,I

WEATHER UNDERGROUND ORGANIZATIONVOL. 2 ~VO. 1 APRIL - MAY 1976 PRICE 50 CENTS

.'.-'.

2

CONTENTS

3 WHERE WE STAND6 PUERTO RICO

12 REVIEW: AKWASASNE NOTES16 FIREWORKS: THE WAR OF 189817 THE VOLUNTEER AR~Y

21 TOOLBOX: SELF-DETERMINATION22 ZIONISM IS RACISM24 EYE OF THE STORM: ANGOLA26 PAUL ROBESON27 CHOU EN-LAI

REPRINTS AVAILABLE

Sing A Battle Song ... Inkworks4220 Telegraph Ave.Oakland, CA 94609

Prairie Fire&

OSAHATOMI E..•

John Brown Book Club6817 Greenwood Ave. N.Seattle, Wash. 98103

OSAWATOMIEIn 1856, at the Battle of Osawatomie,Kansas, John Brown and 30 other aboli­tionists, using guerrilla tactics, beatback an armed attack by 250 slaverysupporters, who were trying to makeKansas a slave state. This was a turn­ing point in the fight against slavery.For this, John Brown was given the name"Osawatomie" by his comrades.

OSAWATOMIESisters and Brothers,

GOES BI?-iONTHLY

With this issue OSAWATOMIE will advance from a seasonal (quarterly) publication to abimonthly. This reflects the growth of our organization and the importance we attach tothe continued development of OSAWATOMIE as the revolutionary voice of the WUQ.

An immense amount of human effort is mobilized for each issue -- the labor andcreativity of artists, writers, printers, photographers and distributors is joined intoa powerful force that gets the job done. In addition OSAWATOMIE is produced clandestinely,hidden from the eyes of the state. Securing this operation, keeping it going, meeting ourdeadlines requires the united effort of a strong staff and the active support of thewhole organization. We are proud to have met our deadlines for the past year. Going bi­monthly will require a new level of organization and discipline.

OSA:'iATOMIE will be a consistent fighter for two strategic goals of our movement:1. to mobilize ~~d organize the working class in closest alliance with national liberationstruggles to fight imperialism and 2. to organize and build a revolutionary Marxist­Leninist party of the working class.

This issue begins our second year of publication. We have learned from mistakes aswell as successes, from criticism as well as self-criticism. We have tried to make ourarticles clear and accessible to people not yet organized into the revolutionary movementas well as to organizers and communists. We have tried to create beautiful propagandaand to avoid wordiness or stereotyped writing. We have tried to be accountable to you,our growing readership.

You can help -- by distributing OSAWATOMIE to comrades, friends, fellow workers,neighbors and associates; by holding formal discussions and political debates over thecentral issues raised in these pages; by making your criticisms and conclusions known.In this way, through active engagement with the political ideas, we can all move fo~Yard.

Thank you for your support in the past year.

In struggle,

Billy AyersJoe Reed

Editors·

IMPERIALISM IN CRISIS

3

IfF,===WHERE WE STAND~~~==========~======~I,

I:

Whatever difficulties and hardships may be ahead, ourpeople are sure of total triumph. The US imperialistsshall have to quit. Our Fatherland shall be reunified.Our compatriots in the North and in the South shall bereunited under the same roof.

- Ho Chi Minh

Uncle Ho's words have come true. This year will see the reunifica­tion of North and South Vietnam into one country, 43 million strong ­the consolidation of Vietnam's complete victory over US imperialism.

I

IIIIIIIII"Iiji.1II

I

II

I

This is a victory for people allover the world, not only because ofthe justice of the Vietnamese struggle, but because their defeat of USimperialism has materially advanced the cause of people struggling againstimperialism everywhere. The era of the liberation of Vietnam is markedby the strengthening of the socialist countries, the growth of anti­imperialist struggles and the substantial weakening of imperialism.

Imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism, the stage of monopolycapitaJ. It is an international system of political domination and economicexploitation. Since World War II US imperialism has been the leading imper­ialist power and the number one enemy of the world's people. It has grownrich from its control and super-exploitation of workers and oppressed nationsaround the world. But this worldwide extension is also imperialism'sfatal weakness. Every defeat sends shock waves through the system, spinsit into crisis; every victory against it weakens it, hastens the day of itsoverthrow.

The victory of Vietnam, and of the peoples of Cambodia and Laos, hasbeen joined by other advances. / Of particular significance is the victoryand consolidation of the people's revolutions of Guine-Bissau,Mozambique,and now Angola, which have overturned the balance of forces in SouthernAfrica and brought closer the inevitable end of white racist rule in Africa.

In the ~liddle East, international condemnation of Zionism and Israeliaxpansionism has increased Israel's isolation and built support for thecause of the Palestinian people.

In Western Europe, the old order is under attack. Revolutionarystruggle continues in Portugal, despite setbacks and CIA intervention. InSpain, Franco is dead and Spanish workers are mobilizing against fascismand reaction.

In Latin .~erica, the defeat of the OAS blockade of socialist Cuba,international condemnation of the fascist junta in Chile and the rapidlygrowing struggle of the Panamanian people to regain control of thePanama Canal are all important developments. (cont'd)

-.7

4

III

/1II11ii11I!

'I

I

Today the Puerto Rican struggle has entered a critical period (seep. 6). The revolution in Puerto Rico is closely tied to the struggles ofPuerto Ricans in the US and is an integral part of our revolutionarymovement. A tremendous struggle for independence in~Puerto Rico willsurely come. Building solidarity with Puerto Rico is a heavy responsi­bility for every working class organizer and revolutionary.

The US is an imprisoner of nations, founded on the attempted geno-cide of Native American people and the theft of Native and Mexicanolands, enriched by the slave labor of Black people and the superexploitedlabor of other peoples brought here to build the railroads, dig the mines,and work the fields. The struggles of the Black nation and other oppressedpeoples in the US are part of the worldwide movement for national liberation.At the same time these struggles are intertwined with the US class struggleand push forward the working c~ass movement.

This is the era of socialist revolution in the world. In the socialistcountries, there is no unemployment, no inflation, no starvation. The entirecapitalist world, however, is today shaken by a profound economic crisis, onewhich reveals all the irrationality and contradictions of capitalism. This isnot just a Ilbusiness cycle ll crisis, it is a crisis of imperialism in decline.It is directly caused by the wrenching effect of waging and losing the war inVietnam, and the challenges now being raised to imperialist domination of theworld 1 s resources and markets. It is the reflection of these defeats in theeconomies of the US and the rest of the capitalist countries. Within the US,the crisis attacks the working class, with the blows falling heaviest on Blackand Third World people.

The traditional response of imperialism to political and economic crisisis war. Today US war~f aggression remains a great danger, particularly inKorea, the Middle East, Cuba, and Southern Africa. Although the experience ofVietnam has cut into the government's ability to mobilize support for war, wemust remain vigilant and ready to OPPOSE all imperialist war.

There is also the danger of fascism. The ruling class is not commit­ted to the forms of bourgeois democracy beyond the point where they getin their way. Fascism becomes a danger as imperialism comes under sharperand sharper attack. Fascism in the US means appealing to racism and whitesupremacy: ROAR in Boston is a fascist movement, the Rodino Bill attackingundocumented workers is a fascist measure. When white people are mobilized tooppose the just demands of Black and Third World people against national andracist oppression, a base for fascism is built.

Today the two main tasks of our movement are: 1) To build an anti­imperialist working class movement that can join with the oppressedpeoples, overthrow imperialism and establish socialism; and 2) To builda communist party to lead the struggle.

The theme of this issue of OSAWATOMIE is "A Bicentennial WithoutColonies!" This slogan challenges people to realize that 200 yearsafter the American Revolution the US is the number one imperialist power.This is a slogan against all forms of national and colonial oppression,inside and outside the US, a call for self-determination for all peoplesoppressed by imperialism. This is the fighting stance of a revolutionaryworking class movement that can win.

ORGANIZING IN THE ECONOMIC CRISIS

5

The current depression is rooted in the worldwide crlS1S of US imperial­ism. No amount of pre-election tinkering can prevent the fact of prolongedand painful dislocation. The strategy of the ruling class is clear: increasethe rate of exploitation of labor, drive a wedge between the employed andunemployed, and intensify police repression.

But this is only part of the story. During the 60's and the first half ofthe 70's the differential between the standards of living of white workers andBlack people has increased. The working class is being forced down to pay forthis crisis. Yet Black and Third World people bear the brunt. Thus, the suffer­ing and emiseration of the whole working class on the one hand, and on theother -- the bribe, the sheltering of white workers from the most severe blows.This is the real situation organizers must confront in all its complexity.Bowing to the narrowist view of economic self-interest, or fighting for thelong-term collective interests of the class. All the more urgent is the neces­sity to organize the working class against imperialism and for revolution.

The recent settlement in the New York teachers strike provides a textbookI illustration. First came the layoffs. In the name of "averting default",

/

'1' 20,000 teachers and paraprofessionals got laid off. People with eight yearstenure got a $1,000 raise. Because of the policy of last hired/first fired,

II those laid off were 70% of the Black and Third World teachers, and the young­I, er teachers in general. With a stroke of his pen, Nayor Beame wiped out theII small gains of the past six years. United Federation of Teachers (UFT) Presi­I dent Albert Shanker consolidated his strength: the slight progressive pro-Il community sentiment that existed among teachers was eliminated. The questionIi.. for UFT members TNas: "lOuld the older, tenured teachers stand with theirIi 20,000 fired fellow union members, or would they breathe a sigh of relief and'I say, "Hell, at least it wasn't me"? The union once again sold out Black and

IThird World teachers, the community and the children, who are 70% Black andThird Horld in the NY school system.

