recently in Nicaragua 'THE REVOLUTION has not ended; all we have done so far throw out Somoza and the National Guard. The revolution beginning.
Sneaking was a representative of the FSLN (Sandinistas) at one of the many rallies held on celebrate 30 days of the Nicaraguan revolution. Workers and peasants, and women. demonstrated in hundreds of thousands in support of their victory.
It was very much their victory. The National Guard was defeated by the masses: It was the workers in cities like Masaya, Matagalpa, Leon, and Managua who decisive role in toppling Somoza From September 1978, under the leadership of the FSLN, the masses in every town organised into block, barrio and area committees to prepare the struggle. Militias formed in the neighbourhoods, taking on National Guard units again and again.
Unable to crush the mass upsurge with troops, Somoza sent in aircraft, shells, and rockets to bombard the working class districts. In the capital, Managua, the main industrial area was devastated by bombing in the last days of the battle.
This destruction came on top of the 1972 carthquake, flattened the centre of Nothing was rebuilt. The millions of dollars it relief went straight Somoza: pockets.
Toda: international aid is urgently needed. in Leon the head of the local supplies: ommittee, Vladimir deró, ex tined that aid to date had been ve: mited. 'Most of it has been distribs to the agricultural producton un: UPAs), the hospitals, and. the tro Line companeros of the UPAs : working in exchange food al:
'In rural areas the peasants have *yeo no ala, Inerad aid has arriving Le made clear to us the immedi reed for 'basic grains, rice, beans, it, flour, sugar, salt, and oil'.
At. illy in Leon speaker Dora Maria Commi nte Dos (Two), one of the leaders ¡e Sandinista attack on the Place in August 1978. She stresser need to understand tasks f ; a nation in ruins. need to anse ourselves. CYCEYU participation WHOLES I pcopic can cnoose Inel entatives, can say whether agree with what we are doing.
She sed everyone to join the Sandin irade union federation and the ista defence committees. I MIS I: ¡ution,' she declared, to be a tive revolution.' month since it came to power Sandinista leadership has taken a ргорегі: ¿longing to Somoza and his nationalised amoun to over 60 per cent of the Fi ne banks have : and a state monopoly establis! : on foreign trade.
seve..: per cent of the land has been ta:. : over. The larger estates are being tu cd into cooperatives, the rest being distributed to the tillers. remainder of the land is in Socialist Challenge 6 September 1979 Page 10 is to only FSLN.
The Everyone 19 August to collul ca and old, aspects of life education and discussion..
Ine street corners Jinotega, played the street, were manoeuvres, no sions, FSLN Proletarian.' Ene milllas. this has been women's which literally Somoza. Managua. The into bitch!" The Somoza family Cor- worked hand in glove with the US trusts to for because been one of the Tellez, the this 'has been and the hands of 160,000 middle peasants.
The mass struggle has continued to develop since the tall of Somoza leading to the take-over of land and factories not owned by Somocistas. These actions have been backed by the self-organisation OI the masses has continued and deepened. section discussing politics.
Meetings and demonstrations take place every day. The neighbourhood organising all in ine barrios housing, health, food, jobs, orphaned children, cleaning the streets, political Every area has its local militia. On and women sit armed with pistols, M 16s, Uzis, Jalils, and grenades; or they ride round in jeeps, armed to the teeth but with a friendly smile or broad grin.
In the barrios house after house has an FSLN flag at the door. FSLN graffiti cover the walls: 'Free country CUrICHL: or death'; "Long live Nicaragua'; 'No pacts, no concesyes to popular insurrection Women are massively participating in the neighbourhood committees, in the factories, among youth, and in One of the reasons for AMPRONAC, the organisation, which has played a leading role in building the neighbourhood committees as a result includes of its experience of mass' work under Nicaraguan revolution is a major defeat for US imperialism. A today US Secretary of State once remarked of Somoza's father that he might be a son of a bitch, 'but he's our son of a PUBLICMEETING Defend the Nicaraguan Revolution!
