The war in Indo-China has not slackened off On the contrary, the Americans are escalating the war (Red Mole, Vol. 2, no. 5). Involvement on the ground of American troops is not so ignificant as the ever-increasing tonnage of sombs dropped from American planes This policy has the advantage of allowing the American politicians to hill the people (fewer casualties, fewer large land clashes involving American infantry) and to blunt the anti-war campaign with promises of de-ascalation, Vietsamisation, etc. We have seen that this "de-escalation" has meant extension of the war first to Cambodia, now to Leos, and very possibly to North Vietnam tomorrow, which is already being bombed again. With every escalation, however, the Americans sink deeper into the mire. The Cambodiar incarsion has led to a #tuation where the Lan Nol regime is tottering and the popular faross hammer on the gates of Phoom Penh The Lactian invasion, this time attempted with Vietnamese troops, has met a more crushing retort still. The policy of Vietdamnation bes in ruins, Just as the policy of "search and destroy" lay in ruins after the Tet offensive in 1968. The Pathet Leo and popular Vietnamese troops have attack od and smashed the vaunted "elite" corps of the puppet South Vietnamese army, which now confusedly makes its way back to the Vietnamese frontier. The Americans will have to warch for another way out of their dilemma: they have not ruled out the use of tactical nuclear weapons against the The Red Male 23 March-7 April 1971 Page R North, nor of American air support for an invasion of the North.
The international resistance to the war is a very real factor in the ability of the American imperialists to manoeuvre. We do not mobilise in solidarity with the revolution in Indo-China, however, solely on the ground that the activities of the Americans are morally outrageous. We mobilise because we know that the struggle against capitalisen is a world-wide struggle, because the revolution in Indo-China is still today the key to work revolution. The process of permanent revolution has begun in IndoChina. In the liberated areas the transition to socialist property relations is taking place. What was a struggle in Vietnam yesterday, today embraces Cambodia and Laos. A victory for the Indo-Chinese revolution profoundly trans. foems the balance of forces between the bour gecisie and the working class on the world scale. It would have profound effects not lost within S. E. Asa or the "Thind World" but on the metropolitan countries themselves, not to mention the further tensions that it would create within the Stalinist bloc. Sclidarity action wich that struggle in Britain has a twofold effect: at one and the same time it expresses our support for the Indo-Chines revolution and is an important means of introducing a revoluticnary internationalist current into British politics, of demonstrating the meaning and importance of revolutionary incornationalism, of educating large groups of people on the nature of the struggle in IndoChina. That is why it is important to do more than just make propaganda within our immedi ate milieu: whether it be factory, university, school, or wherever. We must take independent political action on the Indo China question While we must organise independent activity on this question, such activity must not be a substitute for other forms of political activity. Indeed, revolutionary solidarity action with the Vietnamese only really makes sense if it is combined with a total revolutionary life-style: with militant involvement in the struggle in Britain of revolutionary youth and workers against the capitalist system, and that means involvemen: in a revolutionary organisation able to intervene over the whole spectrum of political issues, That does not mean that we must not involve people in this campaign against the war who were act involved before in polities. That is precisely what we must do: by demonstrating the nature of the war in Vietnam, it is a short step to demonstrating the nature of capitalism. The tragedy of the previous Vietnam demon -strations in 67/68 was that many thousands were involved and that their involvement was not led onto a higher stage, to a stage where their resistance to the beurgeoisie could be generalised and integrated with their daily life. Some militants began to feel a certain weariness at repeated dema's on Vietnam, bat to the question of how lona to continue the demonstrations, we must answer "As long as the war continues".
T That is why it is important that the revolutionary left in Britain mobilise for the interna tional day of solidarity with the Vietnamese people on Saturday April 24th. A demonstration will take place in London on that day.
