International Repression

After May and June ‘68 in France, instead of seeing a general setback of revolutionary movements on a European scale, the class struggle sharpened, the militancy of the youth, of the workers’ struggles has been increased, throwing into the battle new layers of society: Wie? women, soldiers, white collar workers, “, secondary school students, small farmers, etc. This struggle has not been limited within the French borders: Italy in 1969, Spain in 1970, Britain, Denmark, Belgium, lreland have experienced the generalization of such struggles. In this context the bourgeoisie was’ unable to impose its solutions. Moreover, because of the sharpening economic crisis of capitalism, the conditions required to buy off the working class, as was done after the Second World War thanks to the economic boom, are not present to-day. Therefore, against the increasing militancy of the working class and of its vanguard, the European bourgeoisie must intensify repression; as it cannot attack the working-class movement as a whole, frontally, it operates a selective repression aiming at emasculating this class.

LEGAL REPRESSION Firstly, the bourgeoisie uses all weapons that it can find in the context of the bourgeois ‘Parliamentary Democracy”. Under different pretexts, new laws are forged, obsolete laws are used, in order to crush the revolutionary movement and the advanced sectors of the proletariat. So we see the introduction of the ‘’Anti-Wrecker Law” in France in 1970, under which the General-Secretary of the LIGUE COMMUNISTE, Alain KRIVINE, has now been charged. The aftermath of the BAADERMEINHOF affair and the MUNICH ‘coup’ brought further repressive laws in Germany, aliowing the ban of the KPD (Maoist party) and of Edited and translated from “*ROUGE’ (Weekly of Communist Action) August !Uth, 1973 The electién in March *73, the youth mobilizations, the development of workers’ struggles, have shown a qualitative change in the political situation in France.

Facing the electoral gains of the Union of the Left (1), the government must find a long-term solugion to the crisis of ‘Gaullism without De Gaulle’, a new form of political domination, Several projects tend towards an open presidential regime based on a strong conservative party. But in the meantime, the bourgeoisie must face an increasing polarization of the class struggle and of the working class political forces.

In this context, the intervention of the lar-Left and of the revolutionary Marxists in particular, can have a political outcome which goes far beyond their Demonstrators break down doors at New Order headquarters, were charged under ‘Conspiracy Laws’ from the last Century for striking.

The ban of organizations such as the French ‘PROLETARIAN LEFT’ (Maoist), the ETA (Basque Liberation Front) in France, preceding the ban of the LIGUE COMMUNISTE, of the KPD in Germany, of the IRA have become common rule.

To-day, the EEC is extending, circulation of capital in any part of Europe is free for the international Bourgeoisie; however the circulation of ideas is restricted, Rudi DUTSCHKE was deported from Britain, leading members of the Fourth International Tariq ALI, Livio MAITAN, Joe HANSEN cannot go to France, the Marxist economist Ernest MANDEL is banned from the USA, France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany . . . Malachy MAC GURRAN from the Official Republican Movement was recently deported from one part of the United Kingdom to another: i.e. from England to Northern Ireland which technically according to British law belongs to the United Kingdom...

When the International ruling-class operates a type of selective repression, if possible it aims at striking the whole working-class. One of the favourite tactics chosen after the late Sixties, was to infiltrate Ultra- Left groups, to push them into frontal attacks on the state, through bombings, kidnappings, ete.

in order to give a justification to extend the repression The WEATHERMEN in the States, the FREE WELSH ARMY, the BAADER-MEINHOF Band in Germany, the RED ARMY FACTION in Japan, the ANGRY BRIGADE in Britain, the PEOPLE'S RESISTANCE in France, SAOR EIRE in Ireland were stuffed with police provocateurs stimulating these groups to carry out terrorist actions. That is not to say that Terrorism must be condemned in principle, but for Marxists these are merely tactics, which can be used by revolutionary organisations only when linked with the mass struggle, when even minority actions acquire an educative role for the class of the oppressed minority. In this sense we support in political terms the revolutionary tactics carried out by the IRA in Ireland, our comrades of the ERP in Argentine, the ETA in Spain, for in these cases, linked with mass mobilizations, armed Struggle allows national or class struggles to reach a heghes tewet. What must be pointed out is the fact that the international and European bourgeoisie have been capable of learning the lessons of May and June 1968 extremely rapidly. In Spain, in spite of a tong tradition of brutal repression, the repressive apparatus lately has been unable to face the workers’

struggles whose militancy is a successful challenge to the dictatorship; therefore, new methods have been adopted, “political special brigades’’ have been set up, CS gas and rubber bullets are used. In Britain the ordinary ‘Bobbies’ are not as efficient as their European counterparts, because they are unarmed.

