Comrades and Friends
Thank you all for coming this evening. For me, I regard the presence of every single one of you as a tremendous honour and a privilege.
For those of us who believe in a better world, and do our best to fight for it, nothing is more important than to have good comrades and friends on whom one can rely and who, whatever the differences we might have, are standing in their place and playing their part in a common cause.
This evening I’m joined by friends I have known for decades and others who I’m just getting to know. But all of you have made a deep impression on me and have taught me something.
Not simply protocol but my deepest feelings dictate that I extend a special welcome to the comrades and friends from the diplomatic corps who have joined us this evening.
To the representatives from the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation. Representatives of two peoples who carried out the greatest, most profound and most world-changing revolutions in human history. Who blazed a new and more equitable road to modernization. Who bore the brunt, and made the greatest possible national sacrifice, to defeat fascism and save civilization, the 80th anniversary of which we celebrate this year. And who today are driving changes unseen in a century towards a multipolar world.
To the representatives of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. A heroic people who inflicted the first defeat on US imperialism in history, the 72nd anniversary of which has been celebrated just this past week and who will shortly celebrate the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea. 72 years ago, the Korean capital Pyongyang looked like Gaza today. Itself testimony to the enduring barbarity of imperialism, a leopard that does not change its spots. By dint of tremendous hard work and dedication, and with the guidance of a succession of inspirational leaders, the Korean people have succeeded not only in building a beautiful socialist country but also in creating a defensive deterrent that ensures that no hostile power can dare to touch them.
To the representatives of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Heroic peoples who fought for decades under the leadership of their Marxist-Leninist parties, and against unimaginable odds, to defeat successive imperialisms. While still facing the consequences of US imperialism’s barbarous war of aggression, from Agent Orange to unexploded ordinance, both countries are making tremendous progress in developing their countries along socialist lines. In this year, which sees the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the south and national reunification, the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, and the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and the proclamation of what is now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, I recall the lines from Ho Chi Minh’s poetry:
The American invaders defeated
We will rebuild our land ten times more beautiful
May those words continue to inspire not only the Vietnamese people but also people throughout the world and especially the Palestinian people in their darkest hour.
To the representatives of the Republic of Cuba and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The Cuban revolution brought socialism to the western hemisphere and the revolutionary process in Venezuela, and its conscious attempts to create and build a socialist society, constitutes the greatest single development and extension of that process. Most if not all of you will know of the cruel, vindictive and crippling embargoes, sanctions, blockades and pressures faced by the heroic peoples of Marti and Fidel, and of Chavez. In the case of the Cuban people for well over six decades now. Yet not only has this not deterred Cuba and Venezuela from going along the road of socialism, with tremendous achievements in health, education and other fields. If there are two countries that could be said to set the gold standard in international solidarity, it is Cuba and Venezuela. Che Guevara taught his children that they should not be indifferent to the suffering of any oppressed person anywhere on earth. Well, it turns out that Che had millions of children in Cuba and Venezuela.
To the Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste. If any country proves the adage that even a small country can win its liberation against seemingly insuperable odds if its people rise in struggle, it’s yours. Your tiny country fought against genocide, and with minimal external support, yet you won in the end. It’s a story that needs to be better known.
And, above all at this time, to the representative of the State of Palestine. What words can be found to express our feelings towards the Palestinian people at this time. I will say this. The Nazis, for whatever reason, at least made some attempt to hide the full nature and extent of their genocidal crimes. It therefore remains a legitimate topic for study and debate among historians and others to what extent the mass of people in Germany, or indeed the allied powers, were aware of the full extent and horror of the crimes that were being committed in the death camps.
This is not the case with the holocaust being perpetrated in Gaza. Israeli government ministers, leaders of the settler’s movement, and others, openly boast of their genocidal intent and deeds. They are not ashamed. They are proud of it. Their stormtroopers film their atrocities and post them on social media. When at last their spokespersons are subject to some mild questioning by the western media, from Netanyahu down, their shameless lies would put Josef Goebbels to shame.
Disgracefully, appallingly, this is the first genocide in history that everyone can watch live on their smartphones. When the day of judgement comes, as come it surely will, not only for Netanyahu and his henchmen, but also for those such as Starmer and Lammy who have actively facilitated the greatest crime of the century, nobody will be able to plead ignorance as an excuse.
Indeed, it is above all Gaza that is creating a crisis of legitimacy for the British ruling class and not least for the Labour government. Chairman Mao said, if you want to make a revolution you must first create public opinion. The government has lost the battle for public opinion. That’s the principal reason why it can only fall back on increasingly blatant and vicious acts of repression.
Needless to say, and again in Mao’s words, they are lifting a rock only to drop it on their own feet. That 600,000 people and rising have registered their interest in a new left-wing party in little more than a week, and that Kneecap and Bob Vylan have rocketed to stardom, are just two manifestations of the fact that, in British politics and society, too, we are witnessing changes unseen in a century.
