GUEVARA
Some 1,600 revolutionists, mostly youth, packed a large meeting hall at the Mutualité in Paris October 19 to mourn the death of the great revolutionary leader Ernest "Che" Guevara.
The meeting was organized by the French revolutionary youth organization Jeunesse Communiste Révolutionnaire [JCR -- Revolutionary Communist Youth]. The meeting was originally planned in honor of the Cuban revolution and the first conference of the Organization of Latin- American Solidarity. But when the reports about the death of Che Guevara were confirmed, the organizers changed the main theme of the meeting to an evaluation of Che's contribution to the world revolution.
The meeting was chaired by one of the JCR leaders, Henri Weber. The main speakers were Alain Krivine, the political secretary of the JCR; Jeannette Abel, a member of the JCR who lived in Cuba for some time; the well-known French literary critic, Maurice Nadeau, who visited Cuba at the time of the July 26, 1967, celebrations and the OLAS conference; and the Belgian revolutionary socialist, Ernest Mandel, who also visited Cuba last summer.
Well-known authors and painters were at the meeting, including the Cuban painter Wilfredo Lam; the French writers, Michel Leiris and Dionys Moscolo; the editor of the Uruguayan weekly Marcha, to whom Che Guevara sent his famous article, "On Socialism and Man"; and many others.
The meeting opened with the funeral song for the victims of the 1905 Russian revolution, which the revolutionary movement in Europe has used ever since to honor its martyrs. The audience stood while the hymn was played.
Henri Weber briefly explained the
purpose of the meeting. Then Alain Krivine took the floor to summarize the importance of the Cuban revolution today, especially its equalitarianism, its struggle against bureaucracy and its internationalisn.
Jeannette Abel outlined the social, economic and political conditions in Latin America forming the background to the OLAS conference and analyzed the revolutionary perspectives on that continent.
Maurice Nadeau told about his recent trip to Cuba and what he learned about the Cuban attitude towards revolutionary modern art. His speech, like all the others, received heavy applause.
Ernest Mandel analyzed the deci-
sions of the OLAS conference, placing
them in the framework of the crisis of
Stalinism and the worldwide struggle to
build a new revolutionary leadership. He
devoted most of his speech to recollec-
tions of a long interview which Che Gue-
vara had granted him; and he stressed the
stature of the great revolutionist in the
development of both the theory and prac-
tice of revolutionary Marxism.
"To honor the memory of Che Gue-
vara," he concluded, "we should not weep
nor mourn for our dead comrade and broth-
er. Che would have wanted us to do but
one thing: to continue his struggle, on
all fronts, until the final victory is
won.
The meeting ended with the crowd
singing the "Internationale.
STAN NEWENS' TRIBUTE TO CHE GUEVARA
{The speech below is the full text of the