I AROUND THE WORLD
International Viewpoint #262 December 1994
OBITUARY RAYMOND MOLINIER, who has died in Barcelona at the age of 90, was born in Paris to a poor family, joining the Young Communists in 1922. In May 1924 he was suspended from the French Communist Party (PCF) but was re-admitted in 1928. In 1929 he was one of the first militants to go to Turkey to establish links with Leon Trotsky, who had just been expelled from the Soviet Union. Later that year he signed, with other French Communists, including Pierre Frank and Alfred Rosmer, the call for the publication of an oppositional newspaper, la Verite. In 1930 he was finally expelled from the PCF and was one of the founders of the Communist League, becoming secretary for the Paris region.
At the same time he began to help build the international Trotskyist movement, visiting Greece, Hungary, Belgium, Spain and Austria. In 1934 he supported Trotsky's position of entry into the socialist parties. When this was adopted he became the spokesperson of the Bolshevik-Leninist Group, the Trotskyist tendency within the preSecond World War French Socialist Party (SFIO).
In 1935 the Trotskyists were expelled from SFIO. During the crisis which followed Molinier and Frank founded the weekly la Commune, aimed at regrouping revolutionary militants from different currents. It was actually a serious organisational rupture, supported at the beginning by the majority of adult militants within SFIO.
In 1936 the organisation founded by Molinier and Frank became the International Communist Party (PCI), but would disapppear two years later, following the entry of its members, save for its two main leaders, into the Socialist Workers' and Peasants' Party (PSOP)
In 1939 Molinier left France for Belgium. In October 1940 he went to Portugal, where for a year he helped European Trotskyist militants to find refuge in the United States.
In 1941 he left for Brazil. He went on to Argentina, living there for many years before returning to France in 1977. Not long before his death he had visited Argentina once more in the hope of again being able to carry out useful tasks for the movement, despite the increasing deterioration in his health.
To gain some idea of the role played by Molinier in the history of the interna36 tional Trotskyist movement, one need only look at the number of times his name is mentioned in Trotsky's works or in the post-war writings of different Latin American revolutionary organisations, not all members of the Fourth International.
Molinier was a controversial figure both in our own and the wider workers' movement, capable of attracting friendship and hatred in equal measure. No-one can deny, however, that whatever he did was always in what he believed to be the interests of the organisations of which he was a member.
Molinier's essential qualities were the doggedness of his convictions, maintained in the face of much adversity; his inextinguishable militant spirit; his generosity; and his selflessness. Livio Maitan *
EAST TIMOR LATEST reports from East Timor have exposed the Indonesian security — organising a plebiscite by gunpoint on the integration of East Timor into Indonesia.
No-one would believe that this vicious campaign would have any international credibility, yet exactly the same procedure was used in "polls" to assess support for integration in West Papua in 1969 and East Timor in 1976 — later accepted by the Australian government as satisfactory
The situation in East Timor is tense. Indonesian authorities have expelled all foreign journalists and are attempting to crush the civil resistance which developed under the glare of media publicity during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference in the Indonesian capital Djakarta.
Reports from the leadership of the CNRM (National Council of Maubere Resistance) have given fresh evidence of the use of Hawk aircraft against civilians in East Timor.
In the British parliament Labour MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Chris Mullin have challenged the responsible Defence Minister, Roger Freeman, over the use of the British-made planes. While Freeman promised to investigate the matter he then went on to declare that he had no knowledge of a big arms deal with Indonesia under negotiation. This is either a lie or wilful ignorance. It is common knowledge that the Indonesian government have a shopping list which runs into billions of pounds.
Sukmaji Indro Thayhono, a leading human rights activist, recently explained why British weapons are being used to terrorise the population into submission. In the face of an emergent independent trade union movement, the SBSI, and a rapidly growing democratic movement, the Indonesian authorities are clearly unable to maintain stability through consent. They have cracked down on. supporters of East Timorese independence, banned the SBSI, and closed down several critical newspapers. Internationalists must not let the attention focused on the regime fade away. Will McMahon *
BHOPAL: TEN YEARS ON ON 2 DECEMBER 1984, as the people of the Indian city of Bhopal were asleep, a leak in a Union Carbide pesticide plant spread lethal methyl isocynate gas — poisoning close to half a million people.
That night alone, 2 thousand people died. Since then, the total deaths resulting has risen to 10 thousand. Thousands more have been blinded or developed kidney and liver diseases and many women's reproductive systems have been permanently damaged.
Local plant managers and specialist teams pointed out that necessary safety precautions had not been taken. And yet Union Carbide, one of the biggest chemical companies in the world, refused to spend any extra money in order to protect workers lives and the surrounding community. They continue to reject any responsibility for their callous disregard for Indian lives in the pursuit of fat profits.
The sum on offer in compensation to survivors is paltry and criminal charges have been filed against the chief executives of the parent company and its Indian subsidiary.
Commemorative activities are being held around the world to mark one of the world's worst industrial disasters and to highlight the on-going struggle of the people of Bhopal for justice. Bala
In January's IV...
reports and analysis from Sri Lanka, following the recent elections