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Capitalism is a system based on exploitation of man by man. It is characterised by
internal unsolvable contradictions which today are sharpening in a dramatic way.
Throughout the world the contradictions between capital and labour and the contraditions
between capitalist powers themselves are increasing. We are in the midst huge upheavals,
on the eve of a new economic crises and wars. All bourgeois parties, including the
social-democrats and ecologists, promise to solve the problems of our society while
preserving its capitalist system. That'nothing but lying and cheating. Reality shows that
capitalism is an inhumane and criminal system causing havoc on a world scale, a system
that leads to war and devastation.
By 1989 and 1990, the Belgian government could finally see the end of the tunnel: Belgium
witnessed a spectacular boom in industrial investments. The brave workers had to make some
more sacrifices, but it would be the last ones; they would enable their courageous bosses
to invest, and to create more jobs. Today, however, they tell us that these investments
have brought about excessive capacities, and that we very urgently need to rationalize and
to get rid of thousands of workers in order to survive!(104)
The steel industry invested big money in new technology, the most modern in the world. But
by the end of 1992 overproduction forced Thyssen, the German number one, to diminish its
production by 20 percent. The chair-person of Usinor-Salicor, the European number one
said: 'We are to many in Europe. Mergers are necessary.' Investments to create jobs? The
most recent investments in the steel industry brought about excessive capacity of 20 to 30
percent. Now 100.000 steel workers will be retrenched!
Philips has already laid off 70,000 jobs, 23 percent of its total workforce. Siemens will
eliminate 15,000 jobs, more than half of them in the secor of computers and semiconductors
(105).
Last year, European car manufacturers diminished their production costs by over 50
percent. In doing so they reached the same level of their Japanese competitors. Can
workers feel confident now? No, on the contrary! In the coming six years, 600.000
automobile workers out of a total of 1.8 million will be made redundant.
In 1992 Europe produced 13,5 million cars. But there was already an overcapacity of 1,5
million. Toyota, Honda, VW, Peugeot, Fiat, are concentrating on constructing new robotised
factories which in 1995 will reach a production capacity of 2 million cars. The
flexibility, with night-and weekend-shifts, will also increase production by 1 to 2
million cars. In Eastern Europe plants producing Trabants, Skodas, Polskis and Wartburgs
are taken over by multinationals who will fully renew these factories and creat a new
production capacity of 1 million cars. All brought together, the overcapacity in 1995 will
reach up to 4,5 million cars!
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All capitalists of the planet engage in a world war against the workers. 32 million
unemployed in the industrialised countries, hundreds of millions unemployed in the Third
World: everywhere capital is forcing wage restraints, abolishing social laws and
achievements, increasing flexibility. At the same time the capitalists are pushing the
workers of different countries to engage a battle amongst each other. This battle amongst
the workers is called the struggle for competitive advantage. Social-democrats and
right-wing union leaders state that there is nothing to do about, that there is no
alternative but to take part in the international battle of competition. This way leads
straight to the physical destruction of the workers. In the Third World and the developed
world capital is imposing inhuman working conditions which destroy the physical and mental
health of the workers.
Everywhere in the imperialistic world, employers require their workers to be 'competitive'
with workers in other countries, where exploitation is pushed to the extreme and resembles
slavery. In Japan 40 percent of the workers fear 'karoshi' -- death through overwork
(106).
Yes, capitalism is a criminal system. The tremendous advancement of technology is
producing material goods in huges quantities. But it also 'produces' unemployment, misery
and over-exploitation for those who, with their work, create this prosperity. While a
handful of rich people wallow in revolting luxury, the working people only know poverty
and hardships.
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Not even three years ago, the media were crying out loud that socialism was death. But in
1993, it is clear that there is no way of surviving under capitalism. All new
technological advances cause a decline in living and working conditions. This reality
starts to cling to the consciousness of the Belgian workers.
First, as a result of automation and robotisation, thousands of people get unemployed
without any prospect of ever again finding a job. Automation, which in a socialist country
will make the life of the worker more easy and bring dignity and prosperity, is creating,
under capitalism, the phantom of permanent unemployment. Robotisation and automation are
not only expelling workers, but also more and more white collar employees and executives.
