Information events organised by the Anti-Imperialist League in Switzerland
The introductory meetings of the Anti-Imperialist League (AIL), which were publicly announced by the “Coordination Committee of the Anti-Imperialist League”, took place on 15 and 16 June in Zurich and Basel. The meetings were organised by Partizan.
The events on 15 June in Zurich and 16 June in Basel began with a minute’s silence for the fallen revolutionaries and communists. Following the minute’s silence, the Partizan representative, who is a member of the AIL Coordination Committee, spoke about the founding of the AIL, its ideological and political line, its programme and working methods, the situation and plans of the imperialists, the situation of the working class and labourers and the situation of revolutionaries and communists.
The representative of Partizan opened his speech by welcoming the resistance to the anniversary of the great workers’ resistance of 15 and 16 June. In the course of his speech, he emphasised that the question could arise as to why the AIL was founded when there are many anti-imperialist formations, and that this question should be clarified first.
In the international arena, numerous organisations can be identified that describe themselves as “anti-imperialist”. However, it should be noted that the perception of anti-imperialism and the concrete form of the anti-imperialist stance differ. The diversity of anti-imperialist organisations can be traced back to diverging ideological and political lines that define imperialism and determine how the fight against imperialism is to be waged.
In his summary of the current process from the imperialist front, the Partizan representative emphasised that all the consequences of the structural crisis of the imperialist system worsen the living conditions of the world proletariat and the oppressed working people. He also pointed to a serious polarisation among the imperialists, who compete with each other through different trade unions and alliances, but are united in attacks against workers and labourers. The occupation of Ukraine by Russian imperialism, Israel’s massacre and occupation attacks in Palestine and the involvement of imperialists in conflicts in many other regions of the world, provoking and promoting wars and occupations by setting up “peace” tables and excluding themselves from all this, can be labelled as dishonesty
On the other hand, the representative pointed out that there are many resistances, actions and activities organised by workers and labourers in many countries of the world, even if they are spontaneous. The revolutionaries and communists were not able to organise the oppressed masses for the revolution, which resulted in the strengthening of reformism, liquidationism and revisionism. In order to stop the reformist, revisionist and liquidationist activities, which are active at various levels in the oppressed masses and in the revolutionary ranks, and to organise and mobilise the broad masses through the concrete problems they face, the formation of a consistent anti-imperialist front at the international level comes to the fore as a necessity. The founding of the AIL therefore represents an important step.
The AIL can only organise a serious and consistent anti-imperialist struggle at the international level if it pursues a line that links its political line with practice. It must distinguish itself from the views that are limited to making statements on various problems and organising meetings in halls, above all by the practical stance it will take to solve the problems of the oppressed masses. If the AIL puts its ideological-theoretical and political understanding into practice, it will become a strong centre in the struggle against imperialism”.
The Partizan representative concluded his speech by saying: “We are aware of the historical burden that the class struggle has placed on our shoulders. We have the consciousness and the faith to defeat the imperialists and all reactionaries. Above all, we believe in the power of billions of poor and oppressed people who long for and deserve a better world. Let us respond to this call, let us form the anti-imperialist barricade of the poor and oppressed peoples against all forms of imperialist aggression. Let us unite the struggles of the international proletariat, the oppressed peoples and oppressed nations to wipe out the imperialists and their henchmen from the face of the earth.”
After the statement, representatives of Atılım, the Revolutionary Front and the Proletarian Revolutionary Stance, who participated in the meetings, took the floor and conveyed their thoughts by welcoming the work of the League. The participants were then given the floor. The meeting, which was accompanied by intense discussions in which many participants took the floor to express their criticisms and proposals, was concluded with best wishes for a successful development of the struggle.
16 June 2024
