Celebration of RIM 20th anniversary held in Frankfurt, Germany

7 February 2005. A World to Win News Service. People were still arriving at around midday at the Youth Centre in Frankfurt on 15 January, some having travelled great distances from around Europe, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement. There was expectation in the air as the crowd milling around the literature tables greeted each other and exchanged news of recent developments, while others browsed through books, magazines, audio and video cassettes, posters and other material put out by the various revolutionary organisations. While predominantly made up of revolutionary-minded people and political activists from Turkey, the crowd of 350-400 also included a number from Afghanistan, Iran, Germany, Greece, Italy, Austria, Peru, Scandinavia, France, Netherlands and the United Kingdom, the majority of whom were non-native Europeans. Significantly, a large contingent of Nepalese living in Europe turned out, despite intimidation attempts by European police and embassy personnel in the period leading up to the programme.

This event was organised by the Maoist Communist Party [Turkey and North Kurdistan] (MKP) and supporters of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and of the Communist Party of Iran (Marxist-Leninist-Maoist). The conference began with a three-minute silence for the martyrs who have fallen in the struggle to attain a world without class exploitation and oppression, the division of human society into classes, the cause of communism. A pin-drop silence gripped the air as clenched fists were raised and well-known names were read out from the podium. Draped on the wall behind the keynote speaker from the MKP and the other main speaker from Nepal was the large, colourful RIM founding banner: the planet earth breaking free of its black chains. The chairperson opened the event to thunderous applause, reminding the audience that this occasion was not only to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of RIM's founding, but also to salute the advance of the revolutionary people's war in Nepal. The atmosphere was electric.

The main speaker laid out the great transformations the world has undergone since the 1984 founding of RIM as well as the development of its ideological and political positions and new basis of unity, Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, in 1993. He discussed the ideological battles between Marxism and the dogmato-revisionism of the Enver Hoxha brand, along with Deng Xiaoping's revisionism following the counter-revolutionary coup in China after Mao Tsetung died. He highlighted Mao Tsetung's immortal contributions to the communist ideology, forged through intense struggles against both Soviet and Chinese revisionism, and the struggle for them to gain acceptance. Mention of the people's war in Peru, Nepal, Turkey and the revolutionary armed struggles in other countries drew immediate applause. The importance of the growing unity of revolutionary communist parties and organisations, forged through heightened ideological-political struggles, two-line struggles, within and RIM and outside its ranks, was greatly emphasized.

The speaker not only vehemently condemned imperialism, especially US imperialism, and all reactionaries, but also took the restoration of capitalism in the Soviet Union and China to task. Moreover, he analysed the twists and turns in the development of the international communist movement. There have been events and developments, unprecedented achievements of the proletariat, which are causes for rejoicing, yet there have also been things that should cause us to grieve. He laid out some of the limitations and setbacks of the movement during the Stalin era, during the Comintern period in particular, and the outlook of regarding the interests of the struggle of the proletariat in particular countries as synonymous with-and hence subordinate to-the immediate interests of the then-socialist Soviet Union. He drew attention to some of Comrade Stalin's metaphysical ways of thinking that interfered with the otherwise great achievements of the world proletariat under the Soviet Union's leadership.

Furthermore, the speaker pointed out that many of the errors of the Comintern period, such as the one mentioned above, continued to plague the international communist movement, even during Mao's leadership at the head of the CPC in China. He also said that they ran counter to the teachings of Mao Tsetung. All things, he said, both in nature and human society, without exception, divide into two. That is how we Maoist communists understand contradictions: as a unity of opposites as well as a struggle of opposites. Hence the party of the proletariat, the international communist movement and even RIM are unities of opposites and they all divide into two, without exception.

There are contradictions, two-line struggles in communist parties, and so too within the international communist movement in general as well as RIM, he said, including in RIM's earlier understanding of Mao's many theoretical and philosophical contributions to the science of revolution. At the time of its founding RIM upheld these developments of the science as a new, third and higher stage of Marxism and yet regarded them as Mao Tsetung Thought before the contradiction was resolved-also through struggle between opposites-by RIM's adoption of Maoism in 1993. The speaker discussed the initiation, unfolding and rapid advances made by the Maoist people's war in Nepal, and the role played by RIM. In this light, mention was made of M. B. Singh of the Nepal Communist Party (Mashal) and his views that failed to recognise Maoism as the communism of today, a line that had to be repudiated to pave the way for the initiation of the people's war in that country.

He also mentioned that there had been differences of view within RIM as to which was the principal contradiction in the world, that is, during the Cold War period when the Soviet Union turned into a social-imperialist power vying for world domination and hegemony with US imperialism.

