A few thoughts: The "Red Ken" type of backsliding on the ABCs of anti-imperialist politics is exhibited by Sven Robinson, NDP (social-democratic) MP in Canada. Robinson has been a long time opponent of Canada being in NATO and NORAD, he often spoke out against US policy in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Grenada, has defended Cuba, been arrested for joining Native blockades, and so on. But there he is in Ottawa, cheering on Canada's bombing of Yugoslavia in the name of human rights. So much for the Canadian nationalist line that we're not one of those nasty imperialist robbers, just peacekeepers for the UN. Canadian jets in Iraq mainly served as escorts for the US and UK, apparently because they didn't have the best bombing weaponry available; now an officer quoted in the paper a couple of days ago trumpeted that with new lazer bomb systems on F-18s "Canada is in the big leagues", or something to that effect. The last time Canadian forces were involved in this kind of serious offensive action was Korea; since then Canada has done its imperialist duty well in places like the Congo and Vietnam, but this is a big step, just like it is for Germany and others. And it's under the *Democrats* in the US, *Labour* in the UK, *Social Democrats/Greens* in Germany, *Socialists* in France, *Liberals* in Canada (supported by the *NDP*), and the list goes on. Welcome to the 21st century. In the middle of war hysteria I think we all have to be extra careful of our own backsliding regarding "Islamic fundamentalism". This is often a racist code word for ignoring/suppressing the national and social grievances of a huge portion of the world's population. What was it Trotsky said, religion is the envelope for the social discontent of the masses, or something like that? If we can't clearly stand for self-determination for oppressed peoples everywhere, regardless of who is currently leading them, there is no hope for socialism. I think this issue is analogous to the debate on colonialism in the Second International. By most acounts Albanian Kosavars are second-class citizens, who had their (limited) autonomy under Tito eliminated by Milosovic, and most support greater national self-determination in one or other form. Yugoslavia's socialist revolution made real gains, however limited, in overcoming uneven development and national oppression, but Milsovic's Serb chauvinism is reversing this gain of the Yugoslav workers state. It is always a messy business, but on this point it seems the Kosovar nationalists, not the Milosovic government, represent what was good about the old Yugoslavia. In one sense, if they are a real popular movement it may be a step forward. In the old Yugoslavia, national equality was very much a "top-down" process. I completely agree with the idea that we should push for our governments to allow in Yugoslav and Kosovar victims of the war. Bill Burgess