This story illustrated the problems organizers face. The working classis divided not just by racist ideas or tricks of the ruling class but by theacceptance of real though relative privileges by white workers. It is notenough to oppose racist ideas. Principled unity with Black and Third Worldpeople must be based on the uncompromising fight for equality, and totalsolidarity in the fight to end national and racial oppression.

Similarly, the basis of unity between men and women rests on attackingthe material basis for the special oppression of women, fighting for women'sequality. Sexism is more than a bad idea, it is a bad reality.

Organizers wholeheartedly fighting for the needs of the working classmust also raise the banner of revolutionary anti-imperialism. Anti-imperial­ism helps us correctly identify the enemy and identify our friends; it pointstoward uniting with those for whom imperialism has always meant hard times.The only way to strengthen the working class is to fight for internationalist

Iclass consciousness in the struggle against hard times.

In this light we dedicate ourselves to solidarity with the July 4th

Imobilization in Philadelphia which will raise the banner of Independence for

IPuerto Rico and unite this struggle with that of the workers and oppressedpeople of the US. This is an urgent priority.

I Central CommitteeWeather Underground Organization

6

"PUERTO

by Celia Sojourn

RICO IS THE TEST

pljerro /(ICO

A profound economic and politicalcrisis is shaking Puerto Rico, the resultof 75 years of colonial control. Thiscrisis has weakened the colonial governmentand set the stage for a sharpening confron­tation between US power and the PuertoRican independence" movement, spearheadedby a militant workers movement and led bythe Puerto Rican Socialist Party. Anenormous battle is brewing; Puerto Ricois a dagger at the heart of imperialism.The Puerto Rican people are fully deter­mined to see this confrontation throughto a revolutionary conclusion.

Faced with this reality, the US isusing a combined strategy of legal man­euvers and repression. Since January 20a Congressional sub-committee has beenconsidering a "Compact of Permanent Union"which would incorporate Puerto Rico intothe US. The Compact's purpose is to dis­credit the independence forces and getthe case of Puerto Rico out of the handsof the U~ Decolonization Corr.mittee, whichmeets again in August.

This is the moment for solidarity.The U~ and the Non-Aligned Movement recog­nize Puerto Rico's colonial status andright to self-determination, and worldsupport for independence is growing everyday. Building a Puerto Rico solidaritymovement is urgent. As in the early daysof the Vietnam \'iar, the press lies aboutPuerto Rico and the US government pretendsit is a small internal nuisance whichCongress will soon settle. Here is thetruth.

Puerto Rico is A US Colony

Puerto Rico is a direct colony of theUS. It is a nation conquered by the US,whose state machinery and economy are un­der the direct control of the US imperial­ists.

Puerto Rico was born as the island ofBorinquen, inhabited by Taino Indians. TheSpanish came to settle and mine gold atthe end of the 15th century. The Taino~

resisted and were ,viped out, their lalreplaced by the importation of Black slavesfrom Africa. In the middle of the 19thcentury Ramon Emeterio Betances led anindependence and anti-slavery movementwhich culminated in the Grito de Laresuprising on September 23, 1868. A provi­sional Puerto Rican republic was formedand at the same time an uprising shookanother Spanish possession, Cuba. Bothwere crushed with brute force by theSpanish. In 1897, Puerto Rico won auto­nomy from Spain.

In July, 1898 US troops led by Gen­eral Miles, fresh from the massacre atWounded Knee, invaded and occupied theisland. Spain ceded Puerto Rico to theUS as booty to settle their war. PuertoRico lost its sovereignty and became USproperty. In 1917 the Jones Act gavePuerto Ricans US citizenship in time forthem to serve in the US armed forces inWorld War I. After World War II, whenthe independence movement was strong (the island, the US Congress allowed thePuerto Rican governor to be elected forthe first time. He was Luis Munoz Marin,whose Popular Democratic Party came topower by appealing to the people's long­ing for independence. Once elected, MunozMarin turned on the people and proposed aCommonwealth status, the Free AssociatedState (Estado Liberado Asociado). ELAmeans that Puerto Ricans have all the dut­ies of uS citizens without any of therights. In 1950, Public Law 600 grantedPuerto Ricans the right to a constitution,provided that Puerto Rico passed no lawCongress did not approve. If Puerto Ricohad been classified a US possession, itcould have put its case before the UN. TheCommonwealth -- much like the Compact to­day -- was essentially a legal maneuverby the US to keep the status of PuertoRico out of the UN without changing the

~~....'."""".-....... -.

7

FIRE OF ANTI-IMPEnIALISM"-Che

reality of colonial domination.There was no change in the colonial

status of Puerto Rico for the next twentyyears. Plebiscites (elections) which sup­ported the ELA were meaningless. Theserecurring attempts to legitimize US domi-·nation were similar to theUS-run elec­tions in South Vietnam in 1972. The elec­tions were held under the guns of the oc­cupying power and the results, by law,had to be approved by the US Congress. Inthe referendum to be held on the Compactof Permanent Union, independence is notone of the choices: you only vote for oragainst the Compact. The Compact makesonly two US laws inapplicable to PuertoRico -- minimum wage legislation and en­vironmental pro~ection. The Puerto Ricanpeople have the inalienable right to self­determination and independence. No phonyplebiscites or trickery can eliminatethat right.

The ownership of the means of produc­tion in Puerto Rico is in the hands ofNorth Americans and the development of thePuerto Rican economy is determined by theneeds of US capital, not the needs of thePuerto Rican people.

Early colonial history in PuertoRico was typical of Latin America: the USneeded sugar and sugar is what PuertoRico produced, to the exclusion of foodproduction for the people. Sugar was kinguntil the 1940s. After World War II, theUS had enormous capital reserves and wassearching for new areas for investmentsand markets. Munoz Marin c~~e to powerwith a US-sponsored plan for the rapidindustrialization of the island: OperationBootstrap. In the name of accumulatingcapital for Puerto Rico by attracting USinvestment on a huge scale, OperationBootstrap in fact sealed Puerto Rico'sfate. Puerto Rico offered US investors acheap non-unionized labor supply kept inline by government repression. It offer­ed tax exemptions and subsidies for for­eign investments. Until the 1960s thisplan brought light industry -- clothingcement, glass. By the mid-sixties the USshifted to heavy industrial investmenton the island -- petrochemical, chemicaland pharmaceutical. These industriesswallowed up thousands of acres of PuertoRican land and now pour noxious gases,metals, wastes, acids, dyes and pesticides

capable of causing cancer and geneticdamage into the water, air and vegetation.Whole towns of workers in petrochemicaland drug industries suffer from asthmaand emphysema. This is environmentalcolonialism.

The Puerto Rican economy is in hockto the US. The biggest stores in PuertoRico are Woolworths, Grand Union, Whelans,Thom McCann. Foreign-owned enterprisesgenerate 81% of the employment on the is­land and 90% of the industrial exports.In 1970 these enterprises stole $583 mil­lion in profits. By 1974 it was up to$1,345 million -- an increase of 230%.These super-profits come from superexploi­tation: Puerto Rican workers earn onethird less than US workers doing the samejob. This is the fruit of Operation Boot­strap, "the economic miracle."

The system which has grown up inPuerto Rico is colonial capitalism. It isa capitalist economy owned by the US inwhich only a very few wealthy PuertoRican families, tied completely to theUS, own any means of production. For thegreat majority of the 3.3 million PuertoRican people, the rapid industrializa­tion brought only terrible exploitationand suffering. Hundreds of thousands ofjibaros -- mountain people and peasantswere forced off the land and moved tothe cities of Puerto Rico or emigrat.edto the US in search of work. Two millionPuerto Ricans came to the US in one ofthe largest forced displacements of apopulation in this century. In the faceof this colonial process, Puerto Rico re­mains one nation and one people, with a

8

corrmon language, culture, homeland andhistory -- facing a common oppression byUS iQperialism and meeti~g it with acommon struggle.

Over one million Puerto Ricans livein l~ew York City, where they fill the low­paid service and unskilled industrialjobs, pushing racks, sweeping floors andsewing dresses in the garment center.The Puerto Rican population has now spreadto other industrial cities of the north­east and midwest. Another 50,000 PuertoRicans are migrant fanwHorkers who workas much as 12 hours a day six days a weekand live in camps with no plumbing, pri­vacy or dignity. According to US govern­ment figures, 32% of the Puerto Ricanpopulation in the US lives in poverty -­as compared to 13% of the people as awhole. Counting people who need work butare discouraged from looking and womenwho take care of families, 42% of thePuerto Ricans in the US a~le to work areunemployed. 200,000 Puerto Rican womenin NYC must raise their children on wel­fare.

The economic policies of colonialismare now coming home to roost on the is­land in a devastating depression. Unem­ployment in Puerto Rico has not fallenbelow 15% in the last 20 years but is nowmore than double the rate here -- esti­mates range between 35% and 50%. Even inthe best of times prices are 25% higherin Puerto Rico than in the US. One thirdof Puerto Rican families have annual in­comes of less than $2000. One third ofthe population is on welfare and 71% de­pend on food stamps to survive and feedtheir children. The per capita debt isequal to 70% of the island's income -­three times the level of debt in NYC. Theeconomic miracle is built on sand.

US imperialism blames the PuertoRican people for these conditions andargues that the fewer the Puerto Ricansthe fewer the problems. A major weapon isbirth control experimentation and theforced sterilization of Puerto Ricanwomen. Sponsored by Hm~ and the Rocke­feller Foundation, pills and coils whichthe US medical establishment was unwill­ing to test on women here have been usedon the island for years. Sterilizationwithout informed genuine consent, encour­aged by government propaganda and pay­ment, account for the horrible fact that34% of all women of child-bearing age inPuerto Rico have been sterilized.

