Our readers speak out

Scan page 16

Sharpeville 6 Dear editor, Six young South Africans from Sharpeville-five men and one woman-were sentenced to death last Nov. 30. They were charged with murder and arson in the aftermath of rent riots in Sharpeville in the fall of 1984.

On Dec. 1, they learned that the Appeal Court of Pretoria had turned down their appeal even though the Court acknowledged that "it has not been proved in the case of any of the six accused convicted of murder that their conduct had contributed causally to the death of the deceased."

One of the six was not even near the murder. State witnesses implicating the defendants were alleged to have been tortured. The world knows that evidence in the apartheid courts is systematically obtained by threats and torture.

The Sharpeville Six-as they have become known-are now awaiting execution. They could be hanged by the end of January. Their fate lies in the hands of South African President P.W. Botha, who has the power to grant clemency. Churches in South Africa and Amnesty International have issued an international campaign to save them.

A flood of letters may make the government think again before it is too late. Please send telegrams appealing for clemency to President P.W. Botha, the State President's Office, Private Bag X213, Pretoria 0001, South Africa. Send a copy to Ambassador Dr. Piet Koornhof, Embassy of South Africa, 3051 Massachusetts Ave., Washington, D.C. 20008.

Irene Brown, New York, N.Y.

Britain

Dear editor, At a recent event of the International Socialist Group, I had the opportunity to pick up a few back issues of Socialist Action. Excellent coverage and analysis— especially your articles on the South African revolution.

Congratulations and keep up the good work. Please send me information as to how to subscribe from Britain by air mail.

C.F., London, England Subscriber Dear editor, I would like a sub to your newspaper. I'd also like to have the first article of Michael Schreiber's series on the formation of the U.S. Constitution. (September 1987 Socialist Action.)

P.S.: While I would not compare Socialist Workers Party leader Jack Barnes to Lenin or Trotsky— or if he may like, Castro-I think comparing him to Stalin (November 1987 Socialist Action) is getting a little off the wall.

Stan Smith, Chicago, III. Dear editor, The Moscow Trials Campaign Committee is continuing to make great progress in obtaining the signatures of prominent individuals for a statement demanding that the names of the accused in the Moscow Trials be cleared. [See full statement and initial list of signatories in the September 1987 Socialist Action.] This statement was published in England last year. It "calls on the Soviet government to re-examine the cases against all these victims of the perversion of Soviet justice." It demands that "those

----- pull-quotes -----

Moscow Trials