Masao Adachi: Pt III

III.

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Masao Adachi – Trailer for Artist of Fasting (2016), 104 min.

ART iT: Another issue right now is what to make of internationalism in a world where nationalism is on the rise – not only in Japan, but also in places ranging from the United States to Poland.
 
MA: In Vietnam there’s a famous story about how, after Ho Chi Minh returned from France and began the liberation struggle, the people gathered here and there to hear him speak, thinking that as a scholar and lawyer he would teach them everything he had learned overseas and help them to overthrow the French. But one of the first issues Ho Chi Minh raised with them was that there is no possibility for creating solidarity with neighboring countries without true nationalism – in the sense of loving one’s country – even if it were a parochial nationalism. Basically, he said that it is only those who most believe in the nation who can be truly international. According to the story, the people were moved by his speech and were able to understand their commonality with others, whereas to that point they had maintained strong tribal animosities. I can relate to this story, because when I was young I was more or less a right-wing youth. But the thing is that when you pursue the most nationalistic thing possible, you end up arriving at internationalism, and you realize the same holds for other people, too. In fact, I can’t even fathom a nationalism that doesn’t arrive at this realization. The nationalism that Shinzo Abe talks about is not real nationalism. He doesn’t know anything about nationalism, let alone internationalism.
Basically, we have to get behind internationalism right now, precisely because it’s coming under attack. In the words of Ho Chi Minh, this internationalism is the kind where we have to think about how to live in solidarity with our neighbors and our peers, whether they are stuck between borders or across oceans. I’m talking about the kind of internationalism where we can discuss these things in a normal way. Do you think that’s what happens at international conferences like the G7 Ise-Shima Summit? That’s not real internationalism, because the leaders there only care about maneuvering for their own interest, and protecting their initiative and hegemony. And if that’s the case, then it’s clear that the anti-terrorist internationalism they plan on advocating at the summit just doesn’t make sense. They’re a bunch of profiteers who are the dregs of the globalization that was brought about by neoliberalism, and can’t even talk about their own nationalism. In contrast, the internationalism that we advocated was about saying together with the guy or the girl next to you, hey, society today is tough, isn’t it? We were there to lick each other’s wounds. That’s what I think real internationalism is. Of course, there are just the conclusions of an “Urashima Taro” who has magically returned to society after 30 years away.

ART iT: But internationalism today still has its own problems. For example, when people from the US or Europe come to Asia and other places talking about creating new forms of solidarity, there are still economic disparities that can lead to imbalances in power, and contribute to a continuation of cultural imperialism, which is presumably the opposite of what everyone intends.
 
MA: This is particularly a problem with the former colonial powers. First, there is not one case in history where a former colonial power has truly reconsidered its actions and done something meaningful for its former colonies. The British were the worst of all. As soon as they pulled out, they washed their hands of the matter and said they were leaving it up to the Americans, so in the end it became a repeat of everything that had already happened. They can call that internationalism if they want to, but it’s really just a gangster-style profiteering racket. Now, the so-called “Islamic State” is one attempt at cracking down on this racket, but since it’s the gangsters who are actually using IS, it’s not really much of a crackdown. In the end the crackdown has to come from the people themselves.

ART iT: Could you elaborate on how you see the relationship between IS and internationalism? 

MA: IS is not internationalism! It may look like a religious movement, but IS only uses religion as a pretext without any substance to it. Initially it did have something of a religious aspect, but the real IS was formed through the incorporation of Al-Qaeda, with its mission of opposing Anglo-American impunity, and then the further mass assimilation of the officers of the former Iraqi army, who share a similar sense of purpose. So, to make it simple, they called for the creation of an Islamic state, in the process of which they appropriated the name of the Islamic fundamentalist organization known as Daesh, which had already been active for the past 30 or 40 years. In particular since the Afghan war Daesh sent volunteers to all kinds of conflicts, and in Lebanon we would call the returnees by the name “Afghani” in Arabic. They would do anything for money. And then Al-Qaeda instituted the idea that in order to carry out a new jihad – a new jihadism – they needed to have guiding principles. But at a certain point anything can be called jihad, and it has diverged from a religious movement as such. The people who were originally cadres in the Iraqi Bath party have now taken over the extremist aspects of IS, and think only about how to turn this Islamist movement into their own thing. So they have a seven-stage strategic policy, with stages like “the time for awakening” and “the time for rising up” and so on. They claim that now is the time for developing the two tactics of territorial expansion and ideological propagation. This kind of rationalization for their actions may suggest there is some substance to their thinking, but there’s actually nothing there.

