WORLD Socialism and the entrepreneurial spirit By GERRY VAN HOUTEN Tribune Berlin Correspondent BERLIN — As in all socialist coun- tries, state and co-operative ownership is a central feature of the GDR economy. State ownership dominates in industry, transportation and communications while co-operative ownership is wide- spread in agriculture and the skilled trades. Together they account for 96 per cent of the GDR’s net national product. But the GDR also has private owner- ship and it accounts for the remaining four per cent of the net national income. Most of these small private businesses, about 80,000 in all, are craftsmen who make and repair shoes, upholster fur- niture, repair watches and clocks or pro- vide services such as food outlets and optical services. In the GDR, private business employs about 250,000 men and women. So it was with considerable interest that we visited a privately owned upholstering and furniture repair shop and had the opportunity to ask its owner questions relating to his business and life in the GDR. At 48, Otto Griewe is a highly success- ful upholsterer and owner of a business founded by his great grandfather in 1874. Located in Eldena, a small village of 2000 people, mainly farmers, both the business and the home above it have been his family’s property uninter- ruptedly ever since. In fact, one of his sons, who is presently doing his obligat- ory tour of duty in the army, wants to and will inherit his father’s thriving business. We wondered if he was satisfied with the socialist system. Yes, he informed us, he most certainly is because he could own and operate his own business and still enjoy the social and economic bene- fits of socialism. His grandfather had not been so lucky. The enterprise he inherited from his father, the founder of the shop, was al- ways on the brink of collapse because of the lack of business. So desperate was the situation that he would travel long distances for the chance to do some work and earn some money to feed his family. Now it is another world, or rather, another social system. Instead of the hand-to-mouth existence which used to characterize this region of the ‘old im- perialist Germany, living standards are high for farmers and workers alike. People can now afford to have their favo- rite piece of furniture or family heirloom refurbished and upholstered. In fact, Griewe’s business is now so busy that customers have to order a year in advance if they want him to do ajob for them. He does not have to seek out busi- ness because business comes to him, much of it from the nearby and exception- ally beautiful city of Schwerin. And since Eldena has most of the material amenities of life enjoyed by the cities, he hasno wish to move the family business to Schwerin. The G R sees small business as a necessary, productive and efficient con- tribution to building socialist society. Griewe employs: five men including himself and his son, currently in the army. Three non-family workers is the maximum allowed under GDR law and they have the same extensive rights and benefits as workers in the large-scale state-owned enterprises. No poverty wages and union busting here. One reporter, not the Tribune’s in- formed Griewe that ‘‘he got enough to make a living,’ and asked how well he did. Griewe replied in the same spirit of friendliness that he made enough as well. A lively fellow who clearly enjoyed his work, Griewe did point out, however, that when he makes 30,000 marks in pro- fit, he has to pay 16,000 marks in tax. Nicaragua grants Miskito autonomy By Canadian standards, this would be considered a high tax rate, but he did not seem to mind. The government ciin and does offer him assistance when he needs it. For example, he can obtain a credit from the state at a very low interest rate. At the same time, he enjoys the same social benefits as workers and farmers although, because he runs a private busi- ness, he is obliged to pay monthly pre- miums to the state-owned insurance company. Griewe is politically active, but he is not a Communist. Instead, he belongs to the National Democratic Party of Ger- many (NDPD) whose 90, members are mainly drawn from craftsmen like himself as well as intellectuals and cul- tural and white-collar workers. One of the five parties making up the ruling Fatherland Front led by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, the NDPD has 52 representatives in the People’s Chamber, the GDR’s parliament. These 52 make up 10.4 per cent of members of . the People’s Chambér. The 1.5 million strong Socialist Unity Party, in compari- son has only 127 seats or 25.4 per cent of the total. Griewe, like many of his colleagues in the smaller parties, suffers no dis- advantages because of his membership in a numerically small party like the NDPD or because he is a small busi- ‘nessman. He was elected to the local municipal council when he was a mere 20 years old. Representing the NDPD, he held this post for 20 years before finally being elected to the Schwerin district_ council. He has held-this position for eight years. Our interlocutor did have one minor complaint. His political responsibilities cost him time from work