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ROMANIA Strike wave and privatization plans ONE of the reasons cited for the National Salvation Front's massive victory in the elections was that the Front had taken steps to meet basic working class demands concerning food supplies, wages and working conditions, including the length of the working week. Certainly the fact that the government could mobilize thousands of miners to evict its opponents from the centre of Bucharest suggests that the NSF has considerable credibility among sectors of the working class.
However relations between the NSF and its working class supporters have not been all sweetness and light. Over recent months Romania has witnessed a series of big strikes including: 15,000 miners in the Jiu Valley (the same who occupied Central Bucharest) in early March to demand implementation of agreements on wages, working conditions and benefits; a series of transport strikes in the larger cities also in March; a strike by more than 10,000 shipping and dockworkers two days after the NSF election victory, along with further transport strikes in Timisoara and Iasi; strikes in a number of big factories protesting about such things as lack of spare parts and inhuman working conditions.
In most cases the government has, at least in words, acceded to the workers' demands. But for how much longer? According to the Financial Times of June 29, Adrian Severin, a supporter of "shock therapy" for the economy, has been brought into the government along with other prominent economic "liberals", with special responsibility for economic reform.
The NSF's economic specialists have devised a plan whereby 70% of the country's enterprises are to be privatized in the next three years, 30% of them in the first year alone. ROMANIA Ion Iliescu on pluralism THE Romanian leader Ion liescu explained what he thought of political pluralism to a student audience on January 20, 1990.
"There are many people who reduce democracy to the existence of several parties, as if the confrontation between several parties was the guarantee of democracy. In my view this is an outmoded historical schema. Who does not know that in the interwar period coun tries with multiparty systems promoted fascism. Thus, the existence of several parties did not guarantee the defence of democracy....Throughout most of the civilized world and in countries with a long historical tradition, one can talk of the outmoded character of the existing political structures and even of the way in which political parties are organized. These parties, fatally, represent sectarian, group or narrow social interests...In this sense the notion of a party, as a narrow concept, represents an out-of-date
La Nouvelle Alternative May SLOVAKIA Petition in defence of trade union rights A PARLIAMENTARY discussion is being prepared on a law on trade union rights in Czechoslovakia. The first drafts suggested significant restrictions on union rights, including the banning of political strikes. A number of left-wing groups responded by preparing the following petition:
The signatories listed below state:
1. Their opposition to the draft law on the right to strike published in Prace on June 6, 1990, which restricts in an unacceptable fashion the basic rights of working citizens, as agreements respected in all democratic
2. The justice of the rejection of this draft by the existing trade unions.
3. Our surprise at the notion of banning political strikes coming from a government which was born out of political
4. A broad public discussion of not less than six weeks duration after the publication of the draft in the major media
Many decision by the Federal
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We call on:
5. All political parties and movements to open up their publications for this discussion.
6. The government to put its means of communication at the disposal of this organized discussion.
Signed by the participants in the conference of left forces, including representatives of: The Czechoslovak Anarchist Association, Left Alternative, Democratic Forum, the Czechoslovak Social Democracy, Socialist Forum, Obroda-Club for Democratic Socialism. * ZAMB I A Anti-price rise riots expose Kaunda's populist pretensions AFTER several other African countries, it is the turn of Zambia to experience popular riots. The reason for these disturbances, which started at the end of June, was the decision of the Kaunda regime to raise the price of maize flour as a part of the austerity plan imposed by international institutions. Official figures of several dead have been given following on from the student demonstrations and the looting
A false rumour that Kaunda had been toppled by a military coup caused great confusion in the country - thousands came out into the streets to celebrate the event. Most of the urban centres were affected by these movements. Corruption and the absence of democratic liberties seem to have also played their part in the upsurge. The offices of Kaunda's party -the only party allowed - were sacked.
These events are of exceptional international importance, given some specific features of Zambia. First of all it is a southern African country whose regime has claimed to be progressive and an ally of the anti-apartheid struggle in South
These riots will clear up this confusion and undermine the credibility of Kaunda's populist rhetoric. The "socialist" Kaunda has labelled these riots as "criminal disorders" and stated that "the party and government will be severe with all those, including children, who were involved in the destruction of goods."
Furthermore it is primarily a mineral exporting country - copper makes up 90% of its exports. British, United States and South African investment play an impor tant role in this industry. The stakes at a regional level are therefore considerable
Zambia is a subjugated country, and profoundly dependent. It has an external debt of $7 million. Despite the socialist professions of faith of the regime, the system is as despotic and corrupt as in all the other neo-colonial African cohit unty proyment and destition are 27 continually growing. * July 16, 1990 • #189 International Viewpoint
ALBANIA The last
ion, foreign credits and other matters.
The number of crimes punishable by death has been reduced from 34 to cy from the considerable Albanian diaspora.
Despite its pretensions to homogeneity and rectitude, the Tirana regime has frequently been riven by complex factional
11, while the right of all nationals to obtain a passport to travel abroad on request has been recognized (although a lack of hard currency and bureaucratic wrangling struggles. Whilst the closed nature of the regime makes any accurate assessment of the current balance of forces impossible, it seems that Alia is playing a centrist role between the conservative forces (supposedly headed by Hoxha's widow; Nexhimje Hoxha) and the innovators who are said
AMIDST scenes strikingly reminiscent of those which presaged the downfall of other Eastern European bureaucratic dictatorships last year, hundreds of
Albanians had sought refuge in foreign embassies by July 6, following street demonstrations and clashes with the security forces.
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A disconcerted regime blew both hot and cold in response to the events.
On the one hand, the refugees were denounced in classical
Stalinist jargon as "hooligans, criminals, vagabonds, former and prisoners, depraved adolescents". At the same time, however, the Government indicated its readiness to immediately issue 13,000 exit visas to defuse the crisis.
The events in Eastern Europe over the past year have created difficulties for what is now the only one party regime in