Ludo Martens: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|Belgian activist and historian}}

'''Ludo Martens''' (born [[12 March]], [[1946]]) is a [[Belgium|Belgian]] historian noted for his work on [[francophone]] [[Africa]] and the [[Soviet Union]]. He is also the chairman of the [[Workers' Party of Belgium]].

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{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Ludo Martens

| image = Ludo Martens op een conferentie over Latijns Amerika in 1995.jpg

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption =

| office = President of the [[Workers' Party of Belgium]]

| term_start = 4 November 1979

| term_end = 2 March 2008

| predecessor = ''Office created''

| successor = [[Peter Mertens]]

| birth_name = Ludo Martens

| birth_date = {{birth date|1946|3|12|df=y}}

| birth_place = [[Torhout]], [[Belgium]]

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2011|6|5|1946|3|12}}

| death_place =

| other_names =

| known_for =

| occupation = {{hlist|Activist|author|historian}}

| party = [[Workers' Party of Belgium]]

}}

'''Ludo Martens''' (12 March 1946 – 5 June 2011) was a Belgian [[far-left]] activist who founded and served as the first leader of the [[Workers' Party of Belgium]]. He wrote several works on the [[political history]] of [[Central Africa]] and the [[Soviet Union]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Vanoost|first=Lode|date=11 March 2018|url=https://www.dewereldmorgen.be/artikel/2018/03/11/spreken-over-kolonisatie-niet-langer-zonder-de-congolezen/|title=Spreken over kolonisatie: niet langer zonder de Congolezen|trans-title=Talking about colonization: no longer without the Congolese|website=DeWereldMorgen.be|language=nl|accessdate=13 August 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Goddeeris |first1=Idesbald |date=7 January 2015 |title=Postcolonial Belgium: The Memory of the Congo |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369801X.2014.998253 |journal=Interventions |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=434–451 |doi=10.1080/1369801X.2014.998253 |s2cid=163672254 |access-date=31 December 2022|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

In 1968, Martens founded the group ''Alle macht aan de arbeiders'' (All Power to the Workers), which became the Workers' Party of Belgium in 1979. He served as president of the Workers' Party until 2008. Martens was the last foreigner to meet North Korean president [[Kim Il Sung]] before [[Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung|his death]] on 8 July 1994. According to a press release by the Workers' Party, Martens died on the morning of 5 June 2011 after a long illness.<ref>[http://www.ptb.be/nieuws/artikel/en-memoire-de-ludo-martens-1946-2011.html "En mémoire de Ludo Martens (1946-2011)"]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609203118/http://www.ptb.be/nieuws/artikel/en-memoire-de-ludo-martens-1946-2011.html|date=9 June 2011}}. Workers' Party of Belgium (in French). 6 June 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2021.</ref>

In [[1968]] he founded the [[Maoist]] group "Alle macht aan de arbeiders" (All Power to the Workers), which in [[1979]] became the Workers' Party of Belgium.

== Biography ==

Martens wrote on the political history of the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], where he has lived and travelled extensively.

Martens was born in 1946, as the eldest son of a furniture manufacturer.<ref name="Brar" /> He grew up in [[Wingene]], [[West Flanders]], [[Belgium]]. While at school, he showed talent in [[linguistics]] and became a newspaper editor. He also had an interest in music and poetry. In 1965, Ludo entered the [[Louvain University]] to study medicine and during that time he became active in the [[Katholiek Vlaams Hoogstudentenverbond]].<ref name="Brar" /> Ludo got expelled from his university after writing an article about [[Catholic Church sexual abuse cases|pedophilia within the church]] on ''Our Life'', the magazine which he ran in the university. He was influenced by the [[protests of 1968|student movements in 1968]]. Having visited Berlin, where he came into contact with [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist–Leninist]] German students, he introduced the thought of [[Marxism]] into the Belgian student movement.<ref name="Brar" /> In 1971, Ludo founded the ''Alle macht aan de arbeiders'' (AMADA) party, which renamed itself into the [[Workers' Party of Belgium]] in 1979.<ref name="Brar" /> He was the last communist leader to meet [[Kim Il Sung]], two weeks before the latter's [[Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung|death]]. Kim told Ludo: "I think it is very good that you have written a book about Stalin. I intend to read it".<ref name="Brar" /> In 1999, Ludo requested his party to relieve him of the post of party president, a position he had held since the founding of the party, as he wished to pursue his passion for work in the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo]]. The request was granted.<ref name="Brar" /> In nearly a decade, following 1999, he wrote his book on [[Laurent Kabila]] and the [[First Congo War|Congolese revolution]], while at the same time helping to lay the foundations of a communist party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.<ref name="Brar" /> Ludo died on the afternoon of June 5, 2011 after a long illness.<ref name="Brar" />

