APPEAL OF WOMEN HOSTAGES HELD BY BELAUNDE GOVERNMENT... ~
{The following is the text of a letter smuggled out of the Chorrillos prison in-Lima by seven women held without charges by the Belatinde Terry regime as hostages. The seven women are wives of guerrilla leaders fighting. in Peru. An eighth hostage, the wife of” Iuis de la Puente Uceda, killed October 23, 1965, was unable to sign her name. On a hunger strike for a month, she was taken to a police hospital. The letter, dated February 11, 1966, has been translated: by World Outlook. q
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Only by respecting conscience and recognizing Human Rights will we continue to make progress and reestablish the values and ethical principles that are the pillars of a civilization free from
abusive. oppression and. A. protector of inalienable rights. | ; . For. some | months: in” our country, under pretext of defending an endangered "democracy," excessively repressive measures: have halted the historic process and taken us back toward the darkest period of the. Middle Ages..
“Abuses. without limit’ have aroused ‘human feetings and boundless indignation in everyone who has’ a conscience. - .
For a month the news of the disappearance,’ the capture and then. the death of Guillermo Lobatén, head of the guerrilla forces of Tapac Amaru in Centro, has been handled in the most scandalous way by the. Lima. and provincial press without the Joint Command of the Armed Forces issuing an official statement publicly confirming or denying the reports. Various appeals, letters of protest from his’ family, various demonstrations within government spheres themselves have sought clarification concerning the situation of the group in Centro and their Teader.
Genuine confusion, a sharp opposition, an attitude of rebellion, made the army hold to its obstinate silence still‘more un= © reasonably. But the problem has much greater scope and we feel the darkest premonitions. What is the truth about M&éximo Velando? The hypothesis of suicide makes us angry and we = ‘protest: against the secret disappearance of men -- vile murders. : ‘Is- Guillermo Lobatén dead? Was Guillermo Lobaté6n captured? The casé‘of Maximo Velando alone arouses all kinds of suspicions, all the more so when the equivocation continues, fostered and inspired by the military authorities. who hide behind a curtain of silence: |
It is also an abuse to hold in prison for seven 7) months, women.:who have children, as hostages. It is a crime against indi viduals in secret -- genocide, excesses that demand | our most categoric opposition. -
(1) In face of the silence of the Army in regard to the disappearances, the captures, in face of the. deaths of the guerrilla fighters in the Centro guerrilla area, we’ demand an immediate denial or official and public confirmation of the death of Guillermo Lobatén and the other comrades.
(2) In face of the cynicism of the Army in asking the wife of Maximo Velando -- Carmen Cast&én de Velando -~ to present a death. certificate for her husband in response to her request for his mortal remains. and personal belongings -- the request was made more than a month ago -- we demand that they stop making a mockery of sacred rights promulgated and defended by the Declaration of the Assembly of the United Nations. We ask for the truth. If Maximo Velando is dead, let them issue a communiqué confirming the accuracy of the news with detailed information about the circumstances.
7 (3) In face of the detention of seven (7) women comrades confined as hostages for seven (7)° months, we demand:
(a) That they state the legal reasons for denying us provi-. sional freedom. °
(b) That ‘they present. the proofs of their accusation.
(e) That they stop paralyzing the proceedings and stop putting obstacles in the way of our legal representatives | who up. to now have not been permitted to read. the charges.
(a) That they at once begin and speed the trial of each one of the defendants.
We. address the Joint Command of the Armed Forces, the General Headquarters of the Army, the. competent Authorities, the Student Organizations and Trade Unions, everyone with a conscience and Public Opinion. We lodge our energetic and just protest, in view of the fact that proceedings that destroy a human being go against the elementary principles of the Rights of Man.
To support our protest, we declare a HUNGER STRIKE to begin at midnight Sunday February 13, 1966.
