—— - Dominica’ \__ hits human rt ca’s_new law ights oe, By NORMAN FARIA Tribune Caribbean Correspondent __ ROSEAU, Dominica — The Dominica Libera- ton Movement Alliance (DLMA) has come out 8ainst the undemocratic manner in which the minican government recently passed anti-ter- ' Torist legislation. Speaking about the new precipitated by the alleged Feb. 12 kidnapping and Olding hostage of a prominent island farmer by members of the Rastafarian sect, DLMA General tary Dr. Bill Riviere said that the government laws, which were ‘of Prime Minister Eugenia Charles was passing people. legislation without informing the Dominican ~The Rastas, a hippie-like movement whose most prominent adherents are Jamaican reggae singers Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, usually eke out a living as subsistent farmers. ee OR. BILL RIVIERE, general secretary of the _ Dominica Liberation Movement Alliance. position. Among the demands made by the Rastas for the release of the farmer is the end of police harass- ment of the movement. ’ Dominica (not to be confused with the Domini- can Republic) is a former British colony which gained political independence in 1970. About the size of Metropolitan Toronto, the banana produc- ing tropical island has 90,000 inhabitants, the _ majority of whom are descendants of African slaves brought to the West Indies during the 17th and 18th centuries. : Besides the new legislation, the Charles government also instituted a state of emergency. The DLMA said that both the new laws and the passing of the state of emergency was designed to curtail the islanders’ rights and stifle political op- ‘Under the anti-terrorist Act, a Dominican citizen can be stopped and searched by police without a warrant. Any islander can also be detained for up to 48 hours without bail. Said Riviere: ‘Government knows that opposi- tion parties, if the law permitted, would hold public meetings to discuss the proposed Act and would get members and supporters to speak up their minds and if necessary take action.” _ The island was the scene recently of a strike by bank workers calling for higher wages at the Roseau branch of the one of several Canadian ‘banks which dominate the island’s banking sector. VIDELA, MEZA, STROESSNER Graduates of U.S. schools _ by JOSE AMOR de Ia PATRIA __ After close examination of the | ©Xtreme degree of American de- _ Pendence on foreign supplies, one _ an only ask what would happen _ tothe American economic system if, for example, every country in” in America suddenly cut loose fom’ U.S. control of their raw Materials and natural resources _ 4nd asked for fair prices for their COpper, tin, uranium, oil or nickel? The United States could not | Possibly pay these prices and the 3 phenomenon would once happen, multiplied by a thousand times; only that in such _ Case there would be little, if any, _ AOpe for recovery. This is, of course, a highly hypothetical question in the sense ‘such phenomenon could not _ Possibly take place simultane- _ Ously in all Latin American coun- _ Wes. It is, however, a highly con- Crete question in the sense that it _ 1Sactually happening gradually. It 1S at this point that we can fully _ Tealize in all its implications how the notion of American Nationaf urity is inextricably tied into maintenance of satellite states that can provide this steady and _ Secure flow of resources. In point of fact, American _ Pragmatic leaders (the onés who | happen to be in office at any given - time) have never had any qualms about showing their true colors in Openly pursuing the objectives set by their historically consistent _ Perception of ‘‘American Na- tional Security”, a perception that changes little, if at all, regard- less of political stripes. A case in point is the report submitted by Nelson Rockefeller after his ill-fated Latin American trip of 1969, which ended in hasty cancellations and an early return home, due to a not-so-warm wel- come afforded him in the coun- tries he visited. Backgrounder His report, commissioned by Richard Nixon and entitled The Rockefeller Report on the Americas, is a true classic of American imperialism in post- Alliance for Progress Latin America. Among its ‘“‘Recom- mendations for Action’’ it in- cludes: ‘‘... The United States should work with the other repub- lics to form a civilian-directed Western Hemisphere Security Council to cope with the forces of subversion that operate through- out the Western Hemisphere ... This Council would supercede the Special Consultative Committee on Security of The Organization of American States. . *9) A Western Hemisphere Security . Training Assistance Program: The United States. ‘should reverse the recent down- - ward trend in grants for assisting the training of security forces for the other hemisphere cquntries .. -In-view of the growing subver- sion against hemisphere govern- ments, the mounting terrorism and violence against citizens, and the rapidly expanding population, it is essential that the training pro- - gram which brings military and police personnel from the other hemisphere nations to the United States and to training