THE STRUGGLE

1. Albizu Campos and the NationalistParty

"To take our country, first they willhave to take our lives."

Pedro Albizu Campos led the PuertoRican Nationalist Party during the insur-

Puerto Pico

gent period of 1930-1936 and then againfrom 1948-1950. The rest of his life --22 years -- was spent in prisons in theus and Puerto Rico. Don Pedro was aHarvard Law graduate, a many-sided think­er and leader, one of the great figuresof this century. The basis of his theorywas anti-imperialism. He built a militaryorganization of the people as well asthe Nationalist Party. Nationalists werewidely loved as the fiercest fighters forindependence. When a sugar cane strikeparalyzed the island in 1934 the strikerscame to ask Don Pedro to speak for them.In 1935 the US tried to crush the Nation­alists. Four Nationalists were killed bythe police. The Nationalist Party retal­iated with the execution of the colonialchief of police. Albizu Campos was arrest­ed and sentenced to ten years imprison­ment in Atlanta, Georgia. On March 27,1937 the people of Ponce, Don Pedro'shome town, called a peaceful demonstra­tion to protest his incarceration. Thparmy fired on the people and 22 weremassacred, more than 200 were wounded.

Puerto :::ico

After World War II widespreadstrikes and a ~.iversity movement reap­peared. Don pedro returned in 1950 deter­mined to bring the case of Puerto Ricobefore the world. The Nationalists hadgone to the u~ at its founding meetingin 1945 and been turned away. Now theybuilt for insurrection. In spite ofharsh repression, on October 30, 1950 theNationalists were able to seize the townof Jayuya. Blanca Canales raised theNationalist flag. The Nationalists heldJayuya for a week. Then the town and thesurrounding area, a Nationalist strong­hold, were bombed and thousands arrested.The Nationalists attacked La Fortalezain the capital. In concert with this up­rising came the attack on Blair House inWashington, President Truman's residence.in which Griselio Torresola was killedand for which Oscar Collazo is still inprison. A version of the Smith Act wasimmediately applied to Puerto Rico. Underthis "Law of the Muzzle", Don Pedro wassent back to jail. On March 1, 1954 fourme~bers of the Nationalist Party -- LolitaLebron, Rafael Cancel Miranda, AndresFigueroa Cordero and Irving Flores attack­ed the US Congress with arms to call theworld's attention to the Nationalistcause and Don Pedro's imprisonment. DonPedro remained in jail, ill, slowly weak­ened by a radiation "treatment." He wasfinally released, sick and unable tospeak, shortly before his death onApril 1, 1965. 100,000 people marchedin his funeral. The five heroic Nation­alists are still in prison, the long-est held political prisoners in the US.

l.,g/.fa- fd,.;.... ,/I 4/d~n ;:'~I ;:;';on,m1

"

9

2. The Workers and Independence Movements

Colonialism in crisis has given riseto a militant movement with two great con­verging currents: the desire of the PuertoRican people for independence and thesharpening class struggle of the PuertoRican workers, which threatens the eco­nomic basis of US colonial exploitationin Puerto Rico. This synthesis of thenational movement and the working classmovement is explosive. The question forthe coming years will be the transfor­mation of the economic and social crisisinto a political crisis which challengesthe very power of the colonial regime.

The public sector -- those workersemployed by the government -- is the mostadvanced part of the workers movement. Inthe last three years the National Guardhas been called out to battle strikingfiremen and employees of the Water andAqueduct authorities. The telephone strikeof 1975 was backed up by the force of sabo­tage. These services are strategic to theeconomy -- without them the countryceases to function. Last October, whilethe legislature considered an anti-laborPersonnel Law to break the power of thepublic sector unions, these same unionscalled a one-day general work stoppage.80% of the unionized government workersstayed out and 15,000 demonstrated atthe State House, but the Personnel Lawstill passed.

In the private sector, the workersare also fighting systematic attempts tobreak their unity. One example is thePonce Cement strike. Ponce Cement belongsto Luis A. Ferre, multimillionaire ex­governor and close friend of Rockefellerand Nixon. Five hundred workers in theCement Workers and Operators unionstruck to hold onto hard-won benefitsand the integrity of their union. Theirstrike lasted over one year. At thebeginning, Governor Hernandez Colonmobilized tactical police against theirpicket lines, permitting scabs to enterthe plant. Union members were harassedand intimidated by the FBI and falsecharges were brought against their lead­ers. The government strengthened thecompany's hand by allowing several pricehikes for cement. Five months into thestrike, the sell-out Seafarers Interna­tional Union (SIU, AFL-CIO) challengedthe Cement Workers jurisdiction and or­ganized the scabs. The NLRB has justruled in favor of the scab SIU in thecontested union elections. This is a set­back for the new trade union movement,but the support mobilized for the strikeboth here and on the island shows whatmust be built in the future.

This workers movement has joinedforces with a resurging independencemovement. When the Cuban Revolutioncame to power in 1959, there was a renew-

10

al of the independentista forces in PuertoRico. This caught fire in the 1960s. FUPI,the student organization, brought manythousands together to protest the Viet­nam War and to resist the US draft at thesarne time 5DS and the student movementwere organizing here. In the late 60sthe clandestine Commandos of Armed Liber­ation (CAL) declared the Condado touristpreserve off limits to Puerto Ricans andbombed the sumptuous hotels. Both CALand MIRA attacked monuments of US poweron the island. Armed struggle has contin­ued both on the island and here -- mostrecently in the US with the actions ofthe FALN. In Puerto Rico, armed strugglehas become a tool of the working-classand is used in close harmony with unionand anti-US struggles.

In 1959, the Movimiento Pro Inde­pendencia (MPI) was formed with Juan MariBras as Secretary-General. In his wordsMPr was "an alliance of classes, progres­sive ideological tendencies and differentgenerations. We represent national unityin embryonic form." In 1971 MPI becamethe Puerto Rican Socialist Party (PSP),adopted Marxism-Leninism as its ideologyand from a multi-class movement it becamea working class party. The PSP, which isorganized here and on the island, is theleadership of the Puerto Rican struggle.PSP has advanced a full strategy fornational liberation and socialist revo­lution and based this strategy deep in thePuerto Rican working class. The PSP isincreasingly recognized by the peoplethrough trade union and community struggles,and political confrontations with imperial­ism in Puerto Rico, in the US, and onthe international level. Their recentSecond Party Congress was the focus ofevents on the island. Thousands attendedand thousands more read the PSP's messagein Claridad, their daily newspaper. PSPhas advanced a strategy based on the an­alysis that US control is the very rootof the capitalist economy in Puerto Rico.Therefore true independence must ofnecessity rupture capitalist control too.Political independence for Puerto Rico isa first step, the cornerstone of thisprocess, and will be the fruit of decadesof the people's struggle. The final ob­jective, following the creation of ademocratic workers republic, is the build­ing of socialism in Puerto Rico.

The US government will not let goeasily. Total control over Puerto Rico isa strategic priority. Economically, USinvestments in Puerto Rico yield an enor­mous rate of profit. Puerto Rico generatesone tenth of all the profits arising fromUS capital invested abroad. Puerto Ricoaccounts for almost half the profit on allUS investments in Latin America. PuertoRico is the fifth largest market for USgoods in the world and second in the Amer­icas •

Pue:r>to Ri~o

Militarily, Puerto Rico is a staginarea to be used against all of Latin Ame~­iea.

Politically, the Puerto Rican revo­lution is dangerous for the us. The rulingclass considers Puerto Rico its backyardits playground, and they consider the 'independence movement a personal affront.The two million Puerto Ricans living insidethe us, part of the independence struggleand part of the us working class, are aconstant reminder and threat to peace athome.

Wherever we work we must add to ourdemands the slogans "Independence for PuertoRico" and "Free the Nationalist Prisoners."This is a righteous responsibility. Ourorganized presence can limit the US govern­ment's ability to respond to the PuertoRican people with repression, invasion orCIA intervention. We must create a movementeven bigger than the movement against theVietnam War, rooted in shops, schools andco~munities. Our movement must be mili ~t

and use all means to frustrate and sabotageimperialism's goals.

Independence for Puerto Rico will bea blow against US world control andespecially the US ability to have itsway in Latin America. Independence forPuerto Rico will be a victory for ourmovement if we do what the situation de­mands: build a solidarity movement ofmillions and make our rebellion and actiona price imperialism must pay for itscrimes against Puerto Rico. ..

. :,.. ,,_.......- .....-

11

Harch 1, 1976

An Open Letter to US Workers:

The voice of the Puerto Rican independence movement grows stronger each day,both o~ the island and among the 2 8illion Puerto Rican workers who live in the US.Puerto Rico is the main Yankee fortress in Latin ~~erica. All forms of colonial-ism prevail: super-exploitation of Puerto Rican workers, forced migration,plunder of natural resources, rui~ of agriculture, attempted genocide and uttereconomic dependency. 85% of all industry in Puerto Rico is controlled by the US.Puerto Rican workers earn 1/3 less than US workers doing the same job. Officialunemployment is 22%. For Puerto Rican women, there are additional savage formsof oppression: the lowest-paying dangerous jobs; malnutrition and hunger fortheir children because 70% of the people must depend on food stamps; and a 40year US program of forced sterilization. 34% of Puerto Rican women of child­bearing age have been sterilized. Victory in the independence struggle will meana strategic blow to US imperialists who have invested nine billion dollars -­half the US investment in Latin America -- in Puerto Rico.

