More actions for 1st of May around the world
We share here more reports on actions made for the 1st of May. You can read about earlier reports here and here.
Ecuador
Workers of different branches marched in Ibarra, carrying red flags and raising slogans against the regime, against opportunism and revisionism, who have turned the May Day into a carneval of clowns or into the like of ”a procession of the Holy week”. The march denounced how electoralism, opportunism and others traffic in blood and in the struggles of the people, and that in order to make revolution, it is necessary to build a union movement of a new type and to destroy the old organizations of the reformists, opportunists and revisionists.
Austria
The Action for the Democratic Rights of the People (ADRV) participated in revolutionary May Day demonstrations, protesting especially the increasing prices and the warmongering of the bourgeoisie in Vienna and Linz. The activists carried posters showing solidarity for the struggle in France and banners with the slogan “Against price increases and warmongering! Come to ADRV!” and “Long live the International Communist League! For the reconstitution of KPÖ!”. The May Day statement of the ICL was also distributed. In both cities the marches were organized together with Turkish revolutionaries, who raised also slogans for Ibrahim Kaypakkaya and TKP/ML, as well as promoted the upcoming international symposium on the 50 year anniversary of the murder of Kaypakkaya in Vienna.
France
In France, the 1st of May demonstrations were larger than in decades, in some cities larger than ever, with 2,3 million people taking part all over the country. Despite the union leadership calling for ”festive” marches, the demonstrations were explosive and struggled fiercely against the police.
In Paris, the organizations Young Revolutionaries (JR), the League of Revolutionary Youth (LJR), the Federal Student’s Union (FSE) and Partizan marched side by side in protests which clashed intensively with the police. Young Revolutionaries and the League of the Revolutionary Youth also participated together in a demonstration in Nantes.
In Lyon, a historically large and intense demonstration took place. Two thousand formed a “black block”, which fought the heavily armed police. Many stores were looted, anti-imperialist tags were painted and massive clashes erupted.
In Saint-Etienne, the demonstration gathered 20,000 people. LJR and the union OSE-CGT had prepared a large banner, which was unfolded to start the demonstration, which proceeded to the city hall. During the demonstration a joint leaflet by JR and the LJR was distributed. The activists had also prepared a wooden “64” in reference to the raised retirement age, which was burned in front of a crowd.
Revolutionaries also took part in a demonstration in Lille together with migrants’ organizations, highlighting that the working class is international.
In Limoges, the demonstration was ten times larger than last year. Revolutionaries led a contingent in the front row, with a guillotine which was burned. The slogans raised by the contingent were “Everyone hates the bourgeoisie!” and “May Day is all year around, it is right to rebel!” Also in Guinkamp the demonstration was larger than ever.
In Rennes, the activists of Young Revolutionaries and La Cause du Peuple took part in two demonstrations as a red contingent as well as in a celebration in the evening.
In Strasbourg, Partizan took part in a demonstration, which gathered all together 20,000 people. Slogans “Our Leader İbrahim, İbrahim Kaypakkaya”, “Long Live Our Party TKP/ML”, “Rebel against Fascism, People’s Leader Partisan” were shouted. Towards the end of the demonstration, police attacked it. The protest continued, and after the union demonstration had ended, especially the youth kept on fighting the police on the streets.
Colombia
In Colombia the Movement of Students in Service of the People, the People’s Women’s Movement, the Revolutionary Youth League and the Movement of Class-Conscious Workers held a ceremony in the city of Medellin. Portraits of Marx, Lenin and Mao were held up over a red banner with the hammer and sickle. On the sides there were rows with people holding red banners. The young revolutionaries explained that the reason of the ceremony was to “give the labor movement their symbols with a renewed depth: the red flag that has been ours since it was hoisted in the Paris commune, the teachers of the proletariat who have endowed us with with weapons to conquer a new world, without exploitation or oppression, the hammer and sickle symbol of the alliance between workers and peasants, symbol of the popular classes, who with their skin, their sweat and their work have built everything.” They also denounced the opportunists and revisionists, who try to use the struggle of the masses in their own sinister interests and are afraid of the masses taking the path of revolution, which they highlight is the only path to follow.
Opening ceremony of the 1st of May in Medellin.
During the march, various different actions were done.
Chile
In Chile, a contingent of revolutionaries made a graffiti action in the province of Colchagua, the rural area of VI Region of Chile.
This First of May, the day of the working class, the Revolutionary People’s Front has done an immense agitation and propaganda campaign in the city and in the countryside. In the Region of Ñuble graffitis has been done in rural and worker areas, multiple leaflets has been spread among construction workers in the city of Chillán, as well as cartoons. The Front wants to increase the revolutionary spirit in the basic masses, calling them to commemorate the First of May and join, organize and struggle for new society.
Also in the University of the city of Chillán the propaganda campaign was developed spreading revolutionary slogans, calling the students to serve the people and diffusing the ICL’s First of May statement.
