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Leaving Islam
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Tuesday, 22 January 2008
Stormy Applause For Molotov
 I recently came across the full text on the internet of Molotov's speech to the Supreme Soivet following the Hitler-Stalin Non-Aggression Pact of August 1939 and found one redeeming point in it. I and many others despair at the current unrelenting villification of America and Israel. Many Americans who are subject to the unremitting hostility of the Arab world claiming that they (not only "The Palestinians") are the victims, have an important ally in the impatience of "world opinion", the "desire" for peace (at any price) and often question whether cheaper oil isn't worth changing our stance.
When it comes to world history, we have the benefit of hindsight. I find it relevant and important to understand how this example of equal madness to today's lasted 22 months (August 1939 to June 1941) and for a time "made a case" appealing to those who called themselves "progressives" and "anti-war activists". Of course, it may look absurd and insane today but it is worth remembering..... especially the line that those who opposed Nazism in the West ........were waging an ideological war reminiscent of the religious wars of the olden times and that the principal victims of such a conflict were ...the working class. (Sound familiar?)
ON THE FOREIGN POLICY OF THE SOVIET UNION
Report of Comrade V.M Molotov, Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars and People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs, at Sitting of Supreme Soviet of USSR on Oct. 31, 1939.
Comrades deputies!
There have been important changes in the international situation during the past two months. This applies above all to Europe, but also to countries far beyond the confines of Europe. In this connection, mention should be made of three principal circumstances which are of decisive importance.
Firstly, mention should be made of the changes that have taken place in the relations between the Soviet Union and Germany. Since the conclusion of the Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact on August 23, an end has been put to the abnormal relations that existed between the Soviet Union and Germany for a number of years. Instead of enmity, which was fostered in every way by certain European powers, we now have rapprochement and the establishment of friendly relations between the USSR and Germany. A further improvement in these new, good relations found its reflection in the German-Soviet Treaty on Amity and the Frontier Between the USSR and Germany signed in Moscow on September 28. This radical change in the relations between the Soviet Union and Germany, the two biggest states in Europe, was bound to have its effect on the entire international situation. Furthermore, events have entirely confirmed the estimation of the political significance of the Soviet-German rapprochement given at the last session of the Supreme Soviet.
Secondly, mention must be made of such a fact as the defeat of Poland in the war and the collapse of the Polish state. The ruling circles of Poland boasted quite a lot about the "stability" of their state and the "might" of their army. However, one swift blow at Poland, first by the German army and then by the Red Army, and nothing was left of this ugly offspring of the Versailles Treaty, which had existed by oppressing the non-Polish nationalities. The "traditional policy" of unprincipled maneuvering between Germany and the USSR and of playing off one against the other has proved unsound and has suffered complete bankruptcy.
Thirdly, it must be admitted that the big war that has flared up in Europe has caused radical changes in the entire international situation. This war began as a war between Germany and Poland and turned into a war between Germany, on the one hand, and Great Britain and France, on the other. The war between Germany and Poland ended quickly owing to the utter bankruptcy of the Polish leaders. As we know, neither British nor French guarantees were of help to Poland. To this day, in fact, nobody knows what these "guarantees" were. (General laughter.) The war between Germany and the Anglo-French bloc is only in its first stage and has not yet been really developed. It is, nevertheless, clear that a war like this was bound to cause radical changes in the situation in Europe, and not only in Europe.
In connection with these important changes in the international situation certain old formulas - formulas which we employed but recently and to which many people are so accustomed - are now obviously out of data and inapplicable. We must be quite clear on this point, so as to avoid making gross errors in judging the new political situation that has developed in Europe.
We know, for example, that in the past few months such concepts as "aggression" and "aggressor" have acquired a new, concrete connotation, a new meaning. It is not hard to understand that we can no longer employ these concepts in the sense we did, say, three or four months ago. Today, as far as the European great powers are concerned, Germany is in the position of a state which is striving for the earliest termination of the war and for peace, while Great Britain and France, which but yesterday were declaiming against aggression, are in favor of continuing the war and are opposed to the conclusion of peace. The roles, as you see, are changing.
The efforts of the British and French Governments to justify this new position of theirs on the grounds of their undertakings to Poland are, of course, obviously unsound. Everybody realizes that there can be no question of restoring the old Poland. It is, therefore, absurd to continue the present war under the flag of the restoration of the former Polish state. Although the Governments of Great Britain and France understand this, they do not want the war stopped and peace restored but are seeking new excuses for continuing the war with Germany.
