• AUSTRALIA $2.00 • BELGIUM BF60 • CANADA $2.00 • FRANCE FF1 0 • ICELAND Kr150 ...... • NEW ZEALAND $2.50 • SWEDEN Kr12 • UK £1.00 • U.S. $1.50 An Jnterviel¥ l¥i-h.Ct.JbB.11 a.rig. ···.·Gen~ dose.•Ramo.nCaribbean produced that it needs to resume production nation and U.S. colony. of its most profitable models. A coalition of about 50 trade The stakes in this labor battle are high. unions organized the island-wide GM "needs to cut more than 50,000 U.S. strike, involving hundreds of thou­ hourly positions - or 22 percent of the sands of workers, to support strik­ workforce - to become as competitive as ing telephone workers in their its rivals, even though it has already shed fight to oppose the sale of the 64,000 jobs since 1992, according to people state-owned Puerto Rico Tele­ close to GM," said a major article in the July phone Co. to a private consortium 7 Wall Street Journal. This is typical of cov­ led by U.S. telecommunications erage in the big-business press these days. giant GTE. "GM officials say they can't agree to any They also protested the accord that would block the company's ef­ government's plans to sell other forts to increase productivity and reduce the state-owned enterprises to capital­ Militant/Martin Koppel number of workers plant by plant," the Jour­ istinvestors. · · Some 1,000 unionists picket the airport, shutting it down the first morning of general strike. nal continued. It was the first strike of this Strikers and others in this city, who have magnitude in Puerto Rico since the 1930s. seen GM's downsizing for well over a de­ Besides affecting air traffic at both the in­ Rallies_ in U.S. support Puerto Rico strike cade, are responding with anger and acts of ternational and commuter airports in this solidarity. UAW Local 651, with 5,800 Demonskations in support of th~­ Camdetl.:New Jersey, outside the offices of city, unionists paralyzed the docks, city members on strike at the DelphrE~t com­ buses, a few factories, banks, major shop­ eral strike in Puerto Rico took place in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rican here. plex, is selling a cap declaring "One day ping centers, university campuses, and gov­ cities across the United States July 7. Luis Senabria, leader of the Committee longer." Vehicles around this city of 134,000 to defend Puerto Rican Prisoners of War and ernment offices. Picket lines went up sport bright yellow and white UAW flags. PHILADELPHIA- "Don't sell Puerto Political Prisoners, urged everyone present throughout San Juan and other cities. Numerous local merchants have signs in The largest contingent of the strikers Rico! Puerto Rico no se vende!" chanted to attend the July 25th march on Washing- some 40 protesters from Philadelphia and their parking lots declaring "We support the Continued on Page 3 Continued on Page 4 Continued on Page 13 Watsonville: Hundreds protest anti­ Anheuser­ union thug assault on farmworkers Busch BY NORTON SANDLER Hernandez told the Militant what happened. picking," Hernandez explained. "We looked WATSONVILLE, California-A gang "We gathered as we usually do in the over and a group of 20 contras were com­ workers vote of antiunion thugs attacked supporters of the morning but the foreman was not around. ing." Contras is the term UFW backers use • United Farm Workers as they were working Then a main supervisor came over and told to describe antiunion thugs. at Coastal Berry's Silliman strawberry ranch us to start working at 7:30. The time came Some of the contras work in the fields, · again on here on July 1, injuring three workers. to start working and the puncher gave us "but there were also truckers and stackers," At a UFW rally of 300 the next day pro­ our cards [to record the quantity of berries Continued on Page 14 contract testing the attack, union supporter Noel picked]. We grabbed the boxes and started BY RAY PARSONS AND ALYSON KENNEDY 'Protest attack ST. LOUIS - Eight thousand members .. JoinfheJuly 25 9ctipns .to clemariq:: >·.·...... ··•· ·.·.•···. •····•········• .. ···•····· .····•••·•• •.••·.. · .. ··• ....•.. ···.•·••· of the International Brotherhood of Team­ on Houston sters (IBT) are taking a second contract vote .· ~ .....•• ..... •... .•.,.,._.,, .. , ,., ••, ,.,,,, at 12 Anheuser-Busch breweries across the abortion clinics' United States. Their last contract with the lr•• •IIi fit, .p,llfl~al . .· . company expired March 1. BY JERRY FREIWIRTH During voting in April, IBT members re­ HOUSTON- Three women's clinics jected a nearly identical offer by 78 percent. here that perform abortions were attacked The pact demands sweeping changes: allow­ early on July 8 by the release of a highly ing the company to impose mandatory over­ noxious chemical. This follows four simi­ time, gut the use of seniority in job bidding, lar attacks last weekend in New Orleans, use more part-time and temporary workers, according to Judy Reiner, a spokesperson eliminate jobs considered "non-core" in the for Houston Planned Parenthood, which is production of beer, and cut vacation ben­ one of the largest providers of abortion and efits and increase the probation period for reproductive services in the area. The chemi­ new hires. "Busch wants to go back to the cal, presumably released by an opponent of 1930s. He wants to control our families for the right to choose abortion, was identified profit," said Ray Budding, a Teamster with as butyric acid. It made several people ill. 24 years at the flagship plant in St. Louis. The Socialist Workers candidate for Texas "I'm not going to let him!" governor, Laura Garza, denounced the at­ August A. Busch III is chairman of the tacks, saying, "This isan attack on the rights board and president of Anheuser-Busch of all working people. The right to abortion Companies, Inc. The company, maker of is vital if women are to be full and equal Budweiser beer, reaped profits of $1.3 bil­ members of society." Garza called for broad lion in 1997 on sales capturing 45 percent public protests of the clinic attacks. Continued on Page 13 Pittsburgh Young Socialists recruit, build conference- page 4 S. Korea: auto workers strike tal, and in other towns were at­ Closing down four auto plants, some tacked by police. At one demon­ 26,000 workers at Hyundai, south Korea's stration a student was killed by the 1,000 rally to back Philadelphia transit strikers cops. largest auto maker, began a 48-hour strike "Being able to stay out for tbe long May 6. Workers there are demanding that haul is key," Transport Workers the company cancels its plan to lay off sev­ 1,500 protest racist killing in British Columbia Union (TWU) striker Johnny Carter eral thousand workers, which the bosses say told the Militant. One thousand. is needed because of the economic crisis in Some 1,500 people of all ages workers rallied here July 7 in sup­ the region. and nationalities marched in the port of the TWU workers. The strike Vancouver suburb of Surrey June has shut down bus, trolley, and sub­ Seoul pledges to free prisoners 28 to protest the killing of Sikh way service for 435,000 passengers The south Korean government announced temple caretaker Nirmal Singh Gill by the Southeastern Pennsylvania July 1 that it would release a large number and other racist attacks. Five skin­ Transport Authority (SEPTA). At of the 500 political prisoners it holds, with­ head members of a group called the event unionists cheered for work­ out the requirement that they renounce their White Power have been charged ers in Puerto Rico out on strike in political views, the New York Times reported. with killing Gill. A coalition of solidarity with the telephone work­ The prisoners are to be released by August about 50 organizations that make ers. Talks resumed later that day but 15, the 50th anniversary of the ousting of up the Communities Against Rac­ with "no progress." The TWU rally the Japanese occupation force from Korea. ism and Extremism (CARE), called and the announcement of a food Woo Yong Gak, who has spent nearly 40 the rally. The Royal Canadian bank were initiated in response to a years in solitary confinement, may be freed Mounted Police demanded the coa­ ferocious campaign launched in the amnesty. Seventy-four other political lition pay $17,000 for police "pro­ against the union by the big-business prisoners who were released in March were tection" at the protest. CARE re­ media and politicians. Strikers ap­ forced to sign letters renouncing support for fused to pay, and won support from pear unfazed by SEPTA's intransi­ communism and the Democratic People's local unions, community organiza­ gence and the possibility this may Republic of Korea. tions, and several other groups. force the strike to last even longer. The freed prisoners will still be subject Striker Larry Spann, a bus opera­ to Seoul's "security law." This legislation, 'Free Leonard Peltier!' tor for 20 years, said, "It's the same often used against trade unionists, bars such Several hundred people, many of at General Motors, if they lose, ev­ activities as listening to north Korean radio them young, rallied at the Ellipse, ery auto union's going to go down." broadcasts or distributing communist litera­ behind the White House, June 27 Donations can be dropped off at ture. Seo Joon Shik, a former political pris­ to demand freedom for imprisoned 2233 Spring Garden Street from oner, said, according to the Times, that Seoul Native American activist Leonard 5:00a.m. to midnight. For more in­ is trying to use the release to divert atten­ Peltier. Peltier was framed-up for Militant/Pete Seidman formation, call: (215) 972-4140. tion from the economic depression engulf­ the June 26, 1975, shoot-out be- ing the country. South Korea has been mired tween the FBI and the American by record rates of bankruptcy, bank closures, Indian Movement (AIM) at the Pine Ridge Venezuela workers demand raises one the most overtly pro-capitalist politi­ and unemployment, which is rising at an Indian Reservation, in which two federal Petrochemical workers in Venezuela be­ cians among Albanians who support self­ average of 8,000 people per day. agents and an Indian man were killed. At gan an indefinite strike July 3, demanding determination. Peltier's May 4, 1998, parole hearing, he was higher pay in face of inflation that is ex­ "Rugova himself is going to continue to Indonesian police attack told he will not receive another parole hear­ pected to total between 30 and 40 percent seek a broader base for his goal, which is a West Papua activists ing until2008, despite the fact that the gov­ this year. Court workers are also on strike, negotiated peaceful settlement of the Kosova After demonstrators on Biak Island, 2,000 ernment admits it has no evidence Peltier and public-sector doctors walked off the job problem," said Holbrooke while in Pristina miles east of Jakarta, refused to lower the shot the agents. Among the many speakers for 72 hours in early July. Teachers are also July 5, prior to leaving for Belgrade for a flag of the West Papua Movement, cops be­ at the rally were Steve Robideau of the threatening a work stoppage. meeting with Yugoslav president Slobodan gan firing into the crowd with plastic bul­ Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, Pam Venezuelan officials claim they cannot Milosevic. The Kosova Liberation Army lets July 6. They injured 24 people and ar­ Africa of MOVE, former Attorney General meet the wage demands because of plum­ (KLA) has refused Holbrooke's proposals rested 180. The protesters are demanding Ramsey Clark, and Socialist Workers can­ meting world oil prices, and say workers so far and is pursuing its armed struggle for independence for West Papua, or Irian Jaya didate for D.C. city council chair, Brian should accept austerity during the economic independence. Richard Miles, the U.S. province, which was taken over by Indone­ Williams. The Leonard Peltier Defense crisis. The government is seeking some $800 charge d'affaires in Belgrade, said he and sian forces in 1963. It was previously a Committee can be contacted at P.O. Box million in new loans from the International other diplomats were trying to find out "who Dutch colony. Other protests over the pre­ 583, Lawrence, Kansas 66044. Phone (785) Development Bank and World Bank. Al­ can control the guys with the guns - the vious week in Jayapura, the provincial capi- 842-5774. E-mail: [email protected] ready 40 percent of the Venezuelan budget KLA." goes to pay the government's debt to the "The ethnic Albanian leadership is con­ imperialist banks. fronting this crisis of war and peace without any coherence," Holbrooke complained in Kosova: Washington tries to Pristina. Washington is pushing foi: negotia­ derail independence movement tions between Kosovar Albanians and Bel­ grade that could lead to the return of Richard Holbrooke, U.S. government spe­ Kosova's autonomy within Serbia. At the cial envoy to the Balkans and Clinton ad­ same time, the U.S. government opposes ministration nominee for U.S. ambassador independence and is pursuing deeper mili­ to the United Nations, has been shuttling tary intervention into the Balkans to bring between Belgrade and Pristina, Kosova's back the domination of capitalism to Alba­ capital, along with other U.S. officials and nia and Yugoslavia. Russian government representatives. -MEGAN ARNEY Holbrooke is pushing for acceptance by Al­ banians - who make up 90 percent of Ned Dmytryshyn in Vancouver, Pete Kosova 's 2.1 million people - of the po­ Seidman in Philadelphia, and Janice Lynn litical leadership of Ibrahim Rugova and his in Washington, D.C., contributed to this col­ Democratic League of Kosova. Rugova is umn.

