Philosophically banned Communist rally: 'We are not a recruiting ground'

The University of Zagreb's Faculty of Philosophy has banned a planned event titled "Meet the Communist," organized by the Student Club of the Faculty of Philosophy. According to a message sent to students, the faculty administration received numerous inquiries and responses from members of the academic community and interested public following the announcement of the event. Some messages included calls for the involvement of police and security-intelligence agencies. As a result, the administration requested the Student Club to provide information regarding the organizers, content of the program, speakers, and planned activities. However, this information was not received. In reviewing publicly available pages of the Revolutionary Communist League, the administration noted that the organization openly advocates for revolutionary change of the existing political system, the abolition of institutions, government, and the president of the country, and the establishment of a revolutionary communist party. Among its stated goals are the political organization of youth and students, acquiring new members, and expanding organizational activity, including on university campuses. The faculty emphasized that it has been and will continue to be a space for freedom of thought, critical inquiry, academic dialogue, and confrontation with diverse, even radical, political and social ideas. It reiterated that freedom of speech and expression, democratic values, tolerance, and responsibility toward society form the basis of its existence. The administration believes that all agree the faculty should remain a place for critical thinking about social changes, not a platform for political recruitment or organizing revolutionary movements. Since the organizers did not provide the requested information, the administration, acting responsibly regarding legal compliance, use of faculty spaces, and safety of attendees, cannot approve the event’s holding in the faculty premises. The event was announced five days ago by the Student Club of the Faculty of Philosophy. In a message, the club described the program as an opportunity to become familiar with Marxist ideas and engage in discussions about communism, capitalism, revolution, science, and philosophy. The event would be led by the Revolutionary Communist League, allowing participants to converse with individuals involved in international struggles against capitalism. The event was scheduled for October 21 at 6 p.m. A reader who shared the email expressing concern over the decision considers it the worst possible choice the faculty could have made. The person who forwarded the email with the decision believes the administration seems unaware of student protests taking place throughout Europe and the world. They argue that this decision will attract more students who otherwise would not have attended the event and predict it will lead to chaos. They note that while they do not comment on whether chaos is good or bad, it certainly does not serve the interest of the faculty administration. The event was initially announced by the Student Club of the Faculty of Philosophy as an opportunity to learn about Marxist ideas and discuss topics such as communism, capitalism, revolution, science, and philosophy. According to the announcement, the event would be led by the Revolutionary Communist League, allowing attendees to speak with members of the league involved in international struggles against capitalism. The event was scheduled for October 21 at 6 p.m. The administration explained in their message that after the announcement of the event, they received many questions and responses from members of the academic community and the public. Some messages included calls for involving the police and intelligence agencies. Therefore, the administration asked the Student Club to provide information on the organizers, the content of the program, the speakers, and the planned activities. However, this information was not received. By examining the publicly available pages of the Revolutionary Communist League, the administration found that the organization openly supports revolutionary change of the current political system, the abolition of institutions, government, and the president of the country, and the creation of a revolutionary communist party. Among the listed goals are the political organization of young people and students, gaining new members, and spreading organizational activities, including on faculties. The faculty emphasized that it has been and will continue to be a space for freedom of thought, critical inquiry, academic dialogue, and confrontation with different, even radical, political and social ideas. It reiterated that freedom of speech and expression, democratic values, tolerance, and responsibility towards society form the basis of its existence. The administration believes that everyone agrees that the faculty should remain a place for critical thinking about social changes, not a platform for political recruitment or organizing revolutionary movements. Therefore, since the organizers did not provide the requested information, the administration, acting responsibly regarding legal compliance, use of faculty spaces, and safety of attendees, cannot approve the event's holding in the faculty premises.