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Celebration of RIM 20th anniversary held in Frankfurt, Germany
7 February 2005. A World to Win News Service. People were still arriving at
around midday at the Youth Centre in Frankfurt on 15 January, some having
travelled great distances from around Europe, to celebrate the 20th anniversary
of the founding of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement. There was
expectation in the air as the crowd milling around the literature tables
greeted each other and exchanged news of recent developments, while others
browsed through books, magazines, audio and video cassettes, posters and other
material put out by the various revolutionary organisations. While
predominantly made up of revolutionary-minded people and political activists
from Turkey, the crowd of 350-400 also included a number from Afghanistan,
Iran, Germany, Greece, Italy, Austria, Peru, Scandinavia, France, Netherlands
and the United Kingdom, the majority of whom were non-native Europeans.
Significantly, a large contingent of Nepalese living in Europe turned out,
despite intimidation
attempts by European police and embassy personnel in the period leading up to
the programme.
This event was organised by the Maoist Communist Party [Turkey and North
Kurdistan] (MKP) and supporters of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and of
the Communist Party of Iran (Marxist-Leninist-Maoist). The conference began
with a three-minute silence for the martyrs who have fallen in the struggle to
attain a world without class exploitation and oppression, the division of human
society into classes, the cause of communism. A pin-drop silence gripped the
air as clenched fists were raised and well-known names were read out from the
podium. Draped on the wall behind the keynote speaker from the MKP and the
other main speaker from Nepal was the large, colourful RIM founding banner: the
planet earth breaking free of its black chains. The chairperson opened the
event to thunderous applause, reminding the audience that this occasion was not
only to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of RIM�s founding, but also to salute
the advance of the revolutionary People�s War in Nepal. The
atmosphere was electric.
The main speaker laid out the great transformations the world has undergone
since the 1984 founding of RIM as well as the development of its ideological
and political positions and new basis of unity, Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, in
1993. He discussed the ideological battles between Marxism and the
dogmato-revisionism of the Enver Hoxha brand, along with Deng Xiaoping�s
revisionism following the counter-revolutionary coup in China after Mao Tsetung
died. He highlighted Mao Tsetung�s immortal contributions to the communist
ideology, forged through intense struggles against both Soviet and Chinese
revisionism, and the struggle for them to gain acceptance. Mention of the
People�s War in Peru, Nepal, Turkey and the revolutionary armed struggles in
other countries drew immediate applause. The importance of the growing unity of
revolutionary communist parties and organisations, forged through heightened
ideological-political struggles, two-line struggles, within and RIM and outside
its ranks,
was greatly emphasized.
The speaker not only vehemently condemned imperialism, especially US
imperialism, and all reactionaries, but also took the restoration of capitalism
in the Soviet Union and China to task. Moreover, he analysed the twists and
turns in the development of the international communist movement. There have
been events and developments, unprecedented achievements of the proletariat,
which are causes for rejoicing, yet there have also been things that should
cause us to grieve. He laid out some of the limitations and setbacks of the
movement during the Stalin era, during the Comintern period in particular, and
the outlook of regarding the interests of the struggle of the proletariat in
particular countries as synonymous with � and hence subordinate to � the
immediate interests of the then-socialist Soviet Union. He drew attention to
some of Comrade Stalin�s metaphysical ways of thinking that interfered with the
otherwise great achievements of the world proletariat under the Soviet Union�s
leadership.
Furthermore, the speaker pointed out that many of the errors of the Comintern
period, such as the one mentioned above, continued to plague the international
communist movement, even during Mao�s leadership at the head of the CPC in
China. He also said that they ran counter to the teachings of Mao Tsetung. All
things, he said, both in nature and human society, without exception, divide
into two. That is how we Maoist communists understand contradictions: as a
unity of opposites as well as a struggle of opposites. Hence the party of the
proletariat, the international communist movement and even RIM are unities of
opposites and they all divide into two, without exception.
There are contradictions, two-line struggles in communist parties, and so too
within the international communist movement in general as well as RIM, he said,
including in RIM�s earlier understanding of Mao�s many theoretical and
philosophical contributions to the science of revolution. At the time of its
founding RIM upheld these developments of the science as a new, third and
higher stage of Marxism and yet regarded them as Mao Tsetung Thought before the
contradiction was resolved � also through struggle between opposites � by RIM�s
adoption of Maoism in 1993. The speaker discussed the initiation, unfolding
and rapid advances made by the Maoist People�s War in Nepal, and the role
played by RIM. In this light, mention was made of M. B. Singh of the Nepal
Communist Party (Mashal) and his views that failed to recognise Maoism as the
communism of today, a line that had to be repudiated to pave the way for the
initiation of the People�s War in that country.
He also mentioned that there had been differences of view within RIM as to
which was the principal contradiction in the world, that is, during the Cold
War period when the Soviet Union turned into a social-imperialist power vying
for world domination and hegemony with US imperialism.
