First Issued: March 3, 1976. First Published: Revolution No.1, June 1976
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Sam Richards and Paul Saba
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Dear Comrades,
I am writing to you on behalf of the Coventry Group to inform you of our decision to sever all organisational links with the CFB.
As we pointed out at the Third SGM (Conference) the policy document accepted by that meeting demonstrates that the political line of the CFB has been captured by subjective dogmatism. The organisational steps taken at the conference, included in and based on the accepted document, no longer allows the ideological and political struggle to take place that is necessary for the development of a Marxist-Leninist Party in Britain. The political putsch that has taken place in the CFB is illustrated by the complete rejection of ’Origins and Perspectives’; with only brief reference to it at the SGM and no open struggle against it prior to this meeting.
An even more glaring example of this putsch was the absolute rejection of the JCC statement ’On the Question of Party Building’ by the Third SGM.
The ’Documents of the CFB’ were accepted after protracted struggle and the involvement of all comrades and whilst they must always be open to criticism amendment, or even total rejection, they cannot be overthrown without examination and without struggle. That is the method of manipulation and is the antithesis of the style of work required to build a revolutionary party based on democratic centralism. No matter how sincere the desire of the comrades may be, that desire can never replace the concrete situation, if the goal is to be a Marxist-Leninist Party.
For the record, we would point out that we did not move an amendment at the Third SGM as the EC letter of 17.2.76 states, but we in fact moved rejection of the EC statement in its entirety.
Finally we would say that we are sure that we will continue to struggle with comrades in the CFB in fighting to establish a revolutionary party of the workingclass in Britain, and we will watch with great interest the progress of those comrades for we know that time and struggle will win many of the CFB comrades away from the arena of putsch politics and for the path of Marxism-Leninism. We look forward to reuniting organizationally with those comrades on the principled basis of the integration of Marxist-Leninist theory with practice in the concrete conditions of Britain.
Yours fraternally,
Signed by the Secretary of the Coventry Group