In tribute to Dolly Shaer

By New Worker correspondent

Dolly's partner Ken Ruddock and her daughter Carol

 

DOLLY Shaer, a long standing comrade and a member of the leadership of the New Communist Party, passed away last June. Friends and comrades paid their last respects to Dolly at her funeral in Guildford last July. But they, and many others, returned to the Party Centre last Saturday for a memorial social to remember Dolly’s life and her life-long commitment to the communist ideal.

Dolly was born in 1931, the “devil’s decade” during a world-wide slump that led to massive unemployment. It was the era that saw the rise of Adolf Hitler and the spread of fascism in Britain and throughout Europe. But it was also the decade which saw the strengthening of the Soviet power which eliminated unemployment in the USSR in 1930 and build the industrial and military might that smashed the Nazi hordes in the Second World War.

Dolly’s father fought in the International Brigade to defend the Spanish Republic against General Franco’s rebels and the Nazi and Italian fascist legions that backed him. Dolly followed her father’s footsteps by joining the Young Communist League as soon as she could and plunging herself into the post-war struggles for peace and socialism in Britain.

Opened by Party Chair Alex Kempshall, the formal tributes began with Dolly’s partner Ken Ruddock and her daughter Carole and Carole spoke of her mother’s determination, steeled by decades of struggle in education, the anti-racist campaigns and fight to preserve the memory of the Brigaders for the generations to come.

NCP leader Andy Brooks said Dolly was an example to us all, as did John Macleod from the Socialist Labour Party. Ernie Hunt, a veteran from the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (ML) put Dolly’s life in the context of the struggle against revisionism. Dermot Hudson from the Korean Friendship Association paid tribute Dolly’s solidarity work and that of the NCP as a whole in support of Democratic Korea and Ann Rogers, the former editor of the New Worker who worked with Dolly for many years recalled the happy events in her company.   

Dolly was National Treasurer of the Party and for many years no event would end without her call to build the fighting fund. Earlier in the day the Central Committee had agreed to increase the target for the Special Appeal to £15,000.  And this was taken up by Daphne Liddle who made a stirring appeal to boost the Special Fund to safeguard the future of the New Worker and remember Dolly in the way she would have wanted. They did with a collection that totalled £1,732! 

• Donations to the New Worker fighting fund can be made online via our PayPal account 

 

Forward into the New Year!

 

Michael Chant at the piano while Hyong Hak Bong speaks

By New Worker correspondent

The turn of the year was heralded in communist style when friends and comrades gathered to welcome the New Year at the London centre of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (ML). NCP leader Andy Brooks and other London comrades met friends old and new at the annual social organised by the London Region of the RCPB (ML) at the John Buckle Centre in south London last weekend  that included diplomats from the DPR Korea embassy and many active in solidarity work,  the cultural front and anti-fascist struggle.

Progressive musicians provided the entertainment throughout the evening while the militant role of the RCPB (ML) throughout its life was highlighted by two RCPB (ML) leaders during the formal part of the proceedings.  Chris Coleman unveiled a plaque of John Buckle during his tribute to their leader whose life was tragically cut short in a terrible air crash in Madrid in 1983 while on his way to attend an international communist conference in Colombia.

Chris spoke passionately about John Buckle’s commitment to the communist cause and his prominent role in the defeat by mass action of the bourgeosie's attempt to develop a mainstream fascist party, the National Front, to attack the workers' and progressive movement. This was taken up by Michael Chant in a keynote address outlining the RCPB (ML)’s  continuing work to build the resistance to the ruling class offensive and its austerity programme and fight for a working class agenda and an anti-war government.

An essential part of that struggle is proletarian internationalism and this was raised by London’s  DPR Korean ambassador  who thanked everyone for their efforts to build friendship and solidarity with Democratic Korea. Hyong Hak Bong spoke about the resolute response of the Workers Party of Korea to root out the treacherous clique that had been unmasked and dealt with in December and the way forward that Kim Jong Un outlined in his New Year address to the people of the DPRK this year.

Eventually everyone said their goodbyes and made their way home as the evening ended in the spirit of confidence and optimism that always grows whenever comrades meet.

Season's Greetings!

Solidarity with Greek anti-fascists

 By New Worker correspondent

ANTI-Fascist activists gathered outside the Greek embassy in Holland Park on Wednesday 11th December to show their solidarity and support for three Greek journalists about to go on trial in Athens charged with defaming members of the fascist Golden Dawn party.

The protesters included members of several progressive organisations including Unite Against Fascist, the National Union of Teachers, the Socialist Workers Party and the Greek Socialist Workers Party (SEK).

Katerina Thoidou, journalist, Tasos Anastasiades, publisher and Panos Garganas, editor of Ergatiki Allileghii (Workers Solidarity, weekly paper of SEK) were accused of “defamation” by a lawyer who is in the payroll of a Nazi Golden Dawn MP

Articles in Ergatiki Allileghii exposed the neo-Nazi inspired campaign against the right of second generation immigrants to Greek citizenship. The law under which the members of SEK are accused is infamous in Greece as a “free press killer” law.

