fruits of imperialist rule•.
FIGUREHEAD
The Communists have one fepresentative → the party s general secretary Alvaro Cunhal. He is a straightforward figurebead without any specitic governmental responsibilities, included in order to tie the CP to the regime and ensure that they cannot do anything to encourage mass opposition to the military's plans.
The CP. of course, has its own. programme for the situation in Portugal. On the eve of the formation of the new Government they 'emergency policy, to include 'institutionalisation of the broad liberties and rights of citizens, 'an end to the colonial war and real respect for the right of the people to independence, and urgent measwes to ocal win to Tacar or a serious economic crisis' When the details of these proposis are spelt out they amount to nothing mote than a reformist rag bag. But the CP has put itself in a position where it cannot even put up a fight for pathetic reforms.
It did not try to make acceptance of its proposals a condition for taking part in the Government and there is little chance that the military will voluntarily take them up. At the same time, its presence in the Government makes it impossible for the CP to mount mass actions to support its own programme.
As a result the big CP rallies that have been taking place across the country in recent weeks have been based on the vague themes of 'unity" It will not be very long before the best militants in the CP - faced with the mounting crisis of Portuguese capitalism and the right ward drift of the new Government - will in Cyprus had reached crisis point. The effects of the world-wide economic crisis combined with mass frustration at the British Government s attitude on independence. The depth of this crisis became clear when for the first time ever a Turkish Cypriot member of the Legislative Council combined with the Greek Cypriot members to deleat British taxation proposals, When the Governor simply reintroduced the measure as an Order-in-Council. рошалсоца пошов отокс ou across the island.
WAVE OF REPRESSION These riots were largely unco ordinated and ineffective, and they achieved little apart from the burning down of the wooden Government House, Nevertheless, they provided the pretext for an unprecedented wave of repression, which began with the deportation of all the major Greek Cypriot leaders, The next step was to suspend the constitution, and with it the Legislative Council. From 1931 the Governor held absolute sway, and he used his powers to the full. All political parties and trade unions were banned, municipal elections were abolished, every single article that appeared in the press had first to be approved by the censor; meetings of more than live people could oniy be held with police authority; possession of socialist literature was made a punishable offence; the teaching of Greek and Turkish history in the soon was swooden, tac pouce were given the right to enter any house or stop uny person in the street and carry out a thorough search.
As a lesull of these and many more similar measures, hundreds of Cypriots were flung into jail or fined separated from struggle the strug gle for measures which advance the interests of the working class and undermine the class rule of the capitalists.
In this situation it is only the revolutionary left - in particular the International Communist League (LCI), Portuguese syanpatlusing section of the Fourth international which will be able to point the way forward. It is now a race against time to forge a revolutionary leadership for the mass movement. Only this can block what is almost certain to be the next move by the Portuguese capitalists — a total military takeover of Government authority (a step which the Cl has given signs of being prepared to accept, providod that the military regime had a sufficiently "Tell" face).
The revolutionary left in this country must be prepared to give every assistance possible to our Portuguese comrades in the coming months, for decisive strugeles lie ahead.
CHRIS BALFOUR Fortnightly orgen of the United Secretariat of the Fourth International NUMBER 4 NOW OUTI Send E3 for one year's subscription (25 issues) to INPRECOR, 97 Caledonian Road. Cheques payable to "Inprecor'. heavy sums. Yet despite this repression, trade union and political organsations soon began to function illeg ally. By the time the Second World War broke out they commanded mass support, and the Governor was forced to relax the regulations as the only way of ensuring a full Cypriot contribution to the imperialise war effort.
In 1941 the Communist dominated AKEL (Progressive Party of Working People) was set up, and in 1943 the party won control of the towns of Limassol and Famagusta in the first municipal elections to be held for 12 years, In September 1944 the Pancyprian Trade Union Committee (PSE) was ser up at a congress of 435 delegates in [, masso].
'CONSPIRACY' TRIAL
AKEL and the PSE tended to place their hopes for the future in the diplomatic manoeuvres of the Soviet Union with the US and Britain. But the British had other ideas. No sooner was the war over than the now Labour Government came down like a ton of bricks, and no less than eighteen PSE leaders were arrested for "conspiracy:
The case was conducted with the usual imperialist cant and hypoc risy, not withstanding the Labour administration, Yes, it was true that the British had on several occasions had dealings with the PSE, and had even welcomed its general secretary as a Cyprior delegate to the World Trades Union Congress in London at "the height of the conspiracy, in January 1945. But all this was explained away as simply recognising the existence of the PSE.-. not it legality It soon became clear, as in most conspiracy trials, that the accused were being charged for their beliefs Atits National Planning Workshop, which met in Lindan ast weekend, the Cam mittee for Freedom in Mocambique, Angola and Guinea-Binsu (CFMAG) 100k a number of important steps to devekip the campaign in solidarity with the liberation fighters in Portugal's African CARICA.
ment for circulation within the British workers movement calling for an end to immediate independence for the colonics no British aid for Portuguese colonialism caling on tapear to proves matral aid to the liberation movements, and expressing full solidarity with those in Portugal fighting for independence for the colonies. Trade union and lahour being asked to endorse the stalement.
a broad solidarity conference somerime campaign of political and military assistanoo to the liberation movements.