Peter Praet, head of the economic studies department of the General Bank declares: 'With
each crisis the permanent stock of unemployed and precarious jobs increases. For the
moment one quarter of the labour market depends on unemployment or social security.'(107)
In 1970, over 5 million people were unemployed in the industrialised countries of the OECD
(Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development). Today, after 20 years of
technological progress, 33 million are jobless.
In 1970, in Belgium, 83,000 people were unemployed. Today, there are 508,000 jobless, or
1,050,000 if you include the aged people which were eclipsed from the statistics, the
half-time jobs, the early retirements and career interruptions.
All over Europe unemployment will increase dramatically during the coming years of
recession and this will become the most important social and political problem. During the
first three years to come the Belgian Planning Bureau forecasts a new increase in
unemployment of 75.000.(108)
'It will be impossible to reverse the perverse trend of unemployment for many years, even
when the new cyclical economic improvement starts.'(109) This means that the terrible
sacrifices the bosses are asking from the workers today, may within some years boost
profits and investments, but will not diminish unemployment. The following crisis will be
even more destructive and will finally end in a war.
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The internationalization of the markets is a second consequence of the technological
progress. Today capital and investments can be removed very quickly from one part of the
world to another. New transportation sytsmes connect whatever production place to the
world markets. This globalisation allows capital in the traditional sectors to move to
countries where a worker is 'worth' only 200 Belgian Francs a day. This
internationalization increases unemployment in the imperialist centres of the world. It
shows that survival is impossible under capitalism.
Internationalization puts the Belgian worker face to face with the worker in the
Phillipines, Korea, Turkey, Morocco, Brazil or Hungary. Capitalists are forcing workers
from different countries to fight amongst each other: this is 'competition'!. The
employers force their workers to compete with people from other countries, which are
cruelly being exploited and enslaved. Competition forces the working class into a downward
infernal spiral that destroys their physical and mental health. Peter Praet from the
General Bank says: 'The liberalisation of trade and the intensified competition will
inevitably lead to harmonisation of the competition conditions. This is to say, there is a
tendency of levelling down (110).'
The conquest of Eastern Europe by the capitalist system is an important element in the
internationalization of markets. All of a sudden, the workers at Volkswagen Brussels are
put into competition with the workers from Skoda in Czechia. In Germany, Volkswagen pays a
salary of 31 dollars an hour. At Skoda, they pay 3,5 dollars!
'The workers of my country', according to the Czechian minister of Economic Affairs, 'are
as good as those in Germany and probably even better than the VW-workers of Spain.'
Socialism formed well qualified workers in Czechoslovakia. According to Business Week:
'The cheap and well qualified workers of the East are offering European businesses the
best chance to solve their chronic problem of competitiveness.'(111) A horrible phrase
which should make the trade union leaders think twice before following the capitalist
logic of 'competitiveness'.
In the name of the struggle against 'stalinism', capitalist freedom has been reintroduced
in the East. Social-democrats and ecologists have welcomed this evolution and right-wing
union leaders have taken great pleasure in it.
Today, we see that socialism of Eastern Europe did not only protect its own workers
against exploitation, but that socialism helped -- by its mere existence -- the workers of
Western Europe in keeping their exploitation within certain limits.
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To benefit from low wages, the imperialist powers are investing 3 billion dollars a year
in the zone Poland-Czechoslovakia-Hungary (112). The destruction of their traditional
markets in the Soviet Union is forcing the eastern countries to export to... the European
Union. Quite normal, because they were made to believe that this was the 'empire of
freedom'! But the European Union, this bastion of freedom, did not wait long to close its
markets through sharp restrictions on imports of steel, textile, agricultural products,
TV-screens, cement,... Overall, half of the exports of the countries in the East are now
subject to restrictions.(113)
What's happening in the East shows evidence of the following truth: the destruction of
socialism has sharpened all contradictions of the imperialist world and is going to cause
great upheaval in the whole of Europe. Imperialism has promised the people in the East
prosperity and well being. But production is collapsing. Imperialism promised investments
in order to help building highly performing economies. But investments remain marginal.
