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On the other hand, a great deal of attention was devoted to the need to find ways and means of reaching out to members of the unionist community in the interests of national reconciliation. As Adams noted: "The republican tradition is a democratic and progressive one. It was founded by Irish Presbyterians." Despite the obvious centrality of the work to rebuild the peace process, the conference displayed strong evidence of Sinn Fein's continued development as a political party posing relevant solutions to all problems faced by working and oppressed people in Ireland. There were, for example, debates and resolutions on wages and conditions, unemployment, housing, the environment, agriculture and numerous other questions. Indeed, the debate that generated the most passionate exchanges was that on womens' rights. As Gerry Adams put it: "Our goal remains an Irish socialist republic. Our primary objective at this time is an Irish national democracy... Our task is to articulate the core democratic republican demands in a way which is reasonable and attractive to the broad mass of the Irish people." ● The conference also had an international focus. There was a strong denunciation of the US blockade of Cuba, coupled with a call to the Dublin government to expand trade with the socialist island and establish full diplomatic relations with it. Solidarity was also expressed with the Zapatista revolutionary movement in Mexico. And there was a warm welcome for a fraternal speaker from El Salvador's FMLN liberation movement. The warmest reception, however, was reserved for the fraternal delegate from South Africa's ANC, in line with Adams' statement that his visit to the country last Summer and his meeting with Nelson Mandela had been the "highlight" of his year. Another warm welcome went to Labour MP John Austin-Walker, the current chair of the Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs, who decried John Major for "frustrating time and time again" any movement towards all-party talks. The ● broad support for this view within the Labour movement was underlined by the messages of greetings received from other Labour members of the British and European parliaments. Among other influential left-wing parties in Europe who sent fraternal delegates to address the conference were the Communist Party of France, Herri Batasuna of Euzkadi (the Basque Country) and the Popular Democratic Union (UDP) of Portugal.

PAPER PRESENTED TO THE CONFERENCE ON COMMUNISM AND EUROPE ORGANIZED BY MOVIMENTO PER LA PACE E IL SOCIALISMO. ROME, FEBRUARY 28th 1988. Hugh Stephens, Britain. The corruption of the labour movements by imperialism is a central tenet of Marxism-Leninism that has recently been re-stated by the great leader of the Korean revolution Comrade Kim Il Sung in these words: "In order to increase their plunder and exploitation of the people of the colonial and dependent countries, the imperialists make every effort to estrange the working class of the metropolitan countries from the peoples of the colonies. They manoeuvre to poison the working class with the stinking ideas of racism and national chauvinism and to disorganise the militant ranks of the working class from within by bribing the labour aristocrats with a portion of the superprofits they have raked in from the colonies." ] A To escape from this nightmare of opportunism and reestablish a fighting revolutionary tradition in the capitalist heartlands we must take as our starting-point the actually-existing mass struggles of the masses today, and facts show that the revolutionary struggles of the masses in Europe are most intense in those situations where the conditions of life and struggle most closely approximate to those of the oppressed nations of Asia, Africa and Latin America. To find a revitalising force for communism in Europe it is consequently of paramount importance to examine the experience of struggle of those countries. In particular it will be found that the Juche Idea developed by the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung, which centres on the concept of Chajusong/independence, most fully answers the ideological

2 needs of the contemporary period when more and more broad sections of people in a wide variety of social systems are entering the anti-imperialist struggle. The Juche Idea for the first time places man in the centre and teaches that man's relation to the world is that of master. This is a linking conception which comprehends both the class struggle and the national liberation struggle and identifies their common roots. For Chajusong/independence is an inherent attribute of man as a social being, and the struggle of the masses for Chajusong is the motive force of history.) B a text C It is no coincidence that this philosophy was formulated in an oppressed country of Asia struggling to emerge from the darkness of colonialism and the devastation of aggressive war. For under conditions where imperialism unleashes its most savage attempts to obliterate the national identity and human dignity and integrity of the oppressed peoples, the latter vigorously assert their identity and integrity and demand the mastery over their destiny which imperialism has sought to deny them. This philosophy is fully applicable to the most intense revolutionary struggles in Europe today. To take the case of Britain, history has shown that the national minority communities of Irish, African, Caribbean, Asian and other origins are the sections of the proletariat that are most fully engaged in struggle against the imperialist state. (In strong contrast to the slavish adherence to British imperialism shown by the official labour movement,) these national minority communities by and large reject the legitimacy of the British imperialist state and place their loyalties elsewhere. Included among their number are many thousands from oppressed nations who have actual experience of revolutionary armed struggle, and who often

