SYRIZA: Third Party of Greek Capitalism

SYRIZA: THIRD PARTY OF GREEK CAPITALISM!     SOCIAL DEMOCRACY CANNOT SAVE EUROPE.  FOR WORKERS’ RULE!

04-02-15  It only lasted a few hours. Within that time, SYRIZA – the “Coalition of the Radical Left”, which had won the majority of votes in the January 25 elections, began negotiations with the Independent Greeks (ANEL), in order to form a capitalist government. ANEL are an ultra-nationalist, xenophobic anti-immigrant party of the far right. SYRIZA, which began as a split from the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), has now morphed into a classical social democratic formation, which has been moving steadily rightwards since 2012. Despite constantly employing all kinds of anti-austerity, social justice and progressive rhetoric, SYRIZA has been at pains to assure the Greek and European ruling class that its administration will pose no danger to their wealth and power. The unprincipled manoeuvre with ANEL was a part of this.  The Greek working class, which has endured 5 years of horrific attacks on what remains of their living standards, and remain in a precarious situation, are offered only crumbs from SYRIZA.  Despite this, many Greek workers see little other option, and have cast a vote for SYRIZA in vain hope.

Social democracy is never the correct option for the working class, but it is a positively dangerous option in times when capitalism is looking for ways to contain and prevent the workers from moving towards taking state power themselves. Social democracy, i.e. using the capitalist state to redistribute wealth, will not be able to improve the living and working conditions at this historical juncture, when world capitalism finds itself mired in the worst economic crisis it has endured, perhaps ever. It is not an option for the capitalist rulers now, as it was, for example, in the post Second World War period. Then, with the massive destruction of human and physical capital as a result of the war, AND with the counterweight of the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc – the Western capitalist ruling classes felt they had no option but to deliver a form of “welfare state” for workers – relatively free healthcare, education and social security generally. Moreover, wartime destruction meant that capital was able to expand rapidly in that time, ultimately causing a labour shortage, and thus plentiful employment. Yet even these conditions only lasted until the mid-1970s, when world capitalism began once again to enter recession like conditions. Since then, to varying degrees, the workers in the capitalist West have endured some level of austerity. 

The austerity that Greek workers have endured is, of course, much more drastic since 2009. Yet it is a mistake to believe that the classical period of social democracy  - the post Second World War period – can now be revived, or that social democratic policies can simply be put in place by a more “left” government, such as one led by SYRIZA.  For one thing, the devastation of workers’ living conditions in Greece caused by a decrepit capitalist system has led to the rapid growth of the fascist Golden Dawn. Golden Dawn is now the third largest party in the Greek parliament, and has well known support amongst the police and armed forces. Between 40 and 50 per cent of police officers are said to have voted for Golden Dawn at the last two elections. If SYRIZA does not deliver on its anti-austerity rhetoric, the resultant despair could well lead to Greek workers turning towards fascism. After all, it was the failure of social democracy in Germany in the 1920s that was a huge factor in the coming to power of the Nazis – who are the historical idols of Golden Dawn. This dangerous scenario is now more likely given that Panos Kammenos of the ANEL, has been appointed Defence Minister by SYRIZA.

Perhaps the central issue in relation to the austerity measures brought against the working class, is membership of the European Union (EU). The infamous troika of the EU, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), have been the initiators of the unrelenting savagery against workers on behalf of capital. The EU is essentially a capitalist trading bloc which is used for intra-ruling class backing for the suppression of workers all over Europe. This intra-capitalist state is the mortal enemy of the workers of Europe, and indeed the world. Yet SYRIZA fully backs the EU, and thoroughly rejects the notion of leaving or resigning from it. It is the case that SYRIZA questions German leadership of the EU, but it goes on to uphold the fantasy that the EU can be “democratised”, or made to work in the interests of the less affluent southern European states. Greece’s debt to the EU, which has been accumulated by the capitalist state attempting to prop up ailing Greek businesses, stands at around 300 million Euro. This debt, which previous New Democracy (ND) and PASOK (Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement) attempted to lump on Greek workers, has not been accumulated by workers and therefore should not be paid by workers.  Yet Yanis Varoufakis, the new SYRIZA Finance Minister, rejects any suggestion that they will seek to write off even half of Greece’s debt. He declared “…there won’t be a duel between us and the EU….there won’t be any threats.” 

