Foundation of the ISL is A Historical Step Forward- V.U. Arslan

The decision of the unification of socialists in Barcelona Conference, which was on May 24-27, is a historical step forward.  While the crisis of imperialist capitalist system is deepening and the class struggle is rising all over the World, unification of the socialists or at least organizing an unified energetic movement is the main task for the revolutionary socialists. Unfortunately, sectarianism in national and international level has become a chronic disease. As a result, the task for the rise of the class struggle fall victim to this fruitless competitiveness and sectarianism. This caused the rise of pessimism and pacifism.

This problem also shows itself in internationalist struggle. Division and resolution for long years caused ineffectiveness of left in class struggle. ISL is the candidate to reverse this trend. Because ISL is based on a completely different form of organization. We can tell proudly that SEP  played an essential role in launching of the ISL.  In addition to this internationalist task, SEP will continue to make every effort for forming the unified struggle of the socialist left in Turkey.

The Composition of the ISL

Some organisations consist of the ISL are that Argentina (MST- Movimiento Socialista de los Trabajadores), Brasil (Alternativa Socialista), Chile (Movimiento Anticapitalista), Venezuela (Marea Socialista), Spain (SOL- Socaliamo y Libertad), France (La Commune), Uruguay (Rumbo Socialista), Paraguay (Alternativa Socialista) and SEP-Socialist Labourers’ Party. In additon, revolutionary socialists of Greece, Colombia, Nicaragua, Ukraine and Belarussia are the sections of the ISL which are in process of building of their organisations. Lastly, The Struggle , which is the most important revolutionary socialist organisation in Pakistan, declared that it reached an agreement on principle with the ISL. We will hold meetings to formalisation of the ISL membership.  In addition, we hope that the discussions with revolutionary socialists organisations from Lebanon, Russia and Australia will result in success and ISL will stand on with expansion.

There is an emergent need for an international organisation that will unite the struggles, inspire the working class and the youth, and advance Marxism as the guide again all over the World. The ISL is born for this.  The task is to make revolutionary socialism a challenging  alternative for the class struggle of the World.

What makes ISL unique?

The first important feature of the ISL is that it consist of the dynamic and effective parties of Argentina, Pakistan, Turkey and some other countries. The second and the most important characteristics of the ISL that makes is unique is its practice of a new organizational form. For long years, the understanding of an international organization of the revolutionary Marxist movement required the composition of the sections that are all must have the same position in every details on organizational questions, historical discussions or the current political and theoretical issues. This model is actually built around a dominant mother party that command the other organizations strictly with a bureaucratic centralist form. However, in the absence of historical leaders like Lenin ant Trotsky who leaded  the 3^rd and the 4^th International, this strict centralization caused many problems and splits.  Another consequences of this national mother party model is a national perspective dictated by the mother party. Thus, other socialist parties, which claim themselves as the center of a world party, built their international organizations with the organizations similar to themselves. This perspective causes a fierce competition between different international organizations that are all cease to prevail each other. As a result, a sectarian international tradition was born that is also vulnerable against splits.  Experiences of the decades showed that this method gets nowhere.

It was very clear that finding another method to build an international has been a revolutionary task. The SEP defends a method of a flexible organization to unite the real fractions ,which are acting in concert ,around certain revolutionary principles instead of  small group divisions around a mother partyA new revolutionary organizational model in which there are organizations having some partial differences is also is a ground for revolutionary discussions, critics and a common action. If needed, nobody would hesitate to separate under this model. In this way, a new international, which claims being the real party of world revolution, depending on a democratic centralism would be a product of this harmony. The ISL has great a great opportunity to concretize this task and a potential to be an attraction pole because it furthers new participations.  The ISL will attract revolutionary socialist organizations all over the world as it tolerates the partial differences and it does not depend on a bureaucratic centralism. After the discussions about programmatic principles with those organizations, membership to the ISL would realize. Thus,  new international has the capacity to intervene the class struggle effectively. We hope that the ISL will achieve to be an alternative for the laborers and the youth.

An Urgent Agenda

Now, it is the time to raise the struggle with strong campaigns for the ISL. We have the opportunity to learn from different experiences with the exchange of the militants. We will organize International summer education camps, joint conferences, activities and congress considering the fact that internationalism is essential in order to get beyond national limits and develop new cadres. Internationalist struggle is the best way to build powerful and consistent organizations not only on international level but also on national level.  There are the tasks before us that organizing new sections and rising solidarity with the revolutionary socialist organizations, which are outside of the ISL.

There is a busy agenda before us. Ali Wazir, who is one of the leaders of The Struggle, our Pakistani comrades, imprisoned because he is leading oppressed Pashtun people in fighting against Peştun Jihadist fanatics and bourgeois state. Therefore, the first international campaign of the ISL is for the freedom for Ali Wazir and solidarity with Pakistani comrades. Another issue that the ISL tries to intervene is the Northern African revolutions led by Algeria and Sudan.  Of course, without having national sections there, intervention to the processes is not possible but we have the possibility to reach the laborers and the youth that are suffering from a revolutionary political perspective. In addition, there is an emergent need for an international campaign against the imperialist forces that support the bloody coup d’état in Sudan. The massacres in Sudan is not even visible in the imperialist media. Other issues of the international revolutionary struggle are global economic crisis, rise of the far right, refugees, ecological destruction, imperialist interventions and wars. And, the wave of class struggle such as Yellow Vests in France that should be seen as a manifestation of a great potential.  Lastly, women movement made a breakthrough all over the world that revolutionary socialists should intervene in.

Conclusion

It is obvious that revolutionary socialist movement is in a deadlock all over the world. With a very pessimist approach, some claims that “ we cannot explain the deadlock independent of the class movement.” In other words, they put the blame of the on regression of class struggle. However, we cannot claim that class struggle in a regression homogeneously all over the world. On the contrary, in some countries, class struggle is extremely powerful such as France. In the case of Yellow Vests, laborers organize spontaneous powerful struggles. But, socialist organizations losing power on the contrary to this massive movement. This is also the same for the USA. An we can Latin America and Greece add to the list. Nobody can put the blame on the laborers ignoring the organizational failures. A revolutionary explanation for this problem is that the understanding of those tendencies consist of  tailism to reformists,  dogmatism, pacifism and conformism. Building an revolutionary organization with this problems is impossible.

At this point, the ISL tries to materialize the unity of revolutionary socialists based on a class independent position. The ISL is challenging the deadlock in left and marking a new epoch.