The Puerto Rican workers and independence forces are determined to wrestback their sovereignty. They have no illusions about the difficult nature oftheir struggle. But they have the courage and energy of a people dedicated toindependence, they have a class-conscious workers movement, they have a leadingrevolutionary party (Puerto Rican Socialist Party) -- and their cause is just.They have appealed to the people of North America, whose solidarity is a funda­mental factor in advancing the independence struggle. They recognize thatcutting off another tentacle of US imperialism will be a decisive advance in thestruggle for revolutionary change in the US.

The workers movement in Puerto Rico has asked for your support. In the past10 years, an independent union movement, dedicated to union democracy and organ­izing the unorganized, has been fighting for increased wages, improved workingconditions and against the high cost of living. Their struggles have led totremendous confrontations with US-ow~ed companies and with the colonial govern­ment. The workers are also forced to fight the "labor colonialism" of the AFL-CIO, which has allied with the FBI, the US government and the big corporationsin attempting to crush the labor movement. These sell-out internationals arechallenging the independent unions' jurisdiction, breaking strikes and condoningthe police terror unleashed against strikers.

The United Workers Movement (MOU) is a coalition of independent unions andsome internationals: 40 unions representing about 40,000 workers. Its coordi­nator, Pedro Grant, is President of the Boilermakers Union and also a member of

( the Central Committee of the PSP. After a two week trip across the US speakingto rank and file groups, caucuses, organizers, and progressive unions, heobserved:

In general, I was amazed at how an important sector of workers aswell as many organizations and individuals in the US are interestedin the problems of Puerto Rico. It was a very good experience forme because now I know ••. that there are strong forces in the US whoare showing interest and taking action in regard to our fight forindependence.

Take a stand with the Puerto Rican independence and workers movement. Jointhe list of organizations, caucuses, rank and file groups and locals who haveformally given their support to the Puerto Rican independent trade union move­ment and the independence movement. The Puerto Rican struggle is the lifebloodof our own.

Independencia para Puerto Rico!Free the Nationalist Prisoners!

~dd::~/ .Bernardine Dohrn ~First Secretary,Weather Underground Organization

12

How many readers of OSAWATOMIE have seen and carefully readAkwesasne ~otes,' If for you the answer is no, that must changequi8kly. If for others the answer is yes, you have a fine handto guide you through the Native American movement and an obliga­tion to encourage others to read it also.

The Notes is the official newspaper of the Moha"llk nation atAkwesasne; Akwesasne means People of the Longhouse. The Long­house, a symbol of unity of the six-nation Iroquois league, isthe seat of council government. It is in the tradition of theIroquois confederacy to spread the roots of Indian law in allfour directions. Akwesasne Notes continues in this tradition.

The Mohawk reservation covers territory in Northwest NewYork and Canada, artificially divided by the U.S.-Canadianborder. The border has been the scene of many clashes in thelast eight years between the Mohawks and Customs officials whowere stopping and searching Indians crossing back and forth antheir own land. After a long struggle, the Mohawks won theright to free passage; now they demand the same rights in cross­ing the bridge over the St. Lawrence River.

The Notes began in 1968 as stapled, mimeoed sheets descri­bing this-rrgnt. Today the Notes is a national and internation­al newspaper. It reaches the homes of many Indians, supportersof the Indian movement, schools, libraries; in all, a circula­tion of 75,000.

The Notes tells the news of Indian people internationally,with an emphasis on the U.S. and Canada. It is Pan-Indian,believing in the commonality of all Indian people and committedto the freedom of all Indian nations. The Notes seeks outIndian people everywhere, explains their culture, their tradi­tion, their resistance. Recently an entire issue was devotedto the Mayan people in Guatemala, following a trip taken thereby Notes people and Mexicanos from El Teatro Campesino. Theissue-revealed the rich Mayan culture and the poverty anddegradation in which they are forced to live. Richness of cul­ture side by side with extreme poverty is the dual condition ofIndian people everywhere.

Indian people are fighting for survival, for their peopleand for the land. Land provides for human survival. Indianshave been in the forefront of exposing the ecological brutalityof the government and struggling against strip mining and nuclear.power plants and for an alternate relationship to nature. ,...f A~,

~ ~\9>~.

~sts~

Ganienkeh in upstate New York is reclaimed Indian land -- theseeds of an Indian nation built on respect for the land.

- The Notes argues for self-determination. The right todecide how to live, educate their children and govern them­selves, is the right of every Indian nation. Sovereign tribes,who have lived here for 1,000 years, are demanding their treatyrights be honored after years of violation. And they aredemanding an endto all forms of colonial exploitation: ster­ilization, assimilation, forced destitution, alcoholism, destruc­tion of Indian culture, support of illegitimate leaders, rapeand destruction of the land.

The war against Native peoples fills the pages of the Notes,particularly the campaign of terror at Pine Ridge reservation--­in South Dakota. 54 people have been killed there since thelast battle of Wounded Knee ended in Spring, 1973. Every formof terror has been used against the Oglala people in an attemptto crush their fighting spirit. The FBI, whose illegal aggres­sion on the reservation got two of their agents killed, sendsout SWAT teams to illegally enter and search Indian homes andharass, beat up, arrest and murder "suspect" Indian militants.AIM (American Indian Movement) has been a special target ofthis government repression because of their persistent role infighting for Indian self-determination. Local goon squads, ledby former tribal chairman Dick Wilson, help to do the government'sdirty work. Grand juries are popping up under every pretext andthe Wounded Knee trials are still going on, tying up the livesand funds of many activists.

We have an obligation as progressive and revolutionary peoplein the U.S. to actively support the Indian struggle for freedom.To subscribe to Akwesasne Notes send whatever you can, accordingto your financial capabilities. Support of all kinds is needed;letters, news clippings, articles of your own. "This papercomes out with the love and energy of many."

~~

13

by Ella Flynn

['

~, .'

Akwesasne NotesMohawk Nationvia Rooseveltown, NY 13683

SUBSCRIBE TO AKWESASNEBICENTENNIAL WITHOUT

NOTES!COLONIES!

16

r.==FIREWORKS

THE WAR OF'189SThe official Bicentennial is the ruling-class campaign of bread and circuses.

The carnival is meant to cover up the catastrophe. Let's use this time to dig outthe truth of us history. The rulers have set the time for the party; let us bringthe fireworks.

The history books say that the Spanish-American war was a war inwhich the US sided with the people of the Spanish colonies who werefighting for their independence. But the truth is that under the guiseof "aid", the US intervened at the moment when Cuba, Puerto Rico andthe Philippines were on the verge of winning independence. \vith thedefeat of the dying Spanish empire, the US claimed these three nationsas its own. Mark Twain had this to say about this first US imperialistwar:

We have bought some islands from a party that did not ownthem••• we coaxed a weak nation into a trap, and closed itupon them.•. we are as indisputably in possession of awide-spreading archipelago as if it were our property: wehave pacified some thousands of the islanders and buriedthem; destroyed their fields: burned their villages andturned their,widows and orphans out of doors; furnishedheart-breaking'exile to dozens of disagreeable patriotsand subjugated the remaining millions by BenevolentAssimilation which is the pious new name of the musket •••And so, by these providences of God -- the phrase is theGovernment's, not mine -- we are a World Power; and areglad and proud.

These c~andestine propaganda actions were done by the WUO.

Gol-den Gate PaI'k~ San. Francisco.Statue in cormremoration of WIn McKin~y,

dedicated by Teddy Roosevelt in 1906.

.~."- ~ .

Centra~ Park, NetJ York City.Statue dedicated to Jose Marti,Cuban patriot.

17

ORG&~IZING REBELLIONIN THE VOLUNTEER ARMY

by J. Lardner

"Join the Navy and See the World!" "Today's Army Wants to JoinYou!" The recruiters shout their appeals like carnival barkers. Youare offered everything by the military, from financial security tojob training, from liberation for women to masculinity for men. Thisis today's volunteer army (Volar). Nixon endej the draft in December1972 and Ford signalled the government's commitment to a volunteermilitary this January when he ended requirements for registrationwith the Selective Service System. Now is the time to examine Volarmore closely.

r!

The central contradiction for GIs isbetween their role as imoerialist aaents-- an armed force used t; maintain ~ndexpand bourgeois power in the US andaround the world -- and their classorigins, young people coming from theworking class and oppressed nations with­in the US. From the perspective of thePentagon planners, this contradiction isdescribed as between the mission of themilitary and the morale of the troops,who at times identify with those theyare supposed to be fighting. The revolu­tionary GI organizer sees it as a con­tradiction between GIs as hired guns ofthe government and the potential for re­sistance based on where they come from.Which aspect of the military will dom­inate, which interest of GIs will prevail?This is the question that sets the strat­egies on both sides of the struggle.

VIETNAM

In Vietnam, the U.S. ruling classwent to the limit to turn back thenational liberation struggle. Eventual­ly they committed a half-million troopsto fight in Vietnam, rotated yearly,with twice as many support personneloutside Vietnam.

The Vietnamese fought a people'swar, based on the unity of their peopleand support from around the world. Theonly strategy the Pentagon could comeup with was to use more bombs, more~roops, and to mold the U.S. society1nto an extensive war machine to directU.S. strength against Vietnam. Huge

grants from the Department of Defensewere used to turn university researchto the tasks of winning the war. Univer­sal conscription of young men was tai­lored to direct different sectors of thepopulation into acceptable occupationalslots: the rich and privileged weresure to get out with loopholes andexemptions; those who labored at warindustries and the physically unfit werelikewise exempt. What remained wereyouths from the working-class and ThirdWorld corr~unities who were sent to dothe front-line fighting.

