Ain aatcetitimeed . WORLD General strike 4 Chilean junta’s last stand? By KERRY McCUAIG Owena Madera had just learned she was pregnant when her husband’s mutilated body was found beside a highway north of the Chilean capital. Manuel Guererro, a leader of the teachers’ union and known member of the Communist Party of Chile had been kidnapped 24 hours earlier in front of students and children at the Latin Ameri- can College in Santiago. Forced into the car with him was Manuel Parada, a sociologist and worker at the human rights branch of the Chilean Catholic church. Earlier artist Santiago Nattino Allende, had been abducted while walking along a busy street. The next day, all three men were found decapitated. Opposition Outraged Intended to shock a growing ' opposition into silence, the mur- ders had the opposite effect. They would catapult the widows of the three men into the centre of a political conspiracy which reaches far into the presidential palace and enrage and unite a population which has been strain- ing under twelve years of fascist dictatorship. A national general strike, long on the agenda of the democratic forces, has finally been called for June 20. Early this spring a Civic Assembly was formed uniting unions, women, students, profes- sionals, shanty-town dwellers and peasants into the largest opposi- tion coalition the country has seen since the overthrow of the Al- lende government. It’s demands for the abdication of Pinochet and a return to demo- cracy has received international support. In early May a meeting of eminent Latin American lead- ers met in Buenos Aires pledging support to assembly and the na- tional strike. _ The formation of the assembly is the most significant develop- ment to happen in the country, says Madera. While not officially including political parties it has been endorsed by everyone from the Christian Democrats on left and even some of the rightist par- ties have lent their support. Business elements who joined in the overthrow of Allende are feeling the squeeze of a peso de- valued 600 per cent in the past 10 years, matching inflation, a crip- pling international debt and a drop in export prices. Increasingly iso- lated internally, the regime is left to rely on its huge military ap- paratus, the largest in Latin America. Pinochet has brought untold suffering, says Madera. Six thousand people have, been mur- dered and a further 23,000 are missing. Over one million Chi- leans live in exile. Becoming Ungovernable Using the same tactic the Af- rican National Congress has adopted against apartheid, the democratic forces have called on HAUAUEEUEOGAGUATUEUANUODOROEOEOEUONOOEOUOGUOEOOEUELOOUOOONIOENL Triple murders spark outrage, unite opposition forces against Pinochet TTT the population to make them- selves ungovernable. The general strike will be an all-out confrontation with a milit- ary which has become increas- ingly hostile. Demonstrators are brutally attacked and several have been killed; raids on the shanty towns are occurring with a frequency which hasn’t been seen since the coup; Santiago is under occupation; the universities are crawling with armed soldiers. 8 Owena Madera dragged off by police during her eighth month of preg- Every Thursday since the murders, the widows of Guerrero, Parada and Natino have held a vigil oui a Pinochet’s Palace demanding that the assassins be brought to trial. But the torture and tear gas has been matched with a growing re- sistance and the three widows have become a face for that resis- tance. The women stuck themselves to the sidewalk outside the presi-~ dential palace until an inves- tigation was launched. A judge would later implicate 21 members of the the Dicomar, the secret police, but all would later be re- leased. A new investigation is under- way, which will undoubtedly re- sult in another coverup, but there remains no doubt that the police were involved and the order for the kidnappings and murders came from Pinochet himself. All three men were leading members of the Communist Par- ty, a force which is galvanizing the opposition. The military judge in dismissing the case stated the murders were a warning to the nancy. She has been arrested 15 times since the murder. Left, ‘‘particularly one sector’. On the anniversary of her hus- band’s death, Madera and the other widows planted trees on the spot where the bodies were found. ““They symbolize life, in con- trast to a government which has brought nothing but death and de- struction to my country.”’ Canadian Complicity The 24-year-old Madera has been trekking across Canada tot- ting her six-month old son, Man- uel Liberta (named for his father and freedom), with one message. Isolate the regime internationally, boycott Chilean products, don’t lend money to fascism, don’t give arms or military equipment. It is for good reasons that she has chosen Canada to visit. Since the 1973 coup Canada has become ik On the anniversary of the deaths, Madera with her infant son and the two other widows plant trees on the spot where the bodies were found. “place in isolation. It must, E if the second largest invest0! Chile. Noranda and Rio ‘of are involved in the mining 8% det but Canadian corporations ar rectly connected to suppl if materials for torture and TP sion. According to a fact sheet pared by Toronto Actio# Chile, Sparton of Canada has } mitted selling electronic S¢R used in Chilean penal institu” | Bata Shoes, whose name 15 *"_\) ciated worldwide with medie’ working conditions, OP® ar three plants supplying footwe the military. Canadair, 4 corporation has provided 4 parts and Hercules planes. In addition Cana® acted as a third party in $ helicopters, training aire rile! other materiel to the armed forces. ‘ While officially conden human_ rights violations Pinochet and voting agai’ 1, regime in United Nations © 5h tions, Canadian investme? Chile actually escalated all@! J coup. The department of ex affairs has participated in? jp three Chilean trade missi@ the first four months of 199° will be part of a compute! “iis ware show in Santiag® August. Madera is asking for Jetters cables in support of the trike renewed pressure on thé ol! dian government for an 2” boycott. iw ‘*Today, more than eve af need solidarity,” says May “The national strike cann0! wit? the resignation of Pinochel_~ Freedom On June 16, 1976 hundreds of school children took to the streets of Soweto to protest the inferiority of the education system for black students under the apartheid regime. Their peaceful demonstration was met by brutal attacks from the racist regime which killed over 800 unarmed teenagers. Today the brutality of the apar- theid regime has escalated. In the past 19 months, 1,400 people have been killed by the South African police. In March alone 171 were killed, the greatest number in a sin- gle month. On May 19, the apartheid train to take sanctions demand to Ottawa | regime attacked the capitals of Zimbabwe, Botswana and Zam- bia. Over a dozen were injured and two killed, including one child, ina refugee camp in Lusaka, Zambia; three were injured and one killed in a residential district in Gabarone, Botswana. At the commonwealth meeting in Nassau, Bahamas, Oct. 10, 1985, the Canadian government prom- ised to impose mandatory sanc- tions against South Africa if significant steps had not been taken toward ending apartheid within six months. Now eight months later, in 8 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, JUNE 11, 1986 response to a call for immediate sanctions from Bishop Desmond Tutu during his visit to Canada, External Affairs Minister Joe Clark has refused to follow upon the promises made at the com- monwealth meeting. Instead, he has said that no action will be taken by the Canadian govenment for at least one month, until recommendations by a common- wealth appointed group expected at the end of June, are presented. In response to the stalling tactics of the Canadian government, and in memory of the Soweto Massacre ten years ago, people will travel to Ottawa, from Toronto, Kingston and Montreal June 15. Their demands include: an end to Canadian complicity with apar- theid; immediate economic and political sanctions be imposed on the South African government; that the ANC be recognized by the Canadian government as the rep- resentative of the people of South Africa; and that Canada demands the release of all political prisoners in South Africa, including Nelson Mandela. Beverly Bain, an organizer for the event stressed the importance of the Freedom Train to Ottawa. “The Canadian government | moving in the direction § tions,” she said, “if Canad going to take that directio®” ¢ be due to constant press soul sanctions both from thé ie African and Canadian peOP™” Continuing the upsurg¢ un apartheid protest demo” during Bishop Tutu’s — Freedom Train is expec a clear message to the government to impose s4® on the apartheid regime inde iit ently of any other members? Commonwealth.