We should mobilise for that demonstration. explaining that the Americans have suffered a defeat, and that the demonstration will be a calebration of that defeat and an earnest of our intention to take up again the question of solidarity with the Vietnamese revolution. Comrades in socialist societies, trade unions, schools, should begin now to mobilise for that demonstration and to ensure that their organisation will support it. Our comrades in the Spartacus League are making a nacional mabilisation and have approached other organisations with a view to United Front activity on the Vietnam issue. We are holding a series af meetings on Vietnam throughout the country. Individual comrades or groups whe would like details of these meetings, or more important who would like to collaborate with us in this campaign, should contact Spartacus League, 162 Pentonville VICTORY TO THE INDOCHINESE REVO.
COMPLETE WITHDRAWAL OF ALL U.S AN END TO BRITISH COMPLICITY
the second wave The massive and spoctacular explosion in East Pakistan was not completely unexpected. It was ubvious that any elected representatives of East Bengal would try to modify the cconomic and political subjugation of the country by West Pakistani capiral and its protectors. It was precisely this oppression which gave the national question in East Bengal a phenomenal importance. for Pakistan has since its creation in 1947 been a state, but never a nation and the naive belief thar the Muslim religion would transcend all other barriers and bridge the political, cultural and geographical gap which divides both parts of the country, has been shown to be completely absurd. The consticutional strugglers only a sym prom of the general unrest which underlies East Bengalt it merely emphasises to the Bengali mass es the fact that the vester interests in the West (and this includes Bhutto) will never give up their power in the Fast willinglyTHE SIX-POINTS AND WHAT THEY MEAN Despite the fact that the Awari League cynically called the masses out on to the streets wirhout arming them and thus allowed them to be slaughtered by the armed forces of the bour geois state (the deaths so far are well over 3000: the Pakistan Government only admits 200. bu: then its figures of people killed during the grest cyclone disaster were not quice accurare cicher. To these bascards a few more Bengalis dead or alive doesn't really matter all that much!!, the - masses have shown as always an amazing degree of militancy. Over a million people in Daces have attended the meetings of the Avani League Jeader, Sheikh Maj ibor Rehman, and have deman ded in no uncertain terms the independence of their country - a Bengali nation, free from the parasites of the West. Thus do all the contradictions of the Awami League emerge publicly for the entire nation to behold. The limitations of Muj ibur Rehman and his petty bourgeois leader. ship are plain and obvious. The truth of the matter is that Rehman would like nothing better than a compromise solution based on acceptance of his Six-Points, which are the charter of the Bengali upper petry bourgeoisie and demand: 1) A federal system of government, parliamentary in nature and based on adult franchise. 2) Federal Government shall deal only with Defence and Forcign Affairs, All other subjects shall be dealt with by the federating state. 3) (a) Two separate but freely convertible cur. rencies for the two purts of the country. or (b) one currency for the whole country. In this case effective constitutional measures co be taken to prevent flight of capital from East to Wese 4) Power of taxation and revenue collection shall be vested in the federating units and not at the centre. 5) Separate accounts for foreign exchange earn ings of the two parts of the country under control of reapective goversments. 6; The sering up of a militia or para-military force fur East Pakiscan.
BOURGEOIS DUAL POWER?
The astounding election results which gave Mujibue Reman's party,che Awami League, acr overall majority chroughout the cuuntry were quite correctly faterpreted by him as a mandate to implement the Six-Poines and establish a Fed eracion in Pakistan. This created a furore in che West Pakistani ruling class and the latter used Zulfigar Bautro as its spokesman: it was hie threat to boycott the assembly (because he was in a miturity) that w as used as a pretest by the array to postpone the meeting of the National Assembly and apurkerd off the recent uprising. The Six-Poincs are essentially expressing the feel. ings of the deprived Bengali bourgooise which wants a share of the capitalise cake, It is obvious that a federation of the sort deminded by Mujibur Rehman would seriously curtail the econo mic and political power of big business in West Pakistan and the Army, The Army Generals mis calculated if they thought that a show of force could ease the stration. Ir has done precisely the opposite and in East Bengal today the ques tion of military rule or people's power is posed very clearly. A continuous successful General Strike has forced the Awami League to accept part of its logic and an extremely weird dual power situation exists coday in East Pakistan: it is a situation of bourgeois daal power! The Awami Lrague has been forced to set up committees ro take ner the administration of key areas in cities and only the Army cantonments are at the moment independent of'its conrol. But the League' committees are merely preserving the existing order in their own way and they clearly have the support of the Bengali elements in the local burcracracy. The tongh Punjabi General Gom West Pakistan. Tikka Khan, sent co restore order as Governor of East Pakistan was confronted with A demonster in attacked by a Dicot policeman. * Bengali Chief Justice of the High Court who refused under directions from che Awami League to swear him in as Governor! However for the Awami League the situation is fraught with dangers. The masses will not take too kindly to any betrayal and the Awami League seems to be well aware of this fact, but on the other hand. total independence is not what the leadership of che Awani League seeks ut the present moment for reasons which are very obvious.