The military training system wasgeared up: political motivation forfighting the war was never primary intraining GIs since this kind of indoctri­nation would raise more questions thananswers. But military training care­fully cultIvated racist ideology amongGIs concerning Asians and promotedracism towards Black GIs among whites.Recruits were also motivated to trainand fight to prove their manhood: themilitary furthered its tradition ofpromoting prostitution and violenceagainst women. Non-commissioned officers,up from the ranks, cajoled and threatenedthe troops into place. The Pentagonfielded an army that brought tremendousdestruction to Vietnam, from atrocitiesagainst villagers in the countryside tothe decadent culture of dope, prostitu­tion and gambling in the cities.

But this was also an army subjectto pressures. The Vietnamese carriedon a constant '....ar of harassment against

- ..... - ....

18

the occupying troops. The arrogance ofthe imperialist army was disrupted andshaken.

Non-white GIs were in combat andand taking casualties in numbers dis­proportionately higher than their num­bers in the population as a whole.While the military was 12% Black in 1971,16% of the combat assignments and 20% ofthe service and supply positions wereheld by Blacks; the 82nd Airborne, theArmy's primary combat division, was 26%Black. Combat casualties sometimes ranas high as 45% Third World. At the sametime, many of these troops identifiedwith the Vietnamese, rejected the racistdesignation of "gooks" and "slopes". Andthis recognition of the lie behind U.S.propaganda spread to other front-lineGIs -- the grunts, bush-beaters, eleven­bravos. It was these soldiers, takingthe most abuse from the officers, bearingthe brunt of the fighting, who becamethe disloyal opposition within the mili­tary.

Firebase Pace. On October 9, 1971,the Army's First Cavalry Division waspinned dO~l in fierce fighting near theCambodian border. Captain Robert Croninordered the Third Platoon of BravoCompany to leave Firebase Pace on ambushpatrol. First one, then the majority ofthe soldiers, refused the order; menin the other platoons backed them up.The refusal of the soldiers at FirebasePace to fight was flashed on TV screensand newspapers across the U.S. and aroundthe world. The First Cav was the show­case division, the descendants of theinfamous Crook raiders against theApaches and Teddy Roosevelt's RoughRiders in Cuba. And they were no longerwilling to fight.

Worn down, beaten, demoralized, theU.S. army broke down in Vietnam. Some­times this took the form of a self­destructive fatalism in heroin addiction;sometimes it was direct rebellions: GIsrefused ambush patrols, established pri-

volunteer a.:t"m'j

vate cease-fires with the Vietnamese,dropped smoke grenades or fragmentationgrenades in their officer's bunkers.GIs were ordered to do the impossiblein Vietnam. Some were realizing theyhad nothing against the so-called enemyand began to turn their guns around.Many white GIs came in close contactwith this Black-led rebellion and turnedtheir backs on the reactionary trainingthey had received to become -- along withThird World veterans -- a leading anti­imperialist force in the working class.

Organizers opened coffee houses,built servicemen's unions and deserters'committees, and formed Black brotherhoodsto spread information and build conscious­ness among GIs about the war. Resistancein the military grew and flowered inthe context of the huge social movementagainst the war and the Afro-Americanliberation struggle.

In the summer of 1967, federalNational Guard troops were called outeighteen times, leading to 87 deaths.But during the 1968 demonstrations inChicago against the Democratic Convention,forty-three Black airborne troops fromFt. Hood refused to board planes fordomestic action, saying they did notwant to be fighting Black and anti-wardemonstrators.

When Nixon was forced to pull theground troops out of Vietnam, organizersspread consciousness to sailors andairmen who were carrying out Nixon's ai:::war against Vietnam. The Vietnamese se:~

the limits of U.S. bourgeois power inthe Tet offensive. The resistance inthe military was an important factor infrustrating the escalation strategy ancforcing U.S. rulers to withdraw fromVietnam.

WHAT KIND OF VOLUNTEER.MILITARY?

During the Vietnam war, the rulin~

class and their generals were defee don many fronts. Many Americans rej~~te

the militarization of society and univ=.sal conscription, and Nixon was forcedto end the draft as an institution thatcaused more problems than solutions.But what did Nixon and his planners warto replace it with?

The goal of the generals is tobuild an army of "true volunteers" -­instead of volunteers who signed upunder threat of a draft. Every effortis bent to the task of forging a forceof gung-ho soldiers, permanent, reli­able, like many U.S. police forces.Further, the Pentagon wants to use its2.1 million active GIs and 900,000reservists in the National MilitaryProgram for Flexible Response. This issimply a plan for imperial aggressionin short raids (like the Mayaguez attacon Cambodia in 1975), bombing missionsand tactical support for pro-U.S.governments (like the support the U.Sgave Israel in the 1973 war). More-

19

over, the generals use the armed forcesas a striking force in domestic disor­ders: the National Guard in Californiainaugurated a program last Fall to formurban police units within the guard.This was nominallY to enable them tostep in in the event of another citypolice strike, but also served to beefup domestic power in case of urbanrebellions.

But the military is an unpopularoccupation and has had difficultyrecruiting even with increased pay andrelatively peaceful duty. Militaryplanners decided to turn over more ofthe most degraded work like KP tocivilian workers who have becomeespecially in the South -- a key partof the military machine.

And increasingly they have beenrecruiting women to fill non-combatoccupations. The number of women in themilitary has increased from 2% in 1971to 5% in 1975 and is expected to reach8% by 1977. While the public is fedfeatures on the few women in militaryacademies and success stories on job­training for women, the truth is primar­ily in the drudgery of low-paid clericalwork, contract employment with no chancefor promotion or job choice. 51% of thewomen in the military are kept in thelowest three grades (E-l through E-3),which is double the service-wide average.

With poverty among Afro-Americansdo~inating the economic picture, recruit­ment was increasing among Black youths.Of the new enlistees in 1974, 21% wereAfro-Americans. Over the past fouryears, Black GIs have grown from com­prising 14% to 20% of the soldiers inthe Army, from 11% to 18% in the Marinesand from 11% to 15% in the armed fcrcesas a whole. This confronted the generalswith a new problem: could they count onBlack GIs, who hadal:ways been the mostrebellious, as mobile enforcers for imper­ialism in Angola or Lebanon? They tooksteps to counter the trend of Blackenlistment. Recruiters began to focuscampaigns in largely-white small towns.The requirement of a high school diplomaor equivalency test, which eliminatesmany Black youths from deteriorated ghettoschools, was reintroduced. In boot camp,officers would seek out the most gung-hoGIs, to separate them into special unitsthey could rely on in times of combat.

But even with recruitment amongwomen and hiring of civilians, witharm-twisting by judges sentencing youthsfor petty crimes and huge advertisingcampaigns in high schools, with shortenlistment periods and a $2500 cash bonusfor combat enlistments, the military wasnot able to meet its quotas in the early70s. By the end of 1974, however, theeconomic crisis was deepening and unem­ployment was reaching record levels,over 20% for men under 25. Suddenly thefortunes of the recruiters began tochange, especially in cities hit hard

by unemployment like Detroit. They wereable to meet recruitment quotas in allservices, to drop the offer of a two­year tour of duty, to cut the nu.-:1ber ofBlack recruits from 29% to 26% and raisethe number of recruits with high schooldiplomas from 56% to 75%. In 1975, theservices surpassed their enlistmentquotas by 20%. The most successfulrecruiter the military could find turnedout to be Sgt. Hard Times.

So the "universal" conscription,which was supposed to be a democraticgeneral lottery but never was, changesits form of compulsion to an economicconscription of workers unable to findjobs or the prospect of job training.The military's $93 million direct adver­tising budget for 1976 is aimed directlyat unemployed youth. The strategy ofthe generals is to build a mercenaryarmy from the victims of the economiccrisis.

GI ORGANIZING

GIs are caught between their roleas a special armed body, imperialism'senforcer, and their roots as working­class people and as members of oppressednations within the U.S. The job ofGI organizers is to win recruits tounderstand this contradiction and torepudiate their role as oppressors.

To the extent that the generalssucceed in building crack units,"centurions", organizers and GIsshould direct sharp attacks againstthem. These units should be exposedand isolated and defeated. Intoaay's Volar, however, the major­ity of GIs do not fit this category.They rebel and resist the conditionsof their service, and the job oforganizers is to bring politicalconsciousness and organization tothis rebellion.

Many GIs are disgusted with lifein the military, and AWOL levels inthe last year have been only slightlybelow the record high period of 1971.Some recruits have sued the militaryfor misrepresentation in job trainingoffers, such as the case of SeamanPaul Oldencamp and eight other Hawaii­based sailors in 1974. Sailors'wives have been organizing in califor­nia to stop the sailing of unsafeships and homeporting of the shipsin Japan. Other GIs have fought therestriction on democratic rights inthe military: for years U.S. forcesin Europe have been confronting hairlength restrictions -- from Afrosand corn-rows to long hair -- leadingto numerous courts martial and thedevelopment of contacts with theradical Dutch GI union. Gay women andmen in the military have been chal­lenging discharges on the basis ofhomosexuality, demanding basic demo­cratic rights. Many GIs have reasoned

•...' •._>~.,,'",-;-.,'.

20

--- - -....--~-"".... _. ;..,·c.:.:;-~.. _.•.- ....... _.~

th:t since they signed up voluntarily,they have the right to quit. The13th Amen~~ent prohibits involuntaryservitude to everyone with the excep­tion of prisoners. Six men and womenon Navy bases in Virginia resignedwith the help of the Norfolk DefenseCommittee in protest of conditions andthe role of the militarj.

