Party, the PDS. Never implicated in the shady affairs of the old regime, benefitting from a reputation for moral integrity Obituary: Oskar Hippe and an image as a sincere democrat, Gysi OSKAR HIPPE was born in 1900 and in 1917 Joined the German Spartacould not be attacked as a new Honecker. kusbund in Berlin and subsequently the German Communist Party (DKP) But he was a left intellectual and a Jew, As a supporter of the Left Opposition he resisted the Stalinization of the party and collaborated with Leon Sedov (Trotsky's son and co-thinker) revive the old anti-semitic clichés. when he lived in Berlin after February 1931.
At the end of 1989, the weekly Der As a member of the leadership of the German Trotskyist organization, Spiegel painted the following portrait of Hippe took part in clandestine activity against the Hitler regime until his Gysi; "a 41 year old lawyer, divorced with arrest by the Gestapo and imprisonment from 1936-38. He suffered a sectwo children, he has an aura of coldness. ond and in many respects crueller spell in prison between 1948 and 1956 The motivation of the artful intellectuals in the jails of East Germany's Stalinists. from the families of the big Jewish bour- At the repeated insistence of his friends and comrades he undertook to geoisie situated in the leadership of the relate his struggle and experiences in a rich and poignant book, Et notre SED [the former name of the PDS] was drapeau est rouge (And our banner is red) published in French by La not generosity but selfishness" (Der Spiegel, number 51, 1989). What kind of political design lurks behind such phrases? The aim is, according to a well known anti-semitic cliché, to present the Jews as
----- pull-quotes on this page -----
27 April 23, 1990 • #183 International Viewpoint
NEWS FROM promised them that this would immediately improve things. Today, they no longer have confidence in the parties that call themselves socialist. To some extent, that
THE FOURTH INTERNATIONAL FRANCE East wind in the sails ON Saturday March 31 some 3,000 people came to Pleine St. Denis in the suburbs of Paris for a day of discussion and debate on the recent historic events in Eastern Europe organized by the Ligue
Revolutionnaire, section of the Fourth International. The day brought together socialists from both Western and Eastern Europe, as well as Latin America and Africa. In particular, left and democratic activists know it, is living through its last days and, perhaps, its last months. All kinds of variants are possible in its wake. We will maintain our positions in these circumstances because we know perfectly well what our defeat would signify, not only for the world revolutionary process, but for the whole of humanity".
Herbert Misslitz, leader of the East German United Left, commented on the March 18 elections; "The people have voted for the deutschmark because both the right wing and the social democracy
"The perspectives of the left will only be credible if we are capable of creating links, without dogmatism, with the different social movements which are beginning to develop (...) These groups are ready to participate in the preparation of a popular congress which will allow all its participants to defend their demands in an effective manner and on the basis of a broad unity of action".
Ruth Tapia, representing the Nicaraguan FSLN, Petr Uhl from Czechoslovakia, Josef Pinior from Poland, a representative of the Salvadoran FMLN, Chawky Sahli of the Algerian PST, Florence Capron of the French Revolutionary Youth (JCR) and Alain Krivine of the LCR also spoke.
The evening ended with a rock concert with Little Nemo and East German bands Die Vision and Herbst in Peking. *
Yugoslavia, Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria were PORTUGAL - A Trotskyist on Lisbon City Council present. The afternoon was devoted to a series of sessions and debates on various aspects of the crisis in Eastern Europe — these included the future of Gorbachev and the USSR, the situation of youth in Eastern Europe, the national question, and the worldwide implications of the collapse of Stalinism. • The main rally was introduced by songs from renowned Czech singer, Kubisova, silenced for twenty years after the Husak regime. explained that she was not a political supporter of the FI but was there to express her support of all democratic movements.
Janette Habel, speaking for the United Secretariat of the Fourth International explained that "today the main task of the FI is no longer to combat a dead or dying Stalinism, but to revive socialism, and to extend a hand towards regroupment of those who remain faithful to the analysis of Marx, who think that the history of humanity has not yet ended
"The time has come for the regroupment of such forces because today there is no longer a so-called socialist camp opposed to imperialism to assist, in its manner, revolutions in the underdeveloped countries. The rearguard - or, at least, that which was perceived as such no longer exists. It is up to the internaworkers' movement, amongst others, to us, to bring relief. For, as the appeal of nationalism grows, internationalism is not just a moral task but, more than ever a practical necessity".
Mikhail Malyutin, a supporter of a movement for a new Socialist Party in Russia (see interview on p. 4) told the 28 the Soviet Union. Perestroika, as we meeting; "This year will be decisive in International Viewpoint #183 • April 23, 1990
ALFREDO FRADE, a 38 year old doctor, and leading member of the Revolutionary Socialist Party (PSR -Portuguese section of the Fourth International) was elected last December to the Lisbon city council. He stood on the list of the left-wing "For Lisbon" coalition. This coalition including for the first time both the Socialist and Communist parties as well as other left-wing forces, overturned the previous right-wing majority that has controlled the council for the past ten years. IV talked with Alfredo Frade about how he intends to work on the council.
"THIS victory in Lisbon is very important. It is the first time the Socialist Party and Communist Party have united against the right. Previously and even this time in other towns, they have run separately, and even in alliance with the right. These elections were marked by a general defeat of candidates of the governing Social Democratic Party (PSD) and a nationwide rise in votes for the SP, which benefited from the tactical voting to the
The municipal assembly is the city's parliament even if it has less powers than a full parliament. We are now trying to make it work more effectively and increase the access of the public. All the representative parties take part in the Municipal Assembly and the PSR has now for the first time the possibility of commenting on the policies of this body, on city affairs and on region-
I want to try to intervene in all the debates. On the other hand I have to prioritize certain questions. I want to take up the question of the struggle against racism and neo-Nazism. The existence of such things in Portuguese society was denied until the assassination last October of José Carvalho, a member of the PSR's leadership (see IV173,174).
I intend to propose a "round-table" at which all the parties can discuss this problem. There are constant attacks against Africans and a discussion in the Chamber would be a focus for autonomous mobilizations by the population. I want to question the existence of military installations (to be precise, NATO arms and installations) in the town. Big social questions can thus be addressed in a concrete way.
Our experience in organizing big campaigns around concrete issues, such as racism or the struggle against militarism, has given us a wide audience and important points of support from sections of society and the left. It will be very interesting to see how the experience of a united CP/SP administration works out. This will have implications above all in the unions, which are still divided. I believe that unity is necessary to prepare the next social mobilizations against the government. Unity in these mobilizations and an electoral front of the left would set an important example and could unleash new forces that can change the present defensive situation.
Finally, the most important thing for us is to gain a concrete understanding of questions, to intervene at the side of the population and in winning a new authority for our proposals and for the establishment of a left alternative."*
----- pull-quotes on this page -----
AROUND THE WORLD 4: