Date: Wed, 12 Mar 1997 01:25:37 -0500
From: malecki-AT-algonet.se (Robert Malecki)
Subject: M-I: M-I and the Swedish Pen Klubb!


There are some very interesting simularities in the debate raging in most of 
the Swedish Media and TV about the Swedish Pen Klubb and the present debate 
raging on M-I.

In February this year Gun Kesseler and Jan Myrdal both authors and longtime 
maoists did a couple of programs defending the present regime in power in 
China for their massacre of the students a couple of years back which marked 
the end of the "Democracy" movement.

Since then a debate has been raging on expelling these two aging maoists 
>from the prestige filled Pen klubb for Swedish authors. It has gone so far 
that now there is talk of a massive "lemming" train out of the Pen klubb 
because the board defended the right of the two in having their views on 
events in China.

Naturally Trotskyists would defend the right of these Maoists to put forth 
their political views on TV or elsewhere and naturally reserve the right to 
answer their political views with a Trotskyist perspective. However the 
liberals are doing a moral indignation number in order to keep a high level 
image of the Pen Klubb..

Now on M-I we have a simular siuation where the Stalinists with the Maoists 
in the lead doing a high wire moral act in order to do exactly the kind of 
things the liberals in the swedish Pen Klubb would like to do to the two 
aging Swedish Maoists who have sided with the "capitalist roaders" in the 
never ending inter bureaucratic fractional fights between the various wings 
of the stalinist bureaucracy in China.

Expell everybody who horror of horrors as another political position then 
the maoists. In fact they should be drummed out and their heads cut of at 
best so peace and quiet can be restored to the M-I list just like the 
liberals in the Swedish Pen Klubb.

The women who is the spokesman in the Pen klubb is like our own Z taking all 
the flack in this struggle. But principly is struggling to uphold a correct 
political line on the right to have views. Hats off to these two women!!

The struggle continues at present and as to what will happen to the Pen 
Klubb will be quite interesting if all the liberals leave it. On the other 
hand if the Stalinists and their cheer leaders leave M-I i wonder what the 
reaction would be. Personally I would not like it at all because we 
certainly don't want them running around hidding in the closet somewhere.

Oh well We will just have to see what happens.

Anyhow i am on the side of the Swedish Pen Klubb in this fight.

Just as I am on Z.'s side in the present struggle on M-I..

But it is interesting that the maoists on M-I are acting exactly like the 
liberals in the Swedish Pen Klubb. 

Warm regards
Bob Malecki
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