A joint statement against the war was published by ISC and the Progressive
Librarians Guild. An on line petition against the war was also circulated.
Dont let CILIP off the hook, Dan - they should be able to issue their own
statements on domestic and world issues which affect library workers, and
not hide behind arms-length organisations like ISC.
>From: "Bye, Dan J" <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Chartered Library and Information Professionals
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: politically incorrect !
>Date: Thu, 1 May 2003 10:59:48 +0100
>
>I'm reluctant to continue this thread, which now seems to be annoying
>people somewhat. On the other hand, I feel quite strongly about the
>role of my professional body in relation to my political ideas.
>
>As someone who is implacably opposed to US imperialism and to the tyranny
>of local despots in equal measure I have to say I disagree with
>John Pateman's wish that CILIP had taken 'a position' on the war on Iraq.
> Or, more precisely, that it had taken *his* position on the war
>on Iraq.
>
>It seems unlikely that CILIP, were it reflecting its members views, would
>have adopted a "Not in My Name"-type statement (a slogan I find
>cosily meaningless, since of course the War was not fought in our name, but
>in the name of the Iraqi people) as John wanted at all. More
>likely it would have said something along the lines of "we don't much like
>killing but we have to support our troops once they're there and
>anyway Saddam was a bad person etc". That's what demands to turn CILIP
>into a sectarian political movement of the liberal middle classes
>would have meant. I'm not sure I'd want to belong to CILIP in that case,
>and no doubt John would be rather unhappy too.
>
>It's highly unlikely, in fact, that CILIP could have come up with a
>position I could wholeheartedly agree with, since "Support our troops if
>they turn their guns on their officers and join the Iraqi people in
>establishing collective social control of the Iraqi oil industry;
>support efforts to assassinate Saddam by the Iraqi people; overthrow the
>counter-revolutionary despot Fidel Castro and establish libertarian
>Communism in Cuba...." (that one thrown in specifically to annoy John,
>sorry) would alienate just about everyone. We on the "left" should
>be under no illusion as to the popularity of some of our ideas at the
>moment.
>
>In fact, look at the statement CILIP has issued in the aftermath of the
>war. It, rightly and relevantly, supports efforts to restore
>library services to Iraq, but it also condemns Britain for not signing up
>to the Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in
>the Event of Armed Conflict. Most CILIP members, I imagine, would agree
>with that, and would deplore the failure of US-UK troops to
>prevent looting. Critics of intervention like (otherwise excellent)
>journalist Robert Fisk now seem to be demanding that the US military go
>around rounding up looters and locking them up. But is that a position
>that a socialist should take? Certainly socialists of the anarchist
>stripe like myself cannot take that line Should people who opposed US
>military intervention then turn around and demand that the US
>military acts as a police force?
>
>So it's quite complex once you start asking CILIP to take a particular
>political line.
>
>The answer, of course, is for librarians/Information workers with a
>political interest to get together and work collectively to promote that
>political interest. Information for Social Change is one such group, and
>I'd suggest that is a better forum for such work than CILIP is. I
>don't recall if ISC issued any collective statement on the War - nothing is
>on the website, at any rate. If it did, good. If it didn't,
>perhaps it should have.
>
>Dan
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: john pateman [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> > Sent: 30 April 2003 18:10
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: politically incorrect !
> >
> >
> > Oppenheim (sorry, he started this practice of only using my
> > surname)is wrong when he says that I would like CILIP to
> > merge with the SWP. I am not a member of the SWP and I have
> > no time for them. But I am a member of CILIP and I did not
> > realise it was a charity. I thought it was a professional
> > association willing and able to speak out on matters of
> > domestic and international concern which affect its members.
> > Please correct me if I am wrong.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > >From: Charles Oppenheim <[log in to unmask]>
> > >Reply-To: Chartered Library and Information Professionals
> > ><[log in to unmask]>
> > >To: [log in to unmask]
> > >Subject: Re: politically incorrect !
> > >Date: Wed, 30 Apr 2003 08:23:53 +0100
> > >
> > >It hasn't, though one CILIP member clearly would love this to have
> > >happened.
> > >
> > >Pateman stated that he hoped CILIP was big enough to accommodate all
> > >views. I trust that Pateman is big enough to accept that his
> > views are
> > >not necessarily those of the majority of CILIP members.
> > >
> > >I was and am totally opposed to the actions of the UK and US
> > >Governments in invading Iraq; I am also totally opposed to people
> > >trying to use my professional association to promote their political
> > >opinions. In any case, CILIP would lose its charitable status if it
> > >promoted political views.
> > >
> > >Charles
> > >
> > >Professor Charles Oppenheim
> > >Department of Information Science
> > >Loughborough University
> > >Loughborough
> > >Leics LE11 3TU
> > >01509-223065
> > >(fax) 01509-223053
> > >----- Original Message -----
> > >From: "DAMIAN CULLEN" <[log in to unmask]>
> > >To: <[log in to unmask]>
> > >Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2003 10:45 PM
> > >Subject: politically incorrect !
> > >
> > >
> > > > Could somebody tell me at what point in time CILIP merged with the
> > >Socialist
> > > > Worker Party ? I only joined recently but should
> > obviously have read
> > > > the small print.....
> > > >
> > > >
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