*----------------------------------------------------------* | | | x x x x x x x xx xxx xxx xxx | | xx xx x xx xx xx x x x x x x Issue #21 | | x x x x x x x x xx x x x xx xxx | | x x x x x x x x x x x x 02/10/86 | | x x x x x x x xx x xxx xxx | | | |----------------------------------------------------------| | Newspaper of the Maoist Internationalist Movement | *----------------------------------------------------------* U.S. REPLACES HAITI PUPPET PHILIPPINES QUANDARY CIA BRAINWASHING HAITIAN REGIME FALLS; U.S. CLEANS HOUSE Something was up. A revolt in Haiti had been going on for two months. The U.S. Government had said some weeks into the revolt that the regime of dictator J.C. (Baby-Doc) Duvalier was not on its last legs but nonetheless it was "surprisingly" brittle. Smelling a loser, the State Department next reported that Duvalier had fled the country. This turned out to be untrue in the first report, but the report itself had the effect of fueling fires in Haiti: Even the United States could conceive of the fall of Duvalier. Draping themselves in the American flag, Haitian rebels did not intend to give the U.S. an excuse for its usual style of intervention in the Caribbean. With the Marines seeming to be out of the picture the rebels had "nothing to fear" and dared face death to overthrow Duvalier. They proceeded to knock down Duvalier's statue and dig up the graves of hated generals who had repressed their own people. Finally, after 28 years of repressive rule, and two months of revolt by the Haitian people, a six man council replaced president for Life Jean-Claud Duvalier, after he fled with his family in a U.S. Air Force plane for temporary asylum in France. The leader of the new military-civilian council, General Henri Namphy, said that the military had taken over because "of the extremely grave situation which had developed" and that the military had no political ambitions-- "not now or ever." Whatever the nature of the new regime, it is clear that it entered power by treading carefully and recognizing the strength of the revolt of the Haitian people. Other council members besides the General include Col. William Regala, Col. Max Vales and two civilians, Gerard Gourgue and Alix Cineas--heads of the former Human Rights Commission and Ministry of Public Works respectively. Col. Prosper Avril is an advisor to the council. (Detroit News, 2/8/86, p. 1) Namphy, a 52-year-old career officer is the only person of mixed descent in the otherwise all Black leadership. Baby Doc and his father, who ruled before him--Francois Duvalier--had kept out the elite of mixed descent. (Ibid.) Making sure not to displease the West, Namphy replaced the red and black flag of the Duvaliers with a red, white and blue one. (Ibid.) Duvalier's regime was strongly dependent on economic aid from the U.S., France, Canada, W. Germany and other countries. More than a third of the country's annual budget of close to $400 million came from foreign countries. (The Nation, 1/11/86) Of course, the aid was contingent on some "human rights" window-dressing. One of the final nails in Duvalier's political coffin was Reagan's abandonment of "constructive engagement" with Haiti, days before Duvalier's fall. Human rights became the overnight concern for Reagan, who in reality had no interest in backing a loser or in alienating Haitian people more than necessary. Under Duvalier trade unions were not tolerated; dissident lawyers, journalists and intellectuals were expelled or imprisoned. (Amnesty International, Torture in the 80s) The current outbreak started in Gonaives on Nov. 27, 1985 with more than 1,000 slum dwellers shouting "down with misery!" The outbreak became revolt with the slogan "Down with the presidency for life!" The following day students held a demonstration, which troops put down. They shot two students and beat a third to death. That sparked demonstrations in other cities. (Nation, 1/11/86) A sudden gasoline and fuel shortage aggravated discontent, as did the president's wife, Michelle Duvalier, who took a shopping spree in Paris at the same time. Seeing that Duvalier was in trouble, the United States played a strong role in engineering the replacement of its own regime in Haiti. American aid to Haiti was cut off eight days prior to the fall of Duvalier, under the guise of "human rights." The U.S. Ambassador to Haiti reportedly persuaded Duvalier to leave the country. Previously, the State Department put the handwriting on the wall for Duvalier when it reported in advance that Duvalier had fallen. The White House acknowledged the State Department's error in jumping the gun, but did not comment because it knew that it was just a matter of time before Duvalier fled. (Detroit News, 2/8/86) In more recent developments, many members of the Tonton Macoutes, the private army of deposed Pres. Duvalier, were beaten to death by the angered and vengeful people of Haiti. 100 bodies said to be those of the Tonton Macoutes were stacked in an unrefridgerated morgue at the General Hospital (2/8/86). At a Tonton Macoutes station in the suburb of Petionville, soldiers tried to control an angry group of Haitians trying to get revenge from the 30 Macoutes inside. The Macoutes shot and wounded a woman and child. The army surrounded the post and arrested those who allegedly fired the shots and confiscated rifles from the post. (Associated Press, 2/8/86) The six member council has extended a 2p.m. to 6a.m. curfew, imposed Friday. The new regime is also considering measures to control the Macoutes, who have an estimated 10 to 15,000 members. According to the new Minister of Justice, "they are considering a communique ordering everyone having a fire-arm to turn it in to the nearest police." (Detroit Free Press, 2/9/86) The Associated Press (2/9/86) reported that the new regime started to gather up the Tonton Macoutes. CIA EXPERIMENTS WITH MIND CONTROL ON HUMAN GUINEA PIGS The C.I.A. used as many as 100 Canadians as unknowing subjects in an experiment in mind control and brainwashing. Dr. Ewen Cameron performed the experiments in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Highly regarded as a psychiatrist, Cameron used LSD and massive electric shocks to wipe out unwanted memories and behaviors in his patients. Tape recorded messages, which he referred to as "psychic driving" indoctrinated patients for the creation of new behaviors. Prolonged sleep induced through drugs erased the patients' memories of the experience. 