An attempt to put the clock back

We’ve got to be optimistic

By Daniel Paquet                                               dpaquet1871@gmail.com

TORONTO - Lithuanian communists are under attacks by their national bourgeoisie; this is a new variant of witches’ hunt.  They are especially targeting the president Algirdas Paleckis.  La Vie Réelle in English extended them greetings and expressed them their solidarity. A few hours later, they were answered back from Lithuania: “Thank you very much for your solidarity!  We really appreciate it.  This is very important for us to know…”

This corresponds to the spirit experienced during the Third World Congress (of the International Council for Friendship and Solidarity with the Soviet People) that took place in Toronto, on September 9-10 and 11, 2011. Workers and intellectuals, young and older, from the five continents attended the event.  Personally, I was happily impressed by Michael Lucas, the chairman of the movement, who just keeps a few hours for himself, painting in his flat; the rest of the time busy working, alongside with his wife Helen at the Council headquarters in Toronto,  this beautiful metropolis city of Canada.                                               

 (Photo D. Paquet:  Soviet Lt.-Colonel Fomin awarding a medal to Michael Lucas).

I met with comrades from Canadians for Peace and Socialism and their president Don Currie.  What a passionate discussion we had about the future of Canada and he already knew so much about Québec.  Once more, it showed that progressive people in English-speaking Canada want to know more about Québec, its working class, its culture.  During such a Congress, English-speaking friends have a real pleasure to speak a little bit in French.

I also had the opportunity to discuss with Dr. Angelo D’Angelo, my comrade of New York; he is a very special character:  64 years old, enthused like a teen-ager while exposing the sheer necessity to struggle for our rights and the historical need to build socialism.  Comrade Angelo is a passionate man, full of humanity for the toiling people and for… cats; in fact, he “invites” cats at his place to protect them from the dangers you may encounter in the streets of New York City. 

I spoke about politics in Soviet Union with Soviet Lt.-Colonel Fomin who bluntly asked me at the end of the conversation:  “did you like Soviet Union?”  With a broad smile, I just said:  oh, yes! 

It took me a while to write about the Third Congress; because I wanted to give an original viewpoint and to talk also about the aftermath of such a congress:  the main task of the sizeable group of people who gathered in Toronto is to unite efforts within and outside Russia (and former republics of Soviet Union) to rebuild socialism, and re-establish workers’ power.  Peoples around the world may look with some horror now at what was going on in Libya, for instance; really USSR was the main bulwark for world peace and workers’ rights all over the planet before the come-back of capitalism.

I just read an article from International Communist Review where it was stated that: “The dramatic defeat of socialism was at the same time a defeat for the working class in Luxembourg, because from this moment on there was no competing system anymore which just by its existence-imposed pressure on capitalism.  Thus the capital began to cancel step by step all the compromises from the 40 years before, to put under question all the social advancements which have been achieved as a result of the struggle of the working class.   More and more legislative changes became introduced by the bourgeois state, which were decreed or decided by the European Union, the Luxembourg government or the bourgeois majority in the national parliament, laws which have the task to do away the previous social achievement and to change the situation in favour of the ruling forces.”  (Luxembourg and the October Revolution, Issue # 2, English version, Athens, p. 56).

Unfortunately, in the European and North-American trade union movement, their leadership took the road to reconcile corporate capitalism with the working-class.  However, Mattie Bolle Redoat, a young French trade-unionist, declared at the 16^th Congress of the World Federation of Trade-Unions that “within the CGT (General Confederation of Labour/Confédération générale du Travail –Ed.) an ideological struggle now exists.  Therefore it is a particularly difficult struggle especially after the fall of Soviet Union with the disappearance of many northwest communist parties, mainly in France where they follow a reformist line…”   Tiago Viera, General Secretary of the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY), said:  “… the reinforcement of the class trade union movement, which is occurring over the last years, is a vital condition for the success of the struggles of the workers, in general, and of the young generations, in particular.”  (Reflects, World Federation of Trade Unions, Athens, # 3, September 2011, pp. 17-18). Members of the International Council contribute to this battle, each in its own country; while the magazine Northstar Compass dwells regularly on working class battles around the world.

Mattie and Tiego would certainly be happy to read the latest issue of the Montréal Council of trade-unions (CCMM-CSN)’s monthly magazine.  Dominique Daigneault, its  young general secretary, speaking on behalf of the 90 000 member strong organization announced a national demonstration on November 10^th in support of the Québec post-secondary students against university rights’ hike (Unité, Octobre 2011, p. 3); about 300 000 students are members of the four student unions in Québec.  The population of Québec is around 8,7 million inhabitants.

(Photo Internet:   Winnipeg 1919 General Strike; two years later the Communist Party of Canada was established in Ontario, 1921-2011).

Trade-unionists and students are consolidating their unity in Québec; it is a long-standing tradition.  At the moment, communists do not play yet a decisive role.  La Vie Réelle in English criticizes steadfastly the leadership of the union centre for its drift towards social-democracy; but it never came in its mind to attack the very idea of reinforcing the trade-union movement, the sole rampart of the working class against the Québec national bourgeoisie, big business and US imperialism.  Let’s recall that many unions were established by communists who hardly survived after, -from cold war and witches’ hunt-, in the 1950s.

Communist News   www.dpaquet1871.blogspot.com

La Nouvelle Vie Réelle   www.lnvr.blogspot.com

marxistas-leninistas latinas hojas   www.ma-llh.blogspot.com

Le sourire de l’Orient   www.lesouriredelorient.blogspot.com

ARCHIVES :

La Vie Réelle   www.laviereelle.blogspot.com

Pour  la KOMiNTERN now !   www.pourlakominternnow.blogspot.com

L’Humanité in English   www.humaniteinenglish.com

-30-