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Gerry Healy

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Frankfurt Meeting Calls for full Enquiry

News Line 24 August 1976, page 12


   FRANKFURT – More than 150 members and supporters of the Bund Sozialistischer Arbeiter, German section of the International Committee of the Fourth International, attended a public meeting here on Saturday night to commemorate the 36th anniversary of Leon Trotsky’s death.


   First speaker Uli Rippert outlined the campaign launched almost a year ago by the International Committee for a complete investigation into the assassination of Trotsky by the GPU.


   He described the evidence gathered by the ICFI of the role of Stalinists agents and their infiltration into the Trotskyist movement.


   He charges the leaders of the American Socialist Workers Party, in particular Joseph Hansen, with responsibility for covering up his meetings with the GPU agent during the period that preceded Trotsky’s death.


   He called on the meeting to support the call by the ICFI for a commission of inquiry to be set up onto these events.


   Greetings were brought to the meeting from the Workers Revolutionary Party, British section of the ICFI, by D. Sylveire.


   She spoke on the history of the degeneration of the Communist International under the influence of Stalinism and its impact in particular on Germany in the 1930’s and throughout Europe.


   It was this, she stated, which led to Trotsky’s decision to prepare a new cadre to launch a new international, the Fourth International.


   She spoke on the need now to unmask all those who in one way or another assisted the assassins of Trotsky and more important those who cover up for them by their decades of silence.


   She concluded by drawing out the importance today to build the sections of the ICFI and its youth movement, to build the world party of socialist revolution.


   National Secretary Uschi Huber made a detailed explanation of the history of the struggle of the Left Opposition and the Moscow Trials carried out by Stalin.


   She drew out the lessons of that period for the revolutionary movement today.


   The audience, which included a number of older workers, including one who had belonged to the Left Opposition, listened attentively to all the speeches.


   Many young workers heard this history and about the campaign to unmask the events that led to Trotsky’s assassination for the first time.


   A German language version of the new documentary film, Trotsky – His Life and Work, was shown.


   The was followed by the overwhelming vote taken in favour of a resolution of full support for the call by the International Committee of the Fourth International for the setting up of a commission of inquiry to investigate the crimes of the GPU inside the Trotskyist movement.


   A collection of over 1000 DM (aprox. £200) was taken at the conclusion of the meeting.

  

  


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