SYRIZA Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis in a warm embrace with the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Christine Legarde. The IMF, along with the European Union (EU) and the European Central Bank (ECB) comprise the hated Troika – the architects of austerity and mass misery for Greek workers. SYRIZA claim to be against the Troika and against austerity, while at the same time working with parts of the Troika to implement austerity with minor alterations.

Varoufakis has form. He wrote an op-ed for the New York Times with James K Galbraith in 2013. In it, he wrote that if SYRIZA was elected “nothing vital would change for the United States”. He went on: “SYRIZA doesn’t intend to leave NATO or close American military bases”.  This says all that needs to be said about the international outlook of SYRIZA – not so much “all the way with LBJ” but all the way with the US Empire. Unfortunately, this position in an op-ed was effectively put into practice within a few days of SYRIZA’s election “victory”. After initially sounding some caution, SYRIZA folded and voted for extended EU sanctions on Russia. That is, SYRIZA is effectively standing with the illegal fascist Kiev government, which is backed by the US, Germany and NATO against the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics as well as Russia. This is at a time when the US is openly discussing arming the Nazi Kiev government to the tune of 3 billion dollars – or the amount they are admitting to. Yet for SYRIZA, the prospect of world war is less important than its loyalty to the capitalist EU.

SYRIZA supporters hail its “Thessaloniki Program” as evidence of its commitment to break with the austerity imposed on Greece over the last six years. In reality, the Thessaloniki Program barely chips away at the house of horrors Greek workers have endured. According to the Greek Centre for Progressive Policy Research, 62.5 billion Euro worth of austerity measures were dumped on Greece from 2010 to 2014. However, SYRIZA’s Thessaloniki Program only proposes to spend 1.8 billion Euro of the 11.3 billion Euro total cost of the program on “confronting the social catastrophe”. This will barely reach the millions of Greek workers, pensioners and unemployed as a result of the capitalist onslaught. What is more, SYRIZA leaders are already backing away from the extremely modest proposals contained in their program. On January 26, SYRIZA Central Committee member Stathis Kouvelakis wrote that “the financing plan set out in the Thessaloniki Program was based on very over optimistic estimates (or even simply wrong ones).” This is the social-democratic program that SYRIZA was elected on – and already it is preparing to water it down!  This should put paid to any notion that SYRIZA are somehow in a different category to the usual parliamentary parties.

Here in Australia, some left parties have been falling over themselves to opportunistically make mileage out of the SYRIZA election win – despite its alliance with the ultra-right. Most prominent amongst these are the Socialist Alliance and Socialist Alternative. These organisations do not appear to see any contradiction between claiming adherence to Marxism on the one hand, and building political support internationally for the clearly electoralist and liberal methods and aims of SYRIZA on the other. “SYRIZA is Greek for hope”, proclaims the Socialist Alliance. Yet “hope” is precisely why many Greek workers have cast a vote for SYRIZA – they “hope”, as a last resort, that SYRIZA may do something which may alleviate their suffering. It’s not as if it’s a vote of confidence or a ringing endorsement. And if SYRIZA insist on staying within the capitalist EU at all costs, it will be virtually impossible to seriously curtail any of the austerity measures. Likewise Socialist Alternative has hailed the SYRIZA victory as a “stunning victory for the left”. Their sister organisation, the Internationalist Workers Left (DEA), works within SYRIZA, as part of the “Left Platform”. So in a sense it is bound to talk up SYRIZA, while making some suggestions about continuing the struggle to retain left credibility. Yet from all reports within Greece, it is not uncontroversial to refer to SYRIZA as a reformist party – people on the ground there experience this. 

