Guest Editorial
Dear comrades:
I received very gratefully the last three issues of NSC. Until now they have reached me indirectly, since they were sent to me by comrades in Madrid. As probably you know, I’m entrusted by my party, the PCE(r), to choose and translate into Spanish the articles from NSC that are of greatest interest. The objective of this work is to provide our Spanish comrades with the widest possible view of the important work that you are pursuing in the struggles on the streets, with the widest possible view of the work that you are carrying out in the International Council for Friendship and Solidarity with Soviet People, as well as to deepen our knowledge about the real situation in the world revolutionary and communist movement, a theme to which special attention is paid on the pages of Northstar Compass.
This work I have been carrying out already for a couple of years, and it is very helpful for me that you took the initiative to send me NSC directly; this saves time and the Spanish comrades can be informed faster.
In the April issue I was able to read about the work of the comrade Mate Zalka who attended the World Congress. As you were informed, it is possible that after 25 years of imprisonment, my release to freedom might take place on August 25 of this year. Due to the very broad international campaign around my case, I have a great number of commitments to fulfill in the first months of my freedom. One of these, is to visit you, in part as a "vacation" after my prolonged stay in prison, and in part, to meet personally people such as you Michael Lucas, who are carrying out an enormous work of solidarity with the worlds revolutionary and communist movement, with those, who are fighting in the former USSR for the rebirth of the Soviet Fatherland and Socialism in those former republics.
Two years ago I began to study English in order to help translate your NSC journal, and somehow in prison, with no teaching facilities, I was able to translate many articles from English into Spanish. I feel that even with my small understanding we shall be able to communicate effectively. Despite the barrier of language, we all speak a common language of socialism, of the love for our class and our peoples, of the struggle for the victory of our communist ideals.
Included in this letter is the Table of Contents and Introduction of a book that I finished recently, titled "Now and Onwards" (Punto y Seguido) (Memories along the road). It is a political autobiography in which I have tried to reflect the process which I myself have followed in the development of my communist ideals. Therefore, more than anecdotes about my life, one can find on its pages analysis and evaluation, from a communist and class perspective, of the major events that have taken place in the last fifty years at the international level and the history of our own party, the PCE(r) and of our movement in the anti-fascist resistance. Many of the pages of the book are dedicated to our activity in prison. I am continuing our struggles for socialism, we continue our contribution to the general struggle of the working class and peoples subjected to the fascist Spanish state. The tradition of struggles within the prisons of the imperialist bourgeoisie is very rich in our country and in the whole international communist movement. We have always tried to continue this tradition and, in the pages of this book, one can find many examples of this.
In case you comrades are interested in reading this book, it is possible to get the complete text of the book (by e-mail), by getting in touch with the following address: socorrorojo@hotmail.com
Both I and my two comrades imprisoned here send you our warm salute of combat, and our best wishes that may continue advancing on firm bases along the road that you have taken up for so many years already.
A strong embrace
Francisco Brotons Beneyto
Centro Penitenciario de Sevilla II
41007 Seville
Spain
We shall welcome you gladly to Canada, comrade, and. we certainly urge our international readers to send via e-mail messages of solidarity. We also urge you to take a look at his book which will go down in history as a classic from prison for future generations of fighters for socialism and communism.
Esteemed colleagues:
The motive of this appeal is to inform you about the upcoming judgment in Paris, France, against five militants of the PCE(r), the Spanish Communist Party (reconstituted) amongst whom are the General Secretary Manuel Perez Martinez and two other members of the October 1st Anti-fascist Resistance Groups (GRAPO).
They were arrested in Paris, France, on November 9th, 2000, following the orders of Judge Brugiere. We are worried about the possible criminalisation of all political activities and the elimination of the most elementary freedoms in the European Union, the group of 29 Spanish lawyers took upon themselves their defense and help the French lawyers in their defense.
It is unbelievable that these militants of a Spanish political party are able to be arrested in France, where the party has no membership or jurisdiction!
This French judge has an agenda, which he fulfills on behalf of his masters and has held these Spanish citizens in jail for over 16 months and has not even allowed them representation or visits by their family or relatives and is holding them in isolation and even a brother of one of the Spanish prisoners, who went to try and visit him, was himself arrested.
We, as lawyers are worried that the French Jurisdiction, acting very silently is going to commit an attack on the right of association. The French lawyers are barred from presenting their defense. If this is allowed to go on, there will be repressive regimes imposed in Europe, opening this to future political persecutions.
We ask for your international help!
Spanish Defense Lawyers
We ask our readers to get in touch with progressive and human rights lawyers and ask them to come to the defense of these Spanish political prisoners.
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