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2 The Militant July 27,1998 Strike in Puerto Rico Continued from front page owned enterprises to capitalist investment blocking access to the international airport and ownership, with the accompanying lay­ was from the water and sanitation workers offs and assaults on unions. union UIA. They were joined by members In an interview at the union headquarters of the Union of Dock Employees (UDEM), the day before, Cruz also pointed to expres­ port authority employees (HEO), Teamsters, sions of international labor solidarity the the Independent Union of Airport Workers telephone strikers have received, "especially (UITA), the electrical workers union in places where they have had experiences UTIER, restaurant workers, airport fire­ with privatizations such as Europe." The fighters, and other unions. union reports getting messages of solidarity Hundreds of pickets were young work­ from France, Britain, Denmark, Japan, and ers, many in their early 20s, who gave the Israel, among others. Cruz also pointed to protest a festive, even exuberant air. "And solidarity picket lines in several U.S. cities you thought the strike would never come - including New York, Tampa, and Dallas. well, the strike has now arrived!" the union­ Many workers taking part in the general ists sang over and over, to the accompani­ strike said they were protesting plans by the ment of tambourines and a trumpet. administration of Gov. Pedro Rossello to sell "Struggle yes, surrender no!" was a popu­ off other state-owned corporations. "If they lar chant. sell the telephone company, what's next? It In response, the government deployed might be the Water Authority," remarked Carmen Ramos Sanchez, a member of the Militant/Martfn Koppel 200 heavily armed riot cops to the scene, March in San Juan July 4 demanding release of political prisoners (see below). creating a tense standoff. Union officials water and sanitation workers union who was blocking the highway near the airport to­ eventually negotiated the withdrawal of the that has marked the struggle around the tele­ strike - They can go to hell." gether with hundreds of her co-workers. She cops, to cheers from the workers. Having phone strike. Her brief remarks brought Faced with the prospect of mass pickets, , added that her union's contract had expired disrupted air and highway traffic for four cheers in the crowd of several thousand all the branches of the Banco Popular shut hours, the unionists moved on to other in June and they were in negotiations that people when she evoked the figure of inde­ down during the strike, as did the Plaza Las could be affected by the outcome of the la­ picket sites in the city. pendence fighter Pedro Albizu Campos. Americas and several other major shopping bor battle over the phone company. 'We showed power of labor movement' Speaking next, HIETEL president Cruz malls. Workers at the malls' fast food res­ The government has already sold off some saluted Lebron for "having defended our taurants either joined the protest actions or "The general strike was a total success," hospitals, hotels, a shipping company, a said Ricardo Otero, 42, a splicer at the phone country in such an honorable manner." took the days off. Banco Popular was tar­ pineapple farm, and some prisons. Demonstrators responded with chants of geted because it is the junior partner in company and member of the Independent Other unionists pointed out that the eco­ "Puerto Rico cannot be sold -Puerto Rico GTE's majority bid for the telephone com­ Union of Telephone Workers (VIET), the nomic crisis was fueling working-class an­ must be defended!" pany. following day. "We showed the power of ger. While in Puerto Rico, as in the United During the two days of the general strike, In the city of Manatf and the San Juan the labor movement by shutting industries States, the economy is not yet in a down­ it was difficult to go a few blocks anywhere suburb of Carolina, telephone workers and and commerce. We dealt a blow to the gov­ tum in the business cycle, the official un­ in San Juan without running into union other unionists set up picket lines in front ernor and proved he [Rossello] can't ignore employment rate in this U.S. colony is picket lines or caravans of cars with drivers of pharmaceutical plants. United Auto the people's will by selling the telephone around 18 percent, and unofficial estimates and passengers waving Puerto Rican flags. Workers members at the Eli Lilly plant in company." range between 29 and 35 percent. Some Some of the biggest picket lines were at Manatf honored the picket lines, and the Otero was speaking to a Militant reporter towns, like Peiiuelas, Juncos, and Las the electrical company and Water Author­ Carolina plant was also disrupted for a while. at the closing rally at 1500 Roosevelt Av­ Piedras, have been hit by plant closures and ity. Both days, thousands of teachers massed Labor mobilizations took place at more enue, the phone company's headquarters, have even higher jobless rates. at the Department of Education starting at than a dozen cities around the island. The where pickets have been up since the strike Worker after worker on the picket lines 3:00a.m., preventing anyone from entering biggest were in Mayagiiez and Ponce. In began July 18. Some 6,400 telephone work­ and protest caravans offered a similar re­ or leaving. At one point, the cops provoked Mayagiiez, hundreds of dock workers, ers around the country, belonging to the sponse to the government's attempt to sell a scuffle when they tried to allow someone teachers, health-care workers, and telephone VIET and the Independent Brotherhood of the telephone company. "It's our national to cross the picket lines. Despite a deploy­ workers shut down the Medical Center. The Telephone Workers (HIETEL), are on strike. patrimony. The telephone company belongs ment of 14,000 cops, the actions around the airport there was also affected by the strike.' "We achieved our objective, which was to us," said Edgardo Lopez, 25, a Teamster country were disciplined and mostly peace­ As in San Juan, students and professors to paralyze the country," HIETEL president on one of the mass picket lines that shut Annie Cruz emphasized at a rally at the end ful. blocked the entrances to the University of down the docks July 8. Adding insult to in­ Several car caravans with workers from Puerto Rico. of the first day of the general strike. Whether jury is the widespread view that the phone different unions cruised through the city The picket lines, caravans, and especially or not the sale of the phone company is car­ company is being sold at a giveaway price, streets, converging in the afternoon at 1500 the rallies attracted thousands of high school ried out,:''We have unified the \lnion move­ as well as Rosselto's tefilsal to even discuss Roosevelt Avenue. "I was pleasantly sur­ and college youth. Many came with hand­ ment." She reported that half a million work­ the issue with the unions, despite the fact ers took part in the strike nationwide. prised that it wasn't only union members that painted signs, which expressed support for that majority of public opinion is decisively took part in the strike," said one telephone the strikers and making colorful remarks Noting the international attention the opposed to the sale. strike has won, Cruz added, "Throughout striker who asked that his name not be used about Rossello and his family. At the clos­ the world it has been shown that the Puerto Lolita Lebron cheered because he is also a member of the National ing rally in San Juan, the Federation of Pro­ Rican people like democracy but are not a At the July 8 labor rally capping the two­ Guard. "When our caravan passed through Independence University Students (FUPI) submissive people, and that here we are day general strike, the enthusiastic ovation the banking.district, bank employees came had a sizable contingent. waging a struggle against privatizations that that greeted Nationalist heroine Lolita Leb­ out to applaud us. The same thing happened A substantial number of the workers and has taken place in other countries." She was ron, who spent a quarter century in U.S. pris­ when we went by hospitals and other work­ students at the strike rallies expressed sup­ referring to working-class struggles in many ons for taking part in an armed attack on places." port for independence for Puerto Rico. Most other countries, from Brazil to France, U.S. Congress in 1954, captured the out­ One driver had painted on his car win­ pro-independence organizations were not against the bosses' efforts to open up state- pouring of nationalist pride and resistance dow, "Temporary worker- I'm joining the prominent at the actions. At the closing July 8 rally, however, speakers included Ruben Berrios, leader of the Puerto Rican Indepen­ dence Party, and Julio Muriente, president of the New Puerto Rican Independence Rally demands freedom for Puerto Rican Movement (NMIP). Virulent big-business propaganda political prisoners, ousting of U.S. military The government and big-business media responded to the massive working-class BY MARTIN KOPPEL erto Rican independence fighters, call for After the telephone workers strike devel­ outpouring with undisguised hatred. El AND VERONICA POSES the U.S. Navy to get out of the island of oped into the central political battle in this Nuevo Dfa and the San Juan Star ran crude SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico-A number of Vieques, and support the strike of 6,400 tele­ Caribbean nation today, the organizers of cartoons portraying strikers as monsters or political actions took place in Puerto Rico phone workers. the protest changed the site to San Juan to terrorists. The telephone company, the po­ July 4 to demand the release of jailed Pu- The same day, supporters of Gov. Pedro link up with the strikers. lice, and the ruling pro-statehood New Pro­ Rossell6 and the ruling New Progressive Che Paralitici of the Hostosiano National gressive Party bombarded the public with Party (PNP) rallied to advocate statehood Congress, Julio Muriente of the New Pu­ ads in the daily papers and radio stations for this U.S. colony and celebrate the U.S. erto Rican Independence Movement, and making sensationalistic claims about thou­ independence day. Ricardo Jordan, of the Committee to Save sands of alleged acts of sabotage against tele­ Several hundred people, mostly support­ and Develop Vieques, addressed the dem­ phone lines. The virulent campaign, how­ ers of independence for Puerto Rico, rallied onstrators. Paralitici noted that the U.S. ever, seems to have had little effect on work­ at the gates of Fort Buchanan here. Dozens Southern Command, previously based in ing people, many of whom feel insulted by carried bright orange pennants declaring Panama, is being transferred to Fort Bucha­ its coarse character. "It's time to bring them home," referring to nan despite opposition in Puerto Rico to the Supporters of Rossello were only able to the 15 Puerto Rican independence fighters massive U.S. military presence on the island. mobilize a rally of a few dozen government being held in U.S. jails for their political employees. A handful of supervisory per­ views. The demonstrators also protested the Fight against U.S. Navy in Vieques sonnel held a counterpicket at the Isla U.S. Navy occupation of the Puerto Rican Jordan, who is also a member of the Grande port complex, carrying a U.S. flag island of Vieques. UTIER electrical workers union, explained along with a Puerto Rican flag. One of the protesters, Estell Capote, 17, that the U.S. Navy occupies two-thirds of Meanwhile, leaders of the opposition expressed her outrage at the harassment of the land in Vieques, using it for target prac­ Popular Democratic Party (PPD) have independentistas by the U.S. political po­ tice and in the process ruining the livelihood sought over the last few days to intervene lice, which has railroaded the 15 fighters to of many fishermen. He pointed out that can­ in the labor actions. San Juan mayor and k¢. long prison terms. "In Puerto Rico people cer rates among Vieques residents are un­ PPD figure Sila Calderon issued a pre-strike are being persecuted for their ideas. For a usually high, a fact many attribute to Navy televised message expressing support for the ~··.·· century they [the U.S. government] have pollution of the area. telephone workers' demands against the sale tried to suppress us. But that's also been As the rally took place in San Juan, 25 of the state-owned company, although not enough time for people to wake up. The fishermen held a protest against the U.S. supporting the strike as the PPD mayors of struggle around the telephone company was Navy near the Roosevelt Roads base. They Ponce and Mayagiiez did. PPD president the straw that broke the camel's back." took their boats from Vieques and entered Anfbal Acevedo gave a militant speech at ··117~1~~;~.71"Xbrl<, N~~ 1oo()4. ·· ·.. ·· · ·· · .. ·. Originally the action had been planned restricted waters used by the U.S. military. the July 8 union rally, presenting himself as to take place in Ceiba, on the eastern coast, After the rally at Fort Buchanan, the dem­ a supporter of the strikers and calling for a near the Roosevelt Roads U.S. naval base. Continued on Page 14 referendum on the sale of the company. July 27, 1998 The Militant 3 YOUNG SOCIALISTS Two more Pathfinder books, prepared AROUND THE WORLD by volunteers, are coming off pres.es YS in Pittsburgh recruits and builds conference This column is written and edited by ence, Jacob Perasso, a member of the YS in the Young Socialists (YS), an interna­ San Francisco and Manuel Gonzalez, a col­ tional organization of young workers, lege student from Santa Cruz, California, students, and other youth fighting for have come to Pittsburgh a week early to join socialism. For more information about teams of socialists selling the Militant to coal the YS write to: Young Socialists, 1573 miners and other industrial workers in the N. Milwaukee, P.O. Box #478, Chicago, region. Ill. 60622. Tel: (773) 772-0551. The chapter has also been holding a Compuserve: 105162,605 weekly class series at the University of Pitts­ burgh where it is an official campus organi­ BY MARK GILSDORF zation. The classes, held on Thursday eve­ PITTSBURGH- Young Socialists here nings, have helped the chapter attract a new are gaining reinforcements this week in their layer of young people around the socialist efforts to build the upcoming Active Work­ movement and involve them in petitioning ers Conference being held in Pittsburgh July teams. Some of the readings used in the Militant photos by Jose Aravena (above, right); 11-12. Harry Suparto, a young worker from classes have included The Communist Mani­ Ruth Cheney (inset) Binding Sexism and Science by Evelyn Indonesia, recently joined the Pittsburgh festo by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, Reed at Pathfinder's print shop July 8 chapter. He has been actively building the Socialism on Trial by James P. Cannon, and (above). This was second title to be re­ conference through the petitioning effort to the interview with Cuban general Enrique place Socialist Workers candidate Dorothy Carreras that was printed in the International printed as a joint product of volunteers and the print shop. The book was put Kolis on the ballot for U.S. Congress in the Socialist Review as a supplement to the July 14th district. Asked what attracted him to 6 issue of the Militant. The next class the into electronic format by supporters of the communist movement. Peggy the YS, Harry responded that going to the chapter is planning is on the pamphlet Puer­ strike at MSI in Marietta, Ohio by steelwork­ to Rico: U.S. Colony in the Caribbean and Brundy (top, inset), for example, for­ matted the book. Brundy is a member ers; participating in an anti-Ku Klux Klan the recent coverage of the telephone work­ of the San Francisco Bay Area-based rally; and talking to coal miners at mine ers strike from the Militant, which the chap­ steering committee that organizes portals helped convince him to join. "I also ter will use as part of its efforts to help build liked the fact that the socialist movement a delegation from Pittsburgh to the July 25 nearly 140 volunteers around the world digitizing Pathfinder books. The cover supports independence for Puerto Rico and March on Washington for Puerto Rican in­ of Rosa Luxemburg Speaks -the third discusses other events from around the dependence. world, instead of just focusing on narrow book to be produced in this fashion us­ ing modern computer-to-plate tech­ local issues," said Harry. Mark Gilsdorf is a member ofUnited Steel­ As part of the effort to build the confer- niques- was printed July 8 (right). workers ofAmerica Locall42/3. The next day, volunteers completed for­ matting this title, the final stage of pre­ U.S. activists solidarize with paring the electronic files. Puerto Rico phone strikers Continued fron front page Socialist Workers campaign. Many of the ton, which will mark 100 years of resistance speakers expressed their solidarity with the to U.S. colonialism on the island. Angel strike by the Transport Workers Union here. Ortiz, member of th~ Philadelphia city coun­ Candace Wagner cil; Benjamin Ramos, a Pennsylvania state representative; and Mario Africa of the MOVE organization spoke along with oth­ SAN FRANCISCO- More than 100 ers. Pete Seidman gave greetings from the workers, activists and students gathered on July 7 to support the general strike in Puer­ to Rico. The picket line was held outside Renewal drive July 8- August 4 the GTE Telecommunications Office and was organized by Comite '98 of California, Help win long-term readers a national coalition that is organizing events to the socialist press around the lOOth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and Militant PM the Philippines. Protesters carried large Goal Goal Puerto Rican flags, and signs reading "Puer­ Australia 3 1 to Rico is not for sale!" and "Stop antiunion violence, from San Juan Puerto Rico, to Canada Watsonville, CA!" Unionists of the Hotel Montreal 4 3 Toronto 9 1 and Restaurant Employees Union, the Com­ Vancouver 12 1 munication Workers of America, and the Canada Total 25 5 Painters Union spoke at the picket line to support the striking workers in Puerto Rico. Iceland 3 Members of the League of Filipino Students and Accion and Boricua y Caribeiia spoke New Zealand about the importance of building the July Christchurch 6 Auckland 6 25th events in San Francisco. N.Z. Total 12 Samantha Kern

Sweden 4 MINNEAPOLIS - Sixty people rallied Socialists in Sweden protest United Kingdom in front of the Federal Building to support London 10 2 the general strike in Puerto Rico. Some of Manchester 3 the signs said "U.S. out of Puerto Rico." new attack on Pathfinder shop UK Total 13 2 Olivia Levens-Holden, 12, said she was there because " I believe in Puerto Rico, and BY CARL-ERIK ISACSSON out by a group of youth who left leaflets United States from the "National Youth," which calls it­ Atlanta 7 3 I want to be part ofthis, I am proud!" STOCKHOLM, Sweden - The Path­ Birmingham, AL 10 2 Peter Frase, 18, said he was there after finder bookstore here was attacked early in self a "Swedish patriotic youth organization" Boston 14 3 seeing a flyer. "I am here to show support the morning July 2. A big newspaper box and says it will continue to take action Chicago 14 6 and solidarity to the Puerto Rican strikers." was thrown through the display window and against "destructive and degenerate art." Cleveland 8 2 Javier Aravena landed on a shelf, destroying some books Birgitta Isacsson, the director of the Path­ Des Moines 8 4 and causing damage to the shelf. finder bookstore in Stockholm, issued a Detroit 10 2 This was the fourth such incident in less press statement immediately after the attack Houston 8 2 MIAMI BEACH- Fifty people gath­ than a year; the previous attacks on the book­ on the bookstore on July 2. She was quoted Los Angeles 20 8 store took place August 15, October 5, and in the Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet Miami 10 5 ered at Tap Tap, a Haitian restaurant, July 3 for an event building the July 25 march on January 11. The attack on October 5 was saying that she considers it a political at­ New York 30 15 tack. "These forces who want to suppress Newark, NJ 20 8 Washington to call for independence for observed by a witness who saw five skin­ the freedom of speech with violence must Philadelphia 8 Puerto Rico and demand the release of heads throwing stones through the window. not be allowed to have their way," she added. Pittsburgh 10 Puerto Rican political prisoners. Irving This time a witness saw two young men. Catharina Tirsen from the Pathfinder San Francisco 17 7 Forestier of the National Committee to Free The recent attack on the bookstore hap­ Seattle 13 3 Puerto Rican Prisoners of War and Political pens as other attacks on free speech have bookstore and Ernesto Oleinik of the Young Twin Cities, MN 13 2 Prisoners spoke alqng with Andres Gomez taken place in Stockholm and Sweden lately. Socialists, one of the organizations that use Washington, D.C. 9 3 the bookstore premises for political activi­ of the Antonio Maceo Brigade, an organi­ An art exhibition at the Historical Museum U.S. Total 229 77 zation of Cuban-Americans who support the in Stockholm that had been condemned by ties, were interviewed for half an hour about several prominent businessmen and politi­ the attack on the bookstore and freedom of lnt'l Total 289 86 Cuban revolution. Two Spanish-language TV stations interviewed activists there. cians as child pornography was attacked and speech by Radio Nueva America, a Span­ lnt'l Goal 275 85 ish-language radio in Stockholm, July 4. Rachele Fruit destroyed on July 1. This act was carried 4 The Militant July 27, 1998 7he Revolutionary Armed Forces are the people in uniform' Interview with Brigadier General Jose Ramon Fernandez of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba

