Statement from Transform The Party faction on international debate
[Statement of the Transform The Party faction in the Irish section of the CWI, which criticises the internal regime of both the IS Majority and the "Co-Ordination" (aka the Non Faction Faction)]
The following motion was passed by a meeting of the Transform The Party faction on Friday 14 June. Six comrades who opposed the motion (FO’L, OH, CD, SZ, CMcK, BF) decided to leave the faction on the basis of the clear political differences they feel exist.
The Transform The Party faction believes that the question of democratic methods is a key question in the internal debate in Ireland and internationally.
The IS Majority has now breached the basic principles of democratic centralism in a gross and blatant fashion by refusing to convene the IEC meeting unanimously agreed by the IEC in November 2018 and called for by more than a third (in fact, a majority) of IEC members as provided by Statute 16 of the CWI Statutes. It has also indicated that it will not attend a World Congress of the CWI on the basis of the current composition of sections. We do not accept the reasoning given in their documents for this disregard of democratic centralism.
These breaches of democratic centralism are not a secondary question and mean that the 'new' International, clearly planned to be founded by the meeting in July, will be tainted by the very undemocratic methods used in its foundation. We are also deeply concerned about the exclusion of the minority comrades from the Engish & Welsh EC, and have not heard sufficient reasons to justify such an exclusion and the precedent it creates.
The crisis started with a blatant breach of democratic norms by a section of the Irish leadership and a resolution from the Irish NC which claimed it was "principled and democratic." The fact that the ‘Co-Ordination’ failed to even comment on this breach in its political statement is very concerning. This ‘diplomatic silence’ creates its own dangerous precedent for the future in relation to methods of debate and the importance of democratic centralism.
We fear that this failure for either main trend to clearly and consistently stand for democratic methods, as well as the explosive way this crisis arose after many years of formal agreement, points to underlying problems in the democratic culture within the CWI and at least some of its sections. The political issues which have emerged, for example those highlighted in our faction platform in relation to the transitional method and socialist programme, the role of the working class, united front methods and Marxist engagement in movements against oppression, will not be properly addressed without an internal life which encourages questioning, open expression of differences and democratic debate. We want to contribute in a full debate in Ireland and internationally to understand the causes of the degeneration of our democratic internal life and to assist its renewal.