FRENCH PCI
DENOUNCES HOODLUM METHODS
[The Central Committee of the Parti Communiste Internationaliste (French section of the Fourth International), after discussing an incident that occurred at a meeting of the Cercle Karl Marx (Karl Marx Circle) April 28 at the Mutualité Hall, issued the following declaration. ]
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Discussions at the Karl Marx Circle have always been completely free. This is known to everyone who has ever had occasion to participate in them. Its sponsors have in general not even thought it necessary to have any stewards. oe When, in face of this tradition, group of around forty members of the ocr [Organisation Communiste Internationaliste] and the Révoltes group burst: into the hall under the leadership _of. Stephane” Just and Chisseray long before. the time set for the meeting and took’ over. the first rows of seats in the hall, this indicated deliberate intent to create. a disturbance and to prevent the ‘Reeting. from. proceeding normally. coy “The. speaker, Ernest Mandel, made an’ ehaiyeia of the dévelopménts in the ~~ *Cul tural, “Revolution” in China which was followed with. interest by. the. audience. a In ‘the. discussion ‘period, “Stephane Just, the second to take the floor, | launched into-a series of personal attacks, using foul and Provocative lan-" guage, accusing "Mister" Mandel and "Mister" Frank [Pierre- Frank,” one” of ‘the leaders of the’ Fourth International] of being traitors. and renegades.- _ ; ~The lecture and the discussion were taken down on tape, we therefore have unassailable evidence of the provocatey el foul anguage used used bY -Stephane
2 This: tape” 4s available to any ordebication or’ any” militant. who wishes to listen to it. ~
on Just's remarks. aroused the indignation of the audience which’ demanded —_ -that the chairman put a stop toa contri- “bution which had nothing to do with the | subject under discussion and which con-stituted an exhibition “unworthy of a workers! . meeting. When Just had used. up his time, the chairman told him to yield the floor. Just and his commandos tried. to take the rostrum by assault. _After a few minutes, they were expellea from the hall and the meeting continued with an audience of around 350 persons until past midnight. The discussion was an interesting one without the least further incident.
It is not the purpose of this statement to go into the differences between the PCI and the OCI, nor to argue against the positions of the OCI. It is enough to point to the similarity between the conduct of the OCI and that of the Communist parties in the "third period."
In those days the leaders of the PC's made the accusation that the Trotskyists were linked to the imperialists by way of the Social Democracy and encouraged the employment of violence within the workers' movement.
For Just, there is at present a link between the imperialists and the members of the Fourth International by way of the bureaucracy in Moscow, Peking and elsewhere. With Trotskyists having different tactical concepts, or even with centrists or reformists, it is necessary to discuss politically. With traitors and renegades, young militants are instigated to commit aggressive actions. This is the outcome of his specious, ultraleft, infantile reasoning.
The Trotskyist movement, in accordance with the tradition of revolutionary currents in the workers movement, has always condemned in the most uncompromising way any recourse to violence within the workers movement, including against the most hardened reformists.
: The employment of violence within the workers movement is either a reflection-of the pressure of the class enemy or, something which irresponsible elements resort to: The use of violence by Just, Chisseray and others in an attempt to sabotage the meeting of the Karl Marx Circle constitutes a complete break with the most Pirmly- established tradition of Trotskyism with. regard to proletarian democracy. Among other things, it weakens the struggle against these same methods when they’ are employed ‘by the Stalinists, as they frequently are at present.
~ Resorting to such violence is, moreover, inconsistent on. the~ ‘part of the OCI which, a few weeks earlier, on the eve of the legislative elections, appealed to a certain number of militants beforehand to denounce any sabotage of their meetings by the Stalinists. -
The incident at the Karl Marx Circle came on the heels of other incidents in which the same. people or their political associates took part at Liége on October 15, 1966 and in London November 17,
1966. We hold the OCI and the Révoltes group accountable. If they do not repudiate the actions of Just and Chisseray, who are members of their leadership, it will be necessary to consider these organizations as responsible for hooligan methods, unworthy of militant workers and involving the gravest injury to the Trotskyism which these organizations claim to uphold.
We are sending this statement to various French and international organizations, and to some militants, particularly those who signed the appeal to respect the meetings of the OCI, who have, like all of us, the greatest interest in seeing to it that the widest democracy is upheld in the workers movement. We are ready at any time to talk over this incident and the responsibility involved with these organizations and these militants. May 7, 1967
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