CEYLONESE MAY DAY RESOLUTION
‘We have received the text of a resolution passed by the United Left Front at its May Day rally in Colombo, Because of its interest, we are publishing it in full below, [For background on the United Left Front see World Outlook September 27, November 1-and April 10.]
Most of the points made are excellent, in our opinion, although the text docs contain some weakness and even errors from the Marxist point of view, (For example, it demands a Guaranteed Price Soheme "to ensure that the cultivator gets-the full value of his produot," Marx long ago called attention to-this error,. Even under socialism, a deduction must be made from the "full" value to cover social expen= ote.) for public facilities, expansion of the means of production, etc
A main weakness, to which we should like to call spécial atten~ tion, is the failure of the resolution to call for a United Left Front government, Such a government, in our opinion, could swiftly open the way to a socialist solution of Ceylon's present acute crisis,
Along with the missing slogan "Ror a United Left Front Government," we feel. that the Ceylonese revolutionary socialists should envisage, and begin putting into effect, a program of action and organization to facilitate bringing a United Left Front government to power,
Such a platform would make much more realistic the early realization of the many correct demands contained in the resolution,
SZ, Sf.
a
(1) This May Day rally organised by the United Left Front expresses its solidarity with all peoples throughout the world who fight for national liberation and socialism and to prevent another world war,
-It greets the socialist countries, the workers and peoples of the capitalist countries who fight against exploitation, the peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America who have won their political free~ dom in reoent years, and the peoples who are still fighting to win their freedom from the colonial yoke.
This rally: demands that ‘all nuclear weapon tests should be ban~ ned and all nuclear weapons should be destroyed and prohibited, It supports all concrete measures designed to bring about disarmament,
‘This rally welcomes the decision to hold another conference of non-aligned states in'Cairo this October and hopes that this scon~ ference will make a positive contribution towards the preservation
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of world peace and the fight against oolonialism, . It condemns and opposes the renewed threats against Cuba from the. U.S.A, and demands that the American government should withdraw its embargo on trade with Cuba and cease to interfere in the affairs of Cuba.
It supports the struggle of the South African people against the monstrous system of apartheid and the struggles of the American Negroes for social. equality.
It. solidarises with the national liberation struggles of the peoples of South Vietnam, South Korea, Latin America and Angola and other nations of Africa and Asia which are still under imperialist rule. ——
It sends its greetings to all viotims of imperialist, capitalist and. feudal oppression throughout the world and demands that those who languish in prison on. account of their fight for nations. or working-class. freedom should be set free. .
(2) This May Day rally organised by the United Left Front declaros that the prosont political crisis in Ceylon is a direct result of the failure of the SLFP Government's "middle path" policy to solve the. ever-decponing Tinenotal., and econoniic crisis.
This rally . further doclares ‘that ‘the ‘present ‘crisis ‘can “be solved in a progressive way only by bringing into being a government that will / follow ponscncs atong the lines set out in the ULF agroe~ ment.
This rally welcomes the growing realisation within the SLFP that the present crisis should be solved in co-operation with the ULF, This can be achieved to the extent that the progressive forces within the SLFP in addition to opposing UNP led reaction, also. successfully oppose reactionary Right-wing forces within their own ranks, ;
(3) This May Day rally organised by the United Left Front condemns and opposes the intrusion of the U.S, government's nucleararmed 7th Fleet into the Indian Ocean, This action threatens the peace of this region and the sovereignty and security of the sountries in it, including Ceylon.
This rally therefore demands that the U.S. 7th Fleet should be withdrawn from the Indian Ocean and that the region of the Indian Ocean should be declared a nuclear-free zone,
(4) This May Day rally organised by the United Left Front endorses the 21 demands agreed upon by the Joint.Committee of Trade Union Organisations. | It calls on the working class to mobilise .. | around the Joint Committec and to build a wide and militant unity .
around these 21 demands, It further calls on the government and the various federations of private employers to. stop their tendentisus and false propaganda against these eminently reasonable demands and instead, to negotiate with the Joint Committee on these demands.
(5) This May Day rally organised by the United Left Front de~ mands effective action by the government to bring down the high prices and end the shortage of essential.articles in common USO. In particular, this rally demands that:
‘(a) the state should import and undertake the whole~
sale trade in such articles and organise their sale to the
people efficiently through co-operatives and private re~
tailers;
(b) the retail prices of all essential articles,
whether imported or manufactured locally, should be fixed
“by law;
(o) an efficient organisation should be set up to
buy and distribute fish and vegetables, thereby eliminating
the exploiting middleman, and Boba
(ad) representatives of people's organisations like
trade unions should be given legal powers to assist the
work of enforcing price and stock control.
(6) This May Day rally organised by the United Left Front calls on the government to extend full diplomatic: recognition to the German Democratic Republic.
(7) This May Day rally organised by the United Left Front demands the appointment of a Commission to probe Catholic Action and immediate action to wind up the U,.S.Peace Corps, the Voice of America, Asia Foundation and other subversive imperialist agenoies in Ceylon,
(8) This May Day rally organised by the United Left Front demands that the foreign banks should be nationalised, the export of profits, dividends and capital from Ceylon stopped, and bunker~ ing and the sale of aviation fuel included in the oil take over,
(9) This May Day rally organised by the United Left Front demands that the Guaranteed Price Scheme should be cleaned up to ensure that the cultivator gets the full value of his product, It calls for the starting of a scheme to relieve rural indebtedness and for the extension of the facilities provided by the Peoplets Bank to the rural areas, It demands that the landlords should be removed from the Cultivation Committees and that colonisation schemes should be brought under the Paddy Lands Act,
(10) This May Day rally organised by the United Left Front
demands a positive policy to. create more jobs for the urban and rural ing s and g scnoo youth.
deman
and r unemployed and underemployed. It further demands that trainchemes should be started to give unemployed youth. industrial grioultural skills and that state technical and commercial . ls should be set up throughout Ceylon to train unemployed
(11) ‘This May Day pally organised by the United Left Front ds: ,
(a) political and trade-union rights for teachers and other employees of the government, local authorities and. public corporations}; ;
(b) the right for workers elected in each workplace to take part in the management of state and nationalised undertakings; and
(co) that workers resident on estates should have normal tenancy rights and trade unionists should have the right to hold meetings. and to have access to their members on estates,
AND IT's NOT AN EMPTY BOAST
'We can 1 easily put an end to the great experiment of conscious easoning life on this planet." [Editorial in the New-York Times May 4.]
Direc teur-Gérant: Pierre FRANK. L'éditeur),