The ruling circles of Great Britain and France have of late been attempting to depict themselves as champions of the democratic rights of nations against Hitlerism, and the British Government has announced that its aim in the war with Germany is nothing more nor less than the "destruction of Hitlerism." It amounts to this, that the British and, with them, the French supporters of the war have declared something in the nature of an "ideological" war on Germany, reminiscent of the religious wars of the olden times. In fact religious wars against heretics and religious dissenters were once the fashion. As we know, they led to the direst results for the masses, to economic ruin and the cultural deterioration of nations. These wars could have no other outcome. But they were wars of the Middle Ages. Is it back to the Middle Ages, to the days of religious wars, superstition and cultural deterioration that the ruling classes of Great Britain and France want to drag us? In any case, under the "ideological" flag has now been started a war of even greater dimensions and fraught with even greater danger for the peoples of Europe and of the whole world. But there is absolutely no justification for a war of this kind. One may accept or reject the ideology of Hitlerism, as well as any other ideological system; that is a matter of political views. But everybody will understand that ideology cannot be destroyed by force, that it cannot be eliminated by war. It is, therefore, not only senseless but criminal to wage such a war as a war for the "destruction of Hitlerism," camouflaged as a fight for "democracy." And indeed, you cannot give the name of a fight for democracy to such actions as the banning of the Communist Party in France, the arrests of Communist deputies to the French parliament, or the curtailing of political liberties in England or unremitting national oppression in India, etc.
Is it not clear that the aim of the present war in Europe is not what it is proclaimed to be in official statements intended for the broad public in France and England. That is, it is not a fight for democracy but something else, of which these gentlemen do not speak openly.
The real cause of the Anglo-French war with Germany was not that Great Britain and France had vowed to restore the old Poland and not, of course, that they decided to undertake a fight for democracy. The ruling circles of Great Britain and France have, of course, other and more actual motives for going to war with Germany. These motives do not lie in any ideology but in their profoundly material interests as mighty colonial powers.
Great Britain, with a population of 47 million, possesses colonies with a population of 480 million. France, whose population does not exceed 42 million, is a colonial empire embracing a population of 70 million in the French colonies. The possession of these colonies, which makes possible the exploitation of hundreds of millions of people, is the foundation of the world supremacy of Great Britain and France. It is fear of Germany's claims to these colonial possessions that is at the bottom of the present war of Great Britain and France with Germany, who has grown substantially stronger of late as a result of the collapse of the Versailles Treaty. It is fear of losing world supremacy that dictates to the ruling: circles of Great Britain and France the policy of fomenting war with Germany.
Thus, the imperialist character of this war is obvious to anyone who wants to face realities and does not close his eyes to facts.
One can see from all this who is interested in this war, which is being waged for world supremacy. Certainly not the working class. This war promises nothing to the working class but bloody sacrifice and hardships.
Now judge for yourselves whether the meaning of such concepts as "aggression" and "aggressor" has changed recently or not. It is not difficult to see that the use of these words in their old meaning, that is, the meaning attached to them before the recent decisive turn in the political relations between the Soviet Union and Germany and before the outbreak of the great imperialist war in Europe, can only create confusion in people's minds and must inevitably lead to erroneous conclusions. To avoid this, we must not allow an uncritical attitude toward old concepts which are no longer applicable in the new international situation.
The relations between Germany and the other West European bourgeois states have in the past two decades been determined primarily by Germany's efforts to break the fetters of the Versailles Treaty, whose authors were Great Britain and France, with the active participation of the United States of America. This was what in the long run led to the present war in Europe. (STORMY APPLAUSE)
Posted on 7:10 PM by Norman Berdichevsky
Comments
22 Jan 2008
Hugh Fitzgerald
Stormy, Very Stormy, Very Stormy and Prolonged Applause:
Speech of Comrade Blas Roca, leader of the delegation of the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations of Cuba, at the Eighth Congress of the Bulgarian Communist Party:
(Text) Comrades: Permit me to greet the Eighth Congress of the Bulgarian Communist party, a heroic party, tempered in struggles, from whose ranks
grew the unforgettable hero to Leipzig, Comrade Georgi Dimitrov, a man I was fortunate enough to know personally, and to wish the congress great
successes in its responsible and historic work.
