COLOMBIA

Military regime
in formal disguise |

#

jah ey

Colombia. is a country about
which the Canadian media does
not say very much, except to re-
port the occasional capture of a
~ shipment of drugs. Otherwise, it
is assumed to be a relatively
democratic country which pro-
duces the best coffee in the world,
which has had only four years of
military dictatorship since 1920,
and which is supposed to be fol-
lowing the route of fast economic
development without any particu-
lar violation of human rights.

Not quite so. In fact political
rights have been very restricted in
Colombia during the last 30 years,
inflation and unemployment have
been growing rapidly, and tor-
tures, imprisonment of popular
leaders and repression have be-
come the most common way for
the government to deal with its
many problems.

For example, in the seven years
since November. of 1969 Colom-
bia has been under a state of
emergency. This state of
emergency is a legal resource that
suspends constitutional rights and
gives special powers to the presi-
dent to legislate without taking
the parliament into consideration.
This situation has helped to con-

vert the Colombian parliament
into a decorative institution.
Other examples of the ‘‘de fac-
to’ restriction of political liberties
are the following: although in
theory any citizen can vote and be
elected, in practice this was not
the case during the so called ‘‘Na-
tional Front’’ (from 1958 to 1974)
and — if the ideas of the present
government are carried through
—neither will it be for the years to
come. During the period of the
‘*National Front”’ the rule was in-
stituted that the only candidates
who could be elected president, a
member of the parliament, or to
any other position had to be a
member of one of the two tradi-
tional parties: the liberal or the
conservative party. In other
words, given the difficulty of dis-
tinguishing between the programs
of the two parties, the Colombian
state has become, using the words
of the Latin American Political
Report, a ‘‘one-party state’.
During the seventies the crisis
of the system has become evi-

dent: the rates of inflation have

reached levels of 50% and more,
leaving far behind the insigni-
ficant wage adjustments that take
place periodically. This has
caused a severe deterioration in

_ the standard of living of the work-

ers and the poor in general, while
increasing the profits of the big
domestic and foreign monopolies.
The public education system and
the system of public health have
suffered serious deterioration to
the point where several schools
and hospitals have been closed.
This has occurred even in Bogo-
ta, where it is recognized by the
government itself. that these ser-
vices perform an important politi-
cal role. Unemployment has also
remained high during the decade
— at levels sometimes as high as
15% — and underemployment
has increased. This is especially
serious in acountry like Colombia
where there is no system of un-
employment insurance. |

All these problems, and the fai-
lure of the government to find a
solution for them, have given rise
to the protest of the masses
(workers, peasants, students,
etc.) who are the ones that suffer
the most. The response of the
government, however, has been

to repress by any means: strikes,
are often declared illegal, or also,
when workers reach certain

levels of organization in some sec-

tors, those sectors are declared
‘‘public services’’ and they lose
the right to strike. Areas of the
country, like the towns of
Cimitarra and Yacopi, where the
left (mainly the Communist Party)
has won an election, are declared
under military control, members
of the armed forces are appointed
as mayors of the towns, municipal
councils are closed, political
leaders and left activitist are im-
prisoned and tortured, etc.
Finally ; making use of the state
of emergency legislation, many
areas of the Colombian law,
which in a democratic country
have jurisdiction of civil justice,
have been switched to military
jurisdiction. In this way, almost
any act of resistance or expres-
sion of non-conformity has be-,
come a military offence “and
treated as such. As to be ex-
pected, these PROD: have

‘incommunicado for weeks,

{

et
been used against the opposition. i
Those arrested under the neW
legislation are usually interto”
gated without their lawyers, keP!
severely tortured, causing death
in many cases.

The armed forces have £
strengthened their position con:
siderably with the help of the re"
actionary wing of the Conserva
tive Party which has had the cole
trol of the ministry of internal
fairs for several years. For many
the situation in Colombia has
ready reached the limits of a for
mal military dictatorship in a civ?
disguise; for others, the worst is
yet to come, and it is felt that it Sal
necessary to organize the masseS ~
to resist animminent military take
over. The situation is far from q
clear, but the consequences of a
new military dictatorship in Latin ‘|
America are important enough for >
those interested in freedom afl
human rights, rooted in re
democratic conditions, to bé

come aware of it. 3 q

Tory defeat, Canada’s gain »

On Monday, Feb. 18 the electors
finished the job that parliament started
back in December. They turfed the
Clark government out of office. And,
none too soon. For that government
was completely in the pocket of the
corporate elite as well as that of the
U.S. administration.

