}e

cs Letters |

A Chilean exile, Vancouver, writes: The
Tegime of General Pinochet has recently
unleashed a new wave of repression and
torture in Chile ona scale not seen since the

» Sorry days immediately following the 1973

Military coup which overthrew Allende’s
democratically elected government. Unfor-
tunately, the business press carries few
‘Ports of the unfolding tragedy which has
befallen the people of that country.

As a naturalized Canadian of Chilean
€scent, these developments have touched
Me very deeply, especially because many of
My relatives and friends who still remain in
i. ile have now fallen victim to this brutal-

Earlier this week I received a telephone
call from my family in Valparaiso, Chile
informing me that my cousin had disap-
Peared on Oct. 30 (the day of the National
. TOtest) and that my relatives were anx-
lously trying to locate him. Shortly there-
after, they phoned again to tell me that my
Cousin had been found, badly beaten and
tortured, receiving treatment in a military
hospital. Apparently he had been arrested

at a demonstration on the afternoon of Oct.
30, blindfolded and taken by police to an
unknown location.

During several days of interrogation my
cousin was repeatedly beaten and subjected
to electric shock and other forms of torture,
requiring his hospitalization. The doctors
informed my family that my cousin has two
broken ribs, a permanently punctured ear
drum, and other contusions and bruises.

My relatives also told me that they might
still not have known his whereabouts, had it
not been for a hospital orderly who recog-
nized him and informed friends. He is still
under military detention and we do not
know when or if he will be released. No
charges have been filed against him. _

Perhaps the most ironic aspect of this sad
affair is the fact that my cousin is by no
means a ‘left-winger’; indeed, he had beena
passive supporter of Pinochet until quite
recently. ete

The fate that has befallen my cousin 1s in
no way exceptional. In the days following
the National Protest, thousands of Chilean
patriots have been detained, tortured, jailed

la,

r

East Indian Workers’ Association,
Vancouver, writes: The gruesome, planned
murder of the Indian prime minister,
Indira Gandhi, by her personal body-
8uards is to be condemned. It seems that
Oreign imperialist hands are behind the
Scenes, trying to utilize anti-India ele-
Ments in various plans. For the last sev-
fral years they have used every type of
Separatist and secessionist element to
destabilize and break up India.

The assassination of Indira Gandhi
led to reprehensible acts of violence
among the Hindu communalists. Not
Only were anti-social elements organized

Y Certain political people in Delhi but

€y were also brought in from outside

delhi to indulge in the massacre of the

ikhs. The killing and maiming of the
Sikhs, the looting and burning of Sikh
Properties in an organized way by com-
Munalists are terrible acts which must be
Condemned by everyone.

. The attacks on thousands of innocent
Sikhs will further alienate them and pro-
vide ammunition for Sikh separatist
elements and hostile forces. But it is hear-
\_ ‘ening to know that in many places Hin-

Sectarian violence deplored

=~

dus helped the Sikhs, gave them shelter
and stood by them. Communalists, sep-
aratist and divisive forces can be defeated
by the united efforts of the secular and
democratic people of India.

The murder and lawlessness reveal the
inefficiency, weakness and failure of the
administration of the Indian government
in Delhi. The machinery of law and
order, especially the police of Delhi stand
charged for the widespread bloodshed
against the Sikhs. ‘

Our organization abhors the assassi-
nation of Indira Gandhi and also con-
demns the barbaric massacre of the Sikhs
and the destruction of their properties.
We call’on the Indian government to
take strong action against the commu-
nalist instigators of this carnage. A judi-
cial inquiry should be conducted and the
culprits given exemplary punishments.
The Sikhs’ loss must be compensated
and they must be assured that law and
order will be reorganized to protect them.

We appeal to all people of Indian
origin living here to remain calm and
peaceful and strive for harmony among
ourselves and to work for the unity of

India. =

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- Cousin victim of Chile’s repression

and in some cases, killed. Hundreds more
remain unaccounted for, i.e. “the disap-
peared ones.”

Furthermore, Pinochet has now declared
a “state of siege” which gives the police and

_ the army even wider “discretionary” power

to detain and incarcerate the local popula-
tion without any access to due process.

Despite this fascist repression, Pinochet’s
support continues to.crumble and his days
in power are numbered. The people have
lost their fear and are standing up, in their
millions, for an end to the dictatorship and
for a return to democracy.

I have related this story in the hope that
more Canadians will become aware of this
situation and will actively support the Chi-
lean people in their fight for freedom and
justice. I long for the day when I can visit my
former land without fear, when my relatives
and friends can breathe again in a free and
democratic Chile.

Is universality”
next under axe?

Maurice Rush, B.C. leader, Communist
Party, writes: During the federal election
campaign in Vancouver Centre I repeatedly
charged that one of the first actions of the
Conservative government would be to
bring oil prices in Canada to the world level
which would cost Canadians over $2 billion
and which would mainly go to swell the
profits of the large U.S. oil cartels. The
Conservative candidate, Pat Carney, who
was then slated to become the minister of
energy, and has since been named to the
cabinet in that post, repeatedly refused to
deny it. In fact, she refused to discuss energy
issues at all.

I hate to say, I told you so. But my charge
has unfortunately been proven true. I also
charged that the Tories have a hidden
agenda to do federally what the Socreds
have done provincially. But having learned
the lesson of the Solidarity fightback, they
are using the knife with a little more finesse.

It is no accident that Premier Bill Ben+
nett’s right hand man, Norman Spector, is
in Ottawa advising the Tory government.
After all, Michael Walker of the Fraser
Institute has been an active participant in
Tory seminars for years. ;

We know now what to expect from the
Mulroney government: more of what Bill
Bennett gave us — not jobs and security,
but more cuts in social services, government
layoffs, reduction in people’s living stand-
ards, and more people living in poverty.

Next will come an assault on the univer-
sality of social services. Maybe the results of
the North Okanagan and Vancouver East
byelections will have a salutary affect on
Ottawa. The right wing policies, which havee
turned B.C. into an economic disaster area,
show where the Tory policies will lead Can-
ada unless an aroused public protests the
Tory government’s cynical betrayal of it
election promises. :

oy

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PACIFIC TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 21, 1984 e 11