centres in Panama be continued and strengthened. é ‘*3) Internal Security Support: ‘The United States should respond to requests for assistance of the police and security forces of the hemisphere nations by providing them with the essential tools to do - their job. Accordingly, the United States should meet reasonable requests from the other hemis- phere governments for trucks, jeeps, helicopters, and like © equipment to provide mobility and logistical support for these — forces; for radios and other com- mand control equipment for proper communications among the forces; and for small arms for © security forces.” Probably no further commentis — needed. Suffice to say that when we see that abhorrent dictators such as Argentina’s Videla, Bolivia’s Garcia Meza, Paraguay’s Stroessner, Nicaragua’s Somoza, Brazil’s Garrastazu Medici, Chile’s Pino- chet, are all graduates of these ‘training schools’’, particularly of the notorious ‘“‘School of the — Americas’’ of the U.S. Southern Command in the former Panama } - Canal Zone, we then fully realize the nature, implications and true meaning of American commit- ments to Latin American ‘‘politi- cal stability.” Fifth in a series of seven By TOM MORRIS international focus Private Gadi E ees ea terarenns” A campaign is underway in Israel for the release of a 19 year-old Israeli soldier jailed one year for refusing to serve in the occupied Gaza and West Bank. Gadi Elgazi’s story is impor- tant because it’s not only a case of personal courage and principle, but shows the sup- port for his stand by wide sec- tions of Israel’s people. His cause has also been taken up outside the country. Private Elgazi was a model soldier. He was commended for excellence by his superiors. But, while ready to do his three-year compulsory ser- vice, Elgazi and 26 other sol- diers wrote a manifesto reject- ing ‘‘an occupation that turns our people into oppressors and the Palestinians into the op- pressed.”’ He then refused to join his tank unit on the occupied West Bank. At his trial in January, Elgazi told of his opposition to exiling Arab leaders, demolition of houses and shops, occupation of Arab farmland and shooting of students. In saying these things he reflected the finest aspirations of the Israeli people. The opposite, fascist-like view was presented by Israel’s military chief of staff, Lt.-Gen Rafael Eitan, who argued that military service in the oc- cupied lands is no different from_service- in. Israel itself. “Territory captured in 1967, what’s the difference between that land and land conqueredin 1948-49? Only time...” For the 1.2: million Arab stolen and ‘‘settled’’ and for private Gadi Elgazi and his comrades, there is an impor- tant difference. - : Nine weeks down, 199 more to come The rapidity with which the U.S. ship of state has veered to starboard in just nine short weeks has all but the rabid right wing alarmed. Consider: e a $32-billion hike in the U.S. arms program which will people whose lands have been - include making operational weapons’ systems designed to dangerously tilt the present arms balance. 2 ; e a Vietnam-style program to bolster the hated El Sal- vadorian junta — massive arms supplies, military advis- ers. e public presidential readi- ness to rearm Afghanistan bandit groups. = e open warmness to the dictatorship in South Korea, pledges of continued military backing, statements of soli- darity and friendship during a recent visit to Washington by military strongman Chun Doo Hwan: > 4-42 e readiness to resume mili- tary backing of CIA groups in Angola; support for continued South African occupation. of Namibia. ; e public support for the apartheid regime in Pretoria as **America’s staunchest ally” in Africa. e Visits to Washington by Chilean military leaders and resumption of joint U-S.- Chilean naval exercises in the Pacific. e more visits to the White House by Argentine, Bolivian and Brazilian military officials coinciding with U.S. State De- partment tours of Latin American capitals to cement ties between the USA and mili- tary dictatorships on the con- tinent. These immediate moves, seen against the background of longer-term U.S. plans for a drastically increased military presence in the Persian Gulf, Wester Europe and its grow- ing links with China leave little doubt where Reagan is headed. As important as the series of bilateral questions between Canada and the U.S. are, none can compare with the urgency of Canada’s getting off Reagan’s chariot. Nine weeks down, 199 more to come. The months ahead will see a gigantic struggle mounted to stop Reagan’s pro-war drive. Our country can play a key role for sanity, cooperation and peace by refusing to go along with Rea- gan’s return to brinkmanship. It’s up to the people to force the issue. - te wee _ 4 od ~_ : saggy He a ‘te, ‘free. oe ~~ : | a — ona a we te, Ba bad ome ‘ees Pies ~ wee ead ~~ Pad : ag : ~~ “Remember when the U.S. sent 500,000 troops to “win the hearts and minds” of the Vietnamese? Think about it when you hear about their efforts to preserve “freedom” in El Salvador. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MARCH 27, 1981—Page 9