Southern States - Kerala   

`Debates alone cannot counter imperialism'

By Our Staff Reporter

THRISSUR DEC. 20. The noted revolutionary poet from Andhra Pradesh, Varavara Rao, has expressed doubts over the capability of the Kerala Social Forum (KSF) and its parent body, the World Social Forum (WSF), to combat imperialism.

Addressing a press conference here today, Mr. Rao said the KSF, which is now meeting in Thrissur, and the WSF scheduled to be meet in Mumbai in January, were identifying itself to be platforms for deliberations and debates over the impact of imperialism now being manifested in the form of globalisation.

But imperialism and globalisation could be countered only by evolving concrete action plans, and not by indulging in endless discussions and debates, he said.

There should be systematic efforts to give an organisational shape to the various forms of struggles that were emerging across the world as well as in India against the onslaught of globalisation, Mr. Rao said. He said that the advocates of the social forum were putting conditions on the forms of struggles to be undertaken against imperialism.

According to them, those who adopted any forms of struggle other than `non-violent struggles' could not participate in the Forum, he said.

``But we believe it is for the people of the respective countries to decide what forms of struggles are to be waged in their countries after assessing the concrete situations there. Our view is that there must be a broad alliance of various sections of people right from the Gandhians to armed militants in the fight against imperialism,'' said Mr. Rao, who is the coordinator of the Mumbai Resistance (MR— 2004) meeting to be held in Mumbai as an alternative to the WSF.

He said there were three forms of struggle now going on in different parts of the world against imperialism.

The revolutionary struggles like the one going on in Nepal, the nationality struggles like that of the Palestine people and the democratic struggles like the ones witnessed at Seattle and in the U.K. during the recent visit of George Bush there

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