An Obituary by the Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT), 28 August 2021, www.thecommunists.net

It is with great sadness that we have to inform the public that our comrade Maruthei Thangavel – the founder and a leading member of the RCIT’s section in Sri Lanka – has died after a long period of illness at the age of 67 years. Comrade Thanga – as everyone called him – was a Tamil worker and a Trotskyist militant for many years.

Comrade Thanga dedicated his whole life to the liberation struggle of the working class. The focus of his political work was the Socialist Plantation Service Union, a trade union which focused on the improvement of the living conditions of the Tamil plantation workers. This work was very hard and difficult. The Tamil plantation workers are usually forced to live in small, isolated and very poor villages with only limited access to electricity and water. They face very harsh conditions of super-exploitation by the landowners. Furthermore, they are oppressed as they belong to a national minority which has faced horrific oppression by the state for many decades. Add to this that trade unionists like comrade Thanga also had to face the bureaucratic apparatus of the official trade union which has close relations to the landowners and the state, and which tries to harass socialist activists by any means possible.

Comrade Thanga was not only a dedicated trade unionist but also a Trotskyist activist for many years. First a member of the CWI section, he went with the comrades who split in 2007 with the faction which remained loyal to the center around Peter Taaffe. This group became the Socialist Party of Sri Lanka (SPSL) and joined our predecessor organization (the L5I) in the following year. It was in this period when the cadres who later founded the RCIT met the Sri Lankan comrades including comrade Thanga.

In January 2011 an internal debate about the Tamil question began in the SPSL which was provoked by discussion at the Asian congress of our predecessor organization at that time. At this congress comrade Michael Pröbsting –a member of the L5I’s international leadership at that time and the RCIT’s International Secretary today – argued that revolutionaries should support the slogan of an independent socialist Tamil Eelam if the Tamil people in Sri Lanka in their majority support such a goal. This was an application of the classic Leninist position that Marxists support the right of oppressed people to separate and build an independent state.

Comrade Thanga was the only Tamil member of the SPSL’s Central Committee. He fully supported this position and argued with comrades about this issue. However, the majority of the SPSL leadership strongly opposed this idea and urged the L5I’s international leadership to censor comrade Michael for a supposed “breach of discipline”. The majority of the L5I happily picked up this ridiculous and bureaucratic accusation and formally criticized comrade Michael because he had raised the slogan of a socialist Tamil Eelam at an internal congress! A few weeks later, comrade Michael, comrade Almedina Gunić (the International Women’s Secretary of the L5I at that time and of the RCIT today) and other comrades were expelled because we had launched a faction struggle against the centrist degeneration of the L5I.

Comrade Thanga was not deterred by this outburst of bureaucratic chauvinism. He stood by the Leninist program of national liberation of oppressed people despite the massive pressure of the majority of the SPSL and L5I leadership.

One should bear in mind that this discussion did take place not in “free” Western country but in Sri Lanka where the right-wing chauvinist regime of Rajapaksa had brutally smashed the de facto state of the Tamil people in the North and East of the country (led by the so-called Tamil Tigers) and slaughtered about 40,000 Tamils within a few weeks in spring 2009.

But despite all these difficulties, comrade Thanga continued to defend the Marxist principles. After a short but intensive internal struggle, he left the SPSL together with a few other comrades.

When the founders of the RCIT began to build a new international organization in April 2011, comrade Thanga and his friends immediately joined us. Despite the small numbers of militants, he dedicated himself to the task to build a new organization with the same energy as he did before. Soon he came into contact with comrade Kamalanathan and his friends and together they went ahead with building the United Lanka Workers’ Party – the RCIT’s section in Sri Lanka.

Due to his severe illness, comrade Thanga could no longer do the same amount of political work in the last years as he did before. However, he remained a dedicated Trotskyist and a loyal member of our organization until his last breath. Physically, comrade Thanga is dead. But he continues to live in our memories and in the memory of thousands of Tamil workers whom he helped in their daily struggle for a decent living!

Comrade Maruthei Thangavel – Presente!

International Bureau of the RCIT

Un obituario de la Corriente Comunista Revolucionaria Internacional (CCRI) 28 de agosto de 2021, www.thecommunists.net

Es con gran tristeza que tenemos que informar al público de que nuestro camarada Maruthei Thangavel, fundador y miembro destacado de la sección de la CCRI en Sri Lanka, ha muerto después de un largo período de enfermedad, a la edad de 67 años. El compañero Thanga, como lo llamaban todos, fue un trabajador tamil y militante trotskista durante muchos años.

Thanga dedicó toda su vida a la lucha por la liberación de la clase obrera. El foco de su trabajo político fue el "Socialist Plantation Service Union", un sindicato que se centró en la mejora de las condiciones de vida de los trabajadores tamiles de las plantaciones. Su militancia allí fue muy dura y difícil, ya que los trabajadores tamiles de las plantaciones suelen verse obligados a vivir en aldeas pequeñas, aisladas y muy pobres con un acceso limitado a la electricidad y el agua. Se enfrentan a condiciones muy duras de superexplotación por parte de los terratenientes. 

Además, pertenecen a una minoría nacional que ha enfrentado una terrible opresión por parte del estado durante muchas décadas. A esto se suma que sindicalistas, como el camarada Thanga, también tuvieron que enfrentarse al aparato burocrático del sindicato oficial, que tiene estrechas relaciones con los terratenientes y el Estado, y que trata de acosar a los activistas socialistas por todos los medios posibles.

El camarada Thanga no solo fue un sindicalista dedicado, sino también un activista trotskista durante muchos años. Primero, miembro de la sección del CIT, de donde se fue con un grupo de compañeros en 2007. Este grupo se convirtió en el Partido Socialista de Sri Lanka (SPSL) y se unió a nuestra organización predecesora (L5I) al año siguiente. Fue en este período, cuando los cuadros que más tarde fundaron la CCRI se encontraron con los camaradas de Sri Lanka, incluido el compañero Thanga.

En enero de 2011 se inició un debate interno sobre la cuestión tamil en el SPSL, que comenzó en el congreso asiático de nuestra organización predecesora. Allí, Michael Pröbsting, miembro de la dirección internacional de L5I -secretario internacional de la CCRI en la actualidad- argumentó que los revolucionarios deberían apoyar la consigna de un Tamil Eelam socialista independiente, si el pueblo tamil en Sri Lanka en su mayoría apoya tal objetivo. 

