What You Should Know about the WWP and the IAC

["marco rodrigues" <machetero_ngola@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

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The International Action Center is a prominent Left organization located in New 
York City which is known for organizing large Left protests. What most people 
don't know is that an authoritarian Left organization stands behind the IAC, an 
organization known as the Workers World Party. Both organizations have been 
criticized by Left activists for supporting dictators such as Slobodan 
Milosevic and Saddam Hussein. They have also been criticized for their 
authoritarian activist methods and for their cooperation with the police.

The IAC are like the "Borg" of the Left. They always want to be friends with 
you and they want you to sign onto their projects. They get the momentum going 
for their projects by creating deceptive lists of endorsers and then they use 
this to manipulate other groups to sign on. A critical mass develops behind 
their event, which ends up being big enough to give the IAC the credibility 
that it is really interested in. As one activist recently explained:

"The IAC made a point of contacting many groups to sign on to International 
ANSWER. They immediately contacted various groups in the New York area for 
support and got it. They got folks as individuals to sign on and listing their 
organization (for informational purposes) which gives the illusion that those 
groups were for ANSWER even if those groups hadn't had time to even make a 
decision yet. They were willing to have anyone sign on, no litmus test of 
political principles required. Pacifists groups like the Jonah Catholic Worker 
House in Baltimore, or WWP's ideological rivals in the Freedrom Road Socialist 
Party. For each name they got added to their list of endorsers, that gave them 
more clout as being the first big demonstration against the war."

The WWP is an authoritarian organization. Decisions about when and demos are 
going to be held are made by a small group of leaders. The WWP expects 
endorsing groups to participate under the banner of one of its front 
organizations, frequently the International Action Center and currently through 
the International A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition. This goes clearly against the 
non-hierarchical and democratic organizing models that have characterized the 
anti-globalization and anti-capitalist movements. There is no spokescouncil in 
the IAC.

The IAC is also known for the timidity of its protests, which are typically 
permitted, symbolic affairs that involve endless hours of speakers and a 
permitted march. The IAC actively discourages all forms of direct action, 
including civil disobedience. The IAC actively participates and cooperates with 
the police at all stages of protest organizing. One of their frequent tactics 
is to take out permits for all the public spaces that other protest groups 
might be using for a large mass action. They then play "permit broker" in order 
to gain influence among other protestors.

http://www.infoshop.org/texts/wwp.html