by Darrall Cozens, Coventry UCU member
In the aftermath of the Manchester terror attack and the murder of 22 people much will be written and many will pontificate about cause and effect. Opinions will range from the brain-dead Katie Hopkins echoing Hitler and the Nazis with her call for an “Endloesung” (Final Solution) to the rabid anti- Labour “The Sun” with its headlines “Blood on His Hands” blaming Corbyn and his talks with the IRA for creating an atmosphere for the bombing of innocents. And along the way there will be some on the fringes who will defend the action as part and parcel of the struggle to “free” the Muslim world from “Kafirs” (non-believers).
So what do I think as all of us will have opinions on this atrocity?
1. My heart goes out to the families of those who died or are injured. My granddaughter is 8 years old and to think that her life could be cut short as was the life of an eight-year-old girl is too painful to contemplate. The rage within me would be uncontrollable. But after the rage has subsided, what then? What can we as activists in the labour and trade unioin movement propose to end this cycle of the murder of civilians who had nothing to do with the imperialist adventures of their respective governments in the Middle East?
2. The bombing campaign of ISIS and its adherents does not strengthen its “cause” but weakens it. I am reminded of what Karl Marx said about the Fenian bombings in London in December 1867 which also killed innocent bystanders. The cause of the liberation of Ireland from English imperial rule was set back as the forces of the State were strengthened and many sections of the London population were turned against neighbours and friends of Irish origin.
3. The massacre in Manchester will embolden the forces of reaction. Anti-Muslim sentiment will grow despite the world-wide condemnation of this act by tens of millions of Muslims. Back in 1999 a white man, David Copeland, planted a bomb in a London pub frequented among others by gay people. Two died and 81 were injured. Did the press and the sections of the public blame ALL white people or ALL Christians for this atrocity? No! It was the work of an anti-gay fanatic. Fast forward to Manchester now. Who is being blamed in sections of the press? Corbyn and ALL Muslims. All are seen as guilty by association.
4. The atrocity will not only strengthen the forces of reaction but also the forces of the State. In the 1970s and 80s the Baader-Meinhof gang in West Germany carried out a series of attacks against the German state. Their actions were based on the theory of “Gewalt und Gegengewalt” (Violence and Counter-violence). They believed that if they attacked the State apparatus, it would respond with a greater suppression of liberties and that would turn the population against the State and towards the BM group. It did not work. The overwhelming majority of the population supported the repressive measures of the State.
5. Over the past year in France there have been restrictions on civil liberties under extended “States of Emergency” after a spate of terrorist attacks including the massacre at the Bataclan music hall in 2015 and the Nice promenade lorry killings in 2016. All of these gave fuel to the rise in the polls of the National Front and greater powers to the State.
6. In the middle of a General Election here in the UK where Labour was surging in the polls on the basis of a very radical programme that would be of great benefit to ordinary people, will the tide be turned back to May as the “strong and stable” candidate at a time of insecurity and panic, despite the fact that May and the Tories offer absolutely nothing except greater misery and cuts for working class people? The media will certainly play its part in trying to discredit Corbyn and Labour and that will have an effect on more politically backward sections of the population. Corbyn’s speech on terrorism and the invasions of the Middle East, due to be given later today, has already been attacked by a whole series of “interviewees” and the BBC presenters on Radio 4 today, May 26th. And that is before the speech had been given! Will Manchester, therefore, be May’s Falkland factor with the connivance of the mass media, especially the BBC?
7. Individual acts of terror solve nothing. The cause of the liberation of the Middle East from reactionary regimes propped up by Western imperialism, which at the moment is concluding arms deals with the reactionary beheading-loving Wahhabi rulers in Saudi Arabia so that they can bomb and maim civilians in impoverished Yemen, will not be served by acts of terrorism. Ordinary people in the West and in the Middle East have the same enemy, a capitalist system that exploits and impoverishes the majority so that a minority can lead a life of luxury. On the basis of a socialist programme to change the foundations of our societies to ones that will work for the overwhelming majority we need collective class action. Our struggle to that end is set back by individual acts of terrorism that give credence and strength to our opponents – the rich and powerful, the Murdochs and Trumps of this world.
8. And finally! Heart warm thanks to the ordinary people of Manchester who opened their doors, gave lifts and provided warmth, food and drink to those affected by the terror attacks. And very grateful thanks to the workers in the public services, the fire fighters, the health service workers and the police, workers who have been under attack by the Tories since 2010 with massive cuts in personnel and wages. In every crisis they are in the front line.
May 24th 2017
