Spain: Partial Amnesty Conceded

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Mass demonstrations have forced the reluctant fascist povernment of Spain to grant ¡ limited amnesty to political risoners.

Under the amnesty about 400 prisoners will be-released and a umber of exiled political leaders 1 opposition parties allowed to turn to Spain. But the amnesty loes not apply to anyone whose leged offences involved violence nd so excludes most members of he Euskadi (Basque) liberation movement ETA and the Maoist TRAP.

Other "non-political' prisoners tho were not included staged a rotest on the roof of Carabanchel sil in Madrid.

There are two more glaring Imitations in the amnesty. First, I does nothing to reinstate those housands of workers who have ieen dismissed from their jobs for hade union and political activities.

Апу amnesty for them is ixplicitly left by the government ip to their employers. And there is been no sign that the government will amnesty any of its own Ex-employees.

Second, the 'crimes' for which be political prisoners have been in wil have not been abolished. Any if them could be rearrested at any ime for political activities.

At the present rate of arrests by the Spanish police then any cells Imptied by the amnesty would be jefilled again within two months.

But, this small if much publilised concession, is one which has reen forced on the government. It nows the extent to which the lower of fascism is crumbling refore the massive upsurge of the Working class.

FEAR

The leaders of the Spanish Communist Party (PCE), however, give Hear evidence of their fear of this dependent offensive of the workeg class by counting the amnesty a great victory' and as virtual proof of the government's conversion to The amnesty, said PCE secretary eneral Santiago Carillo, 'seems to •e a step towards the reconchialion of Spaniards and added that this party would be willing to segotiate with the government. He meant negotiate open leaders since secret talks between PCE and the fascist government have taken place for some time.

Spokesmen of the Socialist Party (PSOE) have given the amnesty an even more rapturous welcome and have said that the 'democratiç forces' are considering the establishment of a committee to institutionalise the dialogue with the government.

Only the Workers' Commissions executive, though dominated by the PCE, issued a less abject statement, saying that the struggle would continue "until the last prisoner was out of jail and all political parties and trade union organisations were legalised without exception."

Carillo and the PCE president Dolores Ibarruri, intend to return to Spain next month, it was announced at a widely • publicised meeting of the party central committee which took place in Rome at the end of July.

At this meeting it was made public for the first time that number of the leading members of the workers' commissions were also members of the PCE Central Committee; these include Marcelino Camacho, Fernando Soto, ana the Jesuit priest Francisco Garcia Salve.

COLLABORATION

The PCE invited to the open sessions of this meeting not, only representatives of Spanish and European Socialist and Social Democratic Parties but also the Christian Democrats, with whom it is allied in the class collaboratiorist Democratic Coordination and who have already been holding open discussions with the Suarez government.

The Rome meeting confirmed that there has been no change in the right wing policy of the Communist Party. Though this correctly calls for a complete amnesty and the establishment of autonomy for Euskadi, Galicia, Catalonia and any other region of Spain which demands it, the essence of the programme is the most scandalous class collaboration.

Nowhere in its programme does the PCE go a step beyond calling for the achievement of elementary bourgeois democratic rights.

And even these, it thinks, can he achieved by way of a government of national reconciliation which would be a coalition of left and right, including fascists of the present regime.

The "dialogue' between the fascist government and the opposition has now become the main alking point of the 'democratic forces' grouped in the class-collaborationist Democratic Coordination.' UNPRINCIPLED ALLIANCE A group of 32 leaders of the Coordination along with some independents issued a statement about the proposed dialogue on July 22nd. In this the ultimate anti-working class objective of this unprincipled alliance was made clearer than ever.

Spain's serious economic problems it said 'demand a political agreement to create the conditions necessary for economic recovery'; this required the participation of all Spaniards.

There is no doubt that these "conditions" mean an all out attack on the working class in order to help solve the crisis of Spanish capitalism which 1s: every day becoming more pressing.

Without some political agreement with the leaders of the main workers parties the fascist regime knows it has no hope of imposing the requisite economic policy.

WITHDRAWN

For that reason, it has withdrawn completely the programme of economic measures announced by the previons cabinet three months ago and has said that for the time being it will deal with the economic situation with a series of piecemeal decrees.

It sees a longer term programme as being dependent on some political accord with the opposition including the Communist Party.

But the PCE leadership will not easily divert the angry, impatient and militant Spanish working class down this unprincipled road. Already it is losing its control of the workers' parties which stand to its left.

Up to now the Labour Party (PTE) and Workers Revolutionary Organisation (ORT) have maintained a critical support of the class-collaborationist alliances. But their representatives were significantly absent from the 32 who signed the statement calling for a political accord with the government. Cont'd from front On August 4th this offensive reached its highest point so far. A march of 20,000 leit Soweto for the centre of white Johannesburg to demand the release of all those arrested in earlier demonstrations.

When the march was stopped by the police, the demonstrators built barricades, tore up railway lines and virtually brought transport from Soweto to Johannesburg to a halt.

This, plus a campaign for a general strike, meant that over 60% of Johannesburg's black labour force did not turn up for work on that day.

Mass demonstrations continued and spread during the following two days. The police and security forces were put on national alert and have killed and injured scotes of: young black students and workers.

The renewal of the mass demonstrations is terrifying the - white nationalist government, not only because they seem itrepressible by police intimidation, but because they are clearly better organised than those in June.