ON THE WAR IN THE BALKANS

    NATO Bombs and rockets are falling on the peaceful cities and villages of Yugoslavia, bringing death to all, large and small alike. Bombs and rockets fall on the neighboring countries: Bulgaria, Hungary, Greece; twice bombs have fallen on the outskirts of Tirana, Albania. In this situation the Russian politicians, from authorities to the different revisionist groups who call themselves communists, one way or another talk of the need to help their «Slav brothers». This conflict has come as a gift to the Russian bourgeoisie in power, permitting them, with the aid of their agents, the opportunists of different stripes, to divert the working masses from the class struggle. On the streets signatures are collected to include Yugoslavia in the union of Russia and Byelorussia. All this reminds one of the farce played out in the First World War. One should note that Russia could contribute to ending the conflict by stopping the shipments of gas and petroleum to the countries that are participating in the aggression against the peoples of the Balkans, by annulling the mutual agreements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the NATO countries and all foreign banks controlled by British and U.S. imperialism. For this there would be no need either to ship weapons to Yugoslavia or to send Russian troops there. However, the Russian bourgeoisie would not take that step, since it also has interests in this war. Kerosene from Russian petroleum is used in NATO airplanes; Russian metal is used in making NATO tanks, and so on. On the other hand, the Serb army is outfitted completely with Russian weapons. The war requires the increase of these shipments. The Russian bourgeoisie is warming its hands on this war. In this way, the Russian bourgeoisie is deeply interested in this war and her «brother Slavs» are not worth a cent to her - for her it is to hell with the Russian volunteers, since she prefers the interests of the Western bourgeoisie and its politicians. The empty talk of the representatives of the Russian bourgeoisie about some «national patriotism» serves as a fraud and is also a way of diverting the class struggle of the Russian and Serbian proletariat.
    The participation of the Russian armed forces in the shameful conciliatory operations in agreement with the resolutions of the «Group of Eight» in Bonn, constitutes an astute and cowardly subterfuge for the Russian bourgeoisie for its greedy interests in markets, both in the NATO countries and in Yugoslavia. A similar «patriotism» is the basis of the Serbian politicians of the Milosevic regime. The greedy interests of this whole bourgeois gang will be paid with the blood of Russian, Serb, Albanian and NATO soldiers, and for this the degradation of the workers of all these countries is needed.
    The bourgeoisie urgently needed to stir up a «patriotic» psychosis in order:
    first, to undermine the anger of the anti-NATO, anti-imperialist actions of the proletariat, and to take control and direction of this process;
    second, with the hands of the workers themselves, to strangle the struggle of the national liberation movements of the oppressed peoples;
    third, to stop the growth of the class struggle of the proletariat in their own countries and the active tendency to unify the struggle against international capital across all borders.
    Moreover, under present conditions, the well-oriented class struggle of the proletariat of the whole world has the ability to curb the aggressors and to halt the offensive of imperialist reaction against the rights of the peoples. Only in this manner can the problems of the Balkans really be resolved.