COLLABORATION ALL DOWN THE LINE

presidents are The Rt Hon Sir The Soviet Stalinists have launched a campaign to draw members Saffron Walden, KG, PC, CH of parliament from all and the Rt Hon R. M.. M. over Europe into a dia- Stewart, CH, MP.) logue supposedly aimed Alexei Shitikov, chairman of at strengthening peace in the USSR parliamentary the continent. group, provides a meeting place for parliamentarians of They are supporting the the socialist and capitalist 'useful initiative' of the Inter- countries of Europe'. Parliamentary Union in holding a conference at Helsinki, of Soviet MPs'-who, as is Finland, to coincide with the preparatory European Security of their own-'the differences talks there. in social systems between (The Inter-Parliamentary European countries cannot and Union, founded in 1889, de- must not interfere with a diavotes itself to 'work on all logue between MPs, especially questions connected with when, as in this case, it is a peace and reconstruction'. The question of strengthening president of its British group, peace in Europe'. according 'Whittaker's Almanac' is The Rt Hon 'parliamentarian,' the parliaE. R. G. Heath and its vice- ments of Europe have 'a great responsibility for ensuring that Alec Douglas-Home, KI, MP; full use is made of the favourThe Rt Hon J. H. Wilson, able opportunities which are OBE, MP; The Lord Butler of opening up for the establishment of firm and lasting peace in Europe.

Lenin, a lifelong opponent This body, according to of what he scathingly termed 'parliamentary cretinism' would have poured particular scorn on this extension of reformism to the international plane.

He wrote in 'State and ReHe adds that 'in the opinion volution': "To decide once every few years which memwell known, have no opinions ber of the ruling class is to repress and crush the people through parliament-this is the real essence of bourgeois parliamentarism, not only in parliamentary - constitutional monarchies, but also in the most democratic republics'.

The essence, then, of ShitiAccording to this Stalinist kov's proposal is the collaboration of Soviet parliamenotsky—a documentary ancis Wyndham id David King .65 including Above: President of the interParliamentary Union, Heath, and vice-presidents, Wilson and Alec Douglas-Home. tarians—who falsely claim to represent the interests of the working class-with members of the capitalist class elected to repress and crush people through parliament!

All this masquerades as part of an effort to 'strengthen firm. As if there can be any Europe or anywhere else so long as imperialism in mortal crisis continues to dominate the majority of the world's Shitikov's article is nothing more than a cynical apology for international class-collaboration between the Stalinist bureaucracy, the monopoly capitalists of the Common Market and the fascist and semi-fascist dictators of Spain, Portugal and Greece.

Not only the parliamentarians can play their part in this Stalinist scheme. Shitikov continues:

"When it comes to strengthening security and peace, the governments, the diplomats, public figures and the mass organizations can act, each in their own sphere of competence and responsibility, supplementing one another's efforts, to create a new kind of situation, a new climate in Europe?

This is a campaign which in Britain involves the Tory government, its Foreign Office functionaries, nameless public figures (readers can name their own candidates) and the mass organizations (the trade unions, the Tory Party?) each in their own sphere.

And Shitikov adds for good measure that: 'In this case there can be no question of opposing the efforts of one side to those of another' In other words, it is collaboration all down the line ... The only thing missing from the whole of Shitikov's exposition is any mention of the working class.

Plainly the Stalinist bureaucracy considers that the working class has no independent role in • Europe. It is quite adequately represented, after tarians. That is, if there is any all, by its own' parliamenparliament at all.