As HEATH cannot yet sent the army against the working-class, he reinforced the ‘Special Patrol Groups’ created, o irony! by WILSON in 1965...

these Brigades became famous when assassinating ter The Banning Of The Ligue actual forces and possibilities, as was shown during the youth mobilizations or certain workers’ 3 struggles locally or nationally, The rise of the Union of the Left and the reduction of the strength of the UDR (2) among the bourgeois majority, push the military-police ‘Right’ of Gaullism to count upon the Fascist lot of private bands to oppose the accentuation of the class-radicalization. This ‘Right’ pretends to offer a solution for the bourgeoisie which is hopeless actually because of the very strength of the working-class movement this has been illustrated by the reactions against the ban of the Ligue Communiste on the one hand, and on the other the fact that the Interior Minister, Marcellin, has been disavowed by one important fraction of the bourgeoisie. Whatever the political solution the bourgeoisie finds to solve its crisis, the rise, ot workers’ struggles, the outflanking of the reformist bureaucrats, oblige the bourgeoisie to extend a selective type of refression: not only smashing the revolutionary vanguard in process of construction, but also integrating the majority of the working-class in the framework of class collaboration, It is of the utmost importance to stress the failure of direct repression against the working-class since the strikes such as in EGF, ; Le Joint Francais, Fos, Peugeot, and actually Lip (3) In each case, the immediate effect was for the workers to ‘stick together’ and to increase their militancy.

The failures recorded n several occasions came rather from the capitulationist policy of the reformist leaderships facing the management (e.g. the strike of the Skilled Workers (OS) in the Renault Plant, the EGE strike in 1969, the strike of the tube conductors). Very often, on the basis of the defeat of the movement the demands of which were not met, the management proposed in the following months ‘class collaboration contracts’, trying to prove that only negotiations, but not struggles, were successful. Likewise, the first draconian measures taken by the re-elected government have been and COUNTER INSURGENCY.

year, CAPITAL of the European Bourgeoisie. situations. of arelectoral victory of the left.

WHAT WAS TO BE DONE? movement it tried to acquire! » infra-red night sights - , are the most obvious examples, ‘ To ice the cake, six months aga, a congress of all European GHQs took place in London with Frank KITSON lecturing on URBAN GUERRILLA military, police repressive apparatus, the European bourgeoisie violating its own legality; uses more and more frequently, para-military bands, Fascist Groups, encouraging them provided they are not independent enough to come into conflict with their government. The example of the growth of the MS!

of Giorgio ALMIRANTE with his 25 deputies in the ttalian parliament becomes dangerous even for one wing of the bourgeoisie, Such is not the case in | France, fof example, where the Fascist groups are disciplined enough to attack strikers, revolutionary militants, in open colusion with the government The example of the June 21st meeting organised by the police against anti-fascist demonstrators is a blatant example. The fact that Pompidou banned ORDRE NOUVEAU bears no significance, except throwing @ smoke-screen to confuse public opinion;

@S a matter of face, the Fascists have not been harassed by the police. In France too, unofficial police bands co-exist as armed shock troops with the Police against strikers, revolutionaries etc.

(CDR, SAC). A more striking fact, is the generalisation of armed private militias within the factories. It is worth remembering the murder of the Maoist militant Rene-Pierre OVERNEY, when he was selling papers at the Renault factory gate last OPPOSE THE INTERNATIONAL OF From all these facts it is clear that the International capitalist class, especially in Europe, has a very sharp sense of international solidarity; for the time being the agenda in the next sacle, It is with this perspective that the ruling class is arming itself, preparing for Civil War; in this framework it cannot tolerage revolutionary organisations which, like’

such as WORKERS ‘SELF-DEFENCE! and the SETTING UP OF PEOPLE'S MILITIAS, and in the meantime take the responsibility to initiate propagandist and educative actions like the demonstration in Paris against the Fascists, fully understanding that only mass struggle can get rid of Fascist bands, that only the working-class can effectively oppose the military, repressive measures defence.