The KKE correctly criticise the liberal reformism of SYRIZA, and their electoral slogan “Don’t trust SYRIZA” has proven to be remarkably apt. Yet while the KKE have refused to join this bourgeois government with SYRIZA, they have in the past, and indeed they hold the local administration of the port city of Patras. ANTARSYA – the coalition of the anti-capitalist left, also correctly criticise SYRIZA for not being anti-capitalist, but also want to act as a left pressure group on SYRIZA. There may be an organisation in Greece which is attempting to form a group or a party based on Marxist-Leninism, which fights for workers’ rule by organising workers to seize state power. In any case, this should be the central aim. In the meantime, we would suggest that Marxist-Leninists continue to recruit to their own banner, while attempting to drive a class struggle perspective forward in the current period. 

The lessons for workers internationally should be clear. SYRIZA’s rapid sell outs – forming government with an ultra-right party, voting for sanctions on Russia, proceeding with the privatisation of the port of Piraeus – on top of pledging allegiance to the EU and NATO – once again demonstrate the folly of the call for a “government of the left”. A capitalist government, even with a “left” one led by SYRIZA, will be incapable of seriously addressing the dire needs of Greek workers. Indeed, the call for a “government of the left” is a call for a new capitalist government. Waiting for a reformist government to deliver reforms is like waiting for increased funding for the fire department while your house is burning down. Instead, workers need to push aside all liberals, and fight directly for state power. No trust in social democracy! For workers’ rule in Europe!

MARXIST-LENINIST FRONT

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No Support for Fascism in Ukraine

NO SUPPORT FOR FASCISM IN UKRAINE! US/AUST/NATO OUT OF EASTERN EUROPE! NO WAR WITH RUSSIA! DEFEND NOVOROSSIYA! VICTORY TO THE ANTI-FASCIST RESISTANCE!

The hypocrisy could not be more stark. The US government has for at least four years, armed, trained and funded barbaric fundamentalists in an attempt to overthrow the Syrian Arab Republic, in the form of ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) and the ultra-reactionary FSA (“Free Syrian Army” – 80% of which is not Syrian). Yet it has the gall to accuse Russia of arming and backing Eastern Ukrainians, who are defending themselves against the murderous onslaught of an ultra-nationalist, fascist infested, neo-Nazi government installed via an illegal coup backed by the US government and NATO powers on February 22 last year. Here in Australia, Liberal PM Tony Abbott and ALP “Opposition” leader Bill Shorten, have been united in threatening war against Russia, while politically backing the fascist-infested Ukrainian government.  As Australia does not have the size to combat the Russian armed forces, these moves seem designed to press the US to go to war against Russia, whereby Australia would quickly join in. This repeats the pattern of the Vietnam War, where the Australian government then was more belligerent than the US with regard to starting hostilities. Abbott and Shorten have claimed, without a shred of evidence, that the anti-fascist resistance in the East of Ukraine shot down Malaysian Airlines flight MH17, using Russian supplied weapons. In fact, all evidence available so far, points to a conclusion that Ukrainian government fighter jets shot down MH17 from behind, trailing behind them in the open sky.

Again and again, the Western corporate media baldly state that Russia “annexed” Crimea.  The implication is clear – “annexation” is most prominently used to describe such acts as the Nazi Adolf Hitler’s real annexation of the Sudetenland prior to the official start of World War II, which is, according to them, comparable to Russia and Crimea today. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is ironic that the West uses allusions to the Nazis when real Nazis are part of the illegal fascist coup government occupying Kiev, which they support. In fact, a referendum was held in Crimea on March 16, soon after the fascist Maidan coup in Kiev. The result was arguably more overwhelming  than any referendum in history. Crimeans were given two choices: 1. Reunification with Russia with rights as federated republic, or 2. The restoration of the 1992 constitution which states that Crimea is a part of Ukraine. The results were that 96.77% of Crimeans voted for reunification with Russia, with an 83.1% turnout.  This almost universal decision reflects the fact that Crimeans are almost entirely ethnically Russian and/or Russian speaking. But this is not the type of democracy that is accepted by US imperialism, and certainly not Australia as a junior partner.

On the contrary, the Abbott government, with the support of the ALP and the Greens, have moved to establish an embassy in Kiev, and has been sending “non-lethal” aid to the Ukrainian coup government. Abbott mentioned that he was pleased that Australia’s flag would be flying alongside that of Ukraine’s, an indicator that a government where Nazis occupy ministerial posts is just the type that the Australian ruling class wishes to be associated with. Abbott further announced that uranium sales to Russia had been suspended.

