BRITISH PRO-CHINESE COMMUNISTS HOLD MEETING
LONDON, Nov, 29 -- The pro-Chinese wing of the Communist party of > Great Britain [CPGB] held its first meeting last night. Calling themselves ‘the Committee to Defeat Revisionism, for Communist Unity, they called on the audience of some 200 to help them in their fight against the revision-. ist policies of the Khrushchev leadership and their counterparts at the head of the CPGB. "The need now is to build an alternative leadership based on the principles of Marxism-Leninism," said the leader of the com~ mittee, Michael McCreery. All six speakers on the platform attacked the main policy statement of the CPGB, The British Road to Socialism, as “Fabianism" and "luke-warm social democracy."
McCreery claimed that peaceful coexistence as practiced by Khrushchev and British CP leader Palme Dutt means class collaboration of the worst kind, He continued by claiming that the parliamentary road to socialism was impossible in imperialist Britain and that anyone who proclaimed this ne be true was sowing terrible illusions about the nature of the capitalist state, '
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West Indian Johnny James drew laughter and applause when he exposed the British CP's support of Cheddi Jagan, head of the British Guiana government. "Jagan came here a few days ago to kneel at the feet of his imperialist master and asked advice on how to run a governmenti!", . . "and the CPGB supported ‘him,” quipped James.
Other speakers went on to explain how there is no real party democracy in the CP. (Some of their forces have already been expelled, others have been suspended because of their pro-Chinese views. )
McCreery did a good job in showing exactly how the press and internal journals of the CPGB are pre-empted by the bureaucracy.
Spokesmen of the committee attacked Yugoslavia for capitulating before American imperialism while Hoxa'ts Albania came in for much praise, Stalin and the Chinese government w were presented in the same breath as the "true | revolutionaries,
There was a sharp aivision amongst the six on the question of Trotsky-~ ism, Most of them attacked the Trotskyists, as being ultra left and supercritical, or even out-and~out reactionary. (The advertisements that have been appearing in the name of the Committee have included a note on how anti-Trotskyist they are.)
. Immediately after the previous speaker had attacked the Trotskyists in the most crude way long-time CP member AH. Evans, who delivered the most fiery speech of the six, said that as long as he’ was connected with the committee and its intended paper, "he would fight for their articles to be printed," —
The chairman publicly disassociated himself from Evanst point of view.
The question and discussion period lasted about forty-five minutes and was varied and lively.
A further meeting of the committee is scheduled to take place on December 12 to help rally support against the American State Department's blockade of Cuba.