If the journalists are found guilty they could face a fine of up to €30,000 each – which would bankrupt Ergatiki Allileghii.

Currently several leading members of Golden Dawn are in custody awaiting trial on various charges of violence and criminality. Their party has been behind a wave of brutal attacks on immigrants, homosexuals and left-wing activists.

It exploits and exacerbates divisions among Greek undergoing extreme austerity measures imposed by the European Union arising from the mismanagement of Greece’s economy by the one-per-cent of fabulously rich bankers.

Last Wednesday’s protest was addressed by UAF joint leader Weyman Bennett and Paul Mackney, former general secretary of the lecturers’ union Natfhe. They both reminded those present that Greece has suffered on several occasions from extreme right-wing governments: dating from the 1930s, then again under occupation by the Nazis.

Just after the liberation from the Nazis, British imperialism intervened to restore the monarchy and stop the Greek communists, who had played a leading role in the resistance, from being elected into government. This led to civil war  followed by another period of extreme right wing military rule.

And in the 1960s the country suffered a fascist military coup by army colonels against the left-wing government of Georgios Papandreou.

From 1967 to 1974 Greece was ruled by the colonels’ junta and all left wing political activity was forced underground.

 Weyman Bennett pointed out that fascist and Nazi parties throughout Europe are now looking to Golden Dawn for inspiration and that these parties have links, including through the structures of the European Union.

“One of the best ways we can show solidarity with our Greek comrades is to fight the fascists here and ensure that Nick Griffin loses his seat in the European Parliament next year,” he said.

Birthday vigil for Chelsea Manning

by New Worker correspondent

 

ACTIVISTS gathered on the steps of St Martin in the Fields, in the corner of Trafalgar Square, on Tuesday 17th December for a solidarity vigil for Chelsea Manning (formerly Bradley Manning) on her 26th birthday.

She is the former US soldier sentenced to 35 years in jail for leaking thousands of documents to Wikileaks exposing US and other governments’ war crimes and corruption.

Ever since she was detained and tortured in 2010, international protests, including from LGBT people, have demanded her release.

The sentence imposed on Chelsea Manning is harsher than that of most soldiers convicted of murder and definitely more than those found guilty of rape and other torture.

The US Government wants to make an example of Chelsea Manning to discourage whistleblowing on any of their crimes including surveillance on all of us.

Defending whistleblowers is vital to defending ourselves against these state crimes. And defending Chelsea is vital to encouraging more whistleblowers to come forward.

Thanks to Chelsea we know about:

  * The “collateral murder” video of a US helicopter crew killing Iraqi civilians;

  * The cover-up of rape in Iraq and Afghanistan;

  * The extent of drone strikes;

  * US dirty tricks in Haiti, Venezuela and elsewhere

  * The corruption of Tunisian dictator Ben Ali that spurred the 2011     revolution

  * Israel consulting Egypt and the Palestinian Authority before invading Gaza.

A clash of bigots

By New Worker Correspondent

ANJEM Choudary is the self-appointed leaders of a small group of right-wing fundamentalist Muslims who dream of imposing Sharia law on Britain. His views are strongly rejected by the vast majority of Muslims in this country.

Last December  he advertised that he and his followers would hold a protest march against alcohol in Brick Lane in the heart of London’s East End.

Recently some young members of this group were sent to prison for assaulting non-Muslims who they claimed were drinking in what they described as a Muslim area of London Tower Hamlets.

But they are not part of mainstream Muslim life in the area where a couple of months ago Muslims turned out in a massive show of solidarity with thousands of Londoners of all races and faiths and none to stop the Islamophobic English Defence League (EDL) in their tracks yet again.

On Friday 13th December led his band of about 20 followers along Brick Lane but his advertisements had attracted a small assortment of EDL members and other neo-Nazis and racists to stage a counter demonstration.

They numbered eight to ten fascists: a mixture of English Volunteer Force, English Defence League and Paul Golding and his video cameraman from the tiny Britain First Party.

The fascists tried to block Choudary’s demo at the bottom of Osborn Street and Whitechapel Road. There was a bit of a stand-off as both groups were surrounded by police.

The fascists shouted that they were proud white English and liked to drink, and “terrorist scum off our streets”, and then sang the National Anthem out of tune.

Golding offered to fight Choudary if Choudary would come out from behind the police lines and when he didn’t, Golding shouted that he was a coward.

Choudary’s lot shouted that it was insanity to argue with them as all they wanted was to save the fascists from hangovers, liver disease and drunken violence.

The police kettled the fascists. After about a quarter of an hour Choudary’s followers simply walked round the fascists and up Osborn Street to Brick Lane.

In Brick Lane Roger Firth from the EDL turned up on his own, videoing Choudary. Choudary and company got about half way up Brick Lane just before the old Truman’s Brewery and then gave up and went home.

Meanwhile Choudary and his followers carried on, berating local Asian traders and restaurateurs for selling alcohol.

The local Muslim community responded by repeatedly stopping reporters to make sure they knew that they strongly disagreed with Choudary and wanted nothing to do with him.