Statement of the Red Brigades and the RAF

In order to make revolutionary power possible, and to bring the confrontation to an adequately developed level, there must be a leap forward in the politics of the Front [2]. This is why we must now fight against all dogmatic ideological positions that exist amongst those who struggle in the revolutionary movement in West Europe, because they divide the combatants and because these positions are incapable of bringing about the struggles and victories needed to create the necessary political development. The different histories and political trajectories of the individual organizations, (secondary) differences in the analyses, etc., cannot and must not prevent the necessary unification of the different struggles and anti-imperialist activities in a conscious and co-ordinated attack against imperialism. This does not mean the fusion of independent organizations into one single organization; the Front in West Europe develops a direct and organized process of co-operation on the basis of practical attacks, which in turn lead the fighting forces to the next level of unity. Organizing revolutionary combatants means organizing attacks. It is not based on some ideological category or on some blueprint for revolution. Rather, it is based on developing the political and practical strength needed to struggle against imperialism, deepening the break with imperialism in the metropole and achieving a qualitative leap in the proletarian struggle. Our struggle together indicates how, on the basis of each organization’s subjective decision, it is possible to continue building the Front in spite of differences and contradictions. In discussions with each other, we have never lost sight of the unifying element of attacks against imperialism.

West Europe is the central point in the conflict between the international proletariat and the imperialist bourgeoisie.

West Europe, as a result of its history and its political and geographical character, is the place where three frontlines meet; State and society, North and South, East and West. The deepening crisis of imperialism and the decline in the USA’s economic power are the most important developments that, together with other political factors, are leading to a relative decline of American political power and the further economic, political and military integration into a unified system. In this connection the role of West Europe in imperialist crisis management increases:

On the economic level:
West Europe is developing a coordinated economic plan as part of imperialism’s crisis management strategy, acting as a buffer against economic contradictions.

On the military level:
Forced political-military integration into NATO, with political-economic arms projects as part of the imperialist military strategy for confrontation with the East [3], and also as part of the integrated military-political intervention against the conflicts which are intensifying in the Third World, especially in the Middle East.

On the counter-revolutionary level:
The arming and integration of the police and intelligence services, in order to oppose the revolutionary Front, revolutionary struggles in general and the growing mass antagonism. This re-organization and integration is in preparation for the political struggle against the guerrilla, for example the planned “political solutions” in different West European countries.

On the political-diplomatic level:
The project of “political dialogue” to defuse conflicts and consolidate imperialism’s position of power. These initiatives also have the effect of reinforcing the process of political structuring in West Europe within the unified system.

Together all of this pushes forward the development of a West European political formation, a development from which no country is exempt. No fighting revolutionary force can disregard these facts when planning revolutionary activity. These political factors represent the context in which the Front in West Europe is both possible and necessary. The actual extent of the imperialist counter-revolution has destabilized the contradiction between imperialism and the revolutionary forces. That means one must be conscious of the increasing importance of subjectivity within the class contradiction, and, as a result, the fact that the revolutionary terrain cannot simply be taken for granted based on objective conditions.

By attacking the strategic projects for the political, economic and military development of West Europe, the Front aims to weaken the imperialist system and to cause a thorough political crisis.

Our common offensive directs itself:

Against:
the development of West European financial and monetary policies which are conceived as buffers against the severe economic downturn and which, in coordination with the USA and Japan, are designed to serve the interests of the banks and multinational corporations to the detriment of the people in the metropoles and in the Third World, and to prevent the collapse of the international financial system.

Against:
the policies of the West European formation which aims to strengthen its position within the imperialist system; currently they are intervening in the Middle East against the Palestinians and Lebanese so as to stabilize the region.

THE UNITED ATTACK AGAINST THE STRATEGIC LINKS IN THE WEST EUROPEAN FORMATION IS SHAKING IMPERIALIST POWER.
ORGANIZE THE ARMED STRUGGLE IN WEST EUROPE.

BUILD UNITY BETWEEN FIGHTING REVOLUTIONARY FORCES THROUGH THE ATTACK:
ORGANIZE THE FRONT.
STRUGGLE TOGETHER.

Red Army Faction
Red Brigades
for the construction of the Fighting Communist Party

September 1988

[1] Red Brigades – Italian urban guerilla organization. [return to text]

[2] A reference to the Anti-Imperialist European Front – see The Guerilla, the Resistance and the Anti-Imperialist Front (May 1982), For the Unity of Revolutionaries in West Europe (January 1985) and Interview with comrades ffrom the RAF (April 1985).  [return to text]

[3] Refers to the East Bloc countries of the USSR and their regional satellites. [return to text]