War threat AS WE reported in last week's Socialist Action, the drift towards war in the Middle East is acLast week Syrian planes attacked Israeli aircraft overtlying Lebanon, and a Syrian missue doldit cow! dil Israeli pilotless aircraft.
As a result the Israelis have reinforced their the Golan LOONS Heights Meanwhile the revoll against Yasser Arafat by military leaders of the PLO in Lebanon continues. Arafat is trying to remove Abu Musa and other leaders because of Iner O•POS LOn the Arab leaders' Fez Summit peace plan. The same leaders were also opposthe withdrawal of ea to the Palestinian fighters from Beirut last year.
Abu Musa has
dicated that he and his intend to stay in the Bek'aa valley to continue the Israelis. tenth anniversary of the military coup which overthrew the Allende Despite government. len years of military dictatorship, the Chilean workers' movement is reorganising as the regime slides further and further into crisis.
On 11 May the Copper Miners Federation called a day of protest which was widely supported. Despite the decision of the copper workers themselves not to because of fear of victimisation military occupation of the mining areas, groups took some form of protest.
Street demonstrations clashed with the police and resulting two deaths and hundreds of injuries. Shops opened late, dozens - of protest meetings took place.
The protests were not confined to the working barrios which round Santiago and the major cities Lawyers, students from the Catholic university and other middle class groups also took part — a clear indication that many who supported the 1973 coup have moved into opposition.
Following the 11 May demonstration, there were widespread disturbances coinciding with the funerals of the two people killed — one of them was a Ten leaders of the copBeen charged with workers have tion of the state security law, which carries sentence ranging from months to 5 years The political isolation of the regime and its loss of middle classs stems from Chile's chronic economic Pinochet's monetarist experiment has colle searin face Huge sums of capital have flooded out of the country.
classes who supported the military coup. . Unemploycent working population in the towns Since 1980, textile predac- cent overall tion has declined by 35 per cent, steel by in. per cent, construction by per ine average lever o wages is in real terms well over 40 per cent less than in 1981. The extent of Pinochet's isolation is indicated by the fact that the Struck drivers which played role 1111001 lalli destabilising ute Allende government, now declares itself to be 'part of the opposition'.
the 11 May demonstrations women in many areas, including the middle class areas, banged pots and bans in protest against austerity. The irony of this will not be lost on Pinochet the middle class opponents of ISCO exactly the same form of protest in 1973.
The sickening repression of the regime has not ceased, despite the growth in opposition to it from the church, other sources class opinion. Amnesty Iniculatolal dicated that torture is still an everyday occurence in the prisons of the regime.
But Pinochet still has one solid base of support - the armed forces. In re•cent months a new Dalr clothes security group has made its appearance at the demonstrators organising 'disappearences.
The new fragility of the Pinochet Reich is a reflection of growing instability whole region Argentina the military are besieged by a new rise of WORKER movement Uruguay driftin towards a new democratic 'opening The generals who thought destroyed 'Marxism the workers' movement for decades are in for some rude shocks
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Hundreds of Chileans were arrested in round up after Il May demonstrations. cent is more than 30 per