Q.1. Where are anti-racists united with a friend of Jean-Marie Le Pen? Q.2. Where are anti-racists united with apologists for 'ethnic cleansing'. Q.3. Where are anti-war activists united with apologists for war criminals? THE ANSWER to all three questions is The Committee for Peace in the Balkans.
This organisation held its first public meeting on Monday June 26 in the House of Commons. About 120 people turned up to listen to Tony Benn, Tam Dalyell and Alice Mahon.
The Committee for Peace in the Balkans consists of people who have played important roles in opposing imperialist wars in the past.
Morning Star In addition to Benn and Mahon there are Dennis Skinner and Diane Abbott, leading members of CND, supporters of the Moring Star, and the exTrotskyists of Socialist Action. Popular Council, which bring together hundreds of thousands of Serbs and Croats who want to maintain an independent Bosnia-Hercegovina?
If he ever bothered to read the material produced by the trade unions in Tuzla and Sarajevo, if he ever bothered to read the views of Selim Beslagic, mayor of Tuzla, if he ever bothered to find out the positions of the Autonomous Unions of Croatia or the Serb and Croat Councils he would learn that they are all in favour of a free, independent, multi-national Bosnia.
He would learn that they are all in favour of lifting the arms ban so that the people of Bosnia can defend themselves from aggression.
But since Blackie considers that forces other than Izetbegovic hardly exist then he obviously doesn't think he Many of these forces have also played an important role in building the Anti-Racist Alliance and the National Assembly Against Racism. It is somewhat surprising, therefore, to find that one of their allies is Alfred Sherman.
In the 1930s Sherman fought in the International Brigades in Spain. But more recently he has worked as a speech-writer for Margaret Thatcher. He was also responsible for inviting French fascist leader Jean-Marie Le Pen to London.
Adviser
However, his most recent employment has been as an adviser to self-proclaimed Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic.
How can Tony Benn justify an alliance with this friend of Le Pen?
How can Diane Abbott justity an alliance with this apologist for racism? How can Bruce Kent justify an alliance with this apologist for a major war criminal?
It is an absolute disgrace that individuals and organisations claiming to be on the left, claiming to be anti-racist, are allied with this apologist for 'ethnic cleansing' and attempted genocide. needs to make the effort.
And since Duncan Blackie has decided that, whatever their official position might be, the Bosnian government is 'objectively' only interested in creating a purely Muslim state, the SWP can continue to refuse to support Bosnia against aggression, can continue to argue that the Bosnian working class should be denied the arms they demand.
Socialist Outlook has large numbers of faxes from workers' and civic organisations in Bosnia and Croatia.
We would urge all members of the Socialist Workers Party to ask your leadership to ensure that they are published in Socialist Worker, so that the real views of the Bosnian and Croatian working class can be heard.
If the SWP are so convinced they are right, why should they refuse to do so?