Esta fue una aplicación de la posición clásica leninista, de que los marxistas deben apoyar el derecho de los pueblos oprimidos a separarse y construir un estado independiente. Thanga, siendo el único miembro tamil del Comité Central del SPSL, apoyó plenamente esta posición y argumentó con sus compañeros sobre este tema. Sin embargo, la mayoría de la dirección del SPSL se opuso firmemente a esta idea e instó a la dirección internacional de L5I a censurar al camarada Michael por una supuesta "falta de disciplina". 

¡La mayoría de la L5I recogió felizmente esta ridícula y burocrática acusación y criticó formalmente al camarada Michael, porque había levantado la consigna de un socialista Tamil Eelam en un congreso interno! Unas semanas después, el compañero Michael, la compañera Almedina Gunić (Secretaria Internacional de la Mujer de la L5I en ese momento y de la CCRI en la actualidad), junto a otros militantes fueron expulsados por haber lanzado una lucha de facciones contra la degeneración centrista de la L5I.

El camarada Thanga no se dejó disuadir por este estallido de chovinismo burocrático. Apoyó el programa leninista de liberación nacional de los pueblos oprimidos, a pesar de la presión masiva de la mayoría de la dirección del SPSL y L5I. 

Hay que tener en cuenta que esta discusión no tuvo lugar en un país occidental "libre" sino en Sri Lanka, donde el régimen chovinista de derecha de Rajapaksa había aplastado brutalmente el estado de facto del pueblo tamil en el norte y este del país. (liderado por los llamados Tigres Tamiles) y masacró a unos 40.000 tamiles en unas pocas semanas en la primavera de 2009. Pero a pesar de todas estas dificultades, el camarada Thanga siguió defendiendo los principios marxistas. Después de una corta pero intensa lucha interna, dejó el SPSL junto con algunos otros compañeros.

Cuando los fundadores de la CCRI comenzaron a construir una nueva organización internacional en abril de 2011, Thanga y sus compañeros se unieron inmediatamente. A pesar del reducido número de militantes, se dedicó a la tarea de construir una nueva organización con la misma energía que antes. Pronto entró en contacto con el camarada Kamalanathan y sus amigos y juntos siguieron adelante con la construcción del Partido de los Trabajadores Unidos de Lanka, la sección de la RCIT en Sri Lanka.

Debido a su grave enfermedad, el camarada Thanga ya no pudo hacer la misma cantidad de trabajo político en los últimos años que antes. Sin embargo, siguió siendo un trotskista dedicado y un miembro leal de nuestra organización hasta su último aliento. Físicamente, el camarada Thanga está muerto. ¡Pero él continúa viviendo en nuestra memoria y en la memoria de miles de trabajadores tamiles a quienes ayudó en su lucha diaria por una vida digna!

Camarada Maruthei Thangavel - ¡Presente! Oficina Internacional de la RCIT

Obituary by the Executive Committee of United Lanka Workers’ Party, 27 August 2021

He was born to a working class family at Lellopitiya, Bopeththa, plantation area in Ratnapura district of Sri Lanka. He was inherited with gifted humanity to all human beings. He too was victimised to the grievances of plantation workers. He was well experienced at his early age how his parents were trying to survive as a family.

Thangavel was received his formal education at a school which was situated in his living estate. He excelled both Tamil and Sinhala language. He gained a fair knowledge of English language too. Young Thangavel always fought individually and organisationally against the injustice which occurred to his fellow workers. In term of the true sense, he was a humble and sociable character and gave a leadership to community works.

Thangavel continued his social works through various kind of charity organizations of the area. He felt thrust of doing social works and held various responsibilities in order to uplift the living condition of fellow state workers. He actively participated with “Shramadana Campaign” (collective charity works) and toiled his labour for the sake of his plantation community.

He was not only a social worker but also a militant. He was always grieved on poor living condition of plantation workers and the way them to be exploited by landlords. He led so many plantation struggles to win demands. He fought fearlessly against traditional state trade unionist, Savomyamurthi Thondaman and his movement. Therefore he had to face so many baseless allegations and had to spend his time at police stations and the courts.

During this period, he met comrade Kandaiah Kanapathy who holds an alternative leftist ideology. Thangavel was attracted to the organisation for which then Kanapathy holds the membership. Marxist workers Tendency (predecessor of United Socialist Party) .Thangavel became a Marxist and a Trotskyist and launched the socialist Plantation service union to fight against the monopoly of Thondaman’s Trade union hegemony.

In 2006, Comrade Thangavel fought against the theoretical derailment of United Socialist Party and finally formed The Socialist Party of Sri Lanka (SPSL) (a sister organization of L5I). Unfortunately he could not exist with the party for long time. SPSL leadership paid a loose stance on Self-determination rights on minority Tamil people of Sri Lanka. Therefore he re- launched a new workers organization by the name of United Lanka workers’ Party which affiliated with RCIT. Till his untimely death, he continuously held the red flag and was an active member of the party.

Red salute to Comrade Maruthei Thangavel!

රත්නපුර ලෙල්ලොපිටිය බෝපැත්ත වතුයායේ වතුකම්කරු යුවලකට දාව උපන් මොහු කුඩා කළ පටන් අසාමාන්‍ය මානුෂික උත්තුංග ගුණාංගවලින් පිරිපුන් සැබෑ මිනිසෙකු විය.ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ වතු කම්කරුවනට උරුම දුක්ඛ දෝමනස්සයන්ගේ ගොදුරක් වීමෙන් ගැලවීමට තංගවේල්ට නොහැකිවිය.තම දෙමාපියන් තම දරුපවුල රැකගැනීමට දරන අපමණ වෙහෙස කුඩා තංගවේල් සිය දෑසින් මෙන්ම අත්දැකීමෙන් හොදහැටි තේරුම් ගන්නාවිට ඔහු ගතකරමින් සිටියේ සිය හිරිමල් ළමාවියයි.

