are the
problems facing the working and poor people in the United
States? Do the people in the United States see the relationship
between U.S. aggression and capitalism?
What did you learn about the situation for workers in the
Netherlands?
Although Dutch workers have more in the way of social
services than we do, these are slowly being taken away as the
government there puts more tax money into military build-up and
uses tax funds to finance Dutch participation in the occupation
of Iraq. Dutch society too faces issues of racism, sexism,
homophobia, and economic issues such as unemployment.
During my visit, the Dutch government was discussing the
plan to expel 26,000 undocumented workers. These workers
typically hold low-wage, service-sector jobs. Rightists blame
them for job losses and strains on the economy.
What were your overall impressions of the Dutch
movement?
The Dutch anti-war activists that I met were extremely
dedicated to the struggle against war and imperialism, working
very hard to organize meetings, distribute leaflets. They were
coming up with creative ways to get their messages out through
alternative newspapers, Internet Web sites, and radio news. I
thought they were very sophisticated in their political
thinking and educated in their knowledge of world events. Many
people were anti-capitalist and blamed capitalism for war.
There were socialists, communists, anarchists, pacifists, and
individuals who simply wanted to take a stand against the war
against Iraq.
I was very warmly greeted by all, who clearly distinguished
between the people of the U.S. and the government. Nearly
everyone had previously heard of International ANSWER, and was
excited to know that there were dedicated individuals like
themselves fighting injustice, racism and imperialist war from
inside the belly of the beast.
I brought with me a display of photos from demonstrations
organized by people in the United states, and this got a great
deal of attention. This week-long solidarity tour was an
important step toward creating a truly international
anti-imperialist movement.
You had an opportunity to meet Philippine leader
Professor Jose Maria Sison while an Amsterdam?
I had the honor of visiting with Pro fessor Jose Maria Sison
of the Interna tional League of Peoples' Struggle and with
members of BAYAN Interna tional. We exchanged greetings and
pledged international solidarity. The Philippines is under
continuous threat of colonial occupation by the U.S., which
aims to re-establish military bases there. ANSWER tries to
combat these attempts.
Reprinted from the March 25, 2004, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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