AROUND THE WORLD
AROUND
THE
WORLD
WESTERN EUROPE Sixth international youth THE SIXTH international camp young people in solidarity with the Fourth International took place July 8-15 near Barcelona. Almost 700 young people — slightly more than last year — came to the camp from Belgium, Sweden, Portugal, Great Britain, Holland, Switzerland, Italy, France, Ireland, West Germany, Denmark and the Spanish state. This last contingent was the largest, with over 180 young people from the Revolutionary Communist Youth (JCR) and the Basque youth organization, the IT.
The schedule of such a camp has to reflect the expectations of young people from many different backgrounds. It is necessary to discuss the major issues of the day, such as apartheid, ecology and anti-racism, understand current meet other young people working in a different environment and become better acquainted with the Fourth International and its activities.
Bearing these demands in mind, there were some thirty working groups on themes as varied as rock, drugs, the struggle of women in Europe, with specific reference to the struggles of Palestine and the intifada, work in the army and disobedience, the recent events in China, the lesbian and gay movement and so on. And there was also the issue of the ruling classes' plans for 1992.
There was big interest in the reforms in the USSR during the plenary session on Tuesday, and the discussion continued in work of the International in the countries of Eastern Europe. A South African militant and a representative of the Salvadorean Farabundo Marti Front for National Liberation (FMLN) were greeted at the plenary on national liberation struggles and our solidarity tasks.
Just as last year, a day was devoted to feminism and the struggle for women's liberation. The day ended with a women's festival. This year special emphasis was put on the issue of violence against women and how to reply to it.
But the camp had its social aspect as well. In the beautiful setting of the natural park of Montseny there were parties in the 22 discotheque. For the first time a lesbian evening in the bar or in the improvised and gay festival was held at the camp. The JCR of Catalonia organized a big concert in Barcelona attended by 800 young people.
Before agreeing to meet again next year, the closing meeting tried to answer the question "why the revolution?" asked by some of the young people, and to lefine the meaning of being a revolutionary youth today. * NICARAGUA French revolutionary youth brigade THIS summer, for the first time, a brigade directly tied to the Fourth International went to Nicaragua. Organized by the French Revolutionary Communist Youth (JCR), founded ten years ago around the time of the Sandinista revolution of 1979, the aim of the brigade was to show support for the Nicaraguan revolution and to strengthen links with the July 19 Sandinista youth (JS 19).
During a four-day long political meeting of revolutionary organizations, the JCR were able to discuss the situation in Salvador with a representative of the Salvadorean FMLN. Also present at this meeting were members of the JS 19, a representative of the Association of Rural Workers (ATC), a member of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) and a representative of the Women's Association (AMLAE), Luisa Amanda
Eighty members of the JCR brigade left
PLANTa last July for the Matagalpa region to the north of Managua where they divided between two villages, La Palestina and La Parranda to work in state production units (UPE) on land that had been expropriated. They helped with the planting of coffee, in the canteen for the agricultural workers as well as in the creche.
During the year-long period of preparation for the brigade in France, $3,000 were collected for the creche and $5,000 were donated to the ATC.
In Managua for the celebrations of the tenth anniversary of the revolution, the JCR took part in the big demonstration in the main square under their own banner, alongside the Sandinista Youth.
On their return to France, the participants in the brigade are ready to get actively involved in solidarity work, both with the Sandinista revolution and the struggle of the FMLN in Salvador. * SWEDEN Doubts remain on Palme verdict AN isolated vagabond, Christer Petersson, was condemned in late July for the assassination of Swedish premier Olof Palme. He was widely considered an unlikely suspect, among other things because the shooting required skill and planning that did not fit with his marginal existence. Furthermore, he appeared to be the perfect scapegoat, if influential elements had connived in Palme's murder, as some circumstantial evidence indicates. [See IV 165, June 12, 1989] Nonetheless, the opinion makers in Sweden denounced all those who questioned the verdict. In its August 3 issue, Internationalen, the paper of the Swedish section of the Fourth International, commented: "It is not the doubters [of the verdict] who can be branded as over-imaginative. Until the questions about this case have been answered, the refusal to look at reality has to be attributed to those who believe that Olof Palme's murder has now been cleared up." *