International Communist League (Vietnam)

[Leo]

(From the Wikipedia article)


The International Communist League (LCI) was a Trotskyist political party in Vietnam. It was founded as the October Group in 1932, by a split in the Indochinese Bolshevik-Leninist Group, which also produced the Struggle Group. The group acquired its name from its journal, Thang muoi (October).

The October Group supported but did not join La Lutte, a united front of the Struggle Group and the Indochinese Communist Party (PCI), as it would have had to withhold its criticisms of the PCI.

The October Group grew rapidly and began publishing a newspaper, Le Militant. This was suppressed by the colonial government in 1937 for supporting strikes. As a result, they again began publishing October, along with a new newspaper, Tia Sang, which in 1939 became a daily - perhaps the world's first daily Trotskyist newspaper.

With the outbreak of World War II, the leading figures in the group were arrested and the organisation banned. Activity did not resume until August 1944, when it was renamed the "International Communist League".

The LCI fully supported the workers' uprising against colonial rule at the end of the war. It organised committees to take power in over 150 towns. Its membership grew rapidly, and it was able to establish printing presses. However, an attempt to organise an assembly of the committees in Saigon was broken up by Chief of Police Duong Bach Mai with the support of the PCI.

When a French expeditionary force arrived, the LCI organised a workers' militia, but its appeal for workers to arm themselves was not widely taken up. Ho Chi Minh of the PCI signed an agreement with the French, and the most of the leaders of the LCI were executed or had disappeared by early 1946.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International...e_%28Vietnam%29 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Communist_League_%28Vietnam%29)

Bolds added. It seems to me that this is always what nationalists do. Thoughts about this group or the event?

[bolshevik butcher]

http://www.revolutionary-history.co.uk/bac...2/MosTrial.html (http://www.revolutionary-history.co.uk/backiss/Vol3/No2/MosTrial.html)

An excellent article on the way the 'communists' lead by Ho Chi Minh allied with imperialist forces to smash workers power and trotskiysm, the dominant tendancy inside the Vietnamese labour movement at the time.

[Vargha Poralli]

Many mistakes had been done in the past. No body is perfect to do only good things and make perfect right choices. The purpose of history is to learn from it not attempting to repeat it. Or accuse somebody for some past events that cannot be rectified. These types of post will ultimately do more damage to the united cause that is overthrowing the bourgeoisie.These types of post will surely increase the infighting among us. :( .

But obviously Mao,Stalin and Ho Chi Minh worshippers will greatly disagree with you. Their one line comments might be "Trots are sectarians","Trots are enemies of the people","Trots are CIA agents","Trots worked with Nazis" etc., <_<

[combat]

These types of post will ultimately do more damage to the united cause that is overthrowing the bourgeoisie.

There CAN NEVER be a united cause with stalinists because they have a "united cause" with the bourgeoisie(popular fronts) and even one with Hitler&#33;&#33;&#33;

[Severian]

Originally posted by Leo Uilleann+December 11, 2006 02:58 pm--> (Leo Uilleann @ December 11, 2006 02:58 pm) Bolds added. It seems to me that this is always what nationalists do. Thoughts about this group or the event? [/b]
"Nationalists" doesn&#39;t usefully describe why the Vietnamese Stalinists acted like this. In fact, they also crushed some Vietnamese bourgeois nationalists who didn&#39;t go along with the deal with France.

(Actually, should be: the deal with Britain. Immediately after WWII, Vietnam was granted to Britain, and it was British troops who landed in Saigon.)

The reason for that deal: Soviet foreign policy, like everything the official "Communist Parties" did. The Yalta agreement, dividing the world coming out of WWII. CPs in Europe and elsewhere did a similar thing around this time, helping restabilize capitalist rule.

The Vietnamese CP did another similar deal with the Geneva Accords ending the war with France - under Soviet pressure giving up South Vietnam which they mostly controlled. But eventually they got enough state basis of their own to stop taking orders from Moscow - like Mao and Tito.


G.Ram
These types of post will ultimately do more damage to the united cause that is overthrowing the bourgeoisie.

A strange assertion: it&#39;s not the repeated slaughter of Bolsheviks by Mensheviks that "damages the united cause" - it&#39;s posting about it.

[Janus]

Chinese Trotskyists were persecuted to a certain degree as well though they were few in numbers. Chen Duxiu was probably the main example of this though his main humiliation occured when he was kicked out of the party and discredited.