A young military officer in Cuba in the 1950s, Jose revolution, as well as reform that would benefit the people. With Ramon Fernandez opposed the U.S.-backed dictator­ your responsibilities in the sole aim of personal enrichment, he ar­ ship of Fulgencio Batista imposed on Cuba through a building the new revo­ rogantly and intransigently held on to March 1952 military coup. Together with other mili­ lutionary army once power. As opposition grew, the regime be­ tary personnel, Fernandez worked to depose the hated the prior task of de­ carne crueler and more bloodthirsty. regime. In 1956 he was arrested and jailed in the infa­ stroying the old re­ After the electoral farce of 1954, which mous prison on the Isle of Pines (today the Isle of gime had been sought to legalize the position of Batista, Youth). Following the January 1959 revolutionary tri­ achieved. he was formally inaugurated as president umph led by the Rebel Army and July 26 Movement in early 1955.3 The small groups that had Fernandez: I was headed by Fidel Castro, Fernandez helped train Cuba's arisen spontaneously started to coalesce. On new Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR). In April imprisoned for three April4, 1956, a military movement, which 1961, working directly under Fidel Castro, he was the years during the the people referred to as "los puros" -"the field commander at Playa Giron, where the popular struggle against pure ones"- tried to topple Batista. It militias and the FAR defeated the U.S.-organized Bay Batista. I had been part failed and a large number of those involved of Pigs invasion force in 72 hours of combat. of a movement formed were sent to prison; others went into exile, Today Fernandez is a vice president of the executive in early 1956 by retired, left the army, or were transferred to committee of the Council of Ministers and a member young officers mainly distant commands. The measures taken of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of from the military against particular individuals depended on Cuba. No longer on active duty, he is a brigadier gen­ schools and the Ha­ the extent of one's supposed support to the vana garrison. We at­ eral of the FAR. Batista regime, or the degree of sympathy This interview with Fernandez was conducted in tempted to overthrow one allegedly had with the movement be-­ Havana, Cuba, on October 25, 1997, by Jack Barnes, Batista and restore the ing born. Mary-Alice Waters, and Martin Koppel. Barnes and bourgeois democracy When the revolution triumphed, I joined Waters were in Havana to participate in the October that had existed here. the Rebel Army with the same rank I held 21-23 international workshop on "Socialism as the 21st Although the scope of previously, first lieutenant. Since I was a Century Approaches," sponsored by the Communist the 1940 constitution Party of Cuba, and to cover that conference for the of the Republic of socialist newsweekly the Militant and Spanish-language Cuba was quite ad­ monthly Perspectiva Mundial. Barnes is national sec­ vanced it was never enforced, as you ret3:ry of file Sod~list Workers Party, and Waters is editor of the Marxist magazine New International. know. Granma Koppel is editor of Perspectiva Mundial. The March 10 mili­ Jose Ramon Fernandez was Interviews with two other veteran revolutionaries tary coup was pre­ the field commander of Cu­ and high-ranking officers of the FAR conducted by the pared and organized ban revolutionary forces that same reporters have appeared in recent issues of the by a group of active­ defeated U.S.-organized Bay Militant. An interview with Division General Nestor duty army and navy of Pigs invasion in April1961. Lopez Cuba was published in the June 22 issue. The officers neither whose At right, Cuban militia units July 6 issue featured an interview with Division Gen­ ideas nor records au­ head to the battlefield. Within eral Enrique Carreras. gured anything good 72 hours the invasion was for the country in any Copyright © 1998 by Pathfinder Press. Reprinted crushed. Above, Fernandez way.2 They were by permission. testifying at trial of merce­ joined by a large group naries captured there. Most of the 1,200 prisoners were released in December of retired officers who 1962 in exchange for medical goods supplied by Washington. Waters: The book Secretos de generales (Secrets of came from the post- generals) published here in Cuba this year is a valuable 1933 years when trained professional (and I say this with no vanity), I was portrait of a cross section of leaders of the Cuban revolu­ Batista was the strongman in Cuba, a disgraceful past. 1 given the task of helping to train the Rebel Army- more tion. The interviews have a real impact, especially on The coup was supported by some venal politicians with young workers and students who are attracted to the Cu­ than to train it actually, to help transform the Rebel Army ties to Batista and his theft and corruption in the previous and the Revolutionary Armed Forces in general.4 ban revolution and want to understand it better. It would epochs. be useful for our readers to know a little more about some The Rebel Army had a few thousand men who had After March 10, there were a good number of officers fought against the army of Batista's tyranny. Their num­ of the things you describe in that book - how you be­ who had not been able to prevent the coup, but did not came involved in the struggle against Batista before the bers had multiplied in the final days of December 1958 accept it nevertheless. Small groups of conspirators spon­ and continued multiplying in the first days of January, taneously began to develop. They were sometimes diverted attracted by the prestige and authority that the Rebel Army by the ebb and flow of promises that, from time to time, had achieved through the armed struggle, and by the revo­ 1 Secretos de generales comprises interviews by veteran Cu­ appeared to offer a political solution to the conditions lutionary honesty of the guerrilla leaders under the com­ ban journalist Luis Baez with 41 top military officers of Cuba's Batista's March 10 coup had created in the republic. mand of Fidel Castro. There was great hope that this army Revolutionary Armed Forces, including Fernandez. It was pub­ As time went on, it became clear that no political solu­ lished in 1996 by Si-Mar publishers in Havana. tion was possible, that Batista would enact no change or 2 On March l 0, 1952, Fulgencio Batista organized a military coup against the government of Carlos Prfo and canceled sched­ uled elections. Batista was a retired Cuban army general who had been strongman in successive governments in Cuba from 1934 - in the wake of a revolutionary upsurge that toppled dictator Gerardo Machado - until 1944. As the Cuban bour­ Secretos de getl~fl.~s geoisie and their Yankee patrons reconsolidated power follow­ ing the initial battles oflate 1933, Batista bought off most of the (SECRETS OF GBNEJlALS) insurgent political leaders, using repression against those who · ·· · By ~~lis JJ.t(,z resisted. Following the 1952 coup, with support from Washington Batista imposed a brutal military dictatorship that lasted until IJ,l this collection of 41 interviews~ top offic~rs Q~@~~'§ ~d January 1, 1959. On that date Batista fled the country as his forcet;teU _how tll~y joined tlle r~olutionazy fri9Y~f?ntto military and police forces crumbled in face of the victories won overthrow the U$.-backed dictatorship ofFulg~l1~9 B~ti$t~ in. by the advancing Rebel Army commanded by Fidel Castro and the growing popular support for the July 26 Movement, culmi­ .· t~ 1950s. They pi~s!)their ex~iences at"QW:ta the WQ~ld nating in a revolutionary general strike. spanniJ1g .~everal decad.~s as. t}ley fou~htalQl\~l~e.l,lati(?Pal 3 In November 1954 the Batista regime held an election to liberation movements in Africa, 1\~iC).~.and Latin America. This provide legal cover for the March 1952 coup. The only other candidate running, Ram6n Grau San Martin, whose candidacy Pis not atextboo}

July 27, 1998 The Militant 5 2/Internatlonal Soclallst Review JULY 1998

Fidel and Raul know, just as you do, that the pri­ mary force is the indi­ vidual human being - a will to fight, a love of country; a sense of honor and duty. To be deter­ mined to fight, a man or woman must be con­ vinced of why they're do­ ing so. In our case the people fight to defend a society where there is no racial discrimination; where the role of women has been expanded and continues to grow; where education - I would say an exemplary educa­ tion- is free and avail­ able to the entire people; where there is a public Gran rna Council of State Office of Historical Affairs Havana health care system that, Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista (holding cigar) "The Rebel Army in the Sierra Maestra set an example of truthfulness, of ~thical despite shortages, main­ flanked by Gen. Francisco Tabernilla (left), and conduct, o! respect for the integrity of prisoners." Above, Rebel Army combatants on tains a low infant mortal­ Adm. J. Rodriguez Calderon. · march dur1ng 1956-58 war to overthrow Batista's tyranny. ity rate and a high life ex- pectancy, and that treats and fights diseases in a way comparable to any developed would be both the guardian of the revolution and the base He is very methodical - very persistent in working con­ country. A country where there is social security that has of support for the gigantic task that lay ahead to transform tinuously on whatever is important for a given task. left no one destitute, in spite of the economic crisis. A the society and its political, economic, and social system; more just society, where those of us who shoulder respon­ to preserve our sovereignty; and to impose a code of honor 'War of the entire people' sibilities dress, eat, and work the same as the people as a and ethics in public affairs. All this, I repeat, gave the As you know, Fidel is commander in chief, a position whole, with great modesty; where there are no special food Rebel Army popularity, sympathy, and great prestige. he has held since the Sierra Maestra. 5 As president of the rations or other privileges. Many thousands of young people were attracted toward Council of State, he is also, by law, supreme commander A country with a democracy, where the entire people it, as well as others of all ages, and the revolution really of the armed forces. He lays out the strategic lines. The participate in making important decisions; where the en­ needed that. concept of the war of the entire people is Fidel's, for ex­ tire people participate, in the most direct way conceiv­ This was a very complex period. The Rebel Army, ful­ ample; it is the guiding philosophy of our armed forces able, in electing those who govern. filling the tasks that fell to it by law, was replacing Batista's today. We don't aim to crush an invasion, or an armed A country where we have defended our sovereignty, corrupt army of 80,000 men. It benefited from its reputa­ attack by whatever great power- I'm not mentioning where love of country and defense of the national flag are tion as a patriotic army defending the people, a reputation names - with our armed forces alone. Our armed forces paramount and where the first requirement is loyalty to it continues to consolidate. Both the Rebel Army and the are powerful, but all the people are needed to inflict such the country, loyalty to the socialist revolution. That is the people repudiated the army that had served Batista, an a defeat. A defeat like the one suffered by Joseph first requirement, one that cannot be replaced by anything Bonaparte's army in Spain.6 A fighting spirit like that of of a technical character. the Vietnamese. The aim is that the adversary, the invader, We live in a world where we deeply need these convic­ will see in each citizen an enemy who, through ambushes ••The entire people form a tions and practices in order to be able to fight and win. and continuous attacks, allows no respite; that each citi­ Part~cipating in a modest way in building the Rebel shield that makes the zen makes sure the invaders never feel safe. That's why ~y m the early years, as I did, coming to be vice min­ we say we are unconquerable. revolution invincible." Ister. of the armed forces with Raul under the leadership We can arm considerably more than one million of Fidel, has been the true fulfillment of my life; this is people - sufficiently trained and organized. The armed what has given it meaning. The fact that I was able to army that committed crimes and abuses right up to the forces have been reduced in numbers in recent years, with­ parti~ipate in the ru:med struggle in defense of the country fall of the tyranny. out sacrificing their combat capability. Our weapons are at Giron has contnbuted greatly to this personal fulfill­ At the beginning of the period immediately following in good condition and are adequately distributed and pro­ ment.7 the triumph of the revolution, there was not, in general, a tected. Training remains solid, and our reserves keep grow­ Finally, I can say that today the armed forces, at the clear and firm consciousness of the need for structures ing. Morale is high and we are determined to win, as Fidel head the people and under the leadership of our party, for discipline, for the norms indispensable to a and Raul have taught us. Men and women, the entire ?f modern~ constitute a formidable enemy for any adversary. We are day military force. The members of the Rebel Army - people, form a shield that makes the revolution invincible. not looking for war with anybody. But whoever attacks although excellent combatants who had been capable of us, if he doesn't die, will have to retreat after one, three, defeating the corrupt army of the Batista tyranny -needed 5 The Rebel Army conducted the 1956-58 revolutionary war five, ten years of fighting us, or our children, or our grand­ training along these lines. It was essential to organize and against the Batista regime from a base in the Sierra Maestra chil.dr~n. We .d~fend the sovereignty of the country and train these cadres in the handling of weapons, in tactics, mountains of eastern Cuba. socmhsm. This IS what we fight for. This is what we work in combat engineering, in communications, and in all those 6 Napoleon Bonaparte's brother Joseph was proclaimed king for unstintingly. specific areas of knowledge that are essential for any armed of Spain in 1808 following France's conquest of that country. A popular war of resistance within Spain laid the basis for the force. October 1962 'Missile Crisis' It was a very interesting, a very important process, in defeat of the French forces, who were finally driven out in 1813. In a series of articles on the Spanish revolution of 1854 written which Raul [Castro], minister of the armed forces since for the New York Daily Tribune, Karl Marx drew lessons from Barne~: Perhaps we could raise a question about the the early days, played a decisive role. He is a revolution­ the earlier peasant-based resistance to French occupation. See October Crisis.8 We are commemorating the thirty-fifth ary with a tremendous sense of organization, discipline, "Revolutionary Spain," in Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, Col­ anniversary of those days right now, and understanding and an understanding of the need for technical training. lected Works, vol. 13, esp. pp. 400-439. the lessons of that crisis is an important question for us in the United States. Fernandez: And a difficult one for me, since I did not participate in it directly. Barnes: Some of the previously classified documents Celebrating the Homecoming of Emesto Che Guevara's and tape recordings from the Kennedy administration that Reinforcement Brigade to Cuba have been released over the past few years give new evi­ ...... dence of what communists in the United States have al­ Articles from the 'Militant' newspaper on the 30th Anniversary of the ways explained to the American people about the Octo­ Combat Waged in Bolivia by Che and his comrades ber Crisis. What we said as youth - demonstrating against U.S. government war moves in the streets of Los Ange­ les, of Chicago, of Minneapolis, and elsewhere- has been

7 Gir6n is the name Cubans used to designate the April 1961 In Defense of Socialism battle during which Cuba's militia and its Revolutionary Armed Four Speeches on the 30th Forces defeated a U.S.-organized invasion by l ,500 Cuban mer­ cenaries. The counterrevolutionaries landed at the Bay of Pigs Anniversary of the Cuban Revolution on Cuba's southern coast on April 17 and planned to declare a FIDEL CASTRO provisional government to appeal for direct U.S. intervention. How Far We Slaves Have Come! Withi~ 72 hours, however, the invaders had been defeated; the South Africa and Cuba in Today's World Not only is economic and social last of them surrendered at Playa Gir6n (Giron Beach) on April NELSON MANDELA progress possible without the dog-eat­ '19. 8 FIDEL CASTRO dog competition of capitalism, Castro In the face of escalating preparations by Washington for an argues, but socialism remains the only invasion of Cuba in the spring and summer of 1962, the Cuban Speaking together in government signed a mutual defense agreement with the So­ Cuba in 1991 , Mandela way forward for humanity. Also dis­ viet Union. In October 1962 President Kennedy demanded the and Castro discuss the cusses Cuba's role in the struggle removal of Soviet nuclear missiles installed in Cuba following the signing of that pact. Washington ordered a naval blockade unique relationship and against the apartheid regime in south­ ern Africa. $13.95 of Cuba, stepped up its preparations to invade, and placed U.S. example of the struggles armed forces on nuclear alert. Cuban workers and farmers mo­ of the South African and bilized in the millions to defend the revolution. Following an Cuban peoples. Available FROM PATHFINDER exchange of communications between Washington and Mos­ cow, o~ October 28 Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev, without in English and Spanish. consultmg the Cuban government, announced his decision to $8.95 Available in bookstores, including those listed on page 12. remove the missiles.

