JOINS REGIS DEBRAY SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN
Bertrand Russell, world-famous philosopher and initiator of the International War Crimes Tribunal, has added his voice to the worldwide list of figures condemning the Barrientos dictatorship in Bolivia for its treatment of Régis Debray, the young French journalist who has been held incommunicado since April.
In a statement issued June 10, Bertrand Russell declared:
"No information is more vital to us in the West than intimate knowledge of the struggles in the Third World. Since the Second World War, the unfolding of these struggles in the arduous process of decolonisation has singularly transformed social, economic and political realities on a world scale. One Western journalist who has made an important contribution to our understanding of revolutionary change is now in serious danger because of his courageous attempt to observe at first hand the current resistance movement in Bolivia.
"I speak of Professor Régis Debray, author of Revolucién en la Revolucién, and an accredited representative of the Mexican periodical Sucesos."
Russell outlines some of the features of Debray's arrest and confinement that indicate a frame-up by the Bolivian dictatorship:
"Professor Debray entered Bolivia in the usual manner, travelling on his French passport and showing his credentials as a journalist. He has been captured by the Bolivian armed forces and charged with an improper 'association' with the guerrilla forces which oppose the Barrientos dictatorship.
"Professor Debray's whereabouts are, at present, undisclosed by his captors. His mother has been denied access to him; he has so far been refused legal counsel. Formal enquiries from the French Government, including those from General de Gaulle, have elicited nothing."
As for the public statements by Bolivian authorities, Russell comments:
"The Commander-in-Chief of the Bolivian Army, General Alfredo Ovando, has stated that Professor Debray will receive a fair trial, in accordance with the Bolivian Constitution. Vice-President Siles Salinas has given the solemn assurance that capital punishment has long been abolished in Bolivia. These words are intended to conceal the arbitrary and harsh treatment which Professor Debray has received to date.
"They are, likewise, a feeble contradiction of President Barrientos' own frank and cynical statement that Professor Debray is ‘an adventurer who came to Bolivia to bring grief to Bolivian families. His adventures will end in Bolivia.'”
Summing up the general significance of this case, Bertrand Russell pointed out that:
"When we defend Professor Debray's right to discover the grim reality of oppression among the peasant guerrillas of Latin America, we are doing nothing more than protecting our own interests. We must uphold our right to learn the truth. Our support for Régis Debray is a minimum contribution toward the preservation of ‘unmanaged ' news and an informed world opinion.