'The European Community should abolish its restrictions on imports from the East, to make
Eastern Europe a real attraction for private international capital', writes the Morgan
Company(114) Freedom? This import will destroy even more jobs in Western Europe! A second
truth becomes clear: if there are no investments in the East and if the situation there
continues to deteriorate, the people that have been infested with Dallas and Dynasty-fairy
tales will 'invade' the Community in their hundreds of thousands. 'If the East cannot
export their products to the Community, then it will export people', according to The
Times.(115)
All over Western Europe the neo-nazi's organise racist campaigns against Arab and Turkish
migrants. But soon the 'enemies' who is 'invading' can change colour. It will be mainly
Polish, Slovak and Romanian workers. The 'enemies' will be 'white', 'brothers of our
Christian civilization'! Social-democrats and ecologists have welcomed the efforts to
'free' these people from communism. But when these 'free' people take their 'freedom' to
come to the West, those who advocated free enterprises will use guns to stop them and
there will be more deaths than at the Berlin wall.
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Throughout the world the war between the capitalists and the working class people is
intensifying. At the same time capital is using the weapons of competitiveness, racism and
nationalism to divide the workers and force them to wage war against each other. Each and
every enterprise is linked to the world market; each worker can feel now the impact of
international politics. For the first time in history, capitalism tends to be a genuine
international system. The crisis can be felt all over the world, and the anti capitalist
struggle is getting a thrue international dimension. Today the basic contradiction of
capitalism which Marx has shown, is clearer than ever. Social production has taken
planetary dimensions and is being realised by a gigantic work force. But this production
remains the property of the capitalists. The mere thirst for maximum benefit of this small
class of exploiters makes survival impossible for hundreds of millions of people, and
pushes the toiling masses into inhuman living and working conditions. That is why this
system will explode from within; the devastating crisis it has caused and the pressure of
the masses who cannot stand the horror anymore, will lead to this.
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The three economic superpowers are preparing economic, financial and trade wars that could
end in real war. Free trade has always been a weapon of the strongest capitalists to
eliminate competitors. Today imperialism imposes free trade on the Third World to destroy
their national industries. 'Freedom' to export their products to imperialist countries has
become more and more restricted by many rules, conditions and obstructions. On the
international markets that are hardly elastic, Japan, the USA and the European Union wage
a struggle with two weapons: protectionism for its own markets and efforts to conquer the
international markets.
It is meaningful to know that Bush attacked the European Community in the terminology of
the Cold War: he lodged a complaint against the 'iron curtain of communal protectionism'.
One can see how the capitalist world is dividing itself in three relatively closed blocs,
where respectively Japan (East-Asia and the Asean-countries), Germany (the EC and Eastern
Europe) and the USA (the zone of Mexico and Canada) are dominating. The strenght each
superpower is gathering within its own zone, is instrumental to reinforce its penetration
of other markets. In case of a world crisis, the scenario of the new war with
international dimensions is already written. Whenever a serious crisis breaks out, the
imperialist superpowers will defend their share of the market, not with the weapon of
competitiveness but with real weapons. At the edge of competitiveness comes military war.
Capitalism inherently carries war with it, just as a cloud brings rain. Capitalism is a
barbaric and murderous system, and to fight the real warmongers, one has to fight the
multinationals.
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The current international situation has some similarities with the situation in the years
1900-1913. At that time, Germany, a more dynamic and better organised imperialist power,
wanted to conquer the world markets, until then dominated by Graet Brittain, the only
Superpower. Today the USA sees itself antagonised by two dynamic and better organised
rivals, Japan and Germany.
Still the global world-situation is fundamentally different: the imperialist are in a very
difficult situation; the states and the peoples of the Third World are more vigilant and
powerful and even the consciousness of the workers in the capitalist countries is on a
higher level.
