PARTISAN REVI EW
563
port for the ideology they sha re. Members of two Czech underground
groups risked yea rs in ja il by appea ling to Angela. She turned a deaf
ea r. Let us hope though tha t their appea l was not entirely in va in.
It
may one day compel Ange la and her colleagues to read the CSCP's
Action Program of April 1968 and other documents, including the
speeches of the de fend ants whose imprisonment she condones, and to
give more serious thought to \,"ha t M a rxism, freedom, socia lism and
socia list democracy really mea n.
At the forthcoming Europea n Security Conference the people of
CzechoslO\'a kia do not wi sh their country to be discussed as a " buffer"
sta te, as a territory occupied once and for all by Russian troops. They
des ire to become a n independent, sovereign socialist republic, pursuing
policies bes t suited to its specific needs, ,,·hile ma inta ining fri endly re–
lations with the Soviet U nion. The West might be able to help them,
but it seems doubtful whether it will wish to do so. Czechoslovakia is
not a stable, consolida ted sta te; but a sea t of tension. T ension in the
coun try \,·hich lies bet\"een Germa ny and Ru ssi a, a t the intersection
of two soc ia l systems is not, and ne\"er ca n be, in the interest of las ting
Europea n securi ty.
It
would be not only the height of cynicism, but
also a short -sighted policy if the Wes t were to buy its o,,"n prosperity
,,"ith currency they have u sed be fore - Czechoslo\'a k freedom.
\"'hen th e subj ec t of mutua l a nd ba la nced reduction of forces
is di scussed, it could be connec ted ,,"ith the withdra,,"a l of foreign troops
from a ll occ upied coun tries, ,,"hose borde rs could then be gua ranteed
by
the G reat Po" ers. Perha ps it is in the interest of "" estern govern–
ment s to ma ke a dea l to secure their present ga ins, and to pre\"e nt the
sprea d of ge nui ne soc ia lism in Eas tern Europe. The responsibility for
lasting peace and freedom for the people to whom it is now denied
lies, therefore, la rgely with the ' '''es tern Left , and it is up to them to
exert pressure on their governments so tha t the future \,"ill not shine
only for the pri\"ileged few in both East a nd West.
Viteslav Nadeje
