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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