Communist Workers' Party of Tunisia opposes Libya intervention, calls for completion of revolution

END NATO-US INTERVENTION- DEFEAT GADAFFI-BREAK WITH THE TNC,
ARM THE WORKERS AND YOUTH TO DEFEAT IMPERIALISM IN NORTH AFRICA
Class Contradictions: In the North African Revolution
Decades of crony capitalism funded by the flow of petro-dollars to despots, sheiks, reactionary Bathists, and fake socialist regimes alike have under-developed the Maghreb and the near east. These regimes have held back the “democratic” aspirations of the people and closed book on the Pan-Arab nationalist revolution that appeared to threaten imperialism 30 years ago. Even while posing as anti-imperialist and anti-Zionist, regimes throughout the region have made their peace with both and have become imperialism’s willing pawns. All have done their part to suppress the masses and in particular the Palestinian revolution, the working class, minorities (tribal and religious) and women. The role of these regimes, today threatened by their own people, has been to maintain the status quo, keeping oil flowing to imperialisms’ oil cartels and dollars and gold flowing back to a small elite concentrated around the inner circles of the dictators, amongst their families, their military and security organizations.

The aspirations of Pan-Arabism: national independence (from imperialism and Zionism), secular-democracy and social progress were destined by the weakness of the national bourgeoisie to collapse; since then a social equilibrium has been enforced with a well balanced distribution of the carrot and the stick. In Libya oil wealth allowed for a relatively larger portion of “carrots” to be allotted the masses. In Saudi-Arabia, extra “carrots” were quickly distributed at the last moment when, the monarchy realized that this equilibrium could not withstand the crisis of capitalism and the uprisings of 2011.

The unfulfilled expectation of the masses, the desire for “democratic” freedoms and the consequences of high unemployment exploded this winter/spring in a revolutionary upsurge whose leading actors were the under-employed youth, students, workers (both private and public sector), closely followed and joined by the petty bourgeois (small business people, shop owners, professionals and academics). Usurpers to the mantle of leadership like El Barradi and The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt or the TNC in Libya emerged not from the heterogeneous mass who first bared their chest to the bullets of reaction but after the initial uprisings in hope that they would get the nod from imperialism and emerge at the top of the heep.

It is essential to understand that democracy and freedom have different meanings to different social classes. For the workers basic democratic rights, the right to organize and control over ones conditions of labor are primary. For the small and large capitalists, bourgeois academics and intellectuals the right to exploit labor, and participate in the market free from the dictates of crony capitalism, along side the desire for political, cultural and intellectual freedom turned them against the regimes. Although each country has its own unique dynamics these uprisings, which spread across the region in a firestorm of historic consequence unlike anything since 1848, contain the contradictory aspirations of two opposing classes; one consigned forever to be pawns of imperialism the other burdened with the historic task of defeating it.

These contradictions are subsumed in this re-emergence of the Arab-national revolution, but they can not be resolved by the emergence of “constitutional democracy”. The aspirations of the mass/base which ignited the revolution can not be successfully met if the revolution limits itself to the fight for “freedom and democracy” defined by western imperialism and embraced by the petty bourgeois, the academics, and wanna-be imperialist lackeys like El Baradi in Egypt and the TNC in Libya.

For imperialism to maintain its financial position workers must not control the conditions of their own labor, the economy, or even be apportioned the economic benefit from the natural wealth of these nations. A willing pawn is required, one who will feign left (advance “political freedom”) but will strike to the right (crush the workers’ movements and administer exploitative deals with imperialism).

In Libya, despite the higher GDP and limited gains of women under the “Green Revolution”, the masses, led by unemployed youth, inspired by the events across North Africa, stood up against the repression of Qaddaffi’s brutal regime. The masses no longer believed the lie that Qaddaffi is fighting imperialism and building “Green-Socialism”. Decades of brutally, enforced crony capitalism and capitulation to imperialism in 2003 assured, that once unleashed, the protests spread across Libya even to Tripoli, where the masses faced an unrelenting violent repression unlike any seen in Tunisia or Egypt. The fantasy of a peaceful “Jasmine” revolution came to an abrupt end. The masses armed to defend themselves from the brutal regimes commitment to maintaining the status-quo (its deals with imperialism and its hording of wealth at the expense of social programs and political freedom).

