ERS of Franco's dictatorship have claimed another victim.
On 13 February Pedro Mora Leon died in the Barcelona hospital where he had been under treatment since 24 January, Up until 21 January he had been in perfect health. The intervening three days had been spent in police custody, undergoing interrogation.
By the time the Spanish cops had finished with Leon his body was covered with bruises, there were second degree burns on his arms and chest, cuts on his tongue, he was haemorrhaging internally, and his kidneys were no longer able to function properly. The police said that he had injured himsif while resting arrest.
It is testimony to the fighting spirit of this militant that he battled for almost three weeks to remain alive.
This incident is a graphic reminder That no matter what left-right shuffle the Spanish Government may be eng aged in, the dictatorship and its brutmlity lives on, It will only cease when the Spanish working class rises up and takes matters into its own hands, sweeping the rotten dictatorship into the rubbish heap and bringing as butchers under the hammer of proletarlan justice.
This day may not be so far away. and militants in the workers movement in this country should be doing everything they can to help the Spanish workers bring it even closer.
SOLIDARITY WITH THE FIGHT AGAINST THE SPANISH DICTATORSHIrI Public meeting of the Spanish Solidarity Committee, Friday 21 March-7.30 p,m.
Conway Hall.
Speakers from the Committee, Amnesty International, and the labour miass picket to protest at the murde of Fredo Mora Leon by the Spanish police and in solidarity with all Spanish politicat praones Saturday 15 March- 11 a.m.-Spanish Consulate, Hans Crescent, London, SW1 Inearest tube Knightsbridgel.
SHEFFIELD RED CIRCLES: Every Wednesday at 7.30pm in the Lion Hotel (corner of the Wicker and Nursery Sel. FOR CHEAP, reliable IBM Typesetting with fast turn-around phone Carl or Martin on 01-937 9987BIRMINGHAM RALLY.-"Against the Common Market, For a United Socialist States of Europe!" Speakers include Ernest Mandel. Thursday 1 May at 7.30pm in Digbeth Civic Hall Assembly Halls, O-genied be Birmingham IMG.
'THE STATE, the Law and Helane':
new pamphlet by Steve Cohen produced for Manchester NOOL avarable price 20p (plus 5p p&pl from Red Books, 97 Caledonian Road, London N.1 lost and much other ground besides. Phnom Penh is now totally isolated Every road and railway has been cut. The Mekong river has been closed for over a week. All the military hases on the banks of the river are in the nanas or Ero resistance Two weeks ago the old capital city of Oudong was liberated with Lon Nol's forces suffering grave losses and key units of his army are bogged down and isolated at Kampor.
Every day the city of Phnom Penh and its airfield, the only link with the outside, are assaulted with rocket and mortar fire which at times has halted the US air-lift completely.
These successes are entirely the work of the resistance forces, which are getting no help from the USSR. In fact the USSR gave only lukewarm support to GRUNK at the UN China's aid has also been very restricperiod of years the USA managed to build up a strong infrastructure to hold up the regime of Nguyen Var Thieu, the relative tranquility and financial underdevelopment of Cambodia —a product of its position as a "buffer state' -Nol's regime has had to be built and sustained by US aid and military power alone. This makes it the weakest link in Indochina and the regime ion, the smallest military setback or the least halt in arms and money.
what to do. Although there is ample evidence that the Pentagon has been preparing an invasion it is unlikely that Congress will sanction such An exercise in imperialist cynicism-airlift carries food for soldiers only into a city threatened with starvation lation of Oman.* dodge over Cambodia. with its other citents.
has meant that Lon is susceptible to the slightest oppositAs Lon Not oscillates between his helicopter and his fortune tellers, the cynicisma. US Congress bites its nails und debates NOTE ment of Cambodia After Watergate, the recent disciMore than 500 people marched through London last Sunday calling for the Immediate withdrawal of British and Iranian forces from Oman, where they are playing a leading role in the war against the Popular Front for the Liber osures about the CiA and the setbacks suffered by the Republicans in the last elections Ford cannot do a Johnson or a Nixon behind-the-door FAVOURS DITCHING There is a strong current of oginion in the American Congress that favours ditching the embarrassing and him. expensive regime of Lon Nol and using this to gain some credibility Of course there are ways round Congress, The massive influx of suppLies flown every 10 minutes into Phnom Penh by Bird Air -an atrisne using USAAF planes and pilots and known to be connected with the CIA - shows this. The airlift carrying ammunition and rice for soldiers only into a cily threatened with starvation, Is an exercise in imperialist The US Defence Officials are unGRUNK = National United Rayal Govern FUNK - National United Front of Cam bodia (Le the resistance)
weeks DOWN WITH THE BRITISH RIPEREALAR certain whether they should stress Lon Nol's hopeless position to pet thore money out of Congress or play it cool so as not to maice his position worse. This has confused and slowed down the Congress debare. Most shrewd judges kauw Lon No. is tinished and no amount of money will save The debate is really about how to extricate the LS not whether to. The US has me room or time for a Diemidea of replacing Lon Not with a more suitabie US puppel is a non-starter. Nor is there mach likel hood of the Red Khmer agreeing to negotiate a ELICITETI a position they have held since 1970.
The acute crisis which is tearing Lon Nol's puppet regine to bits mirr ors the problem of the Thieu outfit in Vietnam. The recent delcats inflic ted on the South Vietnamese Army the carune econome and socis enSE of the Thieu regime, the demoralisation and wearing down of the army and the crosion of its base both dom estically and internationally as well as the increased combutivity of the liberation army are pushing the bulance of forces decidedly in favour of the insurgents.
DEBACLE The recent debacle at Phuoc Bish has polarised the urban opposition. Within bours of the town falling the head of the Anti-Corruption Movement was calline for Thieu's removal because he had allowed Phuoc Binh to he liberated. The masses however in the National Reconciliation Movement nominally headed by An Quang Pagoda -hailed it as a victory.
In the past revolutionaries have tended to be over optimistic about the tempo of thie Cambodian revol ation. Now however it does seem certain that Cambodia will be com pletely liberated within the next few This will be a victory not just for Cambodia but for the Indochinese revolution, and the international pro Jetarian revolution. A victory in Can bodin can only hasten the fate of the Theu Government in Vietnam and will strengthen the base of the revo!
utionary forces in Laos and Thailand demonstrating the permanency of th revolutionary process David Johnson