Roland Leuschel, analyst of BBL (Bank Brussel Lambert), declares: 'On a world scale we
have never been so close to a crisis similar to the one of the thirties.(...) It can
become even worse, because the people are not prepared for it.'(116)
Japanese imperialism has at its disposal a huge industrial and commercial punching power:
a trade-surplus of 135 billion dollar is forecasted for 1993, while the USA face a
trade-deficit of 110 billion dollars.(117) During the past ten years Japan was the single
biggest exporter of capital. At the beginning of 1990 the Tokyo Stock Exchange was valued
at 38 percent of total world stock exchange capitalization. Since that time, shares at the
Tokyo Stock Exchange crippled and the exchange lost 60 percent of its capitalization, an
estimated 2.000 billion USA dollar, which equals the total value of all European listed
shares.(118)
This figure gives us an idea of the fierce financial chocks that can cripple the world in
a few days. On top of that, Japan's dependency on export-markets and on imports of raw
materials makes it very vulnerable in case of a world conflict.(119)
The USA is weighed down by a net foreign debt of 1.000 billion dollars, its infrastructure
is particularly bad, 30 percent of the youth have a bad education, 30 percent of the
population lives below the poverty line and is socially excluded.(120) The USA, the only
military Superpower, doesn't have the money to play it's war games all over the world.
The big European bourgeoisie dreams of a European market that will include the other
capitalistic countries (the European Free-Trade Association), the countries of Eastern
Europe and Turkey, that makes 900 million consumers.(121) But German hegemony provokes
already splits among the European Twelve. The 'historical' defeat of socialism in
Eastern-Europe can strike back as a boomerang. Crises, destabilisation, civil wars in
Eastern-Europe can tarnish the stability of Western Europe itself.
The whole imperialist world and its allies needed a huge effort to destroy Iraq, an
average Third World country with 18 million inhabitants. The war against Iraq was a
barbaric crime but it also showed the weakness of imperialism. The people of Iraq is
proudly rebuilding its country, it refuses to bow its head.
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Four years ago, we underwent a daily brainwashing, everywhere there was talking about the
historical failure of Marxism-Leninism. Bourgeois ideology, this stupid, moralising,
darkening ideology, mixture of lies and demagogy, was claimed to be the spiritual 'bread'
of humanity until the day of the apocalypse. During the last four years, this very same
bourgeois ideology could only cover more unemployment, more social misery, more racism and
repression, more fascism and war. All events of the last four years clearly confirm the
truth of Marxism-Leninism, the science of the struggle for socialism. From the experience
of the last four years, communists must gather an even higher pride and faith in the
socialist future of humanity. Those who were impressed by the anti-communist campaign and
cowardly stored their red flag, should find the courage to bring it back and hoist it.
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Yes, we must put up the red flag of socialism and communism, knowing that the world has
entered a new era. Until the death of comrade Stalin in 1953, socialism was on the
offensive in the whole world. The traitor Khrushchev started the dismantling of socialism
and counter-revolution, a process that has been finished by Brezhnev and Gorbachev. But
the restoration of wild capitalism in Eastern Europe happens at a moment when
world-imperialism is suffering a deep economic, political and moral crisis.
Since the collapse of socialism in the East, the main contradictions of the imperialist
world have been accentuated at high speed. American and European imperialism are resorting
to interference and terror. Their influence on the different economic and political forces
that are emerging on the international scene, is decreasing. This is the emergence of an
era in which all contradictions of the capitalist world are going to explode, just like
what happened between 1905 and 1918, and between 1929 and 1945. We must cry out loudly:
against exploitation, against oppression, against racism and misery, against fascism and
war: fortunately, there are still genuine communists!
For the poor, the exploited, the workers, the truth and future is in Marxism-Leninism, in
socialism. Each of us must study and practise Marxism-Leninism seriously and apply it in
the struggle of the masses. Bitter experiences will oblige the people to break the chains
of imperialism and capitalism. The temporary defeat of socialism in Eastern Europe also
has very important lessons for the coming revolutions. We must arm ourselves with that
indestructible socialist conviction, with the determination to serve the class struggle
until the very end; with the noble principle of serving the oppressed and exploited
masses.
