The first of three commissions of enquiry sent to Portugal by the Russell Committee for Portugal returned last week. Headed by Tom Litterick, Labour MP for Birmingham (Selly Oak), it attempted to investigate the conditions of the 1,300 political prisoners in Portugal.
Here lay its first problem. This 1,300 Can De DroKen down Into suenEy Ies. than 1,200 from the period prior to 25 November 1975, while the remainder are civilian and military leftists allegedly involved in the so-called 'coup'. There is a world of difference between the two categories. The 1,200 are either collaborators of Salazar and Caetano, agents provocuteurs and members of the hated ribe secret ponce, or eise rigatists myolved in the abortive Spinola coup on 11 March. What interest has the working class in their release? No 'traitors' It is the case of the 100 and more erusts with wilch une abour movement should be concerned. They may have made political mistakes - this can be BISCUSSCO - • our mey are nermer tators nor 'counter-revolutionaries'. One small story is sufficient to illustrate that. The very army officer who opened the prison gates after 25 April 1974, Captain Contreiras, now finds himself locked behind them.
ine situaton of tne lertist prisoners is worse than that of the Salazarists still held. They are held in solitary confinement. They have no visits. Only some of them have seen lawyers. The commission of enquiry could not establish with what these people were charged, not we laenuty or te person wao signed une arrest warraus While this goes on, an increasing numDer or me saazausts are peine releasea. In the past few months more than a hundred have been set free. Only last week General Schulz, a minister under Salazar, was released.
Whitewash When asked about the attitude of the Socialist Party towards the political prisoners, Litterick commented that he ressing. He told of how the Socialist mayor of Oporto had whitewashed the shooting of four unarmed demonstrators: outside the prison by the Republican Guard. he Mavor. who claims to be a Socialist, reckoned the four must have been shot by the crowd and anyway there were foreign elements involved!
The imprisonment of leftist members of the armed forces who had openly sided with the working class is part of the attack the Sixth Provisional Government nas launcned against the gains or the working class and peasantry in order to reimpose capitalist discipline in both the barracks and the factories and farms.
A campaign in their defence is of the utmost urgency in both Portugal and Britain.
This will be one of the tasks facing the conference called for 13 March by the Solidarity Campaign with the Portuguese Working Class. Details from: SCPWC 12 Little Newport Street, London WC2.
'Fighting for Workers Power' is a 20 minute film on Portugal produced by the Newsreel Collective. It deals particularly with the role played by the worker-controlled newspaper Republica in bringing together the struggles of workers and agricultural labourers. A copy of the film can be hired for meetings etc. from the IMG, 97 Caledonian Road, London N.1. (01-278 9526).
I agree with most of your criticisms of the Revolutionary Party of the Proletariat (PRP). But the Fourth International's organisation in Portugal, the Internationalist Communist League (LCI), also signed the Manifesto of the Revolutionary United Front (FUR) calling for armed insurrection, and it supported the 25 November rising on that basis as Chris Harman showed in his reply to you. It is not much good being wise only after the event.
DAVE LANNING, Ipswich. • Comrade Lanning apparently doesn't read the publications of the Fourth International and the IMG, or he would know that the Fourth International pointed out the danger of the line of organisations such as the PRP well before the events of 25 November. We refer him to Inprecor, 9 October, for a criticism of the *ultra-leftism that is translated into adventurism by the PRP-BR'; Red Weekly, 20 November, on the PRP's idiotic and extremely dangerous campaign for an armed insurrection" CLO.
It is true that the LCI signed the Manifesto of the FUR. But while the Manifesto contained some wrong and dangerous positions - which we criticised in Red Weekly, 23 October It sala notnng al du doour armed insurrection.
In any case the LCI consistently opposed the 'insurrectionist line as one of its leaders explained in an interview in Red Weekly, 27 Novemist line on 25-26 November, it is simply nonsense. disaster. ber. As for comrade Harman's proof that the LCI was on an insurrectionThe LCI certainly called for a Comrades, the present situation is serious. The vital thing is that the workers make a firm, immediate and massive reply. The ruino class and its omicers are rvine to smasn une comrade pard troopers' struggle. And this is because they have refused to carry on being used by the reactionary officers as they were on 11 March and in the attack on Radio Renascenca, and have decid. ed to come over and join the side of the toiling masses for good.
The ruling class is attacking - as in Rio Maior - the advance of the agrarian reform, it is trying to break up the united stand by soldier militants, and has proclaimed a State of Siege in a desperate effort to prevent the mobilisation of the masses and to stop tne press and radio giving a voice to the organs or workers and popular power. All this is aimed at stabilising a class-collaborationist government which is already irredeemably condemned by the mobilisation of the metal workers, the construction workers, and the general mass of workers.
To retreat would mean a defeat for the workers. The reactionary forces are mobilised and will take advantage of any mad adventures in oraer to intensir tner attacks on tne bror etariat and its organisations and struggles.
But we musn't fight the bourgeoisie on the ground they have chosen themselves. Isolated acts, efforts to make the revolution without the support of the masses could only lead to a It's vital that the workers concentrate their forces and pre pare a mobilisation that can force a retreat on the bourgeoisie on Jaime Neves, Pires Veloso and Morais de Silva. It's vital to move resolutely towaras a ceneral strike. is urcent inat aur the Litterick and fellow commission member Francois Leclerc gave a press conference on their return to denounce detention of leftists mobilisation of the workers - but correctly against the Government's attacks and repressive actions, and not for insurrection or civil war. On the contrary, it clearly warned agFOR A GENERAL MOBILISATION OF THE WORKERS AGAINST THE OFFENSIVE OF REACTION of workers and popular power.
united left forces in the military and the media.
the media.
defence and arming.
Tions on Thursday.
Executive Committee, LCI 26 November 1975."
Gainst adventurist attempts. We print below the whole text of the leaflet put out by the LCI on 26 November in order to settle this question.
workers demand from the Provisional Secretariat of the work ers' commissions and Intersindical the launching of a general strike against the declaration of a State of Siege, for the purging of reactionaries from the barracks, against the nomina tion of Vasco Lourenco as commander of the Lisbon Military Region, for workers' control over the media and against the sixin Government or class collaboration. Is vital and urgen to make mass actions and demonstrations together with the united left forces from the military and the media.
It's vital and urgent to press forward with the centralisation and organisation of self-defence and the arming of the organs - For a General Strike. For demonstrations with the we must oroanise meetinos or the oroans or workers and popular power and particularly with the soldiers and workers' commissions in order to establish workers' control of - We must centralise the workers' commissions and neiuntournooo commissions ane orcanise uneir self Forward to tne proletarian and socialist revolution - our tor tne demonstration caree ov une co ordinating committee of soldiers and sailors commiss