Left: Alexander Zakharchenko takes an oath as Prime Minister of the Donetsk Peoples Republic.

In response to the war being unleashed by the US/EU/NATO backed coup government against “rebels” in the East of Ukraine, the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk have been established. Often referred to as “separatists”, the resistance in the East of Ukraine is in reality an anti-fascist resistance, which has taken the step to declare independence simply as an act of self-defence. It is false to assert, as the US and AUST governments do endlessly, that Russia is assisting the anti-fascist resistance in the East, or is actually preparing to invade Ukraine. Russia, as the case of Crimea, is simply acting to protect its territory despite extreme provocation from NATO, supported on the ground by domestic fascists. These fascists have a history, going back to the Second World War, where followers of Stepan Bandera were formed into a militia in collaboration with the Nazi Wehrmacht, in order to fight against the then Soviet Union.

Alexander Zakharchenko takes an oath as Prime Minister of the Donetsk Peoples Republic.

In fact, the whole crisis in Ukraine now is a direct result of the counter-revolution which destroyed the Soviet Union in 1991. Ukraine has never been able to restore the standard of living, the jobs or the security achieved since the destruction of socialism. This is not to say that there were no political issues for working class citizens of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, for there certainly were. However those problems pale in comparison with the social devastation wrought by the restoration of capitalism around 23 years ago.

While there are some within the leadership of the resistance in the East of Ukraine who have anti-Semitic, pro-Russian nationalist or even pro-Tsarist views, this is not the case for the whole of the anti-fascist resistance, nor the whole of the population. In fact, they would not be able to garner the support they have if they were. It is a contradiction, but the fact is that the anti-fascist resistance is stalling the advance of NATO, and thus hampering the plans of US imperialism, with its overall goal of the overthrow of Russia. It is for this reason that workers here, and internationally, need to stand with the anti-fascist resistance in Donetsk, Lugansk and elsewhere it may exist in Ukraine – and stand against the relentless advance of US imperialism, spearheaded by NATO. Potential world war is lurking in the shadows of this latest conflict, which is ultimately driven by the perilous state of the world capitalist economy.

5400 people have perished so far in the war led by the fascist US backed Kiev “government” against the Donbass region. Many of these have simply been bombed to death in their houses or in the streets of their home towns.  This horrific toll has horrified Ukrainians in the West as well as in the East. The website newcoldwar.org in fact details the extent to which Ukrainians are opposed to the war. The ultra-nationalist Kiev regime has attempted to conscript large numbers of Ukrainian men into the army to wage war on the East. Yet the Kiev junta has little basis of social support, apart from the fascist Nazi thugs who form the terror militias. As a consequence, there has been ongoing acts of draft resistance, demonstrations, and some riots, including some led by women. Some Ukrainians are literally packing up and moving to Russia to avoid the draft. This is the supreme irony, given that the coup junta as well as the United States are claiming, without a shred of evidence, that Russian troops and tanks are moving into Ukraine!

This lack of social or working class support for the NATO backed Kiev junta, together with  the heroic resistance of the Donbass region, has meant that the US led war has largely been defeated. The Donetsk and Lugansk Peoples Republics have been fighting with a volunteer force, and it has proven to be superior in battle to a largely conscript Kiev army which does not really want to be there, let alone in a war. In response, Washington politicians have been openly discussing arming the Nazi Kiev regime with $3 billion dollars worth of heavy weaponry.  It is needless to say that if this occurs, Russia will not simply be able to stand idly by. At its worst, it could lead to nuclear war. There are many who claim that nuclear war between the world’s most powerful states is impossible due to the sheer self-destruction on all sides that would result. Yet this view does not take into account the fact that the world’s capitalist ruling classes have no plan, and are not able to re-start a stalling capitalism, which is wretched and in its most dire predicament in its history. They are more than capable of risking everything to preserve their power, or bring about almost total destruction – which would perversely provide a stimulus for profit based production.