6 The Militant July 27, 1998 JULY 1998 ISR/3

Granma Above: Cuban militia members during the October 1962 "missile" crisis. The Cuban people "prepare ourselves well for war, so we can win peace. If we didn't have the military power that we do, we would have been attacked." Right: Opponents of U.S. attacks on Cuba mobilize to protest Washington's war moves, November 26, 1960, at action sponsored by Fair Play for Cuba Committee at United Nations in New York. · Militant/Joseph Hansen confirmed. prepare ourselves well for war, so we can win peace. If have to be firm and intelligent in order to defend it. His­ As you know, the story as told by most of the capitalist we didn't have the military power that we do, we would tory will one day record that few statesman in the modem media and politicians in the United States is that [U.S. have been attacked. I have no doubt about that. Giron was epoch of humanity have had the talent, wisdom, courage, president John] Kennedy and [Soviet premier Nikita] an alert, but in more recent years there have been other and sense of the moment that Fidel has had in defending Khrushchev saved the world from nuclear war, in spite of warning signals. The danger- as attested to not only by the revolution. Cuba. We've always said no. It was Cuba, the Cuban attacks and sabotage but by systematic threats and a con­ For almost forty years we have been navigating along people, the FAR that saved the world from nuclear war. sistent pattern of hostile acts - has led us to maintain our the edge of a possible attack, firmly defending our sover­ Through their courage and determination, they made defense capacity in readiness and to continuously increase eignty, the revolution, and socialism. And we have main­ Kennedy understand there were limits to aggression be­ and improve it. tained a course that has proved capable of defending our yond which his administration would have had to pay too At the request of the legitimate government of Angola, principles while avoiding a war. great a price politically. Cuban forces fought against an invasion backed by sev­ There is a somewhat defiant billboard in front of the We have always explained that the Kennedy White eral capitalist powers that had penetrated more than one U.S. Interests Section, and it can be read a number of dif­ House had been stepping up plans to invade Cuba through­ thousand kilometers into Angolan territory.10 History will ferent ways.13 But I like to view it as saying what we truly out the entire period leading up to the crisis, and it ini­ one day recognize that in winning the liberation of Namibia feel: That we are not the least bit afraid of you. It shows tially seized on deployment of Soviet missiles in Cuba as and putting an end to apartheid, an important role was we are ready to fight. It should not be seen as a provoca­ the pretext to do so. But the documents that are now being played by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces - tion, but as a warning: Don't mess with us. We're small published show that when Kennedy asked the Joint Chiefs which fought in Angola alongside the armed forces of that but we know how to defend ourselves, and we will de­ of Staff for an estimate of the casualties that could be ex­ country, assisting those who had long struggled for such fend ourselves. We have the means to do so, we will de­ pected from an invasion of Cuba, they responded with the an outcome. We have to say that the decisive victories in fend ourselves, and we will win. figure of more than 18,000 dead and wounded American the air and on land were won by these troops. I like very much what Comrade Barnes says; I have the soldiers in just the first ten days! At that moment Kennedy, Our forces in Ethiopia, defending that country against same conviction. And I am convinced of something else. who was not a military dictator but simply a politician Somali intervention, did the same thing as in Angola. 11 It For Kennedy it was a political problem not to carry through with the invasion of Cuba in 1961- and I'm not refer­ ring just to Kennedy, who inherited the invasion from ••we don't aim to crush an invasion with our armed Eisenhower. It was a political problem because of what those invading forces of Cubans armed, trained, and or­ forces alone. Our armed forces are powerful. but all the ganized by the CIA represented and what they signified people are needed.'' in Congress and in different spheres of U.S. political life. It was evident that one sector of the government and the CIA supported the invasion, but it was also clear that an facing the American people under conditions of bourgeois was no accident that our armed forces were capable of democracy, began looking for other options. It was that fighting and defeating well-organized armies. We are con­ 13 The billboard, which faces the building that houses the estimate of the armed resistance U.S. forces would face in vinced of this and we deeply admire those internationalist U.S. diplomatic mission in Havana, says: "Imperialist gentle­ Cuba that made Kennedy begin looking to find a way out. combatants who fought in defense of the sovereignty of men, we are not the least bit afraid of you." You can now follow all the White House discussions, others .. day by day, hour by hour, in the transcripts of tape record­ We maintain a firm position, a principled position. We ings of meetings in Kennedy's offices. Even better, you do not lie, and we always fight and argue armed with the can listen to the tapes themselves at the John F. Kennedy truth. We keep our people informed.. This has been an Subscribe now! Library in Boston. You can hear the pauses, the inflec­ important factor. The Rebel Army in the Sierra Maestra tions that are sometimes more expressive than the words. set an example of truthfulness, of ethical conduct, of re­ Granma International We educate young fighters in the United States to un­ spect for the integrity of prisoners. Weekly news and com­ derstand that revolutionists must study the past in order to I remember when a U-2 was shot down during the Oc­ mentary from Cubit In­ 12 be prepared to act in all situations - and 1962 will not be tober Crisis. The U-2 was downed because the com­ cludes speeches by Fidel the last "October Crisis." Times are coming when the mander of the Soviet antiaircraft missile forces who was Castro and other Cuban working class will once again confront nuclear or other here, without waiting for instructions from Moscow, com­ leaders, and news and forms of blackmail from the capitalist exploiters and war plied with the order given to the Cuban antiaircraft batter­ features on steps being makers, and revolutionists must know how to stand firm ies, to fire on low-flying planes, and it shot down the U-2. taken by Cuba's workers and prevent the rulers from wreaking their destruction. U.S. planes began flying low over various military in­ When two small planes that took off from Miami were stallations and areas where our troops were positioned. and farmers to defend shot down over Cuban territory in February 1996, we ex­ They had been warned that "beginning in the morning we the socialist revolution. plained that this was not some new policy course.9 The will shoot at anything that flies overhead." When we One year, $40. Al5o decision had been made and announced to the world by started to shoot the flights stopped. available In Spani5h and Fidel many years earlier during the October Crisis. "You In other words, we must have right on our side, and we Freno h. cannot violate Cuba's sovereignty," the Cuban people and their leadership said. "We will stand." And it's very im­ Cuba Socialie;ta portant to demonstrate that resolve whenever the aggres­ Spanish-language journal of the Central Committee sors begin new probes. 10 In 1975 Cuban forces were sent to Angola, at the request of the newly independent government there, to defend that coun­ of the Communist Party of Cuba. Addresses many of That's how we try to educate workers and youth in the the issues confronting the Cuban revolution today, as United States about the October Crisis. We would appre­ try against a South African invasion. Between then and the de­ parture of the last Cuban troops in 1991, more than 300,000 well as topics under debate among revolutionary forces ciate any thoughts or opinions you have about it. Cuban volunteers fought there; 2,000 were killed. The decisive around the world. One year (4ie5ue5), $28. Fernandez: You have said something that is very true: moment came with the defeat of the South African army at the battle of Cuito Cuanavale in 1988. African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela said in 1991 that Cuba's role in defeat­ La Gaceta de Cuba ing the apartheid army constituted "a turning point in the struggle Journal in Spanish published 9 On February 24, 1996, three Cessna planes organized by to free the continent and our country from the scourge of apart­ six times a year by the Union the Florida-based counterrevolutionary organization Brothers heid." In Nelson Mandela and Fidel Castro, How Far We Slaves of Writers and Art!sts of Have Come! (Pathfinder, 1991), p. 20. to the Rescue were warned several times that they had violated Cuba. A forum for discussion Cuban air space. Having ignored these warnings, two of the 11 In 1977 Cuban troops were sent to Ethiopia, at the request planes were shot down, and four men on board were killed. of its government, to help train its forces to beat back a U.S.­ on culture, politics, and the Cuba had experienced ten other incursions of its air space within supported invasion by Somalia, which was seeking to turn back challenges facing the Cuban the previous twenty months, as well as flotillas organized by the revolution that toppled the regime of Emperor Haile Selassie revolution today. Brothers to the Rescue to violate Cuba's territorial waters. "We in 1974 and initiated a land reform that broke up the vast estates have confronted this provocation with great patience," the Cu­ of the ruling classes. One year i5 $40 ban government stated earlier in a July 1995 communique. "The 12 The high-flying U.S. U-2 spy plane was downed over Cuba Speoial student rate $28 responsibility for whatever happens will fall, exclusively, on on October 27, 1962. For more on this incident, see the inter­ those who encourage, plan, execute, or tolerate these acts of view with FAR Division General Enrique Carreras, in the Mili­ piracy." tant, July 6, 1998.

July 27, 1998 The Militant 7 4/lnternational Socialist Review JULY 1998

die. But unfortunately we have eligible voters in the United States. had thousands of deaths - in the Here some ballots are left blank and others are inten­ struggle against Batista; in the re­ tionally spoiled; in these elections it came to 7.2 percent pression by Batista's forces in the of the ballots cast. Some people, particularly those who streets of all the cities and in fields are very old, vote for two or three candidates when they're across Cuba and in the battles only supposed to vote for one, for example. Others inten­ waged by the Rebel Army against tionally vote against, that's clear. the tyranny. The vast majority of the people today support Fidel, Later we faced the fight against socialism, and what Fidel and socialism represent: sover­ the bandits.15 I'm sure no one in eignty, education, health care, social justice. There's no the United States would deny that doubt about that. these bandits were an artificial Some of you were here the day of Che 's funerai. 17 You creation of the CIA, children of saw how people lined the streets, in silence. It was truly the CIA. Just like the grouplets exemplary. There was sincere homage to a person who today in Cuba, some of whom gave his life for the ideals we are defending. It was an seek to present themselves as po­ incredible thing, as was the ceremony in Santa Clara, litical parties, often with five which was very moving and impressive. people. They receive financial Our adversaries must know this. I believe the CIA backing from the United States. knows it, the Pentagon knows it, and I also think Clinton Twenty-nine-member Cuban Council of State, of which Fernandez was a But those people don't represent knows it. member, reviews and confirms death sentence of Gen. Arnaldo Ochoa and anything in Cuba, they're alien to three other army and Ministry of the Interior officers convicted on charges the people. They are the represen­ Raul Castro and the FAR of trafficking in drugs and abuse of power in July 1989. Ochoa's acts "com­ tatives of a foreign power that Barnes: I'd like to ask you a question about Raul [Cas­ promised the integrity of the country's name," Fernandez stated. supports, pays, and maintains tro]. Raul is a special target of propaganda in the United them. States. Fidel the U.S. rulers tried especially hard to assas- invasion would have had a high political cost because of Let me make myself clear: I don't mean the number of casualties that the U.S. armed forces could by this that there are no discontented suffer. people in Cuba, or people who disagree But U.S. administrations often understand how bad wars with socialism. I'm aware there are- in are only when the bodies of dead soldiers start coming fact, there have to be. We have shortages, back and public opinion starts clamoring. Until the bod­ privations, difficulties. We run risks; there ies start arriving, war is not bad. It wasn't until body bags are dangers. There are people who are started arriving from Vietnam that [U.S. president] Lyndon more consumer-oriented, who would like Johnson began losing sleep, and others started thinking a more comfortable life, without struggles. that a solution had to be found. The same thing happened There are people who perhaps, consciously in Korea- we forget about Korea now, but the same thing or unconsciously, place a shirt, a pair of happened then. pants, or a car above the country's sover­ eignty or above social justice, and these people are clearly not enthusiastic about the revolution. That's one thing. But it's ''For almost forty years we something completely different for there have been navigating to be a sector of the population that has taken organizational form, or that can be along the edge of a given organizational form, that is repre­ possible attack, defending sented by grouplets such as I described. These are two different things. These our sovereignty." grouplets represent no one, not even them­ selves, in fact. What they represent per­ I'm sure the people of the United States would not re­ haps are those who pay them. Granma act the same way if the bodies were coming back from "There are 150,000 small farmers who have titles to their land in defending against an invasion of Los Angeles, Seattle, Popular support for revolution Cuba. Their land rights have been and continue to be respected." Boston, or any other city. But people know and under­ We have just held elections. 16 I am the Above, Cuban peasant receives title to his land following May 1959 stand when a war is unjust, when the U.S. government is deputy of a municipality in the interior of agrarian reform. fighting a war outside its territory for hegemony or to ad­ the country. So I can speak about this pro­ vance economic interests. cess from experience, since I have lived through it and sinate; now they just hope as a mortal he goes away some­ When I was in a museum in China, I saw on display a have close ties to my municipality. Ninety-seven point day soon. With Che, they hope to sell some Che T-shirts, statement by Gen. Mark Clark, who had been head of the six percent of the population voted in the elections held beer, and watches, and they pray that young people don't U.S. Fifth Army in Italy during World War II and later October 19. I believe Clinton was elected by about 50 get too interested politically. But they are always going served as commander of the troops in Korea. Following percent of 50 percent, by approximately 27 percent of the after Raul. He is bad, maybe even worse than Fidel. the Korean War, he made a statement that he had the sad I've always been very struck by this. I was in Cuba in honor to sign the peace after the first military defeat of the the summer of 1960 for several months, and I learned first­ United States. 14 15 In the early 1960s, small bands of counterrevolutionaries, hand the leadership standing Raul had earned in the Rebel The death of every single man hurts us; we take care of armed and financed by Washington, carried out sabotage and Army and during the first year and half of the new revolu­ every family and every person. We wish no one had to other operations against the revolution, primarily in the tionary government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces. Escambray mountains of south central Cuba. I think the U.S. rulers fear that continuity of the Cuban l6 Elections to the municipal assemblies of People's Power, revolution. They fear the integrity of the army and its close­ 14 Clark, who signed the armistice in July 1953 ending the Cuba's local government bodies, were held October 19, 1997, ness to the Cuban people. Korean War, wrote that he "had gained the unenviable distinc­ with a second round October 26 in districts where no candidate tion of being the first United States Army commander in his­ received more than 50 percent of the vote. Municipal elections During the trial of General Ochoa and the others anum­ tory to sign an armistice without victory." are held every two and a half years. ber of years ago, I remember seeing some television foot­ age from Cuba of the Military Court of Honor and of the review of the sentences by the Council of State. 18 One

17 CheGuevara's remains were found in Bolivia in July 1997, together with those of six other revolutionary combatants from Bolivia, Cuba, and Peru. All were killed in the course of the guerrilla campaign led by Guevara to topple the military dicta­ torship in Bolivia and link up with rising revolutionary struggles elsewhere in Latin America, especially in the Southern Cone. The remains of the seven combatants were brought back to Cuba, where hundreds of thousands of Cuban workers and youth mo­ bilized to pay tribute to their example and to express determi­ nation to remain true to that revolutionary course. At the Octo­ ber 17 funeral in Santa Clara, where the remains were buried, Cuban president Fidel Castro told participants that he viewed "Che and his men as reinforcements, as a detachment of invin­ cible combatants that this time includes not just Cubans. It in- . eludes Latin Americans who have come to fight at our side and to write new pages of history and glory." Castro's speech is available in the booklet Celebrating the Homecoming ofErnesto Che Guevara's Reinforcement Brigade to Cuba: Articles from the Militant newspaper on the 30th anniversary of the combat waged in Bolivia by Che and his comrades, distributed by Path­ finder Press. It was printed in the October 26, 1997, issue of Granma International. 18 In June-July 1989, four high-ranking officers of the Revo­ lutionary Armed Forces and Ministry of the Interior were tried, convicted, and sentenced to death for hostile acts against a for- · eign state, drug trafficking, and abuse of office. The most promi­ nent among them was Amaldo Ochoa, a division general in the Cuban army who had smuggled ivory and other goods while heading Cuba's mission in Angola and established contacts with Pablo Escobar and other major international drug dealers. At the same trial, ten other Cuban army and Ministry of the Inte­ rior officers were convicted and sentenced to prison terms rang­ ing from ten to thirty years.

