Of great value, this report summarizes each session, speech, and resolution of the historic founding conference of the League Against Imperialism held in Brussels on February 10-14, 1927. Called by the Communist International, the meeting gathered 175 delegates, the majority from the colonial world and its liberation movement. Aside from Communists, representatives from the Kuomintang (soon to violently leave the alliance with the CCP), The Indian National Congress (including Nehru), the African National Congress (by its President, Josiah Tshangana Gumede), among many others attended the gathering.

‘The International Congress against Colonial Oppression in Brussels’ from International Press Correspondence. Vol. 7 No. 16. February 25, 1927.

Delegates from all parts of the world took part in the International Congress against colonial oppression and imperialism: China, British India, Indonesia, Indochina, Japan, Korea, Persia, Palestine, South Africa, Mexico, the Argentine, Columbia, Cuba, Haiti, Porto Rico, the United States of America, Great Britain, Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, etc., making a total of 174 delegates.

The following delegates were present amongst others: Hsiung Kwang Suen (Representative of the Chinese National Government), Chankuen (Representative of the Hongkong and Canton strike committee); Liau Han Sin (Central Executive of the Kuomintang); Jawahar Lal Nehru (All-Indian National Congress); Semaoen (C.P. of Indonesia); Mohammed Hatta (Indonesian Freedom Party); Li Kolu (Union of Corean Writers and Journalists); Katayama (Japan); Itzchaki (Palestinian Labour Party); Assadoff (Republican Revolutionary Party of Persia); Colraine (South African Trades Union Congress); Gumede (South African National Congress); Richard Moore (American Negro Workers Congress); Antonion Mella (Anti-imperialist League of Mexico); Vasconcelos (National Party of Porto Rico); Martins (Patriotic League of Haiti); Roger Baldwin (Civil Liberties League of the United States of America); Manuel Gomez (American Workers Party); Harry Pollitt (Minority Movement Great Britain); Fenner Brockway (Independent Labour Party of Great Britain); Fimmen (Secretary of the International Transport Workers Federation); Miglioli (Catholic People’s Party of Italy); Henri Barbusse, Georg Ledebour, etc.

In the opening session of the congress which took place on 10th of February in the Egmont Palace, a number of speeches of greetings were made:

The following spoke: Davis (a representative of the British Miner’s Union), the Belgian member of Parliament Marteaux in the name of the Belgian Section of the League against Colonial Oppression; Henri Barbusse; Liau Han Sin (the representative of the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang), Jawahar Lal Nehru (representative of the Executive of the All-Indian National Congress); Sen Katayama (Japan), José vas Concelos (one-time Mexican Minister and representative of the National Party of Porto Rico) and Fenner Brockway (Independent Labour Party of Great Britain).

In his speech, Henri Barbusse termed the delegates to the congress the organisers and soldiers of the emancipation struggle of the oppressed peoples. He condemned the bloody dominance of imperialism in China, India, Morocco and Syria. He pointed to the preparations for a new war and declared that the Soviet Union was the only State where the question of national minorities was finally solved and social peace obtained. His passionate appeal to the participants of the congress to mobilise all the forces of the exploited peoples and classes to prevent a new imperialist war, was greeted by the congress with the greatest enthusiasm.

Lian Han Sin declared: Our relations to the imperialists to-day are so critical, that the latter are using all means with which to attack us. We must form ourselves strongly and firmly into an international united front against world imperialism. The imperialists have already recognised that the oppressed peoples and classes of the world are already commencing to unite. Therefore they are sending troops, airships and warships in great numbers both to China and to Nicaragua in order to sup- press the movement for emancipation. For this reason they accused the first proletarian state of the world, the Soviet Union which honestly sympathises with the struggles of the colonial peoples against their oppressors, of instigating unrest and destroying peace in the whole world. The congress must also deal with the question of the war threats of imperialism against the Soviet Union.

In conclusion Liau thanked the international working class and in particular the revolutionary organisations of Great Britain, Australia and India for their active support of the Chinese revolution.

