15th April 1960
To the Editorial Staff of "International Socialist Review," theoretical organ of the S W P, New York.
Comrades,
In the article published in your last issue, Spring 1960, signed Shane Mage, entitled: "De Gaulle — a Lesser Evil?", once again your press contains an unqualified attack against the organization which leads the Colonial Revolution in Algeria, the FLN.
This article follows those published on 16, 23, 30 December 1957, and 6th January 1958 in the "Militant", signed Philip Magri, and the more recently published article in the "Militant" of 18th October 1959, also signed Philip Magri. All those scandalously defammatory articles on the FLN, full of glaring inaccuracies, probably come from the same person who "specializes in the Algerian question".
Comrade Patrick O'Daniel replied in due course* to the articles by Philip Magri published in the "Militant".
This detailed and exhaustive response brought to justice amongst other things, the slanders and discrepancies of Magri concerning the "MNA", so-called "left", "socialist", and the FLN, "right" "bourgeois wing", of the Algerian Revolution.
We were convinced after this reply, that with the help of the events, and taking into consideration your good faith, your prolonged silence on this question indicated a change on your part in the appreciation of the Algerian Revolution.
We certainly would have liked the supposed change to have manifested itself in an active way, by concrete and real acts in favour of the Algerian Revolution as it is, and not as revolutionary Marxists would now like it to be. For this reason, we have long ago written of the necessity in this respect to organize also in the United States together with other tendencies and persons, a Committee of Aid for the more than 25,000 Algerian prisoners in France.
The fact that up to now no practical steps have been taken on this suggestion, to which we nevertheless hoped you would be susceptible, and immediately interested in, and the fact that, to the contrary, in your magazine there appears an article such as the one written by Shane Mage, and his version identical with the assertions made by Magri, without any comment or reserve on your part, obliges us to consider that the specialist on the Algerian question largely enjoys your confidence.
Now, the Algerian Revolution and the colonial revolution in general is not a subject for light minded dissertations in which everything can be indiscriminately said, and without great consequences. It is a burning problem of the real revolutionary struggle in our days, which should be treated by a revolutionary organization with extreme seriousness and a sharp sense of responsibility.
The positions defended by Magri and Mage, to the degree where it emanates from a "Trotskyist" in an organ which assumes "Trotskyism", can only serve as arms for the enemies of Trotskyism, in circles which know little about the ideas, evolutions and organization of the international Trotskyist movement.
The analogous position of the Lambert group in France, calling itself "Trotskyist", has already considerably damaged the cause of Trotskyism in Algerian revolutionary circles little knowing about the fact that this group, since 1951, had broken with the Fourth International. It is true that your organization has also ceased all collaboration with the Fourth International since 1953, and has even publicly attacked it at various times. But up to now we have refused, and we still refuse, in spite of it, to assimilate it with the Lambert group and we have often attributed these errors of appreciation rather to the lack of precise information and to a tendency towards insufficiently dialectical interpretation of the phenomena of the present international political life.
However, we repeat, a question like that of a colonial revolution in struggle, as is the case of the Algerian revolution, is an extremely grave one, and a serious revolutionary Marxist movement should not be incited to undignified indulgences.
We would like to express the hope once again, and for the last time, that, taking everything into consideration, the specialist on the Algerian question will be severely called to order, and that your magazine and organization will clearly, firmly and unconditionally take a position in favour of the Algerian revolution as it is, in its struggle against French imperialism.
Let us come now to the assertions and "arguments" of Shane Mage. We quote in full:
"At the start of the Algerian revolution the governments of the Fourth Republic refused to negotiate with the Algerian Nationalists. At that time a socialist tendency, the 'Algerian Nationalist Movement' (MNA) was predominant in the Algerian nationalist movement. Concessions to Algerian nationalism, then, would have opened the door to a socialist revolution in which French capitalism would not merely have lost control of the Algerian economy, but would itself have been directly menaced.
"During the past four years however, the FLN, led by former right-wing Algerian politicians like Ferhat Abbas and M'hasid Yazid, has been able to gain complete control of the Algerian Resistance movement. The methods it has used to eliminate the MNA have been those of assassination and slander — but they have succeeded, thanks in large measure to all-out financial support from the Arab States, and political support from the Stalinists and their fellow travellers who have always considered the MNA 'semi-Trotskyist' and thus a major enemy. The victory of the FLN has meant safe bourgeois control of Algerian nationalism and thus dispelled the spectre of socialism".
We thus come back to the positions of Philip Magri sustained at the end of 1957 and beginning of 1958, in the columns of the "Militant", a rather long time before de Gaulle's coming to power and before the experience obtained afterwards.
