Bosnian democratic opposition speaks out
The Fragmentation of Yugoslavia: an overview
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adding that there had been "a serious split within the opposition." Patriotic pensioners
The defection of the Komsomol is likely to prove crippling for the KPRF. Burdened with a reputation as a "party of pensioners", the KPRF has had little success in attracting new activists except via its youth wing.
One of the main factors sending the Komsomol off on an independent track is younger comrades' distaste for the "nationalpatriotic" thinking KPRF leaders have enthusiastically embraced, seeing it as their key weapon for broadening their support and ensuring electoral success. Nationalist ideology, especially as formulated by Zyuganov and his colleagues, holds little appeal for most young Russians.
Selim Beslagic (left) presents the Bosnian democratic opposition's viewpoints to OSCE chairman (and Danish
Older people in Russia are often suspicious and resentful of foreign influences, but relatively tew of the country's youth share these feelings. For those who do, the most natural course is not toward the Communists but toward fascist groups; there the nationalism is purer and the aesthetic more modern.
Young people who are ready to align themselves with the left are attracted by socialism, not by "state patriotism"; they want resolute political action, not parliamentarian moderation and behind-the-scenes deals with the government.
Some left intelligentsia, including Anatoly Baranov and Boris Kagarlitsky, have
Foreign Minister) Niels Helveg Petersen (right).
A spokesman for the multi-ethnic and democratic recently visited Denmark, thanks to the efforts of a new NGO which seeks to support education and trade union projects in Tuzla, Bosnia.
The initiative to invite Selim Beslagic president of the Union of Bosnian Social Democrats, and mayor of the multi-ethnic town of Tuzla, came from the Stoet Tuzlas Skoler (Help Bosnia's Schools) group
The meeting was organised by the "shadow government," established by democratic forces from all parts of
Meetings with the Danish left parties were also productive. Until this trip, active support for progressive groups in Bosnia was more or less confined to the far left in Denmark. But representatives of the (ruling) Social Democratic Party and the (left reformist) Peoples Socialist Party pledged to give a higher priority to
Beslagic was received by the foreign contacts with their Bosnian counterdeclared support for Malyarov and the Komsomol 'dissidents." Together they have signed a set of "New April Theses" — a minimum Foreign Affairs. Petersen is also chair- the running programme for the revival of the left.
The "New April Theses" represents the third attempt since 1993 to create a left alternative. The first attempt was undertaken by non-communist leftists in 1994, against a background of growing opportunism by the KPRF. Their effort failed because the socialist groups were not mature enough for a serious unification.
During the lead-up to the 1995 parliamentary elections, the KPRF leaders made a rhetorical turn to the left, encouraging leftists to hope that a "reformed" and "renewed" KPRF might become the main element in a broad united front. But as the KPRF leaders lost their hopes of taking control of the Kremlin, they lost interest not only in their allies on the left, but also in their own supporters and activists. This set the scene for the present "mutiny".
Malyarov and his co-thinkers have now begun a search for allies. The coming months will show whether their declaration of independence will help the emergence of a new political force on the Russian left. * Source: Green Left Weekly (AUS), via the Internet committee of the Danish parliament, and Niels Helveg Petersen, Minister of man of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. This was the first time the OSCE accepted to meet with a representative of the Bosnian democratic opposition.
Beslagic said that until Bosnian refugees had the right to return to their home towns, western Governments should not push them to return. Otherwise they would only return to the "Muslim" part of Bosnia, "becoming refugees in their own country." He stressed the changing mood among Bosnians, pointing to a recent meeting in Banja Luka (controlled by the Bosnian Serb authorities) where 5,000 ethnic Serbs repeated their desire to return to their homes in the Muslim-Croat Federation. INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION by Catherine Samary parts
Help Tuzla's Schools will contribute to costs of a sister-office in Tuzla, which will co-ordinate international support for Tuzla's school system. It will also serve as a support centre for the Tuzla teachers' union, other trade unions, and democratic and multi-ethnic organisations in general. It will organise holiday projects for Bosnian children, in co-operation with a Belgo-Slovenian project based in Ljubljana. * [JD] Notes Selim Beslagic visited Denmark from 8-11 April 1997. Help Tuzla's Schools (Stoet Tuzlas Skoler) is a spin-off from International Workers Aid, a solidarity NGO in which Danish Fourth International supporters are particularly active. The new group is supported by all Denmark's teachers unions, and represents a wide range of political views. It has about 500 members. For more information contact: Stoet Tuzlas Skoler Borgediget 23, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark. Tel +45 42 37 06 73, E-mail < vagn-ras@cybernet.dk>
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Denmark Russia *
The right wing Afrikaner Freedom Front plans to develop a "Food Corridor" extending across the Southern part of the continent from Angola to Mozambique. The objective is to set up Whiteowned farms beyond South Africa's borders. Afrikaner agribusiness will extend its grip into neighbouring countries with large scale investments in commercial farming, food processing and eco-tourism. This "Food Corridor" does not mean food for the local people. On the contrary, local peasants will loose their land. African small-holders will become farm labourers or tenants on large scale plantations owned by the Boers. Michel Chossudovsky*