Joint Communique of 15th July, 1978 issued by the Workers’ Party of Scotland (Marxist-Leninist) and the Revolutionary Marxist-Leninist Communist League of Britain


Published: Revolution, Vol. 3, No. 4 November 1978
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Sam Richards and Paul Saba
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The spokesmen of the Workers’ Party of Scotland (Marxist-Leninist) and the Revolutionary Marxist-Leninist Communist League of Britain met together in the second week of July I978 in Glasgow to exchange views on the present tasks of the British working class and peoples to meet the Soviet social imperialist threat to the independence and sovereignty of Britain and the world war menace posed by the new Czars in the Kremlin.

The two Marxist-Leninist organisations, through comprehensive discussion in a comradely spirit, found themselves in complete agreement Chairman Mao’s scientific theory of the Differentiation of the Three Worlds is the strategic guide for the international proletariat and oppressed peoples in their road of social advance to safeguard national independence against the hegemony of the two superpowers, particularly Soviet social imperialism the most dangerous source of world war and the main enemy of the world’s people at the present time.

The two organisations reaffirmed that, Chairman Mao, the greatest Marxist of our times, who has applied, defended and developed the teachings of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin, has bequeathed this theory to mankind as a powerful weapon which is based upon objective analysis of the fundamental contradictions of the contemporary world and the changes in them in accordance with Lenin’s theses on the present era of imperialism and proletarian revolution; that the uneven development of imperialist countries inevitably leads them to the redivision of the world by means of war, and that, as imperialism has divided the whole world into oppressor and oppressed nations, the international proletariat must fight in unity with the oppressed nations and thus march forward to its historic mission.

In the contemporary world adherence to, and implementation of, Chairman Mao’s Three Worlds theory is the touch-stone to distinguish genuine Marxist-Leninists from modern revisionists of all types – not only the Soviet modern revisionists but all the social fascist parties including the so-called ’Eurocommunists’ and especially the ’super-revolutionaries’ (led by the renegade Hoxha) who, by donning a very ’revolutionary’ mask and pretending that they make no distinctions between the two superpowers in fact serve the Soviet social imperialists. While posing as the heirs of Lenin and Stalin, they distort and debase the latter’s teachings and have become Trotskyites in the garb of ’Marxist-Leninists’, joining the Soviet-led attack on the great revolutionary bastion of socialism, the People’s Republic of China.

The two organisations stated that it is the basic programmatic task of Marxist-Leninist parties and organisations to fight for the broadest possible united front of all political forces, all classes, organisations and individuals to oppose the hegemonist ambitions and plots of the two superpowers, in particular Soviet social fascism. At the same time, in carrying out our basic tasks, it is imperative to recognise the difference between social imperialism, which is strategically on the offensive, and US imperialism, which is strategically on the defensive. And within this united front both at the international level and national level, the proletariat must maintain its independence and initiative.

II

In order to effectively unite with the bourgeoisie in the common task of opposing Soviet Social imperialist policies of war, subversion and bullying, the proletariat must wage a struggle against monopoly capital for the defence of living standards and democratic rights and civil liberties of the people and oppose all policies of appeasement towards the new Czars. Specifically the proletariat must fight for:

(a) the reconstruction and democratisation of the state machine at central, national and local level for maximum participation of the people to organise national and civil defence;
(b) the strengthening of national unity by recognising and implementing the right to self-determination including the formation of independent states of the four main nations in the U.K. – English, Scots, Irish and Welsh – by establishing democratic self-government with the direct participation of the people, and a central federal government, thus eliminating all forms of national oppression and discrimination against national minorities;
(c) the reconstruction and all-round expansion of the national economy to meet the requirements of national defence and the welfare of the people, to overcome inflation, unemployment and stagnation of production;
(d) the democratisation of industrial, agricultural and commercial enterprises with working class control over investment, production, sale, allocation of profits and wages;
(e) the defeat of bureaucracy and social fascist disruption in the trade unions, to defend and enhance the democratic rights of the members;
(f) the defence and enhancement of democratic liberties, civil and human rights, by combating government and other official racist policies as well as fascist-racist organisations, and protecting national, religious and racial minorities;
(g) the equality of women in all fields of social and domestic life;
(h) the democratisation of education in the interests of national defence and the welfare of the people;
(i) the building of revolutionary and patriotic organisations of students and youth.

In order to strengthen the economic, political and military unity of the European countries, the main focus of Soviet social imperialist designs and superpower contention, whether inside the European Economic Community or outside, the democratic and patriotic forces must fight against the hegemony of U.S. imperialism to achieve relations of equality and mutual benefit.