There were and still are different understandings of the concept of proletarian internationalism, he said. The proletariat is a world class, he pointed out, and hence does not have a country. This is how we approach the notion of internationalism: not with a nationalist outlook toward the struggles in other parts of the globe, that is, not with an outlook of "my" or "our country" extending support or solidarity to the "working class of other countries", but with a firm understanding of oneness with our class brothers and sisters in other lands, as all of us belonging to a single class and waging a single struggle for communism.

The unity of RIM's participating parties has developed through contradictions, struggle, unity, more struggle and greater levels of unity. RIM has also sought unity among Maoist communists-through ideological and political line struggle-with other parties in the international communist movement, including those waging important revolutionary struggles in the Philippines and India.

This keynote speech was followed by a speaker from the Nepalese revolutionary intellectual organisation. As he delivered his prepared text, darkness suddenly blanketed the hall, the screen behind the stage flashed into light and multi-colours and images of People's Liberation Army fighters and ordinary people in Nepal intermingling in cultural performances-singing, folk dances and speeches-celebrating the formation of revolutionary districts and autonomous governments, from a specially prepared video.

Clearly the audience was delighted to witness this and greatly enthused by the scenes of the CPN(Maoist) leaders at various levels speaking to the people and participating in collective work and military training and actual combat operations against the Royal Nepal Army and the monarchy. The thousands of poor people assembling expectantly and eagerly in their myriad coloured native costumes was a stirring spectacle even on screen. Here, up close, were scenes of armies of village women descending from great heights to celebrate, singing and chanting, "Long live Marxism-Leninism-Maoism!" along the way, clutching babies in one arm and toddlers in the other.

The Nepalese speaker told the conference of the two-line struggle leading up to the people's war in Nepal and the process of initiation of the revolutionary war. In the view of the CPN(Maoist), he said, the initiation had to rupture with old ideas in order to make a material breakthrough; the process entailed not only breaking clean from previous positions and outlooks but also demanded a leap, the consolidation of the new line, a forward thrust in the momentum of the movement and hence culminating in a qualitatively new situation, from a non-revolutionary to a revolutionary one.

He said that the revolution in Nepal is at the stage of strategic offensive and the CPN(Maoist) is poised for a nationwide advance and the palpable possibility of taking power. He also discussed the danger of foreign intervention, particularly by the Indian expansionists.

Bob Avakian, Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA was shown on video dubbed with a Turkish translation, while others listened through headphones. His stimulating speech excerpted from a DVD called "Revolution" addressed the problems of winning and holding political power, linked to the kind of socialist society we need, and to the nature of the dictatorship of the proletariat as a transition to communism. Avakian spoke to the importance of the vanguard party in really enabling the people to become masters in all spheres of society on the way to achieving communist revolution worldwide. He spoke of learning from the mainly positive experience of past socialist society but also the mistakes, while refuting the bourgeoisie's attacks on our communist project as "totalitarian". He stressed the importance of defeating the world ruling class attempts to crush the revolution in Nepal and the importance of internationalism with its most important expression in the RIM. This speech was applauded loudly and long.

A supporter of the Communist Party (Maoist) Afghanistan, speaking in Dari, talked about the rising hatred of the people in Afghanistan for the occupation of the country by the imperialist powers following the unprovoked and blatant aggression by US imperialism in 2001. After describing the enormous hardship endured by the people under the boot of imperialist occupation, she concluded-to cheers from the audience-that the days when Maoist communists were isolated in the mountains are gone.

A series of other messages to the conference were also given live or read out, including those by the Communist Party of Iran (Marxist-Leninist-Maoist), the Maoist Communist Party (Italy), the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Naxalbari and the Revolutionary Communist Group from Colombia, along with RIM supporters from the Communist Party of France (Maoist), the Revolutionary Communist Party of Canada, and others.

The different speakers and messages to the celebration reflected both the unity that exists in RIM and the different understandings of some important questions facing the Maoist movement in the world. For example, how to understand the developments within the Communist Party of Peru, how to make revolution in the imperialist countries and how to carry out proletarian internationalism in all kinds of countries. These kinds of discussions and struggle among the Maoists are part of the process by which the movement arrives at a more correct understanding and grows stronger. But communists make a distinction between principled discussion of differences and vile slanders and mud-slinging. When one group used the guise of a solidarity message to launch a vicious and unfounded attack against the Committee of the RIM and some leaders of parties in RIM, they were sharply rebuked by the leadership of the conference, to the applause of the hundreds of participants.