ART iT: Where do you think the situation in the Middle East will go from here?

MA: When Al-Qaeda was starting up, the Anglo-American alliance and the EU were adamant about eradicating them. Al-Qaeda were defeated as a result, but then IS appeared, and now it is IS that the international community wants to eradicate. Maybe an “Islamic League for Peace” or something will emerge next. It’s like mushrooms sprouting after rain. But if the Euro-American community does not deal with the root of this phenomenon, then it will only continue – because it’s a war of attrition. In the meantime, people will just keep losing their lives. This is one of my themes. So as long as the Euro-Americans maintain the double standard of letting Israel get away with everything, they have no right to speak. There will be no end to it as long as that’s the case. When IS talks about a “100-year war,” it’s because even if they are crushed, something similar will continue to emerge.

ART iT: The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) was never involved in religious fundamentalism, right?

MA: No, they were Marxist-Leninists. And since they were always focused on the liberation of Palestine, they were also critical of Hamas and Fatah. But they got stuck in a pattern of doing nothing but critiquing all the time, so they started to talk about linking up with other groups. Now, under the Palestinian National Authority led by President Mahmoud Abbas, who is in collusion with Israel, those who are outed as PFLP members are immediately arrested, even in Palestine itself. That is, Israel and the Palestinian Authority have a security partnership, so all the Palestinian information has been passed to the Israelis, and people can be arrested at any time. The youth are being scared away from joining PFLP as a result, and it’s easier for Fatah, which is friendly with Israel, to control things. The Abe regime supports this situation. Even though the PFLP expected that around 50 of its candidates would go through in the first general election, only 24 were elected, and the rest of the seats were all taken by Hamas. Despite all the years they spent fighting for liberation, the PFLP realized they weren’t able to respond to the demands of the people, so they started listening to the people, and they are actually making a comeback in Palestine now. But the Palestinian Authority has sold out PFLP to the Israelis. Hamas and the Palestinian Authority are only out to use Israel, and ultimately don’t do anything for Palestinian liberation. There are also people who are trying to create a third alternative to Hamas and the National Authority, and are holding highly disciplined demonstrations. If they can link up with more people, both Hamas and the National Authority will be weakened. So in response, the entrenched powers are attacking from both sides, and the movement is approaching its most critical stage. There are people like Marwan Barghouti, but then Israel comes along and arrests them. But even if you catch the top guy, the people won’t change.

ART iT: Looking at the Middle East as a whole, it’s shocking to see how thoroughly religious fundamentalism has taken over where previously there were ideological resistance movements.

MA: There are extremely active movements in all the Arab states and of course in Palestine as well. Right now everybody’s turning to terrorism, but I think it’s better not to overreact. The more we say stop – the more we try to stop them – the more captivated they are by terrorism. That’s the strategy of IS. So there are those who call for preemptive strikes against people who want to join IS, or who say that people who join IS shouldn’t be allowed to return to their home countries or what have you, but the Europeans are doing the same thing to their own citizens as they are to the people in the Middle East! I wouldn’t really describe these oppressed people as a reserve force for IS. They would have emerged to fight back against Europe regardless of whether there was an IS or Al-Qaeda or not. Disparities, income gaps, discrimination created by the social environment – these are no longer limited to the Middle East but have spread throughout all of Europe. People talk about carrying out preemptive strikes to stamp it out before it grows, but that’s not how it works. Their anger is welling up from a more internal place. The problem is not actually with the immigrants, so if Merkel says to let them all in, then let them in. It’s basically an atonement. But there will be no end so long as the Euro-American countries do not seriously reflect on what they have done in the Middle East.

Part I | II | III

Masao Adachi: Reconceiving Solidarity – Rentai o souzou suru

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