the dictator is dead... The crown prince has assumed his throne, under the benevolent gaze of the representatives of the European chiefs of state who hastened to welcome Spain into the fold of "democratic" Europe lest it plunge into the "revolutionary chaos" of Portugal. Only those who desire to hide from reality can believe that there can be any liberal orientation under the regime of the new king. Placed on the throne by the murderer Franco, closely watched by the hardliners of the Phalange, who maintain their grip on all the key posts in the state apparatus, Juan Carlos will follow the path of his political father. Those who doubt this need only look af the events that occurred on the day of the coronation itself. During the first session of the Council of Ministers to take place under his leadership, Juan Carlos proposed a limited indulto (amnesty) for political prisoners. Essentially, this measure is aimed at covering the regime with a liberal veneer for the benefit of the masses of the Spanish state and the European governments. But while the governments may be satisfied with this restricted measure, the same is not true of the laboring masses and oppressed peoples of the Spanish state. In fact, the "hardliners" were on the scene, showing Juan Carlos the proper road of the "fundamental laws of the national movement" and making sure that the measure of "clemency" would be as limited as possible. The amnesty affects only those with sentences of less than three? years; for the others, there are only reductions in sentences. The judges of the tribunals of public order" that sentenced the prisoners in the first place will examine the "dossier" of each prisoner before deciding whether release is appropriate under the indulto. Prisoners condemned for "terrorist acts" or for links with "terrorist organizations" will not benefit from the amnesty. And it must be remembered that the word "terrorist" has a rather brood meaning in the minds of the masters of Francoist terror. Finally, prisoners who are awaiting trial and were threatened with the death penalty for acts committed before November 22 will no longer be subject to capital punishment. The entire underground opposition denounced the extremely limited character of this indulto, which in no way settles the problem that is regarded as fundamental by the masses in the Spanish state: the opening of the gates of the Francoist prisons. On the day of Juan Carlos's coronation the workers commissions of the Madrid region organized a demonstration af the gates of Carabanchel prison, where many worker militants are held. The Francoist repressive apparatus intervened violently to disperse the demonstrators, who had come to demand the immediate release of their comrades in struggle. This proved - if any proof were needed - the real character of the "clemency" granted by Franco's successor. Twenty-one demonstrators were arrested and are still being held in the headquarters of the security forces. There were also demonstrations in San Sebastian and Barcelona.
Chile's Pinochet greets Juan Carlos. •.. DEATH TO THE DICTATORSHIP! On the same day, the police violently attacked and arrested some French journalists who were "covering" the Te Deum of the coronation. The Spanish journalists threatened to go on strike and the arrested journalists were then released. These two events give the new regime a sort of "trademark" that is very little different from that enjoyed by the Francoism of Franco. For the workers movement and organizations in the territory of the Spanish state, the central task of the moment is to demand total amnesty for all political prisoners and exiles, as our comrades insist in the following article, translated from the November 15 issue of Combate, journal of the Liga Comunista Revolucionaria/ Euzkadi ta Azkatasuna-VI (Revolutionary Communist League/Basque Nation and Freedom-Sixth Congress), sympathizing organization of the Fourth International in the Spanish state.
OPEN THE GATES
OF THE
FRANCOIST