Katayama greeted the Congress and in particular the delegates from China and Corea, in the name of the Japanese workers. He declared that the congress expressed the will of the oppressed peoples not merely to struggle against imperialism, but to destroy it. The colonial peoples, he said, would have to ally themselves with the working classes of the imperialist countries. China had commenced the struggle and the other colonial and semi-colonial countries will follow its example.

Brockway solemnly declared that the British working class would prevent any military intervention of Great Britain against China and the Soviet Union with all the means at its disposal. Before the conclusion of the session a telegram of greetings was read from the Political Bureau of the headquarters of the National Army of China appealing to the congress to mobilise all forces against national and social oppression.

The second session was opened on the morning of the 11th of February by Edo Fimmen.

Chan Kuen a member of the Hongkong and Canton Strike Committee greeted the congress in the name of the All-Chinese Trade Union Federation: Sun Yat Sen had recognised, he declared, that the chief force to overthrow the foreign imperialists in China was the working class and the peasantry. This had been said by its great leader. Victory would be won over imperialism by Kuomintang was proceeding along the lines laid down for it the alliance of all the exploited upon a national and international scale. The Chinese people, declared the speaker, was closely allied to the Soviet Union. The imperialists were striving to smash this alliance which represented a tremendous anti-imperialist force, but the Chinese people was well aware who were its friends.

Georg Ledebour then reported upon imperialist colonial policy and its effects in the colonial and semi-colonial countries. He described the nature of imperialist colonial policy and briefly sketched the new attacks and the violence of imperialism in China, Morocco, Syria, etc.

The reformist leaders MacDonald, Vandervelde and others, have long ago forgotten their attitude at the Stockholm Congress in 1907 when they were opposed to colonial possessions. A communiqué of the Second International called the League against Colonial Oppression an organisation of irresponsible elements, in the hands of the communists. The speaker asked whether Brockway, the General Secretary of the Independent Labour Party in Great Britain was to be reckoned amongst the irresponsible elements, whether he was also to be considered as a pawn?

The oppressed peoples would, he declared, no longer permit themselves to be misled. The speeches of the Chinese representatives had shown that the Chinese coolie had become a class conscious worker. It would be the task of the congress to fight against colonial mandates and for the emancipation of all oppressed countries. The congress would have also to fight. against all forms of military intervention. It would be the duty of the working class to prevent any threatening war by a general strike. Struggle! That was the watchword. This epoch had no place for pacifism.

The third session was opened on the evening of the 11th of February with the speech of Mohammed Hafiz Ramadan (Egyptian National Party):

The congress was no “official” congress but was nevertheless of the greatest importance because it represented the will of the peoples to struggle against their common foe, imperialism. A real League of Nations was necessary, not a League of governments. Egypt demanded real freedom and independence.

Mohammed Hatta (Indonesian Freedom Party) declared that the Indonesian people was terribly enslaved by the Dutch capitalists. It had no freedom of organisation, of meeting, or of the press. It had no right to Strike and enjoyed no social labour laws. It was compelled to exist on hunger wages. 95% of the population were illiterate. The rebellion of the Indonesian people was a national insurrection against the tyrannical oppression under which it suffered. Despite persecutions, prisons and the gallows, the Indonesian people would never give up its right to independence.

Senghor (North Africa) declared in the name of the Negro Defence Committee that the Negroes formed the most oppressed and exploited race in the world. France as a colonising country was bringing “civilisation” at the point of the bayonet to Africa. Slavery still existed amongst the negroes, only its form was modernised. The struggle against imperialism was synonymous with the struggle against capitalism. The world must be converted into a union of free peoples.

Harry Pollitt (Minority Movement of Great Britain) pointed in his speech to the relation between the economic situation of the working class in the motherland with the situation of the colonial peoples. The working masses of Great Britain would form an indestructible united front with the toiling masses of India and China. They would prevent the imperialist war with all means. The question of the abolition of imperialism was the same question as the abolition of capitalism. The Russian workers and peasants have shown how to overthrow capitalism.