Now the position of the "socialist" MNA, led by the very pious and religious Messali Hadj* (who still sports the very good "socialist" Muslim hat on his head) in the matter of de Gaulle and Gaullism, is well-known by all political persons in France and by all those who are even to a small degree acquainted with French realities.
Whilst the FLN, the organization which has led since November 1954, the armed struggle against French imperialism, is naturally still strictly illegal in France, its leaders imprisoned, and its militants also imprisoned, in their thousands, the MNA legally enjoys undeniably scandalous public favours from the new regime!
On the 14th January 1959, de Gaulle decreed the immediate release of Messali Hadj, who had been under surveillance for three years in the villa "Les Liserons" at Belle-Isle-en-Mer, and the Gaullist press now launches him, in a provocative and obvious way, as the future ideal interlocutor.
His 1st Lieutenant, Mouley Merbah, already calls him "the man of peace" — a declaration in the papers of January 27th, 1959.
And the "leader" declared: "We shall continue to fight for liberty. In my view the task is to make the French understand the absolute necessity for a happy solution for everybody in Algeria. It is a tremendous fight .. my fight. There is an alternative way: the gun. But this fight is too easy, it is not mine!" ("Paris-Journal" 1959) (Our italics).
The "democratic", "socialist" Messali who has disdained the "too easy fight with the gun", on the contrary, visualizes "the round table" in France, for example, (an "Aix-les-Bains"), around which, "without any exclusive preamble", the representatives of the French government, on the one hand, and all the "Nationalist tendencies" on the other hand, would unite. More precisely, he declares: "As I have proclaimed the necessity to recognize the Algerian personality (!) I have the right to recall that General de Gaulle, and also Guy Mollet, has done the same". ("France-Soir" — 27-1-59) (our italics). He multiplies the statements praising de Gaulle as "great man", alone capable of "solving the Algerian problem". "It does not matter how, there is in France only General de Gaulle who can organize a solution to the problem. For great times you need great men." ("Fortune Française" 6-3-1959) To the Algerians he propounds for this purpose comprehension towards the Europeans in Algeria and to de Gaulle in France.
"The Europeans in Algeria are our brothers, our compatriots, and we must work hand in hand for the French-Algerian future." ("Le Figaro" 23-1-59) "Through the unity of the Algerian people, we shall show our comprehension of the problem which has been posed, by this unity we shall facilitate the task of the French Government." (ibid.) (Our italics)
And we can quote abundantly from the French press of this epoch, which paints Messali as a ponderous man, a comprehensive man, a man of reconcilliation, a man who can teach reason to the Algerian masses — in a word, an interlocutor — not only valuable, but ideal!
At the same time, the illusion is created amongst certain French opinion that Messali represents one of the "tendencies" of the "divided" Algerian national movement, and of course the most "democratic", the most "comprehensive".
In reality, the "democratic" procedure of the "round table" visualized by Messali, besides corresponding to the best intentions of imperialism to reign by division, constitutes the only chance for Messali to see himself consecrated as an interlocutor through the French Government, as, for a long time now, Messali has lost, both in Algeria and in France itself, any important base whatsoever.
With the liberation of Messali, the whole MNA has been brought into prominence by de Gaulle, it benefits by the open support of the police and leads, with more ardour than before, its unique "anti-imperialist" struggle: against the FLN.
Messali has installed himself in Chantilly, a suburb of Paris, protected by the police and MNA "militants" organizing themselves as his body-guards against infiltration of "suspect elements". (The French press, 18-1-1959)
On the 22nd February 1959, Messali held a meeting which, according to the Minister of the Interior, "drew about 1,000 North Africans", who came from all over France and had no obstacles put in their way. According to the same Minister, "Messali Hadj's speech reflected a rather subtle political position, in agreement with the ideas which he had already expressed during statements made to the press."
There was no question, according to the Minister, of forbidding this meeting. On the contrary, the French police have taken "the necessary precautions in order to prevent public disorder", whilst protecting the meeting against a possible incursion of the FLN.
The Messalist terrorism against the FLN survives both in France and in Belgium.
On the night of June 23—24, seven young militants of the FLN were assassinated at Villeurbane.
The Belgian socialist paper "La Gauche" in an article published by the professor Le Greve (against whom "The Red Hand" had just launched an attack) gives in its issue of June 29th ample details about the collaboration between the French police, the Belgian police and MNA against the FLN organization in Belgium.
