NZ's Leading Maoists Profiled
The Worker's Party of NZ, is now probably this country's largest Marxist-Leninist organisation.
Formerly known as the Anti-Capitalist Alliance, the Workers Party is a fairly open organisation surrounding core members of the Revolutionary Workers League.
The RWL/WP is an unusual amalganation of mainly Auckland based Maoists, from the "old" Workers Party, led by Daphna Whitmore and Mark Muller and Canterbury University based Trotskyists from "Revolution" led by Philip Ferguson.
From The Spark 17.6.04
On the day after the Anti-Capitalist Alliance’s anti-imperialist conference (People’s Resistance-2004), another gathering took place. Members of the ACA belonging to the Workers Party, the revolution group and some belonging to no group merged to form a new Marxist current, the Revolutionary Workers League.
The fusion gathering elected Daphna Whitmore...and Mark Muller.... Also elected were editorial boards for our publications; for revolution Philip Ferguson, Paul Hopkinson, and Daphna Whitmore; and for The Spark Daphna Whitmore, Philip Ferguson, Sam Kingi, Jared Phillips and Don Franks (a long-time Wellington working class activist who is not a member of the RWL, but works closely with us and the ACA).
The Maoist leaders, Whitmore, Muller and the younger Jared Philips have all had extensive contacts with third world Maoist organisations. They have supported and continue to support some of the world's most brutal revolutionary movements from Peru to India, Nepal and the Philippines.
Daphna Whitmore
In December 1986, Whitmore took part in NZ's first brigade to pick coffee in Nicaragua for the Sandinistas.
In 1990 she was spokesman for the Peruvian Liberation Support Group-which propagandised for Peru's Maoist, "Sendero Luminoso" guerillas.
Whitmore co-founded the Workers Party around 1991, with her uncle Ray Nunes
In May 2001, Whitmore was elected to the International Coordinating Committee of the International League for Peoples Struggles in Zutphen, Holland. The ILPs was made up of 220 Maoist organisations and led by Jose Maria Sison, leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
Mark Muller
A leader of the Workers Party, industrial organisor for Revolutionary Workers League and an executive member of the National Distribution Union.
In 2001 Muller attended the founding of the International League for Peoples Struggles as a representative of the Coalition for Democracy in Fiji.
In 2004, Will Shannon, Muller and Daphna Whitmore were part of international "fact finding" team to investigate allegations of state terror in Andhra Pradesh, India against the region's Naxalites.
In 2006 Muller travelled to the Philippines with another "fact finding" mission, where apparently he had contact with the "underground expression of people's power" This was probably the Communist Party of the Philippines/New People's Army.
From The Spark
There is a underground revolutionary movement which has over 100 guerrilla zones. In those regions the government forces are weak and the revolutionaries have virtually liberated the zones. There is a revolutionary army called the New People’s Army. It is made up of workers and peasants. When I was in the Philippines I heard nothing bad about them only good comments, and so did everyone on the fact-finding mission. They came back from visiting different regions and all the feedback that they got about the NPA was that they were the true liberators.
According to Indymedia
New Zealanders, Mike Treen, Mark Muller and Jared Phillips have recently returned from Venezuela, Philippines and Nepal respectively. They were guests of three of the world’s most inspiring movements for national and regional self-determination. They will lead discussion on the nature of liberation and revolution from three viewpoints: from inside the Bolivarian movement led by Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, to the legal and underground expressions of people’s power in the Philippines, and to the expanding liberated zones of Nepal.
Jared Phillips
Philips joined the shortlived Hamilton branch of the old exclusively Maoist, Workers Party around 2001.
At Labour weekend 2002, Phillips addressed the Anti-Capitalist Alliance educational and organisational weekend in Wellington on the Maoist insurrection in Nepal.
The following year he travelled to Nepal, in April, where he travelled through Maoist "liberated zones" and had a meeting with the Maoists leader Baburum Bhattarai
Phillips is now an organisor with UNITE in Auckland.
Formerly known as the Anti-Capitalist Alliance, the Workers Party is a fairly open organisation surrounding core members of the Revolutionary Workers League.
The RWL/WP is an unusual amalganation of mainly Auckland based Maoists, from the "old" Workers Party, led by Daphna Whitmore and Mark Muller and Canterbury University based Trotskyists from "Revolution" led by Philip Ferguson.
From The Spark 17.6.04
On the day after the Anti-Capitalist Alliance’s anti-imperialist conference (People’s Resistance-2004), another gathering took place. Members of the ACA belonging to the Workers Party, the revolution group and some belonging to no group merged to form a new Marxist current, the Revolutionary Workers League.
The fusion gathering elected Daphna Whitmore...and Mark Muller.... Also elected were editorial boards for our publications; for revolution Philip Ferguson, Paul Hopkinson, and Daphna Whitmore; and for The Spark Daphna Whitmore, Philip Ferguson, Sam Kingi, Jared Phillips and Don Franks (a long-time Wellington working class activist who is not a member of the RWL, but works closely with us and the ACA).
The Maoist leaders, Whitmore, Muller and the younger Jared Philips have all had extensive contacts with third world Maoist organisations. They have supported and continue to support some of the world's most brutal revolutionary movements from Peru to India, Nepal and the Philippines.