තමන් ජීවත්වූ වතුයායට අයත් පාසලේ මූලික අධ්‍යාපනය ලැබූ ඔහු දෙමළ සහ සිංහල භාෂා චතුරව භාවිතා කිරීමටත් ඉංග්‍රීසි භාෂාවෙන් වැඩකිරීමේ හැකියාව ද ලබාගනු ලැබීය.වතු කම්කරු ප්‍රජාව තුළ සැලකියයුතු අධ්‍යාපනයක් ලද තංගවේල් තරුණයා සිය ප්‍රජාවට සිදුවන අසාධාරණයන්ට එරෙහිව තනිවමත් ඇතැම් අවස්ථාවල සංවිධානාත්මකවද නැගී සිටියේය.එනිසා මොහුට බොහෝ ජන අරගලවලදී නායකත්වය හිමිවිය. ඉතා සමාජශීලී චරිතයක්වූ තංගවේල් පොදු සමාජසේවාවලද ප්‍රමුඛයෙකු බවට පත්විය.

සමාජසේවා කටයුතු කිරීමට ඔහුට තිබූ පිපාසය නිසාම ප්‍රදේශයේ පැවති නොයෙක් සමාජසේවා සංවිධානවල ක්‍රියාකාරී සාමාජිකයෙකු මෙන්ම නිලතල දරමින් සිය ප්‍රජාවගේ යහපත උදෙසා කටයුතු කරනු ලැබීය.කැත්තට උදැල්ලට සිය දෑත හොදින් හුරුව සිටි තංගවේල් ශ්‍රමදාන ව්‍යාපාරවලදී සිය කායික ශ්‍රමය වගුරවා ආදර්ශමත්ව කටයුතු කළ තරුණයෙකි.

සමාජ සේවකයෙකු සේම සටන්කාමියෙකු වූ මොහු වතු කම්කරුවන්ගේ දුගී ජීවන මට්ටම පිළිබදව අතිශය කණගාටුවූ පුද්ගලයෙකි.එසේම වතුකම්කරු අරගලවලට නායකත්වය සපයනු ලැබීය.සෞම්‍යමූර්තී කොණ්ඩමන්ගේ සාම්ප්‍රදායික වතු කම්කරු ව්‍යාපාරයට මොහු දැක්වූයේ අතිශය විරෝධයකි.මේ නිසාම අභූත චෝදනාවලට ලක්වූ හෙතෙම පොලීසිය සහ අධිකරණ වල කාලය ගතකිරීමට සිදුවිය.

කන්දයියා කනපති නැමති වාමාංශික විකල්ප මතධාරී ක්‍රියාධරයා මොහුට හමුවූයේ මෙම අවදියේය.කනපති සහෝදරයා සම්බන්ධවී සිටි මාක්ස්වාදී කම්කරු ප්‍රවනතාවය (පසුව එක්සත් සමාජවාදී පක්ෂය) වෙත තංගවේල් සහෝදරයා ආකර්ෂනය විය.මාක්ස්වාදියෙකු මෙන්ම ට්‍රොට්ස්කිවාදියෙකු වූ තංගවේල් සහෝදරයා සිය කම්කරු ජනයා වෙනුවෙන් විකල්ප වෘත්තිය සමිතියක් ගොඩනැගීමට කනපති හා එක්ව වැඩකටයුතු ආරම්භ කරනු ලැබීය.ඒ අනුව සමාජවාදී වතුසේවා සංගමය බිහිවූ අතර තොන්ඩමන් ගේ වෘත්තීය සමිති ඒකාධිකාරයට එරෙහිව අභීත අරගලයක නිරත විය.

2006 පමණ වන විට එක්සත් සමාජවාදී පක්ෂයේ න්‍යායික පීලිපැනීම් වලට එරෙහිව මාක්ස්වාදයේ ආරක්ෂාව වෙනුවෙන් පෙනීසිටි තංගවේල් සහෝදරයා ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සමාජවාදී පක්ෂය(පස්වන ජාත්‍යන්තරයේ ලංකා ශාඛාව) බිහිකිරීම වෙනුවෙන් කරඋර දෙනු ලැබීය.නමුත් අවාසනාවකට එම පක්ෂය තුළ දීර්ඝ කාලයක් කටයුතු කිරීමට මොහුට නොහැකිවිය. විශේෂයෙන් සුලු ජාතීන්ගේ ස්වයංතීරණ අයිතිය පිළිබද එම පක්ෂයේ නායකත්වය දැක්වූ ලිහිල්බුරුල් ප්‍රතිපත්තිය හේතුකොගෙන එම පක්ෂයෙන්ද ඉවත් වූ මෙම සහෝදරයා විප්ලවවාදී කොමියුනිස්ට් ජාත්‍යන්තර ප්‍රවනතාවය (RCIT) සමග එක්ව එක්සත් ලංකා කම්කරු පක්ෂය ගොඩනැගීමට කටයුතු කළේය. මිය යන තුරුම එහි ක්‍රියාකාරී සාමාජිකයෙකු වූ මෙම සහෝදරයා සිය රතු ධජය බිම නොහෙලීය.

මරුදෛයි තංවේල් සහෝදරයාට අපගේ විප්ලවීය ආචාරය!

විධායක සභාව - එක්සත් ලංකා කම්කරු පක්ෂය

An Obituary by Michael Pröbsting, International Secretary of the Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT), 28 August 2021, www.thecommunists.net

It is never a pleasant task to write an obituary. However, it is particularly sad to write such reminiscences about a departed comrade who was so dedicated and unselfish like our Sri Lankan comrade Maruthei Thangavel! As both our Sri Lankan section as well as the RCIT’s International Bureau have already published obituaries (see the link below), I will not repeat at this point the biographical notes about the life of comrade Thanga (as he was called by everyone). Rather, I wish to take this opportunity to add a few personal notes about this extraordinary comrade.

The first time, I met comrade Thanga was in March 2010 when we were still members of our predecessor organization – the League for the Fifth International. Comrade Almedina Gunić and myself – both members of the LFI’s international leadership – visited the section in Sri Lanka in preparation of an impending congress. For most of the time, comrade Thanga accompanied Almedina and myself and supported us with the daily challenges during our stay.

As part of our trip, we also visited several tea plantations which have been a key sector of the country’s economy as a result of the legacy of British colonialism. Part of this legacy was also the fact that all plantation workers have been Tamils who initially were brought to the island from India by the colonial masters in the 19^th century. They did calculate that these workers could be exploited particularly profitable.

Comrade Thanga, himself a Tamil worker, lived among the plantation workers. Usually, these workers live in isolated places, poor villages where people often have no electricity and water in their small houses. Comrade Thanga had a very small “house”, more precisely it was a small hut with two rooms.

