[imc-sa] LPM Gauteng rejects SACP political manipulations

[Maureen Mnisi]

LPM GAUTENG REJECTS SACP ATTEMPTS TO SILENCE THE LANDLESS

 

1 MARCH 2005

 

The LPM Gauteng rejects the SACP’s use of the LPM to bolster its credentials in its planned meeting with AgriSA on 2 March 2005. While other organisations may be willing to allow the SACP to speak on their behalf, the LPM has never been prepared to submit to political domination of this sort. LPM Gauteng neither received an invitation from the SACP to be part of the delegation, nor was any mandate given to anyone to represent the LPM at such a meeting, despite the LPM having been present at the SACP’s last meeting. The SACP should not think that calling two meetings and a march entitles them to speak for the landless.

 

On 25 February 2005 the LPM Gauteng issued a response to the SACP’s call for co-operation where we clearly stated that the LPM will speak for ourselves and will not allow the SACP or any other organisation to speak on our behalf. We also requested the SACP to refrain from issuing public statements on behalf of the campaign without first getting agreement from other organisations participating in the campaign. We view the SACP’s disregard of our response as an act of bad faith.

 

When LPM Gauteng took the decision to join the SACP’s Red October campaign in 2004, we did so on the basis of:

   A clear critique of the “willing seller willing buyer” model of land redistribution, and a recognition of the ANC in government’s role in driving this failed model;
   An end to all evictions and forced removals, rural and urban;
   Mass-based land occupations of unused land;
   Legal protection of occupations of unused land through a social obligations clause;
   Support for a Land Summit; and
   Free political activity.

 

LPM Gauteng does not believe that delegations to commercial farmers to ask them to redistribute land and to stop evicting workers will have any impact on power relations between landowners and the landless. It is only the collective, mass-based self-activity of the landless that will result in radical transformation of agrarian relations in South Africa.

 

LPM Gauteng will seek to work with other independent, mass-based formations to strengthen the hand of the landless in the forthcoming National Land Summit and in the SACP’s campaign itself.

 

For further information contact:
Maureen Mnisi, LPM Gauteng chair at 084 468-9121


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-sa/attachments/20050301/55b17c70/attachment.htm