Recently German leader Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande met with Russian President Putin in Moscow, in an attempt to head off full scale war. On February 6 the UK Guardian reported that the Europeans are almost universally opposed to the arming of the Ukrainian government, fearing it would lead to full scale war. Moreover, they feel that if there was to be a war with Russia right now, Russia would win. This does not mean that German and French imperialism are for peace, whereas the US is for war. It merely means that German and French imperialism share the same aims, but want to employ different methods to bring Russia to heel. The meeting was evidence of a minor split between European and US imperial interests.

Here in Australia, to our knowledge, there has been no active opposition to the war on Russia via Ukraine, by leftist parties or others. Unfortunately, most left parties here hold the extremely erroneous view that Russia is an imperialist state, and therefore cannot be defended. Some other left parties do defend Russia from the main imperialists – the US and Europe – but do so only on paper, while doing nothing in action. This must be rectified. The Marxist-Leninist Front is prepared to work alongside all those who want to avoid an aggressive war by the NATO powers against Russia via Ukraine – a war which will almost certainly be a world war. 

The prevention of a shooting war would be an immense relief to the working people of the Ukraine, Russia, Europe and the world. However, the main driving factor of this potential war remains – the dire economic crisis of capitalism. Only the socialist states – China, Vietnam, the DPRK, Cuba and Laos – whose economies have been removed from the capitalist orbit – are more or less safe from this crisis. But that cannot last if the world is once again plunged into World War. The only way to take world war permanently off the table is the overthrow of capitalism via the workers seizing state power and initiating the rule of labour over capital. This task will be especially necessary in the industrialised countries of Europe, the United States, Canada, Japan and Australia. This task requires the urgent forging of Marxist vanguard parties, with all the national peculiarities these formations may entail.

In the meantime, we suggest that some of the demands that the workers must put forward should be:  NO SUPPORT FOR FASCISM IN UKRAINE! NO AUSTRALIAN “AID” TO KIEV! NO WAR WITH RUSSIA! LIFT THE SANCTIONS! VICTORY TO THE ANTI-FASCIST RESISTANCE! DEFEND NOVOROSSIYA, THE DONBASS, THE DONETSK AND LUGANSK PEOPLES REPUBLICS!

MARXIST-LENINIST FRONT

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Invasion Day 2015

CHANGE THE NAME, CHANGE THE DATE! JAN 26 IS INVASION DAY! FOR A WORKERS’ REPUBLIC!

Another January 26 rolls around, and once again the Australian ruling class and their scribes attempt to wheedle us into “celebrating” the alleged national day, complete with a public holiday. Yet in 2015, this cruel game is wearing thin. The Aboriginal people, the original owners and custodians of the land that is now known as Australia, continue to endure a horrific oppression, the likes of which even the United Nations has been moved to condemn. Aboriginal deaths in custody continue to occur, incarceration rates of Aboriginal people are increasing, Aboriginal children continue to be stolen by state government departments from their families, access to decent health care, education and employment remain at chronically low levels, and the gap in life expectancy with non-indigenous Australians remains at close to two decades. For Aboriginal people, January 26 was the beginning of all of these crimes, and much else besides.

There is no reason why Australia’s national day cannot be changed to another day on the calendar, so it does not remain as a permanent insult to Aboriginal people, on top of all the other injustices perpetrated against them. Of course, if this demand was won, all of the other crimes could easily continue. The ultimate cause of Aboriginal oppression, along with the oppression of all working people in this country, is the existence of Australian capitalism, which rests on the land which was originally stolen from the Aboriginal people. This is why it is in the interests of workers here to join with indigenous Australians to demand that the full sovereignty of the indigenous people be recognised, and immediate measures be taken to redress over two centuries of discrimination. The Unions should be leading this effort, winning support from the majority of workers for the fullest justice for indigenous people. For workers, this will entail a political struggle against conservative Union leaders, who in most cases are too materially tied into the capitalist system to make even token gestures. An example of what is possible occurred in 1996, when Unionists came to the aid of Aboriginal protesters marching against the Howard Government in Canberra. 

