Khruschev’s Speech and the Policy of the

by G. HEALY Mr Khrushchev’s speech on November 1 may well mark the beginning of a new turn to the Right by the British Communist Party. ‘Peaceful co-existence of states with different social orders’ said Khrushchev, ‘presupposes elements of mutual concession, mutual consideration of interests, since otherwise normal relations cannot be established.’

Turning to France, he declared that the proposals of dictator de Gaulle on Algeria ‘may play an important role in the settlement of the Algerian question.’ To the delight of the extreme Right-wing pro-fascists of France, he went on to say: ‘It is known that historically formed close bands exist between Algeria and France.’ Thus did Mr Khrushchev. explain what he means by ‘concessions’ and mutual consideration of interests’.

A few hours later, the Central Committee of the French Communist Party met and unanimously agreed to support Generai de Gaulle’s proposais for Algeria. In the best Stalin manner Khrushchev cracks the whip and in the best tradition of a Stalinist poodle-dog, Thorez jumps to it.

Algerian workers betrayed For five weary years the Algerian working class have waged a heroic struggle for national independence. Thousands have died, thousands have been tortured and thousands more are imprisoned in the concentration camps of French imperialism. Mr Khrushchev does not speak for these people, but for the ear of the most reactionary sections of the French ruling class.

Khrushchev’s turn towards collaboration with the French imperialists over Algeria is typical of the Soviet bureaucracy’s. policy in the Middle East. For some time now the Iraqi and Syrian Communist Parties have been in a state of crisis because Moscow does not want to disturb the balance of forces in the Middle East. The Kremlin is frightened lest the Arab revolution should interfere with peaceful co-existence between themselves and Wall Street imperialism.

Gollan gets his orders Having made his views clear to Thorez, Khrushchev thea proceeded to say something of interest to Gollan.

He claimed that the exchange of views with the British prime minister Macmillan played a. vital role for the improvement of both British-Soviet relations and the general international situation.

Following the experience of Algeria, we might well ask what concessions the British Communist Party is going to give to Macmillan. Since he, like de Gaulle, is now looked upon favourably by Khrushchev, is it likely that a large-scale strike movement in Britain which would go badly for the Tory government would enjoy the support of the Communist Party?

During the second world war when Stalin had an alliance with Churchill, the Communist Party broke strikes and scabbed on fellow workers. Before Russia entered the war, Churchill was condemned as a warmonger; thereafter we became a great war leader.

The British Communist Party as a Stalinist party must now follow the Khrushchev line and see to it that nothing interferes with Macmillan’s crusade for the summit and ‘peace’ Khrushchev calls for ‘mutual consideration of interests’ as a price for ‘peaceful co-existence’ with Macmillan, so Gollan and company must comply like Thorez.

The strange silence of the Daily Worker over China Of course the British Communist Party leaders do not always follow the Kremlin in the early stages of a change of line with the alacrity of Thorez and Duclos. There have even been times when such people as Pollitt and Campbell could not stomach policies, for example in September 1939. Generally speaking, however, if the British Stalinists are slow to react it is not becanse they are unwilling, but because they are rather more unenlightened than Stalinists elsewhere.

Turning to China, Mr Khrushchev regretted the incidents which took place on the frontier of India, between ‘our two friends.’

Thus he brackets capitalist India and Soviet China together knowing full well what is involved on the borders of India is a conflict between two fundamentally different social systems. As a result the Indian Communist Party is split in two on the question of the ‘border incidents’ with a large section of the members supporting the capitalists’ representative, Mr Nehru.

On all these matters the Daily Worker is strangely silent. There is no editorial comment whatsoever about the Soviet Union’s attitude to China. Perhaps editor George Matthews is following the example of Mr Aristov, a secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, who, at the Moscow celebrations, managed to make a speech on the Russian Revolution without once mentioning China.

CP joins the witch-hunt against the Marxist Left The British working class are moving forward to a period of industrial strife which requires a relentless struggle against Toryism. The Stalinist leaders are now thinking in terms of how best they can implement Khrushchev’s policy of ‘mutual concessions’ to Macmillan. Gollan and company will however avoid open collaboration with the Tories. They talk left while at the same time they join the witch-hunt against the Socialist Labour League and all militants who oppose them.

For example, in its efforts to woo the Left and Centre of the Labour Party, the British Communist Party talks about a fight against the Tories, but at the same time they support the Right-wing trade union leaders who have joined hands with the capitalist Press to witch-hunt Trotskyists on the docks.

All sincere Left-wing socialists inethe Labour Party must beware of the pitfalls presented by the Communist Party with its fake-unity campaigns, such as the Popular Front before the war. These campaigns, whilst couched in left phrases will be so designed as to immobilize any real movement against the Tories.

The Socialist Labour League fights for unity The Socialist Labour League stands for a united struggle on the basis of the five-point programme of the National Assembly of Labour. The Communist Party rejects this proposition because it would bring them into conflict with Macmillan. The Socialist Labour League therefore represents ‘he only real socialist alternative around which all opposition to -Toryism can be mobilized.

The Socialist Labour League is already becoming the focal point of the attacks from the capitalists and their Right-wing Labour and Stalinist allies. As a result the Socialist Labour League is growing and will continue to grow. All sincere rank-and-file members of the Communist Party must decide to make a complete break with Stalinism by joining the Socialist Labour League, thereby following in the steps of the Bolsheviks who made possible the Soviet Union and the revolution of 1917.