Chinese gov't cracks down on dissent • • •• ·• 6 TH£ 'Brigadistas' help harvest Nicaraguan coffee • 9 Union, church figures back Apri125 action • 11 A SOCIALIST NEWSWEEKLY PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF WORKING PEOPLE VOL. 51/NO. S FEBRUARY 6, 1987 75 CENTS Coup attempt 30,000 march in Georgia highlights to advance Black rights crJsJS• • m• Philippines BY KEN MILlNER CUMMING, Ga.- More than 30,000 BY FRED FELDMAN people marched here January 24 in a An unsuccessful coup attempt by Philip­ "Brotherhood , March," the largest civil pine military units, coming five days after rights demonstration in the South in over the murder of 18 demonstrators by troops two decades. The outpouring came to this and police, deepened the crisis wracking tiny town in Forsyth County on less than a the government of President Corazon week's notice, after a violent attack here on Aquino. It highlighted the intensifying so­ 75 peaceful demonstrators January 17. cial conflicts in the country. · The sea.of marchers poured down Old Buford Highway to the Forsyth County The coup attempt began January 27 when rightist military units supporting Courthouse and held a rally ~ exactly · what marchers had been prevented from ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos attemp­ doing the week"before as a result of the Ku ted to seize the Defense Ministry, two air bases, the main power company, and radio Klux Klan .attack and the lack of police protection. and television stations. BecauSe of massive outrage at the Klan Four soldiers were reported killed as violence, police officials and'the state gov­ units defending the government pushed ernment were under big pressure to protect back the attack on the Villamor air .base the second march. Over 3,000 police and near Manila. sofdiers were on duty, including 1 , 700 On January 27 Amiy Chief of Staff Fidel Georgia National Guardsmen called out by Ramos publicly negotiated for the sUrren­ Gov. Joe Frank Harris and hundreds of der of holdouts who had occupied a Marilla state and local cops. radio station. In a switch observed by many who have "The armed forces of the Philippines is · marched for civil rights before, the fully in control of the military situation and Guardsmen and cops, who formed a ring supports the government," he said. around the entire march route, had their backs to the marchers and their eyes on the The antigovernment units included jeering riffraff who gathered to scream, members of the Guardians, a military fra­ "Go home niggers," ternity involved in a previous coup attempt The huge size 9f the march stunned the last July when soldiers seized a Manila · nicisls ~ who had mobilized ffornarourldlhe hotel and proclaimed a Marcos crony . as country. Waving Confederate flags and president. After surrendering at that time, spitting ouf racist and anti-Semitic epi­ the coup plotters were allowed to return to thets, the countermobilization peaked at duty with hardly a reprimand. about 1,000. Nor was any action taken last November The racists included many youths, when . officers linked to then'-Defense women and children, as well as veteran Minister Juan Ponce Enrile openly boasted white supremacists such as J.B. Stoner, of their plans to strike at the government. just out of jail for bombing an unoccupied This time Aquino said that "the full force Black church in Alabama in 1958. All of of the. law" would be brought against those them fell into stunned silence as Blacks and Massive throng of antiracist marchers approaches courthouse in Cumming, seat of involved. wl;tites with linked arms marched for as far Georgia's Forsyth County. as the eye could see in either direction. "This attempt reflects the inability of According to a report in the Atlanta some elements, both in the military and in Journal-Constitution, Shane Pruitt, lean­ over one-third of the demonstrators were Chamber of Commerce, personally greeted the civilian sector, to face the fact that ci­ ing on the staff of a Confederate flag as the white. thousands at the beginning of the march. vilian government is here to stay and that marchers approached, blurted out, "God Leading the protest were Coretta Scott The massive turnout on January 24 nothing will derail our efforts to establish Almighty, man, look at all those people." King, Southern Christian Leadership Con­ showed that the racist violence televised full constitutional democracy in the com­ As the awesome crowd turned in the direc­ ference (SCLC) President Joseph Lowery, around the world the week before had ing plebiscite." tion of the courthouse, he said, "Man, Atlanta City Councilman Hosea Williams, stirred widespread outrage. She was referring to the February 2 they're still coming. Look at that." · National Association for the Advancement Millions had watched in disbelief as over plebiscite on a constitution drawn up by a The sheer volume of the protest delayed of Colored People (NAACP) President 400 