SOLIDARITY MARCH FOR VIETNAMESE AND DOMINICANS
On May 15 some 1,500 people marched in Brussels behind banners strongly condemning the U.S. imperialist aggression against. the peoples of Vietnam and Santo Domingo and supporting the right of the workers and peasants in both countries to determine their own fate.
It was the largest demonstration yet staged in Belgium against American imperialism since Johnson first ordered the bombing of north
Many organizations participated in the demonstration but the key force was the Union de la Gauche Socialiste, the new left social-
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ist party.
The demonstration was deliberately limited in order to assure slogans explicitly condemning the U.S. aggression and openly supporting the revolutions. in Vietnam and Santo Domingo. . Banners of the South Vietnam National Front of Liberation and Youth Movement of Santo Domingo were carried by the marchers. Less radical parties and trade unions refused to participate in the demonstration unless the slogans were scaled down: to a call for "negotiations" and for "peace" in Vietnam. . .
The pro=-Moscow Communist party was inclined to give in to this line of argument which would have transformed the demonstration from an act of solidarity with the colonial revolution into a hollow gesture that could have even served the diplomatic aims of U.S. imperialism. - a
Under the pressure of the left socialists, the CP gave up the attempt and agreed to the more radical slogans proposed by the organizers of the demonstration. _
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When groups of participants : showed up. with posters calling for "Peace in Vietnam," stewards of the organizing committee talked with them and succeeded in convincing them to give up the equivocal formulation. As the demonstration marched through the main streets of. the Belgian. capital,. ‘the radical character of the demonstration. stood out very well.
The May 15 demonstration was a:‘remarkable achievement in practical united-front politics among the radical tendencies, Only a few weeks before, the sectarian attitude of the pro-Peking Communist party had caused a serious rift. [See World Outlook April 30.] The leaders of that party deliberately broke up the preparations for a united march on April 24, with the aim of excluding the numerically much stronger pro-Moscow Communist party. As a result of their "go it alone" decision, only some 250 people marched in that demonstration.
In retaliation, the pro-Moscow Communist party sought to exclude the pro-Peking Communist party from the May 15 demonstration, But the left socialists strongly opposed any attempts to bar any organization or participant who accepted the central slogans of the demonstration. As a result of this principled stand, both Communist parties finally agreed, although somewhat grudgingly, to participate in the same demonstration, and about 150 pro-Peking Communists marched behind their own banners.
This appears to be the first time in Western Europe that a united front in action has brought together all the radical tendencies despite the bitterness of the dispute between the pro-Moscow
and pro=-Peking Communist parties.
Le Peuple, the daily paper of the reformist Social Democratic - party, commented sneeringly that the Khrushchevists. and Maoists had marched together -- while insulting each other -- under the leadership of the “Trotskyists."
The taunt missed its mark, however. In radical circles in — Belgium it is considered a big step forward to have succeeded in organizing a common action with correct slogans. .And if the label © for this is "Trotskyist" so be it!