-Selections from the World Press AUSTRALIA
In the February 3 issue of the weekly that reflects the views of the Socialist Workers Party, Australian section of the Fourth International, Nita Keig writes:
"Here in Australia ALP (Australian Labor Party) and trade union leaders such as NSW (New South Wales) Labor Council secretary Barrie Unsworth, and Queensland ALP president Denis Murphy spoke on platforms with Liberal Party leaders, air commodores, and 'Captive Nations' spokespeople.
"This has nothing to do with labor solidarity and is a betrayal of the interests of the workers in both Australia and Poland.
"If these forces were genuinely concerned about the welfare of Polish workers they should be calling for the cancellation of the debts the giant capitalist banks of the West are holding over Poland's workers.
"In fact, these bankers pushed the Polish regime to crack down on the workers' movement to help ensure that their loans are repaid.
"Nothing exposes the cynical use of Poland by the capitalist politicians more than this.
DIRECT ACTION
40c Shows support for
UNIONS
Polish Solidarity
a fraud
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"It confirms that the only real friends of the Polish workers, the only real supporters of their struggle, are the trade unionists and labor movement activists involved in a similar fight against their own governments in the capitalist world.
"It is by these forces that genuine solidarity, which is not tied to the aims of the capitalist politicians or their rightwing supporters in the labor movement can be built. 28
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Un représentant de Solidarnosc prend la parole Lire page 11 La grève de 24 heures du 8 février était un premier coup de semonce pour le government Martens V Continuons la lutte en front commun syndical jusqu'au retrait de la loi sur les pouvoirs snánia...-
The French-language weekly of the Revolutionary Workers League, Belgian section of the Fourth International, reports in its February 5 issue:
"The leadership of Solidarnosc in exile called for an international day of solidarity on January 30. Reagan tried to exploit this appeal, without much success. But it has to be said that the response of the workers movement was not a great success either. That was certainly true in Belgium. The two big union federations, the FGTB and the CSC, had taken charge of organizing the protest. But they limited themselves to running a picket outside the Polish embassy in Brussels.
"When it became clear that the trade-union movement was not planning a serious action for January 30, some organizations, including the Revolutionary Workers League, tried to organize a demonstration at the last minute. They managed to bring out a few hundred people on a Saturday afternoon.
"The day of solidarity with Solidarnosc remains to be held." SWEDEN
Internationalen
In its February 4 issue, the weekly paper of the Communist Workers Party, Swedish section of the Fourth International, interviewed a participant in the conference of Polen-Solidaritet Committees held in Stockholm over the year-end holidays.
Irene Johansson-Wiik said: "For us, the central thing is to get the Swedish trade unions to support actively the Polish free trade union. The LO (the Swedish national union federation) is already carrying on solidarity work. Polen-Solidaritet wants to help complement this work. The conference adopted an appeal that we hope many trade unions will take up. "
Internationalen noted: "This appeal calls for breaking the news blackout from Poland, for the release of the imprisoned union activists, and that the state of siege be ended. The statement also says that it would be good for representatives of the Swedish unions to be present at all trials of imprisoned trade-union leaders.
"In various places in the committee, the LO District Committees, together with the Social Democrats, have formed what are called Workers Movement Committee for the Polish People. " Irene Johansson-Wiik continued: "In a number of places, PolenSolidaritet has worked with the LO District Committees."
"In Stockholm we jointly called a demonstration with the LO District Committee and a rally with the Workers Movement Committee. We hope for continued cooperation." DENMARK Klasse.
Deds-ulykken pa Aalborg Vatti sid kampen Fringeme har ig Gronlans-streiken e Interview med Solidaritets-folk side 13 Store Nordiske-giganten fik klar besked:
Vi vil ikke
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60 ore
Haig ved ikke hvad han taler om
Klassekampen
In the January 28 issue of the weekly newspaper of the Socialist Workers Party, Danish section of the Fourth International, Jorgen Colding interviewed Gorm Klinken, a member of the organization active in the Copenhagen Polish Solidarity Committee.
Colding asked: "In Land og Folk (the Communist Party paper) and the Jylland Post (a bourgeois paper), you can read that it was not Solidarnosc but Ronald Reagan that was behind the January 30 International Day of Protest. How can it be assured that the Polish workers and not Reagan get the benefit of solidarity work with Poland?"
Klinken answered: "We can do this in two ways. We must take our distance from Reagan's attempt to exploit Solidarnosc.
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He isn't interested in supporting Solidarity. Secondly, we can try to make sure that the support for Solidarity doesn't come from the bourgeois forces but from the workers movement."
Colding. "How can you do that? For example, representatives of the bourgeois parties in Denmark say that they support Solidarity, and they have signed statements supporting some of Solidarity's demands.
Klinken. "We obviously cannot stop them from doing that. But we can do much more to broaden the solidarity in the unions and among the workers parties.
"I think that the solidarity groups should set up trade-union groups that actively canvas the workplaces and explain what Solidarity stands for. We can try to draw the unions into demonstrations in support of Solidarity, as happened in some places up till January 30."
Colding. "Considering Reagan's attempt to exploit the Polish situation for his own political objectives, do you think that there is a need for changing the political basis of the Solidarity Committees? Should they say for example that they are for socialism in Poland?
Klinken. "I can't imagine that it would do much good for the committees to say that they are for socialism in Poland. On the other hand, that could make it difficult to draw in many of those who want to do something against the military government in Poland.
"But I do think that it is right to take our distance from Reagan's boycott and his attempt to exploit Solidarity for his own political ends. And we should take our distance from the bourgeois forces who say that they want to support a union abroad, but that they are anxious to restrict the rights of trade unions here in Denmark. " U.S.A.
Intercontinental Press
In the January 18 issue of the weekly, wrote in the News Analysis column under Poland: "
"There can be no genuine support for the Polish working class that does not put opposition to the crimes of the Stalinist bureaucracy within the context of opposifion to imperialist oppression and support for the struggle for socialism. "
THE MILITANT
Big leap in Reagan plunges deeper arms budget into El Salvador war proposed
U.S. tries to save junta as rebels gain
In the January 29 issue of the Militant, a weekly that reflects the views of the Socialist Workers Party, one of the main founding parties of the Fourth International, SWP leader Larry Seigle writes:
"If the AFL-CIO wanted to provide some real aid to the Polish workers, it could start by joining with the labor forces in Europe who are opposing the introduction of new nuclear weapons into their coun
"But that is not what the Polish Workers Aid Fund is all about. Rather than aiding the Polish workers, the AFL-CIO misleaders are mainly interested in helping the Democrats and Republicans to carry out their bipartisan foreign policy, which is more and more heading toward the direct use of U.S. military forces overseas, under the banner of anticommunism.
"The reactionary character of the AFLCIO campaign around Poland has repelled everyone motivated by genuine feelings of
"At the same time, right-wing forces have flooded rallies on Poland called in the name of the AFL-CIC after the declaration of martial law in Poland....
"Essentially the same thing happened when a few groups calling themselves socialist tried to organize demonstrations on Poland that would be more 'radical' than the AFL-CIO actions. Such actions were held in a number of cities.
"For example, in New York City, an ad hoc coalition held a demonstration on Poland.... The sponsors included organizations such as the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee, the Revolutionary Socialist League, and Workers Power. The demonstration took place at the Polish consulate within hours after another, rightwing, rally was held there. As could be expected the pews media lumped in the 'pro-socialist' action with the right-wing protest in reporting the events.
"What the sponsoring groups had in common is their refusal to politically defend the workers states against imperialism. Rather they place 'equal blame' on both imperialism and the workers states for the evils of the world, placing themselves in what they call the 'third camp. ' But in the context of the imperialists' campaign around Poland, this 'third camp' position, under the guise of 'fighting Stalinism, ' becomes nothing but another voice in the anticommunist and anti-Soviet choir, lendind left cover to the Reagan propaganda effort.
"For these reasons, the Socialist Workers Party opposed demonstrations called by these forces in New York and other cities. Members of the party sold the Militant to people who were drawn to these actions because of their solidarity with the Polish workers, and got a good
Seigle wrote that the SWP branch in San Francisco had participated in a demonstration against the crackdown in Poland but the results had been bad. Seigle
"Members of the right-wing Libertarian Party turned out, carrying virulently anticommunist placards. Among their slogans were 'Smash the Communist Tyrants,' and 'Hang Jaruzelski.' Some anarchists carried slogans advocating "Anarchy for All of Poland.'
"Members of 'third camp' groups turned out with signs such as 'CIA/KGB--Both
Seigle went on to report:
"Speaking at a Bay-Area-Wide Militant Forum held the following weekend, SWP National Cochairperson Barry Sheppard explained that the San Francisco demonstration and others like it were an obstacle to carrying out a genuine campaign of solidarity with Polish workers....
"Sheppard pointed to the 'extremely provocative' slogans, such as 'Hang Jaruzelski.' These not only do not offer any solidarity to the Polish workers, but lend credence to the lies of the Kremlin bureaucrats--and of groups such as the Communist Party, the Workers World Party, and the Spartacist League--who support the crackdown on the Polish workers.
"Their strategy is to smear Solidarity as a right-wing movement. To the degree that workers who support Solidarity march side by side with right-wing and even semi-fascist groups, this appears to support these accusations, therefore undermining Solidarity itself.
"Sheppard added, 'Marching with signs
IINTERNATIONAL
MARXIST such as 'Anarchy for all Poland' simply reinforces Moscow's false charge that Solidarity is responsible for 'anarchy' in Poland.
" 'For these reasons,' he said, 'the demonstration was a blow to the Polish work-
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" 'We were burned once but we won't be burned again, ' Sheppard stressed, referring to the San Francisco demonstration.
'The San Francisco SWP won't make the same mistake again, he added.'"