S.F. Mobilization calls April 30 demonstration
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SOCIALIST ACTION FEBRUARY 1988 3 campaigns.
Illusions that the peace plan will ultimately resolve the crisis in Central America have also led many antiwar activists and leaders to retreat from anti-intervention activity. Despite the U.S. government's clearly stated objectives of toppling the Sandinista government, the notion that the United States has been pressured into adopting a less aggressive role in Central America has gained ground.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Imperialists have never been talked out of controlling other countries. It should be remembered that U.S. imperialism waged its war in Vietnam for five years after the start of the Paris peace talks in 1968. The majority of both Vietnamese and American casualties occurred during these "peace talks."
It was the revolutionary Vietnamese struggle for self-determination, with support from the U.S. mass antiwar movement, which ultimately forced the United States out of Southeast Asia.
Effects of the summit Pressure to pursue diplomatic negotiations-rather than mass revolutionary struggle-as the answer to imperialist intervention is increasingly coming from places which for some people may be unexpected.
The Nov. 23, 1987, issue of the Christian Science Monitor, for example, noted that "It was Soviet officials who urged Ortega to accept a political settlement." MULET, TORTURE MayMay Gong/Socialist Action SAN FRANCISCO-The Mobilization for Peace, Jobs and Justice has begun organizing a full range of spring activities supporting the four demands of the coalition. The demands are: No U.S. Intervention in Central America and the Caribbean; Freeze and Reverse the Nuclear Arms Race; End U.S. Support for South African Apartheid; Jobs and Justice, Not War.
A mass march and rally is scheduled for Saturday, April 30. Demonstrators will march through the Latino community of San Francisco. Hundreds of refugees from Central America will participate.
On May 1, there will be legal civil disobedience at the Port Chicago Naval Weapons Station sponsored by the Pledge of Resistance and the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES).
The majority of arms shipments to the dictatorships in Central America leave from Port Chicago. Brian Willson lost both his legs in a protest there last summer.
The Mobilization is also sponsoring a Peace Day rally on June 11 to mark the opening of the Third United Nations' Special Session on Disarmament.
A leaflet advertising all the events lists 150 endorsers.
A three-person staff has been hired, and a poster, button, and T-shirt will soon be produced. A smaller turnout is expected than last year's April 25 rally of 80,000, however. Organizers say that this is because this year's action will not have a national focus.
The Mobilization's efforts to gain support from national peace and solidarity groups for nationally coordinated local protests on April 30 did not succeed. Nontheless, the Mobilization decided to go ahead with its plans in the San Francisco Bay Area. And so far, the 1988 spring actions are off to a good start.
For example, although April 30 is projected as a Northern California protest, activists as far away as Salt Lake City have already made plans to participate.
You can contact the Mobilization by calling (415) 626-8053. Funds and volunteers are always needed.—C.F.