COMMITTEE STATES ITS AIMS
The U.S. Committee for Justice to Latin American Political Prisoners was organized after 400 scholars at a Socialist Scholars Conference signed a petition of amnesty for Hugo Blanco, Peru's peasant-union organizer.
When Adolfo Gilly, the Latin American political writer, along with some profes-— sors at the University of Mexico were arrested in April 1966, concern rose among Latin Americans and civil libertarians in the U.S. that a witch-hunt was being unleashed by Latin America's "constitutional" regimes against all critics of the horrible conditions of the majority of people south of the Rio Grande.
A short time later Victor Rico Galan, another well-known Mexican political writer and some of his friends were also arrested. Almost simultaneously in Peru, Hugo Blanco and 27 peasant leaders went on trial.
Convinced that these incidents indicated the steady deterioration of civil liberties in the so-called democratic regimes of Latin American countries, some of the participants at the conference and others interested in Latin America concluded that North Americans must do something about ensuring justice for Latin American political prisoners.
Members of the organization believe that U.S. citizens have a special responsibility to demonstrate their distaste and disapproval of violations of elementary justice and law. They feel that cases like those of Gilly, Blanco, Galdn and Joao Firmino, the inspirer of the Brazilian Peasant Leagues, must be brought before the people of.the U.S. Once acquainted with the facts about these cases and the many others like them, Americans can be decisive in securing justice for these victims of political reaction.
The committee has already had speakers at a teach-in at Trinity College in Connecticut, and at the recent conference of Latin Americanists in Chicago. at a meeting in New York sponsored by the Militant Labor Forum close to $200 was raised to help the committee get established.
In addition, the Committee to Free Adolfo Gilly voted to dissolve into the
broader committee and placed its resources at the disposal of the USLA Justice Committee.
The officers elected were Dave Dellinger and Paul Sweezy, cochairmen; John Gerassi, vice-chairman; Felix McGowan, executive secretary; Richard Garza, assistant executive secretary; and Nell Salm, treasurer.
The committee issued the following statement of aims:
(1) To aid in defending victims of political persecution and injustice in the countries of Latin America, regardless of their particular beliefs, affiliations or associations, and to provide whatever assistance is possible for their families.
(2) To organize such actions as may be possible within the United States to put pressure on reactionary Latin American governments to stop restrictions on the rights of free speech and free association, to-respect the role of law in all political cases, to ameliorate the harsh conditions under which political prisoners are held, and to work for their amnesty and release.
(3) fo inform and arouse public opinion in the ‘United States on the repressive policies pursued by military, authoritarian and even constitutional regimes in Latin America, which trample on elementary civil and political liberties, and to call attention to any complicity of the U.S. government and its open and secret agencies in aiding and abetting such violations of democratic rights.
(4) To cooperate with organizations in Latin American and other countries which have similar purposes.
The abbreviation, USLA Justice Committee, which stands for United States Latin American Justice Committee, was selected by the administrative committee in order to make it easier for contributors to address checks and mail.
Among the first projects the committee envisages is publicity about the most recent cases in Mexico and Peru.
The USLA Justice Committee deserves widespread backing.. Correspondence can be addressed as follows:
USLA Justice Committee -- Attention Felix McGowan
% Catholic Worker
175 Chrystie St.
New York, New York 10002
“THE AMERICAN ELECTIONS
A year and a half ago, just two months after Johnson began escalating the war in Vietnam, World Outlook printed the following observation by one of its contributors: "Johnson's War can rapidly prove to be the most unpopular ever engaged in by: