A WORLD TO WIN    #21   (1995)

 

PCP Chairman Gonzalo

The Fight to End the Isolation

More than three years after the capture of Communist Party of Peru Chairman Gonzalo, the stakes in the battle to defend his life remain very high for both the world's revolutionaries and the world's reactionaries. This battle has been tortuous, filled with unexpected twists and turns, attacks and counter-attacks, and yet the threat of execution continues to hang over his head. It was to be expected that such a battle would be difficult; winning it will require that many more people have a firm grasp of what is at stake and a spirit of persevering to the end.

Comrade Gonzalo played the central role in initiating and steadily advancing the People's War in Peru, and played an outstanding role in fighting for and strengthening Marxist-Leninist-Maoist ideology within the international communist movement. He became recognized as the leader of millions of people in Peru and became known internationally for his vision of a communist future. The uncompromising nature of the People's War in Peru became a beacon to revolutionaries everywhere who were daily being bombarded with the imperialists' claims that "communism is dead".

Comrade Gonzalo's role was crucial in creating the situation in Peru today, where in the face of ever-increasing repression, a genuine People's War is continuing to threaten the very existence of the old reactionary state, and the beginnings of a new state are beginning to blossom. This is the leadership the reactionaries are trying to eliminate. This is the dream they want to crush.

When Chairman Gonzalo was interviewed by El Diario in 1988, he was asked what it felt like to be the world's "most wanted man". He responded:

"It feels like you're doing your job and working hard at it. What remains is to shoulder more responsibility for the revolution, the Party, Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, for our class, the people and the masses. And to always understand that we carry our lives on our fingertips. If that weren't so, we couldn't be communists. So they have their reasons. Mine are those established by the Party, to which I wish to be more and more true and useful, because life can become entangled anywhere along the road, moreover it has a beginning and an end, more time, less time."1

For more than a decade, three successive Peruvian regimes stalked Chairman Gonzalo. At the same time, the world's most sophisticated counter-revolutionary apparatus carried out an international campaign to isolate and demonize him ­­­­­­­­­­­- to create the kind of international opinion that was necessary to swiftly and efficiently kill him when he was captured.

When the Fujimori regime, led at each step by the US-CIA, finally succeeded in capturing Comrade Gonzalo on 12 September 1992, they were confident that their careful preparation would ensure their success. Fujimori announced his plans to kill Comrade Gonzalo. His date of execution was set. The firing squad was chosen.2

But all of the years of planning didn't prepare the reactionaries for the determined resistance of the PCP and the Peruvian masses, nor for the spectre of an international campaign springing up on every continent to defend a revolutionary leader they had so carefully and systematically vilified.

There is little doubt that the international battle to defend the life of Chairman Gonzalo at first astounded and bewildered, and then frightened and infuriated the Fujimori regime, its US imperialist masters, and reactionaries around the world. What they were confident they had prevented, had happened. And what was more, something they hadn't even dreamed of was coming into being. With the formation of the International Emergency Committee to Defend the Life of Dr Abimael Guzman (IEC), the revolutionary people of Peru and Maoists around the world were joined by people with many different political views to defend Comrade Gonzalo. The reactionaries were now faced with a battle for the sentiments of many broader forces whom they had thought would either blindly agree with their lies that Comrade Gonzalo was a "bloodthirsty terrorist" who "deserved whatever he got", or would stand silently by. This new situation not only increased the risk of exposing the true nature of their regime to some who had had illusions, but risked creating increasing support for the People's War among those people who believe that a fundamental right of the oppressed is to fight against their oppressors.