: Those on STRIKE:
CARMEN CASTAN DE-VELANDO.. JACQUELINE ELUAU DE LOBATON |
NELLY ARIAS -ESOALANTE .... GUILLERMINA VIDAL REYES
MERCEDES MORALES DE FERNANDEZ CARMEN GALVEZ DE. GADEA
‘The family. of Guillermo Lobatén
(Guillermo Lobatén' Ss family is conducting a ‘hunger strike in a classroom of the Faculty of Law at. the University of San Marcos in Lima. J
— BOLIVIAN DEMOCRATIC. COUNCIL OF THE PEOPLE
[me following is the ‘full text of the platform of. the Demo-~ cratic Council of the People (CODEP .-- Consejo Democratico del Pueblo) .: Dated December 31, 1965, it was published in ba Paz January 24, 1966. The organizations composing the CODEP include the Partido : Revolucionario de [fzquierda Nacionalista, a dissident wing of the Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario, the pro-Peking Bolivian Communist party and:the Bolivian Trotskyist movement. The translation is ‘by World Outlook; the | subheadings are in the. original text. ]
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The Democratic Council of the People is an instrument of the workers, intellectuals and pooular sectors of the-whole country, “organized to coordinate and strengthen the struggle against the mili- “tary oppression and with the objective of winning full exercise of democracy’ on the basis of respect for human dignity and to gain
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national liberation from the imperialist yoke.
The majority of the nation, whose popular will has been silenced by the most brutal repression experienced up to now, are struggling intransigently for common and vital objectives that transcend the bounds of partisan interests and are being concretized in the energetic revolutionary thrust of the workers and the heroic. re-.. Sistance of the whole Bolivian people against the fascist measures employed to maintain in power open enemies of the country, of the working class, of freedom, dignity and social justice. .
Against the_ Military Dictatorship, For Democracy
_. The Military Junta of the government is the political expres-—sion of the system of fascist oppression applied in an. underdeveloped country like ours and its mission is to destroy the popular and deme; cratic gains, restore the privileges of the oligarchy and turn over. the national wealth to international finance capitalism. . -
“The fascist generals have stamped Bolivian politics with the seal of extreme barbarism so that no one can criticize, still-less . try to rectify, errors that are injuring the country. The military dictatorship is expressed objectively in the content of the socalled "Law of State Security" ["Ley de Seguridad del Estado"); in the rabid persecution of opponents and workers; in the existence of concentration camps;.in the permanent and. truceless state of siege; in the physical destruction of the trade unions;. in political. assassination as a method of rule; in the lack of freedom of speech for the revolutionary opposition andthe trade-union movement; in the series of antilabor measures and the abrogation of such conquests of the proletariat: ‘as ‘trade-union legislation, workers control, the right ‘to organize unions and. to hold democratic trade-union elections; finally, in the periodic massacres (May and September), and in the military occupation of the mining centers on top of intervention by the state in the headquarters of the trade unions.
~ The military government serves as the transmission belt for the imperialist interests, obeying the dictates of the North American Pentagon. ‘This obsequious breaching of our national dignity is expressed in:a.foreign policy lacking the most elementary. sense of national sovereignty; in the sacking of the national wealth .by..the . imperialist monopolies; in the systematic. liquidation of -all parti-cipation by. the state and the Bolivian workers in: the: nationalized. industries.or industries of state origin; in the official - ‘incapacity to.protect and defend national’ industry from the colonial: policy. applied by. the United States of North America in questions of. imports and alleged "aid" and the lack of solidarity with the- oppressed. peoples -- displaying instead an unspeakable cynicism in identifying themselves with the aggressive and interventionist policy of the maa tes, States.
Against this’ antinational and antilabor policy, we stand for an intransigent struggle to the end for the establishment of a democratic, nationalist and popular government, of the Bolivians and. for the Bolivians, that obeys no dictates except those emanating from
the popular will on the basis of the full exercise of national sovereignty.
