During this past week steps have been taken towards banning the communist movement in Europe. The European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation has submitted to the European Parliament, its document ‘A Model National Statute for the Promotion of Tolerance’ with the view to this being enshrined in law.
Despite the seemingly banal and benign title, the YCL notes the highly dangerous substance at its core.
Section 2 of the document tells us that “the purpose of this statute is to take concrete action…with a view to eliminating…totalitarian ideologies”. Not only this, but it states its guarantee of tolerance to all groups, including social classes.
The insult then is twofold. The first we are all used to: the slander that communism is a totalitarian ideology. The second is a much more cunning and crafty ploy. Disguised as tolerance, the Trojan Horse of anti-communism is sneaked in. This itself, is in essence, totalitarian ideology. That which the ECTR claims its purpose is to eliminate, is its very own identifying nature.
Nothing could be more illiberal than this dose of hyper-Liberalism, where intolerance masquerades as tolerance.
While we note the document with concern, it comes as no surprise. It is in fact one event in the continued line of anti-communist effort of European states, primarily those of the east absorbed into the EU. In recent years, eastern states including Poland and Hungary have taken measures to ban the display of communist symbols such as the red star and the hammer & sickle. In the western European ruling class, these post-socialist, now nationalist and reactionary states find the most likely and willing of allies. It is no coincidence that this is coming at a time when more and more people are realising that capitalism has failed them, and that the EU is reactionary and undemocratic to its very core, and so are looking for alternatives.
A concerted effort must be made by all communists, socialists and progressives to fight these plans. We must organise our efforts both nationally and internationally. Otherwise, we in Europe face a future in which being a communist will be punishable as an aggravated crime. Moreover, juveniles expressing communist sympathies “will be required to undergo a rehabilitation programme designed to instill in them a culture of tolerance”.
The YCL stands resolutely against the indoctrination of the youth.
And, the YCL affirms that no law can compel the exploited to tolerate their exploiter. Just as the slave smashed the shackles of the slave owner, the proletariat too, have nothing to lose but their chains.