The two organisations recognise that the European peoples and countries must unite with the Third World, the main force in the struggle against superpower hegemony, on the basis of equality and recognition of the independence of all countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, and their sovereign right to be masters of their natural resources and the fruits of their labour.

Accordingly the two organisations hail the success of the historic Lisbon Conference Against the Russian Imperialist Menace as a most important expression of the growing resolve of the democratic and patriotic forces of Europe to unite in a common front with the peace and freedom loving forces of the world against Soviet social imperialism and superpower hegemonism, and pledge themselves to the whole-hearted support and implementation of the Lisbon ideals in co-operation with other’ democratic and patriotic forces in Britain.

The two organisations resolve to struggle, together with other Marxist-Leninists in Britain, to establish a single united party of the British proletariat based upon democratic centralism and taking into account the particular features of Britain as a multi-national state. in order to fulfil our obligations to the British working class and proletariat and people of the world, and, to establish close relations of unity with fellow Marxist-Leninist parties and organisations of other countries on the basis of equality and mutual support and non-interference in each other’s affairs.

III

The two organisations strongly condemn world-wide Soviet interference and aggression especially in Africa and its use of Cuban mercenaries, in particular in Angola, the Horn of Africa and Zaire, which is not only a threat to the independence of the African countries but constitutes an essential part of the Soviet strategy of encircling and subjugating the whole of Europe.

They further condemn the Vietnamese authorities for their shameless attacks on Democratic Kampuchea in pursuit of their territorial designs and hegemonist ambitions in South-East Asia. Serving as the catspaw in the Russian imperialist strategy, the Vietnamese authorities have gone back on the solemn undertakings of the DRVN and President Ho Chi Minh of June 1967 recognising the existing boundary line between Vietnam and Cambodia, and have even gone so far as to try to subvert the government of Democratic Kampuchea both from within and without.

The Vietnamese authorities have also violated previous agreements and international norms, not to mention elementary principles of human decency by the vile treatment of Chinese nationals in Vietnam, depriving them or means of livelihood, discriminating against them, ostracising, persecuting, expelling and even shooting them, while slandering the principled and patient stand of the government of the People’s Republic of China and obstructing her attempts to establish Consuls in Ho Chi Minh City and Haiphong and ship the victimised Chinese back to China.

The Vietnamese authorities have thus completely betrayed the revolutionary unity, of the Vietnamese, Kampuchean, Chinese and other peoples forged in the common struggle against U.S. imperialism. In this connection it is of great significance that while Vietnam was able to defeat U.S. imperialism, it has received a severe rebuff from the heroic people Democratic Kampuchea.

Nor is it without significance that the Vietnamese authorities have been supporting social imperialism’s expansionist policies for quite some time. They supported Indira Gandhi’s fascist regime and its declaration of emergency for intensifying the exploitation and oppression of the Indian people – the same regime which acted as an instrument of Soviet hegemony when it intervened in East Pakistan and grabbed Sikkim. For a mess of pottage, military aid and other material the Vietnamese revisionists, like the Cuban mercenaries, have for some time been selling out to social imperialism but the heroic Vietnamese people who did not liberate their country from U.S. imperialism in order to hand it over to social imperialism are sure to defeat such reactionary plots.

The two organisations expressed their full support for the peoples of Zimbabwe, Namibia and Azania in their protracted and complex armed struggle and efforts to unite the people’s forces on the basis of self-reliance against the racist regimes of southern Africa and the defeat of neo-colonialist schemes. Both organisations demanded that the British government side clearly with African democracy and against white racism by extending full moral and material support to the popular forces of these countries.

They further expressed their full support for the struggle of the Palestinian and other Arab peoples against zionism and superpower manipulation for the regaining of their lands and national rights.

The two organisations also declared their confidence in the correct policy, at home and abroad, of the People’s Republic of China led by the Communist Party headed by comrade Hua Kuo-feng. Adhering to Chairman Mao’s revolutionary line in the course of the struggle against the Gang of Four, the people of China are sure to build their country into a powerful modern state by the end of the century while never becoming a superpower, and thus make a still greater contribution to humanity.

The two organisations acknowledge with profound gratitude and admiration the great positive effect which these and other heroic struggles of the peoples of the world have on the situation and tasks confronting them and vow to do their utmost to lead the British working class and its allies in taking up their fighting tasks.

“Workers of all countries and oppressed nations, unite!”