While some gains can be made for Aboriginal people when linked to a pro-working class political movement, and these should be striven for, workers and Aboriginal people should harbour no illusions about the nature of the capitalist state. Most people are aware that the push for “Constitutional Recognition”, even if it happens, will ultimately just be words on paper, and if nothing changes, will be disingenuous words at that. Yet we should also be aware that other demands, while not as overtly as “Constitutional Recognition”, are also demands calling for the reform of the capitalist state, as if the state that carried out the genocide against Aboriginal people can somehow be convinced to change its genetic make up. For example, the call for a Royal Commission. The most well known Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, which produced its findings in 1992, came up with hundreds of recommendations, barely any of which were ever implemented. It ultimately served to give cover to the ruling class, which could then feign concern. Further calls now for Royal Commissions, or for official inquiries, or for “community control of policing”, end up serving the same aims. They provide an alibi for the state which protects a super-wealthy minority at the expense of all working people, a state which needs racism to function.

Socialist states, on the other hand, not only have no need to foster racism, they have an active interest in taking all possible measures to stamp it out. The unity of the working class required for building socialism means that divisions not only harms those discriminated against, but also hinders the building of a collective society with justice for all. The Republic of Cuba has taken enormous strides towards the elimination of racism on its shores since its socialist revolution in 1959. Pre-revolution, Afro-Cubans lived in a state of segregation, unable to access some beaches, but also concentrated in the lowest paid jobs, when there were any. The revolution brought the Proclamation Against Racism, and major affirmative action programs in an attempt to fully integrate Afro-Cubans, in a nation with a history of slavery. The former Soviet Union, from the first day of its founding, declared the equality of all races, and later was noted for allowing many from Third World countries, including Africans, to live and study at Soviet Universities. The counterrevolutionary destruction of the former USSR, however, undid all of this and it saw racism flare to the dangerous level it is today.

Indigenous fighter Gary Foley toured the People’s Republic of China in 1974, and was greatly impressed by, amongst other things, the autonomy for national minorities, and a felt absence of racism. The socialist states thus point the way to a permanent solution for justice for Aboriginal people, and the first strides towards the elimination of racism. The oppression of the first Australians is thus bound up with the oppression of the working class as it struggles to free itself, through the efforts for the seizure of state power, and the establishment of a workers’ republic. Only then can Aboriginal people and workers together form a union on an equal basis, against a common foe – the capitalist class. Indispensable for this task is the forging of a vanguard party based on Marxist-Leninism, the vehicle that prepares for the rule of the workers, the first step on the road to socialism. End the suffering of Aborigines and workers! For a workers’ republic!

MARXIST-LENINIST FRONT

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Constitution of the Marxist-Leninist Front

Constitution of the Marxist-Leninist Front

Preamble:

The Marxist-Leninist Front (MLF) is a socialist organisation, whose central aim is the overthrow of capitalism and the building of a classless society on a worldwide basis. It aims to establish a workers’ republic of Australia, however this goal is subordinate to the progress of the class struggle of the international proletariat. The central task to enable the realisation of these aims is the construction of a revolutionary workers’ party based on Marxist-Leninism.

The MLF operates on the basis of democratic centralism, the organisation form pioneered by the Bolshevik party of Lenin before, during and after the October Revolution of 1917. Amongst other things, democratic centralism means that members have the right to internally discuss all issues in relation to the work of the organisation, the right to put forward proposals, and to have them voted on. It also means that the decisions arrived at by the organisation by majority vote should be carried out by all members to the best of their ability. 

The MLF is an organisation centred on political action, and is therefore not a discussion or debating club. Discussion and debate takes place in order to facilitate action. This does not undermine the necessity for discussion and debate in order to arrive at a political position, or to come to a decision. We are confident that workers will understand the need for these and other similar organisational measures.

Article 1. Name

The name of the organisation shall be the Marxist-Leninist Front.

Article 2. Aims

(a)  The aim of the MLF is the abolition of the capitalist order on a worldwide basis, and the building of a classless, socialist society.

(b)  This will require the establishment of a workers’ republic, or workers’ state, in Australia. However, this aim is subordinate to the overall goal of world socialism.

Article 3. Membership

(a)  Any person who is resident in Australia, or is staying for a period of time, which agrees with the constitution, and is willing to work towards its aims, shall be eligible for membership of the organisation.

