First Published: The Call, Vol. 5, No. 14, August 2, 1976.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
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The following is a report from the first meeting of the recently formed Organizing Committee for a Marxist-Leninist Party which was formed out of the May Unity Meeting.
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On July 17, 1976, the Organizing Committee for a Marxist-Leninist Party (OC) met in Chicago to decide on principles and guidelines for writing the draft program for the new party and to develop a policy toward Marxist-Leninists not participating in the OC at this time.
The OC was formed last May and is composed of one representative from each group which has joined the unity trend. The OC is responsible for drafting a program and constitution and establishing rules for the founding Congress of the new party. The OC recently issued a call, “Marxist-Leninists Unite,” which represents the views and principles of the unity trend.
The OC decided that “our program must be an indictment of US. imperialism and a declaration of war against it.” It must vividly and scientifically indicate the party’s views and aims while demonstrating the revolutionary essence of the U.S. working class and the inevitability of proletarian revolution here. It must be a concise statement of a fighting communist party.
In working on the draft program, many important political questions have already been raised. This initial discussion of the program revealed that it will be primarily through the program debate that the political line of the new party will be struggled out. All the draft sections of the program will be widely circulated in order to give all Marxist-Leninists the opportunity to write commentaries expressing their views on the political questions central to the development of the program. In this way we will sharpen and clarify our political differences and heighten our unity.
The OC established the policy of “walking the extra mile without giving up an inch in principles” to govern its liaison work. The OC stands for Marxist-Leninist unity. It is therefore our duty to unite all Marxist-Leninists on the basis of our call to unite – to “go out of our way” – to seek out Marxist-Leninists and unite with them. The more firmly we stand on our principles and the more diligently we seek to unite, the easier it will be to draw out and expose the opportunists in our movement and draw clear lines of demarcation with them.
The OC voted to accept the request of a recently formed Marxist-Leninist collective in San Diego to join the OC. It also decided to establish responsibility for liaison work on a regional basis and set plans for a nationwide speaking tour to begin next month.