But while the reactionaries have thus far been prevented from killing Comrade Gonzalo, they have never given up their plans to do so. For three years, their threat to kill him has hovered overhead, while they have employed all kinds of attacks and dirty tricks to accomplish their goal of extinguishing the life of this revolutionary leader and everything he symbolizes. In Peru, they have unleashed their arsenal of counter-revolutionary warfare against the people in an effort to crush the People's War with wave upon wave of genocidal military offensives. Reinforcement of the entire apparatus of repression. New harsher laws. Increased imperialist intervention. Psychological warfare. All wrapped up in a facade of "democratic elections" and neo-liberal economic policies. Internationally, they have resorted to the psychological warfare operations (psy-ops) familiar in every counter-revolutionary war. Yet a broad array of people from every continent have courageously continued the uphill battle to defend Comrade Gonzalo's life.

Chairman Gonzalo has now been in the dungeons of the regime for more than three years. The regime has been able to totally isolate him - including from his Party, from the People's War, from the international communist movement, and from the masses in Peru. Nonetheless, in spite of the wishful ravings of the reactionaries that his capture and that of other revolutionary leaders spelled the inevitable defeat of the People's War, the Central Committee of the PCP, armed with Marxism-Leninism-Maoism and its specific application to Peru developed by Chairman Gonzalo, has been able to surmount these serious blows and continue. In the midst of this battle (and through battle), they have also waged an uncompromising campaign to defend Comrade Gonzalo. The stakes are high. Defending Comrade Gonzalo means defending the hopes, the visions, the aspirations of millions of people in Peru and around the world who dream of one day throwing off all class divisions and imperialist domination. Defending Comrade Gonzalo is telling reactionaries everywhere that the days when they could rip off the life of such a precious and uncompromising revolutionary communist leader with impunity are over.

The IEC Campaign and the Battle to End the Isolation

From the moment Chairman Gonzalo was sentenced to life in prison, one of the main demands of the IEC was that he be allowed access to lawyers, to adequate medical care, to reading materials, and to direct means of communication. So long as he is isolated, the regime has more freedom to attack him. The IEC rightly demanded that the Fujimori regime comply with internationally recognized norms regarding the treatment of political prisoners and prisoners of war, which condemn isolation as a form of ­torture.

In the autumn of 1993, the outbreak of the two-line struggle in the PCP posed sharp challenges to IEC activists. There was widespread speculation in the media, fuelled by the regime, about Chairman Gonzalo's "real position" on the peace negotiations line. Yet so long as Chairman Gonzalo is held in isolation by the regime, the IEC has categorically refused to accept any of the regime's representations as to what he said or thought, and it has refused to allow such speculation to induce any hesitation in its determined efforts to defend Chairman Gonzalo's life and end his isolation. The two-line struggle in the PCP stimulated IEC activists to take a fresh look at the campaign's basic points of unity. From the beginning, the campaign had taken up the defense of Chairman Gonzalo's life on the basis that he was looked to by millions of Peruvians as a leader in their struggle against an unjust, repressive regime backed by the US imperialists, and he had gained the respect of the oppressed around the world on that basis. That has not changed. Moreover, the Fujimori regime is clearly as intent as ever upon ensuring Chairman Gonzalo's isolation and carrying forward their plans to kill him. In these circumstances, and as the PCP carries forward the People's War, the IEC reaffirmed its determination to carry the fight through to victory.

Because of the IEC's dogged persistence in pursuing its goals, tens of thousands of people signed petitions and letters demanding an end to the isolation; an Ad to End the Isolation was signed by prominent people in more than 20 countries and published in several newspapers. International lawyers and lawyers in Lima pursued the legal avenues available to them. At the same time, while the main focus was the battle to end the isolation, the IEC also continued to expose the true nature of the Fujimori regime, report on the continuing People's War, and to bring the truth about events in Peru to the light of day. International leaflets exposing the military offensives against people living in the countryside were disseminated and published in many countries and languages. On 14 March, while holding a press conference in New York City, Fujimori stood stunned and red-faced while activists from the IEC and the Committee to Support the Revolution in Peru (CSRP) denounced him and demanded an end to Dr Guzman's isolation in front of the international press. Days later, hundreds of Nepali protesters "greeted" Hillary Clinton at the Kathmandu airport, raising banners and shouting "US Hands Off Peru", "Defend the Life of Comrade Gonzalo" and hurling black flags at her, a traditional form of protest in that country.