Organizers should not limitthe struggle to these reform demands,but fight for democratic rights --free speech, the right to organize, theright for GI newspapers -- in a waythat links each struggle to the con­sciousness of anti-imperialism, which isthe key to a vital GI movement. With­out this, reform struggles remain onlyreforms, and in the military this is adeadly error, leaving the imperialistsarmed to wage further wars. In addition,GIs can be an important force in otherpolitical struggles: against rape, thesexist assaults exalted in militaryfolklore; for full amnesty for 30,000military resi~'ters and 600,000 veteransdenied benefits because of bad discharges.

A direct challenge to the pervertedmilitary order and the U.S. militarymission is provided by the Black andThird World GIs' attack on racial har­assment and racist institutions.During the Middle East war in 1973,Black and Puerto Rican sailors on theUSS Little Rock in the Mediterraneanfought back against a white attack thatwas the culmination of four months ofracial harassment. Black SeamanApprentice David Pryor had these wordsto say during his trial for the incident:"Our problems went unsolved. Ourquestions remained unanswered. • . Aboardthe USS Little Rock, our hopes turnedto hatred, dedication became disgust,eyes searching for acceptance turnedinward, and our hands raised for helpbecame clenched fists." Similar Blackprotests have taken place in the U.S. -­like the take-over of a dining hall byBlack Airmen and WAFs (Women in the AirForce) at Minot Air Force Base in NorthDakota -- and overseas -- like thepitched battles in Korea over racism inthe service clubs. Building the struggleagainst racism and the national oppressionof Black people is a central task for GIorganizers.

In the most advanced GI actions,the imperial mission of the U.S. mili­tary is directly called into question.Black Army PFC Larry Johnson was courtmartialled for refusing service in 1973.Larry won his trial, based on his argu­ment that "I resigned from the Army tomake people better aware of what Portu­~al, the U.S. Army, and NATO are doing~n Mozambique, and to withdraw myservice fia~ aiding and abetting warcrimes." Five Marines in Iwakuni, Japanwere court martialled for circulating apetition in support of democratic rights

--""""."':-(' ":".-~..

in South Korea, a U.S. puppet dictator­ship under Park Chung Hee.

In the southeastern U.S. radicalGIs organized a campaign against theU.S. Navy and Marine practice warfarein Puerto Rico, dubbed "OperationSpringboard." The U.S. military occu­pies over 13% of Puerto Rican land andNavy gunners use Puerto Rico's CulebraIsland as a firing range. Their peti­tion reads in part: '" Operation Spring­b?a7d' i? part of our training in pro­v~d~ng f~re support for suppressingrebellions in countries like PuertoRico. • • As working people ourselves,we support the struggle of the peopleof Puerto Rico for their independence,and calIon you to take whatever actionsare necessary to STOP OPERATION SPRING­BOARD! "

The military is in a state ofconstant alert because of the instabil­ity of the U.S. empire, and the contra­dictions within the military are seet'--ing. Everyone doing working-classorganizing should turn some attentionto agitation among GIs, even if onlyby leafletting GIs about importantissues every month. Some organizersshould build mass struggles and organi­zation within the military. It is rightfor GIs to organize now as broadly andextensively as during the height ofthe Vietnam war -- the conflicts ofthe corning decade will be just asintense._

-•.~-,......,...._.-~.,._._ ..•-....-,~.~.- ....... '_.",-~~,",'"'----"---'-''-~''-'" ~..-.._-.-". ""","-"

21

With the advent of imperialism, thehighest stage of capitalism, the worldwas divided into oppressor and oppressednations. The oppressed nations strugglingfor national liberation became a part of

the great tide of the proletarian movement.Now, with a strong and growing socialist rear-

base, national liberation struggles are the sharp­est points of defeat for imperialism. The right of

nations oppressed by imperialism to self-determination, in­cluding the right to secession and independence, is a fundamen­

tal democratic right, recognized and fought for by communists every­where; this right is inalienable, and cannot be swept away by violence

or imperialist-run plebiscites.Workers in the imperialist countries must fight against the bribe offered

by imperialism; they must recognize and fight for the right of oppressed nationsto self-determination. This is the necessary basis of class solidarity andunity. This is the meaning of proletarian internationalism. This is the essen­tial underpinning of the slogan: "Workers and oppressed peoples of the worldunite! "

The demand for self-determination is forwarded in the interest of equalityof nations and peoples. But it also recognizes that equality cannot be achievedby shoving union down the throats of the oppressed.

US imperialism dominates nations around the world with military force,economic aggression and political control. The US owns direct colonies likePuerto Rico, controls neo-colonies like South Korea, and oppresses nationswithin its own borders -- Black, Mexicano and Native American nations. The op­pressed nations, fighting for self-determination, are delivering the mosttelling blows against imperialism. The communist and workers movement mustactively join in this fight, for this is the necessary basis for a revolu­tionary alliance against the common enemy.

Even dreamers desire unity between workers of oppressed and oppressornations, but unity on what basis? Only the principled fight for the right ofoppressed nations to self-determination can build a true and lasting unitya communist unity. When the demand for self-determination is muted or dropped,for whatever "practical" reasons or imagined goals, this is national chauvinism.The demand for self-determination is the expression of the struggle againstnational oppression both now and in the future, and it must be emblazoned onour banners always.

The proletariat of the oppressing nations cannotconfine itself to the general hackneyed phrasesagainst annexations and for the equal rights ofnations in general, that may be repeated by anypacifist bourgeois. The proletariat cannot evadethe question that is particularly "unpleasant"for the imperialist bourgeoisie, namely, thequestion of frontiers of a state that is based onnational oppression. The proletariat cannot butfight against the forcible retention of the op­pressed nations within the boundries of a givenstate, and this is exactly what the struggle forself-determination means.

Lenin on the Nationaland Colonial Questions

,.

22

ZIONISM IS RACISM

The United Nations GeneralAssembly voted on November 10,1975 to declare Zionism "a formof racism and racial discrimi­nation." The WUO supports thisresolution, supports the rightof the Palestinian people toself-determination in their home­land, and condemns the colonial,racist and reactionary state ofIsrael. Anti-Zionism does notequal anti-semitism, nor is Zion­ism in the true or lasting inter­ests of Jewish people.

Zionism is racist becauseit is colonial. Zionism has al­ways used and been used by imperi­alism -- first British, now Ameri­can. Theodore Herzl, the founderof modern Zionism, negotiatedwith the Turkish sultan, theBritish, the Germans, the Russiansand the Pope for assistance inobtaining Palestine. In return,Herz1 promised his proposedJewish colony would be a "rampartof Europe in Asia, an outpost ofcivilization against barbarism."Herzl expressed his admirationfor British imperialism in Egyptin 1903: "The role of the Englishthere is superb. They are clean­ing up the East, letting lightand air into its dens of filth."

The common goal of Zionismand imperialism was to impose adestiny on the Middle Eastagainst the wishes and interestsof the people who lived there.Imperialist ideology justifies theconquest and exploitation of theThird World with lies that ThirdWorld people don't need, want,use or deserve their own lands and re­sources; tha"t they are too backward torule themselves; and that they should begrateful for the civilizing mission of theconquerors. This ideology is racist; Zion­ism is one of its forms.

The Zionists justify their claim toPalestine by insisting that no one livedthere. Palestine was "a land without peoplEfor a people without land." In fact theArab population of Palestine numbered700,000 in 1914, and a million by 1948.The Zionist colonizers did not confinetheir efforts to the deserts and marshes,but seized the fertile plains and valleys,the orchards and groves as well.

The Israeli leadership denies thatthey have ever displaced a single Arab.But in the first six months after the UNdecision to partition Palestine in 1947,

the Zionists forced the evacuation of400,000 Palestinians by a campaign of ter­ror culminating in the massacre of 250inhabitants of the village of Deir Yasin iApril 1948 -- a month before the beginninof the Arab-Israeli war. 750,000 Palesti­nians were forced from their homeland in1947-1948; this was 3/4 of the entirePalestinian people.

Zionist colonialism did not end whenIsrael became a state in 1948. It contin­ues in the theft of Arab lands insideIsrael; in the expansionist occupation ofArab territories in the wars of 1956, 19Eand 1973; and in the Law of Return whichencourages every Jew in the world to emigrate to Israel and participate in thefurther colonization of Palestine.

The military government which hasadministered most Arab areas of Israel

J

i\

I

since 1948 is empowered to suppress poli­tical activity, restrict travel, confis­cate or destroy property and detain/or ex­pel any inhabitant. Thousands of Palesti­nians have been imprisoned without trialunder a preventive detention system simi­lar to South Africa's. Arabs cannot workor lease land owned by the state of Israel.Tens of thousands of Arabs are statelessdue to the Israeli Nationality Law andhave no rights of citizenship. Arabs inIsrael live under a different set of laws,as well as a different set of social andeconomic conditions than those whichapply to Jews. This is zionist racism inpractice.

Zionism bases its claim to the landon the fact that the Jewish people livedthere in ancient times, and have maintain­ed their attachment in prayers, legends,and messianic prophecies. Against thishistoric claim is the living claim of thePalestinian people, the inhabitants andcultivators of the land at the beginningof the Zionist colonization. Palestinianshave lived on the land, built theirhouses from its yellow stone and clay,terraced its rocky hills, tended its oliveand citrus groves, its flocks of goatsand sheep continuously for the past 3,500years. The program of the PalestinianLiberation Organization calls for a sec­ular, democratic Palestine, recognizingthe right of Jews presently living thereto remain as well as the right of allexiled Palestinians to return. This isthe only just solution.

