VANGUARD - Expressing the viewpoint of the Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist) For National Independence and Socialism • www.cpaml.org
ICOR Call for Action on August 6 – Let us lift the level of struggle against imperialism and fascism.
This statement was drafted by the Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist) on behalf of the International Coordination of Revolutionary Parties and Organisations (ICOR). It is still being circulated among ICOR members. The final version may contain minor changes.
August 6 is commemorated world-wide as Hiroshima Day. On that day, and again on August 9 at Nagasaki, atomic bombs were used for the first time. Their use against civilians was a war crime.
On August 15, Japan announced its surrender. That day (August 14 in the US and Europe) was long celebrated throughout Asia as Victory over Japan Day (VJ Day).
The defeat of Japanese imperialism, part of the fascist Axis bloc, was at the same time, the beginnings of US imperialism’s violent assault on the peoples of the world in its quest for total domination.
Today, 75 years later, the world economic and financial crisis and the Corona pandemic are driving global imperialist rivalry and the rightward development and fascistisation occurring in many countries.
US imperialism emerged relatively unscathed from war against the fascist powers and embarked on a ruthless path towards superpower status. It faced a challenge from Soviet social-imperialism until the latter’s implosion in the 1990s, and recently has been confronted by China, where a restoration of capitalism has seen that country take the road to imperialist ambition.
The rivalry between the US and China is particularly acute in our Asian region with each power playing a dangerous game of economic and military push and shove against the other. At the same time, the pandemic is being used to erode people’s rights and to cushion the capitalists’ economic crisis by placing greater economic burdens on the shoulders of the working people.
Under these circumstances, it is imperative that we find ways to lift the level of struggle against imperialism and fascism.
Hiroshima Day rallies and other commemorative events, even with social distancing restrictions, will provide opportunities for participation and correct messaging.
But we must also build organisation. That is, we must strengthen and broaden our own individual parties and organisations as well as building the membership, reach and influence of the ICOR-ILPS initiative of the International Anti-Imperialist and Anti-Fascist United Front.
On August 6, support the call to:
•Fight imperialism, and end military provocations and war exercises in our region!
•Fight to defend democratic rights and freedoms and end state-driven trends to fascism!
This statement was drafted by the Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist) on behalf of the International Coordination of Revolutionary Parties and Organisations (ICOR). It is still being circulated among ICOR members. The final version may contain minor changes.