In January 1995, an attack taking advantage of the struggle around the so-called "peace accords" was launched against the international campaign. This attack specifically targeted Comrade Gonzalo's lawyers in an attempt to close down his legal defence. According to a "letter" which the Fujimori regime claimed had been authored by Comrade Gonzalo, Comrade Gonzalo was said to be critical of his legal representation and wanted to defend himself. Advocates of "peace accords" used this "letter" to allege that the lawyers were not acting as professionals, but were instead acting as advocates of the continuation of the People's War, and attempted to withdraw the right of the lawyers to represent Chairman Gonzalo.

The reaction of the IEC was swift. They refused to accept any letter released by the Fujimori regime purporting to represent Comrade Gonzalo's views. The Lima lawyers and international lawyers confirmed that Dr Abimael Guzman was their client and also rejected any representations made by the Fujimori regime regarding his wishes. If Dr Guzman wanted to dismiss them, why wouldn't the Fujimori regime allow him to speak to them directly? They began to make plans to once again go to Lima to demand to speak to their client in person.

On 4 May 1995, the regime launched another attack on the IEC campaign when a pack of reactionary lies and slanders appeared in the Peruvian press and international media claiming that two American supporters of RIM had travelled to Peru to carry out a Rambo-style "kidnapping". According to them, this "kidnapping" was part of the "international campaign in favor of Guzman to later achieve his freedom". It then confused things even further (deliberately) by saying that RIM had organized the demonstrations against Fujimori in the US (which had in fact been organized by the US-IEC and/or by the US-CSRP).

Once again the regime was trying to frighten people around the world who were demanding an end to the isolation of Dr Guzman and defence of his life. The IEC issued a refutation of their slanders that pointed out that they were trying to discredit the international campaign in order to deepen the isolation of Comrade Gonzalo and kill him. They were trying to divide the campaign and frighten away those supporters who demanded respect for the life of Comrade Gonzalo, but who have different political views than either RIM or the PCP.

Then on 21 May 1995 Fujimori issued another murderous threat: "Abimael Guzman is very sick. He will be dead within three years. He suffers from psoriasis... and is very depressed. Nobody has a long life in the prison where he is held.... I believe he should remain in isolation." This announcement was nothing short of a threat of pre-meditated murder! Who can forget that this prison "where nobody has a long life" was built especially for Chairman Gonzalo? Who actually believes that death from a medically treatable disease such as psoriasis could be called "natural"? This open threat to Comrade Gonzalo's life - this boastful confirmation that the regime intends to murder him - makes it even more important to mobilize people to energetically demand an end to the isolation of Comrade Gonzalo.

6th IEC Delegation Travels to Peru

On 16 July, the 6th IEC delegation arrived in Lima. Their very presence in Lima put the regime on notice that all of their dirty tricks, their series of lies and innuendos, their threats and bellicose pronouncements, had failed to get the international campaign off track. Once more a delegation representing the strength and determination of thousands around the world was standing at the very gates of their palace, their courts, and their prisons to tell the regime that they couldn't do whatever they wanted with impunity, and to let the people of Peru know that the international campaign would continue to defend Dr Guzman, other political prisoners in Peru, and their ­lawyers.

The 6th delegation included international lawyers who had been to Lima in the past, prominent individuals known for their defence of political prisoners, an IEC activist, and a specialist physician in dermatology qualified to examine Dr Guzman and speak about his medical condition. Their presence could not be easily dismissed. Reporters crowded the delegation's first press conference. The presence of the IEC delegation made headlines in the daily papers. Television reports quoted the lawyers' demands to see their client and spotlighted the international leaflet denouncing Fujimori's threats against Dr Guzman. Radio stations disseminated news of the presence of the delegation to the furthest reaches of the Andes. News coverage about the delegation spread to dozens of countries around the world.