8 The Militant July 27, 1998 J u LV 1998 ISR/5

look at Raul's face revealed the pain he felt because of Fermindez: Raul is a revolutionary with great human said is true: the armed forces are the people in uniform. what had happened in the Revolutionary Armed Forces, qualities, very strong principles, and firmness in the cause Raul is a man like any other. Forceful but extraordinar­ even if it was an isolated thing. Soon afterwards Furry we defend. He is a hard worker, organized, systematic, ily affable, he has a very Cuban personality; he communi­ [Gen. Abelardo Colome Ibarra] was named to head the and disciplined. He is very demanding in his work - cates very well with the people; loves children; is capable Ministry of the Interior, 19 and it seemed to us that the army above all of himself, and then of others. If Fidel was the was taking even more responsibility for the honor and the founder of the Rebel Army and the creator of its strategic 1 direction of the Cuban revolution. conception, Raul has been the one who implements. 9 Before being named minister of the interior, Army Corps Through his hard work and capacities over more than thirty General Abelardo Colome was deputy minister of defense and So we would like to get out a little more of the truth first substitute for the minister, Raul Castro. about Raul, whose place in the revolution is hidden from years, he has organized a solid Revolutionary Armed 20 Camilo Cienfuegos, a commander of the Rebel Army, was many, above all in the United States. And perhaps you Forces, politically firm, trained, and capable of defend­ named chief of staff following the victory over Batista in Janu­ could tell us how you view the responsibility of the armed ing the country, and above all, prepared to do so side by ary 1959. His plane was lost at sea in October 1959 while he forces in the march forward of the revolution, the honor side with the people, who are an integral part of it. The was returning to Havana from a mission to combat a counter­ and integrity of the FAR, and its internationalism. FAR is very closely tied to the people. What Camilo20 revolutionary mutiny in Camagiiey led by Hubert Matos.

6 We marched out of prison in perfect formation' BY MIKE TABER "I ordered them to open the cell doors. I An officer in the Cuban army prior to the had to issue threats," Fernandez says, revolution who graduated from the artillery "since there was determined opposition to school of the U.S. Army, Jose Ramon doing so. Fernandez opposed the 1952 coup that placed "Rapidly the battalion of political pris­ U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista in oners I had been training for months in­ power. In Secretos de generales, Fernandez side the cell block fell into rank and tells the story of how he became a revolu­ marched out of the prison in perfect for­ tionary. mation." Fernandez was part of an unsuccessful re­ Fernandez and Hart, at the head of the volt on April4, 1956, by army officers who July 26 Movement battalion, quickly took became known as "los puros" (the pure control of the Isle of Pines. Hart headed ones). "Among the officers in that group, I the island's civil authority, and Fernandez was the most radical," Fernandez says. "I became military commander. Forty-eight thought we had to arrest Batista and execute hours later, they were called to Havana. him for his responsibility in the killings of As for Barqufn, his ill-fated effort to hold thousands of people. I had proposed that we onto power collapsed January 2, when the needed to carry out an agrarian reform, purge Rebel Army columns of Camilo the armed forces, implement the 1940 con­ Cienfuegos and Che Guevara entered Ha­ stitution, and confiscate the goods stolen by vana. public officials. That's as far as I got at the time." For his participation in that revolt he Joining the Rebel Army was arrested and imprisoned by the Batista On January 12, 1959, Fernandez met Fi­ regime, remaining in jail on the Isle of Pines del Castro for the first time. Castro pro­ for the next three years. posed that he serve the Rebel Army as head Fernandez was assigned to Building 4, one of its school for cadets. Fernandez replied of several cylindrical cell blocks that made he wasn't sure he wanted to. up the Isle of Pines prison. More than 500 "'Do you have a job?'" Castro asked. political prisoners eventually were incarcer­ "'I told him I'd been offered a job as ated in Building 4, the vast majority of them manager of a sugar mill. He went on to ask members of the July 26 Movement, the or­ me: 'How much does it pay?' ganization led by Fidel Castro. Through these revolutionists, Fernandez recalls, "I became familiar with the real objectives of the Photos by lee Lockwood struggle. I got a clearer understanding not January 1, 1959. Just-released political prisoners in Havana - simply of the justice of the cause- which I some of them still in white prison uniforms - arm themselves already believed in - but of the determina­ to help crush resistance by Batista supporters, forestall U.S. tion, firmness, ability, capacity for struggle, maneuvers, and bring the Rebel Army and July 26 Movement and will to win of that improvised army that to power. was meting out lesson after lesson to the army of the tyranny, as well as to the supposedly more ca­ tripod at the entrance of the prison building, all the while pable officers who were leading it." telling the prisoners to remain calm, that they would The members of the July 26 Movement designated soon be pardoned. Their noisy indignation "had no ef­ Fernandez as head of Building 4. For more than a year fect on Viera, but it did have an impact on some of the he also acted as military instructor to the revolutionary soldiers accompanying him, who were in favor of open­ prisoners, who organized their own battalion within ing the prison doors. Viera de la Rosa took them out­ side and severely upbraided them." Meanwhile, Washington was directing a frantic ef­ fort to forestall the victory of the Rebel Army and main­ tain the old regime in Cuba, only without Batista. A key player in the U.S. rulers' plans was Col. Ramon Barqufn. Barqufn had been the central leader of the 1956 "los puros" conspiracy, and he was imprisoned on the "I told him I ,000 pesos. Isle of Pines along with Fernandez. Once it became clear " 'I don't know if I could pay you that much.' to the U.S. government that none of Batista's associates "I continued arguing. Fidel began pacing the small were acceptable to the Cuban people to head the military, room. Suddenly he stopped and said: Barqufn - a former military attache to Washington -be­ "'I think you're right. You go off to the sugar mill. came the Yankees' choice. On January 1 Barqufn was re­ I'll go off to write a book. And let the revolution go to leased from prison and flown to Havana, where he took hell!' prison, which was closed command of the main military base, Camp Columbia. "That very day," Fernandez says, "I became director after the revolution. Renamed the Isle of Youth, Later that same day Barqufn flew back to the Isle of of the school for cadets." the island became a center for young people Pines. No longer a prisoner, he was now the leader of a Two years later, in the early morning of April 17, from around the world studying in Cuba. U.S.-sponsored attempt to derail the revolution. Barqufn 1961, Fernandez was called on by Fidel Castro to be "proposed to name an officer he trusted among the pris­ the chief field commander of the Cuban militias and the prison - training they would put to good use on oners to take control of the Isle of Pines garrison," regular forces combating the U.S.-organized Bay of Pigs January 1, 1959. Fernandez says. But the maneuver was flatly rejected by invasion. Working under Castro's command, Fernandez On that day Batista fled Cuba in face of the advanc­ the July 26 Movement as well as some of the officers, directed operations until the mercenary army was ing Rebel Army, whose victories had unleashed a revo­ including Fernandez. crushed, within 72 hours. lutionary rising and general strike across Cuba. That's when Armando Hart, the ranking July 26 Move­ "I went to Giron with enthusiasm not merely because ment leader in the prison, "came to see me in my cell," I would be defending a just cause and confronting a Revolution in the prison recalls Fernandez. Hart "asked if I was prepared to take powerful enemy. In addition, in my own case it was a As soon as the prisoners figured out from the unusual charge of the Isle of Pines on behalf ofthe July 26 Move­ long-sought opportunity to fulfill a personal goal. broadcasts they were receiving on their carefully con­ ment and the revolution. I said yes." "It's true that I had rebelled, gone into opposition, cealed transistor radio that something extraordinary was As the former warden and his deputy exited the prison and broken with the Batista regime, and we shouldn't happening, Fernandez and another prisoner, Enrique compound, Fernandez and another officer went to the gar­ underestimate what that meant in those days," Borbonet- also a former officer in the Cuban army­ rison. "I spoke with the soldiers in a clear and energetic Fernandez says. "But unlike the compaiieros who had demanded to see the warden, Maj. Carlos Viera de la voice," he says. "I told them there would be no persecu­ fought in the Sierra, and those who operated clandes­ Rosa. A few minutes later Viera came. "Amid general­ tion of anyone who hadn't committed crimes, and I or­ tinely in the cities day in and day out, I hadn't had the ized tumult in the cell block," Fernandez says, "we ve­ dered them to stack their weapons up in the gun racks." opportunity to put my life on the line to demonstrate hemently demanded that he let us out, since we knew Together with an escort of four or five sympathetic sol­ the justice of the ideas I held. Batista had fled." Instead Viera said he had to go to Ha­ diers, Fernandez then went to the cell block itself. With "At Giron I participated with my own hands in de­ vana, a short plane ride away, to get more news. the aid of the machine gun that had been placed in front of fense of the revolution and socialism. It strengthened When the warden returned a few hours later, he re­ the entrance, Fernandez-who had rapidly donned a first my conviction that my destiny would be forever linked inforced the guard, placing a well-aimed machine gun lieutenant's uniform- confronted the surprised guards. to that of this heroic people."

July 27, 1998 The Militant 9 6/lnternaUonalSociaHstRewew JULY1998

It's important for revolutionaries in the United States to learn about this. Many of us spent time in Nicaragua, and we closely fol­ lowed the Nicaraguan revolution. We watched with concern as we saw methods be­ ing used there to defeat the U.S.-organized counterrevolutionary forces evolve in a man­ ner that finally compromised the Sandinistas' ability to win the political battle in the coun­ tryside. For that reason, among others, the question of the Escambray is very important for workers and youth who try to draw les­ sons from the Cuban revolution. Fernandez: I only participated in the Escambray on two occasions. Each time it was for one week, commanding some spe­ cial unit that had been called up to fight there. But the battalions under my command that were training in Havana, at least those from the militias, were the principal forces in the mission to eliminate the bandits in the Escambray. The fight in the Escambray was conducted mainly by the militia units. The Escambray was an artificial situation created by U.S. agencies in late 1960 and early 1961 to promote subversion in Cuba. One of its aims was to provoke general uprisings and convert them into a force that would coincide in time and place and would cooperate with the invading brigade that landed at Playa Giron, which was initially scheduled to land at Trinidad. Pardon me for a second. [Fernandez goes to get a map.] This is a tourist map of Cuba- the country is 1,200 kilometers [744 miles] from east to west, 100 kilome­ ters [62 miles] from north to south, on average. Here is Trinidad, where the Giron landing was originally go­ Top: Pathfinder ing to be. Kennedy was against it, since it's next to a Map of Cuba, top, with inset detailing area of 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion. city and was going to be too much of a scandal. That's For Washington, "promoting counterrevolutionary groups in the Escambray part of history; it's in all the books. was part of preparation for the invasion and was timed to coincide with Instead, the landing took place here, [pointing to the the landing," Fernandez explained, pointing to map of the island. map] at Playa Giron in the Bay of Pigs. And the Escambray [pointing] is here. In other words, promot­ of telling stories, making jokes, and enjoying them. He'll command, with some variation, through law, through es­ ing counterrevolutionary groups in the Escambray was chat with somebody, then go to another person's house, tablished norms based exclusively on hierarchy and rank. part of the preparation for the invasion and was timed to and then go do something else. Young people like Raul A socialist army, our army, also uses norms and requires coincide precisely with the landing. The Escambray was very much. When he shows up at a youth event he sparks obedience. But discipline is achieved through conscious to serve as a base of support, creating a zone that could be a true show of enthusiasm. methods, and the commanding officers derive their au­ dominated by the invading brigade and by enemy forces Raul is very sincere in what he says, and he has a deep thority from the consent of their subordinates; they earn in general. The invasion force left from here [pointing to sensibility in dealing with others. He has many friends, that authority every day by their ability, work, and ex­ the map] - from Nicaragua. They had trained in Guate­ and he knows how to be a friend, a father, a comrade, and ample. mala. Then they moved over to Puerto Cabezas on a firm and demanding political and military leader. And In this army nobody can give orders who is· not re­ Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast, and from there they were origi­ he has the talent and ability for the positions he holds, and spected, who does not have the approval of one's subordi­ nally going to come to this place, to Trinidad. for any others he might take on. nates. Command, clearly, isn't conferred by elections, but The CIA created those groups with the support of Cu­ I am sure, as you said, that Raul was deeply shaken by it's essential to have the consent and approval of one's ban agents. The Florida station of the CIA was at that the Ochoa affair, above all, as well as by what happened subordinates. The army requires very strict discipline; there time the largest in the world- that's a recorded fact in in the Ministry of Interior. This was something unexpected. can be no concessions on that. But it must be very just, the CIA's own books, not in our imagination. Many Cu­ Human beings can fail, and that's what happened with very humane, and maintain the highest moral values. bans who had abandoned the country joined the merce­ Ochoa. He lost his way, made a profound mistake, con­ There have been tremendous abuses in other armies we nary force: many former officers of the old army; sons of ducted himself incorrectly, and created a complex and dif­ know, or have known. To me, the attitudes that exist in landowners, of rich people; extended families of the bour­ ficult situation by his behavior. the U.S. Marine Corps and among its instructors are often geoisie; and also a fair number of lumpen. They were paid In that period the enemy accused Raul and other lead­ bestial; they're often criminal, inhumane, and unworthy. as soldiers, at wages that were high for the time. They ers of the revolution of drug trafficking. Ochoa's behav­ They are truly contemptible in a military institution. I'm were recruited in Miami and sent to Guatemala, where ior - the contacts he and his emissaries had made, the acts they had carried out - compromised the integrity of the country's name. Regardless of the prestige Ochoa may have had, he was "We are poor, but we have dignity. We would be ashamed never an outstanding leader of the army. He was a man to be rich as a result of theft, exploitation, or corruption." with personal merits, known as a general who had played a certain role, but this did not alter the fact that measures had to be taken, and that they had to be strong ones, in accordance with the gravity of the deeds committed. As a not talking about the young people who have drowned in they formed a brigade. member of the Council of State at the time, I took per­ the swamps. I'm talking about the dehumanizing and deni­ The command of all the battalions in the invading bri­ sonal responsibility for those measures. I had to give an grating methods of treating young people. That is unac­ gade, and all the company commanders, were former of­ opinion, and I did so with conviction and without reser­ ceptable. That is an example of the difference between ficers of the old army. When we took them prisoner, I vations.21 the two types of armies. knew all the commanding officers by name. A good num­ Cuba has been against drugs from day one. In fact, drugs When someone who exercises authority or enforces ber of them had been my students before the revolution, are practically unknown among the people here. In the discipline must do so, this often rankles those who are the when I was an instructor and assistant director of the school 1980s, when I was minister of education, I visited a Latin objects of the command. You have to remember, how­ for cadets. American country. When the minister of education of that ever, that in our armed forces there are the units of the During the time there were bandits in the Escambray, country asked me what we were doing to fight drugs in party; there are units of the UJC [Union of Young Com­ planes flew over Cuba daily. There's a book called Op­ the schools, I had to ask him twice: Which schools are munists]. These organizations strive for discipline and at eration Puma, in which a former air force captain of the you talking about? In primary and secondary school, he the same time defend and guarantee the rights of indi­ old army explains how many flights he made on behalf of responded. I was appalled that an eleven- or twelve-year­ viduals. There are places where one may speak frankly the CIA, dropping food, weapons, medicine, and commu­ old child could have access to drugs and be allowed to use and say everything, regardless of rank. That doesn't hap­ nications equipment for the bandits in the Escambray. them. pen in other armies. Those bands had no popular support, although it would be fair to say that some landowners from the area did back Bourgeois armies and revolutionary armies Battle in the Escambray them. In many cases the support they received was ob­ Waters: It would be useful to return to a point you made Barnes: You referred earlier to the fight against the ban­ tained through coercion and terror. earlier about the difference between a bourgeois army and dits in the Escambray? Could we return to that? The Rebel Army and the militia never killed a prisoner, a revolutionary army - the difference in the treatment of During the conference that Mary-Alice and I took part tortured a prisoner, or abandoned a single wounded en­ soldiers, and the relations between soldiers and officers. in here, Compafiero Balaguer22 talked about the genera­ emy soldier - not during the struggle in the Sierra, not tion of leaders that won their spurs not in the struggle in the struggle against the bandits, not at Giron. That is a Fernandez: As a rule, a bourgeois army imposes its against Batista, but at Giron, and in fighting to clean the matter of principle, of ethics, in our armed forces, one bandits out of the Escambray. But the Escambray is a chap­ Fidel has strictly demanded from the beginning of the revo­ 21 On July 9, 1989, Cuba's Council of State reviewed the ter of the revolutionary struggle that is very little known lutionary struggle. And this was important during the death sentences and all twenty-nine members, including in the United States today. struggle against Batista. There were soldiers who were Fernandez, voted to ratify them. Fernandez was minister of edu­ taken prisoner two or three times. They would be taken cation at the time. The entire proceedings of the Council of State prisoner, disarmed, turned over to the Red Cross, and a meeting, at which every single member spoke, were telecast 22 Cuban Communist Party leader Jose Ramon Balaguer gave few months later they would be taken prisoner again. This throughout Cuba. A documentary record of the case of Ochoa the keynote address at the October 21-23, 1997, international demoralized Batista's army, because contrary to Batista's and others convicted with him - including remarks from the workshop in Havana that Barnes and Waters had just partici­ propaganda, which said the Rebel Army killed prisoners, Council of State meeting by each of its members-can be found pated in. Balaguer, who is head of the Central Committee's De­ in Case 111989: End of the Cuban Connection (Jose Marti Pub­ partment of International Relations, joined the Rebel Army in whenever soldiers were in danger they preferred to put up lishing House, Havana, 1989). 1958, fighting in the Second Eastern Front. their hands and tum over their weapons. And that earned

