LIBERALIZATON IN THE PARLIAMENTS OF THE COMMUNIST ORBIT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-00915R000500260002-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 21, 1998
• Sequence Number: 2
• Content Type: REPORT

10, ,
Release CIA-RDP78-00915ROM50026
LIBERALIZATION IN THE PARLIAMENTS OF THE COH:UNIST ORBIT
1. The Soviet and satellite constitutions define the role of parliameat
in the government structure as the highest organ of state authority."
Constitutionally there ie little or nothing to distinguish Communist
parliamente from free world parlia-ents: the executive power is ultimate/y
? responsible to the legislature and although the Communist executive
admittedly initiates more legislation than does the parliament, this
?' practice -is followed in many western legislatures as well; the orbit
legislators are popularly elected by direct and universal suffrage;:
permanent and ad hoc committees conduct hearings on proposed legislation; ,
etc0 paper there there amPars to be no necessity for "liberalization"
. of the Communist legislatures, in that they are already models fer:.=,
. Tesponotble democratic legislative activity. The fact of course 'is
that the Soviet orbit ?arliaMents have been an4 indee
20 -:.''Since Stalin's death, domestic liberalization has been a Policy Cf:::the
Soviet,Vnten and orbit countries. The exact nature of this internal
"liberalization", particularly as it airlies to recent events in
Communistparliamen4s? has been in many eases misunderstood outside the'.:
ComMentst'orbit. It is not to be confused with "democratization".
Genuine political democracy 'requires freedom of expression for political
,
aims, and freedom to attempt to develop an organization to support and
implement those aims. Multiple political parties with conflicting views
are the expression of this freedom in the non-Communist democracies.
The so-called liberalization measures in the Communist orbit do not now
-::and are not intended to permit this essential expression of politica/
democracy.- The ComMunist leaders themselves have explicitly denied
again and again that their reforms are intended to lead to this boUrgeois
(i.e. western) form of democracy. In other words, no individuals,,(or_group)
will be permitted to organize support for his aims, unless his social,
economic, political, philosophical objectives are identical with #10poje.
the Communist regime. Political opposition groups, even a "loyal opaeaition"
have no place in the Communist -structure. This fact is simply but "
usefully 'illustrated by the election-practice of presenting a single,
.-CommUnistapproved list of candidates to the voters.
There have indeed been some substantive domestic liberalization
,
measures 'In the orbit countries, such as Curbs on the arbitrariness and
141-74t7- C,fthe secret policy, encouragement of certain types of
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_
criticism, stricter' adherence of :uridical codes, (such as they are),
possibilities or greater exposure to thealien ideology of the Vest
throegii,encouragement Of exchange activities. ,It should at_the:tame time
be recognized that in no instance do these liberalization meaaures-
rquebeht any Vmreai to Party control since the ultimate safeguards of
that power are reserved intact.
-
40 '/n the parliamentary field the liberalization has been more apparent
than real. This is true even in Poland, where the parliament has initiated
dramatic and unprecedented moves. -Here deputies have directed severe
criticism at members of the executive (all leading Communist Party members);
they have demanded a voice in devising essential,pelicies,of, the government.
They have debated the wisdom of some Of the measures offered as legislation
by the govt and they have evert broken the -Pattern, of unanimity of '
approval of government decrees by rejecting &minor decree, -, lhese.breaks
with Stalinism are still a far cry from democracy; :in fact they have only
a veiii.:aUPerrioial resemblance to lenuine_demecracy.'' It must be remembered
that every deputy has been approved by the 'Communist Party even before he
was nominated to run for office. -lhe voters had no choice but him; and
while individual legislators have raised their voices in criticism (whether
genuine or pre-planned as a pRiftiTeanda measure to.impreei the outside
world Is immaterial), there is no indication that they are permitted to :
organize other legislators behind them to give real practical meaning to
their demands,
50 At the April meeting of theTolishatn, the Premier admitted that the
legislature's supreme function could not be exercised because of lack of
cooperation from the government, although no concrete steps have been taken
to reestablish its constitutional authority. At the September meeting one
deputy went so far as to make a fundamental attack on the denial of
parliamentary responsibility while the other deputies making critical
remarks had limited their attacks to administrative organs which are in the
process of reorganization, to conditions which had already been condemned
by the Party and to social organizations which are about to launch reforms.
6. While some superficial advances have been made in Poland to givethe
appearance of an effective legislature, the Soviet.Unionand other satellites'
have,eenfined,themselves largely to talk about the increased responsibility
of the parliament. ,
. _
7. For.:,-instenee, the USSR Supreme Soviet met in mid-July for five days
, /
and without debate or dissenting vote disposed of a five point agenda.
