Diary

Over 250 people attended a teach-in at SOAS on 12th Oct 2002.

Check out who gave talks at this event.
Transcriptions of presentations from this event available soon!
This event was jointly organised by SOAS Stop the War and UCL Stop the War Coalition

On Wednesday 11th December 2002, two representatives from the Zanon ceramics factory in Neuquen, Argentina were invited to speak; this ceramics factory has been producing under workers control for over a year. Natalio (Chicho) Navarrete from the Ceramic Workers Union Neuquen and Mariano Pedrero, the union lawyer, related their experiences and the experiences of a nation in crisis. They had just returned from a tour of Italy, speaking at the European Social Forum and to hundreds of Fiat workers in struggle against job cuts.

For many workers and the unemployed, the economic crisis in Argentina started at least two years prior to the events of December 2001. Already then, the bosses of the Zanon factory had been threatening job cuts claiming that the factory was in crisis. When the workers demanded to see the books and to see the extent of this 'crisis', the bosses decided to close the factory. In October 2001, the workers of Zanon occupied the factory because they knew that they were the only ones that were interested in keeping the factory open.

The state, which had given massive subsidies to the factory when it was under the control of the bosses, used the police force to attack the factory and attempt to throw the workers out. Even the official trade union (Peronist influence) tried to send scabs in to break the occupation. But the workers stood firm and proved that they could run the factory without the help of the bosses. They have an elected committee that oversees the normal running of the factory, but all major decisions are made in an assembly of all the workers. Everyone has the right to speak and vote.

The Zanon workers have forged links with different sections of the community: the unemployed, the health workers, teachers and the university (both students and staff), as well as the Mapuche, the indigenous people of the region. As Chicho said, the workers realised that they would get nowhere by themselves.

This is just one example of over 150 factories across Argentina that are producing under workers control. The factories have formed a network so the speakers from these factories can go out to other factories that are on the verge of occupation to give them inspiration and support.

Argentine Solidarity Campaign

'BP's Secret Soldiers'
by Shona

A film and discussion evening was organised by SOAS STW and SOAS People and Planet on Monday 9th December 2002 to focus on an invisible yet continuous war being waged with the support of the US and UK governments in Colombia.

Javier Moya, a Colombian exile from state-terror and member of the Colombia Solidarity Campaign spoke on the nature of repression in Colombia on democratic protests, trade union activity and agrarian struggles. The US government and multinational corporations like Coca Cola and BP are sponsoring repressive measures adopted by successive Colombian governments which have led to the virtual banning of social protest as well as large-scale assassinations, kidnappings, arrests and torture. He specifically highlighted the role of BP, the UK based corporate giant, in contributing to the prevailing climate of fear and misery in the country.

Javier’s talk was followed by the screening of a documentary ‘BP’s Secret Soldiers’ and discussions on the nature of repression and resistance in Colombia today. Javier and Max Fuller from the Colombia Solidarity Campaign answered the questions that came up.

Next day, some members of SOAS Stop the War attended a vigil organised by the Colombia Solidarity Campaign outside the BP headquarters in London. The vigil took place on Tuesday 10th December, International Human Rights Day, because BP is refusing to accept responsibility for the human rights of peasants in Colombia and pay compensation to those dispossessed by its pipe-line. The names of trade-unionists murdered by the ‘BP-Coke-CIA’ axis with the help of the government and the extra-legal paramilitary apparatus were read out at the event.

Colombia Solidarity Campaign.

Grazie Firenze

On Wednesday 13th November, SOAS Stop the War members reported back from the European Social Forum in Florence.
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