Chile referendum according to plan

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Dictator Pinochet's 'referendum, held on January 4, was mainly a manoeuvre to strengthen his personal position in relation to the rest of the dictatorial regime.

Under a renewal of working class pressure the Junta is beginning to show increasing signs of inner strain.

Over the last few weeks Pinochet has come under increasing pressure from two sources.

'Weakness

From among the military officers Pinochet has been criticised for 'weakness' in the face of the rise in labour militancy of the recent period.

The symptoms of the 'weakness' are seen to be Pinochet's offer at a meeting of 600 stooge 'trade union' leaders of a faster rate of money wage increase (at a time when inflation is officially falling), and a promise at the same meeting to 'review' the case of 60 miners who were sacked Defiance of the Martial Law Regulation, restricting political activity and strike action, still continues in Pakistan.

On January 2, police fired on thousands of industrial workers demonstrating in Multan, killing five and injuring two.

In protest, workers in Multan have continued to demonstrate ever day.

Arrested

SEE: 230* The casualty figures are feared to be much higher, since 55 workers from the textile factory in Multan are still missing.

10: people were arrested in Peshawan and Mandan, under the charge of "planning Late scale arrests of during the recent strike at the El Teniente copper mine.

Pinochet has also come under fire from former members of the fascist Fatherland and Freedom movement, whose leaders want to become the heads of a civilian base organisation in support of the dictatorship.

Too isolated

The military, they say, too isolated from the people.

Pinochet answered these internal dissenters with his referendum.

Voting was compulsory and voters were asked to vote 'yes' or 'no' to the following proposition;

'In the face of international aggression unleashed against the Government of our country, I support President Pinochet in the defence of Chilean dignity and I reaffirm the legitimacy of the Government of the Republic to lead with sovereignty the country's process of democratisation.

'Result'

Pinoch et decided that the most CO: Ivincing result for made in order to contair demonstrations for the PPP's planned Democracy Day (January 5), calling for Bhutto's release, and for an early general election.

The government has continued its manoeurtes to such a referendum wc 1 be 75% 'yes' ', 20% 'no' a spoiled papers. So that how the 'result' turned out.

Oust rivals

Pinochet clearly regards this as a sufficient answer to his rivals and certainly in going ahead "successfully' with the referendum he appears to have scored a victory over the other Generals of the Junta who had publicly opposed the referendum.

It could be, therefore, that Pinochet is on the point of an attempt to oust all potential rivals in the military.

'No more elections'

The day after the referendum he gave an example of the "democratisation' for which 75% of the population had allegedly voted.

There would be, he said, 'no more elections, no more voting and no more consultations' in Chile for another ten years.

He seemed to be in no doubt that he would by then still be dictator. leader before the promised leader election.

As the pro-Moscow Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) has long since proved its inability to provide a viable 'national' leader, Wali Khan, the leader of the defunct National Awami Party (NAP) has been bailed out of jail by the • Hyderabad Special Tribunal as an alternative to B5...:

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wez. =-. =: irie Tribunal has garted 14 of its leaders.

Immediately upon his release Wali Khan began to negotiate with the PNA Statements so far show