FIVE YEARS after its launch on May Day 1991, Sociolist Outlook has reached its 100th issue. HARRY SLOAN, production editor and then Editor of the paper for its first 94 issues. looks back. INTENATIONALISM, anti-racism and a commitment to fight for new, socialist leadership in the mass organisations of the labour movement mark out the distinctive political profile of Socialist Outlook.
The first steps from a monthly magazine towards a fortnightly newspaper were driven by our agitational work in opposition to the Gulf War, in which we published a series of broadsheets.
And the new paper drew much of its insolaon rom The very first issue carried a front page supporting the Kurdish struggle for self-determination: issue 2 carried the first of what became a consistent series of analytical articles covering the Irish struggle.
Warning against the attempts to broker a deal involving the British and Irish governments and political parties with te excepion of sian rein, we challenged the 'appearance of consen. sus', calling for a link-up between the left and the irish community in Britain. to build an anti-imperialist counterweight.
Issue 3 got to grips with the crisis developing in the former Yugoslavia, and the line swiftly developed to one very distinctive as most of the British left tail-ended the brutal expansionism of Milosevic's Serbian regime. Issue 6 carried a detailed article headlined: "Pootra, tanks crush the old Turoslavia", and insisted that:
"The failure of the Yugoslav model of 'socialism' has led to a struggle (ween natlonal groupings "But this does not mean that socialists can be neutral in the contiicts taxing place. The main feature of the situation is the drive by the Serbian leadership in Belgrade under Slobodan Milosevic to create a "Greater Serbia' by subjugating other nationalities....
"The key now to any social progress in the region is the fight for Slovene SOCIALIST and Croat indeoverthrow of the Milosevic gime."
This carly line later developed our support for Bosnia's right to self determination, and our insistence that the goal to be defended in Bosnia was not a "Muslim state' but multi-ethnic Socialist Outlook, working with European sections orine Polt Mc national, backed a major solidarity effort delivering aid to Bosnia targeted on the mining town of Tuzla. The success of this campaign was rerecico in te front page of assue 49: 'Workers Aid Rolls into Bosnia".
Our paper has also followed and analysed a wide range of other international campaigns and issues, among them • the collapse of the Soviet Union and the developing crisis in castern Europe;
SOCIALIST • opposing the US intervention in • rejecting the wretched "peace' deal signed by PLO leader Arafat establishing new Palestinian "bantus• the fight against Indonesia's use of British-supplied planes and hard. ware in their genocide in East Timor, • supporting the courageous resistance of the Chechen fighters to Yeltsin's military offensive: Between the 1987 General Election and the Gulf War 39 Issues of the bimonthly. and then monthiy, magazine format Socialist Outlook were produced • opposition to the bloody Nigerian dietatorship.
At home, the issues confroated by Socialist Ostlook have of course been dominated by the unresolved and hisors casis or caucrsnip and perspec tive in the labour movement.
It is tempting to regard Tony Blair's rightward lurch as something qualitatively new: but a look back at our 100 issues reveals many analytical articles tracing historic parallels between Blair and Kinnock, and between these latterday taodersins and the will kocar class traitors of esteryear. ILO