In the same way, we.defend the revolutionary importance of the proletariat as the’ vanguard in the process of necessary trans-_. formations in the national structure, resolved that its-specific ..._ weight | in the economy of the country should similarly | be expressed : in _ national” politics. = Mee a We - demand respect for the middle ‘class's desire for political. self-determination, without compelling it to suffer the humiliations, aimed at instilling servility, which are inflicted by those who, for. the. monent , hold state power. . Do. r Te follows: from this that: in “the present circumstances any | election held in accordance with the rules of the current: Electoral: Statutes can be nothing but a-farce and a fraud aimed at perpetuating the military dictatorship:: The: imposition of official candidates. supported by the bayonets and dollars of imperialism, signifies nothing less than a defeat for the people and a new frustration of their . aspirations.: The popular forces cannot lend themselves to this game of the counterrevolutionary dictatorship and they are denouncing before the people the big electoral masquerade being prepared behind their backs. - oe
‘We demand, as a patriotic. and nationalist right, “the Bolivianization of the Armed. Forces of the Nation, emancipating. them from the subjection exercised by ‘the. foreign oppressors and identifying them. with the aspirations of the Bolivian people for national liberation. Consequently, our unyielding ‘struggle is against the fascist camarillas or lodges which utilize: the Bolivian uniform only to bring shame on it or to stain it with the blood of the Bolivian proletariat. The people must unite to help the soidiers, rated men and young officers emancipate themselves from. the unjust oppression which the agents of the Pentagon impose upon their minds and feelings as Bolivians. - There can be no democracy for the Bolivians until we emancipate Bolivia from foreign tutelage. We do not believe in the salvation of the country through the-help of foreign exploiters. Experience itself has‘taught us that all that is-gained through alliances with imperialism is the undermining and suffocation of movements for national liberation: Thus we advocate a national policy that. maintains’ dignity and sovereignty. We jealously defend the right of the peoplés: to self-determination, struggling against any intervention by a state or international body in the internal affairs of another state. Colonialism. must be swept from the face of the earth and. —. particularly from our Latin America. We reject the imperialist. pos-. ture that threatens military intervention and we are sure that if. it is attempted, our people will defeat them as did the glorious... guerrilla fighters of our forefathers in the struggle for Indepen-. dence, who taught us how to win ‘the right: to our own Country and _ Liberty. in . _ -
Against Fascism, For Social Justice
_ We must conquer, in an all-out struggle in behalf of all, especially the workers, the right to live free from all fear of repression and hunger. Not only must our daily ‘bread be guaranteed to... every Bolivian, but also the civic and cultural expression of:-every ; civilized people: the right-to participate actively in politics; to .. organize in unions; to think and to disseminate ideas without hindrance; to use the communication media without indirect obstacles or impositions of a police nature. The shutting down of workers broad casting stations and the repression of popular newspapers by the... ruling group are not only a scandal but testify to its class char= acter. Only the rich, both the new ones and the old ones, enjoy-. + rights and privileges under the military boot. Women of the vanguard and courageous proletarian fighters and revolutionary intellectuals, through daily sacrifice and their example of intransigent : ‘struggle, are wrenching concessions from the dictatorship. A stop to.the in- . human hunt for trade unionists and revolutionists, respect for human beings and human dignity, observance of constitutional guarantees ._ and a return to rule by’law are not obtained by pleas or as gifts. - They are won in combat and they are obtained through popular pres~— sure and revolutionary action. ; : oor, :
We are fighting so that all Bolivians will have “WORK,. “BREAD. AND. A HOME that are guaranteed and inviolable at all times and on all occasions. These must not be gracious concessions of officialdom as a barefaced method for bribing social and political circles collectively and. automatically converting them into privileged layers... These are elementary: rights of every citizem in any modern state. We demand the redistribution of the national income and adequate planning of the economy in’ order to effectively combat growing unemployment and its concomitant misery among the people. The wages and social benefits of the mine workers, as of May 1965, must be restored without postponements or subterfuges and on this: base a just remuneration must be granted that will enable them to live in human conditions, working only the eight-hour day established in theory by the General Labor Law [Ley General de Trabajo].. The mining contracts with the COMIBOL [Corporacién Minera de Bolivia] enterprises must be readjusted’ and the mining cooperatives guaranteed _ normal productive work without blacklists or massacres.
The mining centers must stop ‘being: converted into concentra-_ tion camps for forced labor. It is not -possible to even conceive the rehabilitation of the nationalized mines through the criminal methods of militaristic fascism. The lead from the rifles fired at the backs of the mine workers will never increase the quantity and quality of the tin extracted from the mines. Only respect for the popular will of the trade-union ranks, expressed through workers democracy, can establish the social pillars for genuine economic rehabilitation of nationalized industry. The same goes for any other kind of industry. or work where at present even tte old social laws are no longer up-. held. The grocery stores have been converted into samples of the. .past and certain streets and plazas into open carnivals of social distraction. The prices of basic necessities have gone sky-high -those responsible for this disaster are in the Government Palace.