The fight for socialism is an international and historical struggle. It can last one or
ten generations. And even after installing socialism, the struggle will have to be
defended for generations. The struggle for socialism in one country must provide a support
base for other struggling countries. In Belgium and in Europe, our struggle for socialism
will be a lasting one, but a consequent communist struggle here and today helps our
comrades in Cuba, Korea, Vietnam and China, who have already installed socialism, and
those comrades who are engaged in revolutionary struggle for independence and socialism,
from the Phillipines to India, from Palestine to South Africa and Peru.
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In each and every day struggle, we keep our eyes fixed on socialism as the only solution,
on the power of the workers, and on collectively planned economy. Only those who are
anti-capitalist and socialist can fight consequently for the immediate needs of the
masses.
Those who tell us that 'times are difficult, we all have to economize, class collaboration
is indispensable if we want to safeguard the essentials', are out of date. We heard these
tales in the past twelve years and for all those years, each big mass struggle was
weakened. That is how they left the masses to the mercy of discouragement and the ideology
of the extreme right.
What has class collaboration and demobilization delivered since 1981? Numbers at the
employment exchange, unemployed and other semi-employed whose numbers have been increasing
rapidly (1.050.000 people by now). In 1981, wage-earners and people entitled to an
allowance, earned 31 percent of Gross National Product (GNP). In 1991, they lost 5
percent. After 10 years of giving in, imposed by governments run by Christian-democrats,
liberals, Flemish nationalists and social-democrats, the workers are losing 650 billion
francs each year! In 1981 some progressives were saying: the real choice in society is the
one between the model of Mitterand and that of Thatcher. In France they chose Mitterand,
but they got Thatcher. In Belgium, since 1988, the people chose the social-democrats
Tobback and Spitaels and they got Thatcher and Thatcher. And we continue to lose 650
billion francs each year.
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In the workers movement and the unions, we witness how a whole mythology of subjection to
capitalism develops.
The mythology of competitiveness: a variant on solidarism of the thirties -- the
workers together with 'their' bosses to fight their capitalist rivals.
The mythology of Europe: to help the big finance to develop a European dimension
and to fight for world hegemony, hoping that the workers will reap some benefits from
their enrichment of the bosses.
The mythology of nationalism and separatism: divide the workers of Belgium, make
them rally around 'their' Walloon or Flemish bosses; prevent class struggle to reach a
nationwide dimension.
The mythology of anti-communism: 'nothing human is possible outside capitalism,
socialism is a criminal utopia.' All these mythologies are basically irrational and make
use of demagogy. Who does remember how in 1989 within the unions, propaganda was spread
about a report that gave 'evidence' that the single European market would deliver 6
million new jobs? Who does remember how the Parti Socialiste (the Walloon
Social-Democratic Party) in 1960 followed the pernicious road of nationalism to boast that
if 'the Walloons commanded their own house' they would take radical anti-capitalist
measures which were now prevented by the Flemish?
The capitalist world system bursts out of it chains. Its defenders are trying to prevent
the masses from making an objective and transparent analysis. In a wild capitalist system
some want to scare the workers with myths, irrational ideas and demagogy. All these
mythologies have a specific social function: prevent socialist and revolutionary
consciousness, break the struggles. Those who allow themselves to be drugged by these
mythologies, blindly follow the wild logic of high finance, with their head bowed, they
follow the road towards fascism and war.
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Against the disorganisation, demobilisation and division that rules the workers
movement today, only one party remains as an anchor for all the workers who want to resist
and fight for a different society: the Workers Party of Belgium.
During the past year, thousands of workers and unionists have expressed this opinion: 'Due
to the extensive analysis work of the Workers Party of Belgium, and due to its radical
program, we were able to maintain confidence in a socialist future'.
Several thousand workers have appreciated the three basic documents of our party: the book
on the 'Soci~t~ Generale', which analyses Belgian capitalism; 'Time is on our Side', a
profound analysis of the crisis and strategy of the tarde unions, and 'We are fed up with
your Tunnels', a document that criticises government policies and provides an alternative.