He was an extraordinary dedicated comrade. He was heart and soul of “his” trade union – the Socialist Plantation Service Union – which fought for the interests of the plantation workers. He spent most of his time in supporting other workers and defending them against the greedy and cruel landowners. He went to the bosses arguing on behalf of these workers, writing formal letters, giving legal advice, organizing meetings, recruiting new members, etc.

When he told us stories about his trade union work, one could see in his eyes how deeply interwoven he has always been with these workers. His kind of trade union work was not limited to the “usual” wage negotiations etc. To give only one example which he told me. A female plantation worker broke her leg during her work (the plantations are often in mountainous areas with steep hillside so their work is often very dangerous). The criminal landowner instructed his workers to continue their job and not to care about her. At one point, the workers refused the order and brought her to a doctor. The landowner tried to punish these workers by reducing their wage. Comrade Thanga stepped in and supported the workers in their protest.

Comrade Thanga was a kind of full-time trade union organizer (and also working for the party) but he hardly got a regularly wage. One always wondered how he managed to survive. But his “secret” was that he was so beloved by other workers that they always supported him on one way or another.

While building the trade union and defending the day-to-day struggle of the plantation workers was the focus of his activities, comrade Thanga was not only a trade union activist but also a revolutionary militant and party member.

During resp. in wake of my second visit to the country – in January 2011 – I learned another side of his personality. As mentioned in the RCIT’s obituary, I raised at an international congress of our predecessor organization the necessity to support the slogan of an independent socialist Tamil Eelam if the Tamil people in Sri Lanka in their majority would support such a goal. This was only an application of the Marxist position of the right of oppressed people to separate and to build an independent state. However, the majority of the SPSL leadership was very hostile to this idea.

Comrade Thanga was very interested in this issue and in a break of the congress he came to me and asked me questions about the Marxist program on the national question. He was not quick in drawing conclusions and while I had the impression that he sympathized with this idea he didn’t tell me anything about his conclusions about this issue. Then, at a next session of the congress there was a certain tumult among the delegation of the Sri Lankan section (all in all about 10 comrades or so). They discussed animated in Sinhala so I couldn’t understand what it was about. When other delegates asked what the cause of the debate was, the leaders of the delegation refused to answer and just said that everything was fine. When we later found out that the reason were differences on the Tamil question, it became clear that the majority of the SPSL leaders had already developed a strong bureaucratic mentality.

Comrade Thanga was very loyal and did not want to undermine his comrades. So he too didn’t tell me what was the issue of the tumult. When the congress had finished and I left the country I had no idea about the differences within the Sri Lankan section. I only got a hazy notion when the majority of the LFI leadership informed me some weeks later about the outrage of the SPSL leaders and censored me – for defending the Leninist program at an internal congress!

However, we only got a clear picture when we received a postal letter from comrade Thanga in which he informed us that he and some other comrades had to break with the SPSL because of their hostility to the program of national liberation for the Tamil people. This letter filled us with enthusiasm as we received it in the very days of our bureaucratic expulsion from the L5I in April 2011. Similar to the SPSL leaders who could not stand the Leninist program on the Tamil question, the majority of the L5I leaders could not stand our defense of the Leninist principles. (For more details of our faction struggle against the centrist degeneration of the L5I and our expulsion, see my book: Building the Revolutionary Party in Theory and Practice. Looking Back and Ahead after 25 Years of Organized Struggle for Bolshevism, December 2014, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/rcit-party-building/)

Comrade Thanga was not a theoretician. He was a revolutionary activist, fighting for the interests of his class brothers and sisters and his strong sides were agitation and organizing. But while he might have read less from Marx, Lenin and Trotsky than some of his comrades in the SPSL leadership, he knew what was right and what was wrong. In this situation he demonstrated an extraordinary courage. He was the only Tamil member in the Central Committee of the SPSL and he was alone in consistently defending the right of national self-determination of the Tamil people. He was bureaucratically harassed and only few comrades among the membership supported him. Still, he refused to capitulate and he did stick to the principles. He was prepared to face the consequences and worked towards building a new organization. Soon, he joined us but we could also not offer him a rosy future as we were very small at that time. But for him, principles were more important than positions and Marxism more important than money.

In this way, comrade Thanga became the founder of our section in Sri Lanka and together with other comrades he eagerly worked towards building a revolutionary party – both nationally as well as internationally. Despite his declining health he never waivered in his dedication to the revolutionary cause. I remember him very well during my third visit to the country when he spoke at a conference with passion. His contributions were always clear and concrete, orientated to solve problems.

We will strongly miss comrade Thanga! Naturally we can not bring his body to life again. But we can – and we will – continue the struggle for the revolutionary program of liberation of the workers and oppressed, for the very ideas for which comrade Thanga did dedicate his life. In our struggle, in our collective organizations, comrade Thanga and his contribution to the cause of revolution will continue to exist. It is in this way that we will make him immortal!

An Obituary by Almedina Gunic, Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT), 31 August 2021, www.thecommunists.net

It was eleven years ago when I first met comrade Thangavel during a travel as an international delegate. Together with comrade Michael Pröbsting, I got the honor to meet Thanga in person who supported us during the visits at the tea plantations. At that time, all three of us were members of the League for the Fifth International.

Thangavel was fully dedicated to the cause of helping and supporting the workers and their families at the plantations. He would write letters with demands from the workers in handwriting, rephrase them many times until they are perfectly formulated and then he would read them out and discuss with the workers if they agree with the formulations he chose. If they agreed, he would type them down on an old type writer. Sometimes he would repeat this procedure for weeks as the letters were often enough ignored by the plantation managers or even "lost" by them. He was able to speak Tamil, Sinhala and English - a very rare if not unique combination of skills on the plantations.

He visited workers who were injured at work, harassed by the plantation management, desperate about the dreary living situation. He lived at one of the plantation, in a small housing, build like all the others out of clay. No running water, nor electricity. No connection to the world outside except for his small, old cellphone he carried with him like a precious tool.

Thanga organized his revolutionary work the same way he organized everything in his life: with great care, discipline and dedication. He woke up very early, did his exercises to stay healthy and tackled the tasks of the day. He would not drink alcohol or smoke, he would not laze around or miss appointments. He would read whenever he got the chance. Surrounded by the dirty earth of the plantations, he managed to mantain his appearance clean and orderly. Domestic work was easy for him, he organized his house self-sufficient - often enough the women workers mentioned his approach as a positive example when their husbands would not do their chores.

