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Solidarity Conference Elects Co-Convenors, Tommy Sheridan and Rosemary Byrne |
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Solidarity members from across Scotland came together today for the first in a series of national all-members conferences. Our party, launched in early September met to discuss a proposed constitution, a name for the party and to appoint office bearers. More importantly, it was a chance for members to come together for the first time since the launch rally to debate what Solidarity means to them and how we should move forward in the future. The interim steering group, appointed by regions and political platforms, had drawn up a draft constitution which was discussed in a very spirited political debate. Several members expressed their belief that Solidarity could be more than just a socialist party and could develop into a natural home for all anti-establishment protest movements. The importance of linking up with growing movements against Islamophobia and reaching out to our muslim communities was highlighted, as was the need for socialism to be at the forefront of our campaigns. Eventually, after an excellent exchange of views the party's draft constitution was adopted by a unanimous vote. The nature of the debate highlighted that Solidarity will grow from the members and that the party is packed with comrades with a huge contribution to make to that development. In a close vote, the interim title of "Solidarity - Scotland's Socialist Movement" was adopted as the name of the party. Rosemary Byrne and Tommy Sheridan, the party's two MSPs, were unanimously endorsed as Co-Convenors. Rosemary said: "This party will be a party of members, branches and regions and Tommy and I are delighted to be asked to lead Solidarity into next years Scottish elections. I fully endorse the constitution as a document that allows the grass roots of the party to decide on how we build and organise in the future. I would hope that members will play a full and active part in what will be a genuine, bottom up movement." The conference also appointed Graeme McIver as National Secretary, Gordon Morgan as National Treasurer and Jim Monaghan as National Press and Media coordinator. Another all-members party conference will take place in Februaray. |
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Eight dead as Israel Launch Attack on Gaza |
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In light of their latest military incursion into Gaza, resulting in the deaths of 8 Palestinians and the wounding of a further 60, Solidarity reaffirms its condemnation of Israel's brutal and barbaric treatment of the Palestinian people. The state of Israel, founded upon the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians, and existing since at their negation, has violated UN resolution after UN resolution with regard to its continued, illegal occupation of Palestinian territory, has invaded its neighbours with impunity, and yet continues to receive the unquestioning support of the British government and the active sponsorship of successive US administrations. People all over the world are now campaigning for Palestinian human rights, and Solidarity pays tribute to all those who attended a demonstration against the Israeli football team, Maccabi Haifa, in Glasgow last night. Mick Napier, Chairman of the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC), was at the demonstration: "One of the main elements in ending apartheid in South Africa was the international campaign to boycott and isolate it economically and culturally. Most of these football players are also serving soldiers in the IDF, and when they're not on tour playing football they are brutalising Palestinian civilians at Israeli checkpoints all over the occupied territories." Solidarity MSP, Tommy Sheridan, recently travelled to Lebanon as part of a delegation to view firsthand the damage wrought by Israeli aggression there. "The scale of the destruction I saw in Lebanon, and the heartrending accounts of the people we met, has left me in no doubt that Israel is intent on terrorising its neighbours using weapons supplied by the US and our own government. The Palestinians and the Lebanese cannot be allowed to stand alone in the face of this terror any longer." Solidarity demands that Israel abide by UN resolution 242, passed in 1967, demanding that it withdraw from the occupied territories of Palestine and from the Golan Heights. We also take this opportunity to applaud the continued fortitude and resilience of the Palestinians, who refuse to be ethnically cleansed from their land. |
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Byrne and Sheridan End "Tour" in Dumfries |
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Rosemary Byrne and Tommy Sheridan, the Solidarity MSPs will speak tonight at a rally in Dumfries at the end of a tour of meetings and rallies across the country. The tour, billed “Red October”, which started in Edinburgh at the end of September, has seen speakers from a wide range of protest movements join the MSPs on the Solidarity platform. They have also taken part in mass rallies and demos during this time including the “Time to Go” rally in Manchester, the “Independence First” march in Edinburgh and, this Saturday, Byrne joined marchers in Greenock. Amazingly, in between all of this they have both managed to launch parliamentary bills and Tommy Sheridan even managed to take part in a Scottish delegation to Lebanon. Solidarity Rallies have been held in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Inverness, Paisley, Hamilton, Cumnock and Dunfermline. This week was the final leg of the tour with Aberdeen on Monday and the final rally at The Minerva Hall of Dumfries Academy at 7.30 p.m. Rosemary Byrne said: “It has been tiring but very uplifting as we have met and been inspired by so many people across Scotland and beyond. It doesn’t end here though as we have our first Solidarity National Conference in Glasgow on Saturday and as soon as that is over we will be back out on the campaign trail, offering Solidarity to trades unionists, anti-war campaigners and activists.” Tomorrow night Rosemary Byrne will speak at a Solidarity branch meeting in Kilmarnock, next week the MSPs will join hundreds of Solidarity members for a 24 hour protest at Faslane as part of the Faslane 365 campaign and Tommy Sheridan will be in Dundee on Monday with Osama Saeed and Aamer Anwar, speaking at a meeting for civil liberties addressing the targeting of Muslim students by Special Branch.