There were and still are different understandings of the concept of proletarian
internationalism, he said. The proletariat is a world class, he pointed out,
and hence does not have a country. This is how we approach the notion of
internationalism: not with a nationalist outlook toward the struggles in other
parts of the globe, that is, not with an outlook of �my� or �our country�
extending support or solidarity to the �working class of other countries�, but
with a firm understanding of oneness with our class brothers and sisters in
other lands, as all of us belonging to a single class and waging a single
struggle for communism.
The unity of RIM�s participating parties has developed through contradictions,
struggle, unity, more struggle and greater levels of unity. RIM has also sought
unity among Maoist communists � through ideological and political line struggle
� with other parties in the international communist movement, including those
waging important revolutionary struggles in the Philippines and India.
This keynote speech was followed by a speaker from the Nepalese revolutionary
intellectual organisation. As he delivered his prepared text, darkness suddenly
blanketed the hall, the screen behind the stage flashed into light and
multi-colours and images of People�s Liberation Army fighters and ordinary
people in Nepal intermingling in cultural performances � singing, folk dances
and speeches � celebrating the formation of revolutionary districts and
autonomous governments, from a specially prepared video.
Clearly the audience was delighted to witness this and greatly enthused by the
scenes of the CPN(Maoist) leaders at various levels speaking to the people and
participating in collective work and military training and actual combat
operations against the Royal Nepal Army and the monarchy. The thousands of poor
people assembling expectantly and eagerly in their myriad coloured native
costumes was a stirring spectacle even on screen. Here, up close, were scenes
of armies of village women descending from great heights to celebrate, singing
and chanting, �Long live Marxism-Leninism-Maoism!� along the way, clutching
babies in one arm and toddlers in the other.
The Nepalese speaker told the conference of the two-line struggle leading up to
the People�s War in Nepal and the process of initiation of the revolutionary
war. In the view of the CPN(Maoist), he said, the initiation had to rupture
with old ideas in order to make a material breakthrough; the process entailed
not only breaking clean from previous positions and outlooks but also demanded
a leap, the consolidation of the new line, a forward thrust in the momentum of
the movement and hence culminating in a qualitatively new situation, from a
non-revolutionary to a revolutionary one.
He said that the revolution in Nepal is at the stage of strategic offensive and
the CPN(Maoist) is poised for a nationwide advance and the palpable possibility
of taking power. He also discussed the danger of foreign intervention,
particularly by the Indian expansionists.
Bob Avakian, Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA was shown on
video dubbed with a Turkish translation, while others listened through
headphones. His stimulating speech excerpted from a DVD called �Revolution�
addressed the problems of winning and holding political power, linked to the
kind of socialist society we need, and to the nature of the dictatorship of the
proletariat as a transition to communism. Avakian spoke to the importance of
the vanguard party in really enabling the people to become masters in all
spheres of society on the way to achieving communist revolution worldwide. He
spoke of learning from the mainly positive experience of past socialist society
but also the mistakes, while refuting the bourgeoisie�s attacks on our
communist project as �totalitarian�. He stressed the importance of defeating
the world ruling class attempts to crush the revolution in Nepal and the
importance of internationalism with its most important expression in the RIM.
This
speech was applauded loudly and long.
A supporter of the Communist Party (Maoist) Afghanistan, speaking in Dari,
talked about the rising hatred of the people in Afghanistan for the occupation
of the country by the imperialist powers following the unprovoked and blatant
aggression by US imperialism in 2001. After describing the enormous hardship
endured by the people under the boot of imperialist occupation, she concluded�
to cheers from the audience � that the days when Maoist communists were
isolated in the mountains are gone.
A series of other messages to the conference were also given live or read out,
including those by the Communist Party of Iran (Marxist-Leninist-Maoist), the
Maoist Communist Party (Italy), the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)
Naxalbari and the Revolutionary Communist Group from Colombia, along with RIM
supporters from the Communist Party of France (Maoist), the Revolutionary
Communist Party of Canada, and others.
The different speakers and messages to the celebration reflected both the unity
that exists in RIM and the different understandings of some important questions
facing the Maoist movement in the world. For example, how to understand the
developments within the Communist Party of Peru, how to make revolution in the
imperialist countries and how to carry out proletarian internationalism in all
kinds of countries. These kinds of discussions and struggle among the Maoists
are part of the process by which the movement arrives at a more correct
understanding and grows stronger. But communists make a distinction between
principled discussion of differences and vile slanders and mud-slinging. When
one group used the guise of a solidarity message to launch a vicious and
unfounded attack against the Committee of the RIM and some leaders of parties
in RIM, they were sharply rebuked by the leadership of the conference, to the
applause of the hundreds of participants.
The evening ended with the audience from all over Europe and beyond rising in a
thunderous ovation. This was followed by the Internationale, simultaneously
sung in different tongues.
Avoiding the evening chill outside, many people stayed behind, reflecting on
the events of the day, tired but exhilarated. Outside the hall, the walkway and
corridor were still abuzz with chatter and animated discussion. Then gradually,
around eleven, the crowd began to thin out. Other comrades moved towards the
cafeteria, some joining in discussions. For example, a group of people around
the Iranian-Afghanistani women�s organisation �8th of March�, armed with large
German beer mugs overflowing with foam, were singing revolutionary songs. The
celebrations, it seemed, had not ended.
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