The comrades who disseminated these documents widely and discussed them thoroughly with
the workers, have obtainend remarkable results. And still, some comrades are intimidated
and paralysed by the stupid arrogance of anti-communists. We have many testimonies of
unionists who secretely come to tell us how they appreciate the serious analysis and
proposals of our documents. All progress depends on the courage, the intense activity and
the serious discussions of each militant and sympathiser of the Workers' Party of Belgium.
It is to be acknowledged that some cadres and members, leap behind the acceleration of
events that we are witnessing. More and more people realise that the world, Europe, and
even Belgium are witnessing a historical turning point, and that people must urgently get
organised. These people have the right to enter the party as quickly as possible. We must
criticise the opportunism that cultivates passiveness and prevents courageous people from
entering the party and taking up their part of the common struggle. Our Party today boasts
an ideological and political unity which contrasts sharply with the quarrels in bourgeois
circles and parliamentary parties. We have at our disposal excellent instruments for
political work. We must restore the well tested methods of criticism and self-criticism,
of struggle between two lines so that each cadre and member of the party makes political
progress and develops more close links with the masses.
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Our party has formulated an excellent program of struggle, which a growing number of
workers consider as being the only serious alternative. We must spread this program,
discuss it everywhere, day after day.
1. The rich must pay
A tax of 2 percent on personal fortunes higher than 20 million. This concerns 5
percent of the richest families. This will give the Treasury 100,000 million Francs.
2. Enterprises must contribute.
Increase the real tax-rate for enterprises to 40 percent. In 1979, the tax rate was
44%. This will yield 130,000 million Francs to the Treasury.
3. The banks must pay.
We pledge a 2,5 billion francs of governmental debt to be rescheduled into forced
loans at a lower rate, 2 percent lower than the market rate. This will bring 50 billion
francs into the Treasury.
4. Equal taxation for capital and work.
Income originating from interests and dividends are taxed less than income from work.
This equalisation will bring 100,000 million francs into the Treasury.
5. Tax Justice
Reestablish the progressive personal tax scale. Taxes of 20 to 90 percent on incomes
above the 3,5 million and a minimum taxable income of 260,000 francs.
This will yield 50 billion to the Treasury. To implement all these measures, the financial
sector will have to be nationalised and unified; the banking secrecy will have to be
abolished and a register of wealth to be established.
This plan would yield 430 billion, and would enable to alleviate public debt and save
social security.
For workers and people living on social insurance, the Workers Party of Belgium defends
four basic demands.
1. A 32 hours working week with recruitment and refusal of all forms of flexibility.
2. Individual right to complete allocation when unemployed or invalid, without any time
restrictions.
3. Financing of social security system according to the principle of the Law Dhoore of
1981, based on a financing system that depends on the needs; free medical care.
4. Defending public services and enterprises; no to privatisation in any form.
Concerning Democracy, we defend two principles.
1. Equal political and social rights for all immigrants by automatically awarding Belgian
nationality after five years of residence.
2. Full defence of the right to strike, against all interventions of the department of
Justice that is restricting the right to strike to the standards of the 19th century.
Prohibition to retrench all shop stewards leaders and union leaders and reinstatement of
all those who have been fired.
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Each and every point of this program corresponds to the needs of the workers and can bring
about the adherence of hundreds of thousands of people. Each point must become the subject
of campaigns of explanation that will last several years, until it becomes part of the
consciousness of the masses. Each demand must become a leverage towards engaging people in
the permanent struggle. We must hold on to the basic demands, to deliver a
consciousness-raising work, and strengthen our organisational capacity.
Given the typical climate of imperialist countries, this is the way communists will be
able to win the sympathy of the masses and the progressive people. The scale of the
Campaign 'Objective 479,917: Equal Rights for Immigrants', has taken such dimensions and
it teaches us precious lessons. This campaign was launched on very concrete and precise
slogans that are able to attract all democrats and even some people belonging to the
bourgeoisie. We have put all our forces to the service of this campaign. It must be said
that some of our militants, who had become sceptical and pessimistic, were inspired by the
incredible activity of youngsters that carried this campaign.
