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COMMUNISTS GAIN AGAINST PORTUGAL’S RIGHT SWEEP
LISBON — The Portuguese Communist Party took 47 seats in the
250-seat parliament and increased its popular vote from 14% to 19%.
The Dec. 2 elections saw Mario Soares’ Socialists slip from 35% to 27%
of the popular vote. The overall picture, however, is that of a right-
wing government in power. The so-called Democratic Alliance, under

Dr. Francisco sa Carniero, took 132 seats and 44% of the popular vote.

JUBILANT CROWDS GREET NABLUS MAYOR

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Israel, plagued by internal dissen-
sion and intense international pressure, has been forced to free Mayor
Bassam Shaka of the West Bank city of Nablus. He was imprisoned by
the Israeli occupation administration on the pretext that he supported
terrorists. Cheering crowds, shouting ‘‘justice triumphed’’, greeted
Shaka on his return to Nablus Dec. 5. At the height of the protest over .
his arrest and the threat to deport him, 23 other mayors in the area
resigned. They will now withdraw their resignations.

USSR TRUCKS IN KAMPUCHEA

KOMPONGSOM — A Soviet freighter with a large consignment of
trucks will arrive shortly in Kampuchea, the harbormaster’s service of
this port city of Kompongsom said Nov. 29. Trucks are one of the main
items in Soviet aid shipments to Kampuchea. Convoys of heavy-duty
Soviet-built trucks carrying food, medicine and other aid supplies are
moving 24 hours a day on Kampuchea’s roads. In the past month, the
truck convoys have carried more than 10,000 tons of supplies from
Kompongsom to other parts of Kampuchea.

KENNEDY WANTS PUBLIC DEBATE ON SHAH
WASHINGTON — Senator Edward Kennedy called for a full pub-
lic debate on the question of permanent U.S. asylum for the deposed
Shah of Iran, Dec. 5. He is the first U.S. establishment politician to
edge close to the Iranian demand that President Carter call for an
investigation of the Shah’s crimes and his possession of billions of
dollars which is the property of the Iranian state.

Two Iranian students in San. Francisco confer with a legal aid society
attorney after they were ordered to appear before a federal judge.
Deportation proceeding began Nov. 26 against scores of Iranian stu-
dents living in the U.S. as a result of a presidential directive. Civil
libertarians are challenging the selective dragnet as unconstitutional.

30 BODIES FOUND IN NICARAGUA

MANAGUA — The mutilated bodies of about 30 people were found
by city workers building a recreation centre in downtown Managua,
Nicaraguan officials said Nov. 27.

The bodies, some with skulls crushed and limbs broken were pre-
sumed to be Sandinist liberation fighters tortured during the rule of the
former Somoza regime. :

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Nicaraguan Supreme Court said
‘“people’s trials’’ of 7,500 prisoners of war would begin the following
week. He said the prisoners included former National Guardsmen as
well as civilian supporters of Somoza.

The spokesman said the ‘‘public tribunals’’ would consist of three
civilians, one of them a lawyer.

IRISH PRIME MINISTER RESIGNS :
DUBLIN — Prime Minister Jack Lynch of Ireland announced De-
cember 5 that he will resign this week. Lynch’s resignation follows a
sharp drop in public support for his leadership. High level spokesmen
in the ruling Fianna Fail Party, have doubts the party could take the
next election with Lynch as leader.

Although he won the largest victory in Irish history in the June 1977,
general election, the Party has since lost several by-elections including
two in Lynch’s home territory, Cork. The country is facing serious
inflation, gasoline shortages. Labor has indicated its displeasure
through a number of major strikes.

The strong favorite to succeed the PM is current health minister
Charles Haughey. Haughey had criticized Lynch for a secretly
negotiated treaty with British Prime Minister Thatcher following the
death of Earl Mountbatten. It allows British helicopters free access to
Irish airspace to pursue ‘terrorists’.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE— DECEMBER 19, 1979—Page 10

By B. TAFESSE

One of the most important
tasks of every society is to ensure
that education is available to one
and all of the citizenry. In many
ways, education and the level of
literacy in a society mark the sign
of a given development. Educa-
tion is the key to progress.

