Dedication of Party Memorial
August 15, 1999
On August 15, 1999, the Central
Committee of the Communist Party of Canada
(Marxist-Leninist)
held a ceremony at Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa to
dedicate a
Party Memorial to honour the memory of Comrade Hardial
Bains,
CPC(M-L)'s beloved Founder and Leader, and other Party
comrades
who have passed away.
The important occasion marked both the 60th anniversary of the birth of Comrade Bains and the 10th anniversary of the historic Chertsey gathering. On behalf of the Central Committee, the proceedings were led by Comrade Sandra L. Smith, First Secretary of the Central Committee and the Party's National Leader. Members of the Central Committee, regional secretaries and party activists from across the country, family members and friends of the party attended the ceremony. Representatives of fraternal parties and organizations from Britain, Cuba, India, Ireland, Mexico, Trinidad and the United States also joined CPC(M-L) on this occasion.
Prior to the ceremony members of the Central Committee paid respects to Comrade Bains and Comrades David Danielson, Tom Boylan, Anne Boylan and Dave Hemingway whose names were added to the Party Memorial at that time. They paid respects as well to all the other comrades who have passed away who defended the Party and the cause of communism and renewal in Canada, and whose names were also added to the Memorial.
Members of the families of Comrade Bains, Anne and Tom Boylan and Dave Hemingway also visited the cemetery on the day prior to the memorial's dedication to pay their respects.
At 11:30 am on August 15, the Dedication Ceremony began with an a capella quartet performance of Our Founder, Our Leader; a beautiful rendition of the song which honours the revolutionary life of Comrade Bains and his legacy which lives on in the Party he founded and led. This was followed with the reading of the dedication in three languages: English, French and Punjabi. The First Secretary of the Central Committee then led comrades who represented the Party organizations to which the five comrades being honoured belonged, in mingling their ashes and scattering them over the memorial.
She laid the wreath of the Central Committee, made up of flowers the colours of the dawn, thus paying the respects of all the members and supporters of CPC(M-L).
A floral tribute was then paid by the representatives of the fraternal organizations. They stood in respect in front of the Memorial while Comrade Chris Coleman of the Central Committee of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) laid the bouquet of flowers on behalf of the International Communist Movement. In this way, CPC(M-L) was also able to honour two comrades from the RCPB(M-L): the General Secretary of RCPB(M-L), Comrade John Buckle, killed in a plane crash in Madrid on November 27, 1983, and Comrade Cornelius Cardew, killed in a hit-and-run accident under suspicious circumstances on December 13, 1981; and all other comrades from the fraternal communist parties whose contribution and memory we profoundly respect and cherish.
Representatives of several mass organizations of workers, women and national minority communities then came forward to pay their respects.
After this, representatives of the Communist Youth Union of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) and organizations of the youth under its leadership paid the respects of the youth and laid a single red rose on the memorial.
The participants then stood for a moment of silence, following which they joined together to sing The Internationale. Then, one by one and in groups, comrades and friends came forward to place their own flowers on the Memorial. Six youth flanked the memorial as the Honour Guard and the song Our Founder, Our Leader was sung once again.
Aside from the floral tributes
and flowers presented by individuals and collectives, the
Memorial was adorned by 60 red carnations and 10 yellow
carnations, representing the number of years since the
birth of
Comrade Bains, and the 10 years that have passed since
the
Chertsey meeting.
The ceremony was a beautiful and moving revolutionary tribute to the building of the New World. It was followed by a reception which featured the showing of a video produced for the occasion. Entitled The Party's Word Is Its Deed, Hardial Bains: A Portrait, the video brought out how, throughout his political life, Comrade Bains was an instrument of building the Party which turns its words into deeds. It was highly appreciated by the comrades, friends and family members in attendance who stayed for a long time after, discussing with one another and sharing this important occasion.
Those present were deeply moved
by the day's proceedings and expressed great pride in the
work
of the Party to have such a beautiful and permanent
tribute to
the memory of Comrade Hardial Bains and other Party
comrades who
have passed away. During the late afternoon and into the
early
evening, comrades and friends returned once again to the
site of
the Party Memorial, where a Party photographer was on
hand to
take photos. They took their time to admire the majestic
beauty
of the red granite flag of modern communism that stands
in
memory of our comrades and the deed of the Party, as a
symbol of
the profound appreciation of the working class and people
for
their dedication to the cause of building a new world.
This article was published
in
Volume 54 Number 8 - August 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/M540085.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca