the safeguards for has described the accord as 'fatally flawed'.
administration further $270 million of contra aid.
article Salvador and the forces of the FMLN-FDR, the Farabundo Marti Revolutionary Democratic Front.
ER Salvadoes president Salvador's president Duarte tried to scupper the plan, drawn up by Arias, which has become Guatemala peace accord. Now that he Duarte is doing everything possible to prevent its successine most spectacular episode in Duarte's antiArias machinations occurred mid-June, just twelve days prior to the summit meeting of the five Central American presidents which was due to take pee 25 his After receiving orders from envoy, Phillip Habib, Duarte movea to sel the meeting postponed. The breathing BaCC would allow Reagan administration to campaign for its UWIl "regional solution'. Few people thought that the at the new scheduled date of 6-7 August.
But Duarte paid an price for his open acting as Reagan's lap dog. His attempt since February to block the peace moves has taken background of inst place the advance both by the military campaign of the FMLN and of the resurgent mass movement.
Additionally, Duarte's inept and corrupt response to last year's tragic earthquake and the accelerating economic leaving his calamity government WaS with no legitimacy whatsoever. Duarte was forced to sign the accord literally for his own survival.
Having signed it, Duarte then Circally accord what knew was the opposite of intentions, bolster dialogue with the FMLN/FDR. THE PEACE accord signed in Guatemala by the five Central American governments at the beginning of August has been strongly attacked by US president, Ronald Reagan. On Saturday 12 September, Reagan said on US radio that the plan 'falls short of democracy and our national security'; and in an interview in a US magazine he The pushing for continued contra funding. Congress is to be asked to agree to a But the victory scored by Nicaragua has further damaged the Reagan administration, already severely bruised by the 'contragate' exposures. In the last issue of Socialist Action, JOHN SMITH explained the scope of Nicaragua's victory. In the following The explains what the accord means for E National Liberation Frontbacked media revoluthe that for them, that they were Sandinistas.
But the accord concharted for five years by for ceasefire, • ine proof this process.
broad 'GAP' - within which the FMLN/FDR would Dal -ticipate alongside all secof the Salvadorean people, would exclude the ruling oligarchy the Over the past eighteen months, the demand for a peace dialogue has been taken up by the resurgent mass movement in the government-held cities. Support for the dialogue is a principal point of unity of the recently formed UNTS Unity Salvadorean Workers), which the broadest workers, farmers, slum-dwellers, and aturanta try's history.
never a or clever of FMLN's strategic perspective whose the Salvador The that with powerful alilly.
steeled Lone vers orexene repression struggle these classes would be able to exert their leadership of the GAP.
adoption of the GAP proposal cOrresponded to a fundamental change in the nature of the struggle since the formation of the FMLN/FDR 1980. What began as a civil war has turned into a war of nanonal noeration, a confrontation increasingly direci between ine peoPs of El Salvador and the of 1980 defeated by Ene 1981 1983, but the US of the $3000 the army, OI helicopter Wales, the FMLN have military succeeded promoting of the their last faUS counterinsurgency the the point agree meet the Will be the first face-to-face enHOLD ON A MINUTE!! counter since 1985 Now Duarte is claiming the mantle Guatemala accord to place all sorts of absurd conditions on such negotiations: that the FMLN agree to • down zuricall claiming that the FMLN be treated in exactly the same as the way Nicaraguan contras.
This attempt to manoeuvre the FMLN into a position of opposition to the peace for which they have fighting, OCCH create divisions within the FMLN/FDR under the guise of so-called 'symmetry' — is already coming apart. call for Duarte to negotiate coming trom a wide arra of forces. This is because the parallel with the contras in El Salvador is not 'forced to sign 'NAPOLEON Duarte was forced to sign the Guatemala agreement because of the very deep country Inos usel immersed in tne biggest social, political and economic crisis in its national history ascontent and a popural concensus Ior peace ... conflicts or to control the army responsible for the death of over 60,000 compatriots and for massive violations of human rights the FMLN, who are unaffected by the accord's promilitary funding, but the Duarte regime itself.
He is as much as creation of Washington as are the contras. The US imDUSCU Duarte UDUt Salvador's rulers. _ On several OCCaSIS. strenuous backing the US was necessary scotch coup plots stemming from within the treme right-wing military High Command Now, with Diane distancing himself from Washington, factions the ministration come to regard a military coup as a last-ditch means to scuppering the regional peace process.
Either way, the days of the regime numbered. political-military weakening of his government. Ini Duarte finds himself in the middle of growing popular 'Duarte, in his moment of greatest weakness naively attempted to isolate and defeat the FMLN with a smole aloomale mancouvre somely netner ac nor his troops, have been able to achieve and never *The Duarte government does not have the capacity to bring forward a true national democratisation process. It has been unable to resolve the present labour 'The people demand the formation of a governStatement of FMLN General Command. 11 August 1987. sweeping law guaranteeing the political, and the scalp collectors' people are Spanish-speaking mestizos, country's pre-revolutionarv leaders.
the contras.
Palestinians are against 'terrorist' action in similar terms. New Caledonia colony of New Caledonia concerning the 'referendum' were a foregone conclusion has been encouraging further settlement.
wishful thinking pro-independence demonstrators further the boycott.
NICARAGUA has become the first country in the western hemisphere to adopt a economic, language, cultural and religious rights of Indians and Black people. The law established autonomous governments on Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast, where most Nicaraguan Indians and Black people live. Nicaraguan leader Tomas Borge described the law decision as 'historic' He said it was a 'kick in the gut of the Buffalo Bills the hope for victims of racism 'from the North Pole to the South Pole.
The majority of the country's three million concentrated on the country's Pacific coast. On the Atlantic coast, there are 182,000 mestizos. There are also 75,000 Miskito Indians and 9,000 Sumo Indians with their own languages; and 26,000 Creole Blacks, 1,750 Garifonas and 850 Rama Indians who speak English. Divisions amongst these communities were fostered by the . The autonomy process initiated by the Sandinistas has gone a long way to winning them to the revolution and uniting the entire country against AT LEAST 41 people were killed in a terrorist air raid by Israel of the Ain Khilwe district of south Lebanon. Ain Khilwe, with a population of 50,000, is the largest Palestinian district in the area. The Israeli air force has bombed the south Lebanon region 20 times this year. Contrary to Israeli claims that the strikes - that is, PLO - bases, dozens of civilian homes have been bombed.
«Washington, however, has given immediate cover to israel cmarges or terronism' • Last week, the Reagan administration closed down the PLO office in the US capitol justifying its The overwhelming majority of indigenous Melanesian Kanaks — some 83 per cent boycotted a referendum in the French Pacific country's independence. The results of the designed to give a democratic facade to France's •continued colonial rule. A 57 per cent majority of New Caledonia's population are European 'Caldoche' settlers, and the French government The claim of French government minister for overseas territories, Bernard Pons, that the 98 per cent majority in favour of staying part of France was 'a great victory' was really more Only 58 per cent of those eligible voted. Films showing police clubbing underline the flimsiness of the government's case. Only repression can maintain their colonial rule. Voting returns in the referendum were subject to huge regional variation. In Hienghene, were Jean-Marie Tjibaou, leader of the proindependence Front de Liberation Nationaliste Kanak Socialiste (FLNKS — Kanaki socialist national liberation front) is mayor, the turnout was 13 per cent. Several polling booths failed to record a single vote. The FLNKS had called for The referendum has been condemned by governments of other Melanesian