Brothers in Arms (144 page)

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Authors: Odd Arne Westad

Tags: #Political Science, #International Relations, #General, #test

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ary revolt in Hungary in 1956. . . . We do not plan to examine these issues anew. We will simply note the complete groundlessness of your assertions to the effect that the decisions of the Twentieth Congress led to the counterrevolutionary revolt in Hungary. One of the reasons for those events, as is shown by materials of the fraternal parties, comes from the errors of the previous leadership of Hungary connected with Stalin's actions: elements of unequal rights in the relations between socialist countries which took place during that period by the fault of Stalin. How could the Twentieth Congress, which abolished these elements of unequal fights and fully restored the principle of respecting national sovereignty, be reason for dissatisfaction on the part of the Hungarian people?
You are now trying to accumulate capital by speculating on these events and by proving that allegedly the Soviet Union committed errors, and that by your interference you almost managed to save the situation.
This is a strange and monstrous accusation to lay at the feet of the CPSU and a more than strange pretension on the part of the Chinese leaders. Did our country not pay with thousands of its sons' lives in order to preserve the socialist order in fraternal Hungary; did it not come to the aid of the friendly Hungarian people in its difficult hour? . . .
Throughout the whole period of existence of the PRC, the CC of the CPSU and the Soviet government invariably gave help to China in creating and strengthening the defense of the country. The twenty-four defense enterprises built with the technical assistance of the Soviet Union were the basis for the creation of corresponding branches of Chinese industry. Another thirty-three defense enterprises are being built. At one time, sixty infantry divisions were equipped with arms and military-technical property supplied from the USSR, and from 1955-1956 the modernization of the Chinese army with more modern types of armaments and matériel was carried out. In past years our country has given the PRC a large quantity of technical and technological documentation by which China was able to organize the production of MiG-17, MiG-19, MiG-21-F, and TU-16 airplanes, MI-4 helicopters, "air-to-air," "ground-to-air," "ground-to-ground," "air-to-ground," and "ship-to-ground'' missiles, naval matériel, submarines, and craft of various types. The Soviet Union helped the PRC develop the basis for a nuclear industry. . . .
Some words on the issue you raised about the so-called joint construction of a naval fleet. Comrade Deng Xiaoping stated that apparently our party tried to stick China with the joint construction of a naval fleet and that by doing so we allegedly encroached upon the sovereignty of the PRC. Comrade Deng Xiaoping, after all, you were present at the discussion between Comrade Khrushchev and Comrade Mao Zedong on July 31, 1958, and took part in it. Have you really forgotten the following statement made by Comrade Khrushchev in the course of the conversation: "Never have we at the CC of the CPSU even had the thought of jointly building a fleet. You know my point of view. During Stalin's reign I was against the 'joint companies.'" Later, N. S. Khrushchev announced: "We considered it necessary to talk about the issue of building a fleet, but we neither

 

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thought about or considered it necessary to construct a joint factory or a joint fleet." In response to this Comrade Mao Zedong stated that: "If it is so, then all the dark clouds have dispersed." There is no issue, but you have brought it up again today. What do you need it for? . . .
We would also like to remind our forgetful Chinese comrades about some facts and about the assistance the USSR has given to the economic development of the PRC. Do not the 198 modern industrial enterprises built with the technical assistance of the Soviet Union, the scientific-research institutes which it set up, and the technical cadres trained in the USSR bear witness to the commitment by the CPSU to fraternal friendship with People's China? Up until 1959 almost a half of all the cast iron was produced, more than half of all the steel was smelted, and more than half of the rolled iron was made in the metallurgical enterprises constructed in China with help from the USSR. Such new branches of industry as the automobile, the tractor, and the aviation industry have been developed in China with the help of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union gave the PRC 21,000 sets of scientific-technical documentation, including more than 1,400 plans of whole enterprises. . . .
Deng Xiaoping: Perhaps tomorrow we rest for a day? The day after tomorrow we will speak according to his principle. (He turns to Comrade Andropov.)
Suslov: Fine, until ten o'clock, yes?
Deng Xiaoping: Fine, we agree. . . .
JULY 12
[Deng Xiaoping speaks for the delegation today.]
Under the influence of your nonrevolutionary line on peaceful transition, the People's Socialist Party of Cuba at one time descended to attacking the armed struggle led by Comrade Fidel Castro, calling it "putschism," "adventurism," and "terrorism." It accused Comrade Castro of saying that the armed struggle led by him was a "total mistake" ''caused by a petty-bourgeois nature, and that its leaders do not rely on the masses." It even openly demanded of Comrade Castro that he renounce "putschistic activities" and "the erroneous path of armed struggle, leading to a rupture with the people."
Under the influence of your nonrevolutionary line on peaceful transition, the Algerian Communist Party from 1957 fully renounced armed struggle and, moreover, began to propagandize the "dangers" of national-liberationist war, advocating the attainment of independence through compromise, and in doing so wasted its place in the political life of the country.
Under the influence of your nonrevolutionary line on peaceful transition, the Communist Party of Iraq renounced the correct line, which it at one time had implemented, and began dreaming about the realization of a peaceful transition in Iraq. This led the revolution in Iraq to serious failures and to defeat. During the counterrevolutionary coup of