In the early days of the rebellion two forms of organization emerged; councils of the heterogeneous mass of rebels, organizing in the streets and neighborhoods (embryonic workers’ councils like we saw in Tunisia and Egypt) and a bourgeois council which today is transformed into the TNC (a rotten menagerie of defectors, monarchists, tribalists, intellectuals and capitalists). As a consequence of decades of repression these councils are extremely disorganized and tendencies within them have not fully consolidated. The rapid escalation of military events outpaced the ability of the working and lower classes to self-identify and differentiate from the TNC, around which military deserters from the regime appeared to promise sorely needed military leadership, arms and forces.

The contradiction between the aspirations of the masses and the TNC are reflected most recently in the refusal of the TNC to arm militant youth who stake their lives driving out to the front. Imperialism sees the contradictory nature of the “rebel force” and is having a hard time differentiating who they can trust, hence the hesitancy in sending arms for fear that they fall into the hands of the working masses and unemployed youth.

Libya a test of Revolutionary Marxist method
The left has been caught playing catch up with events. Libya in particular has most of the left stumbling over itself. The contradictions outlined above are quite obvious in the unfolding of events in Egypt and Tunisia where the workers, democratic militants and women have experienced the reaction of the interim regimes trying to keep Egypt and Tunisia “safe” for imperialism by preventing workers’ revolution. But in Libya the left was caught off guard. Both Qaddaffi and the TNC vie for the imperialist franchise; but Qaddaffi’s shelf life has long past expired and the TNC has yet to prove its viability. This instability invites imperial dictated partition or NATO/US “boots on the ground” or both.

Imperialism is intervening in Libya to remove Qaddaffi a dictator whose brutality has aroused an armed insurrection that threatens to overshoot the US desired 'orderly transition' to bourgeois democracy and become a workers revolution. Its objective is to replace Qaddaffi with more 'democratic' ex-Qaddaffi bourgeois to keep a lid on the revolution. Both bourgeois factions are appealing to imperialism to be the chosen regime using the young rebels and the mercenaries as bargaining chips and missile fodder. We are for the independent working class armed insurrection that defeats Qaddaffi, breaks from the TNC 'alternative' regime, and then as the revolution requires it defeats (along with the Arab revolutions) imperialism in the region.

Presented with a semi-fascist dictator currently doing imperialism’s bidding, faced off against a willing pawn in the wings, the self-proclaimed Bolsheviks (in the Spartacist family) claim workers have no side. Other spin offs from the Healyite legacy revive the fantasy that Qaddaffi is defending the gains of the 1969 revolution against Monachist restorationists and agents of imperialism. Both these tendencies reject the righteous indignation of the workers, the poor and oppressed and attribute the uprising entirely to the persistent and ever present imperialist/CIA/MI6 instigation.

Apparently unless these outfits are themselves in the leadership of a rebellion the masses become the mere fodder of history to be abandoned to their fate. No, Marxism does not teach an abstentionist internationalism. Marxism as a method for analysis and intervention guides revolutionaries to act on in the historic interest of the working class. Which is an impossible task for the centrists who can not distinguish the revolutionary agents in this struggle from the stooges of imperialism. We are against those on the left who do not make any class distinction between the bourgeois leadership of the TNC and the working class youth-core of the rebels. Marxists stand against the attempts to co-opt the youth and exclude them from the military action against Qaddaffi 's forces, we are for the political and military independence from the TNC leadership, and for internationalist workers everywhere to come to the aid of and arm their struggle.

Despite Qaddaffi’s attempts to paint himself anti-imperialist; his actions long ago proved his interests are with imperialism and not the Libyan masses. His attempt to wipe out the popular revolt of the working people, the only class force that can defend what gains remain from 1969 and defeat imperialism, was initiated both on behalf of his imperialist patrons and his gang of crony capitalists. Unlike the 'thirdworldist' left (Castro/Chavez) we do not bloc with Qaddaffi militarily against imperialism (though we do advocate that Qaddaffi 's working class forces defect and join the anti-imperialist fighters).

We are for the defeat of imperialist intervention in every nation oppressed/invaded or bombed by imperialism. The main responsibility for this defeat is in the hands of the workers movements in the imperialist countries and their allies in NATO. Therefore we are against the entire social imperialist left who find excuses for intervention, 'humanitarian' or not, of an oppressor country as necessary to defeat semi-fascism or dictatorship in an oppressed country.

Both social imperialists (like the German Greens who support NATO bombing) and ‘thirdworldists’ are two sides of the same coin. Neither puts any faith in the capacity of the semi-colonial masses and especially the revolutionary youth, to fight for and win the national revolution as a social revolution. They have a pseudo revolutionary version of the bourgeois civilizing mission. Either the imperialist bourgeoisie can play a progressive role, or the national bourgeoisie in the semi-colonies can play a progressive role. In both cases the agency of the working masses is left out of their roll as the only possible progressive subjective factor in history.

