ee

m TPO NR AO MP AUT ATU MTR OB KS TCT UTC RTM owe

of anti-imperialist forces of the world!

COMMUNIST PARTY GREETS
AFRICAN LIBERATION DAY

Mel Doig, Central Executive member of the Communist
Party of Canada, delivered greetings from the Party to the
African Liberation Day rally, May 29 in Toronto. Excerpts
from his speech follow:

The Communist Party of Canada (CPC) is grateful for the
invitation extended to it to take part in the African Liberation
Day meeting during the world-wide week of solidarity with
anti-colonial struggles ...

On behalf of the CPC, allow me to convey to all of you the
greetings of our Party, and to express its solidarity with the
great liberation, anti-colonial and anti-imperialist struggles of
the African peoples.

Times have changed: The world-wide struggle against im-
perialism, colonialism, oppression and racism has already
compelled even certain capitalist countries to denounce ra-
cism and foul apartheid.

They must be made to back up their words with deeds ...

The days are gone forever when the imperialists — with
manacles and chains, with whips and guns — could chop up
Africa as they wished. Today the African peoples are deciding
their own destiny. Forty-seven independent African states
already exist, while in other African countries the struggle for
freedom and independence is mounting.

Their struggle, like that of all peoples fighting for freedom
and independence, shows that imperialism and colonialism
have not changed their nature. Their nature is aggressive.
They are trying to launch a counter-offensive. Last year their
efforts were smashed in Angola. Today, the struggle of the
peoples of South Africa, of Namibia and Zimbabwe is on

‘freedom’s agenda!

Together with progressive people everywhere, the Com-

Munist Party of Canada stands in solidarity with their struggle .

for freedom and to throw off forever the oppressive yoke of
colonialism, racism and apartheid. The CPC supports the
Struggle for freedom and independence of all peoples .:.,
Our Party sees the struggle in defence of democracy as an
esstential part of the struggle for socialism. Today, as
- Capitalism’s crisis deepens, monopoly tries increasingly to
restrict democratic rights.
_ Democratic Canadians must unite to compel governments
in our country to strengthen and to vigorously apply legislation
against those reactionary and neo-fascist groups ‘that spread

race hatred and threaten our demoeratic rights. At the same -

time, the continued practice of race discrimination by the
federal government in its immigration and other policies, par-
ticularly regarding Native peoples, must cease! ‘

The CPC is pledged to do all in its power to help unite

democratic Canadians to combat racism, oppression and col-
-Onialism wherever they exist in the world.

We wish victory for the peoples of South Africa, of Namibia
‘and Zimbabwe in their struggle for freedom and indepen-
‘dence! Victory to the cause of African Liberation from im-

Perialism and colonialism!
The assurance of this victory lies in the ever-growing unity

oy,

African Liberation Day 1976

Angola, Jamaica main issues

TORONTO — With - simul-
taneous celebrations taking place
around the world, progressive
Blacks and -others in Toronto
May 29 showed their support of
African. liberation struggles and
the fight for Caribbean indepen-
dence, with a march and rally on
African Liberation Day (ALD).

More than 100. supporters of |

ALD, a day of international soli-
darity with African peoples’
struggles,. marched from Moss
Park to Christie Pits, with stops
along the route at the consulates
of France, Cuba, Britain and the
United States.

The march also stopped at the

’ Strathcona Hotel, where the gov-

ernment keeps immigrant de-
portees before deportation, and at

the building housing the provin-
cial Ministry of Labor.

The march ended in a rally at
Christie Pits where there were
speakers, food and refreshments
and a steel band.

The ALD march was the

Giving the Communist Party's
greetings to the rally at Christie
Pits Is CP Central Executive
member Mel Doig. (See box for
speech excerpts).

Outside the French consulate, marchers hear a speech describing

French exploitation In the Caribbean.

climax of a week of events or-
ganized by the ad hoc African
Liberation Week Committee.
The week included public forums
on events in southern Africa, the
Caribbean and North American
Black movements.

At the meetings and on the
march speakers from the libera-
tion movements in Africa, repre-
sentatives from the Caribbean
and people involved in the Black
community in Toronto gave in-
formative reports from their
areas.

A major focus of the week was
the victory of liberation forces,
led by the MPLA, in Angola, and
the events now reaching a head in
southern Africa. At the Cuban
consulate, African Liberation
Week. committee . member
Lennox Farrow spoke on the An-
golan victory and the solidarity
actions by the Cuban people that
were so important to the defeat of
imperialist forces in Angola.

An issue that will be receiving
more attention as a result of the
week is the political crisis unfold-
ing in Jamaica created by im-
perialist and internal powers’
campaign to destabilize the gov-

ernment of Michael Manley. Two
speakers from that country, a rep-
resentative of the ruling party
youth organization, and a
representative of the Workers’
Liberation League, spoke on the
crisis at the Caribbean forum and
the May 29 rally. (See interview
on the Jamaican situation with
WLL representative in this issue.)