Housewives, who are the most exploited of the exploited, carry the heaviest burden of all these social injustices, which does not: prevent them, nonetheless, from going out into the streets to struggle heroically and in various ways for civil liberties and. better.living standards for the Bolivian people. The public health services have. been abandoned, not to mention the services and loans of the. National Chest of Social Security [Caja Nacional de Seguridad Social]. sides, if yesterday we denied. being a "sick people," steiiarly ‘today we will not tolerate. being an enslaved people. Social justice will . be imposed. through the iron revolutionary will of the toiling masses. Against the Restoration, For National Liberation
We Bolivians are moving toward confronting this inevitable reality. It is necessary to take a stand: either with the revolution and for’ national liberation, or with fascism and the counterrevolution in the service » of imperialism. a
“The | ‘political forces combining in the “DEMOCRATIC COUNCIL OF THE PEOPLE Stand in the contemporary struggle on the side of the — .
march of progress, of the revolution and the people. The people have nothing to lose with national liberation, rather they have, much to gain: Taber ty, democracy and social justice.
‘The CODEP. intransigently ‘defends ‘the conquests gained up to now in-all the fields of revolutionary | life. The nationalization of the mines must be extended,-overcoming the errors and limitations of the past. The Bolivian people will not tolerate the crime of mortgaging their wealth.to the foreign monopolies,.as they are trying to do now with the mine dumps, tailings and ore leads; with the oil and gas; with the iron.and tin. No form of association with the im- _ perialist oppressor must be the norm of conduct. Cutting down the. COMIBOL bureaucracy,- diversifying the mining industry, installing smelters under control of the Bolivians; defending the Mining ‘Bank _ [Banco Minero] as the entity in charge of fostering private’ mining © to commercialize minerals in this sector; cooperating with and fully
backing the mining cooperatives on the basis of their administrative autonomy -- these constitute the main general lines which we propose in this respect to the people as the solution of the mining problem. Strengthening of the YPFB [Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos ~- the Bolivian state oil company] and revision of the Petroleum Code and substitution of all the give-away legislation by a law based on the monopoly of production and trade in hydrocarbons by the state, rounds out the position of the Democratic Council of the People on the subject of exploiting extractive raw materials.
The agrarian question, once all vestiges of the big landlords and political bosses are liquidated, as part of the struggle for national liberation, must be oriented toward the economic and social development of the Bolivian people, especially the rural sectors. It will be necessary to create agro-economic units managed technically on the basic orientation of building cooperatives in production, trade and collective labor. The planning of rural development must aim at an integral form and with a strictly national criterion; this means taking advantage of the rich experience going back thous-
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ands of years among our indigenous communities as pilot nuclei for communal or collectivist development. The rise in the technical level will be gradual and adjusted to our incipient development and the overabundance of peasant labor. The countryside must be converted. into a market for national industry before it becomes a consumer of.. “ commodities of imperialist origin. The protection of industry for the .transformation and its interlocking with the production of Dt national raw materials is intimately linked to a consistent and victorious struggle against imperialism. Consequently it is necessary | to also aim simultaneously at establishing diplomatic and commercial relations with all countries in _ the world, without any discrimination.
On the plane of education and the defense of culture, it will be necessary to project this nationalist, democratic, popular | and revolutionary political line, overcoming all the concessions and: =. rightist errors smuggled into the Educational Reform [Reforma Educativa] and which are blocking the integral development of education. Along these lines, the CODEP advocates a single national, democratic and scientific school. The liquidation of illiteracy, as well as the full enforcement and extension of university autonomy, completes. Our view on edueation. -
The unity of the Bolivian people is a basic condition for achieving these objectives. The CODEP calls on all. the democratic and progressive parties, the organizations of the workers, peasants, professions, teachers, students, women, and. the revolutionary and patriotic soldiers, rated men‘and officers to back: this imperative struggle and to join its ranks in fighting the ruling despotism that has brought misery to the workers, until the dictatorship that trampled civil liberties under foot and stained democracy with blood is defeated. We exhort all genuine. patriots to oppose ail.foreign intervention in our national problems and to struggle energetically for the defense of our national sovereignty.