Write on

April 19, 2000
Issue 

Black Book

I wish to add some complementary information to Phil Shannon's excellent review of the Black Book of Communism that appeared in GLW #400.

What the media circus in France forgot to mention when the book was released there, through blazing, blinding spotlights of establishment Truth, was that the financing of the project (without which it could not have been accomplished) came from fraudulently siphoned public money.

The eight-year long project, which cost 12 million francs, was financed by public funds generously allocated by Charles Pasqua, president of the regional council of Hauts-de-Seine, the richest, hard-core right-wing stronghold in Paris. Under the guise of an historical study, the project received permanent funding from the region's cultural budget.

Pasqua, several times a government minister (but never for very long), is one of the most notorious historical "barons" of the Gaullist family, having recently split from President Jacques Chirac's RPR party to form his own further-right national party, hoping to recover the "lesser" fascist voters increasingly disillusioned with Jean-Marie Le Pen's Front National. The book was and is a tool to strengthen his faction and the right in general.

As one of the numerous counter-attacks against the book's publication, which received as much disdain publically as it did glee, a Black Book of Capitalism was edited, in French, the following year. It was compiled by a prestigious group of historians and researchers and published by Les Temps des Cerises.

On purely statistical figures, the projected 100 million victims of Stalinist "communism" claimed by Courtois and co. compares favourably against the 300 millions of capitalism clearly indicated in the blacker book.

Stanislav Demidjuk
Lismore NSW

'Mudslinging'

Perhaps Jenny Galas would like to provide some more substantial evidence or definition of the "mudslinging" carried out by Resistance and the Democratic Socialist Party through the pages of Green Left Weekly (Green Left #401).

If one defined "mudslinging" as crude characterisations or criticism without political basis or explanation (Lenin was a dictator or vegetarians are bad people), I would say that anyone would be hard up to find such an example.

If one defined "mudslinging" as contributions to political argument, as part of an attempt to achieve clarity and unity on the way forward for the left and revolutionary movements, based on historical study, experience in struggle and discussion — then yes, chances are one would find many examples of "mudslinging".

Kathy Newnam
Adelaide

Cuban tour

It was most interesting to read Lara Pullin's "Solidarity with Cuba planned" (GLW, #400), in which she reports on the Australia-Cuba Friendship Society's recent national conference in Albury, NSW.

Pullin says that the ACFS is organising an Australian tour of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) in July. This is not correct. Radical Women is organising the tour. Co-sponsors so far are Resistance, LINKS (Committee in Solidarity with the FMLN in El Salvador) and the Geelong branch of the Progressive Labour Party.

Adelaide's ACFS branch is one of a growing list of endorsers from the Cuba solidarity, union, feminist, student and socialist movements, as well as ALP parliamentarians. Other ACFS branches are offering assistance.

At the Albury conference, Eva Seoane, vice-president of the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), emphasised that Cuba needs political solidarity. Defeating the vicious US blockade and returning Elian Gonzalez to Cuba are right now uppermost struggles.

The FMC tour, 22-30 July, is an exciting opportunity for organisations and activists to add their weight to an urgently needed international defence of Cuba and talk to revolutionary feminists.

GLW readers who would like to co-sponsor, help publicise or fund-raise, set up a meeting or offer any other assistance, should contact Radical Women on (03) 9386 3230 or email <radical.women.melb@bigpond.com>. We'd love to hear from you.

Debbie Brennan
Radical Women
Melbourne

Sorry business

It was with a sense of great relief I heard this morning's corporate radio news reports of Prime Menzies John Howard's expression of "sorrow and deep regret" over the match-fixing scandal which has overtaken South Africa cricket captain Hansie Cronje.

Good on you, Johnny. I now feel so much brighter and unburdened that such sincere and touching lament has finally been expressed over this profoundly sensitive and pressing issue which has been vexing our nation.

P.M. McVean
Darwin

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