October, 24th 2020 Tribute in the 4th anniversary of Abu Al Baraa's death   Speech by Benito M From Workers' Democracy Madrid “The Syrian revolution is the same as the Spanish revolution that took place here in the 1930s. But in Syria today the Stalinists are together with al-Assad, who is the Syrian “Franco” I will never forget that October 24, 2016, when Abu al Baráa was assassinated. At that time I was starting or was about to become a member of the FLTI and I was doing it, among other motivations, thanks to the example of struggle that Abu al-Baráa represented and represents and I also did it thanks to the book Syria Under Fire, of which he is one of the authors; a book that was written from the very trenches of the Syrian revolution and not from pompous university offices or anything like that. At that time I was breaking with renegades of Trotskyism currents due to a series of shameful behaviors that they were carrying out in certain things and also in relation to the Syrian revolution and because of the link they were having and still have with Stalinism in that single party between former Trotskyists and Stalinists they formed. I have always said that the Syrian revolution is the same as the Spanish revolution that took place here in the 1930s. But in Syria today the Stalinists are together with al-Assad, who is the Syrian “Franco”. But, at the same time, the renegades of Trotskyism are not with the working class, they are in a popular front with the Sunni bourgeoisie of the FSA and company. Actually, these renegades of Trotskyism are fulfilling the same role that the Stalinists fulfilled in the Spain of the 1930s in a popular front that they had with the republican bourgeoisie. On the other hand, Abu al Baráa, the Leon Sedov Brigade, the FLTI in Syria have been and are still now with the working class, just like the Spanish Leninist Bolsheviks, the Spanish Trotskyists, were on the barricades fighting Franco, making the revolution, collectivizing, etc. It is a pride to belong to something to which Abu al Baráa was so important. I want to conclude with a few words that here in the 1930s, when one of our militiamen fell in the Spanish civil war, the comrades always said comrade: “may the ground be light to you.” A couple of years ago I wrote a small letter that concluded with a few words in tribute to Abu al Baráa that said that what they were burying in 2016 were not the bones of Abu al Baráa, but that they were revolutionary seeds that will grow in each fight of the world working class. To this we are devoted. Greetings and revolution, comrades!     Tribute to Abu al Baráa Speech of Paula Medrano From Workers' Democracy Madrid It is difficult to start. We compare the Syrian revolution and the Spanish revolution and at times, if you look at them, they look like two drops of water. And the behavior of the left was worse even in the Syrian revolution than in the Spanish one. During the Spanish revolution, Stalinism also massacred the revolutionaries from behind, but from unthinkable places in the world brigades were organized to go to fight against Franco. In the Syrian revolution they disorganized the fight against al-Assad. It was made to believe that everyone who fought against Bashar Al Assad was paid by the United States, that the Syrian revolutionaries who took to the streets demanding the fall of the regime were "fools managed by the United States" who played the game against a great "Socialist" like Bashar al-Assad. The Stalinist left, including the renegades of Trotskyism worldwide, made sure that, in the whole world, not a single brigade left to go and fight in Syria. They took it upon themselves to say that as the masses believe in Islam they are backward and do not know what they are doing. There were also many currents that intervened in the Syrian revolution and told the masses "wait because the United States is going to give you weapons". They said "take it easy, for the United States is going to create an exclusion zone so that Russia does not bomb Syria." We do not know if they are still waiting for the United States to make that "exclusion zone" so that there are no bombings. There is nothing left of Syria. These currents speak in the name of Trotskyism! But the same was done by Stalinist currents in the 1930s in Spain saying "wait for England to help us, wait for Russia to help us." And "Russia has arrived." But it is necessary to make a clarification, one thing were the fighters and volunteers who came from different parts of the world to fight against the "Bashar al-Assad" of that time that was Franco and another thing were what were called "International Brigades" . They are twooppositethings. The "International Brigades" were organized by the Communist Party and came to finish disarming the Spanish revolution.The Syrian revolution and the Spanish revolution are very important, because each of them marked a watershed for the world working class. If the Spanish revolution had succeeded in the 1930s, the path to World War II would not have been opened, we could have gained momentum to fight against the Stalinist scourge in the USSR and retaken the Workers' States; history would have changed. If the Syrian revolution had succeeded, today in Sudan they would not be fighting alone, we would have driven out Zionism from Palestine, our comrades from all over the Maghreb and the Middle East, from Tunisia, etc., would have lived another story. That is why the betrayal is so treacherous, pardon the redundancy, by those who in the name of Trotskyism turned their backs on that revolution and betrayed, not the Syrian working class alone, they betrayed the entire world working class. We wanted to get to Syria, we were desperate to get there, because we are revolutionaries and we go where the revolution is and we put all our strength to make that revolution attain victory. I find it difficult to talk about Abu al-Baráa without (a burst of) emotion and I apologize. But, the merit of the comrade for having been there fighting, forming himself as a Trotskyist cadre, to be able to draw lessons, to help other revolutions, to help his own revolution to succeed, is what we revolutionaries do. And he did it on the battlefield himself. Perhaps I take a very great liberty, but I am going to bid Comrade Abu al Baráa farewell trying to say it in Arabic. Forward to victory, comrades!

Spanish revolution   Syrian revolution