Alvaro Cunhal, Genesol Secretary, Communist Party of Portugal

mee

SS :

PCP’s ap
to the military

proach

qe Situation of

By Albert J. Lima

which said in part;

tionary Action.

of its suceess:

sible changes:

and give it confidence.

fascism.

@ All actions must be based on a correc
results, never-on improvisation and impatience oe
@ Action must on no account become terroristic.
The activities of the Armed Revolutionary ‘Action followed these sugges-
tions. Never at any time did the organization
erty that would confuse and antagonize the S ;
geared to the people's democratic revolutionary movement so as to encourage it

T.. attitude of the PCP in regard to the responsibility of revolutionaries toward

the armed forces was clearly spelled out in May 1972, when the Plenum of the Cen-
tral Committee adopted a document entitled: ‘‘The Main the Present Situation,”

“Organization and work in the armed forces is a prime task in combatting
the fascist dictatorship, because on the threshold
frontation is is essential to command the support of a Substantial part of the ser-
vicemen and to neutralize the rest. Desertions,
therefore be viewed in the light of this objective.
‘Outright desertion, desertion to emigrate, thou
protest, is, in the long term, by no means the best way of fi
onialism. A revolutionary armyman should remain in the for > d
_ revolutionary activity, excepting where his freedom is directly imperilled.”’
In addition to the legal and semi-legal forms of struggle in the armed forces,
the PCP hailed the founding of an independent organization called Armed Revolu.

of an acute revolutionary con-
Particularly of officers, should
gh expressive of a definite

ghting fascism and col-
ces and continue his

The founding of this organization was characterized as an event of
immense importance in the fight against the fasci

welcoming this new initiative, the Party suggested the following basic conditions

st dictatorship. In addition to

@ Its actions must be tied in with the broad public movement and should not
impede, but rather help, the mass Struggle;

® Careful consideration should be given to the Political situation and pos-

t appraisal of forces and possible

’

take people’s lives or destroy prop-
mass movement. Its actions were

The actions of the Armed Revolutionary Action were aimed at all times
against the colonial war machine, and their activities generated enthusiasm in the
mass movement. It was inspiring to know that a growing number of servicemen
were ready to put their lives on the line to destroy the colonial war machine and

recently visited Portugal.

Lima, a member of the Central Committee of the U.S. Communist Party,

PACIFIC TRIBUNE-—FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1974—Page 6

CP of Portugal’s
statement on:

os

PROVISIONAL
AOVWEDOIWSG

The following statement by the Com-
munist Party of Portugal appeared in the
September 6 issue of Avante!, the party’s
paper.

provisional democracy
we are living through is full of novelties and
contradictions.

A clear understanding of both is basic

_ if we are to define a Correct orientation at

the present juncture.

The system of power comprises various
elements, whose positions do not always
coincide. The Provisional Government is
the expression of a vast Coalition united for
achieving common objectives. The most
important one is conducting elections for
the Constituent Assembly, but on that mat-

_ ter there are, naturally, differences of opin-

ion to be overcome by means of voting and
compromises. Up to the present, the pro-
cess of cleaning up has still left many re-
actionaries in responsible positions where
they can exert influence. In solving any

. important problem various forces, opinions

and pressures come into play and influence

_ the final decision.

The correlation of forces is favorable
to those who want to insure democratiza-
tion and decolonization. But it does not per-
mit spectacular advances in a straight line.

The political process now going on will °

continue to be marked by irregularity and
the hesitations arising from the factors
Mentioned above. Anyone who does not
realize this, who does not have a sense of

: the facts, who ignores or forgets these

Particular characteristics of the Portu-
guese situation, who supports the policy of
“all or nothing,” who is unable to appre-
ciate results even when limited, and in-
Sists on the impossible, is certainly not
making any contribution toward defeating
reaction and consolidating democracy in
Portugal and peace in Africa, with the in-
dependence of the peoples hitherto subject
to Portuguese colonialism. :
_We-are at a point where the battle be-
tween the forces of democracy on the one
hand and those of reaction on the other has
not yet been concluded. Definitive victory
in this battle is the first great priority in
our struggle. It means defeating the forces
of reaction, preventing the creation of eco-
nomic, social and political conditions favor-
able to counter-revolution, consolidating

_ liberty, Overcoming the obstacles to the
_ holding of elections, and insuring that those

elections are truly free and democratic.

reat”
‘popular government but one of thé f

i

PARTIDO
COMUNISTA
PORTUGUES

Oo partido
da classe
operaria :
e do povo ;
trabalhadol §

|

We are for everything that
achieve this objective and we are 4
anything that standsinitsway. _

The Provisional Government 15
Popular Government. But in -esse#
serves the people. Despite the ba :
and political spectrum of the coal
goes to make it up, despite some d ‘a
that objectively constitute concess}
pressure from the right, the genera
line of the policy of the Provisional @
ment is democratic and progress
out surrendering the right to criti
disagree, supporting the ProvisiO re
ernment is in the vital interest of Ga
tuguese people. The Provisional 6?
ment is of the utmost importance
means of insuring the way of dem
Contrary to the illusions of certain the
gogues and. irresponsible Leftists,
ternative to the Provisional Gover
under present conditions, would 0! ©)

tionary right. .

T;. opposition: to. the covers

consists of the reactionary forces aa qi? FE
ist groups, who objectively cooper: the vile |
them. Overtly or covertly, using ga”
weapons of propaganda, econ nas
tage and social demagogy, reacey git afl
up, as the principal target of its ( fe
its conspiracy, not only the MFA x sist
Forces Movement) and the most aa iol
political forces but also the Pro
vernment.
a is in the interest of all othe
0 support and defend that governme” "
: in Ble light of these considerati™ ig e
is hard to accept the fact that dem? co a)
forces, including parties of the gové
tal coalition, sometimes act as thou otal
were opposition forces. It is unacce
for example, that anyone having a0 pr
bilities in the government should 4 Fas
behind closed doors, certain decisi®,,
even take the initiative in proposing
and then attack them violently ou 3
public opinion. This is what took “tf
cently with respect to the right F
and it should not berepeated. _ is
For its part, the PCP’s policy