[Louis Pio]

A bit more from revolutionary history on the subject

La Lutte and the Vietnamese Trotskyists (http://www.revolutionary-history.co.uk/backiss/Vol3/No2/Hemery.html)
Ngo Van Xuyet On Vietnam (http://www.revolutionary-history.co.uk/backiss/Vol3/No2/OnViet.html)
Ta Thu Thau: Vietnamese Trotskyist Leader (http://www.revolutionary-history.co.uk/backiss/Vol3/No2/Thau.html)

I looked for some of the sources on China, but couldn&#39;t find them right now. But I know they are somewere just have to be a bit more througough

[Vargha Poralli]

Originally posted by [email protected] 18, 2006 07:54 pm
I looked for some of the sources on China, but couldn&#39;t find them right now. But I know they are somewere just have to be a bit more througough
Well one among them is Peng Shu Tse (http://www.marxists.org/archive/peng/index.htm)

His 2 interviews about the cultural revolution gives us much details about the behind screen information in a Trotskyist perspective (http://www.marxists.org/archive/peng/1967/interviews.htm) but he has less favorite view of the Cuban revolution and the Cuban government (http://www.marxists.org/archive/peng/1982/oncubavswp.htm)

[Louis Pio]

Thanks.

But what I was thinking of were some of the first hand accounts from the 30&#39;ies. I know one of the founders of the communist party in China ended up supporting the left opposition.

[Leo]

"Nationalists" doesn&#39;t usefully describe why the Vietnamese Stalinists acted like this. In fact, they also crushed some Vietnamese bourgeois nationalists who didn&#39;t go along with the deal with France.

We all know what "nationalists" actually describe. Hint: it is not good of the &#39;nation&#39;, it is the good of the ruling or potential ruling faction of the bourgeoisie.

[Severian]

Originally posted by [email protected] 17, 2006 10:59 pm
Chinese Trotskyists were persecuted to a certain degree as well though they were few in numbers. Chen Duxiu was probably the main example of this though his main humiliation occured when he was kicked out of the party and discredited.
That&#39;s a serious understatement. After &#39;49, Chinese Trotskyists disappeared into Mao&#39;s jails and were never seen again.

[Vargha Poralli]

Originally posted by [email protected] 18, 2006 11:46 pm
Thanks.

But what I was thinking of were some of the first hand accounts from the 30&#39;ies. I know one of the founders of the communist party in China ended up supporting the left opposition.
Yeah his name is Chen Duxiu. This memoirs of Zheng Chaolin might help. I myself not read it fully but as far as i have read it gives the overall history of the CPC in its early stages. (http://www.marxists.org/history/etol/document/china/zheng.htm)

[Louis Pio]

Ahh thanks, they seem quite interesting

[Vargha Poralli]

These give some Info about trotskyism in Early India during the final years of Independence struggle and P[ost Independence India

http://www.anti-caste.org/marxists/trotskyist_press.html

This is their stance on Partiotion of India(More or less similar to Gandhi&#39;s stance) (http://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/ni/vol12/no10/blpi.htm)

Thesw two articles are actually obituaries to two Indian trotskyists which analyses the failure of Trotskyism in India as a movement

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/jan2005/obit-j27.shtml

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/mar2001/dula-m31.shtml

[Janus]

That&#39;s a serious understatement. After &#39;49, Chinese Trotskyists disappeared into Mao&#39;s jails and were never seen again.
There were few Trotskyists after 1949 and not all of them were jailed. For example, Chen Duxiu pretty much lived a life of obscurity after the 30&#39;s.

[Severian]

Originally posted by [email protected] 30, 2006 01:28 am
There were few Trotskyists after 1949 and not all of them were jailed.
Yeah, a few went into exile. Especially in Hong Kong, &#39;til the Brits ran &#39;em out. But other than that, in fact, the Communist Leage of China, which had survived less ruthless repression under Chiang, was rapidly and thoroughly wiped out by the PRC. Draw what conclusions you like - that&#39;s simply the fact.


For example, Chen Duxiu pretty much lived a life of obscurity after the 30&#39;s.

More exactly, he split from the Trotskyist organization in &#39;41 and died in &#39;42. So I&#39;m not sure why you&#39;re trying to use him as an example of the PRC&#39;s supposed toleration of Trotskyists.

[Janus]

So I&#39;m not sure why you&#39;re trying to use him as an example of the PRC&#39;s supposed toleration of Trotskyists.
I don&#39;t think that the CCP after the 30&#39;s was ever tolerant of Trotskyists rather my point was that pro and anti Comintern CPC members (Chen&#39;s supporters and opponents) pretty much fell into obscurity and disfavor after Jiang&#39;s White Purges. The few Trotskyists after who later criticized Mao or the party were more or less victims of the general anti-intelligentsia criticism trend that emerged in the 50&#39;s and hit a height in the 60&#39;s.