The rally heard solidarity
messages from organizations that
support liberation struggles.
These included the Association of
Concerned. Guyanese, the
Toronto Committee for . the
Liberation of Southern Africa,
and the Communist Party of
Canada.

Personal solidarity messages
were sent by American com-
munist Angela Davis, who had
been asked to speak at the rally
but was unavailable, and Rosie
Douglas, the Black progressive
recently deported from Canada
for his continued work against
racism.

After the speeches, the crowd
broke up for refreshments, social-
izing and to listen to the steel
band.

A reader writes: ‘‘I found the column
uilding working-class unity (May 17)
quite useful. I would appreciate, how-
es clarification on the ‘reformist
Tend’ in the labor movement referred
0 in that column.”

nefly put reformism, or social re-
Tmism to use a better known term, is
1€ system of opportunist practices and
Views incorporating policies of class
Collaboration between workers and
“apitalists. For instance, reformism is
Quite well expressed in the phrase, ‘‘the
. T-capital partnership’, often ad-
Sasi by right-wing union and New

Mocratic Party leaders.

* *& *

In elaborating this question it needs
€ made quite clear that the winning
Working-class, trade union, and

People’s unity demands a consistent
4nd sharp struggle against monopoly
“@pitalism and its policies. This in turn,
Uires a persistent and patient strug-
€ for real working class policies. Such
4 Icles can only evolve, and be taken
P bythe class as a whole, in the pro-
SS of combatting capitalist illusions

q ideology in the labor movement.

* OO
. The main carrier of capitalist ideol-
8Y amongst the working people are the
Social reformists.

Cial reformism is rooted in the
Wth of the productive forces of

Social reformism — its roots and practice E200

Marxism-Leninism in Today’s World

capitalism, the increasing productivity
of labor with its resultant intensification
of exploitation under capitalism, the
imperialist pursuit of neo-colonialist
policies, the extraction of super-profits
by the imperialist powers’ exploita-
tion of the colonial and dependent coun-
tries, and the seizure by the monopolists
of key resources both at home and
abroad.

All of this enables monopoly
capitalism to follow a policy of conces-
sions to wide sections of workers, par-
ticularly those engaged in the high pay-
ing ‘‘specialist’’ trades and jobs. This in
turn provides an economic and social
base for reformism and opportunism in
the labor and trade union movement,
which expands and subsides with the
ups and downs of the capitalist
economic cycle.

Another important factor in Canada
making for extending the base of re-
formism among sections of the workers
is the special exploitation of immigrant

workers. This enables the capitalists to.

concede higher wages to sections of
native born Canadians and some of the

earlier immigrants.
x *K Xx

The Communist Party conducts a

constant struggle against capitalist illu-
sions and reformist ideas. It points out
to. working people that no matter how
prosperous times may appear to be on
the surface, particularly during boom
periods of the capitalist economic cy-
cle, the general laws of capitalism are

fully operative, and the alleged security

of working people can tur into in-
security ovemight. Marxism-Leninism
teaches that the contradictions inherent
in the capitalist system lead inevitably
to its downfall and to socialism, which
is the only system that can provide
security and the fullest satisfaction of
the needs of the working people.

* * *
. Social reformism, on the other hand,
holds that capitalism can be salvaged
providing its worst features can be
eliminated. The social reformists call
for better management of the system
which, by inference, means social re-
formist management.

The social reformists look on the
state as an institution that stands above
social classes. They spread the illusion
that the capitalist state is an impartial
authority and that its ‘‘faults’’ are the
result of the people who presently con-
trol it. Here again the inference is that

everything would be all right if those
people were social reformists.

-In these ways the social reformists
politically disarm the workers and seek
to adapt the labor movement to the
political interests of the capitalist class.
In short reformism seeks to perpetuate
the capitalist system, limit the trade
union and people’s movements to nar-
row parliamentary aims and partial re-
forms. The organized expression of so-
cial reformism in Canada is the New
Democratic Party.

* * *

The actual conditions of life for
workers under capitalism undermines
whatever illusions they might hold ab-
out capitalism. For the exploitation of
workers by monopoly constantly inten-.
sifies; compelling them to wage wider
and sharper struggles for their needs.
As a result, social reformist defence of
capitalist ideology increasingly
conflicts with the reality of the class
struggle..

Communists, while conducting a
constant struggle against reformist
ideas, fight for reforms to protect the
working people from capitalist exploi-
tation. In fighting for such reforms the
workers strengthen their unity, their
organization and their class conscious-
ness. The Communist Party links the
struggle for reforms with the revolutio-
nary transformation of society.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JUNE 11, 1976—Page 9