Under this disgraceful Labour government, we now live in a country where an 83-year-old retired woman Anglican priest, can be led away, wearing a clerical collar and leaning heavily on a walking stick, arrested under anti-terrorism legislation for the crime of sitting quietly with a seven-word placard.
Just imagine the apoplexy this would cause in certain circles if this were happening in the streets of Beijing or Moscow. Or of Pyongyang, Havana or Caracas. David Lammy would burst several blood vessels in a fit of faux righteous indignation. Iain Duncan Smith would vaporize before our very eyes. As amusing as such things might be to witness, the fact has surely been established beyond all doubt that the British state has zero right and zero credibility to criticize others when it comes to human rights or anything else.
So, after the arrest of an 83-year-old lady vicar, came the arrest of a 67-year-old retired headteacher, again under anti-terrorism legislation, for holding a placard with a blown-up graphic from the satirical magazine Private Eye. So, I thought, the pillars of respectability, of Middle England, are indeed rising.
And then I saw the name. And I thought…. Oh my God. From the age of about 12, Jon Farley was my best friend at school. And we stayed that way through much of the 1970s and 1980s. We grew up together personally and politically. Since I read his name, so many memories have been coming back to me. As Chairman Mao wrote in one of his poems:
Vivid yet those crowded months and years
I won’t mention too many of those memories, it would take all night, but:
• Skipping school to visit the Royal Academy exhibition of New Archaeological Finds in New China. Finds which I was at last able to see in their Xi’an home earlier this year.
• Working together at Banner Books on Camden High Street at weekends and on school holidays.
• Going to Manchanda’s home on Friday nights for Marxist-Leninist study class.
• Supporting the struggle against Franco fascism and for a republican Spain, not least when that dying regime executed five comrades from FRAP and ETA.
• Standing shoulder to shoulder with the Irish people in their just struggle for independence and reunification, including during the bitter days of the 1981 hunger strike.
• And so much more.
At some point in the 1980s, I’m sure to mutual regret, we lost contact. Of course, these were the days before mobile phones, text messages, email, Facebook and so on. Maybe hard to imagine for some of you, but it’s true.
Now, on the other hand, for those of you of a certain age, you might remember there used to be a generally pretty rubbish TV show called This is Your Life. And at some point in the program the presenter, Eamon Andrews, would invariably say something like, “You’ve not seen him for 35 years, but he’s here tonight.”
Well, I’d not seen Jon for about 35 years. But he’s here tonight. Please give a warm welcome to my oldest friend.
Forty-nine years ago to the day, indeed to the hour, were sat together in a Chinese restaurant in Plymouth celebrating my 18th birthday, when we were on holiday with my Mum and Dad in Cornwall.
Jon tells me that some of our political views have diverged over the years and that indeed appears to be the case. But we are both agreed that political differences can’t detract from shared memories and old friendships. And even more importantly they can’t possibly stand in the way of joining together on the things on which we do still agree and today, along with the majority of humanity, that has to be above all the cause of Palestine.
After Jon, the person here who I have known the longest is Hugh Goodacre. The day we first met, in the Guangwha bookshop in Chinatown, his daughter Su, who’s also here tonight, was in a push chair. I want to thank Hugh for everything he’s done over the years and specifically what he’s done to make this evening possible in terms of the hours, days, weeks and indeed months of hard work he’s put into organizing it. It wouldn’t have happened without him. You all know your invitations came from him not me. Not to mention in some cases the repeated reminders. I won’t mention any names. You know who you are!
Hugh’s shouldering of this responsibility has left me free to get on with other work and for that I am extremely grateful.
I also want to thank everyone else who has helped make this evening possible.
The management and staff here at Royal Nawab, which is such a great social centre for the Asian community in West London and beyond. And whose fantastic food, warm welcome and great hospitality some of us have enjoyed on numerous occasions. To those who’ve come here for the first time, I hope you’ll come again and that you’ll spread the word.
To Mushtaq, another friend of very long standing, and his family and close friends, who have supported and assisted Hugh in organizing this evening.
To Alessandro for his help on technical issues. We haven’t known each other very long but in that short time we’ve become good friends and good comrades. You’re always incredibly supportive and it was great to spend time with you in China a couple of months ago.
And to Carlos, especially for the work we do together every single day. I can’t say that I’d be inactive without Carlos, but things would be an awful lot harder and an awful lot less effective. We have an exceptional friendship and an exceptional working relationship.
And finally, thank you to everyone. Yes, for coming. But just as I said at the start, for everything you do for a better world and for a more decent and sustainable life and future for humanity. The call made by Marx and Engels in the closing lines of the Communist Manifesto, that we have nothing to lose but our chains and a world to win, remains not only as relevant today as when it was written in 1848, but is actually more cogent and more urgent than ever.
Thank you very much.