A declaration of independence would in all probability lead to • period of limited anned struggle ugainst the occupying army and Sheikh Mujibur Rehman is too old a bourgeois politic ian to have any illusion regarding his oor surviv al once char process starts. In addition the Bengali state apparacus is vircually non-oiscene: a crumbling police force, a half baked Army which will disintegrate in no time given a serious strug gle, a weak burcancracy and most important of all eo established indigenous bourgeoisie to wage a desperate struggle to preserve its property. An independen: Bast Bengal would cherefore be posed very quickly and much sooner than was Cuba with the logic of the Permanent Revoh on and despite che fact that there is no stron volutionary organisation, what is clear is tha power of the Awanti League would be erode very soon. Mujiour Reaman therefore contr an awkward choice: the bullets of the Pakie Army or the wrath of the people.
THE TRAGEDY OF THE LEFT.
Of course the real tragedy lies in the total abilicy of the Eas Bengali left to understand importance of the national question till it wa coo late. After all che econcure exploitation East Pakiscan began immediately after the en ishment of Pakistan in 1947 and by 1956 c orists bad worked out thas 300 million rup LEI = 12 rapees) were being extracted annie from the Bast by West Pakistani Investments Both politically and economically, East Ben was creared like a colony; its raw material (i which brought in badly-needed foreign exch was used to develop Karachi and the Punjab West Pakistan. Development plans were ope biased against East Pakistan and actively pr tod its develo prent. Thus the uneven econ development led to an uneven development consciousness. The Bengali masses were po ally much more advanced chan their counter pares in the Wesr and cheir discontent overflo into the streets fairly regularly. A United Fr victory in an election in 1954 had been cake away from the people by che imposition of a rule from the centre by the colonising pow The dictatorship of Ayub had farther repa the Bengali people. The latest attempt by P ident Yahya was bound to have carsed an e heaval. One of che reasons for the failure of Jeft was due to their refusal to develop thei practice based on a theoretical survey of th litico economic conditions of East Bengal stead a parror-like reperition of Man's thou and a letichisation of the Red Book was su tured for real political work and today the learns this lesson the hard way. Whether on a compromise is reached and the National An bly meets on March 25th as the Army is no proposing, what is plain is chat the question be fur from solved. It is therefore vital that t left prepares to organise inumediately. The A ami League has proved that it is not capable giving any meaningful direction to che mass Instead of leading the people to face army lets, it should lare called for an occupation the countryside, a seizure of the police statio the expropriation of all the purice-station ans als, and che arming of a people's militia. This would have drawi the Array into the country side where they would have cajoyed no advis cages at all as coropared to the screecs of the ? cities and could have been effectively isolated arced guerilla accions. That will be the next step forwards..
The uprising in East Beagal and a succesifi declaration of independence could have extre ly postive results on the situacion in West Ben gal. A united nacional consciousness and a un ted struggle could make Bengal the first libera area of the Indian sub-continent and could us in the dawn of the Indian Revolurion, which i going to be the spectre haunting American in erialiam in she Seventies.
Self determination for East Bengal! For a United Socialist Bengali Repablic! For a Red Sub Continent, a Red Asial Javed Hussein