in trouble. He has succeeded in angering broad sections of the population church hierarchy through his sabotage of the third round of peace talks with the FMLN-FDR, which were scheduled for 19 September, SMITH.
that the only purpose of talks with the liberation movement was to negotiate their surrender. reluctant agreement to meet with top FMEN commanders was itself a huge victory.
With the FMLN guerrilla army the military initiative, the increasingly powerful trade union movement and the including the Catholic writes JOHN Duarte has been forced to shift from his stance His other mass organisations have united around the demand for serious negotiation to find solution, based on justice and naJohn Smith translates for FE.NASTRAS representative Alfredo Represa. tional independence, to the six-year-old war which claimed 60.000 lives and turned one third of the population into refugees.
Duarte conceded the talks whilst simultaneously accepting a vast escalation of US military hardware to more effectively prosecute the war.
He then scuppered the talks by refusing to remove the army from the eastern town Sesori, where the talks Were held. Under such conditions the saleti liberation movement's representatives not be guaranteed, and talks were rendere regiose bried to nake turned up at Sesori with the US ambassador to address a crowd of peasants who had been specially bussed in. But his cynical manoeuvre backfired as the Dabaliti heckled throughout his rambling tirade, while FMLN fighters launched a powerful offensive from nearby hills forcing Duarte to beat a hasty retreat.
In the ensuing 24 hours the FMLN offensive had left hundreds of soldiers killed or wounded, another 200 casualties being left wounded at Guazapa and Morazan.
The regime has taken a knocking in the towns as well. With an unemployment rate of 43 per cent, a further squad assassinations of union activists, there has been a big response by the workers movement.
In the first six months of this year there were over strikes involving 425,000 workers. Uniruary the National Unity Salvadorean Workers (UNTS) was formed, uniting over 100 Irade union, peasant. stu dent and teacher organisations. They have called a series of huge demonstrations the most recent being held on Saturday 4 demanding 1 coollo ten otter strikes and that Duarte returns to the peace talks.
the most remarkable features of the struggle massive response to state CUTESSO The forces in UNTS now respond to kidnappings assas sinations with a reflex of immediate demonstrations and strikes across the nation. This is how they forc ed the release of textile workers leader, Isabel Seve Velasquez, in July of captured water workers leader, Prieto, in August.
At the beginning of leader ANDES, the teachers was assassinated.
In response, ANDES shut down over 90 per cent of schools and colleges in a two-day national strike on 7 and 8 October The difficulties confronting the Duarte regime could lead El Salvador's rulers to once again turn to an even more viciously regime. With the administration's increased financing Nicaragua an escalation of contra war military conflict on regional scale needs the maximum response by the labour movement internacollally.
Enference Movement Central America, February 1987, House London. Leaflets available from ELSSOC Borough Road, London SEI (tel 01-928 3412). under which they published, treaty regulations exist.
American
subordinate military however friendly.
in pursuit of its own world-wide interests.
United States solely tually built up a vast vestments, raw nam, attacked Cuba, twentieth century.
Given these to pursue those policies.
for detente, down on their agenda. •Peace through non-alignment Published by Verso, 1986. Price £1.50. NATO was formed, that Mr Attlee agreed that some US aircraft should come to Britain on 'train. ing missions'. From then on, the US presence has grown substantially and become permanent, until today it totals about 130 bases or installations and about 30,000 service personnel. The agreement • operate here. has never been and it is not even clear whether any According to the oath of office which confers Commander-in-Chief of all US Forces worldwide, the US Constitution would not permit him to and respon sibilities to the wishes of any foreign power, Thus it would appear that the theory of a British veto is an illusion — the United States has the right, as well as the power, to use its bases in Britain as it wishes, either for NATO purposes, or Despite the oft-repeated argument that the concerned to protect freedom, human rights and democracy, it has acWorld Empire, far more powerful even than the old British Empire, with 3000 bases scattered across the globe to defend US economic and political interests including her inmaterial supplies, especialv of. and the markets for her goods. In defence of those interests America has fought a long war in Vietoccupied destabilised Chile and organised terrorist attacks against Nicaragua, as well as propping up some of the most corrupt and dictatorial regimes of the indisputable facts it cannot be right, or safe, for Britain to continue to allow the United States to use military bases in our country We hope that every constituency party and affiliated trade union will arrange conferences and seminars to discuss this pamphlet, and that all those organisations that are working in any way , disarmament and development will read it too and have the question of NATO put the case for British withdrawal from NATO' by Ben Lowe.
FOR The second annual 'Alliance for Socialism' weekend of debate, discussion, and agitation sponsored by Socialist Action.
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