The Marshall Josip Broz Tito, President of the Federal Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia
Mr. President
For the third time in two years I fell compelled to call upon you in defence of the Yugoslav tradition of socialism with self-government.
I had hoped that after the solution, reached to all appearance in last summer’s consultations with the Philosophical Faculty at Belgrade, the conditions had been created for a fertile and constructive development Marxist humanism in your country. However, information which has reached me through the newspapers makes me fear that the socialist freedom, attributed to the social system in your country is no longer safeguarded. I need not repeat how this undermines the hope of many progressive people in the world and how this contributes to the doubts about the genuineness of the Yugoslav experiment.
In view of the serious problems which your country – like other countries – is facing, it is amazing that such an amount of energy is wasted by the Party leadership on a group of intellectuals who are obviously loyal Marxists of high international reputation, struggling against narrow-minded regional nationalism. They are ready to initiate and support any move to radical social justice and more effective self government, and act in line, I take it, with popular aspirations to which they give theoretical expression.
Therefore I call once more upon you to promote that this summer’s solution will be loyally implemented without mental reservations and that the Yugoslav identity and its future be guaranteed.
Letter from Prof. J.P. van Praag, IHEU chairman 10.12.1974
'Marxist humanism in Yugoslavia (1974-12)', Humanists International, Board of Directors, 1974