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When the communists are the best fighters for the basic demands that have the support of
the working people, we hear the Fascists screaming about the 'manipulation' by communists.
And the Flemish Bloc reads its rosary of intoxication: 'those people of the Workers'Party
defend Stalin, Pol Pot, Sendero and Saddam Hussein'. Those four Draculas, those four
scarecrows are the ones that must prevent all thinking and all reflection. These tactics
are used today by all secret services all over the world.
Before the murder of Chris Hani, the leader of ANC's (South Africa) military wing, a
British newspaper called him: 'Chris Hani, the Saddam Hussein of South-Africa'. After the
murder a Trotskiyte newspaper had as its title: 'Hani, a vicious stalinist'.
This kind of slander is neither accidental nor innocent. Bruno Kervyn, from the so called
Committee for the Defence of the Human Rights in Peru, who is collaborating with the
Peruvian secret service, wrote in La Libre Belgique that: 'In Belgium, the twin brothers
of the Senderista and the Red Khmers are the neo-fascists and the Maoists (122).' Every
thing in that phrase remembers us of the classic tricks of the CIA that always puts
fascism and communism on the same level.
The same themes, repeated over and over again in the papers of the extreme right, can also
be found in the press of the Belgian Trotskiyts. This organisation has since long
degenerated and has been infiltrated from top to bottom by police. Whe should assist their
honest members to put this clear. To help them, we should be more vigilant and denounce in
a concrete way the practise and intrigues of their leaders who behave as professional
anti-communists.
The Trotskyists are feverishly running around to unite the progressive forces on the basis
of their anti-communist police-platform. The Trotskyist Alain Tondeur is citing Bruno
Kervyn in an article on the 'criminal character of the Mao-Stalinist organisation Sendero
Luminoso' and on 'the murderous practise and crimes' of 'Sendero, Saddam Hussein, Stalin
and Pol Pot', supported by the WPB.(123) One can understands all this agitation even
better when reading the latest newsletter of the boss of Sabena, writting on the strike of
the flying cabin personnel. He talks about 'the outrageous threat of a few terrorist
strikers'!(124)
This anti-communist intoxication is one telling sign that the bourgeoisie is losing the
confidence of the masses. The aversion brought about by those plotting and lying, should
strengthen us in our decisiveness to serve the working people even more resolutely and
more consciously. Good results It must be reiterated that the desperate situation of
capitalism brings great opportunities to the communists who are the only ones to defend a
real alternative. A growing number of people are disgusted by the corruption and the lies
of the bourgeois parties. This can be put into statistics.
Since the beginning of this school year, 1,416 youngsters have contacted our youth
organisation, the Red Youth. 750 students contacted the Marxist Leninist Movement, our
student organization. At the elections at the Free University of Brussels, our candidates
obtained between 10 and 18% of the votes. In Gent, another university city, they have the
support of 24% of the voters. 1,459 people have contacted the Anti Imperialist League. 135
people were present at the week-end of Medicine for the People. In one year, the Workers
Party of Belgium distributed 1,340,000 national leaflets. The sale rate of our weekly
Solidair has risen by 20% since 1989. Subscriptions are reaching a record number. These
statistics may encourage those who stayed behind. In this new era of great events all over
the world, everybody must improve his knowledge of Marxism-Leninism, strengthen his work
among the masses, be more active and convince our sympathizers to join the party. Comrade
Mao Zedong, the great leader of the international proletariat, who was born hundred years
ago, said it this way: 'We must have faith in the Party, and we must have faith in the
masses.'
Long live the socialist revolution!
Long live proletarian internationalism!
Long live the Workers Party of Belgium!
Workers' Party of Belgium (WPB)
171 Boulevard Lemonnier
B-1000 Brussels, Belgium
Tel: + 32 2 513 77 60
Fax: + 32 2 513 98 31
E-mail wpb@wpb.be