Letters

Trade union leaders in British Columbia
js We, as B.C. trade union leaders, are
eply concerned by the actions of the
en administration which have been
signed to destabilize and overthrow the
eumeat of Nicaragua. These actions
‘i in clear contravention of interna-
4 Onal law and in violation of the Nicara-
| 8an people’s right to self-determination.
ee to destabilize the govern-
ae of Nicaragua include: creating, sus-
a hing, and controlling a mercenary army
.Counter-revolutionaries who are killing
eeuan civilians and destroying vital
ie sp infrastructure; initiating a full-
a € financial and economic embargo in
. attempt to destroy the Nicaraguan
| “ohomy; mining Nicaraguan ports;
| Maintaining constant, massive military
manoeuvres in Honduras and off Nicara-
Suan coasts in order to intimidate the
1caraguan people.
Ss Conn Pressures from the U.S. and
ie Ta” forces, the government of Nica-
Sua has made great strides in education,
Bl cratic Suen and agrarian reform. Demo-
judged €ctions held last November were
ae exemplary by international stand-
a y hundreds of international obser-

Based On individual reports of many
‘lan trade unionists who have vist-
“the aa ela We are convinced that it is
aa bee people of Nicaragua who
sane nefited from the process of
owstan reconstruction. Through their
nis oath revolution, the working peo-
ee \caragua have gained a voice in

Tmining their destiny through free

All of left

Geoff Me

liam p BEs, Vancouver, writes: Wil-
oe Seay Ss article on the Philippine
up? ws (“Philippine vote: a political set-
Eee Tibune Feb. 5, 1986) contained
Us factual errors that can only serve to

, nee an already complex story. The
. orimunie bie ao a peeoeers
{ Party of the Philippines

Se and its New People’s Army is sup-

In = Mrs. (Cory) Aquino.”

Shea the CPP and the National
ner Front (NDF), of which it is a
tion ae both urged a boycott of the elec-
Cerone it as a farce that would

Violence nated by fraud, corruption and

argued 4 Both the CPP and the NDF
t0 Solve at an election could do nothing
tine the basic problems of the Philip-
a Manche. A CPP directive obtained by
| work ; daily said the election could only

in the “U.S. imperialist interests.”
call ee speculated that a boycott
Bae legal left opposition alliance
would Would help Aquino because “she
tions not be stigmatized by the organiza-

n . Official support.”
stry rae 18 no stranger to Philippine
REAR. 4€ was imprisoned for many
Near the capture by government forces
bytheo end of the 1950s Huk rebellion led
has KR Partido Komunista ng Pilipi-

& ). Pomeroy, although an Ameri-

at ore in the top leadership of the PKP
ae and retains close ties to that

tisin his scorn for the CPP is not
ound Hee, those who know the back-
that bor © CPP developed from a group
; 3 € away from the PKP and organ-
“Marxis ne Organization based on
thou oh €ninism-Mao_ Tse-tung
a“ es eomeoy's aN to the CPP as
- analk que t) has developed as
alliance of Maoist and radical oe

participation in trade unions, in the elected
National Assembly, and in the other
democratic and popularly supported
organizations.

We welcome the Canadian govern-
ment’s support for the peace proposal of
the Contadora Group, composed of
Colombia, Mexico, Panama, and Venezu-
ela. We are encouraged that the Canadian
government has chosen to reject the U.S.
trade embargo on Nicaragua and main-
tain bilateral aid and trade with Nicara-
gua, as reaffirmed by External Affairs
Minister Joe Clark and the Hon. Monique
Vezina, minister responsible for the Cana-
dian International Development Agency.

However, we are disturbed that the
Canadian government has refused so far
to vigorously oppose U.S. intervention
against the government and the people of
Nicarauga, or to oppose the dangerous
U.S. militarization of the region.

We also feel that the present amount of
aid and loans to Nicarauga are insuffi-
cient, given the extent of the economic
crisis facing the Nicaraguan people. We
support a significant expansion in the lev-
els of this aid, and encourage the Cana-
dian government to expand trade with
Nicaragua.

Canada should oppose U.S. efforts to
strangle Nicaragua militarily and econom-
ically. It should add its voice to those of
other concerned nations throughout the
world in calling for peace and the recogni-
tion of the right of Nicaragua to determine
its own destiny.

We are concerned that Canada’s aid to
Honduras be used to benefit the Hondu-

Unionists urge Nicaragua solidarity

ART
KUBE

BILL
CLARK

ran people, and not to build an infrastruc-
ture for U.S.-backed counter-revolutionary
forces or the Honduran army to attack
Nicaragua. We believe Canada should
withhold all bilateral aid to Honduras as
long as that government contravenes
international law by acting to destabilize
and overthrow the neighboring govern-
ment of Nicaragua.

In order to strenghten our country’s
friendship with the people of Nicaragua
and to demonstrate our respect for their
right to self-determination, we ask that the
Canadian government open an embassy
in that country.

The trade union movement in British
Columbia has already extended its hands
to the Nicaraguan people. A carpentry
school in Esteli was set up and is being
staffed by B.C. carpenters. The Tools for
Peace campaign, which raised more than
$1.5 million in goods last year, was started
by B.C. trade unionists. Workers in B.C.
will continue to explore ways to support

ART
GRUNTMAN

ROY
GAUTIER

their cause of peace and self-determination.

