Cal. AFL-CIO head urges labor party discussion -PAGE 30 SEPTEMBER 21, 1979 50 CENTS VOLUME 43/NUMBER 36 A SOCIALIST NEWSWEEKLY/PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE WORKING PEOPLE The following statement was Carter has had to admit that the released September 12 by Andrew Soviet forces have been in Cuba for Pulley and Matilde Zimmermann, many years and that they pose no Socialist Workers Party candi· military threat whatsoever to the Uni­ dates for president and vice· ted States. president in 1980. Cuba has never invaded the United Washington's escalating campaign States. against Cuba poses a deadly threat to Cuba has never bombed the United the Cuban people, the Nicaraguan States. people, and the American people. Cuba has never blockaded the Uni­ From the White House to Congress, ted States. from liberal Democrats to conservative Cuba has never tried to assassinate Republicans, the U.S. rulers have U.S. leaders. taken up the cry that "something must It is the U.S. government that has be done" about Cuba. committed all these crimes against The pretext for this scare revolutionary Cuba. campaign-the alleged presence of And it is Washington-not some 2,300 Soviet combat troops in Moscow-that maintains a military Cuba-is a transparent fake. Even base and thousands of troops in Cuba against the will of the Cuban people. That is the U.S. naval base at Quanta­ nama. In the face of real and proven U.S. aggression, Cuba has every right to organize the strongest possible de- Continued on page 2 Nicaragua youth: ~Noone will ever take our freedom away' i-T Militant/Fred Halstead Sandinista troops march in Managua. For eyewitness reports and interview with revolutionary youth, see pages 7·9. In Our Opinion VOLUME 43/NUMBER 36 SEPTEMBER 21. 1979 CLOSING NEWS OATE-SEPT. 12 And the threat is directed against the tiny against Cuba, lift the economic and diplomatic ... Cuba island of Grenada, 100 miles off the Venezue­ blockade, and end all restrictions on travel to Continued from front page lan coast, which is defying Washington by Cuba. fense, including obtaining all the military help establishing friendly ties with Cuba. The U.S. base at Guantanamo must be it can get from the Soviet Union. The U.S. rulers have been stung by other closed down and all the U.S. troops brought The new anti-Cuba campaign has nothing to recent moves of the Cubans, as well: home. do with Soviet troops. It has everything to do • At the recent conference of nonaligned Hands off Cuba! with the Cuban revolutionary government's nations, Castro outraged Washington by tell­ Hands off Nicaragua! consistent solidarity with struggles against ing the truth about the real threat to peace in U.S. imperialism all over the world-first and the world-the U.S. war drive-and the real foremost in Nicaragua today. cause of poverty in the "underdeveloped" Cuba never wavered in its support for the Cleveland busing countries-capitalist domination. Mter a three-year court battle, which culmi­ Nicaraguan people's long struggle against the • Cuba has exposed Carter's "human nated with a U.S. Supreme Court order, buses Somoza regime, a murderous dictatorship in­ rights" pretensions by throwing open its pri­ rolled as Cleveland began the first phase of stalled and upheld by Washington to protect son doors and releasing every political pri­ school desegregation September 9. U.S. corporate interests. The Cuban govern­ soner in the country. Castro's related cam­ The national and local news media encour­ ment's warning of the consequences of threat­ paign to defend the human rights of the Puerto aged antibusing forces by playing up the ened U.S. military intervention last summer Rican Nationalists in U.S. prisons played a possibility of violence during the weeks before helped block Carter from sending troops to decisive role in winning their release last week the opening of school. save Somoza. after twenty-five years behind bars. Mayor Dennis Kucinich, a staunch opponent Today Cuban doctors and teachers are help­ • The Castro government has encouraged ing the new Sandinista government eradicate of busing, also kindled the racists' hopes. tens of thousands of Cubans living in exile to Although invited, Kucinich did not attend a illiteracy and disease-something U.S. impe­ visit their native country and see what the rialism never tried to do in the sixty years it teachers' conference to discuss implementing revolution is like. Two weeks ago Washington the desegregation order. His only public ran Nicaragua. responded to this intolerable breach of its Washington hates and fears the way the comment-through a secretary-was that he blockade by canceling the license of the travel "personally opposed busing, but was commit­ Sandinista leadership is mobilizing and organ­ agency that organized the family reunification izing