Daphna Whitmore
In December 1986, Whitmore took part in NZ's first brigade to pick coffee in Nicaragua for the Sandinistas.
In 1990 she was spokesman for the Peruvian Liberation Support Group-which propagandised for Peru's Maoist, "Sendero Luminoso" guerillas.
Whitmore co-founded the Workers Party around 1991, with her uncle Ray Nunes
In May 2001, Whitmore was elected to the International Coordinating Committee of the International League for Peoples Struggles in Zutphen, Holland. The ILPs was made up of 220 Maoist organisations and led by Jose Maria Sison, leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
Mark Muller
A leader of the Workers Party, industrial organisor for Revolutionary Workers League and an executive member of the National Distribution Union.
In 2001 Muller attended the founding of the International League for Peoples Struggles as a representative of the Coalition for Democracy in Fiji.
In 2004, Will Shannon, Muller and Daphna Whitmore were part of international "fact finding" team to investigate allegations of state terror in Andhra Pradesh, India against the region's Naxalites.
In 2006 Muller travelled to the Philippines with another "fact finding" mission, where apparently he had contact with the "underground expression of people's power" This was probably the Communist Party of the Philippines/New People's Army.
From The Spark
There is a underground revolutionary movement which has over 100 guerrilla zones. In those regions the government forces are weak and the revolutionaries have virtually liberated the zones. There is a revolutionary army called the New People’s Army. It is made up of workers and peasants. When I was in the Philippines I heard nothing bad about them only good comments, and so did everyone on the fact-finding mission. They came back from visiting different regions and all the feedback that they got about the NPA was that they were the true liberators.
According to Indymedia
New Zealanders, Mike Treen, Mark Muller and Jared Phillips have recently returned from Venezuela, Philippines and Nepal respectively. They were guests of three of the world’s most inspiring movements for national and regional self-determination. They will lead discussion on the nature of liberation and revolution from three viewpoints: from inside the Bolivarian movement led by Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, to the legal and underground expressions of people’s power in the Philippines, and to the expanding liberated zones of Nepal.
Jared Phillips
Philips joined the shortlived Hamilton branch of the old exclusively Maoist, Workers Party around 2001.
At Labour weekend 2002, Phillips addressed the Anti-Capitalist Alliance educational and organisational weekend in Wellington on the Maoist insurrection in Nepal.
The following year he travelled to Nepal, in April, where he travelled through Maoist "liberated zones" and had a meeting with the Maoists leader Baburum Bhattarai
Phillips is now an organisor with UNITE in Auckland.
posted by Trevor Loudon at
3/20/2007 01:16:00 PM
10 Comments:
Why do I get the feeling these folks are none too happy to see New Zealand part of the top ten on the economic ladder, but promote the failed hardcore variation of socialism-Communism under its Maoist variation.
The largest group? How many members? Twenty?
They reckon they'll sign up the 500 members required to stand in the 2008 election.
I'd say there is a hard core of 30 or so.
The Socialist Party of Aotearoa, because of its heavyweight international links and control of the NDU would be much more influential.
That's a question I've been meaning to ask. Which Marxist-Leninist group in NZ do you think is the most influential, in terms of membership numbers, popularity of issues they're involved with and positions of power?
Would the Workers Party be the biggest? Socialist Worker best able to cotton on to popular issues of the time (eg Climate Change) and the Socialist Party of Aotearoa the one with the most powerful positions?
I think you've summed it up perfectly anon. Couldn't improve on that analysis.
'Workers' party. I wonder how many of the happy funsters that you profile Trev have ever worked a day in their lives?
Or have anything in commom with anyone who does?
EXOCET
well, Mark Muller worked for nearly two decades as a rank and filer before taking a position in the NDU, and Daph Whitmore worked as a nurse for years before becoming a UNITE! organiser.
Post fusion with Fergusson in Christchurch, WP membership has peaked. They havent been getting many new faces into the party over the last year or so
Keep on wondering all you like Exotit.
You wouldn't have a clue about whether this one or that one works or not.
Still, having floated the notion, you rely on it as proven fact to make some "point". Very WMD, very garlands of roses in Baghdad, very Chickenhawk spin, very bullshit - much like TC - "I think, therefore it is !"
Thank goodness you're on the lunatic fringe ! How lonely you're gonna feel when The Chickenhawk heads back to Crawford TX in January '09. And if Barack's the man on the other side of that podium with his right hand in the air - what you gonna do ?
In the name of "freedom" and "justice" mount an insurrection ? You gutsy hero !
Well Steve, Since my self-esteem is not based upon who occupies the oval office, It will not make any difference to me.
Please keep posting. Your confused ramblings are amusing.
Anyone with thought patterns as disturbed as yours sure as hell doesn't work full time.
EXOCET
"'Workers' party. I wonder how many of the happy funsters that you profile Trev have ever worked a day in their lives?
Or have anything in commom with anyone who does?"
I work in a supermarket, creating the wealth that keeps you rich bastards afloat. I don't know of a single Maoist in New Zealand who ISN'T working in a low paid job, even though they could on the whole quite easily get a better one, what with their qualifications and all.
That's the difference between Maoists and people like you, we dedicate our lives to serving the people and putting our skills and abilities at the service of the worker's cause, while you just live happily off the wealth created from the exploitation of NZ workers.
And you're one to be sneering at people, you're too cowardly to sign your own posts!
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