Uiyano greeted the congress in the name of the workers. and peasants of Latin America. He described the machinations of the United States against Nicaragua, Mexico, Panama and Venezuela.

Colraine was the last speaker and greeted the congress in the name of the South African Trade Union Congress.

The presidium of the Congress received a telegram from A.J. Cook in the name of the British miners and also a telegram from Victor Margueritte. Cook wrote that the intervention of British imperialism in China was a classical example of the dominance of capitalism. He hoped that the congress would declare itself unequivocably for all actions tending to prevent a victory of British imperialism.

The fourth Session took place on the morning of the 12th of February under the chairmanship of Jawahar Lal Nehru.

Messali (Algeria), Mustapha Chedley (Tunis) and Achmed Mattar (Morocco) described the colonial policy of France in North Africa. This policy had plunged the natives into the worst form of slavery and had led to the insurrection of the Rif and to bloody colonial wars. Ben Mustapha Chedley appealed to the Congress in the name of the National Party of Tunis to organise a campaign for the liberation of the imprisoned victims of French imperialism. Achmed Mattar declared under the applause of the congress that the only method to abolish imperialism was the revolution according to the example in Russia.

Professor Goldschmidt delivered a speech in which he drew a parallel between present day imperialist colonisation and that of the dominant countries of antiquity and in the Middle Ages. The various forms and methods of modern imperialism would have to be studied in detail, he declared. The congress which was “an expression of the world longing for freedom” would become a world league of all oppressed peoples.

The fifth Session took place on the evening of the 12th of February under the chairmanship of Mohammed Hattar.

Edo Fimmen was the first speaker. He declared that he only represented himself but was convinced that he was expressing the feelings of the great masses of the European working class. It was not enough to adopt evolutionary resolutions and to appeal to the trade unions, but it was necessary to establish a united front between the workers of the mother countries and the peoples of the colonies in the day to day struggle. It was necessary to enlighten the working class of the mother countries upon the connections between its standard of life and the oppression practiced in the colonies.

The speaker showed from statistical material the wages and working conditions of the working class in India and China. The Washington Convention differentiated between the working hours in the mother countries and in the colonial countries. The representatives of the white workers have not protested against this differentiation! The Washington Convention had remained upon paper. The only state where the eight hour day is not abolished, is the Soviet Union.

The assertions of certain leaders of the Second International that the toilers of the colonies would be more oppressed after achieving their independence, by native capital, than they previously were by foreign capital, was not valid, this declaration was already refuted by existing statistics from China.

The capitalists did not only extort tremendous profits from the colonies, but with the assistance of this colonial exploitation they reduce the standard of living of the working class in the motherlands. Not merely that, but they were even sending these workers as soldiers into the colonies to “maintain order”. As long as this situation existed, capitalism could not be defeated in the advanced capitalist countries.

The capitalists wanted to create a united front against the Chinese revolution. The congress was opposed to this united front and against the united front of white capitalists and white workers. The congress wanted a united front of the exploited in all countries. The congress would address itself to all trade union organisations without exception in support of the Chinese revolution.

Karl Marx had once written that China would become a republic dominated by “liberty, equality and fraternity”. That was true, but this republic would not be a republic like the French, which was a mockery, but a real republic like the Soviet Union. The congress was fighting for this.

Strong propaganda would have to be made for the Chinese. revolution. The workers would have to be told what was happening in China and thus brought to take direct action. Today an appeal for direct action as for instance a general strike would have no success. Before the occupation of the Ruhr enthusiastic resolutions had been adopted, but nothing had come out of them. The congress wanted no blood. It was its task to make propaganda, to organise and to prepare.

Ellen Wilkinson, a Member of the British Parliament, explained in her speech the attitude of the Left Wing of the Labour Party to China. It was doubtful whether it would be possible to bring about a general strike. The British general strike and the struggle of the miners had not been successful. In any case, the general strike would have to be prepared. This attitude was not defeatism. One should not forget that there are also other means to oppose an intervention, for instance the utilisation of public opinion.