Other attacks followed, both in France, in Sarre and elsewhere, perpetrated by the MNA against the FLN in spite of the fact that the attacks were denounced by the latter, whilst constantly appealing to its followers "to exclude all violence, attacks or fights for the solving of conflicting opinions, which may divide them."
"The French government have closed their eyes to the activities of the MNA, the responsible members of which can travel without restriction with the national identity card," reaffirms the responsible group of members of the MNA and of its trade union organizations who went over to the FLN at the end of 1958.
In their public statements dated December 1958 and January 1959, those responsible members gave ample details about the police protection now enjoyed by the MNA in France.
In December 1959, Messali moves to Lille, participates in and speaks at the "congress" of its "trade unions" held there, protected by the French police, etc. etc.
What more is needed in order to understand where the "Tito's" and "Mikhailovitch's" of the Algerian Revolution are? Certainly the FLN is far from representing the proletarian wing of socialist revolution, but incontestably it represents the militant organization which leads the popular Algerian Revolution in its present phase of armed struggle against imperialism.
Shane Mage ironically notes the acceptance by the FLN of the principle of "self-determination" offered by de Gaulle in September 1959, and makes believe that with the compliance of de Gaulle, the FLN has compromised itself by betrayal.
Well informed, this curious specialist even knows that: "In Tripoli the FLN after a three-week meeting reorganized its top leadership. Dropped were the leaders oriented toward Cairo or Peking — in full control remained the 'Paris' and 'Washington' factions". (Our italics)
Thus a clear and simple perspective for this informed specialist writing, unhappily for himself, just before the about-turn of de Gaulle, of the imminent de Gaulle-Ferhat Abbas deal, the latter being characterized "the political leader of the FLN".
That the FLN, pressed from all sides and without efficient aid from any side, after six years of struggle, with 600,000 dead, 1,000,000 displaced persons in Algeria, 250,000 refugees in Morocco and Tunisia, more than 25,000 persons imprisoned in France, has accepted the principle of "self-determination", can certainly not be reproached as a "betrayal" and above all, not from the apologists on the side of Messalism, which does not cease to preach its "round table" and "independence" within the French "commonwealth". The FLN have understood by "self-determination" the freedom to exercise the right of the Algerian people to pronounce its own fate, having confidence that the overwhelming majority of people will choose its independence.
There was never any question that the FLN would accept this right on the terms that the French Army should occupy the country and the Algerian Army should graciously give up its arms.
Whenever the FLN has understood that de Gaulle, under pressure from the Army, withdraws and launches again the "long war", it has immediately replied with the intensification of its own military effort and the creation of the International Brigade, "without distinction of origin".
Thus a new phase of the Algerian Revolution has opened.
We would like to express the hope that your organization, in spite of everything, will reorientate its thinking on the Algerian question, and will give efficient, political, moral and material support to the Algerian Revolution in its struggle against French imperialism. This does not mean the support goes to Ferhat Abbas, the "leader" of the "bourgeois" FLN. It goes to the popular Algerian Revolution, as it is, which has given itself a leadership — the FLN — in which the thousands of young militants of this revolution — peasants, workers, intellectuals — are actively participating, and who are constantly differentiating ideologically to the degree in which the experience of the revolution is ripening and deepening.
What the future of the FLN shall be depends also on the effective aid which the workers of the international movement will give — in time — to the Algerian Revolution.
As for the personal position of Ferhat Abbas in this revolution, one should really be a specialist of the Algerian question, as informed and as serious as Shane Mage, in order to consecrate him as the "political leader" of this revolution. There is, however, a difference between Ferhat Abbas and Messali Hadj at this stage: the former supports, up to the present, unconditionally, the armed struggle of his people against imperialism, for independence; the latter, protected by de Gaulle in France, leads his Great Fight, without gun, against .. the FLN. It is a small difference, but in spite of all, not to be neglected, we must avow!
With our communist-internationalist greetings,
THE INTERNATIONAL SECRETARIAT OF THE FOURTH INTERNATIONAL
* February 1958, published in the Fourth International, No 2, Spring 1958.
* To the question of Jean Lacouture, from the paper "Le Monde" (29-1-1959): "Are you still making Islamism one of the foundations of your doctrine?" the "socialist" Messali replies: "Of course. In political matters you have to start from realities. Now the reality in Algeria is that Islamism is more solid, more alive than ever, and than elsewhere." An assumption which is, moreover, very cheap, as the revolution has de-Islamized the youth to a great extent. To André Luis, who obtained an interview with Messali at Chantilly for the "Cité," a Belgian Catholic paper, the "revolutionary leader" declares: "We are Muslims and, as such, attached to certain ways of seeing things."