When we rejoined our forces and elaborated the first manifesto of the RCIT, he organized himself a printed copy and started teaching lessons about its content with many of the younger plantation workers. He taught the children, the young (and not so young) adults to read and to write if they wanted to learn it.

He was rarely alone in his house. This was not a surprise as he would keep his spirit high in every situation, confident about the just cause of socialist work. He was a magnet for those around him. Thangavel was a man of great kindness, somebody who inspires people to fight for a better world, even if everything seemed doomed just a moment ago. No wonder, he chose the more demanding path to struggle for the national liberation of Tamil people instead of surrendering to chauvinism. No wonder he was willing to build the RCIT with all the difficulties at the early stages.

Whenever people talked to him, be it a daughter of one of the workers talking about her dream to leave the plantations and live in a city - be it an older worker who worried about his health - be it a strong (and very impatient) women worker who demanded from him to visit the managers with her yet again - he would listen and speak with the highest amount of concentration and presence.

Whenever I met Thanga, he offered us smart observations and bright conclusions. Once, he explained in detail the historic developments of the rail traffic system in Sri Lanka. Another time he informed us about the working situation of the tuk tuk drivers. He explained the steps of weaving a bag which one of the young woman at the plantations gave me as a gift.

Comrade Michael Pröbsting correctly stated that Thanga was not a man of theory in the sense of a writer of books. I am convinced this was not because of missing talent. It was his deliberate choice - a life dedicated to learn from the workers and oppressed themselves. Dedicated to revolutionary work on the ground, to the life in the present moment and the struggle for a marvelous future. Indeed, we need such extraordinary people to build a socialist world - comrade Thangavel will be missed deeply.

It is difficult to do comrade Thangavel justice in an obituary likewise to express the deep sadness about his passing in words. It is in our daily work as revolutionaries where we have to honour our lost comrade by living up to his discipline, modesty, empathy and dedication.

Um obituário da Corrente Comunista Revolucionária Internacional (CCRI/RCIT), 28 de agosto de 2021, www.thecommunists.net

É com grande tristeza que devemos informar ao público que nosso camarada Maruthei Thangavel - o fundador e um dos principais membros da seção da CCRI no Sri Lanka - morreu após um longo período de doença aos 67 anos de idade. O camarada Thanga - como todos o chamavam - foi um trabalhador tamil e militante trotskista por muitos anos.

O camarada Thanga dedicou toda a sua vida à luta de libertação da classe trabalhadora. O foco de seu trabalho político era o Socialist Plantation Service Union, um sindicato que se concentrou na melhoria das condições de vida dos trabalhadores das plantações Tamil. Este trabalho foi muito árduo e difícil. Os trabalhadores da plantação tâmil são geralmente forçados a viver em vilarejos pequenos, isolados e muito pobres, com acesso limitado à eletricidade e água. Eles enfrentam condições muito duras de superexploração por parte dos proprietários de terras. Além disso, eles são oprimidos por pertencerem a uma minoria nacional que tem enfrentado uma terrível opressão do Estado por muitas décadas. Acrescente-se a isso que sindicalistas como o camarada Thanga também tiveram que enfrentar o aparato burocrático do sindicato oficial, que mantém relações estreitas com os latifundiários e com o Estado, e que tenta perseguir os militantes socialistas por todos os meios possíveis.

O camarada Thanga não foi apenas um sindicalista dedicado, mas também um ativista trotskista por muitos anos. Primeiro um membro da seção do CIT/CWI, ele estava com os camaradas que romperam em 2007 com a facção que permaneceu leal ao centro em torno de Peter Taaffe. Este grupo tornou-se o Partido Socialista do Sri Lanka (SPSL) e juntou-se à nossa organização antecessora (Liga da Quinta Internacional-L5I) no ano seguinte. Foi neste período que os quadros que mais tarde fundaram a CCRI se encontraram com os camaradas do Sri Lanka, incluindo o camarada Thanga.

Em janeiro de 2011, um debate interno sobre a questão do Tamil começou no SPSL o qual foi provocado para discussão no congresso asiático de nossa organização antecessora na época. Neste congresso, o camarada Michael Pröbsting - um membro da liderança internacional da L5I naquela época e atualmente Secretário Internacional da CCRI - argumentou que os revolucionários deveriam apoiar o slogan de um Tamil Eelam socialista independente caso o povo Tamil no Sri Lanka em sua maioria apoiasse tal objjetivo. Esta foi uma aplicação da clássica posição leninista de que os marxistas apoiam o direito dos oprimidos de se separar e construir um estado independente.

O camarada Thanga era o único membro tamil do Comitê Central do SPSL. Ele apoiou totalmente nossa posição e discutiu com os camaradas sobre o assunto. No entanto, a maioria da liderança do SPSL se opôs fortemente a essa ideia e incentivou a liderança internacional do L5I a censurar o camarada Michael por uma suposta “quebra de disciplina”. A maioria do L5I felizmente aceitou esta acusação ridícula e burocrática e criticou formalmente o camarada Michael porque ele levantou o slogan de um Tamil Eelam socialista em um congresso interno! Algumas semanas depois, o camarada Michael, a camarada Almedina Gunić (Secretária Internacional da Mulher do L5I naquela época e atualmente na mesma função na CCRI) e outros camaradas foram expulsos porque tínhamos lançado uma luta de facção contra a degeneração centrista da L5I.

O camarada Thanga não se deixou intimidar por essa explosão de chauvinismo burocrático. Ele defendeu o programa leninista de libertação nacional do povo oprimido, apesar da pressão massiva da maioria da liderança do SPSL e da L5I.

Deve-se ter em mente que esta discussão não ocorreu em um país ocidental "livre", mas no Sri Lanka, onde o regime chauvinista de direita de Rajapaksa esmagou brutalmente o estado de fato do povo tâmil no norte e no leste do país (liderado pelos chamados Tigres Tamil) e massacrou cerca de 40.000 do povo Tamil em poucas semanas na primavera de 2009.

Mas, apesar de todas essas dificuldades, o camarada Thanga continuou a defender os princípios marxistas. Depois de uma curta luta interna, mas intensa, ele deixou o SPSL junto com alguns outros camaradas.

