The Boat People: the Facts Behind the Cant

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Devastation in war-wracked Vietnam: and another cargo of boat neanle We already have 1,500,000 unemployed, severe inner city problems and long queues for hospital treatment.' This is not an extract from some kind of plea for socialism. These were the words of a Tory MP, arguing against the entry of any more Vietnamese boatpeople' into Britain.

But Nicholas Winterton, and the group of extreme right wing Tory racists who share his position, have run ahead of Thatcher's leadership.

The Cabinet itself has reacted to this new crisis with a far more, sophisticated response.

Hypocrisy

Of course the bourgeoisie does not hold a monopoly in hypocrisy but, as this example shows, they easily dominate a lively market.

At one level, trere has been a straightforward double-standard which separated the Vietnamese fugitives from immigrants', Last week The Guardian reported how:

"Tory MPs, on the Right as well as Left, did not like the notion of refugees, especially from a Communist regime, being compared to immigrants"

Anti-communism was of course the force which led to the government's "admirable and morally cleansing" decision in stark contrast to the Tories' avowed intention to step up immigration controls.

Giscard's reactionary government in France has openly welcomed far greater numbers of Vietnamese, at the very moment when it was trying to introduce violent new measures against immigrant workers.

Thatcher's self-righteous demand that other states should do more to share the burden has been an additional piece of пуриу wren outrayto orner hunnerich which nutenand athor capitalist governments, well aware of the relatively small numbers of 'boatpeople' accepted into Britain.

With its liberal conscience ment to its own advantage:

"Nor should the British or any other government fear that refugees now coming from Vietnam would be idle or worthless citizens.

"A main reason why most of them are coming is that they were too successful, as canitalists tn cuit the Commun.

•no a lanc ist designs of the government of 26/21 "Another reason for their leaving their country is that they are people of resource and determination. They will propadiy prove to de among ine AL -small businessmen of the future from whom Mrs. Thatcher hopes for so much."

This happy little picture does not square very easily with the scene in Hong Kong; While imperialist leaders beat-their humanitarian breasts, the capitalists in the colony are busily scouring the refugee camps for labour to be put to work and super exploited in in the sweatshop conditions of Hong Kong But the major hypocrisy of the bourgeoisie has been its conuemnation - I 4L= Mind Ine VIEInamese government for causing the refugee crisis.

The produc de velor toward: speedy The Stalinists of Hanoi have certainly followed policies which aggravated the situation. But the economic and social crisis within Vietnam was caused directly by the imperialist dominance and exploitation of the south, and the protracted imperialist war to protect those economic, strategic and political interests.

The escalation of the war transformed South Vietnam from a society bleeding from the ravages of foreign, imperialism.

Collapsed structure of agricultural :ion collapsed; industrial ment was directed i the war effort and the profits of entrepreneurs; corruption and the black market came to rule exchange at every . level.

All this was in addition to the more general social disruption caused by the war. In the north, too, the war exacted a toll that increased daily.

With the liberation of the south, the tasks of reconstruction were an immediate problem to be tackled.

But the Stalinist leaders of Vietnam approached these tasks with their own bureaucratic methods. At the same time they pursued their rivalries with the neighbouring Stalinist bureaucracies of China and Kampuchea.

The bitter fruits of their 'communism' are being gathered in Vietnam today.

The war of intervention Kampuchea and the war of defence against China have demanded a heavy price from the Vietnamese workers and peasants.

Beyond the cost of financing the military operations, there has been an almost total disruption of the programme of reconstruction.

Sections of the massive army had been sent as work-forces to develop vital projects. With the renewal of war, they were withdrawn to the fronts.

Abandoned

The building and rebuilding of hospitals, schools and power plants was abandoned. The sites of desperately-needed dams were emptied of workers.

For an agriculture based on irrigation, the consequences have been disastrous. In many areas crops have simply not been planted; in many others they will fail through lack of proper irrigation.

A situation of general hunger threatens to become a catastrophe of mass starvation.

In these conditions, the Vietnamese Stalinists have waged a campaign against the Chinese population. Many Chinese in Vietnam have been merchants and small traders, heavily involved in the black market.

But the Hanoi have exploited this Class character, rather than based their actions on it.

Conflict Their motivation has been to develop the conflict with their rival brothers in Peking.

At present there is no way of disentangling the reality from the propaganda of bourgeois reporting of the 'boatpeople' But it is difficult to believe

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easily satisfied, The Guardian moved on to advise the govern-

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