First Published: FORUM for Marxist-Leninist Inner-Party Struggle, No. 2, April 1964.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Sam Richards and Paul Saba
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There have been rumours that Khruschov, smarting under the exposure of his revisionist policies by the Chinese, Albanian, Korean, Indonesian, Japanese and other Parties, and realising that the correct Marxist-Leninist line is winning ever greater support from all peoples fighting imperialism, is planning some drastic and irreparable step against the Communist Party of China.
It has been suggested that a conference of the Communist leaders of Eastern and Western Europe, following on the Hungarian Liberation celebrations in Budapest on April 4th, may be used by Khruschov to demand a break with the Chinese which would split the World Communist Movement.
For various reasons the leaderships of the Italian, Polish and other European Parties have in the past opposed such a step and Khruschov may not succeed in his evil plan. Nevertheless, all British Marxist-Leninists must be ready to meet such an eventuality. Any attempt by the leadership of the British Communist Party to support or accept such a break must be rejected right from the start.
The moment it becomes evident that a move of this sort is contemplated Comrades must demand an Extraordinary Party Conference. The sol e purpose of such a Conference must be to affirm, without conditions or qualifications of any sort, the Chinese Communist Party’s membership of the International Communist Movement, and similarly any other fraternal Parties who may have been similarly attacked. In order that the issues leading up to the break shall be thoroughly and democratically thrashed out, the following conditions for the summoning of such a Conference must be observed:
1. Full discussion at Branch level and at no other level prior to the Conference.
2. No influence or pressure from higher Party committees during this discussion.
3. Rejection of unconstitutional “aggregates” such as those called to discuss the E.C. statement of last September.
4. The Party press must be fully opened.
5. Every Branch must be represented at this Conference.
6. No gerrymandering such as the tying of two or more Branches together for the purposes of representation at the Conference.
7. Full reports-back by delegates to their Branches.
8. Full report-backs by delegates in their branches.
9. There must be no vote taken at any discussion prior to, or during the Conference. The affirmation of China’s membership of the International Movement must be made by a referendum throughout the Party, and in no other way, with every Comrade voting through a secret ballot.
10. Every Branch must individually scrutinise its own votes and the results of every branch decision published in the party press with full details. This will ensure that all comrades throughout the Party will know the exact position.
If, despite these minimum conditions for democratic exposure of the truth, the revisionist influence in the Party is strong enough to bring about a rejection of the affirmation of China’s membership of the International Movement, comrades must recognise that a new situation has arisen and that the British Communist Party has voted itself out of the International Communist Movement.
In the event of this happening, or in the event of the leadership refusing to call a Conference at all, or in the event of the leadership summoning a Conference merely to rubber-stamp a decision already taken by it, then a Conference truly representative of the interests of the International Communist Movement must be called over the heads of the leadership with the specific task of preparing for the re-forming of the Communist Party.
In order to be fully equipped to reject any attempt to expel China from the International Movement, Comrades should insist on their right now to be fully informed on the present situation in the International Movement, and, in particular, the recent consultations which have taken place between Gollan and Matthews and the leaderships of the French, Italian, Polish, Rumanian and other Parties.
Forum needs its readers’ views on what could prove the most serious challenge the World Communist Movement has yet faced.
This matter is now urgent.