3 retain organisational links to fighting national liberation and communist organisations. (Examples include the large Indian community, many from the Punjab, who actually organise their day-to-day struggles effectively under the leadership of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and other Indian communist organisations. We could also mention the Malayan, Cypriot and countless other communities with other such direct links to revolutionary struggle including revolutionary warfare. ) ㄱD These communities thus form a living bridge between, on the one hand, the oppressed people in the imperialist heartlands who have long been isolated from revolutionary ·struggle, and, on the other hand, the raging storms of revolutionary anti-colonialist and anti-imperialist freedom struggles in the oppressed countries which have in our era been bearing the brunt of the struggle against the world system of capitalist imperialism. It is the first internationalist duty of revolutionaries in an oppressor country to rally round these most oppressed sections of the proletariat who face the full force of capitalist expoitation combined with the most barbaric racism which is deeply ingrained into every aspect of imperialist society. A Above all, there is the case of the Irish communities living in Britain, whose links with revolutionary armed struggle of national liberation are closer than those of any other section of the proletariat in Britain. This is potentially the single most destabilising factor for British imperialism of all immediate revolutionary factors which it faces within its borders, just as anti-colonial resistance within Ireland has been the most consistently destabilising factor for Britain's external policies for over 300 years. ㄱE

4 Many of these Irish communities in Britain, which are located in the heartlands of the industrial proletariat, are of recent origin and are from those parts of Ireland most oppressed by British imperialism. In Glasgow, which faces the northern six counties of Ireland where the armed nat lib struggle is concentrated, perhaps a half of the working class is of Irish origin, and the identification with Ireland's armed struggle is strong, particularly among the youth, many hundreds of whom are organised in uniformed marching bands which indeed constitute a unique phenomenon of anti- imperialism in this part of Europe. This Irish Republican anti-imperialist tradition, planted like a rock in British capitalism's heartlands, provides a focus of loyalty for all other super-exploited groups in Britain, who spontaneously identify it as the true potential nucleus for a fighting resistance to the racism and fascism to which British imperialism is capable of resorting in crisis. The communist movement in Britain, in contrast, has a shamefully poor record of anti-imperialist solidarity with Ireland's freedom struggle, and for long years has given opportunists and enemy agents a free hand to attempt to drive a wedge between the labour movement in Britain and the advanced national liberation struggle in Ireland. A central feature of opportunist distortion on this question is the attempt to portray armed struggle as alien to the communist tradition. In fact, even the most cursory glance at the history of communism in Europe shows that its points of greatest consolidation have precisely been those where its history has been most closely linked with revo- lutionary armed struggle against domestic fascism and/or foreign occupation.

5 A peculiarly obnoxious form of argument on this question is to argue from a supposedly 'Marxist-Leninist' point of view that the guerilla warfare waged by the Irish Republican Army consists of the acts of individuals isolated from the masses in the manner of the anarchists, Blanquists and others criticised by Marx. In fact it was Lenin himself who gave the definitive answer to opportunist arguments of this type when he exposed how "incorrect, unscientific and unhistorical is the practice so very common among us of analysing guerilla warfare without reference to the circum- stances of an uprising." He made the pointed comment which still strikes home today that "it is not guerilla actions which disorganise the movement, but the weakness of a party which is incapable of taking such actions under its control... A Marxist bases himself on the class struggle, and not social peace... When I see a Social- Democrat theoretician or publicist ... displaying... a proud smugness and a self-exalted tendency to repeat phrases learned by rote in early youth about anarchism, Blanquism and terrorism, I am hurt by this degradation of the most revolutionary doctrine in the world." Besides these struggles of oppressed nations and national minorities, other mass movements arise in imperialist society. Some, like the peace movement and environmental or 'green' movements, are characteristic of contemporary society. Others, such as the miners' strike in Britain in 1985, are manifestations of the long-term and fundamental contra- dictions of capitalism. However, all of these mass move- ments whether new or traditional gravitate more markedly towards the revolutionary anti-imperialist traditions that have been mentioned the more militant they become. For example, the most politically significant aspect of the miners' strike was the conscious adoption by sections of the miners' youth of the Irish example in their view

