The Loft-wing press has carried hardly any n ws of the fight going on inside the Belgian Socialist Party. We ara, therefore, pleased to be able to reproduce this report from Brussels,
An emergency congress of the Belgian Socialist Party met on March 2nd to discuss the so—called Laws to Maintain Public Order., which are duo for discussion in Parliament in 2 few weeks, Ever since the great goneral strike in December 1960 and January 1961, the Belgian bourgeoisie has tried to pass repressive measures that would maks the organisation of such general strikes mora difficult, or at least more illogal. When the present coalition government (between the Social Christian, i.o. Catholic Party, and the Socialist Party) was constituted, the bourgeois cabinet ministers and politicians began clamouring for such laws, tit the reformist leaders were slow to respond, They feared the reaction of the rank and file of the working class, among whom the memory of the great general strike is very much alive, Last August, four propose laws were finally sulmitted to Parligent after having been accepted by the whole Cabir et, including the Reformist social ministers,
When these were made public, the left wing of the Belgian Socialist Party and of the Trade Unions organised a mg campaign of opposition, Masa meetings were held in most important towns. At Liege, 50,000 workers assanbled in a militant rally, Resolutions were passed in most factories, some of them threatening strike action when Parlaiment hpens discussion on the proposed laws, Under this pressure the Ref ormist leaders had to back down, They brought in a series of amendments which their coalition part— ners reluctantly had to accept in order to save the coalition, Although they removed some of the teeth of these laws the amendments did not change the overall nature as oppresive anti—union legislation, The left-wing of the Socialist Party threatened that the laws remained unacceptable. The campaign against thom continued, The struggle came to ah ad last week ~ at the congress when one SP federation after another opposed the laws, indicating precisely what anti-wion measures they contain and how thay can be used against strikerse I+ became obvious that the SP leadership had to make a hasty retreat in order to save the coalition, at least for the time being. The resolution that it proposed at tho March 2nd emergency congress states that the laws as originally drafted were unacceptable, that the ame = nded laws ‘annot be accepted clthsr, and while it calls on the Socialist members of Parliament to press for still more amendmants, it statos that these mist be based on the reasond of the Farty federations for rejocting the lawsg i.e. that they must take up practically all new stipulations in the laws
i new emergency session of the SP will have to be held to vote on the final drafts of the laws. One of the leaders of the left Socialists, Ernest Mandel, editor of the weekly La Gauche (obtainable through the International Bockshop) and who many will remember at the Kessingland NALSO/Young Guard Camp last September, challenged the party bruemecracy by announcing thatthe tendency which he represented would fight to the end against any new legislation that could be used under any conditions against etrikors,. Mandel called for mass action against the proposed laws pledge ing full support to the workers in resiting them whatever the dccision of the SP Congress or Parliament might bee He was directly attacked by Spaak and party Chaitman Collard. Such declarations, they said, amounted to a call for party “indiscipline". The de: bate roceived wide Belgian coverage.
CEE