_
ustamiii:Tefforts were made to maintain the facade of democratic law
king, butepee the meetings began the Supreme Soviet slipped into a
,
tbehavior not unlike that of its predecessors,' :After the
en proposed amendments to the pension bill,
eared and stated categorically which amendments were acceptable
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(all those initiated by individual deputies on ?omissions) and which had
,
to be rejected (all those initiated from the floor). Not too surprisingly,
the vote was unanimous according to Bulgartints wishes. The Kremlin' has
,
freouently used the Suprerie'Soviet as a sounding board for its peace_
propaganda, and the recent session was no exception.'f'lecordingly;*the
Soviet legislature adopted an appeal to ,parliaments of all counfriet;
ap.roving recently announced ,outs in the Soviet armed forces and urging,:
other nations "to consider and support this initiative of the Soviet 'Union
and to enact in their, turn effective measures toward ending the 'armir
ra???"-Theappeal was su,I)Jeet4 to_litt.41e.disousejOh'et the merting'and
was ,yotesLunan, imously. This appeal was clearly geared to evoke sympathetic
response In world opinion,' and, in that way, the regime no doubt expects
to advatice` Soviet prert le and maintain Soviet initiative in a field of
8. While nothing has been done in, Czechoslovakia to changethe pattern
of unanimity P of vote elorue/iriCraise for legislation being considered, -
,
stead of genuine debates, very brief seliitliene sion
s reetci-,thes 'newspapers havf
Vg7
talked about the necessity for increasing' ibility of parliament "iech trade union newspaper PRkE id the in April 9 -
? ..,.. "would contribute to the raising Of the importance of the
- . A
ational Assembly if that right which the Constitution gives
deputiesthe were once again revived. Th is the'ri t of o
terpellationo Every member of the National istimhlyghis entitled
to put questions to the Chairman and the other limbers of the '
-Government in matters concerning them actively and'they are_,--:,.:..
_
, obliged to ansver him in 'terms stipulated by laws Placed face to
face with this public 'control, every member of the government
would feel greater responsibility for rectifying 'slior"' to in8 . f7921
which he Would have to render an account before theNational'-4
Ita
sembly.." - *
This kind propErranda intended to show the outside world the Czechs'
earnestness in reforming their legislative practices, does little more than
admit that iti the past .and up to the pretent,' the parliamenthas been
nothing more or less than a sham. And indeed, since nothing has cone of
it, it would anpear that. _in., the future the tame 'practices will be
followed, 4
vagary, the Oractice of ,interpellation was instituted at the
ession of parliament, but it must be considered a failure
uestione had little or no real substance, according to -
eputiee.themielves stumbled over written seriptsostrongly
t the questions were planted by the `governmen
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10. r,In East'Oermany the deputies recently had a field fa i
SED Central Commit ac had previously decided that,diOentralization was
centralization, Slice
-n eri.ticising
the ridiculous excesses of economic -how ever,the
necessari.end had prepared a plan to carry it out, the active criticism
was another manifestation of the cynicism and propagandistic nature of "
the legislative proceedings,
11, An announcement of the Central Convittee of the Bulgarian Communist
In September 1956 include!' an item on the parliament: _'!It ..is ..,
particularly Importantto elevate the rlae..derthtbeeitictial A,slmblyorgaans the
highest organ ' of the people's governmenta , _ only' legislative
,
in the ._cquntry...The !lational Assembly must be called more often and its
commiasion'my.at be strengthened so that important questions May be
ora all sides. Decisions taken tinie' e.?,r)Ubliciiiid.-.. The
ethbly must discuss more often reports connected with the work
_racil of Ministers and that of Individual
CO"Tidiiiission that the parliament hais?not:bee funiscietrioifingHaercceorarini:
ontrtitutional authority. "
discuised
Natio=
of the Cou
is
to its
12. 1.a perhaps Permits the most .nwestern"4-parliamentary activity
of any of the Communist states, but even it, or course, reserves ultimate
control to the party. It does have raulti.ple,partiee, although they are all
Coratia?4iit approved and coittrolled; it has permitted pubstantive debate -on
economic legislation introduced by the ;governMentillid_ii one provincial
legislatUre4,7en individual opposed by the Party war not only nominated,
but electeci, It Is not believed however...A/it the_toverriment will permit
liberalization to go so far as to threiten_political supremacy,
- ?tt4 =74
13 It can be said in eximmarif that the much., touted and publicized
liberall,?4ations' in the Communist parliamenti-bail not any real,
n basisin
substantive changes. paBsibi ct#i ignored that a
fermentation May be underway which
ie,1;;9It4oii4landhatIn
the course of tine, a Beri0128 threat to complete Communist
:
- can helms:de-through the national legislaturee
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