Enclaves imperialism
Socialist Organiser1982 1982-09-02Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 7 →
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I READ Jette Kromann's letter ('An anti-colonial war' August 19) with a sigh of relief. Letters and discuss ions on this issue can never be too numerous, even considering that the war is long ended, in view of Socialist Organiser's totally erroneous position on it, and the serious implications in terms of developing the anti-colon¡al consciousness of the Brit. ish working class.
British: settlers on the Malvinas do not want self. determination' • themselves. They consider themselves part and parcel of Her Majesty's Kingdom, i.e. of its colonial, racist and reactionary tradition, and for that reason they do not want any independent form of relation either with Argentina, Latin America, Britain itself, or anybody else.
That is, they see themselves for what they are. an enclave and extension of British colonialism in the South Atlantic.
The argument that the inhabitants of the islands are not native Argentinians suppressed by British colonialism, but free-willed British "subjects, is absurd. The Malvinas inhabitants are not Argentinians precisely because colonial Britain expelled Argentinians from it by force in 1833. The whole devełopment of the conflict, at any point in history. is thus part of a colonial conflict Your position dar is the case in a Britist aDat at ties sun Ange mal megates ever thing that Lenin and Trotsky ever said on colonialism. war national independence, etc.
We must always before any conflict or war breaks out) support Argeatina, Guatemala or any other reactionary regime, ageinesi their own masters (Europeza and US imperialism).
This is part.. or at leas it should be - or the revole. tionary programme of say Trotskyist organisation. It does not even need disca ion, conditions. "ifs, when or 'in cases of...
Thus, we must eque. support Guatemala in claim to colonial Betize. regardless of the independent'. 'self-determined' regio Britain has established there with the support of its array. and no matter how reaction. ary and murderous the Guatthe "aggressor', who invaded emalan government. ' Who is whom and broke international laws said Lenin. the class-historical nature of asy war or conflict" • A lesson should be kart ed from this: just as for as Latin American Marxists the danger is to adopt positions based on a rationalisation of narrow petty bourgeois or bourgeois nationalistic ideo. logy, so for British Marvises the danger is to adopt posit. ions based on the rationalisa tion of a deeply ingrain colonial 'CONSCiORSAK which I have noticed, scal to affect even rendationny parties and mlitane Britain.
our first dun i a tack the colonial traditi and restares of yo cot Fil La tionaries trust your claims to represent the revolutionar will in your country.
(member of the Trotskyist Communist League of Chile)