|
|
McCarthyism resurrected in Europe |
On Jan. 24-27 the Council of Europe will vote
on a resolution demanding international condemnation of communism and
statements of renunciation from all communist parties in European Union member
states “condemning the crimes committed by totalitarian communist regimes.”
Equating communism with Nazism/fascism, the resolution claims that “communist
ideology, wherever and whenever implemented … has always resulted in massive
terror, crimes and large scale violation of human rights,” and says these are
“a direct result of the class struggle theory.”
The resolution, if adopted, could launch a new period of anticommunist
hysteria. It leads the way to prohibition of communist parties that do not
issue the renunciations. Observers note that in numerous former socialist
countries in Europe, communist parties and communists are being actively
persecuted, communist leaders jailed and communist symbols forbidden. In this
context, this resolution threatens to create a European-wide climate
encouraging increased anticommunist persecution.
Calling for a major rewriting of the history of the 20th century, the
resolution demands that the historical contribution of communist parties and
communists on the front lines of struggles for national independence, social
justice, democracy and human rights be renounced. It attempts to erase from
popular memory the sacrifice of the lives of millions of communists in the
fight for a more just world, and the 20 million dead of the former Soviet Union
in the war against fascism. By equating communist and fascism it attempts to
rewrite the history of World War II, minimizing if not concealing the
responsibility of fascism with the claim that “other totalitarian regimes”
existed.
The resolution was set in motion in August 2003 with a condemnation of
communist ideology in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE), which urged the council to “take the necessary measures to get rid of
the inheritance of former communist totalitarian states.” In May 2005, on the
60th anniversary of the victory over fascism, the European Parliament (EP)
adopted an extreme anticommunist resolution. In October, PACE presented a
memorandum even more reactionary than that of the EP, asking for the
international condemnation of communism “without further delay.” Its author,
Goran Lindblad, has been publicly quoted stating that “communism is satanic as
an idea” and the “French Revolution was abhorrent.”
This resolution is part of an all-out attack by the forces of reaction in
Europe against the ideology of communism. Fifteen years ago, when European
socialist states were overthrown, the death of communism and the “end of
history” were declared, with capitalism the “victor.” However, as capitalism is
seen as spreading misery and poverty throughout the world and people in former
socialist countries have tasted the harsh reality of capitalism, communist
ideas and prospects for socialism are apparently not so “dead” after all, and
reactionary forces are uneasy.
This resolution targets not only communists but the entire working-class
movement. Struggles against neoliberalism, globalization, the monopolies and
the “new world order” are increasingly inspired by ideals that conflict with
capitalism. With this resolution, European representatives of capitalism
apparently hope to obliterate these ideals using openly fascistic methods.
A public outcry against the resolution in many European Union countries and
across the world continues. A Europe-wide meeting of communist and workers’
parties was set for Jan. 21 in Brussels. On Jan. 24 a mass protest will be held
outside the Council of Europe in Straussberg on the day the resolution will be
voted on. Demonstrations are being held in various countries. An online
petition against the resolution at www.no2anticommunism.org has drawn
signatures from thousands of people around the world.
In Greece public outcry against the resolution has been overwhelming, spanning
the entire political spectrum from right to left. Internationally renowned
composer Mikis Theodorakis said the Council of Europe has decided to “distort”
history “by equating the victims with the villains. The criminals with the
heroes. The conquerors with the liberators and the Nazis with the communists.”
The resolution opens the way for “the ghosts of Hitler and Himmler,” who “began
their career by outlawing the Communist Parties and by locking up the
Communists in death camps,” Theodorakis said.
Meanwhile the council has been silent on U.S. aggression, torture and other
human rights violations, he noted. “I have but one word to address to those ‘gentlemen’:
Shame!”
Laura Petricola (laurajopetricola@yahoo.com) writes from Athens, Greece.
Return to ARCHIVES
Updated 01/06