Three years after the Burgos trials, comrade Salvador Puig Antich has been sentenced to death by the courts of the Franco regime Salvador Puig, a militant anarchist belonging to the MIL (Movimiento Iberico de LiberacionSpanish Liberation Morement), was accused of killing a policeman of the special brigade who was about to arrest him. Puig had already been wounded by a bullet in the jaw when he shot the policeman. The military doctor who examined him upon his arrest maintained that Puig was not in his normal state of mind after receiving this wound.
The deuth sentence on Salvador Puig is the most serious development so far in a whole series of repressive activas carried out by the regime in the last few months. Others include the savage jail sentences of 12-20 years imposed on the Carabanchel 10 for their trade union activity: the imprisonment of 16 comrades of the LCR (Lige Comunista RevolucionariaRevolutionary Communist League), supporters of the Fourth International: and the arrest of 100 members of the Caralan Assembly.
This is the only policy the regime has to counter the escalating struggles in Spain. The boycott of the elections to the State-run trade unions was followed by the strike at SEAT (the largest car factory in Spain) in Barcelona, the general strike in Vigo and El Ferrol in Galicia: the tremendous upsurge at San Adrian del Besos in Barcelona after die murder of a huilding worker by police: and finally the general strike last June in Pamplona, The response of the regime has simply been to step up the repression. In June came the appointment of Carrero Blanco as prine minister; in September the dismissal of a majority of the liberal Opux Der members of the Cabinet; and now the choice of Arias Navarro to replace Carrero Blanco, Arias has inberited the nickname 'Butcher of Malaga from the time of the Civil War, and is also a former chief of police. His appointment InRed Weekly 25 January 1974 Page 4 dicates that Franco is relying increasingly heavily on his one solid asset-the police and the army-to block the escalation of the mass struggle.
The fuse of international solidarity with Salador Paig and the Carabanclel 10 has already been lir in violent controntations between 2,000 demonstrators and police protecting the Spanish consolate in Toulouse in the occupation of the Spanish consulate in Brussels, and in ofber confrontations between the families of Basque refugees and the police in Baronne. The coming weeks must see its world-wide extension in the fight to free the Carabanchel 10 and have the death sentence on luig committed.
•The adretoy the Spanin timboss, 1o which all ferters, resolarions of protest, vic sold be sent, is: 24 Belgrare Solare. London SWIX SQA.
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The uniformed thugs of the French CRS riot police, quite capable of killing in the course of their 'duties", In Britain the ambryos of such an organisation are to be found in the Special Patrol Groups. of things to come.
RACISM 5, The close collaboration between the state and the cxtreme right on the issue of racism, In practically every country, the alliance of state, fascists and employers is most closly fused around this axis, In France, the fascist Ordre Nouveau is openly supported by the local governments of Nice and Marseilles, and the police have made no attempts whute ver to stop the wave of killings of immigrant workers in southern France, In Britain the House of Lords decision on Illegal immigration has given every fascist the right. to hound and hany blacks with the support of the police.
6. The strengthening of the repressive apparatus of the police. This is soda clearly in the intames CRS not police in France. These uniformed thugs, all trainel in riot control and the use of ams, are guite capable of killing in the course of their "duties', It was the violence of their repression which led to the furmation of barricades and street fighting and touched on 9 January, rather gave the game away suvres:
Heathrow off the revolutionary movement in May 1968 in France, No other West European "democracy' yet has such a perfected weapon, but they are all working hand at it. In Germany the so-called 'anti-terrorist" police, trained by the army, are the nucleus of such a force. In Britain the embryos of a CRS type organisation are to be found in the Special Patrol Groups, who shot dead two Pakistanis m London last year, and in the army trained anti-picket squads are now being formed in many areas. These heavy squads, who have already Footprint factory in Sheffield, are a key element of riling class strategy. It is no accident that the first measure announced by the Government after the declaration of a State of Emergency in the present crisis was the formation of a national police co-ordinating centre for anti-picket action.
THE ARMY The core of the power of the ruling class is the army. This is not only the best trained a d equipped of any ruling class force, but also the cia which is most canefully screened ideologkally and politically. Jack Woddis, in the Communist Party pamphlet Time to Change Course, gives n perfect description of the anny (although he totally fails to draw the corroct restore the position rapidly. be launched at present are: Should this happen, the army would be required 1o A PROGRAMME OF ACTION All the facts which have been outlined so far make it absolately imperative that the socialist. and working ciass movement takes up as one of its central tasks the struggle ugainst the strong state Among the main struggles and demands which must *For the complete abolition of the Industrial Relations Act, the Immigration ACt, the Pakistan Act, the Aliens Act, the Emergency Power Laws, In case anyone should feel that the armed forces might not be adequate in capitalism's hour of need, Lord Arran recently assured Evening News readers as follows: it is necessary to deprie die zuling class of its clamm to a monopoly ofviolence, *For the organisation of self-defence by the black the Race Relations Act. For black selF-organisation in the trade union and labour movement.
*For a writed tront of socialist and working class organisations to deprive fascists of the right to organise and spread their message, Follow the example of the Edinburgh and Liverpool workers and students an prevent the fascists froin meeting.
*For the dissolution of the Special Patrol Groupe and anti-strike squads of the police and disarming of
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'For your comfort and information we have roughly some 170,000 troops in Britain and overseas, halt oi which are in this country: we have 15,500 troops in Northerr