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-5- • Country. They fought to defend their new socialist life, as the pioneers of history, the first peoples to live in an organised society in which national oppression and Class exploitation had been banished. The October Revolution had brought whole people to life across one sixth of the world, providing written scripts, education, health care, • housing, full employment, Science and culture to millions upon millions of people to whom such thing had been just a dream. The Soviet peoples fought so hard to defend socialism because they knew the the alternative from bitter experience. Today, there is an anti from certain sections of the Trotskyite movement, through to Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, there is a whole Swathe opportunists, traitors and weak-minded of people who will people acknowledge that Stalin proved to be a great war-time leader whilst still seeking to denigrate his overall record and legacy, particularly • in the crucial years of the 1930, when the Storm Clouds of world war were inexorably gathering.

-٢- As wuth the attempts by the British establishment to write the contributions of the Red Army and Comrade Stalin out of history, this is a travesty of the truth. How was it possible for a country that had been so poor and backward to bear the main role in destroying the most formidable military machine that had been Lever assembled? As with so many questions, the can answer is to-L be found in the works of Stalin. At the start of the 1930s, he told his people that they were several hundred years behind the great that powers and L they were faced with a stark choice- to make good that difference in a decade or to be crushed. And this was the theme of the 1930s - the peoples of the Soviet Union made good that difference by building socialism for the first time. It was a struggle every bit as heroic, kala herculean, decisive and followed. inspiring as the wartime struggle that preceded it. And it is against this background, and in this light, that we must view the historical events of the period, whether they be the

7- struggles that accompanied the collectivisation of agriculture or the firm and decisive measures that were taken to crush traitors, fifth Columnists and other enemies of the Soviet peoples and their free and independent Socialist life. So for us, celebrating the defeat of Nazi fascism is also to defend and advance the Cause of Socialism, and to Salure the leader of the international proletariat and progressive humanity, Joseph Stalin. We do not have even a fraction of the resources available to the bourgeoisie. But some Comrades have worked tirelessly to spread the word and to build this meeting - at May Day Marches and festivals, Irish Republican commemorations, at a Seminar to mark the 83rd birth anniversary of the late Korean President L and Kim Il Sung, Other important political events; and by going deep among the Turkish, Kurdish and other working class Communities. Advance notices for this meeting have been carried in a number of publications, including the Morning Star, L Asian Times and Caribbean Times. It is my great pleasure to

-8- • introduce as the first speaker a long-standing Comrade of mine, Wilf Dixon, who is the Chairman of the Stalin Society. Please give a very warm welcome to Comrade Wilf. — • •

K.B. Southall meeting Notes. GL -Southall ① Yesterday wrote speech. No longer relevant. Planned to come together in United Mtg of solidarity. Come together in mourning. - ② Can be few lives as rich, full & worthwhile as that led by GL. Set out on rd of rev in his earliest years & never thed back. ③ fully active in his last days. Preparing for Nth-Sth summit. Carter visit. military delegations: $, UN. NSP - Bangladesh. Cambodia roundtable conference.

④ GL always said that being among people was his great happiness. Made this way. Est on spot guidance as an integral part of his method of wh. Found time for this in his last weeks - even as int crisis raged around his country - visiting coop farms. ⑤ GL - a towering figure of C20 & world history. Korean nat hero & gt leader of icm. ⑥ when born in 1912, no w/o state power; imp ruled world -

K in wretched state Yrs of stagnation, colonial aggression. 1910 - loss of independence. ⑦ A patriotic & rev family. EL - 1926 Div. ⑧ Est leadership of K.N.L.S. Found way out by applying ML to his country's concrete Conditions. organising & waging a/s a/s. consolidating NUF Building Pty. ⑨ A legendary leader by 1945. ⑩ FLW - fought US L'imp to standstill. Its 1ST mil defeat.

Defended DPRK & whole soc camp. Expedited wave of nat lib ⑪ Proceeded to lead building of new soc from scratch. many of us have seen results of post-war reconstruc & the country's dev. DPRK - a flourishing soc country. NO unem, no homelessness or slums, no poverty. no beggars, no endemic diseases. Free Education, Health Care. Above all-human dignity. ⑫ All this achieved under conditions of partition, threats of new war, inc. nuke threat, western sanctions

& embaryo. ⑬ DPRK also dw into land of internationalism. GL's whole long rev career combined patriotism & prod int. Defend SU with arms. u/t with $ FLW : To defend soc camp. Psc-CPSU XX Cong → Together with Ho, only prominent leader of ICM to both oppose revis & seek to defend unity of soc camp. Stress laid on building a/c, a/us u/f. Not just in words - UN. NLMs thru out world - SA, Zist Zimb, Nicarag, Pal, west Sahara , etc .

(14) DPRK under GL also stood up to treachery of Gor. Led Moves to restore/rebuild ICM. Py Dec. Indeed, 80th birthday Celebs of GL was v signif gathering/ regroupment of ICM. (5) No wonder ft DPRK & GL seen as thorn in side of imp NWO. It was while coping with this phase of his long record of strugg that GL passed away. A terrible & bitter loss to k people & all a/c & prog people of world. A terrible & bitter loss to v.