immediately challenged by hundreds of thousands of youth in the streets, and exemplary strikes in some cases bringing about workers’ control All this shows that the government cannot make an evolution towards a military/state regime without a central confrontation with the workingclass movement. Nonetheless, the policial crisis favours the aut. onomy of private para-military bands which will fight wjth much intensity as the crisis sharpens and, moreover, in the hypothesis It is in this context that the meeting of ‘New Order’ (4) took place on June 21st. This meeting was different from the previous ones, some of which had been banned in the past bv the government itself. First it concretised the fact that ““New Order” was becoming the first important struggles of immigrant workers and therefore was a test against the working-class as a whole; this campaign had a great importance considering the place taken by racialism in any neo-fascist ideology. Finally, the protection offered by the government to New Order as well as other fascist bands was.extended, The idea was to develop a controlled Far-Right capable 'to oppose revolutionary implantation among secondary-school students or to hold a sufficient role to justity an arbitrary intervention from the regime. Nationally and internationally several analyses have been made about the anti-fascist mobilization on June 21st. We can exclude first the essentially reformist objection, that the event was a pure police provocation, That the government has tried to use the demonstration for its own purposes is certain; the system of protection given to the Fascists prove that; it is likely that the regime at least wanted to strike the Ligue Communiste, if not to ban it, because of its increasing role in the recent struggles. But the fact that Mercellin took this opportunity proves by no means that it was necessary to renounce demonstrating. This raises only the question as to how best to counteract the effects of NOTES: provocation, In the framework of selective repression, being unable to attack directly. all the working-class, and as aiming at beheading the The advice given by TROTSKY in the Thirties remains vatid: ‘Fascism finds unconscious helpers in all those who say that the ‘‘physical struggle” is impermissible or hopeless, and demand of DOUMERGUE the disarmament of his Fascist guard. Nothing is so dangerous for the proletariat, especially in the present situation; than the classes in the working class as temporizing, passivity and the absence of the will to struggle.”’

This is the reason why the Ligue Communiste has been banned in France. Already, by their support, numerous organizations have shown that they have understood the danger of the trend towards strong states in Europe. This campaign of solidarity has been extended throughout the world, Ireland has a tragic experience of oppression and it makes more sense for its working-class and its organisations _ to stand firmly behind the French revolutionaries. This is not only a matter of proletarian . internationalism but more simply of legitimate vanguard, the government had the Ligue under close watch. The reasons are numerous: Its leadership in the youth mobilization, the anti-army campaign, its Indo-China solidarity campaign, support to-the West Indian revolutionaries, to the Basque militants of the ETA, certain decisive strikes, and of course the fact that it belonged to the Fourth International. That is why the ban o: the Ligue Communistenad not of all the Far-Left, meant for the bourgeoisie a decisive blow against the revolutionary vanguard, and a test for all the working-class movement. A aise ti opening the doors for further attacks, Certain Revolutionary organisations have considered the initiative of the 21st June as an ultra-left mistake, considering the relationship of forces, the absence of traditional organisations of the working-class, the minority character of the confrontation with the state apparatus, forces, These explanations seek an alibi for their own passivity hiding themselves behind the Communist Party, the Socialist Party, the CGT the CF DT, etc, To judge an anti-Fascist initiative what must be considered is not only its ‘violent’ or ‘minority’ character, but its understanding by the advanced elements of the working-class and its liaison with a methodical anti-fascist propaganda, Was the 21st June counter-demonstration understandalbe for the advanced workers? Did it lead to an isolation of the vanguard? Thesé are the real issues, In fact if a critical balance-sheet of the counter-demonstration is necessary, this does not concern the principle of the initiative but rather the weakness of its political preparation, The event has shown, crudely, a political backwardness of the I'ar-Left to understand the perspectives opened after the March election, the immediate tasks it implies and the means which must be used. Only this way of handling the question helps towards understanding the absence of.a centralized and vigorous reply to the problems of WORKERS’ SELF-DEFENCE’

posed concretely by the development of social conflicts, and the importance of the political and social movement of protest against the ban of the Ligue Communiste.

_ (1) Union of the Left: electoral alliance of the French Communist Party, the Socialist Party and the Left-Radicals.

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EXTRA — LEGAL REPRESSION But apart from the reinfdrcement of ‘the legal,

the Fourth International, prepare the working-class for this clash by propagandizing around demands

tougher, leaving in the background the democratic Secondly, because its campaign was timed just after

sugared poison of false hopes. Nothing increases he workers’ organisations, Nothing Sarers the confidence of the middle