RUSSELL ASKS FOR
INQUIRY INTO MEXICAN WITCH-HUNT CASE
(The following statement on the current witch-hunt case in Mexico was released to the press by Bertrand Russell on August 2.]
London
Mexico's enduring resistance to foreign domination is unique in the Western Hemisphere. The names of Padre Hidalgo, Benito Juarez, Emiliano Zapata and l4zaro C&érdenas inspire profound feelings in all Latin Americans who aspire to national independence and the rectification of social injustice. With its long history of self-determination and civil liberty, Mexico should continue to set an example for all the Americas.
The recent arrest and imprisonment of Daniel Camejo Guanche and thirteen others seems to contravene Mexico's long-
established traditions. These men should
not be persecuted for holding unorthodox
political views.
The charges brought against them
should be examined scrupulously and in-
partially by an independent international
commission. This commission should also
investigate the defendants' countercharges
of abusive treatment and the coercion of
forced confessions.
In the meantime all defendants
should have the elementary right to be
set free on payment of a reasonable sum
as bail.
In those countries where the United
States exercises its hegemony, political
dissent is seldom tolerated. Latin America
has become a continent of political pris-
oners. Mexico should not betray its own
best traditions by conforming to this grim
pattern.
MASS CHILEAN MEETING