DESPITE FRANCO REPRESSION

The struggle

By SEAN GRIFFIN

“In the legal code of Spain, to
go on strike is an act of sedition.
For a trade unionist, any time, any
day, any night might bring the
police and arrest.

“In spite of this oppression,
across the length and breadth of

_ Spain, the strike is a daily oc-
currence. Each new day brings
more meetings, strikes and
demonstrations and in December
alone, an average of 600,000 were
out on strike every day.”’

_ For Cesar Fernandez, the words
are prophetic: in Spain, he faces 10
years imprisonment, accused by
the fascist authorities of being a

leader of the Workers’ Com-

missions for his participation in a

strike committee of construction

workers in Madrid. Already he has

_ Spent many of his forty years
behind the walls of Franco’s jails.

But for him, as for the hundreds
of thousands of Spaniards
organized into the prohibited
Workers’ Commissions, the
struggle does not cease in the face
of savage repression.

Fernandez, and Angela Lopez, a
graphic arts worker in Madrid,
spoke in Vancouver last Sunday,
outlining their struggle and calling
for international solidarity against
the Franco oppression which daily
intensifies as the Spanish people,
‘by the hundreds and thousands,
declare their opposition to the last
fascist regime in Europe.

More than 200, people attended
the meeting organized by the
Canadian Committee for a

Democratic Spain as part of a
cross-Canada tour for the two
trade unionists.

. ‘We believe,’ Lopez told the
audience, ‘‘that’ the ‘struggle » is
going to be brought to a conclusion
“very soon. -

“We believe that not only
because of the tremendous strikes
organized by the Workers’ Com-
missions but also because lawyers
and professionals have been going
on strike. The strikes have raised
the issues of better wages and
conditions but, more important,
they have raised the demand for
democracy — for the freedom to
Speak, for the freedom of
association.’’ -

Two very important factors have
also. emerged from the recent
events in fascist Spain. In the wake
of the strikes and demonstrations
that have rocked virtually every
city and province in the country,
increases’ in wages and im-
provements in conditions have
been won. And from the struggle,

40TH ANNIVERSARY DRIVE —

—Sean Griffin photo

Cesar Fernandez, member of the coordinating committee for the Spanish Workers’ Commissions, speaking in
Vancouver Sunday. With him is Isabel Alonso, his interpreter.

the Workers’ Commissions have
succeeded in establishing genuine
leaders of the workers whom
Franco may arrest, imprison and
exile — but never silence. The
vertical syndicates — the official
fascist trade unions established
soon after the fall of the Spanish
Republic — have lost their hold
forever. .
Moreover, the Workers’ Com-
missions have driven a wedge

‘between the-government and the

employers who are forced, despite
all the powers of the state which
are at their disposal, to. .deal
directly with the workers and their
valid representatives in the
Workers’ Commissions.

And the struggle has widened.
“For the first time since the Civil
War, radio and television workers
went on strike last month,”’ Angela
Lopez pointed out. ‘‘At the
universities, students ~ have
declared ‘a day of struggle’ and
along with high school students,
have demonstrated their solidarity
with the workers.”’

Influential bodies such as the
church and the army have also
moved into opposition to Franco.
In the south of Spain, 96 priests
affixed their signatures to a
document delineating the terrible
conditions of workers in that

Se
ke

province. And at the end of last
year a petition was circulated by
the Organization for Justice and
Peace demanding amnesty for
political prisoners. “‘More_ than
160,000 people signed their names
to that petition,’ Lopez explained.

Among those signing were 2000
army officers — until very
recently, the staunchest defenders
of the fascist regime.

The overthrow of Caetano in
Portugal — under the yoke of
fascism ~even before - Spain. —
similarly affected Spanish politics.
The events: of April, 1974 brought
the right and centre groups into
opposition to Franco, primarily
because they fear that they may go
down with Franco if Spain follows
the route of Portugal.

“Above all, the events in Por-
tugal have shown clearly that
fascism can be overthrown,’’
Fernandez emphasized. ,

But with free winds blowing from
Portugal, Franco has moved to
fortify his fascist regime — the last
in Europe. As opposition to his
government_has grown, so he has
stepped up the repression. “His
reply to our growing struggle is to
intensify the persecution,”
declared Fernandez. ‘‘Only 15 days
ago, the Spanish poet Carlos
Alverez was sentenced to five

_ APRIL-MAY

By MAURICE RUSH, editor

With this issue, the Pacific
Tribune opens the biggest
financial drive in the 40 year
history of our paper. During
April and May our objective will
be to raise $40,000. This will
make it possible to improve our
paper in the year in which we
are celebrating our 40th bir-
thday. a

Despite rising costs it was the
opinion of the editorial board
that the major struggles facing
B.C.’s working people on all
fronts required.a bigger and
livelier paper, able to reach out
to thousands of new readers.