10 The Militant July 27, 1998 JULY 1998 ISR/7

in the best possible conditions. we carried out a combination of political work and ef­ As a result, during the battle at forts to satisfy, to the best of our ability, the peasants' Giron, in our rear guard, there was not material needs. Today more than 95 percent of the hous­ a single enemy action. There was noth­ ing units in Cuba have electricity - even though they ing, everything was calm. And that al­ may be isolated houses. The poverty-stricken thatch-roof, lowed us to conduct actions secure in dirt-floor huts from before the revolution have disap­ our rear guard, and with great confi­ peared. There are roads and telephones in many places, dence. Peasants have schools, doctors, food supplies, and agri­ When the battle was over at Giron, cultural assistance. and people started being released from There are 150,000 small farmers who have title to their preventive detention, it turned out that land in Cuba. Their land rights have been and continue to among the detainees we had captured be respected. We have taken many measures in the coun­ several CIA networks. That is, among tryside. In 1994 and 1995 three million hectares [almost those held in preventive detention for 7.5 million acres] of land- nearly half the land in culti­ three days were persons who were vation in Cuba- were turned over to the Basic Units of counterrevolutionaries but against Cooperative Production (UBPCs) that grow sugarcane, whom there was no proof they had raise cattle, and cultivate fruit, along with growing many done anything, and they were released. other crops. There were others, however, against We did not fight the counterrevolutionary bandits us­ whom there was proof of crimes com- ing criminal methods. Assistance was given to their fami­ lies. If someone who died - including those who had betrayed the Rebel Army- had chil­ dren in an isolated rural area, those children were In Che Guevara, Cubans pay "sincere homage to a per­ offered scholarships. In other words, our revo­ son who gave his life for the ideals we are defending." lution has had a deeply humane spirit, which in Above, tens of thousands gather in Santa Clara, Cuba, tum has increased its prestige. on October 17, 1997, to solemnly welcome to Cuba the We are sometimes accused of violating hu­ remains of Guevara and a number of his comrades killed man rights. As our foreign minister [Roberto in Bolivia in 1967. Robaina] has pointed out, this is part of a selec­ tive campaign carried out by our adversaries to The rectification process of the late 1980s helped make create hostility against Cuba and undermine our it possible for Cuba to confront the challenges of the prestige. As far as I am concerned, the first hu­ Special Period. The Special Period was "linked to recti­ man right is the right to live, to receive an edu­ fication in the effort to find solutions that the country cation, to live with dignity, to have the possibil­ needs to emerge victorious." Right, members of a vol­ ity of always receiving health care, to a job, to unteer minibrigade build new apartment building in hold a place in society based on one's capaci­ Havana, January 1988. ties, technical training, talent, and desires. And to have a right to a country that exists with dig­ the Rebel Army great authority.23 nity, as a sovereign nation. In December 1960 and January 1961 there was a great MilitanVTerry Coggan Not a single prisoner has been tortured here mobilization in Havana. Some 40,000 men mobilized into in Cuba; not a single person has disappeared - 40 battalions of almost a thousand each. A cordon, a physi­ mitted, and they were brought before the tribunals. not one, in thirty-eight years. Who among those who ac­ cal barrier, was formed around the entire Escambray. Some In the Escambray today there is no trace of any trauma. cuse us of human rights violations, or who act as accom­ militia members participated in that cordon for a month No peasant can say his child was killed by the revolution­ plices by voting to condemn us, could raise their hand and a half, two months -militiamen with their weapons ary forces, or that he was tortured for protecting a band of and say the same thing? We do not permit anyone to be ready, protected from inclement weather only by nylon insurgents. Some of those insurgents knew people or had mistreated for reasons of sex, religion, or the color of one's tarps, stayed firm, to prevent anyone from entering or leav­ family in the Escambray. skin. I'd like to know how the human rights of Hispanic ing. The bands were practically eliminated. Thus, when Many resources were used to eliminate these bands immigrants or Blacks are observed in the United States. the attack at Giron came, the invaders got no support ei­ armed by the CIA. There was a famous group that wanted Look at California, Florida, New York. Could they say ther there or in the cities. Because in the cities, the Minis­ to head off to the United States. A film about them was what I have just said? They can exert pressure and muster fry of thelnterior. the police, and the miljjjas.and the people made here. A small ,boat was outfi-ted, flying the U.S. votes to condemn us, but they are following a selective were providing information: "So-and-so is not a revolu­ flag, with people aboard who spoke English. It approached policy toward us, and we do not feel guilty. tionary and is conspiring; he is meeting with others and the northern coast and flashed false messages to this group, Few places guarantee human rights as Cuba does - they are conspiring against the revolution. Hold so-and­ and the leader boarded with his band. But it was actually not just in word but in deed. Very few- if anyone­ so in preventive detention." Whenever there were signs a Cuban boat, stocked with U.S. cigars, soft drinks, whisky. among those who condemn us on the basis of human rights of counterrevolutionary activity, the persons would be de­ Members of the band were told to go below to get their has any moral standing whatsoever to do so. That's a point tained, taken to the indoor sports complex, and watched, shots, since they had to be vaccinated to enter U.S. terri­ I wanted to be sure to make, since we have spoken of tory. When they went down the stairs, there were two mem­ struggle, of ethics, and of morality. bers of the Rebel Army below who seized their weapons We are poor, but we have dignity. We are not ashamed 23 This course also netted many enemy weapons for the Rebel and took them prisoner. There are numerous anecdotes of our poverty. We would be ashamed to be rich as a result Army. At the opening of the Batista regime's unsuccessful "fi­ like this. of theft, of exploitation, of corruption. We would be nal offensive" against the revolutionary forces in late May 1958, ashamed to become rich that way. for example, the Rebel Army had only 200 usable rifles. Fol­ Bought and paid for by Washington lowing the defeat of the government forces at the Battle of El These gangs of bandits were always fed, paid, supplied, The Special Period and rectification Jigtie in mid-July, according to Emesto Che Guevara in his Epi­ and inspired by the United States, by its agencies of es­ Barnes: We'd like to ask you one question about the sodes of the Cuban Revolutionary War, Batista's army "left 600 pionage and subversion. Special Period. We've followed developments in Cuba in weapons in our hands, including a tank, 12 mortars, 12 tripod They focused on the Escambray, but there were coun­ recent years closely and written about them. One thing machine guns, over 20 machine guns, and countless automatic weapons; also, an enormous amount of ammunition and equip­ terrevolutionary gangs throughout the country - we es­ we've noticed is that workers and youth in the United ment of all sorts, and 450 prisoners, who were handed over to timate there were more than five thousand bandits, in small States who look to the revolution often seem to draw a the Red Cross when the campaign ended." Guevara's account bands in various places. It was the Cuban people who sharp divide between the Special Period of the 1990s and is published by Pathfinder Press. wiped them out; the militias were the ones who mainly the rectification process that began in the latter half of the fought against these bands. 1980s. 24 We've tried to explain that this is not accurate - After the bandits had been defeated in the Escambray, that the political rearming of the revolution that was at

24 The Special Period is the term used in Cuba for New International the extremely difficult economic conditions the Cuban people have faced since the early 1990s, and the poli­ Opening Guns of World War Ill cies the leadership has implemented to defend the revo­ Washington's Assault on Iraq lution. With the disintegration of the regimes of the JACK BARNES Soviet bloc that previously accounted for 85 percent of Cuba's foreign trade, much of it on terms favorable to The U.S. government's murderous assault Cuba, the island was brutally thrust deeper into the world on Iraq heralded increasingly sharp conflicts capitalist market. The sudden break in trading patterns among imperialist powers, the rise of - which took place as the world capitalist crisis inten­ rightist and fascist forces, growing instabil­ sified, and has been exacerbated by the ongoing eco­ ity of international capitalism, and more nomic warfare organized by Washington - led to the wars. In New International no. 7. $12.00 most severe economic crisis in Cuba since 1959. By Also available in French, Spanish, and 1996, however, through the efforts of Cuban working Swedish. people, the decline in industrial and agricultural pro­ duction bottomed out. Shortages of food and other es­ Defending Cuba, sentials, though still severe, have begun to be eased. The rectification process in Cuba between 1986 and Defending Cuba's Socialist the beginning of the 1990s marked a tum away from Revolution increasing reliance on the system of economic manage­ ment and planning used in one variant or another MARY-ALICE WATERS throughout the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Poli­ In face of the greatest economic difficul­ cies copied from those countries had become more and ties in the history of the revolution, Cuba's more dominant in Cuba throughout the 1970s and early workers and farmers are defending their 1980s. At its height, rectification took on the character political power, their independence and of a growing social movement led by Cuba's most con­ sovereignty, and the historic course they set "I'd like to know how the human rights of Hispanic scious and disciplined working people. As the economic and political crisis accelerated from 1990 on, many of out on nearly 40 years ago. In New Interna­ immigrants or Blacks are observed in the United the special measures associated with the rectification tional no. 10. $14.00 States." Above, March 1997 protest in Queens, New process, such as the spread of volunteer work brigades York, against killing of Dominican worker by cops. to build badly needed housing, had to be shelved. Available from bookstores, including those listed on page 12.

