STUDY IMPORTANT CONGRESS DOCUMENTS
The preparations for..the congress of the Algerian Front de Libération Nationale LFLN], which is scheduled to begin in Algiers April 16, show that this will be a most important event. It is in fact the first national political gathering since Algeria gained independence, Great crises have occurred since then, beginning with the one that flared up.in July 1962 the moment freedom was won. The congress, bringing together.the: rank-and-file militants.and their present ‘leadership, will have the opportunity. to draw a balance sheet on these events. The significance of the occasion is indicated by the reaction of such former prominent figures as Belkacem Krim and Mohamed Boudiaf, who returned to Algiers on the eve of the. congress, Ben Khedda broke two years of silence’ to offer his. views. ~ The texts prepared by the preparatory commission, which have been printed in the Algerian press, are of the greatest interest as indicators of the direction and degree of development under the Ben Bella government,
The documents take up six full pages of the April 6 Le Peu ate, and are divided as follows:
e Analysis of the national liberation movement up to November l, 1954, when the armed struggle began. .
® Armed action and the popular resistance, / ® Characteristics of Algeria. |
@ The party. 7
-@ The state.
@ Tho foundations of foreign policy. |
© Economic perspectives, (The subdivisions include: capitalism, the transition period, economic tasks of socialist construction. )
® Realization of the aspirations of the popular masses,
© Economic and social situation following independence.
e Party statutes,
The texts are quite condensed $0 that even long excerpts could not replace study of the documents in their entirety, which we recommend, They should prove of first-rate interest to revolution-~ ists throughout the world as an accurate: indication of the conclusions -reached at this point by the vanguard of the Algerian Revolution in the guiding wing of the Algerian Workers and Peasants Government. The documents present a balance sheet of the struggle conducted by
Qu
the Algerian people, of the situation in their country as the vanguard found it on taking over after more than 130 years of colonialism and.close to eight years of the liberation war. They formulate here their policies, their perspectives, and lay out the structure of the party which iney wish. to build to guide Algerian soclety along the road to socialism,
The establishment of socialism ss strongly affirmed throughout
the documents, And it is not-the-"socialism" on the lips of so many politicians in the developed as well as | underdeveloped capitalist countries, ,
The Algerian Revolution offers, : as.is well known, numerous analogies with the Cuban Revolution, particularly the fact that neither the Cuban nor Algerian leaderships (as collective bodies) originated in the traditional labor movement or had a Marxist education and training. In both cases, the revolution itself carried the leadership toward Marxism,
But it is here that the first difference appears, The Cuban leadership has openly advocated Marxism and Leninism for several years, In the documents submitted to the FLN congress, however, no explicit reference is made to Marxism, although the method of analyzing society and of elaborating policy is certainly Marxist. The* substance of Marxism is to be found here but not the term,
Without doubt, the reasons for this difference are due to sdme extent to differences in personality. But, in the case of Algoria, the protracted struggle conducted without help from the French work~ ers! movement as a whole explains much,
Not only is Marxism not mentioned, but specific reference is made to the Islamic religion. The Algerian Revolution, it 18 ‘de clared, will "restore" to it, "its true image of progress," Thus is reflected in the text the combined character of the Algerian Revolution.
A-broad outline summary of the history of the struggle for inde-. pendence is offered, particularly of the period following the first world war, The FLN is linked to the North African Star [1'Etoile Nord-Africain], to the Parti Populaire Algérien. The role played by Messali Hadj at the time is mentioned, (After long years of strtggle, he caved in after the armed struggle began.)
Other movements are characterized as follows: "The reformist tendency of the liberation movement included the Oulémas Association, the Algerian Communist party and the Federation of the Elect,"
The Ngolonialist positions of the Popular Front" are correctly eriticized and the "parties of the French left" are condemed for | their refusal to support the struggle of the Algerian people, Such
a Qee.
references to the record are not without purpose, They even constitute. part of the,.evidence against the Social Democratic and Stalinist leaderships which should be brought to the attention of the workers | in the capitalist countries,
With regard to the attitude of the governments of the workers states during the war for independence, these terms are used:
-"Due to reasons of a diplomatic character, the attitude of the socialist countries in relation to the Algerian Revolution were not always clearly expressed. The birth of the GPRA [Gouvernment . Provisoire de la République Algérienne] saw the socialist countries of Asia engaged in unconditional support of Algeria. The socialist countries of Europe followed them later, although on the. humanitar~ ian level, their aid had been steadfast,"
What things are said here in a diplomatic wayt
ck severe put quite correct criticism is made of the leaderships. that led the struggle from 1954 up to the meeting at Tripoli, . "The Revolution suffered in its. evolution from the absence of a revolutionary leadership and a program reflecting the interests of the most oppressed masses,
But the period covering the July 1962 and subsequent crises is passed over hurriedly. Nevertheless, it would not be surprising if a good deal of discussion at. the congress dealt- with this period, particularly if it is held behind closed’ doors,”
The account of the heritage of poverty, of suffering, of bitterness serves to pose the short~ and long-range tasks faced by the Algerian masses, The importance of self-management is emphasized:
"Self-management is and will continue to be the manifestation of the uninterrupted development of the popular national revolution into a socialist revolution, posing all the economic and political problems resulting from the transition: that is underway from scolonialism to the emergence of a state opening the road to socialism,"
The documents cover a wide field. It would take an artiole just to consider the program of action and the immediate tasks proposed for the various sectors of Algerian society.
Great importance is attached to Algeria's complex cultural problems,
It was inevitable that the draft would.come out for a single party since this conoept was included in the constitution. [See World Outlook September 27,] A correct criticism of the limitations of bourgeois democracy is generalized in an improper way to justify this position, However, it is recognized that a single party raises the danger of “confiscation of the revolutionary power for the bene~ fit of a caste,"
-~10~ | .
The text states that the party must be distinguished "physical~ Ly" from the state in order not to be absorbed by it. But it likewise declares that the head of the government must also be the head of the party, Which proves that the separation of party and state is not a simple matter, The problem is not specific to Algeria but is posed in all the workers states: without having been resolved in any of them,
In foreign policy, while taking into account the necessary rela~ tions with the capitalist countries, the draft singles out the neo~ colonialist danger and proclaims support, for every struggle of a people seeking emancipation, .
To conolude this brief indication of the content of the doouments, we repeat that the general lessons drawn by the Algerian van-~ guard and the perspectives they see are set down in a highly condensed way. The material will without doubt prove to be a precious instru~ ment for the Algerian militants as they work to construct Algeria's socialist future, It should be carefully studied by revolutionary militants elsewhere in the world to better understand the Algerian Revolution and to bring its lessons and: tasks within the wider range of problems included in the world socialist revolution,