January 2013

From the imperialist Europe the RCIT statement is below:

A brave voice that calls to defeat the Mali intervention by the pirates of the 5th French Republic

We publish below the statement of the RCIT (Revolutionary Communist International Tendency) on the Mali intervention by the French imperialist pirates with the support of UN. RCIT is calling to the military defeat of the French imperialism, and from the heart itself of the imperialist Europe showing clearly to the world working class that “the enemy is at home”.  We salute therefore this brave voice which has emerged in this continent. This fights against the servilism and submission to the imperialist pirates that the social imperialist currents, supported by the labour aristocracy and bureaucracy imposed to the working class. These social imperialist currents are the ones that siege the Syrian and Libya masses, accusing them to be “NATO ground-troops” and preach their fake theory of “Arab Spring” supporting the traps and parliamentarian diverts as in Tunisia and Egypt. But now we see the results of their “Arab Spring”: genocide in Syria by the hand of the imperialism jackal Al Assad, the Cloud Pillar in Gaza and the French intervention in Mali, different links of a real Operation “Cast Lead II” to drawn in blood the worker and socialist revolution of Maghreb and Middle East. Facing the social chauvinism of the reformist currents we do not doubt to highlight the brave attitude of the comrades of the RCIT. With RCIT comrades we started fraternal relations and we start to know each other and recognize from the common intervention in the arena of the class struggle at world level. We, together, took the campaign in defense to the internationalist leaders chased to defend the cause of the Syrian, Libya and Palestinian that fight the Zionist state of Israel.  We took the internationalist fight in common and the comrades of the RCIT are part now of the International Committee in defense of the Syrian masses who fight against the genocide of Al Assad, who is the one to make the “dirty work” to the imperialism and Zionism in Middle East. International Committee is left by the Brigade Sevian al-Laith (Leon Sedov) of Syria and also the JRCL from Japan, the FLTI and dozens of organizations are members of the International Committee. With the comrades we are intervening on those points, meanwhile we keep discussing the deep differences we have on the China question, the character of the Zionist State of Israel and other issues. We will publish these debates and face to the masses as the revolutionary Marxism does. In this statement the comrades of the RCIT state that are to found the 5th International, this question we do not agree.  For the FLTI, who fight to re-found the IV International as its program keep completely the validity and currency and passed the test of the events of the class struggle.  But these differences does not prevent that in this question we fight together for the military defeat of the imperialist troops of the butcher of the French 5th Republic and their allies, as we are together in Syria to smash the troops of Al Assad and stop the genocide on behalf of imperialism. In the following days we will publish and give to RCIT comrades the contributions, precisions and amendments to their statement, which we consider an excellent starting point, to explore the conditions to make a common elaboration that give a response to this new red test.

Statement of RCITs

Down with France’s colonial war in Mali! Solidarity with the Resistance! Let’s transform Mail into another Afghanistan for imperialism!

Fight for a workers government based on the peasants and poor! For socialist revolution in North Africa and the Middle East!