6 of their situation. Likewise their adoption in some cases of street-fighting against the police was universally seen as following in the steps of the black youth who took to the streets in Britain's cities in 1981. This constitutes the clearest possible evidence of the revitalising potential of the nationally oppressed over the struggle of the masses in general. The nationally oppressed provide in this way a channel through which internationalism and insurrectionary struggle can reenter the labour movement in Britain. Thus an inspiring, militant and practical alternative to the racism and fascism fostered by the imperialist state can be presented before the rising generation of proletarians. . The most advanced of the revolutionary patriotic organisations within Europe have themselves consciously sought to extend the hand of alliance towards other demo- cratic movements. As Comrade Gerry Adams, President of Sinn Fein, has put it: "It is our business to build alliances against the political, economic, social and cultural elements of imperialism or neocolonialism in this state. Our struggle must become whatever energises or organises the people against one or other or several of these elements. We are a small party but we can use our resources intelligently, mindful that an advance in any one area of this work indirectly strengthens the over-all struggle and the people's sense of self-confidence and self-reliance." An example of such action in practice was given last year by Herri Batasuna, the revolutionary nationalist organisation of Euzkadi, when it united with the peace movement within the Spanish state and the peace movements of the rest of Europe and of the socialist countries to combine the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the

7 fascist bombing of Gernika with the annual celebration of Aberri Eguna, the Basque national day. In this way the heroic struggle of the Basque people for national liberation made an enormously valuable intervention in international affairs and demonstrated the tremendous potential possessed by the nationally oppressed within Europe to develop the peace movement into a real counter-threat to imperialist war plans. A further potential opportunity for the intervention of the nationally oppressed in Europe and those who support their struggles is presented by the World Festival of Youth and Students to be held in Pyongyang, capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, in 1989, the first time this four-yearly event has taken place in Asia. The initial experience of recent weeks in Britain in forming a British Preparatory Committee for this festival shows that the influence for communist unity and revitalization that could be generated by this event and the preparations for it could prove incalculable. This will be an occasion when communist youth can unite with progressive youth of all organisations and of none and from the many nationalities residing in Britain, to work together in close collaboration with the international communist movement and in particular with the fatherland of Juche. This provides the golden opportunity for the revolutionary youth in Britain to break free from the stranglehold of opportunism and factionalism, seize the reins of revolutionary advance in their own hands, and build the revolutionary fighting unity which the communist movement formerly recognised in Britain has failed to provide them with. It is an occasion when the most revolutionary forces in society -- the street-fighting youth led by

8 black youth, the youth of Irish origin orientated around the Republican Movement, the militant miners' youth - can at last emerge onto the stage of world history at a major event of the international communist movement. Such are some reflexions on the means for creating a new relevance for communists in imperialist society today. Only on the basis of such relevance can their intervention internationally be meaningful. Such international inter- vention should focus on strengthening ties with the socialist countries and the newly-independent states which have embarked on the road of independence, so as to play a part in strengthening unity against the war threats of imperialism led by US imperialism. At the level of inter-state relations, communists in Europe face a complex situation in which pillars of the imperialist community such as Britain, France and Germany exist beside other small and medium- sized countries, some of which uphold neutrality or (as in the cases of Malta and Cyprus) participate actively in the Non-Aligned Movement. Communists must defend all independent policies implemented by European states, even when, as in the case of Greece, they are voiced from within the aggressive NATO alliance. Even in Britain, forces within the Labour Party exemplified by the recently formed Campaign for Non-Alignment press for more independent policies, and this is to be welcomed as the extension of such a tendency would constitute an obstacle to US imperialism's schemes to unleash world war against socialism. Finally, let us hope that this Conference which groups together communists and representatives of national liberation movements will provide precisely that reinvigoration of communism in Europe which has been discussed above. In

9 particular the Movement for Peace and Socialism is to be warmly congratulated for its initiative in inviting representatives of the national liberation movements of Ireland and Euzkadi to share with us the experience that communists in Europe have too often refused to share. Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams has said that "the natural and logical place for Ireland is alongsde the Palestinians, the Chileans, El Salvadoreans and Nicaraguans." The Movement for Peace and Socialism has indeed taken a natural, logical, and correct step in placing the Irish in that place to day. ]F Certainly this Conference is a creative contribution towards the unification and strengthening of revolutionary anti-imperialist forces of all forms in Europe. This Conference will strengthen the determination of communists in Europe to champion the cause of the oppressed everywhere, and to consolidate unity around the socialist countries, the national liberation movements and all other forces for freedom and world peace. — — — — — — Hugh Stephens