October 21, 1985
Support Builds for Revolution in Peru
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We came across this in our archives. This story details one of the first public events the CSRP helped organize - way back in 1985. The slide show mentioned was one of the first projects undertaken when the CSRP came together in 1984. Many media pundits mistakenly claimed that the regime of Alan Garcia was, at the time, well on its way to defeating the then five-year-old People's War through repression and massacres. They were wrong.
- CSRP, June 2000 |
 Submitted by a RW reader in New York, 1985 (click for large 100k image) |
Heightened interest in the developments in Peru was reflected in a very diverse group who attended this time, ranging from high school youth to older people. A good number of foreign-born people were there too, including from Iran, several Latin American countries, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. And in the face of stepped-up attacks and threats by the new Alan Garcia government against overseas supporters of the people's war, it was especially significant that a number of Peruvians found ways to contribute to and participate in this program. A message of support from a Peruvian woman living in the U.S. was read.
The discussion revealed a real thirst by many to learn the truth about what is going on in Peru and especially about the nature and aims of the armed struggle led by the Communist Party of Peru (also known as Sendero Luminoso in the press). A woman from Venezuela who has recently been living in France told how frustrated she has been trying to learn about Peru through the lies, distortion, and outright blackout imposed by the French press. Another person said that if anything, that situation has been worse in this country. Many expressed real happiness at finding a place where they could find out about the truth in Peru.
Political discussion and debate ranged over a wide variety of topics. A brief list of some of the questions will give a sense of some of this: What is the role of religious people of the church and the Pope, of liberation theology? What about the campaign of stories in the bourgeois press about Sendero's involvement with the cocaine trade? Which parties relate to the PCP internationally and what kind of campaign can be built internationally to support their struggle? What is the significance of Alan Garcia's election to the presidency? Can he in any way be considered progressive in light of his stand on the IMF debt?
Debate also ranged over aspects of the PCP's strategy and analysis of Peruvian society and their strategy of surrounding the cities from the countryside.
Through the course of the program, there was both a very lively and healthy atmosphere of debate and a nearly universal desire to support this struggle. Many saw more clearly how significant this People's War is, how it is not bowing to or serving any imperialist power, neither the U.S. nor Soviet bloc, yet continuing to make advances under difficult conditions; how it is serving the world revolution and aiming at all-the-way liberation.
A spokesperson for the RCP,USA, directed people's attention to the call from the Committee of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement to "Expand and Strengthen the Movement to Support the Revolution In Peru," published in the latest edition of the journal A World To Win, and expressed strong support for this call. The RCP spokesperson made a point of the party's desire to unite with others to spread real knowledge of the revolution being led by the PCP and to build broad political support for it within U.S.
The moderator of the program, thinking people must be tired after over three hours, said the program was officially over but that those who wished to stay and continue the discussion could do so. Nearly everyone stayed for over another hour and as the program ended well after midnight, people left in groups, getting more literature to study and discussing different ways to continue and step up this support.
Message from a Peruvian Woman
This message from a Peruvian woman living in the U.S. was read at the September 28 (1985) program in support of the People's War in Peru, held at Revolution Books in New York.Companeros,
I am a Peruvian woman living in the U.S. who views with rage, indignation and impotence the way events are developing among the Peruvian people. On the one hand, the cynicism with which the military who control the emergency zone (Ayacucho, Apurimac, etc.) are confessing to their crimes perpetrated against the armed revolutionaries and against defenseless villagers and communities in that zone, crimes that carry the seal of hatred of their imperialist masters who are committing these same crimes against Guatemalan people. On the other hand, proof once again that another repressive, demagogic and sellout government is in power: the government of Mr. Alan Garcia cannot give the Peruvian people more than a good dose of misery, offer better conditions for foreign investment and deal with the foreign debt. The Peruvian people have no other dignified historical solution than the people's war that the government wants to silence and isolate. Thus a call to concentrate efforts and be aware of the course of future events that will knock the nationalist and sellout mask off the Alan Garcia government.
The armed struggle initiated in Peru rests on the combative tradition of the best sons and daughters of the Peruvian people. It is a struggle based on the orientation and direction developed by Jose Mariategui and his principles to carry out the leadership of this struggle through a disciplined organization, that is, his party. This fact differentiates it from past experiences of armed struggle, and gives hope and grows among the masses. The Communist Party of Peru (PCP) is leading today a long struggle that is only in its initial stage. The PCP is not defeated. The PCP is only gathering new strength for future developments. It is a great hope and truth to fight for. It is proof to me, though I had thought there was no solution several years ago when I came to this country.
The Committee to Support the Revolution in Peru (USA)
PO Box 1246, Berkeley, California 94701
415-252-5786 * Fax: 415-252-7414
www.csrp.org