AROUND THE WORLD
AROUND
THE
WORLD
A sinister page in history GRANMA's editorial July 9 on the execution of four Cuban officers for drug trafconfirms - if there were any longer any need for that — that the Castro leadership has just written one of the most sinister pages in its history. In a style we had thought belonged to the past, the revolutionary vermin," those who dared to doubt that this trial "was the cleanest that could be imagined," which should be self-evident because when the party speaks, not a single word, not a single comma departs from the truth."
In a telegram sent on July 11, we (Claude Llabres, Gilles Perrault, Claude Poperen, Giovanni Russa Spena, François Maspero, Massimo Gorla, Janette Habel, Michael Loewy) called for a stay of execution. This appeal reflected our doubts
When the death penalty has been abolished by capitalist governments, the leadsocialist has not hesitated to shoot four of its former military leaders. Is the Cuban revolution so besieged, is a civil war at the gates, is foreign intervention immi-
Justice was summary. According to Granma, Ochoa's involvement in drug trafficking was only discovered on June 12. He was executed on July 13. Contrary 10 what Fidel Castro said, the guarantees of a democratic and fair trial were not assembled. Neither the Military Court of Honor made up of 47 gencrals and admirals nor the Court Martial nor the Council of State in which sit 30 of the country's main leaders made it possible to guarantee the rights of the defense. Everyone spoke. But not a single voice raised the slightest doubt about the justification of
First of all, why was there a need for a special court, for summary jurisdiction, as in time of war? It is true that Ochoa did not protest. In terms that sent a chill down our spines, he absolved "the supreme commander, the party, the government and the armed forces and promised that his last thought would be for Fidel and the
The big play given over TV to the dra8 Were present) was inhuman and indecent, matic hearings (where Ochoa's children International Viewpoint #168 • July 31, 1989 to say nothing of being a perversion of questions we would have liked to see put to Ochoa. For example, what did he mean precisely when he said, "You mumble when you get an order, and the time comes when you think that every that comes from a superior officer is bad. On this slippery slope, you develop an independent way of thinking and end up believing that you are right."
What was the purpose of this drug trade? Did Ochoa act for strictly personal or for military reasons? How could the authorities have been unaware of this for
The monopoly of power held by the Castro leadership, its rejection of any challenge, the arbitrariness in judicial decisions, the lack of critical reporting and the conformism of the main leaders cannot but inspire doubt and scepticism. Historical experience weighs too heavily for any leaders to be taken at their word,
Never has the powerlessness workers - denied any possibility for monitoring the actions of the regime — been so clear. In seeking to control a proliferating bureaucracy but also control the masses, to fight against corruption without changing the political mechanisms that have engendered it (the single party, rejection of political pluralism, encouragement of "yes men"), Fidel Castro is trying to square a circle.
The threat of exemplary execution even of the most corrupt officials is only a confession of weakness. To solve the contradictions he faces, the leader maximo up until now has been able to count on his pres in a his has come an ending. indi-
Janette Habel SOUTH AFRICA Upington 26 resolution A DRAFT resolution has been launched by the Upington Support Committee, which was formed to assist 26 people given savage sentences on the basis of a vague charge of association (see /Vs 165 & 166). The committee is calling on organizations Africa to adopt it. The text is as fol-
The Upington 26 trial was the result of protests by the inhabitants of Paballelo,
Upington, in November 1985 against the high rents, inadequate housing, education, lack of jobs, low wages, social injustices, racial victimization and high-handed action of the "authorities"
A peaceful protest meeting was broken up by teargas. This led to the police shooting and the death of a pregnant woman, Miriam Blaauw, who was on her way home from the shop after buying bread and milk. This incensed the community a huge crowd was further angered after a policeman, "Jetta" Sethwala, shot an 11-year-old boy in the neck. He was set up and was found to have been killed by the butt of his own gun.
The use of the highly controversial docof "common extremely lengthy trial of the Upington 26 that finished in May 1989 led to 14 of the accused being sentenced to death, 6 to lengthy jail sentences, and the restriction and detention of many others. The "common purpose" doctrine has sinister implications in that anyone present at any event deemed illegal, whether a passer-by or otherwise, may be convicted. It has the effect of undermining and smashing any democratic protest or demonstration if an "illegal" common purpose can be found.
• We pledge our solidarity with the just and democratic demands of our fellow oppressed in Paballelo in their struggle
• We note that the case of the Upington 26 is not an isolated one: the Sharpeville 6, the Addo 4 and the Bisho 12 were all tried under the controversial doctrine of "common purpose"
• We call on all the oppressed and exploited to rally in support of the Upington 26 and to assist their families and dependents with financial, educational, material and moral support in their time of
• We demand the immediate and unconditional dropping of all charges and the release of the Upington 26, the Sharpeville 6, the Addo 4, Bisho 12 and all political prisoners and detainees.
• We demand an end to capital punish-
• We resolve to rally all sections of the oppressed around these demands and to fight for a democratic, non-racial society free of exploitation and oppression.
To get in touch with the support network in South Africa, contact: Upington 26, c/o The Rural Worker, SACHED, 5
Street, Mowbray 7700, South
000L
Scenes from the year 2000
The last elephant hudes in the last ram torest
Protests should be addressed to: John A. Thalacker, Warden, Iowa State Men's Reformatory, Anamosa, Iowa 52205. Copies to: Attorney General Thomas J. Miller, Hoover
State Office Building, Des Moines, Iowa 50319; Paul Grossheim, Director of the
Department of Corrections, Capitol Annex, 523 E. 12th St., Des Moines, Iowa 50309;
and the Mark Curtis Defense Committee, Box 1048, Des Moines, Iowa 50311. *
FRANCE Anti-imperialism? Ça ira! AN ESTIMATED 30,000 people marched through the centre of Paris on July 8 demanding the abolition of the third world debt, and an end to colonialism and apartheid in South Africa. The target of their indignation was the summit of the leaders of the world's seven richest coun tries that took place on July 14-15 in Paris, an event which many saw as an insult to the memory of the French Revolution.
The demonstration, supported by a wide range of organizations and individuals (see /V 166), represented a massive united mobilization against imperialism. The largest contingent on the march — over 5,000 people — was that of the Ligue communiste révolutionnaire (LCR, French section of the Fourth International) and its sister youth organization, the JCR. In the evening around 200,000 people enjoyed a free concert at the Place de la Bastille. The following day militants met to discuss and hear speakers on the three themes of the protest, among them Portugal's Otelo de Carvalho.
The spontaneous enthusiasm of the march and concert were a welcome contrast to the pompous and elitist official celebrations of the bicentenary of the French Revolution which took place the following weekend.The mobilization was widely discussed in the French media and stirred debate in the ranks of France's ruling Socialist Party. French President Mitterrand was reportedly angered by this challenge to his pose as a friend of the
At the end of the weekend well-known French writer Gilles Perrault announced the launch of an international appeal aimed at bringing together "the vast movement on every continent in favour of the cancellation of the debt". *
AROUND THE WORLD
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