and time is money. But, as he himself pointed out, his political activities are voluntary. He does not have to do it, he wants to. Despite legal limitations on the size of his work force and the obligation to pro- vide wages and working conditions com- parable to those in state-owned enter- prises, the GDR’s small private business people are happy. So is the gov- ernment because, it sees them as neces- sary, productive and efficient con- tributors to the prosperity of the GDR economy and to supplying essential ser- vices to the general population. You GAN HELP MAKE ROSITA AN ORPHAN, FINANCIAL HE! SEE, SINCE CONGRESS CUT AND WE NEED YOUR DIRECT MILITARY FUNDING WE'VE BEEN FROM PRIVATE SOURCES By CINDY HAWES A multi-ethnic conference in Puerto Cabezes, Nicaragua has finalized a law that will make Nicaragua the first Latin Ameri- can country to grant full auton- omy to its indigenous population. The law guarantees the right of the country’s indigenous and Black populations, including the Miskito Indians, to preserve their culture, religion, customs and language, and use their natural resources according to their needs. Before the 1979 revolution, the Atlantic region was virtually cut off from the rest of Nicaragua. The people were exploited by British and Spanish colonizers, and later by U.S. companies. Cul- tural animosity and distrust of the Pacific Spanish-speaking people also developed over the years. When the Sandinistas came to power, they gave priority to the development of the region. Dur- ing their national literacy cam- paign, they taught the indigenous peoples — 76 per cent of whom were illiterate — to read and write in their own languages. Health care facilities now reach the most inaccessible areas, and the area has three times more teachers than before the revolu- tion. Despite these advances, the Sandinistas now agree they made mistakes, many based on a lack of 8 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, MAY 27, 1987 WE'VE ALREADY KILLED AVANY PEOPL fy PEOPLE IN VILLAGE MILITIAS,WHO SUPPORT A GOVT-WE DON'T LIKE. PEOPLE LIKE ROSITA FATHER. WOULDN'T IT os ASHAME To STOP NOW comprehension of Atlantic coast culture and traditions. The CIA- led contra daily attacks prompted the Sandinistas to move the Mis- kitos along the Coco River to in- land settlements to protect them, often causing resentment. Thou- sands of Miskitos chose instead to relocate in neighboring Hon- duras. i eT. MGH@LP! 1 want me NS * (Y DONATION PAYS TE AS But the two year autonomy process has helped rectify many of the Sandinistas’ initial errors, according to Nicaragua’s Interior Minister Tomas Borge. Proof of this, he said, is that 12,500 Mis- kitos have returned to Nicaragua, and the majority of those who rose up in arms have abandoned them. White warns of U.S. plans MEXICO — Former U.S. ambassador to El Salvador Robert White told a Mexico City newspaper April 27 that President Ronald Reagan has. been dreaming of a military victory in El Salvador, and has managed to sell the U.S. Con- gress on the prospect that such victory is possible. : In the interview, White said there is a spirit of triumph in Washington and an impression that the situation is under con- trol. “*Those in Washington don’t want to recognize that despite all that the United States has done, the guerrilla forces have maintained themselves in- tact,’’ White said. The former ambassador said the political situation in El Sal- vador has seriously deterior- ated, the economy is at a standstill and the balance of power is leaning in the FMLN’s favor. Referring to the armed conflict in E] Salvador, White said Salvadoran President Napoleon Duarte has recog- nized that ‘‘the war is not led by Salvadorans but by U.S. advisers. ‘*They decide,’’ White said, “‘because the U.S. leaders do — not have confidence in the abil- ity of the Salvadorans.”’ Ottawa-Warsaw NWF twins OTTAWA — In its effort to add Canada’s capital to the ~ growing list of Nuclear Weapons Free municipalities, the Ottawa Disarmament Coalition (ODC) has proposed to the Polish capital of Warsaw that the two twin as NWFZ cities. As part of this effort, ODC invited two Polish representa- tives to participate in its May 2 © Walk Around the World in which some 700 people walked for peace raising $40,000 (Tribune, May 18). While here, Leonard Barszczewski, chair of the Warsaw Peace Committee and a member of its City Council, and Marek Stojnow, a member of the Warsaw Peace Council, met with officials from Ottawa City Council and other groups to discuss the NWFZ-twinning idea. The project was further ad- vanced by an invitation the Polish representatives ex- tended to the ODC and Ottawa City Council to participate in an international conference on Nuclear Weapons Free Zones to take place in Warsaw in October. Plot to kill Ortega disclosed WASHINGTON (Salpress) — The U.S. Justice Depart- ment revealed May 7 that two U.S. citizens conspired to assassinate Nicaraguan Presi- dent Daniel Ortega for a re- ported price of $9-million put up by a sponsor. The San- dinista government, in a pro- test note, said such acts are a direct result of the U.S. policy of state terrorism against Nica- ragua.