In defeating the Tory government,
voters struck a mighty blow against the
cold warriors and, in so doing, ad-
vanced the struggle for peace, détente
and disarmament.

* * *

While, hopefully, we have said fare-
well to Joe Clark as a possible prime
minister again, we have not yet said
good-bye to the motley gang of re-
actionaries that rallied round the Clark
banner. Starting from the far-right Na-
tional Citizens Coalition and the pro-
fascist Slavic emigrees (including nazi
war criminals) and going through the
tory spectrum from *‘red"’ tories, red-

necks and plain, ordinary right-oriented.

tories to the corporate-controlled press
and media — the voices of anti-Soviet
slander and cold war posturing are still
with us.

* * *

But we, all of us who stand for a just
and stable world peace and peaceful
relations with countries with differing
social systems have proven to be
stronger than the advocates of imperial-
ist cold and hot war. We, the voters

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FEBRUARY 29, 1980—Page 6

Marxism-Leninism in Today’s World

taught them a lesson. But only for the
moment. For, the memories of the cold
warriors are notoriously short. Their
greed for power and profit over-rides all
other considerations. They are apt to
throw caution to the wind in their ea-
gerness to satisfy their imperialist lust
for expansion and domination. .

Spurred on by the military-industrial -

complex centred in the USA, the cold
and hot warriors will undoubtedly con-
tinue to heat up their anti-Soviet hys-
teria aimed at undermining the people's
will for peace.

* * *

It is a well-known axiom that the
price of freedom is eternal vigilance. It
is equally the price of peace and social
progress. Vigilance coupled with the
will to act in the interest of world peace
is the most pressing need of our times.
The people, particularly the working
class, cannot afford to take the election
result as some sort of a guarantee that
their expressed desire for an indepen:
dent Canadian foreign policy based on
peace, détente and disarmament will be
respected by Prime Minister-elect
Trudeau.

It is true that Trudeau during the

course of the election campaign sepa-
rated himself from the cold warriors.
He said that armaments would have a

low priority in a Liberal budget. He also
stated that Canada’s role in foreign af-
fairs should be that of a peace-maker
between the Soviet Union and the
USA. However, we should never for-
get that Trudeau’s last term as prime
minister was marked by a sharp turn to
the right not only in domestic policy but
also in foreign policy. On the other
hand, we should not let him forget his

‘Statements mentioned above.

Pres ee
We offer these words of caution be-

cause we live in a capitalist country —

where state institutions are tailored to
maintain non-class illusions in the
minds of the. working people. One of.
those institutions is parliamentary
democracy. Another illusion is elec-
tions held under that form of democra-
cy. Lenin, writing about the capitalist
state, said:

‘‘A democratic republic is the best
possible shell for capitalism, and, there-
fore, once capital has gained possession
of this very best shell ... it establishes
its power so securely, so firmly, that no
change of persons, institutions or par-
ties in the democratic republic can
shake. it.”’

He went on to speak about elections
under this system as follows: ‘‘Nothing

-the workers right and left — as long as {

_ ery morning that broken promises are —
the hallmark of capitalist politicians.

the working people can rely upon. Un-

4

in our times can be done without elec- i
tions; nothing can be done without thé
masses. And in this era of printing
parliamentarism it is impossible to eal

the following of the masses without 4 \

widely ramified, systematically man-
aged, well-equipped system of flattery;
lies, fraud, juggling with fashionable
and popular catchwords, and promising"
all manners of reform and blessings tO —

they renounce the revolutionary strug:
gle for the overthrow of the
bourgeoisie.”
* * * ay
It is well for readers to always keep —
these words of Lenin in mind. They —
should be framed and pasted on your
mirror so that you will be reminded ev-

However, in our times, the top ruling —
circles have to reckon with the growing
strength and better organization of the
working class and with the increasing
political activity of the working people
as a whole. This is the only guarantee

ited, these favorable attributes, can re-_
flect the real balance of forces in the
ongoing struggle for an independent
Canadian foreign policy based on
détente, disarmament and peaceful
co-existence between countries with
differing social systems.