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Solidarity Call for a Criminal Inquiry on Iraq |
The first Commons debate on Iraq since the war began in 2003, culminating in a vote to determine if a public inquiry should be held, was last night defeated by the government. Disappointingly, the news headlines greeting this result have focused on the extent to which the government's majority was slashed, down to 25.
Regardless of the extent to which the motion was defeated, Solidarity views the entire debate and vote on a public inquiry as an insult to the hundreds of thousands of lives lost in Iraq, to the many hundreds of thousands more injured and maimed for life, and to an entire generation of Iraqi children whose lives have been blighted by the carnage and chaos resulting from this illegal and immoral occupation.
In so doing we stand with the millions and not the millionaires in proclaiming that the issue to be determined is not whether there should be a public inquiry on Iraq, but where and when there will be a criminal inquiry.
Pat Smith is an Edinburgh-based campaigner with the Stop the War Coalition:
"This result illustrates once again how divorced the government is from the vast majority of people not only in this country but all over the world. At mass demonstration after mass demonstration over the last three years, people have turned out in their tens of thousands to voice their opposition to the war, and yet our politicians are still debating whether or not there should be a public inquiry."
Thus far 655,000 Iraqis have been killed in this conflict, as have 2,800 US and 120 British servicemen. The cost to the US taxpayer has been $338 billion, with the British taxpayer out of pocket to the tune of £1.6 billion.
Recent events in Iraq prove that the Neocon Project for a New American Century (PNAC) is unravelling. This imperialist project, designed and embarked upon to ensure US global hegemony through the control of the world's energy reserves, is now being defeated. Here at home the evidence of the extent to which it is being defeated lies in a concerted campaign, initiated by the government, to target Muslims in a blatant attempt to deflect attention away from their role in the continuing carnage.
Solidarity MSP, Tommy Sheridan, had this to say:
"Such is Tony Blair's arrogance and contempt, he didn't even attend last night's debate over the chaos that he's unleashed in the Middle East. Not only is he a disreputable Prime Minister, he's a disreputable human being, and I look forward to the day when he answers for his lies and his crimes in an international criminal court."
Solidarity remains committed to campaigning against all imperialist wars and occupations, both inside and outside the Parliament. Moreover, we remain committed to ending the economic system that lies at the root of such wars, as well as at the root of the devastation of working class communities the length and breadth of Scotland.
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Solidarity Condemns Illegal Nuclear Weapons |
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Solidarity today confirmed their participation in the Faslane 365 protest next week, taking up the baton of the year long protest from 09 November for 24 hours.
Solidarity MSPs, Tommy Sheridan and Rosemary Byrne, today joined forces to condemn the illegal arsenal on the Clyde while calling for an end to the criminalisation of anti-nuclear protestors such as SSP MSP, Rosie Kane.
Sheridan, himself once imprisoned for campaigning against nuclear weapons, said:
"Nuclear weapons are not only immoral, they are illegal, having already been outlawed by the International Court of Justice. Those protesting against them should be applauded not criminalised." Rosemary Byrne also condemned the jailing of Kane. "From any point of view nuclear weapons must be opposed. They are immoral, illegal and financially a waste of precious resources. It is nuclear weapons that must be criminalised not the anti-nuclear protestors. Tommy and I will be part of the Solidarity 24 hour opposition next Thursday, 9th November as part of the 365 Faslane protest." Both Solidarity MSPs are currently touring the length and breadth of Scotland, attracting packed houses with Solidarity's vision of a nuclear-free Scotland in which social and economic justice replaces profit and inequality. The tour ends tomorrow night in Dumfries, following which the party's first Conference takes place in Glasgow on Saturday, November 4th.
