The Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (the CP in the Czech Republic) is facing the possibility of being outlawed in the Czech Republic.
"The Czech Communists adore the violent communism based on Marx and Lenin," said the leader of the proposal to outlaw the CP. Some supporters of the ban claim that the CP is a threat to democracy in the Czech Republic(1). They go out of their way to ignore the fact the the CP participates in elections and even hold offices with representatives in the Chamber of Deputies, Senate, European Parliament, Regional councils and local councils (2).
Not to mention the slogan of the supporters seem to be "Preserve democracy by stifling it!" It is no doubt a reaction to the fact that the CP has experienced some growth in support recently as the support for the government has fell, due to scandals and proposed cuts to social programs.
The supporters of the ban seem to not be so anti-communist/socialist as much as they are afraid of Marxist Leninist. In the article cited above it mentions how most are just upset that the party has not accepted reformism as it's guiding light like most other Europeans communist parties did after the collapse of the USSR.
There is not a lot that can be done by the international communist movement to stop this move to ban the CP in the Czech Republic (though the right-wing seems un-likely to succeed in banning the CP). All we can do is to lend a voice to the communist party in that nation. Help raise awareness to their situation, and speak in favor of them and attack the government on a political propaganda level. This attempt to ban revolutionary communist thought in the Czech Republic could lead to their party and ideas gaining popularity.
The Communist Party in the Czech Republic are self defined Marxist Leninist and are also strong anti-imperialist(3)(4) that deserve nothing but full support from the communist community. Support the CPBM's right to exist!
Written by: Dustin Slagle
(1) JANICEK, KAREL. Czechs consider banning communist party. Yahoo. AP. July/29/2011. Web. July/29/2011
(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_Bohemia_and_Moravia
(3) Charfo, assan. Crimes of Imperialism. kscm.cz. 9/11/2008. Web. July/29/2011. http://www.kscm.cz/political-opinions/39984
(4) Joint Statement (on Libya). Kscm.cz. 4/18/2011. Web. July/29/2011. http://www.kscm.cz/international/55289
What I find interesting about the idea that a party can be banned under a so-called (read "capitalist") democracy, is that it proves what the Nepal Maoists were claiming (before their current line struggle when there was still more hope than the current crisis) about the possibility of multi-party democracy under the dictatorship of the proletariat.
ReplyDeleteIf the capitalist ruling class of the Czech Republic can ban a party because it breaks with its uber-capitalist constitution, then isn't it also possible, conversely speaking, for a nation to arise with a constitution that also possesses a multi-party democracy but bans the existence of parties based on capitalist principles (i.e. parties that believe in the sanctity of private property, in surplus value, etc.).
Just a thought... but otherwise, I think the post is apt. If anything, it does show the hypocrisy of the so-called freedom that exists under capitalism and that it is, as we knew all along, nothing more than freedom as defined by the bourgeoisie.
I definitely believe a nation could have a constitution which calls for multi-party democracy but bans capitalist parties. In fact I think it will be beneficiary to implement this type of constitution in socialist nations.
ReplyDeleteI was trying to show in this post the irony of a "democracy" banning a communist party that participates in elections (and wins some)in the name of "protecting democracy." Such is bourgeois lead democracy.