the Nicaraguan workers and peasants to ted to safety." tours. But city officials admitted that they could Carter knows the American people want no not guarantee the safety of the students-an To our readers part of any new Vietnams in Latin America. invitation to racist attacks against Black In order to make available the special inter­ Working people in this country are in no mood school children. national coverage in this issue-eyewitness to sacrifice our lives to suppress workers and Despite all that, the first days of busing reports from Nicaragua, Castro's speech to the peasants in other countries. went off without a hitch. Working people nonaligned meeting, and an appeal from impri­ That's why the U.S. rulers are going all-out didn't take the racist bait. soned Iranian socialists-we are not publishing to frame up the Cuban revolution and portray Although there is still a lot of confusion over our regular columns, letters, or 'In Brief' this U.S. war moves as "defense" against Soviet busing, the attitude of a growing majority of week. These features will return in next week's troops. If Carter is successful in escalating workers-white as well as Black-is to support 'Militant.' U.S. military pressure against the Cuban and equality in education for Blacks and to oppose Nicaraguan revolutions, American working segregation. And there is overwhelming major­ defend their interests. It fears they will follow people will pay a heavy price. ity opposition to the use of racist violence to the Cuban example of booting out imperialism How great that price could be was signaled try to stop desegregation. and ending exploitation altogether through a when liberal Democrat Frank Church pointed The stance of the unions is a reflection of socialist revolution. to the "missile crisis" of October 1962 as an this sentiment for equality. So today-behind smiling promises of aid if example of U.S. "options" today. At that time The United Auto Workers and the AFL-CIO "moderation" prevails in Nicaragua­ President John Kennedy imposed a naval have strong stands in support of school dese­ Washington is trying to strangle the Nicara­ blockade against Cuba. He threatened the gregation. guan revolution by refusing to provide the food world with nuclear destruction unless the When the desegregation plan was an­ and medicine desperately needed in that war­ Soviet Union removed missiles it had placed in nounced in 1976, the Cleveland Federation of ravaged country. And it is using the smoke­ Cuba in order to deter a U.S. invasion. Labor organized an educational campaign for screen of "Soviet troops in Cuba" to justify an For the capitalist rulers of this country, its peaceful implementation. American military buildup that ranges from nuclear holocaust is always an "option" in By supporting school desegregation through the multibillion dollar MX missile program to their struggle to destroy the Cuban revolution busing, the unions have taken a positive increased U.S. troop deployment in the Carib­ and prevent its spread. The danger of a "mis­ position in defense of Black rights. The under­ bean. calculation" that could wipe out humanity is standing that equality is in the interest of all The U.S. threats are also aimed at El Salva­ built into the anti-Cuba drive. workers has been strengthened by labor's dor, where tens of thousands of impoverished Working people have a life-and-death stake victory in the Supreme Court Weber decision, workers, peasants, and young people are try­ in opposing the new war cries against the where the unions successfully defended ing to get rid of a brutal U.S.-backed military Cuban revolution. We should demand that affirmative-action quotas and union rights on regime. Carter and Congress put a stop to the attacks the job. Militant Highlights This Week The Militant Editor: STEVE CLARK Associate Editors: CINDY JAQUITH Business Manager: PETER SEIDMAN 3 Pulley campaigns in Detroit Editorial Staff: Nancy Cole, Fred Feldman. David 5 U.S. steps-up anti-Cuba campaign Frankel. Jim Garrison. Suzanne Haig. Osborne 6 Actions demand aid for Nicaragua Hart, Gus Horowitz, Shelley Kramer, Ivan Licho, 7 Sandinistas organize masses 1Janice Lynn, August Nimtz. Harry Ring, Dick Ro­ berts, Priscilla Schenk, Arnold Weissberg. 8 Interview with Sandinista youth Published weekly by the Militant 9 Struggle deepens in El Salvador (ISSN 0026-3885), 14 Charles Lane, 10 Open letter from Iranian women New York, N.Y. 10014. Telephone: Edi­ 12 Sales scoreboard torial Office, (212) 243-6392; Business 21 Co. violence heightens In Ala. mine Office, (212) 929-3486. 23-26 Castro's speech to Nonaligned Correspondence concerning sub­ 27 Arthur Burch: lifelong party builder scriptions or changes of address should be addressed to The Militant Business 28 What's going on Office, 14 Charles Lane, New York, N.Y.