Message to the meeting i Paris, May 5th 2005
In connection with the mobilization for a French no vote in the upcoming referendum, a numer of revolutionary and progressive parties and organizations, among them the Workers' Communist Party of France PCOF, arranged a meeting in Paris, to which Revolusjon sent the following address:Dear comrades and friends.
Twice, in 1972 and 1994, a broad alliance of town and countryside in Norway have rejected the attempts of the ruling class to make Norway become member of the EEC and the European Union. The bourgeoisie tries to present this popular opposition as «narrow-minded» and even as «anti-European».
This is a downright lie. We insist on being Europeans, as any map of our continent can verify. But we will not be part of the United monopolies of Europe! The people of Norway oppose joining the EU, not because it is «European», but because it is a project of monopoly capital constructed to infringe the democratic rights of the peoples and nations, a project to set back the social and workers’ rights all over Europe, to lower the social standards and wages, to exploit and privatize the national resources of the different countries, and to create a new imperialist superpower with a strong military force. We regard the EU not as a project for peace, but as a project for war and aggression, aimed at impoverishing the workers of Europe, subjugating the oppressed nations and peoples, and confronting US, Russian, Chinese and other imperialisms. The Draft Constitution of the European Union proves that this is exactly what the project is all about. Now, neo-liberalism is being institutionalized and given superiority to national legislation. The Constitution and its contents are precisely aimed at giving monopoly capital free access to all sectors of the economy, at the expense of the workers of Europe – and at the expense of the peoples and nations in Asia, Africa and Latin-America, who also will be threatened, not only ecomomically, but also by a European imperialism armed to the teeth.
It is true that the US is the most aggressive and dangerous imperialism of today. Some so-called left-wingers exploit this fact to propagate a strong EU as a balancing counterpart towards the aggressive USA. They even present the EU as a «project for peace›. All this is a hoax. One imperialism can never be defeated by supporting another. Any imperialism, whether US, EU, French, or even Norwegian, is an enemy of the workers and the peoples of the world. That is why Lenin opposed the idea of a united Europe of capitalist states as reactionary. This is the only internationalist stand. The European people’s united Europe lies in the future, as a voluntary federation of socialist states and nations where the working class has gained power as a result of socialist revolution.
This very year, Norway is celebrating 100 years of national independence, since the abolition of the union with Sweden in 1905. After liberating the nation from being a subordinate partner in Union with neighbouring Sweden, the Norwegian people see no reason whatsoever for becoming a part of a new and far more aggressive and anti-democratic Union, where the democratic influence would be reduced to next to nothing and national sovereignty de facto abolished. The communists, the workers, the labourers and the democrats of Norway, will continue our struggle against imperialist Europe on the one hand, and for the class solidarity across the European borders on the other.
We believe that we are fulfilling our internationalist obligation as well as our national and democratic interests, by combating the attempts of the Norwegian bourgeoisie to join the European Union. We believe that it is in the interests of the workers and peoples of the world, not to strengthen, but to weaken, this imperialist project. In this respect, a no to the draft constitution from the labourers of France, would be of great value and importance.
The working classes of France have on several occasions played a revolutionary role, changing the course of history. A French «non» to the proposed Constitution would once again imply a great blow to the reactionary forces and to the imperialist and anti-popular brew cooked up in Bruxelles. It would have great impact, not just within the countries of the EU, but also way beyond the borders of the Union.
Comrades and friends, we wish you every success on May 29th. Votez non!
Revolusjon, Marxist-Leninist organization of Norway