1. French imperialism has started a new war in Mali – one of its former colonies in Western Africa. Since 10.1.2013 the “socialist” government of François Hollande has ordered its army to bombard the North of Mali and deployed 750 soldiers. The French intervention force should increase soon to 2.500 soldiers. British imperialism has already announced its readiness to support the French troops with its air force and the US will assist them too with its murderous drones. It is very likely that the imperialist European Union will also support this war in one way or another too. In addition, the bloc of Western African states, ECOWAS, plans to send 3.300 soldiers. Together with the Mali government’s army they want to crush the Tuareg and Islamist rebels and re-conquer the North of the country.
2. Let us speak out the truth: This is no “humanitarian” war – this is a reactionary colonial war! The real goal of French imperialism and its allies is to strengthen its control over Mali and the Western African region and to suppress the revolution which is sweeping through North Africa.
3. Mali and most of its 14.5 million people are living in extreme poverty which is mainly the result of imperialism’s control over the world economy and the super-exploitation by the multinational corporations. However, monopoly capital and imperialist power are greedy for the rich raw materials of Mali. The country is Africa's third largest gold producer. It is also believed to be filled with oil and gas as well as uranium and phosphate.
4. The Uprising of the Tuareg people in the North of Mali who are fighting for their own state Azawad has added another rebellion to the wave of revolutions in North Africa and the Middle East. Socialists support the struggle of the Tuareg people for national self-determination. We combine the support for the Tuaregs national liberation struggle with the perspective of a “Socialist Azawad”.
5. Both in Mali as well as in the Tuareg areas, the way forward for the workers and peasants is to take power and to expropriate the multinational corporations (like AngloGold) and local capitalists without compensation. For the control of all natural resources by the workers, expel the multinationals and their greedy managers! For massive wage rise for the miners!
6. The RCIT oppose bourgeois and petty-bourgeois forces like the Islamist Ansar al Din, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and MUJAO (Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa) as well as the bourgeois nationalist MNLA (National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad) and the FLNA (National Front for the Liberation of Azawad). The workers, peasants and poor in Mali need to organize independently in action councils (like the Soviets in Russia in 1917) and armed militias to fight for their own interests. The recent heroic workers struggle in Marikana in South Africa as well as the bold struggle of the armed workers and peasants in Syria fighting against the jackal Assad are inspiring examples how we need to fight.
7. The French colonial war has again exposed the true reactionary character of the main forces of the French left. The Communist Party (PCF) – a constituent party of the reformist European Left Party as well as of the Front de Gauche in France – expressed in their public statements until now that they “share the goals of the Mali government to defeat the Jihadist terrorists in the North”. These social-democratised Stalinists are cynically worried that the French intervention “might risk a war”, so they “request that the French authorities respond to questions posed by heavy military intervention” (Statement from 12.1.). In other words, they are true social-imperialists which implicitly support the war goals of its ruling class. The NPA adopts the classic centrist line of social-pacifism. They verbally “denounce this imperialist military intervention decided by Holland”. (Statement from 11.1.) However, they fail to support the rebels, i.e. those who are actually fighting against this imperialist intervention, not do they call for the defeat of the French army.
8. The RCIT call the international workers movement to mobilize against the imperialist intervention in Mali! We call for the defeat of the imperialist troops and the allied Mali government army! In the tradition of the Communist International in Lenin’s time and Trotsky’s Fourth International we support the military struggle of the colonial people against the imperialist forces and their allies without supporting in any way the politics of the Islamists and bourgeois nationalists. Let’s transform Mail into another Afghanistan for imperialism!
9. We call the international workers movement – especially in France – to mobilize for protest actions against the colonial war in order to undermine the government’s war efforts. For demonstrations and strikes against the imperialist war! Transport workers: refuse to do any work which supports the French military efforts!
10. The activists of the Revolution in North Africa and the Middle East must see the struggle against the imperialist intervention in Mali as part of their struggle. The workers and popular struggles in Tunisia against the Ennahda government and in Egypt against president Mursi, the heroic Palestinian resistance against the colonial settler state Israel, the heroic Revolution of the Syrian workers and peasants against the murderous Assad regime – they must be combined with the anti-imperialist resistance in Mali to a single wave of permanent revolution leading to working class power and the establishment of a Socialist Federation of Workers and Peasant Republics in North Africa and the Middle East. To succeed in this task we need to build new revolutionary workers parties and a new World Party of Socialist Revolution – Fifth International.
* Down with France’s colonial war in Mali!
* For the defeat of the imperialist troops and the allied Mali government army!
* For the military victory of the rebels against the French/government troops!
* For the right of national self-determination of the Tuareg people in the North of Mali including the right to form their own state!
* No political support for Islamism and bourgeois nationalism!
* Break with imperialism – for the expropriation of AngloGold without compensation! For nationalization of the mines and all natural resources under control of the working class! For massive wage rise of the miners! For a joint fight with the miners of Lonmin against the imperialists and for workers control!
* For international solidarity against the imperialist intervention! For anti-war actions by the French and European workers movement!
* For a workers and peasant government in Mali! For expropriation of the multinational corporations and the local capitalists without any compensation! For socialist revolution in Mali and the whole of North Africa and the Middle East!

Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT)