YCLSA Message on the Occasion of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (VLKSM) Congress
By YCLSA National Secretary Mluleki Dlelanga
29 October 2015, Russia, Moscow, Leningradskiy prospekt
“Let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend” Mao Zedong
Please receive revolutionary greetings from the more than 90 000 members of the Young Communist League of South Africa (YCLSA). We are more than elated to form part of this historic event; and we congratulate you, our fellow comrades for reaching this milestone in your process of organisational growth and renewal.
As the YCLSA we applaud the decision by the Ministry of Justice to return the name of Soviet Komsomol of All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (VLKSM). This name holds a very historical significance and we are more than honoured to address this august Congress under the new name.
This Congress takes place on a very significant day which is the 97th anniversary since the formation of this glorious and radical movement. The formation of the Soviet Komsomol on October 29, 1918 for us represents the birth of more Young Communist Leagues as ours was subsequently established on May 25, 1922.
Most of the YCL's established at this time were modeled on the All-Union Leninist Communist League of Youth, better known as theKomsomol, which catered for the needs of young people between the ages of 14 and 28 and formed the party's main source of recruits.
We specifically chose the above theme of ‘let a thousand flowers bloom' because our analyses over the past few years has revealed to us that the growth of left-leaning youth organisations have been on the decline. Working together with other left-leaning organisations from all over the world including the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) it is our revolutionary duty that we revitalise progressive Marxist-Leninist youth organisations whose primary pre-occupation would be to mobilise young people under the banner of communism all across the world.
With the current slump of capitalism the working class and poor people of the world are yearning for a communist revolution. It is the youth that must light the wick of the candle that will illuminate the world with the gleam of communism. While addressing the Third All-Russia Congress of The Russian Young Communist League Cde Lenin said “It is all the more necessary to dwell on this question (The fundamental task of the Young Communist League) because in a certain sense it may be said that it is the youth that will be faced with the actual task of creating a communist society. For it is clear that the generation of working people brought up in capitalist society can, at best, accomplish the task of destroying the foundations of the old, the capitalist way of life, which was built on exploitation. At best it will be able to accomplish the tasks of creating a social system that will help the proletariat and the working classes retain power and lay a firm foundation, which can be built on only by a generation that is starting to work under the new conditions, in a situation in which relations based on the exploitation of man by man no longer exist.”
Comrades allow me to brief the Congress on what is currently happening in our country at this particular moment. As you might have heard, in the past two weeks the country has been engulfed by student's protests. Students are protesting in demand for free quality education from Kindergarten until Post Graduate [which is first degree].
Initially the protest was against fee increments by universities. University management wanted to raise tuition fees by up to 11%. Government negotiated with the university management to reduce it to 6%. Students rejected the 6% and demanded that government introduces a moratorium on fee increment for the 2016 academic year. Government agreed to the moratorium and negotiated with universities to accept it.
Over the progress of the protest a few ultra-left and liberal-leaning organisations have went out of their way to highjack the genuine demands of students and use them to further their narrow political agendas. Some of the highjacking has come from the hub of capitalism; cities like London and New York. We have to guard against such tendencies that see this as an opportunity for a regime change in South Africa. They see the ground as fertile for an “Arab Spring” in South Africa.
Young people in our country bear the brunt of the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequalities. The unemployment rate among youth aged 15 to 34 increased from 32.7% to 36.1% between 2008 and 2014. Poverty levels dropped in South Africa between 2006 and 2011, reaching a low of 20.2% for extreme poverty and of 45.5% for moderate poverty.
This is as a direct result of the capitalist class trying to maximize their profits through exploitation of the working class and the poor. The gap between the have and the have-nots continues to be bridged on a daily basis. South Africa remains a very unequal society in the world with the white elite still in control of the economy. Young people in general are yearning for economic freedom as they can't the stomach the 30% of NEET ("Not in Education, Employment, or Training") youth.
The YCLSA continues to struggle for the following:
End to racism
Economic freedom
Equality
And the socialization of the ownership and control of the means of production
Our view is that the ultimate solution to all our problems will be the attainment of socialism. Only a socialist South Africa will be able to address the problems that are faced by our people. Capitalism has proven beyond reasonable doubt that they do not care about our people just as long as they maximize their profits and exploit our people for financial gain. It is all our duty to fight the scourge of capitalism and imperialism.
We wish you well for your congress and hope that you will have robust deliberations on fundamental issues. We hope you will take resolutions that will agitate for the creation of a socialist world. Part of the resolutions must speak to the strengthening of the relationship between our organisations. Through working together a new and socialist world is possible, we invite you comrades to march with us to such a world.