As B.C. trade unionists, we respect the
right of working people in other countries
to chart their own futures without the
threat of foreign interference. We request
that our government also respect that right
to self-determination and oppose U.S.
intervention against the people of Nicara-

gua.
Signed: Art Kube, president, B.C. Fed;
Cliff Andstein, secretary-treasurer, B.C.
Fed; Bill Clark, president, TWU; Roy
Gautier, president, Building Trades; Ken-
neth Georgetti, president, USW, Local
480; Art Gruntman, vice-president, CPU;
Leif Hanson, president, UFCW; Anne
Harvey, president, OTEU, Local 378;
Christine Micklewright, BRAC; Jack
Nichol, president, UFAWU; Stan Shew-
aga, president, PPWC; John Shields, pres-
ident, BCGEU; Jess Succamore, national
secretary-treasurer, CAIMAW; Rick
Sutherland, president, Brewery Workers,
Local 300; Alice West, national director,
PSAC; Bill Zander, president Carpenters.

sought Philippine vote boycott

sectors” are a caricature of an organiza-
tion that fields a guerrilla army of between
20,000 and 30,000 combatants. Even
American intelligence estimates agree that
guerrilla fronts have been established in
the majority of the Philippines provinces.
- The election in the Philippines has been
touted by American media outlets as a last
chance to avert the loss of the Philippines
to a communist insurgency led by the
CPP. The CPP could not have made such
gains without a large base of popular sup-
port. Whatever one’s views of the CPP
ideology, the time is long past when the
CPP or the New People’s Army can be
dismissed as a “Maoist clique.”

The courageous and principled role
played by priests and nuns in the struggle
both in legal organizations and under-
ground is also a well-documented fact.

A number of religious activists —
priests, nuns and lay people — have paid
with their lives for demanding social and
political justice in the Philippines. The
mainstream church, however, has sup-
ported the regime until quite recently,
keeping its criticism limited to human
rights abuses. Although the top Catholic
Church leader seems to have offered sup-
port to Aquino, he is no ally of the left.
Perhaps Pomeroy’s piece suffered from
editing or cutting, but his article left the
false impression that the Catholic church
somehow provides a link between Aquino
and the CPP, a suggestion as absurd as the
idea that Ernesto Cardenal is the Pope’s
pipeline to the Sandinistas.

Although media attention has focused
on the insurgency, the above-ground left
movements that have coalesced around
Bayan — a national coalition reminiscent
of B.C.’s Solidarity Coalition — are of
equal significance.

Tribune readers have read several times

in the past few months of trade union
struggles in the Philippines led by Kilu-
sang Mayo Uno (KMU), the second-
largest trade union centre in the Philippines
and the main labor voice against the dicta-
torship.

KMU is one of the member organiza-
tions of Bayan, which bargained long and
hard with the Aquino forces in a fruitless
effort to find unity. In the course of the
debate, a number of Bayan leadership per-
sonalities endorsed Aquino, but the bulk
of Bayan, including KMU, concluded that
boycott was the only proper course. The
decision was taken only after weeks of
debate and the failure of the Aquino forces
to adopt a number of key progressive
campaign platform positions.

KMU’s national council voted Dec. 21
to boycott the elections because the results
would be rigged and the campaigns would
not address “the basic problems confront-
ing the workers and the people — raising
their wages to decent levels, insuring
employment, providing job security and
the general uplift of their living and work-
ing conditions.”

While giving credit to the Aquino forces
for their “anti-dictatorship stance,” the
KMU leaders said their campaign would
be more meaningful if it included such
fundamental platform planks as the abro-
gation of all treaties related to U.S. bases,
an end to all International Monetary Fund
and World Bank impositions, uncondi-
tional release of all political detainees,
genuine national industrialization and
genuine land reform.

It was in the absence of such demands
that KMU decided to launch an “active
boycott” that would see mobilizaiton of its
membership around demands for an
immediate 25-per cent wage increase, job

guarantees, repeal of anti-labor laws anda
halt to trade union repression.

Bayan’s boycott call came several days
later. Bayan raised a series of demands
about the election process itself, calling for
Marcos’ resignation, the return of the
army to barracks during the vote, syn-
chronization of presidential and munici-
pal elections and restoration of the right of
habeas corpus.

Aquino’s campaign would not agree to
join in these demands nor to include sev-
eral Bayan positions in its platform,
including calls for repudiation of foreign
debt and nationalization of key industries.

It is never easy to analyze another coun-
try’s politics from afar and the Philippines
offers more problems than most. It is
important, however, to keep trying. The
crisis provoked by Marcos’ failure to push
through a fraudulent election victory has
revealed how important the Philippines is
to American interests. Militarily and eco-
nomically the United States has more at
stake in the Philippines than it did in Viet-
nam.

It was clear from the moment that Mar-
cos called the vote that an election could
not solve the fundamental problems con-
fronting the Philippines people. Those in
the trade union movement, the human
rights movement, the women’s movement
and the hundreds of other organizations
fighting against repression will need our
solidarity. Their struggle deserves more
analysis and coverage as it moves to centre
stage.

Geoff Meggs is a member of the B.C.
Committee for Human Rights in the Philip-
pines and spent a month in the Philippines in

1985 as part of a trade union-human rights
delegation.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 19, 1986 e 5