I address to you these greetings and wishes on behalf of revolutionary socialist Cuba, the free territory of American, and behalf of the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations, their national leadership, and their supreme leader, Comrade Fidel Castro, (All stand up; very stormy and
prolonged applause)
It is privilege for me to have the opportunity to assist at such a congress. Here, in the light of the Marxist-Leninist principles and of the experience of the most experienced communist parties, the basic tasks of the Bulgarian people in the field of labor, technology,science, and ideological work are being outlines, tasks which will lead to the victories completion of socialist construction and will open the road toward a communist society.
I will transmit the experience of this exceptionally important congress of the Bulgarian communists to the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations and to the Cuban people. (Applause)
The struggle of the Cuban people is developing in a complicated and difficult atmosphere. We had the honor of becoming the first socialist state in America. (Applause) We are separated by many thousands of
kilometers from the other socialist countries and be only 90 miles from the shores of the imperialist monster-the United States. (Animation and applause)
The U.S. imperialists are the gendarme of world reaction. They have made it their aim to stand in the way of the revolution in all those countries of the world which are still enslaved by imperialism and capitalism, to attacked and destroy socialism everywhere. They defend and support the bloodiest reactionary regimes both in Latin America and in the other continents.
They conspire and act against freedom, against sovereignty, against the independence and welfare of the peoples: against peace in the world. Therefore, they cannot bear the existence of a socialist state in America,
a state which has come to stay and which will remain in existence. (Stormy applause)
This is why ever since the bearded ones, led by Fidel Castro, came victoriously down from the Sierra Maestra, ever since the day the Cuban people overthrew the tyranny of Batista and established the revolutionary
regime, the U.S. imperialists have been acting to stop, ruin, divert, overthrow, and crush the Cuban revolution.
The North American millionaires and their servants have encircled our country with a scandalous campaign of lies, they have resorted to diplomatic pressure and blackmail, they have organized conspiracies, sent weapons and money to the counter-revolutionary gangs to that they might rise and start all sorts of criminal acts, they have stopped sending oil, put an end to the importing of sugar into the United States, prohibited any imports and exports with Cuba, imposed an economic blockade on us to force
us to capitulate out of hunger; by means of coups d'etat, all sorts of pressure, blackmail, and bribery, they have forced the majority of the Latin American government to break diplomatic relations with Cuba, to isolate us from the continent; in the port of Havana they organized the
explosion of the ship (La Cubr?) and caused the death of over 80 workers to prevent us from getting arms from Belgium; day after day and month after month they have sent airplanes which have thrown incendiary bombs on our sugar plantations; their airplanes have bombed us, their spies and agents have set fire to our food shops, to large commercial shops, tobacco stores, schools, farms, people's shops, and so forth. They have killed our
teachers, workers, peasants, and militiamen. They have sabotaged our production by blowing up our trains and destroying our transport.
The pirates of the 20th century, the U.S. imperialists, have sent their hips, armed with weapons and piloted by mercenaries, to shoot at our oil rfineries, at our housing communities for scholarship students, and to atack our unarmed ships of impunity.
With a hypocrisy characteristic of Hilter, Kennedy ordered the invasion of ochinos--the Bay of Pigs--at the very moment when he was protesting that e had no aggressive intentions toward our country; this invasion was finished in less than 72 hours by the glorious victory at the Playa Giron, which was a humiliating and shameful defeat for the imperialists. (Stormy applause) Cuba came out victories against all these aggressors. (Applause)
The Yankee imperialists were defeated in all their attempts to make us capitulate out of hunger, to stile us politically and economically, to ruin us by sabotage, conspiracies, and subversive acts, and to crush the Cuban revolution by military force.
The reasons for these imperialist failures are as follows:
1--Our people, with an unshakable courage, are ready to make any sacrifices and any efforts. They are strongly united for the defense of the fatherland and the revolution. They are determined to build socialism, and, under the
revolutionary leadership of the government of the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations, and of our national hero Comrade Fidel Castro, under the
glorious slogan "Fatherland or death," they are ready to defeat the enemy until he is completely liquidated. (Stormy applause)
2--We have always relied and still rely on the help and powerful, boundless solidarity of the socialist camp headed by the great Soviet Union (very
stormy and prolonged applause), of the people and workers throughout the world, and, first of all, of our brothers from Latin America (Applause)
Having hitherto failed in their attempts, the U.S. imperialists planned a direct invasion with the help of tremendous forces which had to crush us within a short period of time. With the decisive fraternal help of the
Soviet Union, Cuba armed to defend itself against this threat.
