[The following statement was issued by the Political Bureau of the Revolutionary Communist League, French section of the Fourth International, following the March 20 meeting in Paris. The translation is by Intercontinental Press/ Inprecor.]
The behavior of the OCI and LCI during the solidarity meeting with Hugo Blanco was absolutely unspeakable. These two organizations had agreed to participate in this meeting, which the LCR organized in Paris to provide material support and the broadest possible active solidarity with the campaign of Hugo Blanco, the candidate of the PRT (the Peruvian section of the Fourth International), which i is being supported in Peru by the PST and POMR [two organizations that are part of the same international grouping as the LCI and OCI]. Similar meetings were organized in principal cities of Europe by other sections of the Fourth International.
The OCI and LCI did not hesitate to totally sabotage the aim of this meeting by using methods that are unworthy of any working-class organization, much less organizations that call themselves Trotskyist.
A number of sympathizers, workers who are close to our organizations, came to show their solidarity with Hugo Blanco's campaign and to learn about the situation in the class struggle in Peru.
When they left they were disoriented, if not disgusted for all time, by the contemptible spectacle to which they were subjected by the OCI and LCI
The OCI and LCI organized to breakup this demonstration of solidarity by continuously chanting slogans that had nothing to do with the purpose of the meeting, by devoting the clearest part of their speeches to polemics on tactical questions in France (although Lacaze of the OCI spoke for forty minutes—we had all agreed to keep to twenty minutes—he touched on Peru for only a few seconds at the end of his remarks), by ostentatiously refusing to take any part in the collection that had been decided upon (together!), and by subjecting Comrade Arlette Laguiller [of Lutte Ouvrière] to sexist jeering (which would not be tolerated in most mass working class-organizations).
We will not let ourselves be influenced by this miserable provocation against a joint demonstration of internationalist solidarity. Everywhere we will continue to confront the members of the OCI and LCI politically.
But it is quite clear that the LCR will not organize another meeting with these two organizations if it feels that the conditions that prevailed at the Hugo Blanco meeting might be repeated.
The leaders of the OCI and LCI, who debase their organizations by such activity, bear the entire responsibility for this before the workers and before their own members.