30 years after the incidents, nine Canadians are suing the CIA for $1 million each for their suffering. The victims went to the Allen Memorial Institute for a variety of reasons. Three suffered depression; one was anxious; two alcoholics sought detoxification; one had a physical complaint that doctors tagged as psychosomatic; one woman doctor became a CIA patient when she interviewed there for a fellowship. The Institute told her she needed treatment for nervousness. Each victim paid exorbitant fees for the ineffective treatments. Deleterious effects include amnesia, anxiety, depression and inability to read and concentrate or keep a job. None of the victims learned about what happened to them until the 1970s when the CIA released documents on the experiments after an author's request under the Freedom of Information Act. The documents show that the CIA spent $25 million to study mind control in a project that lasted 25 years. The money for Cameron's experiments was funneled through a private foundation as part of a project known as MKULTRA. MKULTRA has financed 149 such projects at 86 universities and institutions. MKULTRA grew out of the cold war and the growing fear of communism. The CIA believed that the Soviets and the Chinese had the lead in brain-washing techniques and sought to be able to crack the mental defenses of enemy agensts and program them to carry out any missions the U.S. government so desired. (Detroit Free Press, 2/9/86) BOURGEOIS ELECTIONS IN PHILIPPINES PUT U.S. IN QUANDARY According to the government's unofficial tally and a count by a volunteer civic organization, Corazon Aquino is leading in her bid for office against President Ferdinand Marcos, who has ruled the Philippines for 20 years. (Detroit Free Press, 2/9/86) There were numerous reports of fraud, and the government affirmed that 30 people were killed in election day violence. (Associated Press, 2/7/86) Citizens were frustrated with the government's slowness in counting the ballots, and Marcos is suspected of delaying the election results which are favorable to the opposition leader. (UPI, 2/7/86) Furthermore, a premature television broadcast citing Marcos as the winner by a large margin was "clearly a violation" of election ground rules, according to Sen. Richard Lugar, R- Ind. (Ibid.) For his part Reagan said that there could be no clear winner from the elections. (Associated Press, 2/9/86) President Marcos stated Saturday that he might declare the presidential election invalid before the vote count is done-- however, Corazon Aquino has declared her victory and asked Marcos to concede defeat. (Detroit Free Press, 2/9/86) The U.S. has recently denounced Marcos for his civil rights record and now seems to be heavily involved in the Aquino candidacy; although, Reagan predicted Marcos's victory in an effort to prepare American public opinion for the possibility that the U.S. might have to support Marcos, win or lose. Of course, neither the Marcos nor the Aquino camp acted entirely pleased with Reagan, but then again, neither could afford to complain too much. Early in her campaign, Aquino told the opposition coalition Bayan that she would not work with it. This deprived her of the energy and expertise of several more left leaning cause-oriented groups. She decided to run under the banner of Unido, with a party member and conservative-- Salvador Laurel--as her running mate. (Marcos has said that he would accept Laurel as his vice-president.) This caused much dissatisfaction among her late husband's followers-- supporters of the populist Laban Party. U.S. Ambassador Stephen Bosworth was present at the meeting between Aquino and Laurel, and appeared to play a decisive role along with the Catholic Church in creating this coalition. (Nation, 2/1/86) Aquino consults two men of the opposition--former senator Lorenzo Tanada and Joaquin Roces, an influential publisher before the imposition of martial law. Two activist businessmen--Jaime V. Ongpin, president of a mining company and Romulo del Rosario, president of IBM of the Philippines-- have been instrumental in formulating Aquino's economic policy and are members of her aggressive new speech-writing campaign. (New York Times) Aquino has said that she will ask the New People's Army to lay down its arms. Her willingness to accept communists who renounce violence onto her cabinet has been the target of Marcos's campaign speeches. Aquino is hoping for a kind of "historic compromise" with the nationalist and semi-Maoist revolutionaries. At best, Aquino is working to establish bourgeois democracy in the Philippines. Aquino's candidacy promotes many illusions. Unlike the United States where bourgeois parties peacefully transfer power from one to another, the Philippines has military and economic power concentrated in a clique of Marcos and his cronies--a clique that the United States has built up over a period of years. The Marcos clique has a $500 million campaign chest and control of the military. (Nation, 2/1/86) While Aquino does have American support, she risks leading her followers into a bloodbath. At several polling places around the country, as Aquino requested, her supporters protected the ballots with their fists, 2x4s and pitchforks. Marcos of course sent in the army with machine guns to confiscate ballots. In some sections of Manilla, his candidacy won 8 or 10,000 to 0. Aquino's campaign has demonstrated the futility of popular elections. If she does make it into power it will only be because of American military support (not direct, but through threatening to cut off the military from American aid if Aquino is not installed or through offering to increase military and economic aid if Aquino is installed) and the armed strength of her supporters where they managed to hold onto the ballots. Marcos's delay in counting the ballots is as Sen. Lugar from the United States said. Marcos needs time to think about the situation. The quandary is genuine for both the U.S. and Marcos. INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC STUDY DISCUSSES NUCLEAR WINTER The International Council of Scientific Unions concluded that one to four billion people would die of starvation after a nuclear war. A drop of 5 to 10 degrees in the Northern Hemisphere would eliminate agriculture there. Such a drop in temperature could be caused by the loss of sunlight to the earth that would result from the smoke and dust put into the atmosphere by nuclear explosions. (New York Times, 9/13/85) Other studies point out the possibility for total darkness for six months. This makes all the more relevant a recent comment by a Peruvian analyst of the Shining Path, who is a member of the World Tour to Support the Revolution in Peru: "Even if the imperialists do blow up the whole world and all life on the planet dies, that won't mean shit for the universe."