Klansmen and their supporters commission she appointed. Rightists par­ the departure from the Martin Luther King, Benjamin Hooks; and U.S. Congressman Continued on Page 7 Continued on Page 13 Jr. Center iJi Atlanta for over four hours John Lewis. that Saturday morning. When the caravan They were joined by prominent figures fmally got under way, some 4,000 people from across the country, including Demo­ were left behind without transportation. cratic presidential hopeful Gary Hart, U.S. Prominent figures celebrate At one point the line of vehicles going to Sen. SamNunn(D-Ga.), U.S. Sen. Wyche Cumming stretched for three miles along Fowler (D-Ga.), Dick Gregory, Atlanta Georgia Highway 400. Upon arrival, the Mayor Andrew Young, and many others. publication of Castro book over 300 buses and hundreds of cars and A welcoming committee for the mar­ vans unloaded for almost three hours. The chers included Nunn, Cumming Mayor BY MARGARET JAYKO troduced during the course of the meeting last marcher did not reach the courthouse Ford Gravitt, and County Commission NEW YORK- Many prominent fig­ and many messages were read. until the one and a half hour rally had Chairman Leroy Hubbard. Roger Crow, ures in the fight for social change in this Mary-Alice Waters, member of the ended. March organizers estimated that president-elect of the Forsyth County country and internationally attended a board of directors of Pathfinder, chaired meeting and reception here on January 23 the gathering. She pointed to one of the to celebrate the publication of Nothing Can central themes of the evening: the impor­ Stop the Course of History. The book con­ tance of this book for advancing the right Hearing ;tteld on gov't spy riles tains the edited transcript of an interview of the people of the United States to learn with Cuban President Fidel Castro con­ the truth about Cuba. · BYJOHNSTUDER tion." ducted by Rep. Mervyn Dymally and Prof. It is also a blow, she said, against the de NEW YORK-The political rights case When he issued his decision, Judge Jeffrey Elliot. It was published by Path­ facto travel ban that prevents most U.S. re­ against government spying and disruption, Griesa mandated further proceedings to finder Press. sidents from visiting Cuba. And it helps won by the Socialist Workers Party and "identify precisely what documents and re­ Dennis Rivera, executive vice-president make more difficult U.S. government at­ Young Socialist Alliance last August, was cords fall into this category." He noted that of Local 1199 of the Hospital and Health tempts to blockade information coming back in U.S. District Court here January at stake in the arguments over this injunc­ Care Employees Union, welcomed the-275 from Nicaragua, South Africa, and else­ 27. tion is the disposition of "the enormous people in attendance. His union donated where. At issue is the one remaining uncom­ files in the Federal Government relating to the use of the Martin Luther King Labor Mervyn Dymally, the chair of the Con­ pleted section of the decision issued by the SWP, the YSA and certain of their Center for the evening. gressional Black Caucus and a ranking Judge Thomas Griesa on Aug. 25, 1986. members." Keith Wright, special assistant to Man­ · member of the House Foreign Affairs After finding the 45-year government The January 27 hearing represented a big . hattan Borough President David Dinkins Committee, was scheduled to be the key­ disruption operation against the socialist step forward in advancing the fight for an · and his Harlem coordinator, brought greet­ note speaker, but illness prevented him organizations and their members illegal, effective injunction. Since the decision ings to the meeting on behalf of Dinkins. from coming. His legislative assistant, the judge announced that he would grant an was issued five months ago, one off-the-re­ A significant number of Black, Carib­ Marwan Burgan, ably represented him, injunction against government use of secret cord conference was held last November in bean, and Latin American activists at­ and brought greetings on his behalf. files that were "obtained illegally or de­ the judge's chambers to discuss how to tended the event. New York State Assemblyman Roger veloped from illegally obtained informa- Continued on Page S A broad range of special guests were In- Continued on Page 4 Steelworkers voice views on·USX pact BY HOLLY HARKNESS cured stronger language about the use of tract before it was taken to the member­ 'from the very frrst day. The contract sum­ CIDCAGO - Skepticism, confusion, outside contractors on jobs inside the mills. ship. Larry Regan, Local 1014 president, mary spells out requirements for a three­ anger, resignation, and relief. These were "Maintenance or repair work or work as­ was one of four presidents who opposed week "restart period" where job classifica­ the mixed emotions of steelworkers as they sociated with the fabricating of goods, ma­ the proposed settlement.