29 October 2015, Russia, Moscow, Leningradskiy prospekt
“Let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend” Mao Zedong
Please receive revolutionary greetings from the more than 90 000 members of the Young Communist League of South Africa (YCLSA). We are more than elated to form part of this historic event; and we congratulate you, our fellow comrades for reaching this milestone in your process of organisational growth and renewal.
As the YCLSA we applaud the decision by the Ministry of Justice to return the name of Soviet Komsomol of All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (VLKSM). This name holds a very historical significance and we are more than honoured to address this august Congress under the new name.
This Congress takes place on a very significant day which is the 97th anniversary since the formation of this glorious and radical movement. The formation of the Soviet Komsomol on October 29, 1918 for us represents the birth of more Young Communist Leagues as ours was subsequently established on May 25, 1922.
Most of the YCL's established at this time were modeled on the All-Union Leninist Communist League of Youth, better known as theKomsomol, which catered for the needs of young people between the ages of 14 and 28 and formed the party's main source of recruits.
We specifically chose the above theme of ‘let a thousand flowers bloom' because our analyses over the past few years has revealed to us that the growth of left-leaning youth organisations have been on the decline. Working together with other left-leaning organisations from all over the world including the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) it is our revolutionary duty that we revitalise progressive Marxist-Leninist youth organisations whose primary pre-occupation would be to mobilise young people under the banner of communism all across the world.
With the current slump of capitalism the working class and poor people of the world are yearning for a communist revolution. It is the youth that must light the wick of the candle that will illuminate the world with the gleam of communism. While addressing the Third All-Russia Congress of The Russian Young Communist League Cde Lenin said “It is all the more necessary to dwell on this question (The fundamental task of the Young Communist League) because in a certain sense it may be said that it is the youth that will be faced with the actual task of creating a communist society. For it is clear that the generation of working people brought up in capitalist society can, at best, accomplish the task of destroying the foundations of the old, the capitalist way of life, which was built on exploitation. At best it will be able to accomplish the tasks of creating a social system that will help the proletariat and the working classes retain power and lay a firm foundation, which can be built on only by a generation that is starting to work under the new conditions, in a situation in which relations based on the exploitation of man by man no longer exist.”
Comrades allow me to brief the Congress on what is currently happening in our country at this particular moment. As you might have heard, in the past two weeks the country has been engulfed by student's protests. Students are protesting in demand for free quality education from Kindergarten until Post Graduate [which is first degree].
Initially the protest was against fee increments by universities. University management wanted to raise tuition fees by up to 11%. Government negotiated with the university management to reduce it to 6%. Students rejected the 6% and demanded that government introduces a moratorium on fee increment for the 2016 academic year. Government agreed to the moratorium and negotiated with universities to accept it.
Over the progress of the protest a few ultra-left and liberal-leaning organisations have went out of their way to highjack the genuine demands of students and use them to further their narrow political agendas. Some of the highjacking has come from the hub of capitalism; cities like London and New York. We have to guard against such tendencies that see this as an opportunity for a regime change in South Africa. They see the ground as fertile for an “Arab Spring” in South Africa.
Young people in our country bear the brunt of the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequalities. The unemployment rate among youth aged 15 to 34 increased from 32.7% to 36.1% between 2008 and 2014. Poverty levels dropped in South Africa between 2006 and 2011, reaching a low of 20.2% for extreme poverty and of 45.5% for moderate poverty.
This is as a direct result of the capitalist class trying to maximize their profits through exploitation of the working class and the poor. The gap between the have and the have-nots continues to be bridged on a daily basis. South Africa remains a very unequal society in the world with the white elite still in control of the economy. Young people in general are yearning for economic freedom as they can't the stomach the 30% of NEET ("Not in Education, Employment, or Training") youth.
The YCLSA continues to struggle for the following:
End to racism
Economic freedom
Equality
And the socialization of the ownership and control of the means of production
Our view is that the ultimate solution to all our problems will be the attainment of socialism. Only a socialist South Africa will be able to address the problems that are faced by our people. Capitalism has proven beyond reasonable doubt that they do not care about our people just as long as they maximize their profits and exploit our people for financial gain. It is all our duty to fight the scourge of capitalism and imperialism.
We wish you well for your congress and hope that you will have robust deliberations on fundamental issues. We hope you will take resolutions that will agitate for the creation of a socialist world. Part of the resolutions must speak to the strengthening of the relationship between our organisations. Through working together a new and socialist world is possible, we invite you comrades to march with us to such a world.
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