Eyewitness report from CLIVETURNBULL Speaker from Nicaraguan Coordinating Committée invited Friday 14 September, 7.30pm Friends Meeting House Euston Rd, London NW1 Organised by International Marxist Group aguan workers and peasants.
The mass struggle that defeated Somoza has already inspired workers peasants in other American countries. In Guatemala, 50,000 students went on strike for democratic rights at the beginning of In El Salvador churches have been occupied in the capital to call for the release of political prisoners. By day a workers, peasants, students hold meetings in the churches discuss their problems organise.
In Costa Rica there have been large demonstrations in support of th Nicaraguan revolution. Five thou sand striking dock workers have been involved in pitched battles government troops.
US imperialism has not felt able so far to intervene militarily, as it did when marines were sent into Santo Domingo in 1965. Carter's attempt to send in troops through the Organisation of American States, just before Somoza fell, was blocked.
The main imperialist intervention at present is economic and diplomatic. It is attempting to bully and cajole the FSLN™ leadership, or of it, into halting revolutionary process and then to roll back the gains of the masses. This is what lies behind the withholding of aid, the manoeuvres over a loan from the International Monetary. Fund, and the offer of training for the Sandinista army and. police Omar Torrijos, the 'strong man' of Panama.
The FSLN leadership originated as a Castroist current, believing in the words of its founder, Carlos Fonseca Amador, that 'One worker. mountains is more important than 100 strike in the. city. The three of the FSLN Prolonged People's Wartendency, the Proletarian tendency, and the Insurrectionist tendency — all evolved in light of the experience of the struggle of the masses. The FSLN was the undisputed leadership of the masses in the struggle against Somoza. question that is posed today is: Will the FSLN continue that evolution?
Since coming to power Sandinistas have set up a Government. of National Reconstruction, number bourgeois figures. FSLN leaders argue that they workers and peasants y set up a 'Everyone, CONCILS government the imperialists, other Lannienca regimes, the social democracy, would attack us. Central and and the But the bourgeois ministers, while individually powerless, represent a compromise sure. It means that the bourgeoisie gains credibility in the eyes of the masses out of all proportion to its negligible social weight.
So far, gone beyond the programme of the Reconstruction Sandinista leadership . in the them and not the bourgeoisie.
choice will confront them more and more sharply as time goes on: to rely on the mass self-organisation of the workers and peasants to reconstruct on imperialism will try to turn into a noose which revolution?
The Just as the mass struggle of the armed workers and peasants overthe which US Speakers the best imperialist presagainst where the masses have the Government, the has backed immediate This Televi leadership. the aid which to choke the this No Betrayal of Chile!
No Deals with Pinochet!
Free all Latin American Political Prisoners!
NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION
Sunday 16September Assemble Ipm Clerkenwell Green (Farringdon tube)
March to Trafalgar Square Michael Foot MP; Moss Evans (Gen. Sec., TGWU); Jonathan Dimbleby; a representative of the Chilean people. Organised by ChileSolidarity Campaign (tel. 01 272-4298)
STAYSAI threw the Somoza tyranny, so they are defence against imperialist army and police force trained by Torrijos (in the CIA camps in the Canal Zone?) would be a step back into the arms of Revolutionaries have to throw their maximum effort into the fight imperialist intervention Nicaragua. This requires the broadest possible campaign of solidarity with revolution for imperialist hands off Nicaragua; fo Said without strings to •the shortage 0. food agricultural and medical supplies.
Our aim has to be to try to countel the imperialist pressure on the FSLA But we must also state clearly that the presence of bourgeois ministers in the government will make harder. Only a workers and peasants government based on the mass organisations can defend and extend the Nicaraguan revolution.
SOMOZA
armed 2,038 sentences, courts-martial: a total of 25,378.
Raids, 1,135; proclamations and suppressions martial, 2; armed assaults, with Ireland. Since May 1916, till December 1919, the government in Ireland has been responsible for 59 murders, 2,084 deportations, on unarmed • Civilians, 14,153 raids on private houses, 5,041 arrests proclamations and suppressions, 53 suppressions of papers, 506 Since January 1920, matters have become worse. Let us take the week ending 17 April.
260; sentences, courts-