Kennedy and his millionaires caused a great scandal. Like the beast of prey of the fable, He was humiliated by "this sly lamb which would not let itself be torn to pieces." The imperialists were irritated by Cuba, because it did not let them attach it and destroy it,
With their notorious brutality and unscrupulousness, without respecting either the norms of international law or U.N. principles, with complete contempt for the life and future of mankind, the U.S. ruling circles began a piratical blockade of Cuba and threatened the world with an atomic war.
This led to an extremely dangerous crisis, but this is no Cuban crisis. There is no crisis in Cuba. Cuba has not caused any crisis. This is a crisis caused by the United States, a consequence of its criminal and unworthy aggressive acts in the Caribbean Sea and in the world. (Applause)
Although the Soviet Union took measures in the interest of mankind to prevent atomic war and to insure Cuba's safety, the crisis continues. The impudent imperialistic Yankees continue to blockade and the threats with
their arrogant demands.
The United States must, as Comrade Khrushchev's message insistently states, put an end to the blockade and fulfill Kennedy's declaration that Cuba will
not be attacked. As a guarantee that they will not commit say aggression against Cuba and in addition to the discontinuation of the sea blockade, the United States must take the following measures, which were pointed out
by our prime minister, Comrade Fidel Castro:
1--Stop the economic blockade and all the acts of commercial and economic pressure against our country that are being exerted by the United States throughout the world.
2--Put an end to all subversive activities, shelling from the sea and the dropping of bombs from the air, the organization of invasions by mercenaries, the infiltration of spies and saboteurs, all those acts that are being committed from the territory of the United States and other
countries, its accomplices.
3--Put an end to the pirates' attacks from the bases which exist in the United States and in Puerto Rico.
4--The North American military aircraft must stop violating out airspace and territorial waters.
5--The United States must evacuate the occupied naval base of Guantanamo and restore it to the Cuban territory. (Applause)
The demands which have been thus formulated for preserving world peace and the sovereignty and integrity of Cuba are just and well founded. They have
merited the recognition of the world. Cuba's policy is firm and reasonable. There is not the slightest expression of narrow- mindedness, sectarianism, or adventurism in it.
Cuba is all for peace, it defends peace and peaceful coexistence. Cuba wants to live with dignity and in complete sovereignty. Cuba is all for maintaining relations with the United States and for peaceful settlement of
difference, but the ruling Yankees systematically reject this.
Cuba does not threaten the security of the United States or of any other country in Latin America or on any other continent. Revolution cannot be exported. The people of each country determine when and how a revolution
must be carried out so that they may free themselves from the chains of colonialism and neocolonialism, from the large landed estate system and from capitalism, from the exploitation of many by a few. (Applause)
Cuba is arming only to defend itself against the constant aggressions and threats of invasion on the part of the United States. Cuba is for general and complete disarmament, for the disarmament of everybody.
Soviet rockets were placed in Cuba not to threaten or menace anybody, but only to defend and protect our threatened country. (Applause) Cuba is for
the liquidation of all bases, including the naval base of Caimanera that the United States has kept on Cuban territory by force.
The enemies hope to upset relations between Cuba and the Soviet Union. Vain hopes! Relations between Cuba and the Soviet Union are relations between
two brotherly countries whose common ideal is socialism and communism, Marxist-Leninist theory, and the struggle for peace and peaceful coexistence. (Stormy applause)
We discuss the things which have to be discussed between us within suitable limits and forms. As has been declared by Comrade Fidel Castro, we believe
in the Soviet Union, we believe in the principled policy of the Soviet Union, in the government, in the party, and in the Soviet people. (Stormy applause)
We feel profound gratitude toward the Soviet Union and profound attachment for the Soviet technicians, who, shoulder to shoulder with us, are exposed to the same dangers and mane the same sacrifices and efforts as the best sons of our fatherland. They modestly and stubbornly help us in our historic tasks. (Applause) Our people are right to sing and dance shouting: "Fidel-Khrushchev, estamos con los dos!" "Fidel- Khrushchev, we are with
both of them!" (Very stormy applause)
We are convinced with our fraternal ties with Bulgaria, with its people, government, and party, will continue to grow and become closer and more affectionate every day. (Applause) At the same time, we hope that out ties
with the other brotherly countries of the socialist camp will continue to become every stronger. (Applause)
Our revolution is progressing. Cuba is building socialism, and North American imperialism will not be able to stop it, in spite of all aggression, threats, and blackmail! Cuba will continue to exist as a free territory in America, as a sovereign country, as the stronghold of peace,
the socialist vanguard of America, as a torch and an example for the peoples of Latin America! Cuba will not die. (Very stormy and prolonged applause; all rise.)
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