(b) Each applicant for membership of the organisation shall undergo a period of provisional membership. Provisional membership will continue up to a maximum of 12 months, during which time other members can assess the suitability of the applicant for full membership, based on their activity for the organisation, and the development of their political understanding.

(c)  Provisional members will have the rights and obligations of full members. Provisional members have full speaking rights during all meetings. However, provisional members do not have the right to move motions or to vote in meetings.

Article 4. Rights and Obligations

(a)  All members have the right to take part in discussions, to move motions, and to vote on proposals. 

(b) Members have the right to make comradely criticisms of the political decisions of the organisation, or of the actions of a particular member or members, in relation to the political tasks of the organisation. Where necessary, this should be done in the form of suggesting an alternative.

(c)  Members have the right to suggest a different course of action, or a different political orientation for the organisation.

(d) Members have the right to form political groupings or factions. However, the faction must be declared (i.e. secret factions are not allowed), and it must have a platform. The amount of time and resources devoted to factional political discussion shall be decided by the party as a whole.

(e)  Members have the obligation to be loyal to the organisation and its aims.

(f)   Members have the obligation to place all their political activity under the direction of the organisation, and to take part in the activity of the organisation to the best of their ability.

(g)  Members have the obligation to pay their dues.

(h) In general, the MLF does not accept dual membership. That is, membership of another political organisation as well as the MLF. An exception may be made in such cases as, for example, membership of an international political organisation.

Article 5. Rules of Procedure

(a)  All decisions are to be made by majority vote

(b) Votes are to be taken after an appropriate discussion has taken place, where all members have been given the opportunity to express their opinions on the proposal.

(c)  Votes are binding on all members, and members shall carry out the organisation’s decision to the best of their ability.

(d) All leaders and leadership bodies shall be accountable to the membership as a whole. They shall report to the membership all significant activities, plus other activities at the request of members.

(e)  A member shall be notified of a possible violation of the Constitution in the first instance, in writing.

(f)   If the membership finds a member guilty of having violated the constitution, the membership may administer one of the following:

1. Warning against repetition of the breach

2. Removal from an elected position

3. Suspension of voting rights and/or withdrawal of the right to attend meetings

4. Expulsion from the organisation

(g) A member has the right to appeal any disciplinary action taken against them, providing the appeal is received in writing within 21 days.

(h) The membership will meet and decide on the appeal within 28 days.

(i) The following standing orders shall apply to a meeting of members:

1. The meeting shall elect a chairperson and minute taker.

2. The chairperson shall read out the proposed agenda, and ask for any proposed amendments or additions to the agenda. If there are none, the agenda will be put to a vote. Amendments and additions will be discussed and voted on. Time limits for agenda items and reports may be applied. 

3. In general, a report to the meeting should include subsequent motions to adopt. This does not apply to educational or information only reports.

(4) Motions may be moved by any member, and do not require a seconder. The chairperson shall call for discussion on the motion, unless it is a case of a procedural motion to move straight to a vote, or discussion has already taken place during the agenda item.

(5) No member shall address the meeting who has not been awarded the call by the chairperson. The chairperson may rule out of order a speaker or a motion which they consider to be not addressing the agenda item at the time. In such a case, a procedural motion may be raised from the floor to dissent in the chairperson’s ruling. If carried by the meeting, this shall override the chairperson’s ruling.

(6) Except where a meeting decides otherwise, a procedural motion should be addressed by two speakers, one for and one against. 

(7) An amendment to a motion may be submitted during the meeting. If the amendment is accepted by the mover, the amendment is not voted on, but incorporated into the motion. If the mover rejects the amendment, the amendment shall be voted on before a vote is taken on the motion. If the meeting adopts the amendment, it shall be incorporated into the motion to be voted on.

Article 6. Leaders and leadership council

(a)  All leaders and leadership councils shall be elected by the membership. The members have the right to recall any leader or leadership council at any time, by majority vote. 

(b) Leaders and leadership councils may speak for, and make decisions on behalf of the organisation, in between meetings of members. However, leaders and leadership councils are always accountable to the members, who have the right to query any decision, any financial matter, and any document or publication of the organisation, and propose changes.