The regional socialist conference kicks off this weekend
Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM), in collaboration with other left-wing parties from Southeast Asia and Australia, will be hosting its biennial International conference virtually over the next two weekends - Nov 27-28 and Dec 4-5, 2021.
Socialism 2021: Overcoming the Multiple Crises of Capitalism is set to feature nine panel sessions, four keynote speeches and more than 32 activists and theoreticians discussing current global and regional problems that impact the majority of people.
“This conference acts as an important platform to analyse international politics, imperialism, capitalism, worker struggles, climate change, gender issues and much more from a socialist perspective,” PSM secretary-general A Sivarajan (above) told Malaysiakini.
First initiated in 2005, this year's Socialism Conference is jointly organised by PSM with Socialist Workers Thailand, Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) Philippines, Socialist Alliance Australia, Partai Rakyat Pekerja (PRP) Indonesia and Kesatuan Perjuangan Rakyat (KPR) Indonesia.
Among the key speakers who will share their ideas in Socialism 2021 are Indian historian/journalist Vijay Prashad, sociology professor Walden Bello, Thai socialist researcher Lek Patchanee, PLM International Committee head Reihana Mohideen, Fremantle City Councillor Sam Wainwright, of the Socialist Alliance, Melanie Wery-Sims of Germany’s Left Party and Adam Hanieh of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.
Sivarajan said that one of the highlights to look out for is the rise of authoritarian regimes in Asean, which will be dissected by the panel in Session 2 on Nov 27.
“This dictatorship is exactly why we need to be concerned about and not to give up on the people’s uprising.
“Both in Thailand and Myanmar, we have seen mass protests against the repressive regimes. Thus it is vital that the left supports the people’s struggle, as voices of the left and other progressive individuals internationally are important to put pressure on leaders to take a firm stance against regimes like Myanmar,” Sivarajan said.
The Indonesian military suppression of East Timor is an established part of Asean history but a lesser-known aspect is that similar terror has been ongoing in West Papua, a massive region inhabited by indigenous peoples and ruled over by Indonesia, which practises colonialist exploitation and suppression.
“We are also talking about the oppression of the people of West Papua by the Indonesian Army in this conference.
“The discussions, protest and solidarity actions do influence our leaders to initiate resolutions. They too realise that if these problems escalate, neighbouring countries will have to shoulder the burden when refugees flee across into their borders,” Sivarajan said.
The issue of single-party Communist dictatorships like China, North Korea and Vietnam is also up for discussion.
“Single party models work differently in each country and it’s difficult to pass a judgment of them being absolute authoritarian regimes in the same degree.
“These socialist experiments of the 20th century have their shortcomings and were developed under the context of the Cold War period. They took the approach of heavy militarisation and suppression of counter-revolutionaries within in the face of the continuous threats of hostility, sanctions and military transgressions against them until today.
“Thus, for socialists of the 21st century, it is important to analyse the historical context of the development of these socialist countries in the 20th century.
“That is why, our panel topic is titled “Imperialist Geopolitics and the Role of China today”. This is not a move to analyse the socialist governance of China in a silo, but in the context of the geopolitical game of the imperialist forces,” Sivarajan said.
He conceded that while the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer all the time, right-wing messages of people like Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte and former US leader Donald Trump seem to resonate with the masses more than that of small socialist parties.
“During capitalist economic crises, the working people lose their jobs, income, security, savings, home, etc.
“They get frustrated and depressed. To divert them from achieving class consciousness that would have made them mobilise against capitalism, people like Rodrigo Dueterte and Donald Trump use racism, xenophobia or condemning a certain section of the society to divert the anger.
“As for Duterte (the Philippine president), his convincing narrative, supposedly against ‘those that destroy the nation’ has resulted in many extrajudicial killings.
“Without an opportunity to defend themselves, many victims were suspected of being illegal drug users and peddlers. In the same stroke of events, he also targeted activists, lawyers, journalists and environmentalists who questioned his authority and actions.
“This toxic politics of pitching the society against one another for political leverage works well, when socially and economically deprived masses need someone to blame for their problems,” Sivarajan said.
Other interesting issues tackled by the panellists will include gender equality, affordable healthcare, revolutionary trade unionism, the climate crisis and the role of non-mainstream left parties in elections.
Socialism 2021 will take place virtually through Zoom and is open for registration now at https://socialismconf.org
- Mkini
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