Reproduced below is the resolution adopted by a large majority of delegates attending the recent world congress of the Fourth International. I believe it correctly situates the war in its geopolitical context and extends internationalist solidarity with the resistance of the Ukrainian people to the Russian imperialist invasion. An alternative resolution, which essentially disparages the Ukrainian resistance and opposes its armament, is also reproduced on the FI website. It was rejected by the congress. – R.F.
The 18th World Congress of the Fourth International took place
in Belgium from 23 to 28th February. The wide-ranging discussion covered the
international situation in all its aspects from the structural polycrisis in
its environmental, economic, social and political aspects to the movements of
resistance, and the need to build and strengthen our own International. One
particular point of debate was how as internationalist revolutionary Marxists
we express our opposition to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and our solidarity
with the resistance of the Ukrainian people to this invasion, to the neoliberal
policies of the Zelensky government and to neoliberal militarization.
We publish here the resolution presented by the majority of the
outgoing IC, approved by the congress by 95 votes in favour, 23 against, 3
abstentions and 5 no votes, and the alternative resolution presented by a
number of delegations rejected 31 for, 80 against, 9 abstentions.
1. In February 2022, Putin launched a
full-scale invasion of Ukraine in an attempt to turn the country into a Russian
satellite. This attempt has caused hundreds of thousands of dead and
wounded already. But the regime in Moscow has long been characterised by
expansionist Greater Russian imperialist ideology, which sees superpowers as
endowed with the right to extend their zone of influence by all means possible,
challenging established norms of international law and legitimising a new era
of imperialist redistribution. Thus, for the Kremlin, the daily increasing
human cost of this aggression is no reason to cease it, and further
intensification is instrumental to terrorise the Ukrainian people into
submission.
2. What was supposed to be a "special military
operation" to bring down the Kyiv government in a matter of days has
turned into a three-year entanglement in full-scale war. This development was
unexpected not only for Putin but also for the Western powers—Biden even
offered to help Zelensky evacuate. It is precisely the determination and
resilience of the Ukrainian resistance that has thwarted Putin's plans to this
day.
3. The invasion of Ukraine was not only an attempt to reassert
the role of Russia in the capitalist competition but also a deliberate attempt
to tighten control over Russian society and crush all dissent. Anti-war
activists have been prosecuted and sentenced to long prison terms on trumped
charges. Socialist organisations, such as that of our comrades in the Russian
Socialist Movement, have been forced to disband, and their members have had to
flee. While feminists continue to mobilise, they do it under constant pressure
with threats of imprisonment for even uttering the word "war".
4. As internationalists, we defend Ukraine's right to
self-determination and their right to resist the invasion. People's movements
are an integral part of this resistance, waging a struggle on two fronts:
against the occupants and against the Zelensky government. In this unequal
fight, we stand together with other progressive forces in the country. We urge
all internationalist left to develop political and material solidarity with
trade unionists, feminists, and social and democratic activists in Ukraine. Just
as the Fourth International has been doing this since the beginning of the
aggression within the framework of the "European Network of Solidarity
with Ukraine" (ENSU/RESU) and together with the Ukrainian left-wing
organisation, Sotsialnyi Rukh.
5. Once again, we underline that we have no illusions about the
nature of Ukraine’s regime. Their government is right-wing and neo-liberal, not
shying away from mobilising fear to stay in power. It is just as keen to
satisfy domestic capitalists as to reassure the Western powers of its ability
to adapt to their demands. Its anti-social and anti-democratic policies are
counter-productive in terms of defending Ukraine. They oppose the needs of its
working classes, provoke their resentment, undermine social trust, and, as a
result, the government relies on increasingly authoritarian measures. This
makes standing with the Ukrainian wage earners and their organisations all the
more important. We cannot abandon them when they desperately need solidarity,
especially if our vision of emancipation is that of a struggle from below,
where the people rise to fight, independant from the government and the great
powers.
6. Russia's attack on Ukraine is part of the global crisis of
capitalism, increasing inter-imperialist tensions, and the rise of the far
right and militarism. The Russian regime has been interfering in Ukraine,
Armenia, Georgia, and Kazakhstan, backed Bashar El Assad's reactionary regime,
and has been increasing its involvement in Africa. The United States is
maneuvring in South America, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Africa, keeps arming
Israel and supporting all its aggressions. France, for its part, is trying to
hold on in Africa, too and is repressing the Kanak independence fighters. That
is not to mention how Putin’s war of aggression generally revitalised NATO,
previously declared “braindead,” and allowed major Western powers to strengthen
and expand it.