Israel's existence as a Zionist stateis the denial of self-determination for

ENEMY OF THE StJ"N

I may - if you wish - lose my livelihoodI may sell my shirt and bed.I may work as a stone cutter,A street sweeper, a porter.I may clean your storesOr rummage your garbage for food.I may lie down hungry,o enemy of the sun,But .I shall not compromiseAnd to the last pulse in my veinsI shall resist.

You may take the last strip of my land,Feed my youth to prison cells.You may plunder my heritage.You may burn my books, my poemsOr feed my flesh to the dogs.You may spread a web of terrorOn the roofs of my village,o enemy of the sun,ButI shall not comoromiseAnd to the last'pulse in my veinsI shall resist.

-Sarneeh AI-Qassem

23

Palestinians, and Israel needs the activeprotection of US imperialism. Israel re­ceives massive US military aid and is oneof imperialis.m's staunchest supporters.Zionism defends and aids reaction aroundthe world: in Saigon before liberation,in South Africa, in Chile.

Anti-semitism is a dangerous ideol­ogy which must be condemned and foughtwherever it exists. It has been perpe­trated as a reactionary doctrine to blameJews for the evils brought about by classsociety. But Zionism itself is built onthe premise that anti-semitism is inevi­table, a disease inborn and eternal tothe human race, separate from social, his­toric conditions.

Zionist oppression of the Palestinianpeople is the cause of anti-Zionism. ThePalestinians' struggle to reclaim theirhomeland is not anti-semitic. Robbed oftheir land, deprived of the most basichuman and civil rights, the Palestinianpeople justly see the state of Israel astheir enemy. Their leaders have publiclydenounced anti-semitism and fought it intheir ranks.

The path to overturning anti-semitismdoes not lie in cooperating with the im­perialist murderers of My Lai to repressthe liberation struggle of the Palestinianpeople. The main safeguard against thedevelopment of fascism in the world todayis in the struggles of the oppressed andexploited people of the world against USimperialism and its allies; including thestruggle of the Palestinian people againstZionism and for self-determination. ..

•

ON POETRY

If only these poems wereA chisel in the hands of a workerA grenade in the hands of a fighterIf onlyIf only these poems wereA plow in the hands of a peasantA shirt, a door, a key,If only

onceA poet said:If my poems gratify my friendsAnd anger my enemiesThen I am a poet.

- Mahmoud Darweesh

.'"

24 corrmentc~J~/

--EYE OF THE STORM-----------

MIGOLA

by Joe Reed

March 1, 1976

The victories of MPLA and the People'sRepublic of Angola are of breathtakinghistorical importance. They are a triumphfor the Angolan people, a stunning defeatfor the South African racist invaders anda deadly setback to US plans fo~ re-colo­nizing Angola under the cover of puppetforces, FNLA and UNITA. Neocolonialism,the cornerstone of US imperial strategy,has been dealt a heavy blow. This is alsoa victory for the workers and oppressedpeople in the US and for all those whoseactions in solidarity with Angola havechallenged US aggression. Angola has beenthe spearpoint of national liberationstruggles in the past year, and solidaritywith the ~IPLA has been a cut·ting-edgequestion for all anti-imperialists.

MPLA was founded in 1956 by a smallgroup of African revolutionaries, includ­ing Amilcar Cabral and its present leader,Dr. Agostinho Neto. MPLA began armed strug­gle on February 4, 1961 and has led everysubsequent stage of the liberation war.MPLA built a people's army to fight colo­nialism and promoted popular power in theliberated zones. MPLA stood for true in­dependence free from US neocolonial con­trol. Its policies won it the love and sup­port of the people: by early 1975, MPLAgoverned a substantial portion of Angola.

FNLA and UNITA have long been theinstruments of imperialism. Holden Roberto,the head of FNLA, began as the leader ofa tribal secessionist movement in thenorth. He has received a yearly $10,000retainer from the CIA since 1961. The FNLAnever bothered the US or Portugal. It func­tioned instead as an armed band attaCkingMPLA guerrillas near Angola's northernfrontier and then retreating to sanctuar­ies in Zaire. While MPLA fought the Por­tuguese in Angola, Holden Roberto grew richoff gangster dealings in Zaire and waitedfor the US to install him as Angola's newleader. Roberto has never hidden his vio­lent anti-communism: in a recent Newsweekinterview, he called on "the West to saveAfrica from ComrT\unism", and criticized theUS for "moving slQ'."ly in Vietnam."

By 1966 FNLA was discredited in theeyes of Africa. The CIA then set up UNITAas a more "legitimate" counterweight toMPLA. UNITA built a small base area incentral Angola and won support among theOva~bo people in the south. While UNITAleader Jonas Savimbi concluded secret deals

. '..

"

with South Africa and Portugal, CIA-spon­sored UNITA representatives went to theUS posing as the only revolutionary Ango­lan movement. UNITA focused on splittingthe Black and white revolutionary move­ments away from MPLA. This CIA strategyhad its successes and wreaked much havoc.Within our own organization this campaigncreated uncertainty which was later cor­rected. All the while ~~LA cried out thatit was the only force fighting colon: ",isr"that UNITA and FNLA were grotesque n~_­

colonial creations designed to keep AngcJ 1.in chains. In 1971, the Organization ofAfrican Unity sent an official delegationto observe the actual conditions of s cr;'gle in northern Angola and reported backthat "only the militants of the NPLA wer,.effectively combating the Portuguese."

MPLA victories and the overthrow o~

Portuguese fascism in 1974 set the stag2for Angolan independence in November, 19'In January 1975 the US began a massiveprogram of aid to UNITA and FNLA with a$300,000 payment. This was two months be­fore any increase in Soviet aid to MPLA.

, .

Mtles

ZAIRE

, ...

25

ruCHO

By the end of last year, US aid had reach­ed $32 million, with another $10 mil~ion

laundered through Zaire. By arming itspuppets the US hoped to provoke and win acivil war before the MPLA could consoli­date its strength in Luanda. As part ofthis strategy, Henry Kissinger orchestratedthe South African invasion and promisedfull US support. South Africa launchedthe attack in October 1975 from a militarycomplex in its northern colony of Namibia.Thousands of South African commandos sweptnorth, attacking the liberation forces ofSWAPO in Namibia, burning villages insouthern Angola, terrorizing the fleeingpopulation.

Invaded from the south and underattack from 6000 Zairean troops in thenorth, the neWly-declared People's Repub­lic of Angola sustained heavy losses. ButHPLA held Luanda and its outlyi.ng regionsand resistance continued in the areas heldby UNITA and FNLA. Then heroic Cuba, whichhad been a firm MPLA supporter throughoutthe long war, responded to an MPLA requestby sending hundreds and then thousands ofvolunteer fighters. Cuba acted in the greattradition of proletarian internationalism.In a moving defense of Cuban actions, FidelCastro declared at the First Party Congressin Havana: "We are a Latin American andLatin African nation as well; Africanblood flows freely through our veins."Mozambique offered troops and full support.The Soviet Union expanded its shipment ofarms, tanks and other desperately neededsupplies. This solidarity was critical insmashing the South African offensive andliberating much of Angola.

Samora Machel, the President ofMozambique, has said:

~~F:::::::--~....,'v,o;«-------.INO! NO LO DESTRUYAS,

MI ~~IGO. DESPUES DE LEERLO,PIENSA EN ALGUN AMIGO A QUIEN

~ INTERESARIA LEERLO ••• Y iDASELO!; ••• Y DILE QUE EL TAMPOCO LO~ DESTRUYA DESPUES DE P~ERLO

. LEIDO; QUE SE LO DE A OTRO, Y: ESTE, A OTRO, Y ASI.

. MIRA, lSABES 10 QUE PASAo HEMOS REALIZADO UN GRA.~ ESFUER­

,~ 20 PA~\ IMPRIMIR ESTE 'OLLETO.NOCHES DE VIGILIA, CONS~GUIR EL

~ DINERO, BURLAR A LOS PERROS DELA TI&~~IA ••• Y TODO ESE SACRI­FICIO DEBE SERVIR NO SOLO P,\RAQUE LO LEAS-TU, SINO P,~~ QUEPASE DE MANO EN MANO CO~O INDICEACUSADOR DEL ODIOSO BATISTATOPRO-IMPERIALISTA.

PUCHO

In Angola, two forces are con­fronting each other; on the onehand, imperia·lism with its alliesand its puppets; on the other,the progressive popular forceswhich support ~WLA. There isnothing else.

This is clear. But there are .revo.,..lutionaries who hesitate and those whoback the wrong side. The People's Repub­lie of China has lined up with the US bydenouncing Soviet aid to MPLA, condemning"Soviet-Cuban aggression" and accusing theSoviet Union of "single-handedly provok­ing the Angolan civil war." China has re­fused to recognize the HPLA government,instead insisting that MPLA unite withUNITA and FNLA in a "government of nation­al concord." This would amount to lettinsra fifth column enter the new Ango~~n gov­ernment. China's position is dOangerous andwithout justification. It is echoed inthe US by the October League which recent­ly staged a demonstration in San Franciscoagainst "Soviet intervention W in Angolawhile Henry Kissinger was speaking severalblocks away.

The People's Republic of Angola isnow a reality, tested in the fierceststruggle. It has won state power and gov­erns almost the whole of Angola. It hasthe overwhelming support of progressiveforces. Now it will defend these gainsand begin the awesome task of economicreconstruction. The US will not reconcileitself to defeat; ir is sure to attemptmore subversion and escalate its effortsagainst liberation forces in Zimbabwe andNamibia. South Africa still has troops in­side Angolan territory. This is why con­tinued solidarity is essential. But thefuture of Angola is bright.