Gumede (Natal, South Africa) greeted the congress in the name of the Zulus whose situation he described as economically and politically miserable. The natives were cut off from all forms of qualified work. The trade unions of the white workers refused to have anything to do with the negroes. The only party which represented the interests of the negroes and took the negroes into its ranks, was the Communist Party.

Blancour spoke in the name of the oppressed population of the French colonies Martinique and Guadeloupe: The much-praised self-administration, he declared, was only on paper. It was all humbug. In actual fact the population was without rights and terribly exploited. The United States of America was striving to obtain possession of the group of Islands around Martinique and Guadeloupe as compensation for the debt of France to America, for this group of islands was really a very important strategical point. The population of these islands, however, want neither French nor American dominance, but complete freedom.

Herclet, the representative of the C.G.T.U., declared that in France there were two trade union federations, but that only the unitarian unions fought against capitalism. Only the C.G.T.U. actively supported the struggle of the oppressed peoples for emancipation. An example for this was the 24 hour protest strike of the unions affiliated to the C.G.T.U. against the Morocco war. Meetings had been organised in all factories and propaganda made amongst the soldiers and workers. The soldiers had been told that it was their duty not to shoot down the native Rifs, but to fraternise with them.

Everything possible would be done to defend the Chinese revolution, no matter what attitude the I.F.T.U. would adopt towards the unity proposals. The French workers would do their duty as they had done when the Soviet Union was threatened. The workers would be awakened and mobilised. The transport of arms and ammunition would be prevented. He was in agreement with Fimmen that a united front of all trade union organisations must be created. However, there must be no united front, with the MacDonalds, but with the working masses in the I.F.T.U. and in the Labour Party. (Great Applause.)

The sixth session was opened on the 13th of February under the chairmanship of Fimmen.

Albert Fournier, a member of the French Chamber, was the first speaker. He declared that the congress against colonial oppression would become a very important date in the history of Humanity. Let us become, he declared, a powerful army for the overthrow of capitalism. The struggle in China is of world historical importance. It is a struggle for national emancipation. But it would evolve into a struggle for social emancipation.

Professor Theodor Lessing (Germany) dealt with the struggle of the colonial peoples for emancipation from an ethical and cultural standpoint.

Manuel Gomez (Workers Party of America) dealt with the expansionist activities of the United States and its efforts to cloak these activities with democratic and pacifist phrases.

Dunang Van Giao (Indo-China) reported in the name of the Anamite Party of Freedom upon the situation of the Indonesian workers and peasants. The natives were not free, they had no right to organise themselves, nor to meet together. Freedom of the press did not exist. They were subject to exceptional courts. For a working day of 12 to 14 hours they earn four to five francs. The social democratic governor Varenne is working hand in hand with the French government. The workers are not permitted to organise themselves. The cause of the working class in China was the cause of the congress. The congress would support revolutionary China with all the forces at its disposal.

Achmed Assadoff, the representative of the revolutionary Republican party of Persia then spoke and pointed to the close co-operative work between British imperialism and the feudal classes of Persia.

King Fa Ling then spoke in the name of the Corean people. Maza Bay el Bakir (National Revolutionary Party of Syria), declared that France had destroyed the unity of Syria in order to play one district against the other and in particular the Catholics against the Mahommedans. All sections of society in Syria were discontented with their situation. France was attempting to suppress the opposition of Syria with force of arms. This would, however, not be successful. Damascus would remain forever a symbol of the heroism of the working masses of Syria and a symbol of shame for French imperialism. The speaker concluded: We will continue to fight with the consciousness that we are fighting for all oppressed peoples.

The Seventh session was opened on the evening of the 13th of February under the chairmanship of Fimmen.

Jawahar Lal Nehru read a resolution upon India to the congress and Liau Han Sin read a united declaration of the Indian and Chinese delegations.

