24th October 2001

educationet insider reports from the NUS NEC meeting at the start of October

1) New York / Afghanistan

Everyone appeared to agree that the World Trade Centre bombing was a crime against humanity and should be condemned. The majority of the NEC voted to support American military action as long as it is endorsed by the United Nations (two separate anti-war motions were both defeated). The wording of Owain James' motion was very vague - when asked what 'support the soldiers' meant, he replied that we would only support them if they stayed within NUS policy!

Clearly Labour Students/independent right obsequiousness towards the government has reached new heights. Still, NUS didn't, as I recall, support the anti-Vietnam war movement. A draft anti-war motion for your unions follows shortly.

2) Save Our Union

The leadership did not have the gall to deny the overspend figures - at first they tried to explain them away and then they got very angry. (Imagine Claire Kober shouting 'Bureaucrats' at left members of the NEC!!) The clause on the Women's Unit was taken separately, as Women's Committee had mandated Kat Fletcher to request. Both parts lost because:
- Sean Crowe and Barry Farleigh were out of the room
- Brian Slevin, the NUS Northern Ireland-USI Convenor, was told he could vote by phone but then wasn't allowed to.
- Chris O'Sullivan voted against the main motion and abstained on the Women's Unit, despite the ticking off he'd been given by Students With Disabilities Committee.

3) Lobby of Parliament

The NEC decided that the early December lobby of Parliament would be representative - ie only one or two students from each union allowed to attend. What a farce!

Draft anti-war motion for your unions. You may also wish to add something about NUS's disgraceful performance on this issue.

This union notes:

1) The murderous attack on the World Trade Centre on September 11th
2) That the United States and its allies look likely to retaliate by bombing or invading Afghanistan
3) That the government has proposed restrictions on civil liberties, including compulsory identity cards, new rights for the police to intercept e-mail and stronger powers of extradition, in response to the attack
4) Increasingly widespread hostility to and threats against Muslims in the aftermath of the attack, resulting in several serious cases of assault in the UK alone

This union believes:

1) That the attack on the World Trade Centre was not a protest against the real injustices of American foreign policy, but a crime against humanity and the modern world
2) That both the aims and methods of Islamic fundamentalist militarism should be condemned in the strongest terms
3) That nonetheless, one does not have to support the policies of the American government to oppose fundamentalism - or vice versa
4) That the government's proposals on civil liberties will damage individual freedom, intensify the persecution of asylum-seekers and hamper the student and labour movements far more than groups planning violence against innocent people
5) That our responsibility to campaign against Islamophobia is now more urgent than ever
6) That military retaliation will result in the deaths of thousands more innocent people and almost certainly increase support for the Taliban and Islamic fundamentalism throughout the Muslim world
7) That we should not trust the US government - which supported and funded the Taliban for years and now supports the equally fundamentalist Northern Alliance - to deliver justice in Afghanistan

This union resolves:

1) To condemn the New York massacre in the strongest terms possible, and mandate [relevant officer] to write to the university student unions and the healthworkers' and fire-fighters' unions in Manhattan expressing our sympathy and solidarity
2) To oppose the proposed restrictions on civil liberties and mandate [relevant officer] to write to Home Secretary telling him this
3) To mandate [relevant officers, committees, campaigns] to consult widely on how we can most effectively combat Islamophobia
4) To oppose US military retaliation against Afghanistan and the British government's collaboration with it, and mandate [relevant officer] to write to the Prime Minister expressing this
5) To mandate the Executive to issue a press release setting out our condemnation of the World Trade Centre massacre, our concerns regarding civil liberties and Islamophobia, and our opposition to US military action in Afghanistan

Message Board Discussion