7. By invoking the Russian invasion, Western governments pretend
to be powerless to support those hit by inflation and increasing energy costs,
thus tacitly undermining the solidarity they appeal to. In the meantime,
right-wing forces are increasingly targeting Ukrainian refugees or pitting them
against other migrants.
8. Admittedly, the support that the USA and Western governments
are giving to Ukraine is not based on anti-colonial viewpoint given how
they enable Israel's colonialism to go unchecked. Western imperialist powers
are using the war to try and weaken their Russian rival while at the same time
using Ukraine's need for aid to impose their own stranglehold on the country.
However, this is no reason when the Ukrainian people, in their hour of need,
deserve all the means necessary to defend themselves, to refuse such means, or
for us to sabotage their provision.
9. Now it is up to the left to mobilise and demand that support
to Ukraine's people is given unconditionally, instead of being tied to
implementing and deepening neoliberal measures. This is why we call for the
immediate and full cancellation of Ukrainian debt, respect for labour law, and
maintenance of public services, the expropriation of big capitalists, and the
fight against corruption to aid the Ukrainian people and oppose imperialist
power.
10. Today's globally increased arms spending shows that more
than ever, we must campaign against the insane programmes of mutual strategic
rearmament, particularly nuclear, against the arms trade, which is very often
directed towards dictatorships, and for democratic control (nationalisation) of
the arms industry - at the same time as we support the right of colonised
peoples to defend themselves, including by arms.
11. As we write these lines, Russia is launching new attacks.
The destruction of whole towns, infrastructures and ecosystems serves to impose
the hold of Great Russian imperialism, as are the abduction and deportation of
children, the destruction of Ukrainian culture, and the suppression of freedoms
in the occupied zones. Putin is open about his demands punishing Ukraine for
stubbornness: recognition of the illegal territorial acquisitions; replacement
of Zelensky's “illegitimate and Nazi” government; drastic reduction of the
Ukrainian armed forces; non-membership of NATO.
12. It is clear that part of the far right in the West would
prefer an agreement with Putin that would enhance their shared
ultra-reactionary agenda, and that would leave Ukraine powerless and divided,
reduced to a neo-colony of Russia. The government of China provides concrete
support to the Kremlin while presenting demands for Ukrainian surrender as
proposals for negotiations. A section of the European and US ruling classes may
also be tempted at some point by a peace that would give Putin some satisfaction
but would also restore trade relations with Russia and China.
13. Trump now considers the Ukrainians to be responsible for the
war. His predatory, mercantilist stance, demanding "repayment" for
past aid to Ukraine through the seizure of the country's mineral and rare earth
resources, and other privileges to come, is a particularly brutal and odious
illustration of this logic.
14. Parts of the self-proclaimed anti-war left agree with this
and are prepared to leave Ukraine at the permanent mercy of the Russian regime,
either out of anti-U.S. campism or pacifism. We believe that any 'peace' based
on such conditions and imposed against the will of the Ukrainian people will
only be the prelude to more occupation and violence in the future. Now, it is
time for the left to build its own credible strategy on security based on
popular participation and control. This has become more crucial than ever
in the face of the inter-imperialist “deals” struck between Trump and Putin.
The only lasting solution to this war can be reached through:
- non-recognition of annexations and the complete withdrawal of
Russian troops;
- subjecting any negotiations and agreements to the democratic
control of the people;
- ensuring Ukraine's ability to defend itself against any future
imperialist encroachments.
A lasting peace is possible only when it is based:
- on the right of Ukraine and its constituent minorities to
freely determine their future and develop their cultures, independent of
external pressure, the interest of the oligarchs, neoliberal ruling regimes or
extreme right-wing ideologies;
- on the respect for political, social, and labour rights,
including the right to strike, peaceful assembly, and free elections;
- on the right of all refugees and people displaced by the war
to return home or settle in the countries where they currently reside;
- on having Putin’s dictatorship dismantled and all political
prisoners and prisoners of war free.
We see our fight against the war in Ukraine as part of a
struggle against militarism and imperialism. The fight against the war and for
international solidarity requires:
dismantling all NATO, CSTO, and AUKUS military blocs;
establishment of a system of international relations based
on equality of all nations, control from below, open diplomacy and
condemnation of all forms of imperialist and nationalist aggression;
- cancellation of the Ukrainian debt;
- the creation, under the control of Ukraine’s citizens, of a
fund for reconstruction, defence and the improvement of living conditions,
financed by exceptional taxes on the profits of Western capitalists who
conducted business with their Russian counterparts and the profits of arms
companies and other war profiteers, as well as by the expropriation of the
fortunes of Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs.
28 February 2025
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