July 27, 1998 The Militant 11 8/lnternational Socialist Review JULY 1998

But we had copied certain when the minister of the armed forces [Raul Castro] in­ things, believing that those vited the central leaders of the government to a meeting who had seventy years of ex­ of criticism and self-criticism, pointing concretely to what perience were doing them we needed to rectify and modify. well. The FAR was the first to make these rectifications. With For a number of years, how­ Raul's leadership capacity, his capacity as a statesman, ever, we had begun to see and his energy and firmness in putting forward ideas, he things that did not really lead carried out genuine transformations in the FAR. The FAR to the objectives we were pur­ today is largely self-sufficient, with the exception of sugar suing. Fidel had understood and salt, producing 80 to 90 percent of everything it con­ that the policies being fol­ sumes.lt cultivates land and raises livestock. And the FAR lowed here in Cuba not only pays for what it buys- it doesn't simply have land that it on the economic level but in tills with fertilizer, fuel, and fodder it is given. It imple­ many other areas were deeply ments rigorous methods and economic controls. flawed. We had copied and The FAR has shown in practice the levels of efficiency imitated, and were carrying that can be attained. The Youth Army of Labor, made up out many things we should not of young people called up for service, has shown that it is have been doing. a highly productive and efficient force. Our party has always been In other words, the army, the armed forces, sets an ex­ very much linked to the ample. When I use the word "army," it is because the Rebel masses. In Cuba, for someone Army was the soul, the seed, the nucleus around which all to be taken into the Commu­ the various armed institutions were created in Cuba. It Gran rna nist Party, that person has to has shown that sf se puede- "it can be done" - as Raul Cuban construction workers in Angola, December 1988, part of effort to de­ be approved by the collective says. There are some people, when faced with difficul­ feat imperialist-backed forces and South African troops seeking to overthrow decision of both members and ties- those without initiative- who say, "No, it can't the Angolan government. "History will one day recognize that in winning the nonmembers at their work­ be done." Raul has shown that, "yes, it can be done." And liberation of Namibia and putting an end to apartheid an important role was place. It is a highly selective he began preaching this by example. played by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces." process, based on the qualities, That's the way things are with the armed forces. The merits, and prestige of the in- armed forces continue to provide training, maintaining the heart of rectification, the place of Che and the recon­ dividual. their capacity for combat - I would say they have in­ quering of a truly communist course, are all deeply con­ I am speaking of 1986. The collapse of the socialist creased it. At the same time, they are producing, feeding nected with the capacity of the Cuban people and youth camp did not begin to become visible until1988 or 1989. themselves, and in some cases providing something addi­ to understand and meet the challenges of the Special Pe­ It is natural to think that everything took place within the tional for the state. riod; framework of a single conception of perfecting things. I, of course, don't see the Special Period as a conse­ We shouldn't look at the efforts to overcome the crisis But clearly the Special Period gave rise to very concrete quence of rectification. But I do see it as linked to rectifi" of the Special Period as just an economic matter, we've conditions that implied there had to be modifications in cation, in the effort to find the methods, to find the correct explained. Che never looked at anything that way. He al­ some of the actions we had taken within the rectification course to follow, to find solutions that the country needs ways pointed to the connections between economics and process. to emerge victorious. politics that were central to advancing the transition to­ We lost 85 percent of our trade over- ward socialism. night. We used to get 14 million tons The Revolutionary Armed Forces has a key role in the of fuel, a figure that was reduced to struggle to confront the Special Period. The army not only zero. We used to get spare parts, trans­ guarantees every Cuban a rifle, a grenade, and a land mine portation equipment, machinery for our to defend the revolution, but has also set an example in factories, cereals, and other food prod­ ucts. We used to export sugar, nickel, and other products at mutually advan­ ''The armed forces set an tageous prices - at what I would call just prices. If the price of machinery or example. It has shown chemical products went up, so too that si se puede - 'it can would the price of the products or raw materials we were exporting over there. be done.''' A just exchange between rich and poor. This is a world in which the rich production and discipline. As you remarked in answering countries, the rich societies, tend to be­ a previous question, the army is very close to the people. come richer, despite the fact that there No one who has been here in Cuba for the last three are also poor people there. And the poor weeks during the party congress and the solemn ceremony societies are becoming poorer and in Santa Clara you described earlier - as Martin and poorer. This is what is happening in Mary-Alice have been for most of that period, and as I've Africa, and to a large degree in Latin been for the past week - could fail to recognize the popu­ America. Mili Koppel lar affirmation of the communist course of Fidel and Che So we took measures. I remember Jose Ramon Fernimdez {left) and Jack Barnes during interview. registered in these events. No one could confuse Cuba with what was presented as socialism for so long in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. No one could fail to see the deep connection -IF YOU LIKE THIS PAPER, LOOK US UP--- between moving forward in the Spe­ Where to find Pathfinder books and dis- Mailing address: Riverfront Plaza, P.O. Box 101515,2702 cial Period and preparing new genera­ tributors of the Militant, Perspectiva Mun­ 200117. Zip: 07102-0302. Tel: (973) 643- Manchester: Unit 4, 60 Shudehill. Postal tions in Cuba for their revolutionary dial, New International, Nouvelle 3341. Compuserve: 104216,2703 code: M4 4AA. Tel: 0161-839-1766. internationalist role in the world that Internationale,NuevainternacionalandNy NEW YORK: New York City: 59 4th Av­ Compuserve: 106462,327 is coming. International. enue (comer of Bergen) Brooklyn, NY Zip: So, we would like to hear any of your 11217. Tel: (718) 399-7257. Compuserve: CANADA views that would help us better under­ UNITED STATES 102064,2642 ; 167 Charles St., Manhattan, Montreal: 4581 Saint-Denis. Postal code: stand the challenges of the Special Pe­ ALABAMA: Birmingham: 111 21st St. NY. Zip: 10014. Tel: (212) 366-1973. H2J 2L4. Tel: (514) 284-7369. Compuserve: riod, the place of the army in it, and its South Zip 35233. Tel: (205) 323-3079. 104614,2606 connection to the political course that OHIO: Cincinnati: P.O. Box 19300. Zip: Compuserve: 73712,3561 45219. Tel: (513) 662-193l.Cleveland: 1832 Toronto: 851 Bloor St. West. Postal code: Che and Fidel fought for and exem­ CALIFORNIA: Los Angeles: 2546 W. M6G 1M3. Tel: (416) 533-4324. Compuserve: plify. Euclid. Zip: 44115. Tel: (216) 861-6150. Pico Blvd. Zip: 90006. Tel: (213) 380-9460. Compuserve: 103253,1111 103474,13 Compuserve: 74642,326 San Francisco: 3284 Vancouver: 3967 Main St. Postal code: Fernandez: If you look at the news­ PENNSYLVANIA: Philadelphia: 1906 papers in Cuba dated April 20, 1986, 23rd St. Zip: 94110. Tel: (415) 282-6255,285- V5V 3P3. Tel: (604) 872-8343. Compuserve: 5323. Compuserve: 75604,556 South St. Zip: 19146. Tel: (215) 546-8218. 103430,1552 you'll find Fidel's speech from the day Compuserve: 104502,1757 Pittsburgh: 1103 before, entitled "The Rectification of FLORIDA: Miami: 137 N.E. 54th St. Zip: E. Carson St. Zip 15203. Tel: (412) 381-9785. FRANCE Errors and Negative Tendencies."25 It 33137. Tel: (305) 756-1020. Compuserve: Compuserve: 103122,720 was given at the main rally on the an­ 103171,1674 Paris: Centre MBE 175, 23 rue Lecourbe. TEXAS: Houston: 6969 Gulf Freeway, Postal code: 75015. Tel: (01) 47-26-58-21. niversary of Playa Giron, April 19, GEORGIA: Atlanta: 230 Auburn Ave. Compuserve: 73504,442 1986. N.E. Zip: 30303. Tel: (404) 577-7976. Suite 380. Zip: 77087. Tel: (713) 847-0704. No one at that time was thinking Compuserve: 104226,1245 Compuserve: 102527,2271 ICELAND about the fall of socialism- the col­ ILLINOIS: Chicago: 1223 N. Milwaukee WASHINGTON, D.C.: 1930 18th St. N.W. Reykjavik: Klapparstfg 26. Mailing ad­ lapse not of the ideas of socialism, but Ave. Zip: 60622. Tel: (773) 342-1780. Suite #3 (Entrance on Florida Ave.) Zip: dress: P. Box 233, 121 Reykjavik. Tel: 552 of the methods used in the work, in the Compuserve: 104077,511 20009. Tel: (202) 387-2185. Compuserve: 5502. INTERNET:[email protected] goals of the parties claiming to be con­ IOWA: Des Moines: 2724 Douglas Ave. 75407,3345. structing socialism. For me, socialism NEW ZEALAND Zip: 50310. Tel: (515) 277-4600. Compuserve: WASHINGTON: Seattle: 1405 E. Madi~ remains the same today as it was in the 104107,1412 son. Zip: 98122. Tel: (206) 323-1755. Auckland: La Gonda Arcade, 203 1980s - a just idea, one that seeks to Karangahape Road. Postal address: P.O. Box MASSACHUSETTS: Boston: 780 Tre­ Compuserve: 74461,2544. create a society that will eliminate in­ 3025. Tel: (9) 379-3075. Compuserve: mont St. Zip: 02118. Tel: (617) 247-6772. 100035,3205 equalities and make human beings the Compuserve: 103426,3430 AUSTRALIA central element, the reason for its ex­ Sydney: 19 Terry St., Surry Hills 2010. Christchurch: 199 High St. Postal address: istence. MICHIGAN: Detroit: 7414 Woodward P.O. Box 22-530. Tel: (3) 365-6055. Ave. Zip: 48202. Compuserve: 104127,3505 Mailing address: P.O. Box K879, Haymarket Compuserve: 100250,1511 Tel: (313) 875-0100. Post Office, NSW 1240. Tel: 02-9281-3297. 25 For other speeches from this period MINNESOTA: St. Paul: 2490 University Compuserve: 106450,2216 by Castro, see "Cuba's Rectification Pro­ SWEDEN Ave. W., St. Paul. Zip: 55114. Tel: (612) 644- BRITAIN Stockholm: Vikingagatan 10 (T-bana St cess: Two Speeches by Fidel Castro," in 6325. Compuserve: 103014,3261 New International no. 6 and In Defense London: 47 The Cut. Postal code: SE1 8LL. Eriksplan). Postal code: S-113 42. Tel: (08) of Socialism (Pathfinder, 1989). NEW JERSEY: Newark: 87 A Halsey. Tel: 0171-928-7993. Compuserve: 31 69 33. Compuserve: 100416,2362