Quando os fundadores da CCRI começaram a construir uma nova organização internacional em abril de 2011, o camarada Thanga e seus amigos imediatamente se juntaram a nós. Apesar do pequeno número de militantes, ele se dedicou à tarefa de construir uma nova organização com a mesma energia de antes. Logo ele entrou em contato com o camarada Kamalanathan e seus amigos e juntos eles prosseguiram com a construção do Partido dos Trabalhadores do Lanka - seção da CCRI no Sri Lanka.

Devido à sua doença grave, o camarada Thanga não pôde mais fazer a mesma quantidade de trabalho político nos últimos anos como fazia antes. No entanto, ele permaneceu um trotskista dedicado e um membro leal de nossa organização até seu último suspiro. Fisicamente, o camarada Thanga não está entre nós. Mas ele continua a viver em nossas memórias e na memória de milhares de trabalhadores do povo tamil que ele ajudou em sua luta diária por uma vida decente!

Camarada Maruthei Thangavel - Presente!

Secretaruado Internacional da CCRI/RCIT

Une nécrologie du Courant Communiste Révolutionnaire Internationale (CCRI/RCIT), 28 août 2021, www.thecommunists.net.

C'est avec une grande tristesse que nous devons informer le public que notre camarade Maruthei Thangavel - le fondateur et l'un des principaux membres de la section sri-lankaise du CCRI - est décédé après une longue période de maladie à l'âge de 67 ans. Le camarade Thanga - comme tout le monde l'appelait - était un travailleur tamoul et un militant trotskyste depuis de nombreuses années.

Le camarade Thanga a consacré toute sa vie à la lutte pour la libération de la classe ouvrière. Le point central de son travail politique était le Socialist Plantation Service Union, un syndicat qui se concentrait sur l'amélioration des conditions de vie des travailleurs tamouls des plantations. Ce travail était très dur et difficile. Les travailleurs tamouls des plantations sont généralement contraints de vivre dans de petits villages isolés et très pauvres, avec un accès limité à l'électricité et à l'eau. Ils sont confrontés à des conditions très dures de surexploitation par les propriétaires fonciers. En outre, ils sont opprimés parce qu'ils appartiennent à une minorité nationale qui subit une terrible oppression de l'État depuis de nombreuses décennies. Ajoutez à cela que les syndicalistes comme le camarade Thanga ont également dû faire face à l'appareil bureaucratique du syndicat officiel, qui entretient des relations étroites avec les propriétaires fonciers et l'État, et qui tente de persécuter les militants socialistes par tous les moyens possibles.

Le camarade Thanga était non seulement un syndicaliste dévoué, mais aussi un militant trotskyste depuis de nombreuses années. D'abord membre de la section CIT/CWI, il a fait partie des camarades qui ont rompu en 2007 avec la faction restée fidèle au centre autour de Peter Taaffe. Ce groupe est devenu le Sri Lanka Socialist Party (SPSL) et a rejoint l'année suivante notre organisation précédente ((Ligue de la Cinquième Internationale-L5I-L5I). C'est à cette époque que les cadres qui ont ensuite fondé le CCRI ont rencontré des camarades sri-lankais, dont le camarade Thanga.

En janvier 2011, un débat interne sur la question tamoule a débuté au sein du SPSL, qui avait été provoqué pour être discuté lors du congrès asiatique de notre organisation prédécesseur de l'époque. Lors de ce congrès, le camarade Michael Pröbsting - membre de la direction internationale de la L5I à l'époque et actuellement secrétaire international du CCRI - a fait valoir que les révolutionnaires devaient soutenir le slogan d'un Eelam tamoul socialiste indépendant si le peuple tamoul du Sri Lanka soutenait majoritairement un tel objectif. Il s'agissait d'une application de la position léniniste classique selon laquelle les marxistes soutiennent le droit des opprimés à faire sécession et à construire un État indépendant.

Le camarade Thanga était le seul membre tamoul du comité central du SPSL. Il a pleinement soutenu notre position et a discuté avec les camarades sur la question. Cependant, la majorité de la direction du SPSL s'est fermement opposée à cette idée et a encouragé la direction internationale de la L5I à censurer le camarade Michael pour une prétendue "violation de la discipline". La majorité de la L5I a accepté  cette accusation ridicule et bureaucratique et a formellement critiqué le camarade Michael parce qu'il a lancé le slogan d'un Eelam tamoul socialiste lors d'un congrès interne ! Quelques semaines plus tard, le camarade Michael, la camarade Almedina Gunić ( à l'époque Secrétaire internationale des femmes de la L5I et qui occupe actuellement la même fonction au sein du CCRI) et d'autres camarades ont été expulsés parce que nous avions lancé une lutte factionnelle contre la dégénérescence centriste de la L5I.

Le camarade Thanga n'a pas été intimidé par cette explosion de chauvinisme bureaucratique. Il a défendu le programme léniniste de libération nationale des peuples opprimés malgré la pression massive de la majorité de la direction du SPSL et de la L5I.

Il convient de rappeler que cette discussion n'a pas eu lieu dans un pays occidental "libre", mais au Sri Lanka, où le régime chauvin de droite de Rajapaksa a brutalement écrasé l'État de facto du peuple tamoul dans le nord et l'est du pays (dirigé par les Tigres tamouls) et a massacré quelque 40 000 Tamouls en quelques semaines au printemps 2009.

Mais malgré toutes ces difficultés, le camarade Thanga a continué à défendre les principes marxistes. Après une lutte interne courte mais intense, il a quitté le SPSL avec d'autres camarades.

Lorsque les fondateurs du CCRI ont commencé à construire une nouvelle organisation internationale en avril 2011, le camarade Thanga et ses amis nous ont immédiatement rejoints. Malgré le petit nombre de militants, il se consacre à la tâche de construire une nouvelle organisation avec la même énergie qu'auparavant. Bientôt, il est entré en contact avec le camarade Kamalanathan et ses amis et ensemble, ils ont procédé à la construction du Parti des travailleurs de Lanka - section sri-lankaise du CCRI.

