On the 17th of November 2001, the anniversary of the October Revolution was celebrated at Woolwich Town hall. This annual event, organised by the Committee to Celebrate the October Revolution and held in rotation at various venues around the country, was attended by a spirited and enthusiastic audience, mainly from the London area but some comrades travelled from other parts of the country including the north of England.
The meeting was chaired by Harpal Brar (editor of Lalkar) with informative, well researched and uplifting speeches made by Ian Johnson (Secretary, NW Region, SLP), Dave Roberts (NEC, SLP) and Katherine Cremer (SLP Youth), as well as a speaker from the local branch of the Indian Workers Association GB, which hosted the event this year. The speeches were interspersed by revolutionary poems and songs in Urdu, Punjabi and English.
Large golden letters on a red background stretched across the platform stating "uphold the banner of communism". This rally truly lived up to that tradition. In celebrating the Great October Revolution of 1917 the meeting rejoiced in the massive achievements of the Soviet Union. It emphasised the important role of the Bolshevik Party and the scientific and resolute leadership given by comrades Lenin and Stalin in the building of socialism.
While recognising that the collapse of the Soviet Union at the hands of the revisionists was a tragic and serious setback, all the speeches looked forward to the future with the optimism that can only come from a sound grounding in Marxism-Leninism and the recognition that the future belongs to the proletariat and oppressed people of the world.
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