By the same token, the degree
of mass illiteracy and low level of
educational development in a
given country speak a lot about
the compounded oppression suf-
fered by the people of that coun-
try.

This unfortunately is the case
of billions of peoples in many
countries who are oppressed by
imperialism and local despots.

In the contemporary reality of
world politics, imperialism and
neo-colonial regimes are in-
variably averse to the irradication
of illiteracy among the oppressed
and dispossessed masses. For lit-
eracy and education constitute a
factor for social change; and this
the oppressors abhor.

As a result, in the case of many
millions freed by social revolu-
tion, mass literacy and a broad
educational program are results of
a victorious revolution. Thus the
peoples come to identify educa-
tion with liberation. Liberation
from imperialism and its neo-
colonial servitors. Such for ex-
ample is the case of the Ethiopian
people.

Of Human Rights

Under the old regime of Em-
peror Haile Selassie, Ethiopia
was a den of 90% illiteracy, mal-
nutrition, and major health prob-
lems.

After the overthrow of Haile
Selassie’s regime, revolutionary
Ethiopia has launched various
programs of mass education and
literacy.

The program of ‘National
Work Campaign for Development

. Students talking with peasants in the countryside.

Ethiopia: wiping out illiteracy

Through Cooperation’’ was
launched for the first time on Dec.
21, 1974. This was only a few
months after the Ethiopian
revolution ‘ began in February
1974. This campaign contributed
immensely to the liberation of the
millions of Ethiopian peasants
from ignorance and the myth that
“Ethiopia will submerge under
the sea if the monarchy were to be
overthrown’.

More than 60,000 Ethiopian.

students, teachers, soldiers, and
other progressive forces re-
sponded to that campaign and
bolstered the revolution among
the millions of peasants.

One of the most significant out-

-comes of this drive was the suc- ~

cessful agrarian revolution
through which all land in the
country was nationalized and
peasants were organized into as-
sociations. This eventually led to
the creation of The All Ethiopian
Peasants’ Association, which to-
gether with The All Ethiopian
Trade Union is the main bulwark
of the revolution.

What had been denied to the
people by the old regime and
imperialism, the revolution — i.e.
the peoples power — has begun to
propagate, advance, and elevate
to the level of the primary ingre-
dient for the victory of the transi-
tion to socialism. This is the
human rights of people’s power as
opposed to the ‘‘human rights”’
talk of profit power.

An example is in order. In one
local council of the city of Addis
Ababa, 5,529 women and 1,499
men are learning how to read and
write for the first time in their
lives. The tutoring is carried out
by 741 teachers, of whom 107 are
regular teachers, 611 are student-
teachers, and 23 volunteer
teachers. This specific campaigirr
is being carried out under the
supervision of four committees

- ously if it is to accomplish its

which have made available 10,605 ©
educational materials to the stu- ~
dents. :

One more example. Another —
local council runs 12 educational —
centres in which 9,262 people are —
learning to read and write for the ©
first time. And there are |
thousands of such local councils |
in Ethiopia.

Stupendous Goals ;

In his observation of the preva- ©
lent situation under the old regime |
in Ethiopia, the Cuban leader, |
Fidel Castro said: ‘‘Imperialism ©
and neo-colonialism left in”
Ethiopia — I repeat this because ©
we have to learn these figures by 7
heart.— 150,000 people with lep-”
rosy; 450,000 with tuberculosis, 6%)
or 7 million with malaria and 147
million with eye infections; 90% ~
illiteracy; and undernourishment. —
That’s what imperialism and ~
neo-colonialism left in Ethiopia!
Plus 125 doctors, who, for the
most part, were trained in thos¢ y
universities and lived in the capi —
tal. As is frequently the case in
Africa and in underdeveloped
countries in other parts of thé ~
world, nobody could make them
capital.”

Having started from such 4~
background, revolutionary
Ethiopia must advance vigor

move one kilometer out of “4

stupendous goals. As the caf

paign figures show, there is a real

drive, enthusiasm and dedication.
The process of a real cult
revolution (not to be confu
with Maoism’s cultural decapita”
tion), one for the benefit of thé
people and social progress has
begun. A powerful factor in this
process is also the solidarity of the
socialist countries who have
ready accepted thousands 9
Ethiopians for advanced educ#
tion.

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