En raison de sa grave maladie, le camarade Thanga n'a plus pu, ces dernières années, effectuer autant de travail politique qu'auparavant. Cependant, il est resté un trotskiste dévoué et un membre loyal de notre organisation jusqu'à son dernier souffle. Physiquement, le camarade Thanga n'est pas parmi nous. Mais il vit dans nos mémoires et dans celles de milliers de travailleurs du peuple tamoul qu'il a aidés dans leur lutte quotidienne pour une vie décente !

Camarade Maruthei Thangavel - Présent !

Bureau international du CCRI/RCIT

Zum Gedenken an Genosse Maruthei Thangavel (1954-2021)

Ein Nachruf der Revolutionären Kommunistischen Internationalen Tendenz (RCIT), 28. August 2021, www.thecommunists.net

Mit großer Trauer müssen wir die Öffentlichkeit darüber informieren, dass unser Genosse Maruthei Thangavel - der Gründer und ein führendes Mitglied der Sektion der RCIT in Sri Lanka - nach langer Krankheit im Alter von 67 Jahren verstorben ist. Genosse Thanga - wie ihn alle nannten - war ein tamilischer Arbeiter und seit vielen Jahren ein trotzkistischer Aktivist.

Genosse Thanga widmete sein ganzes Leben dem Befreiungskampf der Arbeiterklasse. Der Schwerpunkt seiner politischen Arbeit war die Socialist Plantation Service Union, eine Gewerkschaft, die sich für die Verbesserung der Lebensbedingungen der tamilischen Plantagenarbeiter einsetzte. Diese Arbeit war sehr hart und schwierig. Die tamilischen Plantagenarbeiter sind in der Regel gezwungen, in kleinen, isolierten und sehr armen Dörfern zu leben, die nur begrenzten Zugang zu Strom und Wasser haben. Sie sind mit den harten Bedingungen der Überausbeutung durch die Plantagenbesitzer konfrontiert. Darüber hinaus werden sie unterdrückt, da sie einer nationalen Minderheit angehören, die seit vielen Jahrzehnten unter schrecklicher Unterdrückung durch den Staat zu leiden hat. Hinzu kommt, dass Gewerkschafter wie Genosse Thanga auch mit dem bürokratischen Apparat der offiziellen Gewerkschaft konfrontiert sind, der enge Beziehungen zu den Grundbesitzern und dem Staat unterhält und der versucht, sozialistische Aktivisten mit allen Mitteln zu schikanieren.

Genosse Thanga war nicht nur ein engagierter Gewerkschafter, sondern auch viele Jahre lang ein trotzkistischer Aktivist. Zunächst Mitglied der CWI-Sektion, schloss er sich den Genossen an, die sich 2007 von der Fraktion trennten, die dem Zentrum um Peter Taaffe treu blieb. Diese Gruppe wurde zur Socialist Party of Sri Lanka (SPSL) und trat im folgenden Jahr unserer Vorgängerorganisation (der L5I) bei. In dieser Zeit lernten die Kader, die später das RCIT gründeten, die sri-lankischen Genossen kennen, darunter auch Genosse Thanga.

Im Januar 2011 begann in der SPSL eine interne Debatte über die tamilische Frage, die durch die Diskussion auf dem Asienkongress unserer damaligen Vorgängerorganisation ausgelöst wurde. Auf diesem Kongress argumentierte Genosse Michael Pröbsting - damals Mitglied der internationalen Führung der L5I und heute Internationaler Sekretär des RCIT -, dass Revolutionäre die Losung eines unabhängigen sozialistischen Tamil Eelam unterstützen sollten, wenn die tamilische Bevölkerung in Sri Lanka in ihrer Mehrheit das Ziel eines eigenen Staates unterstützt. Dies war eine Anwendung der klassischen leninistischen Position, dass Marxisten das Recht unterdrückter Völker unterstützen, sich abzuspalten und einen unabhängigen Staat aufzubauen.

Genosse Thanga war das einzige tamilische Mitglied des Zentralkomitees der SPSL. Er unterstützte diese Position voll und ganz und diskutierte mit den Genossinnen und Genossen über diese Frage. Die Mehrheit der SPSL-Führung war jedoch strikt gegen diese Idee und forderte die internationale Führung der L5I auf, den Genossen Michael wegen eines angeblichen "Verstoßes gegen die Disziplin" zu zensieren. Die Mehrheit der L5I griff diese lächerliche und bürokratische Anschuldigung gerne auf und kritisierte den Genossen Michael formell, weil er auf einem internen Kongress die Losung eines sozialistischen Tamil Eelam aufgestellt hatte! Einige Wochen später wurden Genosse Michael, Genossin Almedina Gunić (damals Internationale Frauensekretärin der L5I und heute der RCIT) und andere Genossen ausgeschlossen, weil wir einen Fraktionskampf gegen die zentristische Degeneration der L5I begonnen hatten.

Genosse Thanga ließ sich von diesem Ausbruch von bürokratischem Chauvinismus nicht abschrecken. Er hielt trotz des massiven Drucks der Mehrheit der SPSL- und L5I-Führung an dem leninistischen Programm der nationalen Befreiung der unterdrückten Völker fest.

Man sollte bedenken, dass diese Diskussion nicht in einem "freien" westlichen Land stattfand, sondern in Sri Lanka, wo das rechts-chauvinistische Regime von Rajapaksa den De-facto-Staat des tamilischen Volkes im Norden und Osten des Landes (angeführt von den so genannten Tamil Tigers) brutal zerschlagen und im Frühjahr 2009 innerhalb weniger Wochen etwa 40.000 Tamilen abgeschlachtet hatte.

Doch trotz all dieser Schwierigkeiten verteidigte Genosse Thanga weiterhin die marxistischen Prinzipien. Nach einem kurzen, aber intensiven internen Kampf verließ er zusammen mit einigen anderen Genossen die SPSL.

Als die Gründer des RCIT im April 2011 mit dem Aufbau einer neuen internationalen Organisation begannen, schlossen sich Genosse Thanga und seine Freunde uns sofort an. Trotz der geringen Anzahl von Aktivisten widmete er sich der Aufgabe, eine neue Organisation aufzubauen, mit der gleichen Energie wie zuvor. Schon bald kam er in Kontakt mit dem Genossen Kamalanathan und seinen Freunden, und gemeinsam machten sie sich an den Aufbau der United Lanka Workers’ Party - der Sektion des RCIT in Sri Lanka.