The current military situation in the African colonies, and the political on the African continent CraiG, top Floor 1e lite Newpor Street, London WC2H TIJ.
rather than their actions - witness the following exchange:
Solicitor-General: Marxisen is illegal because it advocates the violent overthrow of the regime President of Court: Is Marxist theory a crime?
Solicitor-General: According to the CyP rus law, yes.
President of Court: Is the possession of Markist books a crime?
Solicitor General: Yes.
guilty without any trouble. Twelve ation.
trade unionism with the help of the British TUC, And although it international protest to back down in other ways. In 1949, for instance, the elected Mayor and Council of 1930s) to "28 October Street" (after a Greek stand against Mussolini in 1940):
END OF EMPIRE beginning to break up, and the Cypriots took full advantage of this to press their own chins to indepenWhen Britain refused to organise a the Greek Orthodox bishops held their own in 1950, The results showed 96% of Greck Cypriots, as well us a small number of Turkish Cypriots, in favour of enosis.
The workshop agrood to draw ap a state the Portuguese military presence in Africa. Party bodies at all lewels, along with prom inent figures in the labour movement, are On the basis of the support organised around this statement it is hoped to buik!
later this year, aimed mainly at the labour movement. Such a conferenos would be a major opportunity to launch a concerted situation in Portugal itself, are very favourable for tbe freedom fighters. The development of international, mass solidarity could be just the extra boost they need to carry blow against imperialism and white racism For Further details about this campaigh Needless to say, all 18 were found were sentenced to 18 months in pris on, and the other six got a year. The PSE was declared an unlawful associInstead the colonial administration attempted to foster "responsible"
was eventually forced by the scale of and release the PSE leaders after only I1 monchs, the repression continued the island.
Limassol were jailed for changing the namic of a street from "Palmer Street' (after the repressive Governor of the But the British Empire was clearly dence and enosis (union) with Greece.
plebiscité on the future of the island, the island.
Matters then came rapidly to a Members of the Indian Workers Association picketed the Indian High Commission on Monday in protest at the treatmeat of the thousands of political prisoners in India's jails. At the same time, about 80 Indian açademics from all over the world issued an open letter calling on their Govern ment to review its policy on political prisoners. head. The British Government was determined that there would be no change in the island's status because of the 'unstable political siluation in the Fastern Mediterranean. What this meant was that British imperiali5m was being forced out of Epspt. with the result that Cyprus now became even more important as the headquarters of RAF Middie Fastern Command were transferred to the "unsinkable aircraft-carrier In 1954 the implications of this were spelt out more clearly than ever before by the Tory Minister of State for the Colonies: There are certain territories is the Commonwealth which, owing to their particular circumstances, can never expect to be fully independent. At the same cimo swinging new penalties of up to live years in jau were an nounced for advocacy of enoris: On I Apcil 1955, therefore, EOKA begun its campaign of armed strug gle against British imperialism with a series of bomb-attacks throughout USUAL RUTHLESSNESS For the next four years British imperialism fought with its usual ruthlessness to crush the liberation struggle led by EOKA. Interrogation centres were opened at Letka, Ktima, Platres, Avios Memnon and Nicosia, and bundreds of Greek Cypriots were taken there on suspicion and tortured during the course of the war, "No more than six people died under interrogation, according to one abserver. Many others were held in detention centres scattered about Perhaps the most notorious incident took place nn 3 October 1958, after a Mrs Cutliffe, the wite of a Brilish sergeant, had been shot in Famagusta. Britist soldiers from the Royal Artillery and the Royal Uister Rifles went on the rampage, seizing and beating up hundreds of Greek Cypriots, Three died as a result that night, including a 13-year-old girl.
'DIVIDE AND RULE
But the most important aspect of British policy during the liberation struggle was its use of the Turkish Cypriot community. Under the guise of protecting the minority -and taking advantage of the fact that neither AKEL nor any other organis tion had a programme which could unite the Greek and Turkish Cypriot masses along class lines - British imperialism recruited them in droves into the police, so that many of them became direct agents of British imperialism The British administration also encouraged the emergence during this period of separate Turkish Cypriot municipalities, and turned a hfind eye to the activities of a Turkish Cyprior underground organisation modelled on EOKA When Turkish extremists let off a bomb outside their own information office in Nicosia in June 1958, Jeading to violent clashes between the two communities, the response of the Governor, Sa Hugh Foot (now Lord Caradon) was to jail 2,000 Greck and only 60 Turkish Cypriots The result of these manoeuvres was that Britain was finally able to impose an 'independence' settlemen! which on the one hand satisfied British military interests (with the allocation of 99 square miles as Sovereign Buse Ares), and on the other band established a constitation guaranteed to foment further communal strife, Tory aims of ensuring that CYprus could not be fully independent bad thus been fulfilled. Fourteen years Jater the harvest of that settiement 5 now being reaped.
MARTIN METEYARD Red Weekly 25 July 1974 Page
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