He does so with the best of motives, but | think he's wrong. And arguments he produces are distinctly odd.
Jonathan tells us that Characterises Lne Soviet bloc is 'that the state is based on ar 10 -terlocking system leaders of the party, the army, government ministers, the trade unions, and on'. But what's so special about this?
sulile slight modifications, doesn't it generally sum up Lile Wav Inl waiCh the capitalist sare also some of the supporting operates!
It's all very well to point to General Jaruzelski's position in the Polish government - but isn't General Haig the present Secretary For matter, weren't Pinochet Is iA other Chilean generals the cabinet at various times under Allende?
Even the trade unions, although basically dependent organisations of the working class, are HIKCO HLO LIC LCHOCK ing system' of the capitalist via bureaucracy. Look at the role of the American AFL-CIO in Latin America, for example - little help from the CIA. And our very own TUC runs an department which exchanges personnel with the Foreign Office!
Jonathan rightly says that the bureaučracy 'was torced to change its form of political rule by introducing martial law Poland. But how does this differ from what we would chere mintary coup else old muecuatusmos Ton suppresspopular mobilisation lose their effectiveness faced the self-organisation of the working class so the ruling class (or caste, in the case of Eastern Europe) simply changes the rules of ihe game.
In Ine old torm of political rule — the Communist Party was oa vase c! decision to impose martial law in Poland. It was casi aside as an inadequate instrument parliamentary rule is cast isne by crisic pines in time crisis. The army simply MOVPa into all areas of state activity.
i salk or a miltary that 'talk a military coup in Poland... lets the ruling Communist Party off the hook' But thai doesn't alter the facts of the matter. Not to describe it in such terms risks letting the bureaucracy as a whole off the hook for the enormity oI wnat it na done to the working class movement in thereby dulling the response of workers in Britain. nad tha t, I'm sure, at thing Jonathan would want. MARTIN METEYARD Glasgow
the industrial city of Poznan last weekend following riots to protest against martial law.
school students. Some 162 were punished by special courts.
The demonstration marked exactly two months since the Polish regime instituted martial law to smash Solidarnosc. It apDears marmouser cities ike Swidnic, Wroclaw and Lodz there were protests on the same day.
The authorities used a massive military presence in the Baltic port of GdanSK to prevent any recurrence of the riot which oc curred there on 30 January when hundreds of youth were arrested. And Warsaw the authorities ent a militar of mornines military vehicles hrough the streets on the evening of Friday Most of those arrested were students and Katowice four miners from the Wujek mine, the authorities admit to killing at least seven miners last December, were jailed for up to four veer Soon for organising a strike. to face trial will be Miroslaw Krupinski, deputy chairperson Solidarnosc's National Commission, who attempted to re-form the union leadership in Ine shipyards in the days following ine imposition of martial law Foreign embassies Warsaw report steady trickle of applications for emigration people released from internment
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I WAS surprised to see Jonathan Silberman (Socialist Challenge 21 January) claiming that 'there has not been a military coup in Poland'.