George Lansbury then spoke and declared that the congress was a tremendous sign of the awakening of the oppressed peoples in the whole world. The Chinese revolution was the cause of all oppressed nations and all exploited peoples. The British working class would understand that and would defend the Chinese revolution. The Chinese workers and peasants were not only fighting for the abolition of foreign imperialism and for the national freedom of China, but also for the destruction of capitalism and for the building up of a socialist order. He would say to his pacifist friends that pacifism would only exist on earth when capitalism was dead. In Great Britain great masses would follow the appeal for struggle. China would have to receive the right to rule itself. All military and naval forces would have to be withdrawn from Chinese ground and Chinese waters.

The national government must be recognised, all unequal treaties annulled and all extra-territorial rights abolished. In conclusion he declared: We will fight for these demands with all the means at our disposal. (Great Applause.)

General Lu Chiang Li declared that the Chinese revolution was an important sector of the world revolution. New and difficult struggles with the imperialists and militarists were ahead but the new world was advancing. He, the speaker, was a soldier and considered it his duty to serve the cause of the workers and peasants. This congress would in the future give him his orders. His belief had been strengthened, he would devote himself in the future with, increased energy to the great cause, the emancipation of all oppressed peoples. The victory was no longer far off. He hoped that more such congresses would take place. He concluded his speech with the shout: Long live the Chinese revolution! Long live the world revolution! (Storms of applause.)

Brown (Secretary of the Amsterdam International) declared that the congress was of historical importance, because the representatives of the exploited of the whole world had come together for the first time not to find out that which separated them, but that which united them. If this unity were realised all along the line, then it would lead the working class to victory. Ismael Martinez (Mexico) described the attempts of Yankee imperialism to intervene in Mexico and expressed the hope that the decisions of the congress would be followed by deeds.

Ernst Toller declared that the congress was of tremendous. importance. The fact that neither the I.F.T.U. nor the Social Democracy Party of Germany nor the German trade unions had sent delegates to the congress, was not understandable. The congress would become a world power. The real League of Nations would be created. In the name of the German delegation he then presented a resolution calling for a struggle against the new colonial activities of German capitalism.

Beckett (Left Wing of the British Labour Party) then read an Anglo-Indian-Chinese resolution. He proposed that telegrams of greetings be sent to the Hankow government and to the All Indian National Congress. (The delegates enthusiastically and unanimously agreed to this proposal.) The speaker declared that the British delegation had signed the resolution with the firm determination of carrying through everything laid down in it. The British working class would do its duty towards the Chinese revolution.

The chairman then informed the congress that a telegram of greetings had been received from the widow of Sun-Yat-Sen.

Before the conclusion of the session the resolutions which had been introduced were unanimously adopted.

The eighth session was opened on the morning of the 14th of February under the chairmanship of Colraine.

Vernochet greeted the congress in the name of the Unitarian Educational Workers International which, he declared, had always done its duty towards the oppressed peoples and classes. Great masses of the colonial peoples were being deliberately held in illiteracy by capitalism, he said. Only a thin upper strata was being educated in order to serve as the non-commissioned officers of imperialism against their own people. The only workers and peasants state, the Soviet Union, was an exception. When the schools in Pekin were about to be closed on account of lack of funds, the soviet ambassador Karachan handed over the Russian share of the Boxer indemnity to the Fekin professors to enable them to carry on. We, declared Vernochet, will educate our pupils to be soldiers of the revolution.

Stokes, representative of the London Trades and Labour Council, reported upon the decisions of a conference of all working class organisations in the London district. There were 600 delegates present at the conference of whom 503 were representatives of the trade unions. The resolution which was adopted declared absolute solidarity with the Chinese revolution and demanded that the transport of all men and munitions for China should be prevented. The resolution further demanded the re- cognition of the Canton government and the withdrawal of all troops from China. The British workers would fight for these demands with all the means at their disposal, including the strike weapon. Committees were being formed in all parts of Great Britain, under the watchword “Hands off China!”. The speaker concluded by saying that it was a pity that Brown was only able to speak in his own name and not in the name of the I.F.T.U.