 

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February 8, 1963, the Communist Party of Iraq found itself in a condition of complete unpreparedness and suffered heavy losses. . . .
JULY 13
[Comrade Ponomarev will speak today for our delegation.]
Comrades, yesterday we heard the second address by the head of the Chinese delegation. Our delegation cannot hide the fact that we came out of the meeting feeling deep sorrow and distress. Of course, this was not because the address allegedly contained criticism, which is what Deng Xiaoping had in mind when he talked about "bitter, but necessary medicine." We Communists are steadfast people, and more than once have [we] come across not only groundless criticism but also malicious slander.
No, that was not what left us with a bitter taste. The second address by Comrade Deng Xiaoping confirmed our worst fears, formed toward the end of his first speech. It is becoming clearer and clearer that the delegation of the CC of the CCP came here not to find agreement and to eliminate our differences. Your design, evidently, is different to bring a whole load of [?] to Moscow, to dump it on us, to do everything, not shying away from any tactics, to defame the policies of the CPSU and thereby further worsen the relations between our two parties and countries. . . .
You fabricated an undoubted falsehood to the effect that the USSR did not aid the Algerian people's war of liberation. Here are the facts. In the most decisive period of the war, from 1960 to 1962, we supplied free to the People's Liberation Army of Algeria 25,000 rifles, 21,000 machine guns and submachine guns, 1,300 howitzers, cannons, and mortars, many tens of thousands of pistols and other weapons. Over 5 million rubles' worth of clothes, provisions, and medical supplies were supplied to Algeria by Soviet social organizations alone. Hundreds of wounded from the People's Liberation Army of Algeria were saved and treated in the Soviet Union. Soviet wheat, sugar, butter, conserves, condensed milk, etc., streamed into Algeria.
Finally, Fabrication Number 5. You again and again repeat your lies about Soviet policy toward Poland, Hungary, and Cuba. Who are you [to set yourselves up] as judges in these matters, if the party and governmental leaders of these three countries fully, decisively, and publicly for the whole world reject your insinuations and declare to you that it is impermissible for representatives of a Communist Party to try and split the USSR, Poland, and Hungary through fabrications? Comrade Fidel Castro in speeches in the USSR and on returning [to Cuba] clearly described the internationalist policies of the CPSU. By the way, why didn't you publish these speeches? They would have shown the Chinese people that your position during the Caribbean crisis was erroneous and contradicted the interests of the Cuban, Soviet, and Chinese peoples. . . .
Andropov: As for you, you long ago ceased any sort of consultation with us. In 1958, the Chinese side did not inform us in a timely fashion about its intentions to carry out the shelling of the coastal islands in the Taiwan Straits which was carried out soon after

 

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Comrade N. S. Khrushchev left Beijing. According to the later admission of Comrade Mao Zedong, during Comrade N. S. Khrushchev' s presence in Beijing the Chinese comrades had already decided on this operation and had prepared it, but you did not consider it necessary to inform the Soviet government about it. Despite this, during a dark hour for the Chinese government, the head of the Soviet government informed the U.S. President Eisenhower that an attack on China would be taken as an attack on the Soviet Union.
Over the last several years the government of the PRC has completely failed to inform the government of the USSR about the Chinese-American negotiations that have been going on since 1955 at the ambassadorial level in Warsaw. Judging by the press reports, over 100 meetings were held there. Since May 1958 you have twice sharply changed your political course on relations with Japan, and, in both cases, despite the Treaty of 1950, you did so without consulting with us. . . .
Kang Sheng: In your criticism of Stalin, you do not take the position of seeking the truth and do not use methods of scientific analysis, but resort to demagogy, slander, and abusive language.
Comrades from the CPSU call Stalin "a murderer," "a criminal," "a bandit,'' "a gambler," "a despot like Ivan the Terrible," "the greatest dictator in the history of Russia," "a fool," "shit," "an idiot."
All of these curses and swear words came from the mouth of Comrade N. S. Khrushchev.
Trying to justify Comrade N. S. Khrushchev, in your address of July 10 you stated that allegedly he gave Stalin an "objective and all-around assessment," that allegedly he adhered to the "heart of the matter." Is this not the same as telling cock-and-bull stories with your eyes shut? Frankly speaking, we cannot understand at all why the leadership of the CPSU feels such a fierce hatred for Stalin, why it uses every kind of the most malicious abuse, why it attacks him with more hatred than it shows its enemies?
From your statements it emerges that allegedly the great Soviet people lived for thirty years under the tyranny of "the greatest dictator in the history of Russia." Can it really be that such a great leader who for many years enjoyed the general recognition of the Soviet people really turned out to be "the greatest dictator in the history of Russia"? Can it really be that the experience of the first state in the world to be a dictatorship of the proletariat, which the Soviet people [then] shared with the peoples of the whole world, has been the Soviet people's experience of existence in the conditions of tyranny under some "dictator"?
From what you have said it appears as if the first socialist country in the world was built thanks to the fact that a "fool" headed the leadership. Can it really be that the achievements of the national economy and the development of the latest technology in the Soviet Union during several decades have been attained under the leadership of some sort of "fool"? Can it really be that the basis for the development of nuclear weapons and

 

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