In [[1994]], Martens published ''[[Another View of Stalin]]'', a history of the Soviet Union under [[Joseph Stalin|Stalin]] that challenges in particular the dominant view of [[collectivisation in the USSR]] and the [[Great Purge]]. He explained his motivation for writing the book in the introduction: ''Defending Stalin's work, essentially defending [[Marxism-Leninism]], is an important, urgent task in preparing ourselves for class struggle under the New World Order''.<!-- http://www.plp.org/books/Stalin/node3.html#SECTION00300000000000000000 --> <!-- http://www.uea.ac.uk/his/webcours/russia/links/ --> <!--http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/366Read.html -->

*== ''Another View of Stalin'' (EPO, 1994). ISBN 2-87262-081-8. ==

Martens writes primarily in [[French language|French]]; however, his books, especially ''Another View of Stalin'', have been translated into [[Dutch language|Dutch]], [[English language|English]], and numerous other languages. He is a leading Marxist theorist within the [[anti-revisionist]] movement, and is therefore perceived by some of his opponents as a "Stalin apologist".

In 1994, Martens published ''Another View of Stalin'' (''{{lang|fr|Un autre regard sur Staline}}''), a work that holds an apologetic view of [[collectivisation in the Soviet Union]] and the [[Great Purge]] under [[Joseph Stalin]]. He explained his motivation for writing the book in the introduction: "Defending Stalin's work, essentially defending [[Marxism–Leninism]], is an important, urgent task in preparing ourselves for [[class struggle]] under the [[New world order (politics)|New World Order]]."<ref name="AnotherViewOfStalin">Martens, Ludo (1994). [http://www.plp.org/books/ ''Another View of Stalin'']. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426112225/http://www.plp.org/books/|date=26 April 2021}}. Antwerp: Éditions EPO. Complete and free PDF of the text of the book in English. [http://www.communisme-bolchevisme.net/download/Ludo_Martens_Un_autre_regard_sur_Staline.pdf ''Un autre regard sur Staline'']. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081114070702/http://www.communisme-bolchevisme.net/download/Ludo_Martens_Un_autre_regard_sur_Staline.pdf|date=14 November 2008}}. Complete and free PDF of the text of the book in the original French. Retrieved 13 August 2021.</ref> Martens referred to the notion of Stalinist crimes as a 'myth' and claimed that the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]], in which the Soviet Union agreed to invade Poland in conjunction with Nazi Germany and divide Poland, Romania, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia between one another into respective "spheres of influence",<ref name="mrtext">{{cite journal|url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1939pact.html|title=Text of the Nazi–Soviet Non-Aggression Pact|date=August 23, 1939|publisher=Fordham}}.</ref> was "a key for victory in the anti-fascist war".<ref name="AnotherViewOfStalin" /> The leadership of the [[Workers' Party of Belgium]], particularly president [[Peter Mertens]] in 2016, distanced from Martens' vision on Stalin, whom they call "a dictator."<ref>{{cite web|last=Mertens|first=Peter|date=31 December 2016|url=https://www.knack.be/nieuws/belgie/zijn-regeringspartijen-zo-bang-van-pvda-dat-feiten-niet-langer-van-tel-zijn/article-opinion-796297.html|title='Zijn regeringspartijen zo bang van PVDA dat feiten niet langer van tel zijn?'|trans-title=Are government parties so afraid of PVDA that facts no longer count?|website=Site-Knack-NL|language=nl|accessdate=13 August 2021}}</ref> [[Harpal Brar]] wrote in Martens' [[obituary]]: "His book ''Another view of Stalin'', while nailing the bourgeois, professorial and [[Khrushchevism|Khrushchevite]] revisionist lies about Stalin, brought to the fore the brilliance of Stalin's stewardship of the [[CPSU(b)|CPSU(B)]] and the [[Soviet Union|USSR]], which made such a monumental contribution to the march forward of the [[Soviet people]] and humanity at large".<ref name="Brar">{{Cite web|last=Brar|first=Harpal|date=2011|editor-last=Richards|editor-first=Sam|editor2-last=Saba|editor2-first=Paul|title=Obituary: Ludo Martens (1946-2011)|url=https://www.marxists.org/history/erol/belgium-1st/martens-obit.htm|access-date=|website=Encyclopedia of Anti-Revisionism|via=[[Marxists Internet Archive]]}}</ref>

