by T.Koladinskaya

"Nashe Misto" ("Our City"), January 21, 1994.

Last Saturday an opened assembly of transnational Radical

party was held in Dnepropetrovsk.

On first of January every year there is no such party at

all, because one can join it for a year only. If you wish to

prolong your membership you have to enlist again in the new year.

Just enlist. Anyone who recognizes the regulations and pays the

entrance fee is allowed to join the party, the fee being

determined by the governing body of the party, the congress.

A minimal entrance fee is calculated proceeding from the

national profit per capita of the party member's country.

According to radicals' calculations the life level in countries

of ex-Soviet Union is approximately equal. Anyway, for many of

them, including Ukraine, the minimal entrance fee for this year

is three USDs (is paid in local currency of local national bank

exchange-value). The best-looking is Estonia, the minimum is six

USDs, then five USDs for Russia and four USDs for Latvia and

Lithuania. If we look at other countries, we will find ourselves

on the same level with Albania, Zambia, Nigeria, North Korea,

outrunning Zaire and Guinea-Bissau a little bit. But we will

hardly manage even to run down United States, where the minimal

entrance fee is 255 USDs.

In a few words about the party. It was founded in Italy

in 1956, when the left wing broke away from the Liberal party.

Since 1988 the party acts on the transnational level. Last year

almost fifty thousand people from more than thirty countries of

the world were members of the party, but they were mainly

Italians, and, as a rule, creative intellectuals, professional

politicians, parliamentaries. There were also many journalists

and cinematographers. The legendary Catagni, Michele Placido,

has been also the member of the party.

There is no any party discipline in this party. Any its

member can not be struck off the party, one can only leave it by

his own wish.

The party struggles for the triumph of Law and Justice,

and its prior activities are carrying out international campaigns

for abolition of death penalty before year 2000. Now it gathers

signatures under the petition for elimination of the paragraph

on the death penalty from the project of the Constitution of

Republic Moldova. Party also struggles for establishment of

permanent UN International Court on war crimes (such court on

war crimes committed in ex-Yugoslavia has been established by an

initiative of the party), carries out initiatives concerning

environment protection and anti-prohibitionist initiatives,

including initiatives against drug prohibition because that

exactly, as radicals consider, gives a birth to criminality and

provides abilities for Mafia to make easy money.

Six Dnepropetrovsk residents have been enlisted to the

party during the assembly. But the assembly itself has not

attracted attention too much; moreover, those who came to attend

it have shown no interest to problems of Serbia or Croatia or

Moldova. They only demanded of radicals to save Ukraine.