The evening ended with the audience from all over Europe and beyond rising in a thunderous ovation. This was followed by the Internationale, simultaneously sung in different languages.

Avoiding the evening chill outside, many people stayed behind, reflecting on the events of the day, tired but exhilarated. Outside the hall, the walkway and corridor were still abuzz with chatter and animated discussion. Then gradually, around eleven, the crowd began to thin out. Other comrades moved towards the cafeteria, some joining in discussions. For example, a group of people around the Iranian-Afghanistani women's organisation "8th of March", armed with large German beer mugs overflowing with foam, were singing revolutionary songs. The celebrations, it seemed, had not ended.

Here is the message sent by the RCP(OC) to the Frankfurt meeting:

Dear comrades,

At the beginning of the Eighties, the imperialists and the reactionaries of all countries were celebrating with frenzy and all their hatred against the proletariat and the oppressed people the coup perpetrated by the capitalist-roaders in China. For them, this victory marked the beginning of a new period which was finally going to be favorable to them-at least this was their hope-to the point where some were even going to prophesy the "end of history" and the final death of the communist project.

Misled by the revisionist leaders now in power in China and the USSR, a part of the then international communist movement jumped with the enemy; others choose to disappear in the meanders of dogmato-revisionism; while many simply collapsed under the weight of the defeat and discouragement.

Then a handle of Marxist-Leninist parties and organizations rose and proclaimed highly and strongly that YES!, the revolution was still necessary and possible, and even that it was still the only way to stop the fatal road roller of capitalism and imperialism, which did not cease leading the whole world from one catastrophe to another; but especially, these parties and organizations were saying us that in spite of the 1976's reversal, the historical experience of the Chinese revolution and the whole theoretical developments it has been able to produce under Mao Zedong's leadership, were the key for allowing us to overcome the bend on the road and retake the initiative in the great battle that will determine the future of humanity: it was not less, but more Maoism which was needed to advance further!

In the best tradition of the international communist movement, these organizations dared to go against the current; they dared to struggle and dared to win so they founded, in 1984, the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement (RIM). At the same time, the glorious people's war launched by the Communist Party of Peru came to practically refute the imperialists and reactionaries' claims and showed to the whole world the soundness and the possibility of the revolution. It is through these great ideological and political battles that our movement became able to produce the new systematization of the revolutionary science of the proletariat that we now call Marxism-Leninism-Maoism.

Since then, new communist organizations were born; others that were already existing and had accumulated a long experience of revolutionary struggle, were able to reorganize and successfully undertook rectification campaigns. At a time when imperialism and its main leader, the US imperialism, are intensifying their unbridled offensive against the oppressed people and when those are courageously resisting - such as the heroic Iraqi people - the revolutionary struggles and especially the people's war led by Maoist parties are showing the way towards our liberation.

Coming from an already old history marked by many struggles against revisionism and opportunism, our organization, the RCP(OC), enormously learned from the experience of the Chinese revolution, of the people's war waged by the PCP comrades in Peru, and from the ideological struggle carried out by RIM's participating parties and organizations and its leadership.

Founded four years ago, our organization is now fighting with a renewed strength to establish the Maoist vanguard party that will wage the revolutionary war against the Canadian imperialist bourgeoisie and will thus serve the world proletarian revolution.

It is in this context that in the summer of 2003, the First congress of our Party took the historical decision to undertake a process of unification with the RIM. We are deeply convinced that the future of the international proletariat's struggle depends on the capacity of its vanguard to seize Marxism-Leninism-Maoism and to apply it in practice and by doing so, to realize the unity of the international communist movement on bases that will be more solid than ever before.

Dear comrades,

We want to take this opportunity to warmly greet all of RIM's participating parties and organizations along with the comrades from the CoRIM;

to enthusiastically greet the Maoist parties and organizations from the oppressed countries who are leading protracted people's war or are preparing for it, namely in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Turkey, Peru, Iran, Afghanistan and in the Philippines;

and to warmly greet the Maoist parties and organizations who are leading the struggle within the very heart of the imperialist countries, namely in the United States, Italy and Spain, and who are seeking the way for waging the revolutionary war under the concrete conditions which are theirs.

We especially want to reiterate our full solidarity to the comrades of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) who are currently building a red fortress in the service of the world revolution in South Asia, and to the new Communist Party of India (Maoist), from which we heard the news of its creation with much enthusiasm and who will certainly contribute to the unification of the international communist movement around Maoism and the RIM.

Long live proletarian internationalism!
Long live the unification of the ICM around Maoism!
And long live the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement!

(paru dans the People's War Digest magazine n° 2)