Michael Lucas Editor

Some background material is taken from the newspaper "Vpered-Forward" - organ of the Bolsheviks of Byelorussia.

Since we started publishing NSC over 9 years ago we perused hundreds of newspapers, journals and read untold number of letters from our comrades in the former Soviet Union... the question of unifying the countless Communist and Workers parties was always in our articles in one manner or another! The question of this UNITY unfortunately today is as it was 9 years ago, both internally and externally in the former USSR and also internationally, though countless meetings, seminars, world gatherings were held.

What is it that prevents this unity being achieved? In this article we would like to deal with different attitudes to this elusive UNITY!

The parties and movements in the former USSR that have signed our Call" for an International Council for Friendship and Solidarity with Soviet People and who are ready to participate in the World Congress to be held on September 21-22-23, 2001 in Toronto, Canada... all profess the need to resurrect the Soviet Union and Socialism in one form or another, and, they are calling for one CPSU to be the vanguard for this resurrection of the USSR. But, here's where the similarities end. Why?

Here we would like to present just one argument which says that "the time is not right for unity!" and the reasons given by the All Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks in their policy statement (abridged for space reasons) as presented at the Conference of leaders of the Russian Communist Workers Party, Russian Party of Communists, Russian Communist Party-CPSU and observers from the AUCPB. What the reason was for no participation at this meeting by the Union of Communist Parties-CPSU (headed by Oleg Shenin) or the CPSU- (headed by Victor Anpilov) we do not know. That is of course very unfortunate. Below we are reprinting the position of the AUCPB in a very condensed form.

"* The AUCPB in the last while has been and is under great persecution from the present regime and has been since 1996. We have seen the murder of some its top leaders in many regions across former USSR. This AUCPB has also been physically barred from meetings of different communist party gatherings and even physically escorted off the speaker's platform and prevented from speaking.

* The question of unity must be looked at from the point as to when, with whom and how is this unity to take place? There are many communists and there are "communists" whose actions indirectly or directly help the present bourgeois regime.

* There are some communist parties whose position mirrors that of the present capitalist regime regarding Stalin.

* In order to decide the question of unity in deeds, not only in slogans, we must agree on all of these basic questions first of all:

- what is the present revolutionary position, the authority and also the practical knowledge of the leadership of each party.

In the last while there seems to be a forced attempt at unity which to us is either very unrealistic or also adventuristic.

Our suggestion (AUCPB) is to set up first of all a Coordinating Committee that can and will settle all of the above questions and then proceed methodically step-by-step in achieving unity.

The working class sees this very clearly and that is why there is such a flow back and forth between different communist and workers parties and their attitude to all Communists in general, not only to Zyuganov and the CPRF.

As is very well known, in politics there are no lasting friends, but only lasting political interests. Therefore, overlooking the very bad attitude to the AUCPB by some left parties, we are suggesting again to all of us to work together in deeds, then this will ultimately lead to unity."

There is an old saying that "The road to hell is paved with good intentions!"

Ten years is a long time to be without unity! These ten years have given the bourgeoisie the time needed to sink in their roots deeply!

Ten years of discussions, recriminations and outright attacks against one another only serve the present bourgeois government and their overseas backers very well.

Ten years was long enough to understand that there is only one Marxism-Leninism and the need for only one dedicated Communist Party to lead the working class to socialism.

Ten years of debating as to who is a better Marxist than Marx himself is absolutely unforgivable and the future Soviet generations will note this fact very clearly.

Therefore, the need for an International Council for Friendship and Solidarity with Soviet People is very urgent at this time of extreme danger from globalization, headed by US imperialism.

The coming World Congress in 2001 shall be the venue where the truth of UNITY of all friends of Soviet people and of socialism shall be then achieved when the coming International Council shall be elected to carry on the work that was started long ago in 1918 by the "Hands Off Russia Committees"!

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