communist left australia

There are those who think that because of globalisation the national question is redundant. These include many bourgeois commentators and the supposedly Trotskyist Socialist Equality Party. However, events in Catalonia, Kurdistan, West Papua and Cameroun’s show that the national question are well and truly politically alive. We revolutionaries must take a stand supporting national self-determination of those nations, which have been deprived of this right.

Within a week, there were referendums in both Iraqi Kurdistan and Catalonia. Both national groupings voted overwhelmingly to secede from Iraq and Spain respectively. Over 90% in favour!

In both cases the referendums were considered “unconstitutional” by their governments. For their governments even asking the people is illegal. Neither of the local governments have actually declared independence.

In the case of Catalonia the Spanish government metered out brutal repression. Innocent voters waiting in line found themselves dragged by the hair, their arms broken and other brutal injuries. Leaders of the Catalonian Assembly were arrested. Neither the national government nor the monarchy accepts the result of the election. They don’t even condemn police brutality. This has strengthened the Catalan cause with many wavering voters realising how little respect Spain has for them.

The Catalan independence movement faces many obstacles. Banks have moved their headquarters away from Barcelona. The EU opposes self-determination fearing a weakened Spanish economy. Donald Trump opposes any break-up of Spain. It faces a Spanish government who will fight independence tooth and nail.

The Kurdish people also face serious opposition also. Syria, Iran and Turkey are all united against it as they have the understandable fear that Kurds in those countries will rise up also. The Kurds no doubt feel that because of their loyalty to the US, for example in the war against the Islamic State, the US will allow their independence. No! The US will not allow the Middle East to be destabilised. Of course, they face opposition from the government of Iraq.

Neither Catalonia nor Kurdistan has declared independence. The governments have declared opposition to the people’s right to express their views. So much for democracy! Elections for self-determination were also declared illegal in Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea.

For revolutionary communists, Trotskyists, the creation of a class conscious working class means not just narrow class interest but elevating the working class to being the vanguard of history. A true class criterion includes the national question. It is needed in the fight against chauvinism in imperialist countries and in privileged colonies such as Australia.

In colonies including Catalonia and Kurdistan, we support their right of self-determination to win over Kurds to the proletarian vanguard to show we respect their national rights. Our aim is to overcome nationalism.

In the Soviet Union, the national question was not consistently overcome and this has led to uprisings such as in Chechnya. Lenin believed in a Soviet Union of national equals. He opposed Great Russian chauvinism. The failure to overcome the national question is a prime recipe for degeneration within a post capitalist state. An example is the Uigar nationality who are Muslims in China who face injustice and are uprising. They face repression from the Chinese state.

Lenin on the Unemployed.

While the capitalists are using the growing army of unemployed to put pressure on the organised workers by lowering wages, the cowardly social democrats, the Independents and the official leaders of the trade unions distance themselves from the unemployed; they regard them as objects of state and trade-union charity and categorise them politically as lumpen-proletarian. The Communists must understand clearly that in the present circumstances the army of the unemployed represents a revolutionary factor of tremendous significance. They must assume the leadership of this army. By exerting pressure on the unions through the unemployed, the Communists can hasten the liberation of the trade unions from the influence of their scab leaders. By uniting the unemployed with the proletarian vanguard in the struggle for socialist revolution, the Communist Party can restrain the more revolutionary and impatient elements among the unemployed from engaging in individual acts of desperation. If conditions are favourable, the Party can organise the mass of unemployed in support of the action of one or another section of the proletariat and, by extending the struggle beyond the limits of the original conflict, can make it the start of a major offensive. In short, the unemployed can be transformed from the reserve army of labour into an active army of the revolution

Subjects

Abbott government Australia 105104 103 102

Syria 99 97

Barak Obama 99 98 90 84 82 81 79

Occupy movement 96 94

Refugees Australia 105 102 99 98 94 93 92 91 89 87 86 85 83 61 60 56 55 53 52 51 49 47

Gillard/Rudd Labor Governments102 101 88 82 78 77 76 75 74

Palestine/Israel 99 86 82 72 71 70 66 63 56 55 54 51 50 31 24 2

China 85 84 79 52 46 39 38 37 33 6

Afghanistan 84 75 68 54

Greece 101 98 97 96 57

Chavez 88 78 76 75 74 68 61

Egypt 102

Iraq 95 74 67 65 63 62 60 59 57 54 51 40 35 28

Black struggles Australia 100 95 94 90 81 80 76 74 73 71 70 65 62 49 39 37 33 31 24 23 10 3

East Timor 78 72 63 47 46 44 32 28 16 12

Torres Strait Islanders Australia 94 1

Socialist Alliance Australia 89 64 62

Womens Liberation 105 90 49 6

New Zealand 104 77 72 47 36 35 32 24 19 14 12 11

Unemployment Australia101 95 94 92 87 83 82 76 72 69 64 62 61 55 40 37 29 27 26 19 14

Bougainville 49 44 41 40 39 37 37 26 25 22 9

Trotskyist Platform and Syria.docx
Size : 13.558 Kb
Type : docx

REDcommunistLEFTaustralia