NICARAGUA The peace camp - an important act of solidarity An important act of solidarity with the struggle of the Nicaraguan people was undertaken in Managua between July 15 and 23 in the face of a mounting imperialist offensive. peace camp was organised by the Nicaraguan Committee for Solidarity with All Peoples (CNSP) and drew together 600 people from 27 countries. The delegations present basically represented solidarity committees and brigades from Europe, Latin America and North America.
There were also delegations from other political organisations such as the JCR (Revolutionary Communist Youth -France) who had been expressly invited by the Sandinista Youth. They were representing all the organisations in po. litical solidarity with the Fourth International, which had organised a European tour for the Sandinista Youth in May and June this year.
On this occasion the JCR had several discussions with the leadership of the Sandinista Youth and replaced some important photographic equipment for their journal, Mucha-
The participants in the camp were able to attend chos. several talks and meetings with leaders of the FSLN, most notably with Tomas Borge and Sergio Ramirez. The closing speech to the camp was made by Comandante Dora Maria Tellez who spelt out for everyone the relationship between today's liberated Nicaragua and the future, post-capitalist era which is the historic destiny of humanity. She explained how the Sandinistas draw on previous revolutionary experiences and try to avoid making the same errors.
During the summer, several different solidarity committees who had come to Nicaragua to help with the reconstruction were able to meet each other. Nearly one thousand true internationalists gave up their holiday time to the Nicaraguan people and helped, in their own way, to consolidate the gains of the revolution, that is the schools, the heath centres, the cooperatives, etc.
The work brigades brought invaluable help just at a time when the whole country had to be mobilised to support those at the front in the war against imperialist aggression. The contras understood this very well. That is why, on July 18, they chose to attack one of these brigades, deliberately, seeking to kill and to discourage international supporters and smash the concrete links that have been made in solidarity with Nicaragua. An activist of the French solidarity movement, who is also a member of the JCR, was wounded in this attack along with three Telcor (Nicaraguan Telephone Company) workers.
The attack was condemned unanimously by the participants in the peace camp, and in a communique issued by all the French organisations present (MJS, JCR, MJCF, CSN (1)). strengthened the fraternal links which have bound us to- *Far from, intimidating us, this attack has further gether in the last fifteen days of work. We are more determined than ever to return to Nicaragua and to explain to the French people the work that has been carried out and to tell the truth about the daily aggression to which the people are subjected and about the methods of the contras who purport
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Free Rafael Taveras and his comrades *Rafael Taveras, known as Fafa, leader of the Frente Izquierda Dominicana (FID, Dominican Left Front) and the general secretary of the Bloque Socialista (BS, Socialist Bloc) was arrested on the evening of August 29, at the door of his
[Five other leaders of the Dominican left were! arrested several hours later.]
"Three days previously the military high command of the country had accused the left of conspiring together against the security of the state, and having received funds from Libya and North Korea for this purpose. These serious accusations, totally unfounded as they are, put into danger the life of the revolutionary leader Fafa Taveras, and mark wave of repression against leaders of the popular movement.
which has already brought about, on April 22,23, and 24, more than 100 deaths, 500 wounded and 4,000 imprisonments, remains the only official response to the rise in popular protestations against the starvation policy imposed by the government on the recom mendation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
"Given the seriousness of the charges made by the government, we call on world public opinion to demand that Fafa Taveras be set free and human rights be respected in the Dominican Republic.
"The representatives of the FID and BS in Europe call on democratic organisations and defenders of human rights, and ask for protest telegrams to be sent to the president of the Dominican Republic, Salvador Jorge Blanco, demanding the freeing of comrade Taveras.'
FID Delegation in France BS Delegation in Europe Paris, August 30, 1984. Send telegrams to: Salvador Jorge Blanco, President of the Republic, Palacio Nacional, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Send a copy to: Periodico La Noticia, Julio Vernes 14, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic to be the defenders of liberty and democracy. This was the response of the brigade which was attacked. This is the response which must be given to all acts of aggression against Nicaragua. Solidarity must be strengthened and the mobilisation against US imperialism must be built. *1. MJS and the MJCF are the youth organisations of the Socialist Party and the Communist Party in France respectively. The CSN is the Nicaragua Solidarity Committee.