We have therefore decided to

Ss

Support your

add an additional sixth page of
B.C. news and analysis. These
six pages, together with six
pages from the Canadian
Tribune, will give our readers a
coverage of provincial, national
and international events which
no other paper can match.

We have no apologies to make
for asking our readers for
$40,000 this year. During the 40
years of this paper — from 1935
when the first issue of the B.C.
Workers’ News rolled off the
press to this very issue — this
paper has been in the forefront
of the struggle for a decent life,
for peace, security,
dependence and socialism.

ine

paper as never before

During all those years the
working people of B.C. donated
generously out of their hard
earned paychecks the money
needed to keep our presses
rolling. We have received this
support because workers know
we are a paper which cannot be
bought by the big corporations.
We are the only voice that
speaks out each week in the
interests of, the working class
and democratic people. :

Compared to the big business
monopoly press, which each—
day, in numerous editions,
pours out anti-working class
and anti-socialist venom, we
are small — but we are the only

years in prison for publishing — in
a Swedish newspaper — an article
defending the rights of workers.

“One trade unionist in E] Farol
expects a sentence of 23 years for
leading a strike. For the con-
struction workers in Madrid, the
fascist authorities are demanding
sentences of 13 years.”

In the same way, Franco has
sought to suppress all opposition
that frequently. finds its way into
the news reports of various
newspapers across Spain. ‘‘Hardly
a day passes without some jour-
nalist being arrested for his
statements-or a newspaper being
closed by the police,’’ he stated.

“But the feeling for change has-

reached such a height that the
struggle does not stop,’’- he em-
phasized. ‘‘And even Franco
himself is being forced to realize

that he has few followers.’’ Only .

his family and some parts of the
state bureaucracy stand by him —
and I say ‘some parts’ because
even sections of the civil service
have taken part in strikes.”’

One of the more significant
concessions wrested by worldwide
pressure from the Franco dic-
tatorship was the recent decision to
reduce the sentences of the
Carabanchel -Ten, renowned
Com-

leaders of the Workers’

voice which week in and week
out challenges and exposes
their big business lies. We bring
our readers the truth about the
struggles for peace and in-—
dependence around the world,
the truth about the great ad-
vances of the socialist world.
We expose the anti-labor bias of
the big business dailies. The
Pacific Tribune is indispensable
to the working class of B.C. in
their struggle for a better life.
When the Communist press
was first launched in January,
1935, it proudly announced it
would represent the interests of
the class it was founded to serve
— the working class. During the

ss :

oes not cease

missions. Initially sentenced to a
staggering total of 162 years in
prison, they had their sentences
reduced to 38 years.

But it is precisely at the time
when Franco feels’ he_ is
surrounded, when the opposition is
mounting and pressing in upon his
regime that he responds with
every-greater brutality. _

“There are more than 20,000
democrats in Spain awaiting
trial,’ Fernandez: declared. “‘And
the penalties imposed by the
regime are increasing in severity.
There is a clear danger that the
death penalty may. be asked for.

“For that reason,” he told the

~ audience, ‘‘international solidarity

is of the utmost importance — to
undermine the support that Franco
receives from the outside world,
from the multinational cor-
porations that dominate Spain and
come to Franco’s assistance in
times of economic and political
crisis.”’

“The authorities follow you
morning and night,’”’ Angela Lopez
stated in underlining the im-

~ portance of solidarity. ‘‘If you are

in a car, they follow you in several
cars; if you are walking, there may
be ten people following you.

“Tt makes it very difficult to
carry on our struggle and that is
why we are here — to explain our
struggle and to ask for your help.”

Chairman of the meeting and
representative of the Vancouver
and District Labor Council, Homer
Stevens, also stressed the im-
portance of solidarity and pointed
out: ‘‘We can be sure that before
Franco is finally toppled, the
repression will be increased.

“The responsibility, is even
greater,’ he stated, ‘‘forus to assist
in blotting out the last vestiges of
fascism in Europe for: which the
McKenzie-Papineau Battalion

.fought more than 30 years ago.”

Nearly $2,700 was collected in the
meeting, proceeds of which will go
to aid the Spanish struggle.

Several other speakers .ad-
dressed the meeting including
Elspeth Gardiner speaking for the
Canadians for Democracy in Chile,
alderman Harry Rankin and Little
Mountain MLA Roy Cummings
who brought greetings from the
provincial government.

The. meeting unanimously en-
dorsed a telegram to be sent to
Franco calling for full amnesty for
all political prisoners and exiles,
the cessation of repression against
democrats and trade unionists and
the re-establishment of democratic
rights, including the right to strike.

40 years we have have
established a proud tradition
and have never departed from
that trust.

During the April-May drive
many public functions will be
organized and contests laun-
ched. I appeal to you to support
these activities. But nothing can
replace your own_ individual
contribution and your efforts to
raise money for the paper.

Please give as much as you
can and rush your contributions
to our office.

Give as you have never given
before, because the times
demand it!