Same song, different tune

Anti-war activist groups in Vancouver struggle against divisiveness and look for the common goals that bind them

by Maria Calleja

A Vancouver based anti-war group MAOW (Mobilization Against War and Occupation) has just finished a series of global justice education seminars with the Britannia Community Centre on Commercial drive. The latest seminar, attended by high school students and activists, outlined the historical barriers to activism from the Vietnam War to the present day.

The speakers discussed the attacks on Canadian youth, such as the BC Liberals' introduction of the training wage and their removal of tuition freezes. They also discussed the crackdowns on anti-war groups by the police and university and college administrations, like the recent effort to stop GRAIN (Grassroots and Anti-Imperialist Network) from rallying against the Bush administration at York University.

MAOW itself, which began in November of 2002, after a split with another Vancouver anti-war group called Stop War, has experienced its own set of barriers and attacks in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland.

MAOW's split with Stop War has been a source of controversy for the group. Jeff Kipley of Stop War describes the five activists who were asked to leave Stop War, and who later started MAOW: “They were a continually disruptive and non-responsive group.” He adds, “They were not banned for their activism, don't make that mistake. They were banned for their historic incapacity to work in a collective.” Kipley is referring to events that the five activists organized without the consent of the collective.

MAOW co-chair Shannon Bundock claims that these events were organized as urgent actions to respond to the US occupation of Iraq, when the coalition hadn't planned any demonstrations. She claims “We didn't do it because we wanted a fight but because it was important.” The group of five activists had become frustrated with what they believed to be the infrequently planned events of Stop War. The activists also felt that the progress of Stop War was being limited by a bureaucracy of labour unions and status-quo leftists that did not want widespread change.

“Anti-war groups supporting the NDP are building a low-pressure movement as opposed to building an international movement in solidarity with Iraq, ” Bundock stated. They felt that Stop War had begun to reflect an established NDP agenda which had become focused on issues like opposing the American missile defense program, instead of concentrating on the US invasion of Iraq.

Last October, Rick Gordon, a member of Stop War, spoke against MAOW at a Langara College Students' Union meeting that met to decide whether two MAOW members, Nicole Burton and Kiera Daley, should be banned from the Langara student union building for their anti-war activism on campus.

Erin Sikora, a member of the LSU executive, stated that she had received numerous complaints about the two activists who were participating on the Student Union's Peace and Social Justice committee. “There were several complaints that meetings were taken over [by the two activists].” The student union also stands by accusations that Burton and Daily had buttons printed up with the MAOW name on them, instead of the requested Peace and Social Justice Committee design.

Burton claims that in meetings with the Peace and Social Justice Committee, the members discussed the MAOW events and materials were approved for production because the two groups shared similar anti-war agendas. The Langara Students' Union had decided to enforce the ban against the two student MAOW activists after hearing opposition speeches at the October 2004 student union meeting. Rick Gordon, Nick Brown, a former member of the LSU executive, a student reporter, and a member from the International Socialists, made speeches. Also, the LSU decided to ban any MAOW activism from the campus. The ban against Burton and Daley was rescinded last Monday, but the ban against MAOW has not been removed.

Sikora said, “We made the right decision at the time [to ban the students]. But we don't want to infringe upon their rights to campaign in this building.” Burton and Daley, who are running for positions on the LSU executive, had been limited in their campaigning as they had been denied access to the student union building as part of the LSU ban. The elections have since been declared null and void by the LSU, because of an altercation between Sang-Do Kim, a candidate running with Burton and Daley, and another individual.

Leaflets were also distributed by another campus group and the LSU speaking out against candidates. The LSU had handed out pamphlets during election time outlining their disapproval of Burton, Daley and Kim. The college president has declared that these pamphlets were inappropriate and that they should be disposed of. Burton and Daley feel that they were attacked for their affiliations with MAOW.

Shannon Bundock talks about why she believes MAOW has developed a negative reputation in the leftist activist community: “Canada has an image of being a progressive country. The ruling class has negotiated that space by preventing independent leadership. They have their position to protect.”

She believes that MAOW is receiving pressure from leftist organizations, many of which boycott MAOW events, as the group has formed an independent challenge to leftist strategies and organization. MAOW hopes to contribute to an international activist movement that works in solidarity with the people who are resisting the occupation of Iraq, Haiti, and Palestine. But they also hope that the divisions in the left can be mended so that activist groups with different strategies can work together to achieve the goals that they hold in common.

A member of Stop War spoke at MAOW's demonstration on Saturday on the first-year anniversary of the occupation of Haiti by military forces. Maybe there is hope in the near future for leftist groups to peacefully coexist in the Canadian activist arena.

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