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The RMT, Britain's biggest rail union, has announced that it is to sever all political ties with the Scottish Socialist Party. The decision was made in consultation with the union's Scottish branches and leadership committee, and is believed to be directly linked to the SSP leadership's treatment of Tommy Sheridan.RMT general secretary, Bob Crow, said: "It gives no pleasure to have to take this decision, which has been made in close consultation with our Scottish committee and branches. "However, it is clear that there are elements within the SSP that have destabilised the organisation, that the atmosphere within it is no longer conducive to comradeship, and that it is no longer in our members' interests to remain affiliated." Whilst no decision has been made by the union with regard to any future political affiliation, Solidarity takes this opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to the trade union movement, as set out in our founding statement. SSP national convener, Colin Fox, had this to say: "The fact is that the RMT did not support the party's position regarding Tommy Sheridan's court case." The RMT represents 75,000 workers nationwide and last year donated around £10,000 to the SSP. Tommy Sheridan, upon hearing of the RMT's decision, said: "The RMT have led the way with their opposition to New Labour's attacks on workers and pensioners, in recent years, and with their strong commitment to public ownership. It represents its membership in the best traditions of the trade union movement, where solidarity and principle go hand in hand." Solidarity's inaugural Conference will take place on Saturday, November 4th at the Central Station Hotel in Glasgow, where the party's constitution will be launched. We extend a warm invitation to all of our friends within the trade union movement to what will be an historic event. |
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Powerless Parliament Passes the Buck on Rail Bill |
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The Local Government and Transport Committee of the Scottish Parliament decided to recommend that Tommy Sheridan’s bill to renationalise Scotland’s railways is outwith their powers. This is despite powers to run the railways being devolved from Westminster earlier this year. Tommy argued that this is a grey area and that if Scotland has the power to run the railways then we also have the power to decide how they are run. The decisions highlights the hollow claims of Jack McConnel in a speech this week that Holyrood needs no further powers and the hypocrisy of the SNP who, once again, voted against a policy contained in their own manifesto in an opportunistic move to scupper any bill from a socialist in the parliament. The bill is not dead yet though as Tommy is seeking legal advice on how to take this further, he said: “This spineless committee have no wish to take responsibility for even their own devolved powers and it is outrageous that the SNP would attempt to scupper a bill that their own members support.” Yet again, Scottish people and our elected representatives are denied a chance to decode for ourselves how vital services are run. |
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Solidarity Condemn Israel’s Use of Chemical Weapons |
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Israel has admitted using controversial phosphorous bombs in the conflict in Lebanon. Cabinet Minister Jacob Edery said shells containing the substance were used in attacks on Hizbollah targets in open ground. Until recently Israel said it only uses such munitions to mark out territory for targeting. White phosphorous burns with extreme intensity when it comes into contact with air. It can cause deadly chemical burns and horrific injuries. Solidarity MSP for Glasgow, Tommy Sheridan visited Lebanon last week to witness first hand the destruction caused by Israel’s illegal attack. “Once again Israel commit war crimes and once again it goes unnoticed by our Government. The illegal attack on Lebanon and the targeting of civilians should be universally condemned.” The news comes on the same day as it was revealed that Israel are flying “mock” attacks over Lebanese airspace, a tactic the UN has said violates both the latest truce and the terms of Israel's earlier pullout. |
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Blair has Misled the UK on Trident |
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A new report from Greenpeace offers proof that, despite promising a full debate on the subject, the New Labour Government are pushing ahead with plans for a replacement for Trident. The report reveals testimony by US nuclear weapons scientists that new high tech facilities at Aldermaston are for designing and building new nuclear weapons. The Ministry of Defence has repeatedly claimed that the new facilities are necessary solely for the maintenance of existing weapons. A transcript of an interview that until now has only been seen by potential employees on Aldermaston's website, in which Aldermaston Chief Scientist Dr Clive Marsh makes the remarkable admission that Aldermaston is being equipped to build a new bomb is featured in the damning study. Greenpeace claim that this clandestine development breaches the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as well as underming the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Solidarity will join the year long campign at Trident’s base at Faslane on 09 November. Faslane 365 have called for groups to take up 24 hours each as part of a year long blockade of the site. The campaign was launched in September by veterans of the Greenham campaign. Last week several dozen Finnish protesters were arrested at the base while attempting a blockade. We aim to have at least 100 Solidarity members and supporters to join the 24 hour action from the 9th through to 10th of November. Solidarity’s day is being coordinated by Mark Porciani: “We will have a varied day including a blockade for at least part of the 24 hours with speakers and a bit of fun and music too.” Comrades who wish to get involved should contact Mark on 07767 034 441. |
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Solidarity MSPs Support NUJ Action in Support of Muslim Communities |
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Tommy Sheridan and Rosemary Byrne have added their voices to those congratulating trade unionists at the Daily Star for refusing to publish anti-Muslim articles. They have also called for support for a demonstration against Islamophobia this coming weekend in Glasgow. Both The Solidarity MSP’s were responding to news that the tabloid newspapers National Union of Journalists (NUJ) Chapel refused to handle a front page story that planned to show a mock up of how the paper would look under Muslim law. Following his member’s actions, NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear said: "This was an outrageous and hugely irresponsible idea which fortunately our chapel courageously resisted and in so doing protected both the paper and its staff from possible serious repercussions." South of Scotland Solidarity MSP Rosemary Byrne added: "The past weeks and months have seen an escalation of attacks on the British Muslim community from both the written media and New Labour Government ministers. I congratulate those trade unionists at the NUJ for the brave and principled stance they have taken. "We in Solidarity stand side by side with Muslims at this time and call for the people of Scotland to show their support by attending The Unite Against Islamophobia Demonstration taking place in Glasgow this weekend." The demonstration has been called by The Muslim Association of Britain and by The Glasgow Stop the War Coalition. Solidarity MSP, Tommy Sheridan, speaking from Lebanon, said: "Muslims in Scotland and the UK are being deliberately isolated and demonised by British politicians. We owe it our brothers and sisters to show solidarity on Saturday."
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