Helene Stoecker (Germany) spoke in the name of the international Association of War Objectors and in the name of the German Peace Cartell. She declared that the fight must not be carried on in the spirit of the old bourgeois pacifism, for a real war against war was only possible upon the basis of the class struggle. The congress should not forget in its deliberations the struggle for the emancipation of women.

Mueller-Lehning greeted the congress in the name of the International Anti-Militarist Committee and read an appeal of the committee against colonial oppression and against war.

Chen Kuen spoke in the name of the Chinese trade unions. which he declared were young organisations, but that no one could say that they were without experience or that they were not class-conscious or that they represented no real power. The strike movements of the last few years, in particular the Canton-Hong Kong strike, had proved that the trade unions were the backbone of the national revolutionary movement. Lansbury had appealed to them saying that they should join him in the spirit of international socialism. This spirit was not lacking amongst the Chinese unions. They had collected money for the British miners when they themselves had had to support hundreds of thousands. They would always prove their feelings of inter- national solidarity by deeds.

Could the same however be said of the working class of Western Europe? What had the II International or the Amsterdam trade union international done to show any sympathy for the Chinese revolution? With the exception of a few resolutions. nothing had been done. When the workers of Shanghai appealed to the Amsterdamers for help, they had not even received a reply. Brown was not able to speak in the name of Amsterdam here. The speeches of Vandervelde upon the colonial revolution had filled the Chinese with indignation. The attitude of MacDonald was by no means a proof of any internationalism. However, declared the speaker, he would not continue to make these just accusations, for this congress was taking place in the sight of the enemy and he, the speaker, would do everything. possible to promote unity. (Great applause.)

Miglioli, representative of the Catholic People’s Party of Italy declared that the fascist government and press contended that transport of Italian troops to China was necessary for the protection of the economic interests of Italy and for the protection of the Italian missionaries. That was a deliberate lie. Italy has no economic interests in China. It was the last word in shameful hypocrisy when bloody fascism, which had itself murdered thousands of workers and peasants and even priests, spoke of defending Italian missionaries. The truth of the matter, was that the fascist government was a tool in the hands of British imperialism. The Italian government was assisting in the overthrow of the Chinese revolution because it hoped in return to receive the financial help and support of Great Britain for Italian colonial plans in Albania.

The ninth session was opened on the evening of the 14th of February under the chairmanship of Fimmen.

Willi Muenzenberg summed up the work of the congress and spoke of organisational matters. He declared that the congress had been a complete success and that it had succeeded beyond all expectations. The credentials committee had reported that 174 delegates were present. The delegates represented 8 million workers organised in trade unions and many hundred millions of unorganised and oppressed people. The first step towards the formation of a real league of nations had been made here and now in Brussels and not in Geneva.

Even the hostile press had been compelled to recognise that the congress was of first rate importance. The II International which refused to deal with colonial questions at its Marseilles conference, had now been compelled to put these questions on to its agenda.

The question of imperialism stood in the centre of world politics. We, declared the speaker, needed no stage manager to bring us together, that was done by a common need.

The present congress was only the preparatory meeting for a real world congress. The presidium of the congress proposed that a world league against imperialism and colonial oppression and for national independence should be formed. The constitution and the program of such a league were already drafted out.

The chief task at the present time was the support of the Chinese revolution. The presidium and all the delegates were united in the firm resolve that should any power declare war against the Canton government, then all working class organisations would be organised to resist the attack. The present watchword was active assistance for the Chinese people!

The masses would be enlightened in thousands of meetings which would be held everywhere. All suppressed peoples would receive assistance. A commission consisting of Shaw, Nansen and Barbusse would be sent to Java and Sumatra to examine the situation there.

Inside the presidium departments for special questions would be organised. An Indo-Chinese congress was being planned for June to be held in Hankow. The history of the world for the coming decades would be determined by the development of India, China and similar countries. The world league against colonial oppression would be built up upon a firm foundation. (applause)

Colraine (South Africa) stressed the necessity for the unification of the white and coloured trade unions in South Africa. He hoped that the I.F.T.U. would finally discover its duty with regard to the establishment of international trade union unity.

