"ETR UHL, editor of the information bulletir roduced by the Charter 17 civil right Seven other Charter activists face sentences of up to five yeurs on chunges of subversion 'of A HUSS SCOONS KIND Uh! has been active as a revolutionary socialist since before the Soviet lavasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968. Below, in extracts from an interview carned January explains mis view resolutionary polities.
When did you become a Marxist? I became a Marxist while 1 was still at college. 1 was very much influcnced by the courses on Marxisni espocial those of Protestor 315 Hermach. This was 1958-63. Ir is interesting for me that today Professor Hermach is one of the signatories of the Charter.
At the beginning 1 was a reformist. 1 had a critique of bureaucrane sustem but thought that the faults could be overcome experiences in France during the 1960s. 1 wat uradually. there for two months in 1965, then again in 1967, and three times in 1968.
In Paris in 1965 chere was this internal crisis and debate in the Communist Party's student organisation, the UBC There tendencies: a 'pro-Italian" (Togliatti) tendency the Trotskyists, and the Stalinists, This is where 1 first met Alain Krivine, the leader of the Trotskyist tendency.
I took part in all the big battles. 1 prepared myself for the discussions and I intervened. I also took part actively in their work. I used to hand out leaflets with the pro-Italian tendency 1 brought back with famous letter of the Polish dissidents Kuron and Modzelewski. When the Prague Spring, the democratisation process, began in Czechoslovakia in 19681 translated it into Czech and the Student Parhament a 1'raeue pubushed it and distributed it.
We made about a thousand copies. It was possible to do that then, the burenucratio structures were loosening up. The translation and puhlication of the Kuron letter was my first important political act.
What was your personal involvement in 19687 In Prague, in the spring of 1968, there was a left-wing discussion club organised by Zbyne Fiser (a philosopher, poet, ar the time a Maoist, SHEL in a propagandist of the Peking line, but also in TAVOUT GE self-organisation councils). This question of self-organisation and workers' courcils was in fact the main issue of discussion in the club.
1 played an active role in this club and was the editor of its Information Bulletin. The club was really an amalgam of the tar left, Scalinists, a lew Khrushcheviles, and so on. We had about one hundred in Prague, more in the provinces. The club disintegrated at the time of 1 was also movement. At the time I was a teacher-in the Prague Technical College. There was a trade union committee of eight people clecled by the college and I was elected to this committee in April 1968.
Through my position in the union structure 1 was able to participate in union activity at a national level. I was a delegate to national intervene at this level.
After August Flooked for a new milieu to work in. The club had disintegrated. My union were threc was far too weak and also too reformist to offer any read possibility. I was a teacher, and not in industry, so the question of workers' control didn't arise in such an immediate way in my union.
At this point 1 linked into the student milieu, I had many frends in the Arts Facully and also m my own faculty trom student days. J played an actve role in the student strike in November 1968 and out of this strike we formed the Movement of Revolutionary Youth (MRY), What role did you play in the creation of the MRY? What were Its activities?
experieticed, had read and so on.
group. It all, workers the clandestinely.
actve in the trade union invasion in August.
prepare a Marxist for insance and was able Lo tract?
the was so great, organised. 1 played a very central role. My comrades were generally about 24-25 years of age. I was 28, had been abroad, knew the revolutionary movement in Western Europe, In the beginning the MRY was a discussion manifesto distributed publicly, read publicly at student meetings. But gradually it became more and more clear that we couldn't appear publicly at We produced at Unis time and distributed a 100-page document which was mostly extracts them from Czech Marxists, the Praxis group. Djilas and so on. These all dealt with political, social and philosophical questions and the goal of this action was to promote discussion on the nature al the political and social system. This was done if they wish The MRY had no stable structure. It was in. very spontancous. We attempred to form cells but that failed. In June 1969 we discussed what we would do for the first anniversary of the Some tracts of a nationalist character already existed, so we decided that we would tract. There was DO committee which decided this, it was a result of very spontancous discussions in the group. But under which name could we produce such a It wasn't possible for us to publish it as the MRY hecause everyone knew who we were and the police would know who to go for. So we picked on the name Revolutionary Socialist Party as a cover-name for the MRY Manifesto and un Appeal to Youth. I was the produced, principal author of the Manifesto. When it was tinished there were a few people who were not happy with it. They then, wrote the Appeal to fouth. But the Appeal was actually a very good text. It was less ideological, but good After Angust 1969 the brutality of the police and was increasing, decided to establish an illegal movervent. It was still not a party, but we were much more rigidly We had cells, a co-ordinating read Trotsky in Betrayed and a collection of Trotsky's writing from 1927-28. But most important for me were his historics of the Russian Revolution, both 1905 and 1917. Those two works are a greal 'Schoul of revolation' Lam not a nostalgic Trotskyist. I make a critical analysis of what Trotsky has written and done. Actually I dan't like the word Trotskyism and prefer to speak simply of revolutionary Marxisen.
It is wrong to say that there are two antipodes, Trotskyiam and Stalinism. I am part of a movement which opposes capicalism and consequentiv oppose Stalinism. It is my anti-capitalism which is the basis of my political consciousness, and it is this anti-capitalism wbich takes me to Trotskyism 1 maintain chat the only solution to the Czech situation is not bourgeois democracy. although it has more freedoms than we have here now — but a completely ditferent social system, based on self-organisation, with che political structures of a direct democracy, with a real emancipation of the working class, of youth, of women.
When 1 speak here of organs of direct democracy, of self-organisation, this does not mean lam against parties. What 1am against is a system where people cannot make tbeir own decisions but someone else makes decisions for 1am in favour of political parties, with clubs, papers, radio and television, agitation and propaganda and the freedom for parties to make proposals, suggestions, present political alternatives which people can choose to follow -hot only follow but participate Parties are a means ol politicisation. [ ducation. But they are not organs or exercise of power. Power must be in the organs of the working class and not in the parties. The workers in the councils, in the organs of direct democracy are not responsible to any parties but only to those who elected then.
BOTH the Committee in Defence of Crechoslovak Socialists and the Eastern Europe Solidurity Campaige are taking up the Charter arrests. They are asking immediately for the largest posalble number of labour movement protes telegrams to be sent to the Czechoslaruk Embassy. Kensington Palace Gardens, London WS.
Copies of all such protests should le Caech Defence', 328 Upper Street, London N1 for forwarding to the Charter Prague. Messages solidurity can also be sent to: Anna Sabatora. Anglicka H, Prugue 2, TELLUS TASER Socialist Challengr 14 June 1979 page 13
Race Relations Act AFTER Southall the government may soon havete make some move against the National Front. The question is: what move? "public order problem, in which case It can treat the whole thing as a will hand greater discretionary powers to the police under the Public Order Act to stop meetings liable to cause a breach of the peace*. Or it can treat the problem for what it really is - • question of racialism instigate effective proceedings against the NF under the Race Relations Act for inciting racial hatred.
If we were demanding the use of the Race Relations Act, we would be in a much stronger position than we are today, Insicad of making up "laws' of 5127119 Napalming of innocent civilians?
STRIKES -ENGRAVED PICTURES OF LATUE PRIMS republic of Soviets is a higher form usual In LOlster's Selena Trague and EVIDENTLY CAPITULATICN