The British Communist Party has published sharp criticism of Soviet handling of Jews and dissidents. The criticism came in an article by the former leader of ‘the small British Communist Party, John Gollan, appearing in “Marxism Today,” the party’s ideological journal.
This is regarded as particularly significant on the eve of the Soviet Party Congress, especially as the dissent comes from one of the more independent-minded Communist Parties in the West, which is considered to enjoy some influence in world Communism.
Gollan wrote: “There are remnants of anti-Semitism, despite its official condemnation, and there is reason for concern that those who are guilty appear not to be charged in accordance with Soviet law.” The British Communist ideologist contended that “the harassment of Jews wishing to emigrate to Israel has not helped.”
Gollan also dissented from the Soviet treatment of internal critics. While dismissing the views of Alexander Solzhenitsyn and Andrei Sakharov as “reactionary,” Gollan stated that the matter should be tackled on a political level “and not by legal means, expulsions from the country or confinement in psychiatric institutions.”
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