Fournier (France) warned the delegates in his speech not the leave the resolutions which had been adopted, merely upon paper.

Chen Kuen then solemnly declared in the name of the Chinese trade unions that they would do everything in their power to carry out the decisions of the congress.

The voting was then taken upon the proposal to form a world league against colonial oppression. The proposal was unanimously adopted. The delegates then rose spontaneously from their seats and sang the “Internationale” and joined with Fimmen in cheers for the international unity of the working class.

The closing session took place on the evening of the 14th of February under the chairmanship of Fimmen.

The report of the committee on credentials was accepted. The report showed that 174 delegates were present from 37 countries whilst 70 were delegated from European countries and from the United States of America.

26 resolutions and declarations were presented to the presidium and the following were put before the congress to be voted upon:

A resolution moved by Georg Ledebour and supported by him in a speech. The resolution concerned the agenda point “Imperialism and its effects upon the Colonial and semi-Colonial Countries”. The resolution declared: “The working class must prevent the sending of troops and war material against the colonial peoples who have been forced to defend themselves against oppression. This must be done amongst other means by strikes, particularly strikes of the transport workers. Finally a general strike is necessary in order to force the imperialist country to release its hold upon the oppressed peoples.”

A declaration was presented by Madame Duchesne on behalf of the French section of the League against French imperialism.

A resolution presented by Mohammed Hatta upon Indonesia. A resolution presented by Javahal Lal Nehru on behalf of the Indian delegation demanding the withdrawal of the Indian troops from Mesopotamia.

A resolution presented by Antonio Mella on behalf of the joint delegations from Latin-America and the United States concerning the situation on the American Continent. The representative of the Workers Party of America spoke in favour of this resolution which declares itself for the government of Mexico. A resolution presented by Richard Moore upon the negro question and against race prejudices.

A resolution presented by Colraine on behalf of the trade union representatives. All these resolutions were unanimously adopted by the congress. The presidium decided to submit the other resolutions to the executive of the League to be treated by it.

The plenum unanimously adopted the proposed constitution of the League and upon the proposal of Fimmen unanimously elected the following Executive: Nehru (India), Liau (China), Senghor (Africa), Mohammed Hatta (Indonesia), Lansbury (Great Britain), Muenzenberg (Germany), Marteaux (Belgium), Manuel Ugarte (South America), and Fimmen (Holland). The following substitute delegates were also elected: Gibarti, Baldwin, Barbusse and Bridgeman.

It was decided to send a telegram to the Dutch government demanding an amnesty for the imprisoned revolutionaries on Sumatra and Java.

Gerard then read a manifesto of the congress which was enthusiastically adopted.

The congress received a telegram from the President of the All-Indian National Congress: “The All-Indian National Congress offers all its co-operation in the world campaign against the tyranny of imperialism. The whole of public opinion is opposed to the use of Indian troops in China”. Upon the proposal of Colraine, the congress decided to send a copy of this telegram to Lansbury.

Fimmen made the closing speech. He declared that the congress was first rate historical importance. A world organisation had been created which would smash imperialism despite all hindrances. The enemy would do its utmost to “slander” the congress and term it a communist conspiracy. The speaker would say, but nevertheless, it was necessary to say without the Russian revolution which had awakened the oppressed peoples, this congress would never have been possible. (Storms of applause. The delegates rising from their seats and singing the “Internationale”.)

With this the congress was declared at an end.

International Press Correspondence, widely known as”Inprecorr” was published by the Executive Committee of the Communist International (ECCI) regularly in German and English, occasionally in many other languages, beginning in 1921 and lasting in English until 1938. Inprecorr’s role was to supply translated articles to the English-speaking press of the International from the Comintern’s different sections, as well as news and statements from the ECCI. Many ‘Daily Worker’ and ‘Communist’ articles originated in Inprecorr, and it also published articles by American comrades for use in other countries. It was published at least weekly, and often thrice weekly.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/international/comintern/inprecor/1927/v07n16-feb-25-1927-inprecor-op.pdf