Aufgrund seiner schweren Krankheit konnte Genosse Thanga in den letzten Jahren nicht mehr das gleiche Maß an politischer Arbeit leisten wie zuvor. Er blieb jedoch bis zu seinem letzten Atemzug ein engagierter Trotzkist und ein loyales Mitglied unserer Organisation. Physisch ist Genosse Thanga tot. Aber er lebt weiter in unserer Erinnerung und in der Erinnerung Tausender tamilischer Arbeiter, denen er in ihrem täglichen Kampf um ein menschenwürdiges Leben half!

Genosse Maruthei Thangavel - Presente!

Internationales Büro des RCIT

Necrologio della Corrente Comunista Rivoluzionaria Internazionale (RCIT), 28 agosto 2021, www.thecommunists.net

È con grande tristezza che dobbiamo informare il pubblico che il nostro compagno Maruthei Thangavel - il fondatore e uno dei principali membri della sezione RCIT in Sri Lanka - è morto dopo un lungo periodo di malattia all'età di 67 anni. Il compagno Thanga - come lo chiamavano tutti - è stato un lavoratore tamil e militante trotskista per molti anni.

Il compagno Thanga ha dedicato tutta la sua vita alla lotta per la liberazione della classe operaia. Il fulcro del suo lavoro politico era il Socialist Plantation Service Union, un sindacato che si è concentrato sul miglioramento delle condizioni di vita dei lavoratori delle piantagioni Tamil. Questo lavoro è stato molto duro e difficile. I lavoratori delle piantagioni tamil sono spesso costretti a vivere in villaggi piccoli, isolati e molto poveri con accesso limitato all'elettricità e all'acqua. Affrontano condizioni molto dure di super-sfruttamento da parte dei proprietari terrieri. Inoltre, sono oppressi in quanto appartenenti a una minoranza nazionale che ha affrontato la terribile oppressione statale per molti decenni. Aggiungere a ciò che i sindacalisti come il compagno Thanga hanno dovuto affrontare anche l'apparato burocratico del sindacato ufficiale, che mantiene stretti rapporti con i proprietari terrieri e lo Stato, e che cerca di perseguire i militanti socialisti con tutti i mezzi possibili.

Il compagno Thanga non è stato solo un sindacalista devoto, ma anche un attivista trotskista per molti anni. Prima membro della sezione CIT/CWI, è stato con i compagni che si sono staccati nel 2007 dalla fazione che è rimasta fedele al centro attorno a Peter Taaffe. Questo gruppo divenne il Partito Socialista dello Sri Lanka (SPSL) e si unì alla nostra organizzazione precedente ( La Lega della Quinta Internazionale-L5I) l'anno seguente. Era durante questo periodo che i quadri che in seguito fondarono il CCRI si incontrarono con i compagni dello Sri Lanka, incluso il compagno Thanga.

Nel gennaio 2011, un dibattito interno sulla questione Tamil è iniziato alla SPSL, che è stato provocato per la discussione al congresso asiatico della nostra organizzazione precedente all'epoca. In questo congresso, il compagno Michael Pröbsting - un membro della direzione internazionale del L5I all'epoca e attualmente segretario internazionale del CCRI - ha sostenuto che i rivoluzionari dovrebbero sostenere lo slogan di un Tamil Eelam socialista indipendente se il popolo Tamil in Sri Lanka per la maggior parte sostenuto tale obiettivo. Questa era un'applicazione della classica posizione leninista secondo cui i marxisti sostengono il diritto degli oppressi di separare e costruire uno stato indipendente.

Il compagno Thanga era l'unico membro tamil del Comitato centrale dell'SPSL. Ha sostenuto pienamente la nostra posizione e ha discusso la questione con i compagni. Tuttavia, la maggioranza della dirigenza dell'SPSL era fortemente contraria a questa idea e incoraggiò il direttivo internazionale dell'L5I a incolpare il compagno Michael per una presunta "violazione della disciplina". La maggioranza del L5I ha accettato con gioia questa accusa ridicola e burocratica e ha formalmente criticato il compagno Michael perché ha sollevato lo slogan di un Tamil Eelam socialista in un congresso interno! Poche settimane dopo, il compagno Michael, la compagna Almedina Gunić (a quel tempo segretaria internazionale delle donne del L5I e attualmente nella stessa posizione al CCRI) e altri compagni sono stati espulsi perché avevamo lanciato una lotta di fazione contro la degenerazione centrista del L5I.

Il compagno Thanga non si è lasciato intimidire da questa esplosione di sciovinismo burocratico. Ha difeso il programma leninista di liberazione nazionale del popolo oppresso nonostante le enormi pressioni della maggioranza della leadership dell'SPSL e dell'L5I.

Va tenuto presente che questa discussione non ha avuto luogo in un paese occidentale "libero", ma in Sri Lanka, dove il regime sciovinista di destra di Rajapaksa ha brutalmente schiacciato lo stato di fatto del popolo tamil nel nord e nell'est del Paese (guidati dalle cosiddette Tigri Tamil ) e massacrarono quasi 40.000 Tamil in poche settimane nella primavera del 2009.

Ma nonostante tutte queste difficoltà, il compagno Thanga ha continuato a difendere i principi marxisti. Dopo una breve ma intensa lotta interna, lascia l'SPSL insieme ad altri compagni.

Quando i fondatori del CCRI hanno iniziato a costruire una nuova organizzazione internazionale nell'aprile 2011, il compagno Thanga ed kai suoi amici si sono immediatamente uniti a noi. Nonostante l'esiguo numero di militanti, si dedicò al compito di costruire una nuova organizzazione con la stessa energia di prima. Presto si mise in contatto con il compagno Kamalanathan ed i suoi amici e insieme proceduto a costruire le Lanka Partito dei Lavoratori - Sezione dello Sri Lanka del CCRI.

A causa della sua grave malattia, negli ultimi anni il compagno Thanga non potevo più fare la stessa quantità di lavoro politico di prima. Tuttavia, è rimasto un devoto trotskista e un membro leale della nostra organizzazione fino al suo ultimo respiro. Fisicamente, il compagno Thanga non è con noi. Ma continua a vivere nei nostri ricordi e nella memoria di migliaia di lavoratori Tamil che ha aiutato nella loro lotta quotidiana per una vita dignitosa!

Compagno Maruthei Thangavel - Presente!

Segretariato Internazionale della RCIT