Tuesday, March 10, 2015

The Young Reds Keep the Red Flag Flying High
By Mluleki Dlelanga

Comrades Moses Kotane and JB Marks gave their lives in ensuring that they kept the red flag flying high.

Cde Kotane served as the Secretary General of the SACP from 1939 until at his time of death in 1978 and Cde Marks served as the National Chairperson of the SACP at his time of death in 1972. Both revolutionaries were also serving in the NEC, and served as treasurer-general of the ANC at some point in time. Both comrades were uncompromised in their commitment to the freedom of South Africa.

These two comrades will be remembered as internationalists, their bones shared two countries, two burial grave, and two funerals and saluted by different state soldiers.

Cde Moses Kotane

Cde Kotane worked on Umsebenzi, the Party's newspaper. As a promising young party member, Cde Kotane was sent to Moscow to study Marxism-Leninism at the International Lenin School. In Moscow, Cde Kotane studied under Endre Sík, 1967 recipient of the Lenin Peace Prize and other Marxist theorists. Returning to South Africa in 1933, Cde Kotane advanced through the Party until the point where he became the Party's General Secretary in 1939.

Cde Kotane was a well-respected member of the struggle for majority rule in South Africa. Walter Sisulu credited him as a "giant of the struggle" because of his logical and non-dogmatic approach. Cde Kotane was a defendant in the Treason Trial alongside fellow South African leaders Nelson Mandela, Joe Modise, Albert Luthuli, Joe Slovo, and Walter Sisulu.

Cde Kotane combined his strong convictions as a Marxist with a commitment to the goals of nationalism and a firm belief in the importance of an African leadership and initiative in the struggle for equal rights. As he rose to leading positions in both the Party and the ANC, his loyalty to one organisation did not appear to be subordinate to his loyalty to the other.

Cde JB Marks

Cde Marks, Uncle J. B. as he was affectionately known, was truly a hero of our struggle. Cde Marks was part of the first generation of Black South Africans that joined the Young Communist League in the 1920s. He took part in the congress of the International Committee of Negro Workers, held in Moscow in 1928.

As one of the leaders of the Defiance Campaign, in 1952 Cde Marks was banned under the Suppression of Communism Act. He never the less took part in the Defiance Campaign and served a prison sentence for breaking a banning order. His long history of courageous leadership of the cause of liberation, his dauntless championing of the aspirations of the working class, deservedly made his name a household word among the oppressed and exploited people throughout the length and breadth of South Africa, inspiring confidence among the masses and striking awe into the hearts of the enemy - the ruling class and the white racialists.

After listening to the late S. P. Bunting addressing a meeting of workers at the mine where he was employed, Cde Marks joined the Party in 1928 and devoted himself to the fight for national and social emancipation, undeterred by the fierce hostility of the white racialists towards the revolutionaries of our country.

Cde Marks narrowly escaped death in 1929 when a fascist opened fire on the platform he was speaking from. The incident served only to steel his determination. He was elected to the Central Committee of the Party in 1932. The name of Cde Marks will ever be associated with the bitter struggles of the African gold miners of the Witwatersrand, surely among the most savagely exploited proletarians in the world. Recruited from all corners of Southern Africa, both inside and outside the borders of the Republic of South Africa, herded like prisoners into barrack-like compounds, and constantly policed and spied upon by the monopoly-capitalist owners and their State, the organisation of these workers was a most formidable task.

These two men, at a great personal cost to themselves and their families, chose to fight for freedom and democracy.

They were agents of the society that they wanted to see in their lifetime. Unfortunately, they both died in the 1970s just when the struggle reached a point of no return.

But they will always be remembered as heroes of our liberation struggle who were instruments of national unity, peace and bringing our diverse people together to build one human family in one country. This is what we celebrate about them! They fought for the freedom and democracy for all South Africans, irrespective of their race or background.

The Minister of Arts and Culture, Mr. Nathi Mthethwa is leading a government delegation to the City of Moscow, Russia, to repatriate the mortal remains of two struggle stalwarts, Moses Mauane Kotane and John Beaver (JB) Marks. Both Cde Kotane and Cde Marks were pioneers of the liberation movement who died in exile and have been buried in the Novodevichy cemetery.

President Jacob Zuma has tasked the Department of Arts and Culture in February 2014 to lead and coordinate preparations to bring home the remains of the two stalwarts. The Department and its associated institutions, the National Heritage Council (NHC), South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) and Freedom Park, worked together to facilitate the repatriation process.

The President has declared a Special Official Funerals Category 1 for the late two late stalwarts. The President has also instructed that the National Flag fly at half-mast at every flag station in the country from 9 March until the evening of 22 March 2015.

The remains of the two struggle stalwarts will be reburied on 14 and 22 March 2015 in Pella and Ventersdorp, North West, respectively.

As Young Reds there are great lessons that we can learn from these two great revolutionaries. We need to emulate the life of Cde Kotane and Cde Marks by being committed at all cost to the plight of the working class. We must become astute students in Marxism-Leninism. Be actively involved in the Battle of Ideas.

As Young Reds we must be part in our trade unions in the fight for decent jobs and better working conditions. Both Cdes Kotane and Marks remained committed to the revolution till their death by serving in both the national leadership of the SACP and the ANC. It is the duty of every Young Red to build a strong ANCYL - as active members of the ANCYL.

We are prepared to honor them by dignity and fight. As Ufasimba, the shocking force as fighting soldiers for socialism, we remain humble and we will continue to carry the struggle for socialism with dignity and we will wipe away all reactionary forces who delay our revolution, we will do so not using a machine gun but through educating and ideological training young people of our country as part of intensifying youth mobilization for socialism. As the shocking force and fighting soldiers for socialism, we shall defend the SACP and its leadership as the party of Cde Moses Kotane and Cde JB Marks is the only vanguard of the South African working class.

What we are doing today will be written in the history books of tomorrow. Cde Kotane and Cde Marks have written their history - it is know our time to continue to write in the history books of freedom and democracy. Therefore we need to ensure that we make our time count and that make giant strides forward towards building Socialism in our Lifetime.

In doing so we will keep the red flag flying high!

That's the Bottomline; coz the YCL says so…

Cde Mluleki Dlelanga is the National Secretary of YCLSA.

No comments: