needs of the working Europe.
The Charter in Czechoslovakia has never for one moment attempted to turn the masses in Czechoslovakia towards the imperialist powers -as supposedly liberating struggle against Stalinism. The class character of movements for working castern europe cannotbe decided propaganda use made of them at this or that moment by bourgeois forces in the West.
When the Charter appeared in January 1977, the first reflex of the regime was to try to crush it. A plan was drawn up to jail some, expel others from the country, and deport most of the rest to the countryside. unprecedented campaign of intimidation and press hysteria preparation measures.
But the of solidarity reached February: All the together with 13 Western CPs, supported the Charter's right to operate and denounced the masses in Eastern influences the sacking class rights in the actually Charter There was an for these movement held firm until the support and crescenao early social-democratic parties, prominent IVULUCIN nomentum. has Lyon, anti-racist country;
La NUPE ASTMS and University repressive measures of the regime.
Then, in early February, almost certainly pressure Moscow, worried about the fate of the Helsinki review conference, the regime drew back and limited itself to jailing half a dozen their simultaneously declared that it contemplated repressive measures against signing the Charter!
The terroristic campaign during the first weeks of the movement was sufficient to limit its scope, and only about a thousand people signed Charter 77. 77's achievements impressive.
The regime was forced to relax a number of the restrictions on the families of those purged the legal institutions of the country, through the off-shoot Committee in Defence of Unjustly Prosecuted Persons (VONS), has systematically exposed attempts by the regime to stage-manage political trials. LABOUR movement protests against the recent arrest of 10 Charter supare rapidly gaining A model of the sort of local protest that is required came from the labour and student movements in York. A protest letter demanding the release of been Czechoslovak Embassy:
The letter has been signed by local Labour MP Alex well-known for his in this by Ken Cooper, the leader of the Labour Group on York City Council; Joanna de Groot, secretary of the York and District Trades Council; on local trade unionists, including senior steward, branch chairperson and a CPSA branch secretary;
the executive of York Students Union which was Chartists and throwing jobs.
people for in Czechoslovakia groups, Nevertheless, have been politics, social issues.
especially Unofficial which University.
This sort of action should be repeated throughout the KHULLY. an international appeal to he release of the 1| / is now circulating the labour movements of Western Europe ano Norn this country it has already won support from Russell Peace Foundation and more than Labour MPs. It is hoped that the appeal will be supported officially by the Communist Party of Great Britain.
Copies of the appeal can be obtained from the Charter 77 Defenee Committee — the Committee to Defend Czechoslovak Socialists with the support Eastern Europe Solidarity Campaign and the journal Labour Focus •Eastern Europe. The Charter 77 Defence Committee is co-ordinating all aspects of the defence campaign in the British labour movement and its address is: 14 Elgin Court, Montpelier Road, London W5.
Most recently, the Charter has forced the scaedal that it had tried to co eup, and has scandal that it had tried to cover up, also made possible a considerable development of the cultural underground in Czechoslovakia, back the regime's attempts extinguish the movement in the mid-1970s.
But the Charter's greatest achievement has been to create a new centre of open political life Within and around the movement a wide range of activities, working and discussion circles has emerged. General political journals have been started, as well as special magazines on cultural life, world Polish affairs, theoretical philosophical problems, and economic and Working groups have produced detailed studies of issues ranging from nuclear power to discrimination against gypsies; from problems of consumption to the country's prison system.
educational courses have started in the so-called 'Jan Patocka Most precious of all, the movement has movement, development within it.
the street?
Who attempted and in what stages?
wrapped up, administration atmosphere for SALT 2.
Dackaroun of retrenchment, workers favourable for a round-up.
Roots much deeper roots in not a race ot movement. and possible eventually break the Charter.
serious defeat been Free Meanwhile hundreds of pairs of political police officers' eyes have been peering into the watching every nuance and Who should be beaten up anonymously on Who should be • arrested to should be bombarded WIll anonymous phone calls? What provocations should be staged within the movement? Who should be blackmailed into turning informer? 'And above all, when should a crack-down be The international conjuncture changed, as it was bound to. The Helsinki conference was and the United States wanted to create the right In March 1979, the New York Times' main East European correspondent wrote off the Charter as a bunch of leftists. Against a electoral defeats and some of the Western CPs drew Eastern Europe. climate became much more But by now Charter 77 has managed to sink Fi Czechoslovak society, especially among working class youth in the response was the reverse of what happened in January 1977. International reaction in the press and from the main political forces was minimal. But inside the country, the movement reacted vigorously and resolutely.
Iwo new spokespersons immediately came forward and 13 new members of VONS, the Committee in Defence of Unjustly Prosecuted Persons, filled the gap left by the 10 jailed VONS issued a statement on the affair which was cold and devastating. There disarray within This reaction indicates that the round-up of 29 May has been totally insufficient to break the movement. Much more will be required from the police to achieve that objective. But it whether labour movement in the West is concerned to see the survival and strengthening of the socialist opposition to Stalinism in Czechoslovakia.
If Western socialists stand aside, it is of for the to This will not mean an end to oppositional activity in Czechoslovakia. But it could mean a for the left within that opposition. And that would be a terrible blow to the really fundamental cause of the workers of Europe: the struggle for a really united, genuinely socialist and democratic continent.
Socialist Challenge 5 July 1979 Page 7
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