Meeting in Berlin, the leadership of the League Against Imperialism and for National Independence discusses the work of the organization and its sections, youth, and national minorities in Europe, as well as elections to its bodies.
‘Meeting of the Executive Committee of the League Against Imperialism’ from International Press Correspondence. Vol. 11 No. 31. June 11, 1931.
The meeting of the Executive of the League Against Imperialism and for National Independence was held in Berlin from May 30th to June 2nd. Representatives of all the most important national sections of the League were present. Representatives of the oppressed nations and national minorities in Europe were also invited to this meeting. In all there were 46 persons present: 15 from the colonial countries, 15 from the oppressed nations and national minorities, 11 from other countries, and 4 from various organisations. Among the representatives were 12 young people. The following agenda was dealt with:
1. Report of the International Secretariat on the work and the position of the League against Imperialism since the Frankfurt Congress.
2. Reports of the national sections.
3. Youth report.
4. Emancipation fight of the oppressed peoples and national minorities of Europe.
In his report on the activity of the International Secretariat Münzenberg, the General Secretary, called attention to the shortcomings in the work up to now and to the weaknesses in the various countries particularly in France. He gave a general survey of the situation in the colonial and dependent countries and especially characterised the effects of the international economic crisis in sharpening the situation and promoting the fights of the colonial peoples for emancipation. He then reported in detail on the work of the International Secretariat and of the most important sections of the League in the last two years. A result of the intensification of the anti-imperialist struggles and the difficulties connected therewith has been that, shortly after the Frankfurt Congress, a number of persons hitherto connected with the League, such as Maxton, Fimmen, Nehru and Hatta, deserted the fighting front and showed themselves to be direct helpers and agents of imperialism. The Executive must plainly declare through its decisions that there is no place in the League for such people, and must also draw the organisational consequences. In dealing further with the tasks of the League Münzenberg emphasised, among other things, the necessity of a real turn to mass work, of direct work in the colonies and other countries, of issuing an international League periodical. An important advance of the League is the extension of its sphere of work by the inclusion of the fight of the oppressed nations of the national minorities in Europe in its programme and in its practical activity.
Vlachoff (Macedonia), speaking on the resolution submitted on this question, gave the more important facts regarding the oppressed peoples and national minorities of Europe.
Reports on the position of the anti-imperialist movement were delivered by representatives from India, China, Indo- China, Indonesia, the Negro districts of Africa, and South America. All speakers from the colonies expressed the sympathy of the colonial masses for the Soviet Union,
The discussion on the national question was participated in by representatives of Western White Russia and West Ukrainia from Poland, representatives of the German, Slovak and Hungarian national minorities in Czechoslovakia, of the Hungarian national minorities in Transylvania (Rumania) as well as representatives of Macedonia, Thrace, Dobruja, Croatia and Albania.
The report delivered by the former president of the West Ukrainian Republic, Dr. Petruchevitch, on conditions in the Western Ukraine, of the terror exercised by the Polish authorities, on the policy of France and the strategical measures in preparations for war on the frontiers of the Soviet Union made a great impression. Dr. Petruchevitch, as did other representatives of national minorities, welcomed the plan of the League Against Imperialism to connect the fight against imperialism in the colonies with the fight for the emancipation of the oppressed peoples and national minorities in Europe, and placed himself and his organisation fully and entirely on the platform and at the service of the League.
The two main resolutions, the political and national, were adopted unanimously. The political resolution sharply condemns the role of the so-called Left social democrats such as Maxton and Fimmen, and also of the Left nationalists such as Jawaharlal Nehru and Hatta. The Executive confirmed the decision of the English Section which expelled Maxton, it declares that Fimmen, by his attitude, has placed himself outside of the League and also welcomes the decision of the Perhimpoenan of Indonesia, which on their own initiative recalled their representative Hatta. The resolution states that Jawaharlal Nehru has become a traitor to the cause of the emancipation of the people of India from the British imperialist yoke; it stigmatises his desertion into the camp of counter-revolution before the broad masses of India and expels him from its ranks. At the same time the Executive Committee of the League against Imperialism warns the fighters for national freedom of India against the manoeuvres aiming at deceiving and causing confusion which will be undoubtedly commenced by Nehru, Bose, Roy and the rest of the Left nationalists who have become agents of British imperialism, and calls upon all anti-imperialist fighters in India, over the heads of the treacherous leaders of the National Congress, to join the League Against Imperialism.
A number of other resolutions were then adopted, including protests against the persecution of revolutionaries in Persia, against the death sentences on nine Negroes in the United States, against the death sentences passed on the Croat nationalists in Yugoslavia, against the shooting of four Hungarian land workers in Kossuth in Czechoslovakia, against the arrest of Chinese students in Japan, as well as resolutions on the tasks of the Sport organisations in the anti-imperialist struggle and for the Spartakiade, for support of and mutual collaboration with the International Red Aid and the Workers International Relief.
In conclusion, further members were elected to the leading bodies of the League, partly in place of those who had been expelled, and partly in order to give representation to the oppressed peoples and national minorities.
The following were elected to the General Council:
1. Anastasow (Macedonia), 2. Gopal Basak (Meerut-India), 3. C. Lano (Albania), 4. Jim Larkin Jun. (Ireland), 5. A. Mesta (Thrace), 6. Nzula (South Africa), 7. G. Padmore (West Indies).
The following were elected to the Executive:
1. Robert Dunn (U.S.A.), 2. Abdulmadjid (Indonesia), 3. Hamdi el Husseini (Arab countries), 4. Chatterjee (India), 5. Dr. Petruchevitch (Western Ukrainia), 6. Sadi (Arab countries), 7. Ratan Singh (India), 8. Vlachoff (Macedonia).
The meeting ended with concluding speeches by Bridgeman and Münzenberg.
In connection with the meeting of the Executive there also took place a conference of the Youth comrades present, at which the concrete tasks of the Youth work, especially in England and Indonesia, were dealt with.
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/1931/v11n31-jun-11-1931-inprecor.pdf
