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Dear comrades,
The United Secretariat of the Fourth International adresses this appeal to you in the name of the recently concluded World Congress.
The relations between the Int'l and those individuals who have hitherto been at the head of the Australian Section have completely deteriorated. Ever since the W.C.of 1963, the journal published by them has been nothing but an Australian version of the Pablo publication Sous le Drapeau du Socialisme. The decisions taken by the Int'l in accordance with the resolutions adopted by our W.C. were never made public to the revolutionary vanguard of your country; and the few letters sent to the U.S. by this "leadership" were only a repetition of Pablo's slanders.
The 1965 Conference of the Australian Section was not a gathering of all the comrades; it was not in any way representative of the movement because many of those who shared the views of the Int'l were prevented from attending, contrary to the practices of democratic centralism.
This conference voted upon, and accepted, a document which stated that the Australian organisation was now a member of the so-called "Revolutionary Marxist Tendency of the Fourth Int'l" which is the name used by the Pablo organisation.
Prior to the W.C. of the Fourth Int'l in December 1965, the Pablo organisation held an int'l conference in Paris and actually constituted itself as a separate movement, distinct from the Fourth Int'l. It elaborated its own rules and discipline, and a document (now published in French "Le marxisme et notre époque") that revised from top to bottom the positions that have been defended by the Fourth Int'l since its inception. Anderson, the Australian representative, after attending and participating in this conference, had the gall to demand the right to participate in the World Congress and openly boasted that he would enter the Congress by force if necessary and that force would be required to expell him from it. It being obvious to everyone that this was nothing but an organisational maneuver calculated to destroy and to prevent the Congress carrying on with its work, participation was refused him and others when they rejected a request from the Plenum of the W.C. delegates that they give assurances that they would accept the decisions arising out of the Congress.
The W.C. adopted by an overwhelming majority a resolution which stated that the Pablo group, because of its callous indiscipline and because of its existence as an autonomous organisation, has placed itself outside the ranks of the Fourth Int'l. It is self-evident that no one should expect that Nigel, Anderson and the others to pull back from their break with our movement. To have any illusions on that score would be disastrous. Therefore, the decision of the W.C. has released you of all obligations towards
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them. It is your duty and responsibility to take the appropriate measures to re-constitute the Australian Section of the Fourth Int'l and to carry on with its tasks.
At this juncture, despite our desires, material difficulties prevent a representative from the U.S. from visiting your country, so therefore the assistance we can give you in this primordial tasks to-day is essentially of a literary nature. To begin with, we would like to suggest to you the following procedure Those comrades who receive this letter should send copies to all who wish to remain within the Int'l. A group of comrades should, with as little delay as possible, call a national conference to constitute a provisional body which would have the following tasks:
1)to maintain normal and regular relations with the leadership of the Int'l;
2)to prepare a national conference within an appropriate time-period to discuss the documents of the W.C. (which will be issued in a few weeks) and elaborate a line of work for the Section;
3)to coordinate in the meantime the activities of the comrades.
We have no objection, of course, to any other procedure, providing it is quick and efficient and, naturally, the Int'l is always ready to advise you in these matters and will give whatever help is at its disposal.
We were very happy to learn that those who remained loyal to the Fourth Int'l are young and active comrades. We can assure you that Pablo has gathered around him only a small coterie of people, mainly older comrades who like Nigel, it is true, have upheld our ideas and traditions for a long time and in a most difficult period, have now lost faith in the future ofour movement and have broken, ironically, with the Fourth Int'l at a time when the movement is recruiting in many countries , young comrades whose numbers are many times the few we have lost to Pablo.
It goes without saying, participation in the mass movement is a life and death necessity for Trotskyists; but with it all matter of alien pressures are brought to bear upon us and we can only resist them and aintain our integrity if we have organised ourselves around our program, with our own discipline in order to carry on coherent and effecetive activity.
The task of reconstructing the Australien Section of the Fourth Int'l is for you a first priority? Probably it is a task which for most, if not all of you, is new. It will raise many problems, many difficulties now unforseen confront you, but we are confident that you will be able to meet them and achieve your purpose and we will for our part give you all the help we can on this matter.
Our movement has gone through crises which were much bigger than the one you are now facing. We have no doubt that you will overcome the present difficulties rapidly. Rebuild a new center for the organisation, strengthen and develop your links with the Int'l
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i.e; with the Trotskyist movement all over the world, and elaborate your tasks and perspectives. The International is hopeful that you will set swiftly and that very soon a reconstructed section will once more proudly carry the banner of Trotskyism in Australia.
Long live the Australian Section of the Fourth Int'l !
Long live the Fourth International !
January 19th, 1966.
The United Secretariat,