The liberal and progressive pacifists, a sorry strain of social imperialism, place their hopes on NATO/US humanitarian intervention. But imperialism cares not one wit for the humanitarian needs of civilians (proved over and again Hiroshima, Vietnam, “Shock and Awe”, “Cast Lead”, Rwanda, the Congo today) but in the case of this war the perceived threat of massacre gave imperialism a chance to both: “toot their humanitarian horn” and find a road to consolidation and victory for their pawn of choice (or last resort) the TNC. Both the pacifist interventionists and the sectarian abstentionists over their grand pronouncements ignore the independent role of the working class and are thereby opening the road for the only other “realistic” solution: imperialist intervention.

The Tasks at hand

To defeat imperialism Libyan workers and their allies in Tunisia, Egypt, The Middle East and Europe must give their IMMEDIATE attention to these urgent tasks facing every working class in the region:

1. Independent mass political organization, such as an All-Libyan Conference of Workers' Councils, with the explicit project of taking sole, unitary political power throughout the country, is essential.
2. Underground and exiled workers forces should be represented with delegates, so that the population in Qaddaffi controlled territory will know that it is not the working class who is bargaining with imperialism over a division into two semi-colonial, poverty stricken countries! OPPOSE PARTITION! FORWARD TO THE SOCIALIST FEDERATED REPUBLICS OF NORTH AFRICA AND THE NEAR EAST.
3. Found and build a revolutionary Marxist party now to delineate a programmatic response to the revolutionary crisis, to popularize the program among the masses and win the majority of the Workers Councils to support its demands and objectives.
4. No to 'power sharing' 'national' or 'people's fronts.' Each of these is a bayonet pointed at you! The TNC's program is civil war in place of class war. This is all they have to offer imperialism, and all they can possibly offer them in return for their support. This means a thousand kilometers of desert to cross, at a military disadvantage even with the on-again/off-again imperialist air support.
5. Without independent political organization the working class and youth can expect to be ground between the two bourgeois millstones, the old goons of Qaddaffi and the new goons of the TNC, in a war of exhaustion and elimination. And meanwhile your relatives in Qaddaffi 's hands will pay with their lives. It is only your workers' political program that will cause new revolts in Qaddaffi 's rear and place your front line outside his tent!
6. Victory over imperialism, Qaddaffi and the TNC requires independent military organization subordinate to the Workers Councils. The TNC leadership will attempt to turn its troops on you tomorrow. Should you be so fortunate as to bring Qaddaffi's head back to Bengazi on a plate, the TNC would soon enough fete you with firing squads! You can assume getting the TNC leaders to commit to class warfare is the mission of the envoys Washington has sent in place of arms or Libya's impounded funds. Neither will be released to you! Not by Washington and not by the French bourgeoisie, who may invade your country to save it from you! Right now Washington has a problem of available troops and the E.U. NATO countries have even bigger money worries. Build your own workers army and you can persuade them to give up their invasion plans, to return to their secret agent plots.
7. Internationalist fighters appeal immediately to the unions and sympathetic troops of Tunisia and Egypt for arms of all calibers and trained NCO's form up brigades and come to the aid of the Libyan revolution! Libyan workers pledge to return the solidarity when their compradors try to loose the professional armies on them! Workers in the imperialist countries have an obligation to wage class struggle against every design the exploiters and their smiling "public" servants have upon your lives, labor and national treasure! This is more possible now than it has been at any time since 1946-47. European workers trained in conscript armies have the experience to form up armed internationalist workers brigades and join the revolution. Workers of Europe and the USA the victory of the North African workers revolution depends to a large extent on our ability to arrest imperialism’s bloody death grip.

We say that in the epoch of imperialism and facing a deepening imperialist crisis, the interests of the capitalist imperialist class and its semi-colonial agents, can only be realized by deepening reaction and counter-revolution. Only a national revolution that fulfils the tasks of the permanent revolution can overturn the counter-revolution and open the way to socialism.

For the workers to live, imperialism must die!
Victory to the Libyan and Arab masses Defeat US/NATO in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Reignite the Palestinian revolution!
Victory to the popular uprisings in Yemen, Bahrain, Syria and Jordan!

Humanist Workers For Revolutionary Socialism (US) in Liaison Committee with The Communist Workers Group (NZ) www.humanistsforrevolutionarysocialism.org hw4rs@yahoo.com April 7, 2011 Labor Donated