The activists of the Revolutionary People’s Front ended the campaign with the moral at its highest, reaffirming themselves in the task of unite with the basis masses to lead them into revolution.
Norway
In Norway the Struggle Committee marked a combative and anti-imperialist 1st of may together with other organizations and groups in the cities of Kristiansand, Trondheim, Bergen and Oslo. Some of the central slogans were: ”Strengthen international solidarity!” “Wave by wave – blow by blow, against imperialism and patriarchy!” ,“Russia, NATO, USA – Hands off Ukraine!” and “Viva, viva, Palestina!”
In Kristiansand the struggle committee marched with red flags under the slogan “Support the struggle of the poor peasants in Brazil”. In the evening the activists participated in a music event.
In Trondheim the day was started with a rally where the Struggle Committee held a speech. Afterwards the participants participated in the internationalist section of the union demonstration. The activists had banners with slogans against the war in Ukraine and welfare cuts. After the march there was a meeting on the situation of imperialism and the importance of organization and struggle.
In Bergen the Struggle Committee participated in a rally together with other anti-imperialists before joining an anti-imperialist and internationalist block in the 1st of may march. The activists carried a banner with the slogan ”Down with Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine!” Before the march started flyers for a meeting about the situation in Mexico and the CIIT were distributed.
In Oslo the day started with a rally under the slogan “Workers and oppressed of all countries, unite!”. The Struggle Committee and other organizations then formed an internationalist section in the 1st of May march.
The Netherlands
Partizan took part in a demonstration in Rotterdam alongside with Sri Lankan and Dutch organizations.
Sweden
Communist Association made actions to mark the struggle for unity under Maoism and for the reconstitution of the Communist Party of Sweden. An event was held to honor comrade Set Persson and the heroes of the Communist Party of Sweden, who struggled against revisionism in the Party. After this a demonstration followed in proletarian neighborhoods of Stockholm. Slogans ”Unite under Maoism!” and ”Forwards in reconstituting the Communist Party of Sweden!”. The speeches talked about the crisis of imperialism and denounced that the crisis is put on the backs of the proletariat while the bourgeoisie is making record high profits. It was highlighted that the only way out is socialist revolution. The speakers also sent their greetings to the fellow parties and organizations of the ICL and to the ongoing People’s Wars.
Finland
In Helsinki, thousands participated in a trade union demonstration, among them a contingent of Maoists which carried the flags of the International Communist League and a banner with the slogan “All but power is illusion!” Slogans “Long live International Communist League!”, “Viva Marx! Viva Lenin! Viva Mao Tse-tung!”, “International solidarity! Proletarian revolution!” and “No to Marin, no to Orpo, no to Purra and others! Only revolution leads to freedom! [Marin, Orpo and Purra are leaders of different reactionary parties]” were shouted. The slogans and the flags with hammer and sickle gathered positive reactions from the masses. The 1st of May statement of the ICL was also distributed.
Bangladesh
In Dhaka, slogans calling for proletarian revolution and People’s War instead of voting were painted.
Germany
In Freiburg, revolutionarist forces formed a large contingent in the union demonstration. Proletarian revolutionaries carried red flags with hammer and sickle and of the recently founded Red League (Roter Bund). In the street festival afterwards they sold revolutionary magazines, distributed the 1st of May statement of the ICL and held speeches which informed of the foundation of the Red League.
In Brunswick a contingent of proletarian revolutionaries participated in the union demonstration.
A revolutionary contingent also took part in the demonstration in Leipzig. Also here the statement of the ICL and the founding declaration of the Red League were distributed. Slogans like “Do not believe the lies of the exploiters – it is right to rebel!” and “Up the international solidarity!” were shouted.
In Cologne, activists and local residents participated in a street festival in a proletarian neighborhood before the start of the “Revolutionary 1st of May” demonstration. The demonstration had a combative atmosphere and resisted the harassment of the police.
Also in Frankfurt am Main a demonstration took place under the name “Revolutionary 1st of May”. Activists of the Red League and Partizan took part to this demonstration. Two years ago, the police attacked the demonstration massively and also this year they tried to intimidate and provoke the demonstration. The police was not able to stop the protesters from breaking the windows of the Deutsche Bank, despite being present at the scene with water cannons and dogs.
Activists of the Red League participated demonstrations in Wuppertal and Duisburg, distributing the message of the founding of the Red League and the 1st of May statement of the ICL. Slogans were directed against imperialism and denouncing that the crisis is put on the backs of the masses.
In Essen, revolutionaries took part in the union demonstration. Different forces had united to a “anti-capitalist, anti-militarist and internationalist block”, who with their agitation and propaganda offered a counter position to the propaganda of the yellow unions.
We have earlier reported on the anti-imperialist block in the demonstration in Hamburg. In this block, also activists of Partizan took part.
Flags were put up in all of these cities in preparation for 1st of May.
