t9 resist « to The mass movement in solidarity with _theVietnamese people againsT imperialism was a major feature of 1968 in Britain. It was the focus for the radicalisation of entire L an generation: a radicalisation which went beyond the single issue of Vietnam and led many thousands to embrace varying forms of revolutionarypolitics. TESSA VAN GELDEREN spoke to PAT JORDAN and TARIQ ALI, both founding members and leading figures in the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign (VSC). Pat Jordan was a full time worker for the campaign during the mass demonstrationsof 1967 and 1968. He was a member of the International Marxist Group at the time and has been a lifelong fighter for socialism. Pat is currently recovering from the effects of a stroke. In 1967-68 Tariq Ali’s picture was never far from the front pages of the press. An editorial board member of Black Dwarf, he became a symbol of the mass demonstrations and occupations. His book about the period, Street PAT JORDAN The orientation of CND was to get the Fighting Years: An Autobiographycf Labour Party to adopt unilateralism. the Sixties, is reviewed elsewhere CND WAS THE left campaign of Then Aneurin Bevan, after initially sup- the fifties, its main activity porting unilateralism, made his famous in this issue. was a once—yearly march from Al- somersault. This rapidly disillusioned dermaston. The march was like people. They realised that they needed a revolutionary university — people ar- something else other than this simple guing, tactics and strategy debated, orientationwhich was entirely within the thousands of papers bought and sold. framework of supporting the Labour The main organisation to gain from Party, at that time under the leadership this was, rather surprisingly, the Labour of Gaitskell. Party Young Socialists (this was before Many CND activists were people who the Socialist Labour League’s control in had left the Communist Party at about 26 the sixties). the time of the Hungarian revolution in SOCIALIST OUTLOOK no 7 May/June 1988 There was also a resolution on the agenda which had been inspired by the BCPV which called on the Wilson government to take an initiative ‘to bring this dreadful war to an end’. Nottingham South’s delegate, Peter Price, came under immense pressure from the Tribunites to withdraw his resolution: they supported the BCPV. They did horrific things like waking him up at two o’clock in the morning, bully- ing him. They argued that if the Nott- ingham South resolution remained on the agenda it would jeopardise the pass- ing of the BCPV resolution. We were, of course, totally opposed to withdrawing the resolution. In the end it got a not insignificant number of votes as did the BCPV resolution. This then was the background to the establishment of the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign. Schoenmann was part of these discussions and observed the pro- duction of The Week bulletin. He came to us with a proposal that we start a diffe- rent type of movement against the war in Vietnam. He’d discuss it with Ken Coa- tes, who was a member of the Fourth International and worked for the Ber- trand Russell Peace Foundation. I moved to London from Nottingham to work for the Peace Foundation to set up such an organisation. I did that in January 1967 and we held the founding conference of the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign in June 1967. We tried to intervene with all groups of people including CND, arguing that they should support the struggle in Viet- nam where it was possible that nuclear weapons could be used. We had no joy from them, although individuals did 1956. As a result of these developments tain. This was the British Council for support us. We also had support from the Committee of 100 emerged and ar- Peace in Vietnam (BCPV) which was led various maoist groups. New Left Review gued for direct action. by the Communist Party. The first line gave us facilities. We produced a photo- One of the people involved with this of its founding statement was ‘we do not graphic exhibition of the war in Vietnam was Ralph Schoenman who persuaded take sides, we want peace in Vietnam’. which was shown round the universities. Bertrand Russell to support the com- Quite rightly the Vietnamese did not There were a few hundred delegates at mittee. The Bertrand Russell Peace like this as it took out the anti-imperialist the founding conference, a large propor- Foundation was established. The name essence of their fight. tion were students but there were a was to make bridges, Schoenman was In Nottingham The Week group was in sprinkling of trade unionists and a the driving force. the Labour Party. At the Labour Party number of people from Labour parties. When Schoenman went on a visit to conference in 1966 it produced a daily Local groups were established to mo- Vietnam he was told by the Vietnamese bulletin. There was a resolution from bilise for national demonstrations and communists that they were very dissatis- Nottingham South CLP which ended up local activities. A favourite passtime was fied with the anti-war movement in Bri- with ‘Vietnam for the Vietnamese’. stalking Labour prime minister Harold 27 SOCIALIST OUTLOOK no 7 Mayllune 1988 whole period its political Wilson who said: ‘Everywhere I go, I get ‘why we’re not marching’! what gave that left its entire followed by people picketing me about The great strengthwe had was that we meaning and mark on an all the world. Viet- Vietnam’. were part of a world-wide movement. If generation over The focal point in to prevent La- we talk about the objective effects, what namese were a that. There was an attempt imagine the Viet- foreign Michael Stewart the VSC did in part was to reinforce the It’s foolish to that bour secretary be mechanically from speaking the Oxford Union. American anti-war movement which in nam exprerience can at the political situation This raised the whole question of ‘free turn was one of the factors demoralising repeated now. If in Europe, anything’s possible. speech’. You have to rememberthat the the American army of occupation. The changes then I don’t think that the Vietnam the television main factor demoralising them was the But even war was on conjuncture will be repeated nearly evening and there was a fight put up by the Vietnamese and the particular every because its conjuncture that happens revulsion against Wilson who was giving fact that they were completely socially a least in political to isolated in Vietnam. Only the scum of very rarely in a century. support, at a sense, nothing like it. People the Americans. People outraged. Vietnamese society would have any dea- There’s been were it like the twenties and thirties. We well aware of weaknesses lings with them. say was were our Yes and Spanish civil in terms of social compositon. We took This was expressed in various ways. no. The war was a big in Europe. It did not steps to try to remedy that. We orga- Many were drug takers, the level of very event about world-wide radicalisation. nised trade union conference and a discipline started to collapse. If Ameri- bring a a revolution did, the youth conference. can imperialism had not been forced to The Russian so twen- the whole withdraw its army it would have had a ties are more comparable. But its its widest business about 1968 is that it not ‘a mutiny on hands. In scena- was favourite pastime was rio that’s the kind ofjob that will have to confined to Europe. stalking Harold Wilson, who be done in relation to central America. It is true that many important things in Europe: the general strike said “Everywhere I go I get There should be an internationally coor- happened dinated campaign. in France, the creeping general strike in followed by people picketing the first military defeat Italy, the overthrow of a senile bonapart- ’ Vietnam was me about Vietnam” suffered by the United States. After- ist regime in Portugal. wards the Fourth International drew the But you also had a general strike in 1969 toppled milit- The steering committee of VSC met conclusion that it was virtually im- Pakistan in which a dictatorship and led the break weekly over this period. There were possible for American imperialism to ary to up fights and packing of meetings. It intervene again because there of the country. There was a massive many in different of usually fight between the Inter- was such revulsion to the Viet- peasant uprising parts was a beginnings of struggle in national Marxist Group and the mao- experience. I wish they’d India, the a nam against the ists. At the first conference of the VSC the been right. Latin America, the fight Angola, Bissau maoists had wanted to write into the Portuguese in Guinea and successive strike constitution support for the ‘13 points’ and Mozambique Argentina. the and the ‘10 points’. These nego- waves in There was were there the tiating points forward by the Viet- uprising in Sri Lanka. And was put in the United States We were opposed to that TARIQ ALI anti-war movement namese. which without precedent in the hi- because it would have tied us hook, line was of that So it really and sinker to the North Vietnamese THE SOLIDARITY movement story country. was that’s what made it uni- government’s position. It would have with Vietnam was not sponta- global and so allowed political freedom what- neous it had to be organised. que. us no — struggle of the Vietnamese It was in part the result of a The some- soever.