FOR SOME of Europe's Communists the Balkan war, and Milosevic's * regime, are the last act of the death agony of Stalinism.
Italy's former CP strongman Armando Cossuta, now a minister in the centre-left government, made a pathetic trip to France, Berlin, Moscow and Belgrade, in a futile attempt to unify CP leaders and play a mediator role between Milosevic and the west.
There are remnants of "either" NATO or Milosevic" cold-war thinking in most of Europe's CPs, as well as nostalgia for Serbia's "actually existing socialism"
But despite the regular contacts between these parties there is a broad spectrum of opinion and engagement in the anti-war movement, with the Greek KKE the most militant and anti-NATO, and the French Communist Party the most hesitant and inactive.
Greece has strong traditions of anti-British and anti-American sentiments, which fuel anti-imperialist consciousness. So does US support for Turkey, and Greece's cultural and economic ties with Serbia. The KKE has always been proMilosevic, even supporting the notorious ethnic cleansers Arkan and Karadzic. But the party's large implantation, particularly in the labour movement, has enabled it to while the other demands respect play a decisive role in real mass mobilisations against the war.
Soldiers and sailors have refused to be mobilised. There have been occupations of airports, and blockades of US ships in Greek ports.
The leadership of the French CP has tried to reassure both anti-war militants and its partners in government. All criticism of NATO is balanced by statements that the party is absolutely committed to remaining in the Jospin government!
Demonstrations
Italy's Refounded Communists have the potential to organise massive resistance to the war After cur. cessful political mobilisations against the NATO bombings, with demonstrations of 40-80,000, the party is well placed to organise any future social protests against the war.
The communist-inspired newspaper ll Manifesto has played a very positive role in building the impressive Rome demonstrations. Leading columnist Rosanna Rossanda has incited Italian soldiers to disobey any orders to participate in a ground war. Spain's United Left /IU) has opposed the war in parliament and in the streets. But one wing of the movement supports Milosevic, for Kosovar democratic rights When the conflict started, IU leader julio Anguita took a pro-Milosevic line. In one El Pais interview he called Milosevic "a man of the left". On 26 April, the Anguita leadership abruptly modified its position to head off growing protests But prominent Pers refused to support the new policy.
Pressure on IU is also coming from the broad left "Manifesto for a just peace in the Balkans," which has been signed by a wide range of intellectuals and leaders of social and political movements.
Germany's PDS opposes the war and NATO, criticises Milosevic's anti-democratic regime within Serbia and in its expulsion of Kosovo Albanians. But party leader Gregor Gysi rushed to Belgrade for talks with Milosevic. He also visited Kosovo, but his handshake with the Serbian leader was very badly received by the PDS base. The PDS has said nothine in defence of the democratic rights of the Kosovars. At the same time, the PDS is active in the anti-war move1893T Member of Parliament Winned Wolf persuaded the party to publish a war diary, which has sold over 500,000 copies in three editions.
We are of the view that in such a predicament only a political, and not a military, solution is possible based on respect for the rights of every nation in that region, and every religion, ethnic group and culture: a solution for both, Serbians and Kosovars. I am deeply convinced that the problem cannot be solved by force, that the military technology will crash against the will of any people determined to fight. I firmly believe that when the peopie are willing to fight -and this is how I feel about our own people, too— no power, regardless of its might, can throw them down on HUNDREDS of deadlv clus after abortive NATO missions over Serbia have been causing havoc in the sea near Venice. One Italian fishing boat has been destroyed by exploding bombs caught in nets and several fishermen have been badly injured. killing up to 100 Kosovar villagers in a bombing raid, and a month after cluster bombs and laser-guided missiles were dropped into Italy's Lake Garda. Mealy-mouthed NATO propagandists would only grudgingly admit that the bombs which fell as close as 7 miles from Venice were "certainly similar to NATO's stocks. The most recent episode came the day after NATO admitted