SOME 30,000 SPANISH workers have given the ailing General Franco an unwelcome 82nd birthday pres ent by defying the notoriously brutal police to strike in support of the country's political prisoners.
Most of the strikes took place In the northern Basque region, in response to a call fem the Basque natJonalist organisation ETA. A number of shops and schools were closed in sympathy with the strikers, and in at least one town police broke up a demonstration.
Al present more than 150 politIcal prisoners in jails across the country are on hunger strike to back up their demand for an amanesty for all politicat prisoners. This demand has gained tremendous popular support in Spain, so much so that those sections of the ruling class includi. Hie Catholic Church- who at to "liberalise Spain's politic set-up have beer forced to take up. A petition calling for alm IS and areater political free has so far pained 150.01 mutures!
But there seen to let-up so far in the re bolties nutsued by the regime. In Valencia the prosecution is asking for minimum sentences of two years each for a group of militants including a priest- accused of leading the local workers commissions (trade union bodies thit are illegal under the dictatorship). In Burgos a Basque militant accused of political bank robberies has been sent to jail for 23 years.
The most serious case is taking place in the capital city of Madrid. There two militants, Antonio Duran and Eva Forrest, are heing tried in connection with a bomb that exploded in a Madrid cafe in September killing tea people, No organisation bas claimed responsibility for the bombing, and the group on whom the Sparrish police have tried to pin it tbe Basque astionalists, ETA(V) have specifically denied it.
Indeed, there are widespread suspicions that the bombing might nave neen the work of police provsenteurs.
The polce claim to have tevidcoce thet Forrest and Duran were The real crime committed by Eva eyes of the Spanish police, is the mere fact that they are leading left-wing militants.
charged with providing help and shelter for the people who had carried out the bombing of a Madrid cafe in mid-September.
in the workers movement. He was in the leaderslip of an important strike in Madrid in 1968, and a leader of the building workers strikes in 1971 and 1972.
a well-known opponest of the Franco dielatorship, both in Spain and in France. She is married to one of Spain's best krown playwould be surprising if they did not have picaty of such evidence, for the Spanish police are among the busiest frame-up artists in the world. But they also seem to have rather poor memonies, since they have at different tinice claimed That Forrest and Duran were members of two organisntions with very different political pos ions —ETACK) and the Communist Party. They are now trying to get thomseives out of this bind by claiming Forrest and Duran are Forrest and Antonio Duran, in the They were arrested three months Spain. ago along with six others, including two pronanent women lawyers, and Duran is a long-standing activist brutal treatment.
Eva Forrest is a psychiatrist and she was subjecled to to lick up her vomit. ning to be relected in Parlament. bi the 1969 general election the LDP reachod ins poak by winning 300 seats out of a tolal of 476, but in 1972 iL only got 280, while the CP tripled its rupresentation by winning 40 scats and the SP went up from 90 to 119.
Joint CP-SP candidates have also scon the mayoralty elections in a whole numher of citles such as Tokyo Usaka, Yakchama, Kyala and Napora. wrights, Alfonso Sastre, She has been in the forfront of organising soutarity with the Vietnamese Ter- urers clution, and more recently has been a major nigure in the develoning women's liberation movement in The police held their captives for a week before even making public the fact of their arrest. All have been subject to torture, and one —lawyer Lydia Falcon- has been hospitalised because of her Eva Forrest was in police hands for more than a montle before her lawyer was able to visit her. During that time she was ruthlesly tort uned in order to make ber contess. She has managed to smuggle out of prison an account of the experiences For nine days she was ruthlessly beaten for hours on end by a series of "specialists" in torture, led by police chiet Jose Sainz. When the heatangs made her sick she was ordered To this physical cruelty was added psycholorical torture. She was told that if she didn't confess she would be thrown out of the window, and her death dressed sp as 'suicide Her 12-year old daugh ter was arrested and imprisoned and she was told that her husband had heen wounded in a tight with the police and that they led TiniAs the traditional hold of capital over lahour and its orpartisations bugins to break down. Japan is coming more and more isto line with the crisis confrootine capitalist Europe. This crisis is bound to affect the workors parlies and the trade unions. The respiting explosion could be a big one and could abd the construction of a mass revolutionary party.
C. Howard at large). On at least one occasion the was raped by one of her tortThe prosecution has demanded the death sentence for the accused in this case and there is every chance that the courts will oblige SACRIFICES These militants are in grave danger of becoming the latest blood sacritices on the altar of the Spanish dictatorship. Only massive solidarity boch in Spain and internationally can rescue them from the hands of Franco's hutchers An international committee has been formed to defend them, and in France it has received support from many left wing organictions and prominent individuals. Among its sponsors are writers Jean-Paul Sarire, Simone de Beauvoir, and Francoise Sagan, and actress Delphine Seyrig The labour movement.in Britain must add its weight to the campaign to save these inditants.
As a fist step in building solidarity in this country the London Spanish Solidarity Comrittee has called for a demonstration outside the Spanish consulare on Saturday 14 December. The demonstration will begin at 10am, ar 3, Hans Crescent. SWI (nearest tube Knigh
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