[imc-scotland-discussion] proposal to block proposals at imc-process once again

[AB]

Hia,

it seems to me that we should consider giving up/returning our imc membership 
to the global network. I can not see the global network functioning anymore 
with most local imc avoiding to participate at the global level and nowadays 
global imc seems to be less about allocating resources, which aren't there 
anymore, than passing some kind of dogmatic politics test. 

The dispute about imc uk is just the start, I believe, and the most elegant 
solution might be to get out of there before its getting really dirty. 

As people probably know the Mayday collective have pulled a copy of the imc uk 
database onto a new server and then the techie pointed the domain 
indymedia.org.uk to it. Global indymedia has no control over this domain, but 
imc london demanded sanctions against the techie, denying him access to the 
servers and imc northern (england) sanctions against everybody in the 
collective (dunno who they exactly count to it) with denying anybody in the 
mayday collective any access to global indymedia resources. 

I have problems with both the proposals. The techie especially has been 
working hard since 2003 for indymedia putting a whole lot of time, money, 
energy and resources into the project, especially during times of crisis. I 
believe denying him server access is a revenge act more than the stated 
"inability to trust" as neither imc london or imc northern nor any other 
indymedia site -even imc uk original website - have been changed in any way. 
Secondly this is only going to harm the indymedia project as a whole and in 
particular the people who have now got more workload to do as they have to 
take over the work from him.
Thirdly, I believe blackmailing somebody into submission is never a good way 
to solve a dispute, but should be in particular discouraged in what I believed 
to be progressive, anti-capitalist and alternative politics. 
It also seems to me that anybody who is declaring sympathy or membership or 
support for the mayday collective is also endangered to get sanctioned in a 
way, therefore creating even fear to voice any supportive opinion within the 
network.
Fifth I do believe that Imc Birmingham, Imc Sheffield and the Mayday 
collective with their websites have been valid indymedia projects in all but 
name only, with Sheffield existing since 2003 and Birmingham at least since 
about 2005, longer in existance than imc northern and imc linksunten who seem 
to be now the main dogmatic blockers. Both imc sheffield and imc birmingham 
collectives believed so much in imc uk that they never bothered to go through 
the approval process. To exclude them from imc-process decision-making process 
and block their approval by new-imc is in my opinion open discrimination.
I don't want to be part of it but clearly imc scotland is unable to put things 
right or resolve the dispute as its been running too long and too deeply. 

The only dignified way out seems to me for imc scotland to give up the global 
imc membership.



 

--