20th anniversary of the death of Comrade Kim Il Sung
Comrade Kim Il Sung, the great leader of the Korean people’s struggle for liberation from Japanese imperialism and the establishment and building of socialism passed away on 8 July 1994. As a result the progressive world lost one of its outstanding sons – a first-class Marxist intellectual, an outstanding military leader and a good and solid friend to all those fighting against imperialism and for a better world. In his honour LALKAR is now reproducing a few words from his famous 1967 article ‘Let us intensify the anti-imperialist, anti-US struggle’ published in the inaugural issue of Tricontinental, organ of the organisation of Solidarity of the Peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America, wise words which ring as true today as when they were written.
The newly independent countries which have thrown off the yoke of imperialism are confronted with the very difficult and important tasks of defending their national independence, carrying forward the revolution and aiding the liberation struggle of the peoples still chained by imperialism. The peoples who have won their independence must fight to crush the subversive activities of foreign imperialism and the domestic forces of reaction, tear down their economic strongholds, strengthen the revolutionary forces, set up a progressive social system and build an independent national economy and national culture. Only in this way can they protect the gains of the revolution, achieve the prosperity of their countries and nations and contribute to the common struggle of the peoples of the whole world to bury imperialism.
Asia, Africa and Latin America comprise 71 percent of the world’s land surface. These continents are inhabited by more than two-thirds of the world’s population and are blessed with inexhaustible natural resources. Imperialism has grown and become fat by grinding these peoples down and robbing them of their riches. Even today imperialism is squeezing tens of billions of dollars in profits from these areas every year. Once Asia, Africa and Latin America are completely freed from old and new colonialism, there will not be an imperialist Western Europe and an imperialist North America.
The struggle of the peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America against imperialism and colonialism … and the revolutionary struggle of the international working class for socialism are the two major revolutionary forces of our times, and they join into one stream which will carry imperialism to its grave.
The imperialists cannot bestow independence upon the colonial peoples. Is there any need to prove the falsity of the imperialists’ declaration that the Western world can help the peoples of the three continents to achieve independence and progress and can coexist with a free and independent Asia, Africa and Latin America? The imperialist leopard cannot change his imperialist spots, and he never will. Imperialism will exploit, oppress and plunder the people until it meets its doom.
The oppressed peoples can liberate themselves only through struggle. … It is inevitable that the oppressed peoples should fight for their emancipation. As long as imperialism plunders and oppresses small and weak nations by force, it remains an inalienable right of the oppressed nations to rise up in arms and fight against the aggressors.
It is wrong to try to avoid the struggle against imperialism under the pretext that independence and revolution are important, but that peace is still more precious. Is it not true that the line of seeking unprincipled compromise with imperialism only tends to encourage its aggressive actions and increase the danger of war?
Peace secured by slavish submission is not peace. Genuine peace cannot be achieved unless a struggle is waged against those who break the peace, unless the slave’s peace is rejected and the oppressors’ rule overthrown.