In this: Issue: Page
First Reactions in the Communist Movement. Fe ct aller 52 ac eee i Labour's Victory in the British Elections -=- by T.J,Peters ......... se Loch oN wa es be 5 Brazilian Communists Depose Luis Carlos PROSE CS asec — 8 England's Queen of Clubs Visits Québeo -- by R. Brock. ane ete eR pin il lei tnt. 2 Sesh le 9 Socialist League Founded in ienbeee 200 22 yitey cetaceans Tetvoh ye New Turn in Allen Case. p 2 i: Biko i ti ee Cairo Conference Straddles ‘Key ‘Issues. —e soe Le Guards Protect Leather Worker Delegates from Leaflets 00. 14 Two Nuclear Explosions October 16 SL ee ae |) ae Ait Ahmed Captured in Algeria...... I a Oe, ee A ee A Documents: The Downfall of Khrushchev (A New Stage Opens in the
Crisis of the Soviet Bureaucracy) -- Statement by
the United Secretariat of the Fourth International 0 = 16
FIRST REACTIONS IN COMMUNIST MOVEMENT
It is not easy for the leaders of the Communist parties outside the Soviet Union, no matter how great their docility, to Join Brezhnov and Kosygin in converting Khrushchev into an Nunperson" in a single day. Some of them are displaying considerable embarrassment, if not twinges of conscience,
In a public statement, the top leadership of the British Communist party praised Khrushchev for his role at the Twentieth Congress and said about his sudden resignation: "The explanation of the changes so far given does not remove the natural concern felt by Communists abroad about this development."
Friheten, the official organ of the Norwegian Communist party, declared:
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"Tt is quite evident that the explanation offered about Nikita Khrushchev's age and state of health is inexact. Whatever explanation may yet be given, we vigorously protest the fact that a change in leadership is not clearly motivatéd and not more openly prepared, With regard to his qualities as a chief, Khrushchev unquestionably had his strong and weak points. Under his leadership the Soviet Union made great progress, and this despite the fact that in certain matters he conducted himself with more impulsiveness and. less wisdom than was desirable.
Wwe think that certain criticisms [made by Pravda] are justified with regard to certain aspects of the use of power under Khrushchev's leadership. But we are astounded that once again such a situation was permitted to develop over the years without a word of criticism and without any reaction.
"after all, the faults with which Khrushchev is reproached, were not noticed until the last days. . . It can be asked whether the Soviet Communist party is not still suffering from the dangerous evil that consists of lack of free and open discussion. If this is the case, the time has come to change things." oo.
The Swedish Communist party praised Khrushchev as "the one who undertook the struggle against the cult of Stalin and all the evils associated with it."
Carl Hermansson, chairman of the Swedish Communist party, said: "It is difficult to accept that a person is a country's leading politician one day and has disappeared the next,"
He deplored the custom of praising a political figure so long as he remains in power and not criticizing him until he is out. This custom is "particularly dangerous" in a one-party system, he said, He added that the Swedish Communist party is against the one-party system, He scored the "disquieting" way in which Khrushchev vanished from the stage, and declared: “A more open discussion would have furnished the best perspective for a positive evaluation of Soviet policies and thus for increased international confidence,"
In Copenhagen, the Communist party registered shock, The party's daily newspaper Land og Folk on October 16 approved the ouster but said that Khrushchev's name would go down in history. On the following day an editorial disapproved the "unclear form" in which the important shift was announced to the peoples of the USSR.
The Belgian Communist party issued a public statement October 18 stating that the emotion aroused. by the departure of Khrushchev renders "due homage to the exceptional contribution" the former. head of the Soviet government had made "to defeat the forces of war and oppression." The party warned against “tendentious interpretations" that sought to interpret the shift "as a break with the policy of peaceful coexistence and democratization,"
The Finnish Communist party, on the other jnand, hailed the ouster of Khrushchev as a “positive development." It congratulated the Gentral Committee for eliminating "faults and errors" no matter "how elevated the position occupied by the person in question."
