Khrushchev Bitterly Attacks Jugoslavia

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28604, 5 June 1958, Page 10

Khrushchev Bitterly Attacks Jugoslavia

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

(Rec. 8 p.m.) MOSCOW, June 4. The Russian Prime Minister, Mr Khrushchev, yesterday launched a strong attack on Jugoslavia’s President Tito for Jugoslavia’s “revisionism” and for her attitude during the Hungarian revolt in 1956. In a speech to the Bulgarian Communist Party in Sofia, reported by the Soviet news agency Tass, Mr Khrushchev said the Cominform was fundamentally correct in its denunciation of Jugoslavia 10 years ago. He alleged that during the Hungarian rising, Jugoslavia’s Embassy in Budapest was a centre for those “who started the war” and that Marshal Tito himself had defended the rebels and described Russia’s action as intervention. Mr Khrushchev recalled a speech by President Tito “in which the rebels in Hungary were defended and the fraternal assistance of the Soviet Union to the Hungarian people was called Soviet intervention.” He said the speech contained direct appeals to “certain forces in other socialist countries to follow a so-called Jugoslav course.” Mr Khrushchev said that particularly great harm was done to the cause of socialism by the Jugoslav leaders in their public speeches and their actions during the Hungarian rising. Mr Khrushchev also justified Jugoslavia’s expulsion from the Cominform in 1948.

“In 1948, a conference of the Cominform issued a resolution on the state of affairs in the Jugoslav Communist Party which contained just criticisms of its activity on a number of questions of principle. This resolution was fundamentally correct and corresponded to the interests of the revolutionary movement,” he said. Mr Khrushchev said that during conversations with Jugoslav leaders in 1956, he drew President Tito’s attention to the need for analysing events. “I reminded him then of the expression: ‘the whole company is

marching in step except for one soldier,’ and asked ‘who is out of order, the company or the one soldier?’

“Koca Popovic (the Jugoslav Foreign Minister) who was present at this conversation asked: ‘Who is the company, and who is the soldier?’ I could only answer ‘think for yourself who is who.’ “But I did add that in any case the company is the company, while the soldier is only a unit of that company and therefore it cannot be the company which is wrong. “if you take the other view, then openly admit that you are not a soldier of this Communist company which is marching in step guided by Marxism-Leninism.” ’ More In 1955 The Russian leader said it was Soviet initiative in 1955 that tried to end the conflict between the Soviet Union and Jugoslavia “on a Marxist-Leninist basis.” He went on:

“Life showed, however, that the weight of the past was too much of a burden for the Jugoslav leaders and they proved themselves unable to depart from their erroneous position or to take a firm stand on the Marxist-Leninist position.

“The Jugoslav leaders, after the resumption of normal relations, continued to make anti-Soviet statements and to attack the socialist camp and fraternal Communist parties. “I would not like to offend anyone but at the same time it is impossible not to ask the question which is worrying all honest Communists.

“Why do the imperialist bosses, striving to wipe Socialist States from the face of the earth and to stifle the Communist movement, at the same time finance one of the Socialist countries and give them advantageous credits and free presents? s “Surely no-one will believe that there are two kinds of socialism in the world, one which is furiously hated by world reaction and another which is acceptable to the imperialists and one which they help and support,Mr Khrushchev continued.

“The representatives of that country pretend that it is we who are departing from Marxism-Len-inism while they adopt the correst position.’*