On January 14, 1977 leading Pabloites held a London rally, chaired by Tariq Ali, to defend the "honor" of Sylvia Caldwell, Sheldon Harte, and Joseph Hansen. Documents have since proven that all three collaborated with the Stalinist GPU.
Assembled on the "Platform of Shame" alongside Tariq Ali were Ernest Mandel, Pierre Lambert and Tim Wohlforth. Denouncing Healy for two hours, none of them addressed the facts relating to Stalinist attacks on the Fourth International.
There were 2,000 people at the rally. Gerry Healy entered the hall accompanied by only three others comrades from the Workers Revolutionary Party. After the speakers on the Platform completed their two hours of denunciation, Healy raised his hand to speak.
The large audience was divided, with large numbers of people shouting that Healy should be given an opportunity to answer two hours of denunciations. Tariq Ali shut down the meeting without allowing Healy to speak.
A reporter from the Observer newspaper wrote the next day: "Mr. Healy quietly sat down again, feeling perhaps that he had made his point more eloquently than any words could have done."
This is a photo taken of Healy at the rally. He was a man of immense personal courage, who had fought the Stalinists since the dark days of the Moscow Trials. He was also widely recognized as the greatest orator in the British labor movement of his day.
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