Khrushchev's dismissal shook the Italian Communist party. L'Unitd declared in an editorial that its. position could be summarized as follows:
- we hold ‘open reservations, are even in disagreement, on the methods employed in replacing Comrade Khrushchev, We recall the fact that it was not today that we posed to the Communist and-labor movement a series of problems concerning first of all the necessity of overcoming the obvious delay in continuing the process of renovation and democratization initiated by the Twentieth Congress. Fresh evidence on this is provided by the way the latest crisis in the USSR -developed,"
The author: of the editorial, Altcata, stressed that "we think
that complete and convincing information on the latest events that took place in Moscow is necessary, without denying that despite the great historic merits achieved by Comrade. Khrushchev, certain moments and certain aspects of his activity could arouse perplexity, reservations and criticisms, as we ourselves did not fail to indicate on occasion, although always with a great sense of responsibility, as for example, at the time of the polemic a year and a half ago on: culture." ,
At Santiago, Chile, Secretary General Corvalan said that. “the Chilean Communists are disturbed by the eviction of Nikita Khrushchev in whom they recognized a promoter of peace. Moreover, the way in which he was evicted appears incomprehensible,"
In Tel Aviv, Kol Haam, the organ of the Israeli Communist party, said that "the Central Committee must give the real reasons for the departure of a man who certainly had his faults but who accomplished magnificent work.
The French Communist party’ appeared to be acutely embarrassed, Waldeck Rochet, who succeeded the late Maurice Thorez as head of the party, was in Algeria seeking to overcome the effect of the party's bad’ record during the struggle for freedom, It was reported that he was asked to return at once to Paris in view of the sudden cmergency. He preferred, however, to spend more time in Algeria..
‘When the news about the downfall of Khrushchev first appeared in the Paris evening papers of October 15, it was reported that the — general reaction among Communist party circles was that the information was nothing but a monstrous provocation cooked up by the enemies of Communism,
Among the workers states, the report also appeared incredible. The presidium of the Czechoslovak Communist party issued a declaration October 19: stating: “The news: that Comrade Khrushchev had been relieved of his.duties was received by our whole party and the public’ with surprise and emotion."
~ ‘The declaration continued: "Our party and our people appre-_ clated the activity of Comrade Khrushchev which was linked to the application of the general line of the Soviet Communist party in the struggle for the realization of the policy of peaceful coexistence as well.-as the denunciation of the false methods of the epoch of the eult of the personality."
o In Hungary. Premier Janos Kadar. gaid October 18 “that the hundreds of thousands of Hungarians who in the recent past and also. this year were able. to welcome Comrade Khrushchev in our country from the depths of their hearts as the representative of the Com munist party, the state and the people of the great Soviet Union as the tireless fighter for peace did well in so doing and need have no afterthoughts - about Ait subsequently. wo
"Wladyslaw Gomulke followed a. similar indirect way of saying something for Khrushchev. "What is important for the world is that the political line defined by the Twentieth and ‘Twenty-second con=" gresses of the Soviet Communi st party should be continued.
He hailea the "“praternal affection of Comrades Bre zhnov ‘and Kosygin" and aid that the ouster of Khrushchev came to him "per~ sonally" as “no surprise." Golmulka said that the former Soviet premier in a conversation last fall "confided that he was thinking about, a possible. resignation. "
In East Germany the United Socialist ‘Party [the orl issued a commun qué October: 17: _
rhe news of the resignation of Nikita Khrushchev aroused deep emotion within our party and the people of the German Democratic Republic, because Khrushchev unquestionably displayed ability, particularly in applying Marxism-Leninism as established by the Central Committee of the Soviet Po. "
The Central Committee, continued the East Germans, “certainly" reached its decision because "Comrade Khrushchev did not measure up to his duties,"
The leaders of the Chinese Communist party did not crow over the tremendous victory they scored in the ouster of Khrushchev. However, they thought it well to indicate that they were not unaware of what had happened. They were among the first to send congratulations to Brezhnov and Kosygin.