== Works ==

In ''Another View of Stalin'', Martens regards as the main factor behind the Ukrain famine ([[Holodomor]]) to be bad conditions and the [[class enemy]]. [http://www.plp.org/books/Stalin/node77.html#SECTION00800900000000000000] With regards to [[Solzhenitsyn]]'s research [[Gulag Archipelago]], Martens has made clear: ''This man became the official voice for the five per cent of Tsarists, bourgeois, speculators, kulaks, pimps, maffiosi and Vlasovites, all justifiably repressed by the socialist state.''[http://www.plp.org/books/Stalin/node118.html#SECTION001034400000000000000]

* ''[[Pierre Mulele]], orou, theLa Secondseconde Lifevie ofde [[Patrice Lumumba]]'' (Antwerp: Éditions EPO, 1985). ISBN 2-204-19850-9{{OCLC|23219832}}.

* ''[[Thomas Sankara|Sankara]], [[Blaise Compaoré|Compaoré]], andet thela [[Burkinabérévolution Revolution]]burkinabé'' (EPO, 1989). {{ISBN |2-87262-033-8}}.

* ''Abo: Aune womanfemme from thedu Congo'' (EPO, 1992). {{ISBN |2-87262-103-2}}.

* ''L'U.R.S.S. et la contre-révolution de velours'' (USSR: The Velvet Counter Revolution) (EPO, 1991). {{ISBN|2-87262-057-5}}.

* ''Un autre regard sur Staline'' (Another View of Stalin) (EPO, 1994). {{ISBN|2-87262-081-8}}.

* ''Kabila et la révolution congolaise: panafricanisme ou néocolonialisme?'' (EPO, 2002). {{ISBN|2-87262-191-1}}.

== See also ==

Within the [[International Communist Movement]], he is noted for having proposed the unification of the four main tendencies of the Marxist-Leninist movement. These are the pro-Soviet groups, the pro-Chinese, the pro-[[Albanian]], and pro-[[Cuban]]. In addition there are "independents." Martens has put forward that while at a certain time these separations were important and based on principle, they can now be overcome and the movement can be united on the basis of Marxism-Leninism. In order to develop this unification process, the Workers Party of Belgium hosts the [[International Communist Seminar]] in [[Brussels]], which is attended by 150 organizations around the world. According to Martens, "''Today, as a result of the restoration of capitalism under Gorbachov, the "pro-Soviet" tendency crumbled into innumerable tendencies. In the sixties, a "pro-Chinese" tendency emerged but split into various tendencies after Mao's death. There has been a "pro-Albanian" tendency, which also split after the collapse of socialism in Albania, and a so-called "pro-Cuban" tendency, mainly in Latin America. Some parties, finally, maintained an "independent" position vis-a-vis the tendencies mentioned. Whatever one's opinion about the correctness or the necessity of these splits at a certain point in history may be, it is nowadays possible to overcome these divisions and to unite the Marxist-Leninist parties, which are divided in different currents.''"[http://www.wpb.be/icm/95enprop.htm]

* [[Grover Furr]]

* [[Douglas Tottle]]

* [[Domenico Losurdo]]

== References ==

==Books authored by Ludo Martens==

{{reflist}}

(English titles have been used where they exist. Elsewhere, the titles have been translated from the original French, for the convenience of the English-speaking reader.)

*''[[Pierre Mulele]], or the Second Life of [[Patrice Lumumba]]'' (Antwerp: Éditions EPO, 1985). ISBN 2-204-19850-9.

*''[[Thomas Sankara|Sankara]], [[Blaise Compaoré|Compaoré]], and the [[Burkinabé Revolution]]'' (EPO, 1989). ISBN 2-87262-033-8.

*''Abo: A woman from the Congo'' (EPO, 1992). ISBN 2-87262-103-2.

*''USSR, the velvet counter-revolution'' (EPO, 1991). ISBN 2-87262-057-5.

*''Another View of Stalin'' (EPO, 1994). ISBN 2-87262-081-8.

*''[[Laurent Kabila|Kabila]] and the [[Congolese Revolution]]: The choice between [[pan-Africanism]] and [[neocolonialism]]'' (EPO, 2002). ISBN 2-87262-191-1.

== External links ==

== Selected Articles by Ludo Martnes ==

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131224111350/http://rumera.ru/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Another-view-of-Stalin.pdf "Another View of Stalin"]. Complete and free PDF-download of the text of the book in English. Retrieved 13 August 2021.

* {{cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/691391.Ludo_Martens|title=Ludo Martens|website=Goodreads|accessdate=13 August 2021}}

{{authority control}}

*[http://www.wpb.be/doc/doc/collaps1.htm Balance of the Collapse of the Soviet Union: On the causes of a betrayal and the tasks ahead for communists]

*[http://www.wpb.be/doc/doc/breznjev.htm Breznjev and the National Democratic Revolution]

*[http://www.wpb.be/icm/2005/selected_reading_list/Dir95_India_Seminary_LudoM_1995_EN.doc On Certain Aspects of the Struggle Against Revisionism (.doc)]

*[http://www.ptb.be/scripts/article.phtml?section=A3AAABBU&obid=10788 Counter-Revolution and Revolution in the XXIst Century]

*[http://www.wpb.be/icm/95enprop.htm Proposals for the Unification of the International Communist Movement]

*[http://www.ptb.be/scripts/livret.phtml?section=A3AAAE&obid=22372&lang=3&PHPSESSID=bb7800081082781aa74890be3e6159f5 The Road of the World Revolution in XXIst Century ]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martens, Ludo}}

==External links==

[[Category:1946 births]]

* [http://www.plp.org/books/Stalin/book.html ''Another View of Stalin'']. The full text of the book in English.

[[Category:2011 deaths]]

* [http://comradezero.blogspot.com/2006/03/socialism-or-barbarism-review-of.html Review of ''Another View of Stalin''] at ''The Marxist-Leninist''.

[[Category:Anti-revisionists]]

[[Category:1945Belgian births|Martens, Ludocommunists]]

[[Category:1948Belgian births|Martens,non-fiction Ludowriters]]

[[Category:LivingFlemish people|Martens, Ludowriters]]

[[Category:BelgianHistorical historians|Martens, Ludonegationism]]

[[Category:BelgianHolodomor communists|Martens, Ludodeniers]]

[[Category:ArticlesHistorians withof invalidthe ISBNsDemocratic Republic of the Congo]]

[[Category:People from Torhout]]

[[Category:Workers' Party of Belgium politicians]]

[[fr:Ludo Martens]]

[[nl:Ludo Martens]]