Carter's Eyes on Oil

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The accelerating moves towards closer economic and political relations between Vietnam and the Carter administration in the US were underlined by the recent visit to Vietnam of an 'unofficial' delegation headed by auto union chief Leonard Woodcock on behalf of Carter and his State Department.

Behind the courteous exchanges and the symbolic return of the remains of American servicemen killed in the Vietnamese war stand the massive shortages and the social obstacles which shackle the Vietnamese economy.

With only limited technical and economic aid from the Soviet bloc countries, and negligible support from China, the Vietnamese regime has now moved to a new "investment code' whose purpose is to attract large amounts of capital from western Europe, Japan andin due course-the United States.

In return the companies are to Lxr:

Immediately after the elections the Pakistan National Alliance launched a movement to unseat the "re-elected" President. Within a short time this movement had secured a gigantic amount of support from the masses of Pakistan.

Martial law has now followed the terrorism, arrests and Killings. Despite all this masses are stil struggling against the PPP under the banner of PNA.

• The PNA constitutes a fourparty alliance, in which the most reactionary parties like Jamiat-EIslami and JUI (Jamiat-E-Islam) form the majority, along with sections of Muslim League.

These parties are the strongest right-wing parties in the provinces of Punjab and Sindh, and have always had a considerable following in sections of the rural and urban mmiddle class.

Their manifestoes rest on the fanaticism of "saving' Islam from "socialism' and 'communism'.

DISCREDITED

These same parties (with the exception of JUI in Baluchistan) on the same manifestoes, were defeated by PPP in 1970. Their leaders have been discredited and exposed since 1947 for their opportunistic and reactionary politics.

Asghan Kahn was a new entry to the Alliance and had some opportunity of attracting forces from the petty-bourgeoisie, but could not succeed because of his failure to give any concrete programme for his newly formed party Istiqlal.

All the same. a certain respect #ill exists for him berause of his achievements' in imo sars with be given the right to export most of their profits, to benefit from a 15 year guarantee against nationalisation, and-in the case of plants producing for export-are allowed to be wholly owned by foreign capital.

Plans are already well under way for cement factories (financed from France and Denmark respectively) and a Swedish pulp and paper plant.

And-perhaps the biggest carrot of all-negotiations have started with Norwegian and Japanese consortia for the exploitation of Vietnam's offshore oil reserves.

American diplomatic moves towards traprochement' with Vietnam must be understood against the background of US capital's desire to take a major share in exploiting the resources and labour force of a 'reunified' In fact the country has only been 'united' politically, not economically. The 17th parallel still marks the division between two currency zones, with a re-named *bis India and his detachment dirty politics.

That explains his leading tion in PNA.

The fact that the PNA is being supported so actively by the peoples of Pakistan, should be analysed carefully.

This massive support does not indicate that the peoples of Pakistan are in agreement with its highly reactionary policies.

And while, of course, religion is an important factor, it is detinitely not a basic factor, as was proved by the lack of support for the PNA in the 1970 election.

This time the masses hardly had any alternative. The only Left-wing party was the pro-Moscow NAP which was banned by PPP. In all these years, people have been confronting a worsening dictatorship and have seen PPP exposed from top to bottom.

Now, it they get the opportunity, they will vote for anybody but PPP. In coming months, people will face terrorism, murder, arrests and victimisation, without prospect of any real success.

The PNA is simply too backward, unscientific and reactionary launch a sustained struggle against the government.

In view of the situation, only a movement equipped with Marxist ideology and a trained cadre can develop the tactics and theory which is needed to bring a political and social change in Pakistan.

The labour movement in Pakistan has the task of creating such a basis. But once again Marxists in Pakistan are reduced to mere specLators. unable to contribute towards a potent leadership for the seizure of power.

While Marxists cannot support the PPP. to work under the banner version of the old Saigon piastre still circulating in the South.

High unemployment in the capital goes hand in hand with vast areas of land taken out of cultivation by war damage and American defoliants. Those who farmed them were driven as refugees into the towns.

And standing as a vast buffer against organised attempts to reconstruct the economy is the still overwhelmingly capitalist character of production in the south.

Most large enterprises, and millions upon millions of small businesses, still remain in private hands.

To an important degree the turn of the Hanoi government to a 'new economic policy' reflects the refusal of the big workers' states to give sufficient economic aid.

But the official encouragement of capitalism in the South underlines the dangers of the 'socialism in a single country? policies by which each national Stalinist government seeks to gain for itself an independent position of 'balance' with the imperialist powers.

Troops face anti-Bhut rioters of the PNA is equally impossible, and the Marxist movement is too weak to provide an alternative form of struggle to the people.

As a result they are now politically isolated. This situation is that traditionally faced by the Marxist movement in Pakistan, but it cannot be justified any more.

GAPS

This inability to act indicates many gaps in the movement. A people who are willing to go to any extent to change the desperate situation they face are again held back by the lack of leadership.

The scale of the anti-Bhutto movement followed by the general election could be anticipated from the 1975 by-election in Punjab.

There an ex-governor of Punjab, G.M. Khar, fromutto's alecad heir, resigned becaust power politics and stood for a seat in Provincial Assembly against PPP.

He had a similar, possibly even weaker election manifesto, but drew massive support in the whole province.

Here also the elections were rigged, and people were tear-gassed, killed, arrested and victimised. = The labour movement was fully aware of this. But, it seems, no preparations were made to combat the situation, no programme given for meaningful struggle, no attempt made to pose a left opposition to PPP.

When the people of a country are repeatedly let down in the critical situations, responsiblity hes with the conscious elements of the labour movement.

It is high time that a Marxist programme is developed and established as the theoretical basis of the AYISHA HAIDER