12 The Militant July 27, 1998 --MILITANT LABOR FORUMS------CALIFORNIA GEORGIA in the 14th District. Fri. July 17, 7 p.m. Avenue (near Bergen St.). Donation: $4. Tel: John Co&tnllle~d the Revolution in Jazz in (718) 399-7257. Los Angeles Atlanta the 1960s. Speaker: Michael Baumann, Path­ From New York to Indonesia, from Los Ange­ The Fight for Black Rights Today. Speaker: finder Press editor. Fri., July 24, 7:30p.m. Din­ PENNSYLVANIA les to Australia Workers Are Fighting Back. Maurice Williams, Militant staff writer. Fri., July ner 6:30 p.m. Speakers: Ollie Bivins, member of United Auto 17, 7 p.m. 230 Auburn Ave. (Corner of Butler). Both events to be held at 7414 Woodward Ave. Philadelphia Workers at Boeing in Long Beach, just back from Donation: $4. Tel: (404) 577-7976. Donation: $4. Dinner: $5. Tel: (313) 875-0100. Upsurge in Indonesia: An Eyewitness Ac­ a visit to the UAW picket lines in Flint, Michi­ count. Speaker: Naomi Craine, editor of the gan; Jose Morales; airport worker, leader of the ILLINOIS MINNESOTA Militant newspaper, recently returned from are­ organizing committee of the Service Employees St. Paul porting trip to Indonesia. Sat., July 18, 7:30p.m. International Union Local 1877; Susan Carroll Chicago The Fight for Puerto Rican Independence 1906 South Street (at 19th). Donation: $4. Tel: and Marty Jackson, members, International As­ The Fight for Independence in Puerto Rico. Heats Up. Speakers: Rafael Ortiz, National (215) 546-8218. sociation of Machinists at Northwest Airlines; Speaker: Veronica Poses, Young Socialists Na­ Committee to Free Puerto Rican Prisoners of Mark Friedman, Socialist Workers Party and tional Committee. Sat., July 18,7:30 p.m. Dinner War and Political Prisoners; Heather Wood, So­ member of International Association of Machin­ 6:30 p.m. 1223 N. Milwaukee Ave. (At Division WASHINGTON cialist Workers candidate for U.S. Congress, 4th ists at Northwest Airlines. Fri., July 17,7:30 p.m. stop on CTA Blue Line). Donation: $4. Tel: (773) Seattle CD, member of Young Socialists, and United Dinner 6 p.m. 2546 W. Pica Blvd. Donation: $4. 342-1780. The Fight to Raise the Minimum Wage. Steelworkers of America Local 7263. Fri., July Dinner: $5. (213) 380-9460. Speaker: Jeff Powers, Socialist Workers candi­ 17,7:30 p.m. MASSACHUSETTS date for U.S. Congress 7th Congressional Dis­ The Japanese Recession and the Fall of the trict, and member of the United Transportation FLORIDA Boston Yen- What It Means for Workers. Fri., July Union Local845. Fri., July 17,7:30 p.m. 1405 Public Education Under Attack. Oppose At­ 24, 7:30 p.m. Miami E. Madison. Tel: (206) 323-1755. tempts to Overturn Bilingual Education, Re­ Both events to be held at 2490 University Ave. Union Fightbacks Deepen. Auto Workers at segregate Schools, and Privatize Education. GM and Puerto Rican Phone Workers Lead (near Hwy. 280). Donation: $4. Tel: (612) 644- Speakers: Marilyn Segal, Citizens For Public 6325. the Way. Speaker: Kay Sedam, Socialist Work­ Schools, Elena Tate, Young Socialists; and Juan NEW ZEALAND ers candidate for Miami-Dade County Commis­ Gonzalez, Immigrant Rights Project. Fri., July 17, sion, District 2, and member United Transporta­ NEW YORK Christchurch 7:30p.m. 780 Massachusetts Ave. (corner Brooklyn tion Union Local 1138; Ernie Mailhot, eyewit­ Tremont). Donation: $4. Tel: (617) 247-6772. Puerto Rico: 100 Years Fighting U.S. Imperi­ ness report back from Puerto Rican phone work­ General Strike in Puerto Rico: An Eyewit­ alism. Fri., July 17, 7 p.m. ers strike; SWP candidate for governor of Florida, ness Report Back. Speaker: Rose Ana Berbeo, 150 Years of The Communist Manifesto. member oflntemational Association of Machin­ MICHIGAN Socialist Workers candidate for Senate; and Speaker: Lars Ericson, Communist League. Fri., ists Local1126. Fri., July 17,7:30 p.m.137 NE Detroit Francisco Sanchez, report on the half-million· July 24, 7 p.m. 54th St. Donation: $4. Translation into Spanish Support the UAW Flint Strike. Speaker: John strong general strike in support of striking tele­ Both events to be held at 199 High Street. Dona­ and French. Tel: (305) 756-1020. Sarge, Socialist Workers candidate for Congress phone workers. Fri., July 17, 7:30p.m. 59 4th tion: $3. Tel: (03) 365-6055. Auto workers at GM enter 5th week of strike Continued from front page out of GM's Flint Metal Fabrication Center similar petitions in 1996 during the 17 -day ers argue that the fight is only against GM UAW" and offering discounts to strikers. over health and safety issues, outsourcing, strike at its parts plant in Dayton, Ohio, and and it is correct for the union to protect other And drivers along both Dort Highway and subcontracting, and working conditions. The every state but Texas rejected GM's chal­ customers, many others think that the union Bristol Road make conversations difficult members of UAW Local 651 walked out at lenge. The UAW has therefore already de­ allowing anyone to cross the picket line on the picket lines because of the blare of Delphi East June 11 over similar issues. By cided to pay strike benefits to the 1,400 weakens the strike. A worker with 20 years car and truck horns. The picket lines, nine the beginning of the annual two-week vaca­ members of the union in Texas. in the complex, who asked not to be identi­ at Delphi East and two at the Metal Fabri­ tion shutdown June 29, the auto maker has International competition in a world mar­ fied, explained, "The company called me to cation Center on Bristol road, are well shuttered 26 of its 29 North American assem­ ket that suffers from a crisis of over pro­ come to work. But I won't cross a picket staffed around the clock. Strikers are as­ bly plants and sections of over 100 parts duction contributes to GM's demands for line. We're stronger if we all stand together." signed four hours of picket duty a week but plants. This is the 1Oth strike at GM facilities productivity increases." The value of the She went on, "You know that GM will do many spend extra hours there. over the last two years against the company's yen accelerates the downsizing that GM anything they can to get what they want. productivity drive. needs to do," by making Japanese imports They have lied to us repeatedly. Why should Strike attracts fighting workers cheaper the July 7 Wall Street Journal we believe them when they say they are only The strikes continue to draw workers GM tries to resume production quoted Davis Littman, chief economist at making parts for other companies? They're looking to fight back against their bosses Reports began hitting the press July 2 that Comerica Inc., a major bank in Detroit. He still getting paid for them." from around the country. Two workers from GM is looking for independent auto parts told the newspaper that GM had pledged St. Louis spent the Fourth of July holiday makers to supply the reopening of up to 10 to reduce its work force to 200,000 by now John Sarge is a member of the UAW Local <.ro.Jb,~picke.tll,I)~,)}.~ Lomax and his wife assembly plantsby.e(lfly A1,1.,gusr. US!).,Today and hasn't. "The market is very unforgiv- 900 in Wayne, Michigan, and the Socialist Cheryl dropped off a letter of support from reports that the GM wants to resume produc­ . ihg fOr not meeting targets," he said. Workers candidate for Congress in the 14th UAW Local 136 at Chrysler's St. Louis tion of trucks, sport utility vehicles, and cars, Peregrine Acquisitions announced July District. North Assembly plant. Two days earlier which have been disrupted by the strikes. This 7 that it plans to close two of the five plants members ofUAW Local36 at Ford's Wixom may be difficult because many parts suppli­ it bought from GM in 1996. The two plants, Assembly Plant near Detroit delivered ers are running near capacity due to the sales located here and in Livonia, Michigan, $1,372 collected from workers there in the boom for auto makers in North America. employ more than 1,500 UAW members. days before their vacation shut down. In another move designed to pit workers It also announced that it plans to sell a fac­ -CALENDAR- In describing his five hours walking the idled by the strike and strikers against each tory, purchased in the same deal in Windsor, picket line, Lomax said, "I felt like it was a other, GM vice president Donald Hackworth, Ontario, that employs 1,100 members of NEW YORK real honor. This is where it all started, this is in what has become a weekly recorded up­ the Canadian Auto Workers. Manhattan where it needs to stop." Flint was the site of date to salaried employees, revived its threat The decision by union officials to allow Casa de Las Americas invites you to com­ key battles in the fight to forge the auto work­ to cut off the remaining health-care benefits more than 200 workers at the Delphi East memorate July 26. Celebrate the revolutionary ers union, including the 1936---37 "sit-down" for laid-off workers in the United States. Complex to return to work to make non­ Cuban holiday marking the 45th anniversary of strike at General Motors. GM also has filed challenges to unemploy­ GM parts is a hotly debated issue on the the attack led by Fidel Castro against. the picket lines along Dort Road where those Moncada garrison. Sat., July 25, 8 p.m. Dinner The current battle began June 5, when ment benefits for the nearly 120,000 UAW and dance. Casa de las Americas.104 West 14th 3,400 members ofUAW Local659 walked members laid off during the strike. GM filed workers enter the plant. While some work- St., 3rd Floor. Donation: $15.00. For more in­ formation, call (212) 675-2584. TEXAS Anheuser-Busch workers vote on contract, again Houston Continued from front page The company proposal identifies for the their "final" offer is not accepted. Team­ Socialists Educational Weekend. Fri., July 17 & ster Charlie Conway said, "This is prob­ Sat., July 18. of the U.S. beer market. first time several job classifications as "non­ Working-Class resistance and lessons from Teamster officials brought an outside me­ core," or not central to the production of beer, ably just a threat, but if we accept the forced WWII and the Korean War. Speaker: Tom diator into the contract talks after the April including carton making, dumping waste beer, overtime, they'll do it for sure." Leonard, longtime trade union activist and leader rejection of the Anheuser-Busch proposal and washing trucks. These jobs would be Many workers here are angry at the of the Socialist Workers Party. The Origins of the company has called its "final" offer. contracted out without union protection, and dragged out contract talks. An apprentice Racism. Speaker: Patti Iiyama, SWP candidate These talks lasted two days. The IBT offi­ workers believe the company will move to who works in the warehouse and asked that for congress, 25th Congressional District; mem­ cials agreed to put the pact to a second vote expand the definition of "non-core" work. his name not be used said, "We said we ber of Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers even though no substantial improvements Deep differences already exist in the pay wanted to strike with that vote of 78 per­ (OCAW) Local4-227, active in defense oflocal had been made. The 50-member IBT nego­ gotten by workers at the brewery. Teamster cent," against the contract in April. "I get members locked out at Crown Central Petroleum. tiating team decided to urge rejection of the member John Schaefer said, "I worked on a tired of people asking if we're going on What is imperialism? Speaker: Jerry Freiwirth, Socialist Workers Party, member OCAW Local pact. Rank-and-file voting is by mail, and crew one weekend where I was getting regu­ strike." Teamster locals at Anheuser-Busch 4-367. Pathfinder Bookstores, 6969 Gulf Free­ complete results are expected between the lar pay at time and a half, a weekend worker breweries in Baldwinsville, New York, and way, Suite 380. For more information, call (713) end of July and mid-August. got full pay but no overtime and no benefits, Williamsburg, Virginia, appealed to IBT 847-0704 Nearly 2,000 workers are represented by and a seasonal worker was getting about 60 officials to not vote a second time on the four IBT locals in the brewing, bottling, and percent of regular pay, and no benefits." pact. This was overruled. WASHINGTON, D.C. shipping operations in St. Louis. Mainte­ The company is seeking to expand the use After the night shift July 2, some 40 July 26th Celebration. Speakers from the Cu­ nance workers are represented by three ad­ of "seasonal" workers, who are limited to Anheuser-Busch workers gathered at the ban Interests Section; D.C. Hands Off Cuba ditional unions. Their contracts have also 1,000 hours of work in the summer months. Filling Station tavern a few blocks from the Coalition; singer Luci Murphy. Sun., July 26, 3- expired, but negotiations are waiting on the New hires in line for permanent jobs are plant to conduct their own, impromptu boy­ 5:30 p.m. Brookland Cup of Dreams Coffee outcome of the Teamster talks. currently brought on as "apprentices"- in cott of the company's beer, joined by Postal House. 3629 12th St. N.E. For more informa­ Workers here view the demand for forced reality a two-tier wage system where they start workers, Boilermakers, and Teamsters tion, call (202) 452-5966. overtime, the gutting of seniority rights in at 70 percent of regular pay. After two years from other nearby workplaces. job selection, and the contracting out of they reach full pay. These workers face a six­ Tuesday is T -shirt day in the plant: work­ BRITAIN union work as among the most important week probationary period now which would ers sport union shirts that read "We're fight­ Manchester issues in dispute. Anheuser-Busch already increase to six months under the Anheuser­ ing for a better future." Pathfinder Bookshop Celebrates the Publica­ imposes forced overtime at other breweries. Busch proposal. The bosses have also de­ The last strike by Teamsters at Anheuser­ tion of Black Music, White Business and Jazz Bill Metzler, a bottler with two years in manded a cut in the number of breaks work­ Busch lasted 92 days in 1976. Revolution ofthe 1960s. Speakers: Audrey Hall, the plant, explained the fight to preserve se­ ers get during their shift from four to two. Freelance Producer/Presenter-Radio and TV; Cheryl Martin, Poet, Playwright, and Jazz Vo­ niority rights. "They say they want 'the right The company seeks a five-year agreement, Ray Parsons is a member of the United calist; Kevin Davy, Jazz Musician; and Cliff person for the right job' but they really want up from four years in the last pact, and three­ Steelworkers ofAmerica Local 310 in Des Williams, Pathfinder Bookshop. Sat., July 18,7 to choose based on favoritism and be able year terms before that. Anheuser-Busch has Moines; Alyson Kennedy is a member of p.m. Pathfinder bookshop, First floor, 60 to take punitive action against workers they threatened to close breweries in Merrimack, the Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers Shudehill. For more information, call 0161-839- don't like." New Hampshire, and Fairfield, California, if Union in Chicago. 1766. July 27, 1998 The Militant 13 -EDITORIAL Hundreds rally to protest Puerto Rico strike helps all labor The two-day general strike in Puerto Rico was a tre­ its own laws, decide its own foreign relations, or control attack on mendous success that dealt a blow to the colonial its own economic affairs. government's attempts to run roughshod over the deep­ This year is the 1OOth anniversary of the struggle against ening working-class opposition to the sale of their na­ Yankee domination, when Washington seized this Carib­ farmworkers tional patrimony. This labor action strengthened solidar­ bean island after uprisings from peasants and slaves se­ ity among working people and converged with the struggle verely weakened the Spanish colonial forces. Continued from front page for national sovereignty, as thousands of unionists, stu­ On July 25 Puerto Rican fighters are planning an event Hernandez continued. "They told us to get out of the fields, dents, and others declared, "Puerto Rico is not for sale!" in Guanica, Puerto Rico, marking the site where the in­ to stop working. The supervisor halted the group and took The strike - the first of this magnitude since the vading U.S. forces landed 100 years ago. Independence them to the side of the road. Then another group of contras, 1930s- is part of a broader development in world poli­ fighters note that this is the first time in years activists this time around 30 came and the supervisor couldn't hold tics today. The GM strike and other labor battles high­ have organized a single pro-independence action on this them off. They grabbed picked boxes and threw them away. light the growing determination by working people around historic date. "Workers tried to use some of the last boxes they had the world to fight the bosses' assaults on their unions and In the United States, supporters of the fight for Puerto but the group aggressively came back, took the full boxes the capitalist governments' demands for austerity. Rican independence should go all out to build the July 25 and threw them on the ground. They said, 'We can pay The half-million workers who joined the strike to op­ actions taking place in New York, San Francisco, and you for the boxes.' But the union supporters told them pose the pro-statehood administration selling the state­ Washington D.C. to call for independence and demand only the boss can pay us. Then they went into the fields owned Puerto Rico Telephone Company expressed in­ Washington release 15 independentistas held in U.S. jails where we were picking," Hernandez said. "They grabbed dignation at the U.S. bosses' and other capitalist inves­ whose only crime was opposition to being under the boot boxes from the workers. A couple of co-workers got close tors' attempts to steal their country's most profitable as­ of U.S. colonial domination. It is especially important to and they attacked them. The puncher was punching the sets. The strike also reflected the obstacle the Puerto Rican build these actions among workers involved in strikes and last box and they threw it at his head. They got one union government faces in trying to impose the will of its impe­ other labor battles. The fight against the sale of the phone supporter and had him on the ground. The cops finally rial masters in Washington. company underscores the fact that the fight for self-de­ stopped it but they gave one supporter a real beating." Puerto Rico is a U.S. colony, a fact that U.S. capitalist termination in Puerto Rican is intertwined with the struggle Union supporters Sandra Rocha, Efren Vargas, and politicians and the big-business media try to evade. It is a of the working class against the same enemy class that Ramon Gallegos were hospitalized from the attack, country ruled by the U.S. government, which tramples workers confront in the United States. Rosalinda Guillen, director of the UFW's strawberry or­ on the rights of Puerto Rican citizens and uses the island We should demand: ganizing, told the press. The cops made one arrest. as a launching pad for military aggression abroad. The Free the Puerto Rican political prisoners! Coastal Berry is California's largest strawberry grower, Puerto Rican colonial government has no rights to make Independence for Puerto Rico! employing some 1,500 workers at peak season. The UFW is trying to organize California's 20,000 strawberry pick­ ers, centering in the Watsonville and Salinas area. UFW organizer Guillen said antiunion supervisors are trying to prevent a bargaining election where workers would decide if they want to be represented by the UFW. "We were very close to a vote until this happened. They Puerto Rico: 'free political prisoners' are trying to intimidate new employees," Guillen said. Union supporter Hernandez told the Militant, "Last year Continued from Page 3 Meanwhile, the July 4 PNP rally drew 2,000 people. when the union organizers would come into the fields they onstrators marched a few blocks over to the main picket The pro-government San Juan Star remarked that "the would yell and try not to let them in. The contras try to lines at the Puerto Rico Telephone Co., where the protest crowd was noticeably smaller than last year's turnout of force the other workers to be with them. A lot support the swelled from 400 to nearly 1,000. 7,000 people, police said." union but they [the thugs] try to scare them." Angel Ramos, 32, a striker and member of the Inde­ . Addressing a crowd waving U.S. flags, Gov. Rossell6 UFW president Arturo Rodriguez issued a statement pendent Union of Telephone Workers (VIET), said, ''I'm argued for Puerto Rico becoming the 51st U.S. state. He demanding that Coastal Berry owner David Gladstone act glad to see people here from groups demanding the re­ described the island as "a colony of the [U.S.] nation that "quickly and decisively against those who planned and lease of the political prisoners." His assignment is to help has not had a real opportunity to exercise its self-determi­ participated in today's attack and disruptions- plus any­ guard one of the entrances to the phone company to pre­ nation and has not achieved the full extent of self-rule." one else who resorts to violence or violates state law by vent supervisory personnel from coming in. He said strik­ The solution to this colonial status, he said, is statehood, harassing or threatening workers who seek to organize." ers had received "incredible support" from all kinds of "a status we have earned after 100 years of shared his- The union has held three rallies in response to the at­ individuals and organizations who join them on the picket ) tory," referring to th~· century since the U.S. invasion of tack. The July 2 r-ally was attended by some 300 union lines. Puerto Rico on July 25, 1898. backers, the big majority farm workers or their families. One such individual was his friend Jeffrey Rodriguez, The PIP, National Hostosiano Congress, Federation of The rally, held at the front gate of Coastal Berry's cooler 21, a student at the Technical College who met Angel on Pro-Independence Youth (FUPI), and other pro-indepen­ facility where the picked fruit is stored for shipping, fol­ the picket lines. "I come here every night. That's usually dence organizations are building a united event on July lowed a march by 80 Coastal Berry workers from the UFW when the phone company tries to slip supervisory person­ 25 to mark 100 years of resistance to U.S. colonial rule. offices a half mile away. nel in." The action will take place in the southern city of Guanica, The rally attracted a layer of trade unionists and activ­ Later that day, in the southern city of Ponce, unions the site where the invading U.S. forces landed. This is the ists from area campuses who had seen television footage organized a fund-raising radiothon to support the tele­ first time in years there will be a single pro-independence of the attack the previous day. A larger rally was held on phone strikers. In the southwestern town of Sabana action; in the past, groups had held separate events. July 7 with several UFW backers explaining that they Grande, the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) Youth FUPI is sponsoring a pro-independence youth walk won't be intimidated by the thug attacks. Members of the took part in an action naming a street after the pro-inde­ crossing Puerto Rico from July 14 to 24. The youth will Teamsters Union, Service Employees International Union, pendence leader and hero Pedro Albizu Campos. The PIP start in Vieques, where fishermen will take them to the and other unions participated in the event. Youth publicized a pro-independence conference it is main island. They will stop in different towns along the As the Militant goes to press, Coast Berry has removed sponsoring in July way, and end up in Guanica on the eve of July 25. known UFW supporters from the Silliman Ranch and bas them working by themselves in another field.

Norton Sandler is a member of the International Asso­ U.S. gov't tightens travel to Cuba ciation of Machinists. Continued from Page 16 across the country - members and supporters of the has denied licenses tp a number of people requesting per­ Southwest Council on Latin American Studies mission to travel to Cuba, or has held up issuing them (SCOLAS)- were denied licenses just 10 days before SWP, Greens win until after the planned departure date: One recent inci­ departure to a conference in Cuba that they received gov­ dent involved more than 60 would-be participants in the ernment approval for the previous fall. U.S. officials lOth Conference of North American and Cuban Philoso­ claimed that SCOLAS members in the United States par­ round in Florida phers and Social Scientists, June 12-26 in Havana, Cuba. ticipated in the decision to hold the meeting in Cuba - a "This is the lOth conference and in previous years we supposedly prohibited act when applying for the interna­ never had trouble going," said Cliff DuRand, who is the tional conference licenses, according to U.S. officials. ballot rights case North American coordinator of the annual event. Partici­ Conference organizers estimated that at least 150 of the BY JANET POSW pants have applied for licenses since it became a require­ rejected applicants could have applied for an academic ment five years ago. This time, as in previous years, pro­ license if they had been informed of the rejection earlier. MIAMI- On July 7 the United States Court of Ap­ fessors, students, and others applied for an academic li­ Thirty Columbia School of Public Health physicians peals for the Eleventh Circuit unanimously reversed a 1997 cense, which requires the applicant to' prove the trip is applied for licenses seven weeks prior to their planned ruling by U.S. district judge K. Michael Moore granting within their field of research and will involve sharing in­ departure to Cuba scheduled for June 10, but received no summary judgment for the Florida secretary of state Sandra formation with a Cuban colleague. reply. Protest calls were put in and the day before the trip Mortham in a case brought by the Florida Socialist Work­ "They played a bureaucratic trick to deny people the the government issued licenses. The physicians went ers Election Campaign and the Florida Green Party, which right to travel," DuRand said. The U.S. treasury depart­ ahead with the trip. effects all small parties. ment rejected the request on the basis that the applica­ The parties are challenging the constitutionality of a tions did not comply with the guidelines for an entirely Florida elections statute that requires no less than a $10,000 different type of license, issued in cases where an interna­ state bond and no less than a $5,000 county bond in each tional organization, based neither in Cuba nor the United CORRECTION of Florida's 67 counties to be recognized as a minor po­ States, calls a meeting in Cuba. litical party. "The State's bond requirement discriminates Professors and others outraged by the denial put pres­ 'rbt: .. p,afo c!lption <>n••·pa~lfu1~ Socialist Workers candidate for governor of Florida. conference was scheduled to begin. Many of the partici­ i .· ..... · . .. i ~each, (falifol1J~~.retuJl1!'<1 tow~ ~une The case will now go back to the District Court for a pants had bought nonrefundable airline tickets. While 12. W...... · IB}3W m~;~mbers !I~ ~Qc~VIt:ll. Qoltins' ruling on the merits. Attorney for the parties Randall C. some were not able to attend due to the postponement, G()ralville, Iowa. f3Pility returt)ed to V/O* ·Jnne 12 Berg Jr., of the Florida Justice Institute in Miami, said, most went on the trip. "We had to scurry around to make a{ter a 12-day stfike; "Yesterday's decision vindicates the right of all minor po­ new arrangements," recanted DuRand. "But after having In·the sante issue,· severi\l.acti()rts ijt ~e)" :'fork to litical parties to challenge threats made by the State that to do battle to get the licenses it made people more deter­ l>Uihl Jhe l\lly. f;5 pt~indepen

16 The Militant July 27, 1998