ABSTRACT: None has ever attempted it before: to construct a transnational and transdivisional, self-financing party with direct membership, that will operate within a non-violent philosophy and have a strong presence in parliamentary institutions in as many countries of the world as possible. We all know this is the only way to overcome the resignation and impotence of present policies faced with the gigantic problems of our age, on which the destiny of mankind depends. We all know that we if can get together in the streets and parliaments of Moscow, New York, Paris and Budapest, no political objective will be unattainable or too utopic. We all know that to be successful in this incredible political adventure, it is worth fighting together, happily and with enthusiasm. It is not a dream, it is possible, We only have to want it to happen, fifty thousand to begin with, more later. We have to ensure that ordinary people like ourselves can come to believe it is possible and recognise the reasonable objectives a
nd good sense that we propose.
(The Party New, n.1, June 1991)
The Radical Party project for 1991 is to found a new transnational, self-financing movement, that includes a variety of political opinion and has direct membership.
The objective is to construct an international "party of action" which will create a "a place for non-violent action", where each party worker through non-violent demonstrations will call for the approval of legislation by parliamentarians from different countries, who are interested in, or involved in, the policies of the party, and this is to happen "at the same time on the same day".
The party undertakes this in the belief that knowing about the extensive problems that threaten the future of mankind must be transformed into a common awareness of the state of the world and acceptance of the responsibility and the capacity to take decisions that will increase the force for change.
As a first step, contacts and relationships will have to be developed with politicians and othe prominent people from a variety of countries, particularly those in Europe.
A clearly defined "moment" for action must be defined to motivate and co-ordinate the movement.
The projects is therefore one of great complexity and ambition that has never been attempted before.
The initial objective is to contact the elected members of legislative assemblies or those people who have the relevant autonomous political power, whether this be "national", "federal" or "regional" in nature. This will require communication with 40,000 people who are based in 300 different place in 35 different States, as well as with the European Parliament.
The suggested themes for the various initiatives could be among the following: the death penalty and the use of torture; the quality of life; preserving the world's ecosystem; the problems of waste disposal in Europe; the greenhouse effect; preserving the ozone layer; deforestation and the use of chemicals in agriculture; the proposition that, through the assertion of positive rights, international law should become legally binding and the United Nations should be reformed; the transformation of military spending into finance for aid projects for the billion people who suffer from hunger - a proposal that echoes the one made after the Nobel Prize ceremony; political union for the States of Europe as a way of overcoming national, racial and linguistic barriers; an anti-prohibition movement to fight against organised crime which lives off the black market drugs trade; an anti-totalitarianism movement and a committment to human rights; abolition of the right to carry personal arms; change or abolition of the pr
ison system; penal reform; the necessity for a "common language" so that those knowing the dominant language have to learm a second; the problems of population increase and the resulting environmental problems; abortion; sex education.
For the proposition to be successful people must be informed of the policies of the transnational party so that interest, discussion and debate can be stimulated about the proposal itself or some of the particular issues contained within it. In this way transnational transdivisional groups of parliamentarians and other prominet persons in the various countries can in turn begin their own initiatives.
The finance required to fund the project will be more thanthe party has had to contemplate in the past. The cost of sending each message will not be less than $435,000-$522,000, with a total cost for 6-8 editions of between $2,609,000 and $4,348,000.
On the basis of the 1991 party budget, only 2,609,000 dollars will be available and it may be necessary to sell some of the Italian party assets.
A contribution from the fifty thousand party members and "others", will also be necessary. With their membership and participation, an organised form and idea will become apparent and result in the "place of nonviolent action" which the Radical Party would hope will be a permanent feature rather than a temporary phase.
----
From New York to Moscow in real time
Can we conceive a situation where numerous parliamentary representatives, both western and eastern, exchange proposals, white papers, resolutions and motions and pursue initiatives together? Can we imagine a Europe, where the institutions, within our "global village", prioritise the question of transfer of information. In such an environment information would reach the widest possible public, and within local areas, thought could be given to shared questions and appropriate political action be taken. Can legislators not keep us up-to-date as to their policies and the decisions and formative processes required to effect them? In this ideal world numerous members of parliaments from all over the world would be involved. A system would be required for easily accessible multilingual communication, through computers linked to an international telephone network.
The Radical Party already boasts such a system. Agora, which was conceived three years ago, is a system for interactive multilingual written communication which allows subscribers from all parts of the world not only to receive, but more importantly to exchange, information in five different languages (Italian, English, French, Spanish and German).
Agora, the most advanced "computer based conference system" in Europe, is relatively simple to use. All that is needed is a computer, of any make, connected to the telephone network via modem. A phone call to one of two numbers, 39-6/6892828 or Nua Itapac 26500016 is the easy way to subscribe. Once the formalities are completed a "password" will be supplied and access can be gained to the system.
The system offers a practical and useful news service, put together from information gathered from linked press offices: the IPS Rome centre, the international communication system, specialised in the exchange of information with the Third World, the Italian delegation to the United Nation's information centre, the USIS Rome centre, which is the press agency for the US government. The system receives information from Radical Party subsrcibers in Moscow via the Postfactum agency, which has daily correspondence reports from all 15 Soviet Republics dealing with news about politics, elections, finance and regional conflicts.
Agora also offers a service concerning the legislative activity of Radical Parliamentary representatives in Italy and Europe. Issues covered include political and social questions such as drugs, elections, human rights and European union. Furthermore, Agora has a "postal service" for all subscribers which advises of any messages that have arrived in the "electronic box". It sends letters that can only be "opened" by the intended receiver. The system signals when the message has been read. "Conferences" can be held with written contributions to debates on various topics transmitted. A conference can include anyone who wishes to participate, or can be limited to invitees only and all contributions that have been made are documented. "Advertising" is a telematic "show-case" where messages can be broadcasted over a wide area. At present most subscribers are Italian, but there are also subscribers from Japan, the Soviet Union, Brasil, South Africa, Czechoslovakia and Argentina. Subscription, at present, costs not
hing. In all there about 1,800 subscribers including European and Italian members of parliament, journalists and editors and associations concerned with legal and civil rights.
It is very important to attract prominent figures in Western and Eastern Europe to the system and to "sell" Agora to the multinational communications environment, the Japanese and Americans, centres of sovreign institutions such as the European Community and the United Nations and their various agencies and organisations round the world. It is also important to find the necessary sponsorship to cover the enormous costs that this enterprise involves.
----
A federal language
To construct an extended Europe, which includes the East, is to follow an ancient tradition which believed in, "uniting Europe to unite the world". One problem that presents itself in such an ideal is that of transnational linguistic communication which requires a second common Europen and global language.
If initial prejudices can be overcome, a valid solution, that is also democratically sound, could be Esperanto.
The advantages of using Esperanto as a common second language is to be able to "think globally", and so the initiative is worth actively supporting and following. The Radical Party is a means, through which the Esperantists of all the world can strive to achieve their transnational goal. This is not just to have an international democratic language, but also to save the world from a cultural catastrophe, a linguistic Chernobyl, which is the result of having one language, that is also a first language, which is completely dominant, as in the case of English.History teaches us that if one language has supremacy over another, it destroys it - as happened with Latin and the ancient European languages and with Spanish in South America. Furthermore, if a people lose their language, they lose their cultural identity, as is demonstrated bythe ethnic groups and languages that exist in the world "without a state" and face enormous difficulties trying to ensure their cultural survival.