.-----~-t:-,.IJ{"------j['iIi

PSSST, NO, DON'T THROW THISAWAY, MY FRIEND. AFTER YOU'VEREAD IT, THINK OF SOME FRIENDSWHO WOULD BE INTERESTED INREADING IT ••• AND GIVE IT TOTHEM! ALSO, TELL THEM NOT TOTHROW IT AWAY AFTER THEY READIT, SO TIL~T IT PASSES FROM ONETO ANOTHER AND THEN TO ~~OTHER,

AND SO ON.

LISTEN, DO YOU ~~OW w~T'S ,~

HAPPENING? IT TOOK A BIG EFFORT<TO PRINT THIS. NIGHTS OF VIGILANCE, FVND~~ISING, OUTWITTINGTHE AGENTS OF REPRESSION ••• ~~

ALL THIS SACRIFICE SHOULD NOTONLY OBLIGE YOU TO READ IT YOUR­SELF, BUT TO PASS IT ON FROMHAND TO HAND AS A '..rEAPON IN THESTRUGGLE AGAINST THE ODIOUSIMPERIALISTS.

'.~ .,..

In a cold night rain we arrive atthe Harlem funeral, converging withseveral thousand people to mourn thedeath and celebrate the life of PaulRobeson. Black and white, of every age,we fill the Mother &~ Zion Church,smiling solidarity to one another as wecrowd closer together, a cross-sectionof lives touched by a great man. Hymnsand prayers are followed by tributes;Lloyd Brown begins: "The tallest treein our forest has fallen •.• "

The tree had roots strong and deep;Paul Robeson was born the son of a for­mer slave. Bursting wir.h extraordinarytalent, energy and creativity, over­flowing with humanity and love, Paulbroke down racist barriers to win thehighest academic and athletic honors atRutgers, earn a law degree, and take thetheater by storm.

Paul Robeson sang in a full bass­baritone the spirituals and folksongsof his heritage. And he did more withhis beautiful voice than sing: he agita­ted and taught, he fired the desire forfreedom in working and oppressed peoples."The artist must elect to fight for free­dom or slavery", he said. "I have made my

26

PAUL"The

ROBESON (1898-1976)

Tallest Tree"

, .Cl1o~ce. I had no alternative. "

Paul Robeson drew experiences from the common people and sang for the freedomfighters.' He was in spain performing for anti-fascist fighters during the CivilWar, he was in Russia, he was in China. And he was also in the theaters and unionhalls of America, organizing solidarity with African liberation struggles, fightingracism and national oppression, standing up to a lynch mob at Peekskill. PaulRobeson loved the people of the world; he spoke over two dozen languages. And Paulwas loved by people in every land. He was a true internationalist, a militant,a communist.

" The mighty forces of U.S. racism hounded Paul, and he refused to move an inch.He was stripped of his passport, blacklisted as a performer, summoned before HUAC."Why didn't you stay in Russia?" asked a U.S. Congressman. Paul Robeson's retortrang out:

Because my father was a slave, and my people died to build this country, and Iam going to stay right here and have a part of it just like you. And no fascist-·minded people will drive me from it. Is that clear?

Illness forced his retirement ten years ago, but his political stance neverwavered. "I am still the same Paul." he said in 1973, saluting the liberationstruggles of his people and all those embattled against imperialism.

1 Now we recall with love and sorrow the father, friend, freedom fighter, artist,brother. "Can we doubt", asks Lloyd Brown, "that he would have gone to Vietnam tosing for their Liberation Army? And with Paul's genius for languages, in purestVietnamese!" We are very moved, very proud to be part of a revolutionary history inwhich Paul Robeson played his magnificent role. As we file into the night, Paul's

". words echo in our minds:

,

".

But I keep laughin I instead of cryin I

I must keep fightin' until I'm dyin' ,And 01' Man RiverJust keeps rollin' along.

.'

F • W

CHOU EN-LAIF •

27

Message of condolence sent to thePeople's Republ~c of China.

January 15, 1976

With people and nations alloverthe world we pay our respects toPrime Minister Chou En-Lai and jointhe Chinese Communist Party, govern­ment and people in mourning his death.The life and work of Chou En-Lai hasbeen an inspiration and lesson torevolutionaries on every continentfor fifty years. From Shanghai tothe Long March, from Yenan to Peking,Chou En-Lairs life was a revolution­ary life. He is loved by all of uswho love the Chinese Revolution.statesman, leader, cOIT.rrn.;nist, hisdeath is a great loss to socialismand to the world's peoples.

In solidarity

Bernardine DohrnWeather Underground Organization

people.and oppressed people to wage the

WHO WE AR,:!

The Weather Undergrouud Organization (wuO) is a revolutionary organization of cowounist women and ~

We grow from the civil rights, anti-war and youth movements of the 1960's, in particular Students for aDemocratic Society (5DS), the group which called §htl:.f,:i.l:~ationalprotest against the Vietnam War in

i;~;'aa~~n~e~~m~s~~~e~:~::~ ~~:~~~~/~~~h orza~~~T~~~~~td::~e~f"x:~ ~:~~~i~::~O: ~~:~~er-man to know which wa~ th~ wind~blo'~3"•.,.r~e.1i;~} ·~i.~i.?UtO:~iin arm~d"~fruggJ,~~\1'l11d d~velop.edan underground orgam.zauon. L'or rive ~ nIre'stI WUO"haSbe:n-.lIll:~;ed and mmt he 1.IDpenal-

ist s~~t~~IY 1974, we published Praid. ire: The Pol1tic~ RevOluti~nary:O.~"'¥l1erfal~S bestof our knowledge there ace curre;~U ,000 ct;)pie3';~f}theb51 circulation'i.;Y~

The Weather Undergrou:ld Qrg tion is.<;re.sponsiblef .... > .•.• " .?-. armed actiou.s.agains tthe enemy.Ei~ht . of these were bombings d;f, ed againS' . si:.W~~~}f~~uppor"-ofth~people.of Indochina.Thl.S l.ncludes the attack C:l the;:' apitol> n tne Pentcgon';;:l:~;.rg,~ and on the. State-.Department in

~; 7~iac~e~i:~~~~~~n~er;h~~re~~(d::a.~.·..~gta.t••. '....... one~~;~s~~~ya~~~~~:U~~a~~~~,~:i~~n~97••&~.•..•...1 1.:~~ 't~:dC~~i~~~~~:tDepartment of Corrections'f wing the..;.~,~assination of George Jackson at:.~san Quent.••• in 1971. One was abombing of the Department: ealth":'Ed~tion and Welfare, an action whic,:. was part':. the freedom strug-gle of women. Oue was ab ng of the'.'ew York City branch of the Bancad., Ponce,.. :tri militant support ofstrikingcemen-t 1oIo..kersin. rto Rico;t'hese.a.~tionswere carried oue inh1lrm(J~Y~it:~the demonstrations,

'1larches ana political a.. ctivi1:1 of mi. lliOnS.~.. ofp.eOit·~.... TOg".ther,they have r.. e.StiI..·•...ted .. i n -<.•·r.·pproximately $10million damage to theimpe. . sts and as~gnifica t blow to ththr arrogaIlce;< Th:lsiSj) a bee sting againstsuch a powerful enemy~;;Rut. e sting wh0lle stJ:"en h is mUltip~ied maIl~'t"fmes·bY'the;;:ract that these actionsre?resent the,~arly:~t:a8es·... stai~ed~"ed struggle led bY'apoliti9'al organizatiOl,I.

osawatolllie~·<tn.~;$F"ltiti;aJ:YV'a;ice-r, the', is gUided'W a cmpmittmene tos~ruggle, a deterninationto fight the.""llelltY"?i'he cetta. y;t:hil\ Wj;- ilLse evolution1;#j0m:: 11;fetime, and .Il\Jspirit of love for the

~~~O~~~l';~t~:~w;~;~;~,~~.or~?{?~'build successfUl~3ruggl~'>the...p. 'eoP:j:ffteed strong organiza-

Tha~ram of the Wea ;:her:Uiiaergro 0 Org tion is:' ;l~';'" . ...;.'<•.--> .. ".J . . '" ".,:;~'•• :<>i,~;:"

. US imperialism out of Vie Third·i"ltorld~, dependence . r ?uert:o'RicPeace. Oppose imperialfst war and USiri ~ention.Fight racism. Build an anti-ra~st base thin theSupport self-determination for Of!Pressed.. '.' • .l1J.'-!?Struggla against sexism and for 1he freed9m~pf~~

Organize the worki~g class. Fight for socf~li~;r~FIn a single sentence, the program 1:lea~s this:,Mob,tli~e:'£'e

class struggla against US imperialism, the common enemy.

g:;"

iftlEMJJS X«'~ /S Pf?ANAMAJ-'1903:: TEDDY ROOSEVELT'S }'GUNBOATDIPLOMACY" FORCED THE NEWLY-FORMEDPc~~"i_:'1-t..1.NIA\l REPUSLIC TO SIGN A TRZATYG2VING THE U.S. THE RIGHT TO BUILDTHE PA~A.~ Cfu\lAL A.\lD CONTROL ITFOREV:t~R.

THF U.S. THEN RECRUITED BLACK WESTINDIAN AND SOUTH AMERICAN INDIA.\lPEOPLE TO CONSTRUCT THE CANAL.25,000 WORYERS DIED WHILE BUILDINGIT.

1

IIid

I..-_~ ....;;:;.. ~_-l

~,~

l

c

1<t..I\) .'

THE PNLAMP~IAN PEOPLE ARE FIGHTING FOR THEIR UNDENIABLE RIGHT ~TO CONTROL THEIR LAND P~D RZSOURCES, INCLUDING THE CA.\lAL ZONE. ~UC1 ;

ABICfN1INNI,fL W/1f/JW CtUJNI£S! i