‘Imperialism – highest stage of capitalism’

     It is impermissible to draw a common balance between the hard-earned savings set aside by the peoples of the socialist countries to help their friends, and the capital of imperialist monopolies which they expect, sooner or later, to bring them profit. (V. I. Pavlov in ‘Economic Freedom versus Imperialism‘.)

A Russian delegation has recently returned to Moscow from Indonesia where it spent five weeks putting pressure on the government, in an effort to persuade Jakarta to start repayments on its $700m. debt to the Soviet Union. According to The Times (1 October 1969) “The Russians demanded that Indonesia begin repayment of the debt on schedule next year as agreed in 1966, but the Indonesians declined and explained that to do so would drain the country’s foreign exchange and jeopardise her five-year development plan.” The counter-proposal from the Indonesian side was that Russia should allow Jakarta forty years in which to pay off the debt and that the Soviet Union should also forego its interest rights. Nothing was resolved and the talks are to be resumed in Moscow later this year.

Meanwhile . . . an Indonesian mission is travelling to Paris to put forward similar proposals to the Intergovernmental Group on Indonesia which represents the Western creditor nations.

John Crump