THE LAST few months have witnessed a sharp increase in campaigning activity by students up and down the country. The Thatcher government's continuing assault on the living standards and rights of the working class, women, black people, lesbians and gay men in Britain and her support, along with Reagan, for the most vicious and repressive regimes in the world if necessary through arbitrary international state terror raids widespread student notably students have solidarity with struggles world-wide.
The overwhelming opposition of students to the British government's support for the apartheid regime in South Africa has been clear in local action and in the turn-out on national demonstrations. Banners from student unions and Labour clubs formed the biggest single contingent on the 2 November AAM demonstration.
Most student unions have banned barclays bank from using facilities on premises, refuse to take Barclays cheques and have banned stocks of foods and goods from companies that deal with South Africa. In the Polytechnic of Wales students with the loca counch prevented South African linked companies holding interviews and trying to recruit graduates on colleges proses.
Students turned out in demonstrations to protest against the US bombing of Libya and demand US bases out of Britain.
The historic shift by NUS Easter conference to commit the withdrawal took place in the wake of wide-ranging Sinn Fein college tours.
Solidarity with international struggles has combined with student action against the proposed Fowler attacks. Over 35,000 were February London demonstration and occupations in many colleges. Students too have been prominent at the banning sales of papers, and spreading support.
These actions are part of a broader upsurge of student protest across Europe and the US. For many the leading role of youth and students in South Africa is a real inspiration.
Students in the US have been involved in wide-ranging political action. Action opposed to apartheid has been the most striking. On 15 campuses students have set up mock shanty towns, mostly in college administration blocks. There have been sit-ins, demos and pickets. College facilities have been renamed in honour of South tionaries. the Berkeley continuous student protests against apartheid since 9 April has involved almost daily police clashes, arrests and injuries ding that Berkeley's $2.4 billion invested in companies linked with South Africa are divested.
Fifty thousand students turned out on the 9 and 16 March demonstrations demanding woman's right to choose abortion. US have also gression towards Central America, in support of the American Indian movement and against their forcible eviction from the Big Mountain area in Arizona.
The most notable feature about all this activity is its internationalist character.
The decision of Labour Party Black Section 1o organise tours and support in the colleges, of the Nicaragua solidarity campaign to organise a student network, and of the LCI to step up their level of organisation among students are big steps torward. They give an organised political lead to the campaigning activity and sentiment of students. Such political initiatives should be supported and built on as the way to want NOLS and NUS to lead rather then trail behind the kind of actions students themselves have been taking.
- a support backed up have provoked mobilisations. Most shown lead in anti-imperialist student union coach loads lu support for British on the Wapping picket lines and in fundNew International African revoluUniversity of California Students are demanstudents been organising action against US agorganise those students who KINNOCK LOUDLY proclaims his adherence to 'democratic socialism'. But his opposition to any serious democratic principles is shown by veterate hostility organisation within the Labour Party.
No one would dream of proposing that nonminers should vote in the NUM, or non-engineers should vote in the AEU. But Kinnock proclaims that whites should decide the organisation in the Labour Party, and that men should vote in deciding the decisions of women's Party leadership in refusing to allow black people to control their own organisations. AFTER the Labour leadche defeat of Black Sec- had orchestrated tions at the annual party conference last year, they offered the Black Aslan Advisory tee as an alternative. This aman outer was a walesa ed in the Labour Party's with its black members the black in 1985 debated a report produced by the Positive Discrimination Working Group of the National Executive Committee (NEC). It went on, however, to rubberstallin the dissenting minority report, produced two members of the working group. This proposed the Black and Asian Advisory Committee. working group as a whole was set un atter Black Sec. tions had started to take Tool ne varly.
The group began work more than a vear earlier. lt had previously produced a consultation The I ne Black Electorate. This discussed the issues raised by the debate on Black Sections and invited comments from the whole of the Labour movement.
The consultation was one orine woestever con ducted by the party. The response received was just impressive. An overwhelming majority of the respondents, including constituency Labour Parties ana unions favoured fully constituted Black Secuons in the Labour Party.
Majority This majority rived at despite strenuous by leadership to undermine the debate over Black sec tions. Attacks the working group reached such a pitch at one point that chair, NEC member Jo MP personally requested Neil Kinnock refrain obstructing the group's inquiry. Nevertheless the Labour leader said on the 23 May 1985 'I am adamantly against Black Sections ...I would not give a damn if th whole Labou was against me on this. ' Indeed two thirds of those sulted were against Kinnock so much for OUI This inwomen's selfleadership of black. 'democratic socialist party.
Two months later the Instead it CommitASIE ally policy formulation it has purely role on matters'.
stubbornly refused to working group's recomof This tensIon the first Larry Whitty. went on government by Africans was to sel up even Digger committees African Provisional Councils. These were even failures. Major political and social change was not achieved by the advisory committees by Africans' own organisations.
Much like in Africa, brusn imperlans m lndia was characterised by outright antee oppression, concessions to rally the moderates 'divide and rule'. Lord Cross's Indian Councils Act of 1892 enlarged the Indian membership of the Imperial Council — Wilc! was a national talking shop. By 1886 the Punjab Government of Lyall had already introducer ate elections for Hindus and Muslims in an attempt divide in towns like Hoshiapur, Lahore and Multon.
Pressure for self-government 1n colonies continued CLO build up. Acknowledging this Secretary of State Morley wrote to Vicerov Minto in letters in 1906 bureaucracy Cas won't go on forever, some Indians should be allowed in executive and legislative councils • of course (British) officials would retain the majority'.
The Indian Councils Act of 1909 allowed greater OSCUSS On budgets resolutions but with British officials AFTER A number of overseeing events with a majority. This constitutional experiment WON shortlived. It neither rallied the moderates nor prevented unity between Hindus and Muslims.
Anyone who knows it will striking ACCORDI resemblance to the Labour Party's 'Black and Asian Advisory Committee which attempts to divide black members. The Black Section in contrast has unitec Africans, Caribbeans, and consituency Black Sections across the country under their OWE self definition of Black.
The British Party's whole approach to Black people in Britain has been fashioned by the colonial experience. On the hand BaCK people have been denied rights of committee SELDORd aCSH which exists in the Labour movevisory committees been set up which pretendea lo lake seriously problems of black people These committees, largely comprising of white race experts' have history of failure. Their cynical role was clear from the start.
So now we have come full circle. The last 25 years have seen the leadership Bantustan Ulte advisory committee another. All have closely followed colonial models used in Africa and Inala. All have come to nothing Labour's policy mak. ing management bodies consist of delegates elected by various sections which make up the party.
women, Jewish through elect members represen them. can't people? Advisory committees to advise white policy makers not enough We don't just want a slice of the cake, we want access to the recipe.
We ask all those who are sympathetic to Black Section: who have cepted membership of this commullet to resign immediately. They are unwitcollaborating in a neo-colonialist structure which history holds in coneeting the
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student upsurge against imperialism
conference and the women's places on the NEC. Continuing our series on the 'Black and Asian Advisory Committee' PAUL SHARMA, Midlands Organiser of the Black Section, looks at the colonial models of this committee and the way in which it continues the long, and rotten, record of the Labour