Anti-War Coalition
Encyclopedia
The Anti-War Coalition is a coalition of South African anti-war activists. It could have links to the international Stop the War Coalition
but has instead chosen to involve itself with local politics, in particular the Workers International Vanguard League
. AWC helped organise protests against the 2003 Iraq war in Cape Town and Johannesburg.
(ANC), Communist Party of South Africa, Congress of South African Trade Unions
, and South Africa Council of Churches. It claims to be a more radical alternative coalition of independent community and solidarity groups endorsed by around 300 organisations.
told the meeting that the leaders of the ANC were uncomfortable with the more vigorously anti-imperialist language of the AWC. The rift between the two groups grew bigger when Sachs falsely claimed that the Stop the War Campaign, rather than the AWC, had organized the February 15th protests. Because of this, the AWC refused to have ANC speakers on the stage of its Johannesburg anti-war rally.
The AWC has also been criticised for being too closely allied to the Workers International Vanguard League
WIVL at the expense of broader issues that affect international peace and justice. In effect, AWC is WIVL, and the organisation continues to operate without consulting of its membership or affiliates.
Stop the War Coalition
The Stop the War Coalition is a United Kingdom group set up on 21 September 2001 that campaigns against what it believes are unjust wars....
but has instead chosen to involve itself with local politics, in particular the Workers International Vanguard League
Workers International Vanguard League
The Workers International Vanguard League is a Trotskyist organisation in South Africa. It publishes Workers International News.The group's lie in the underground Trotskyist Revolutionaries group, founded in 1985...
. AWC helped organise protests against the 2003 Iraq war in Cape Town and Johannesburg.
Formation
The AWC came about shortly after the formation of the international Stop the War Campaign and the involvement by the governing African National CongressAfrican National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
(ANC), Communist Party of South Africa, Congress of South African Trade Unions
Congress of South African Trade Unions
The Congress of South African Trade Unions is a trade union federation in South Africa. It was founded in 1985 and is the biggest of the country’s three main trade union federations, with 21 affiliated trade unions, altogether organising 1.8 million workers.-Establishment:COSATU was established in...
, and South Africa Council of Churches. It claims to be a more radical alternative coalition of independent community and solidarity groups endorsed by around 300 organisations.
Activities
The Anti-War Coalition is most widely known for its role in the protests that spanned from 20-24 of September, 2006. These protests took place in two parts at the Air Force Base in Ysterplaat, Cape Town. This was to oppose the International Weapons Fair.Key messages
Slogans such as Stop the War, War is no Solution, and Stop United States Imperialism have been used at rallies.Internal conflicts, ANC & WIVL criticism
An attempt was made to bring the two groups together at a meeting on February 2003 but it failed. ANC policy director Michael SachsMichael Sachs
Michael Sachs was a German rabbi from Glogau , Silesia.He was one of the first Jewish graduates from the modern universities, earning a Ph.D. degree in 1836. He was appointed Rabbi in Prague in 1836, and in Berlin in 1844...
told the meeting that the leaders of the ANC were uncomfortable with the more vigorously anti-imperialist language of the AWC. The rift between the two groups grew bigger when Sachs falsely claimed that the Stop the War Campaign, rather than the AWC, had organized the February 15th protests. Because of this, the AWC refused to have ANC speakers on the stage of its Johannesburg anti-war rally.
The AWC has also been criticised for being too closely allied to the Workers International Vanguard League
Workers International Vanguard League
The Workers International Vanguard League is a Trotskyist organisation in South Africa. It publishes Workers International News.The group's lie in the underground Trotskyist Revolutionaries group, founded in 1985...
WIVL at the expense of broader issues that affect international peace and justice. In effect, AWC is WIVL, and the organisation continues to operate without consulting of its membership or affiliates.