While in Lima, the delegates renewed the IEC's long-standing request to visit Dr Guzman. Two of the international lawyers walked right up to the gates of the prison in El Callao where Chairman Gonzalo is held. Before the eyes of a large number of Peru's press, officials from the Fujimori regime once again turned them away, revealing the terrible fear they still have of ending this man's isolation.

The delegates were also able to meet with the International Red Cross and with sympathetic members of religious and human rights organizations, and were able to gather new and important information about the oppression of the Peruvian people.

The impact of the delegation was not lost on the regime, which scrambled to denounce their presence. Fujimori's party issued a press statement calling for the delegation's expulsion. DINCOTE agents swarmed the hotel lobby, shadowed delegates on the streets, and attempted to impede their activities. But the impact of the delegation was most powerfully evidenced by the faces and actions of the people, especially the poor. Members of the delegation reported being greeted with smiles, thumbs up signs, pats on the back, and even with hugs and gifts. A waitress asked them to go to the restaurant's kitchen so the kitchen workers could greet them; a hotel worker asked for an autograph; as they walked in one place, a band struck up "Zorba the Greek", a tune associated with Chairman Gonzalo in the minds of many Peruvians. Vendors on the street gathered eagerly around the delegation's press conference, scrambling to get their hands on delegation press statements, IEC leaflets and the Ad to End the Isolation. The support the delegates felt from the people strengthened and emboldened them, increasing their determination to overcome all of the obstacles the regime had placed before them.

Sending the 6th delegation to Peru represented a very important step in the international battle to defend Comrade Gonzalo. It occurred at a crucial time in the battle. Concrete steps were taken to end the isolation. People of Peru learned of the continuing efforts of the International Campaign. A better basis was laid for the IEC to achieve its goals. The regime was deeply stung.

IEC Calls for Intensifying the Battle to End the Isolation

As in any campaign, the international campaign has experienced ebbs and flows during the course of the past three years. But not even the dirtiest, most low-down tricks of the regime have been able to de-rail it. As the regime plunges to ever greater depths in its counter-revolutionary war against the People's War, it becomes more and more exposed. Their campaigns of genocide against the people, their open presentation of political prisoners showing signs of torture, their general amnesty to all military and police personnel connected with torture, disappearances, rape and murder during the past 15 years of the People's War, all serve to expose them further. Their barbarous acts increasingly illustrate to many more people around the world - many of whom are not themselves revolutionary - the necessity for the oppressed people to fight against this tyranny and for their own liberation. It provides further evidence of the true revolutionary role of Comrade Gonzalo in leading this fight, and provides an even greater basis for more people to step forward to defend his life and what he symbolizes.

With his statement that Chairman Gonzalo will die within three years, Fujimori has once again thrown down the gauntlet to the millions of people around the world who have defended Comrade Gonzalo's life. He has admitted that he is slowly murdering him! He has admitted that the special prison he built for him was meant to kill him. This is a very obvious threat and makes the battle to end the isolation an even more urgent necessity. But it must be understood in a broader context. It is another component in the regime's overall plan of counter-revolutionary war. It is another attempt to demoralize people in Peru and around the world who have for three years demanded respect for the life of this revolutionary leader. It is another attempt to convince people that the regime will remain intransigent -- that no amount of protest and exposure will get them to end the isolation. As the regime steps up the repression of the Peruvian people, it wants Comrade Gonzalo and everything he symbolizes to be forgotten. They want to murder him in silence - just as they wanted to do at the beginning of the campaign.

But the political atmosphere in the world has changed since the arrest of Chairman Gonzalo. A gaping hole has been punched in the shroud of secrecy that the reactionaries had so carefully wrapped around the People's War in Peru. The battle lines have been redrawn. Tens of thousands of people who had previously been either ignorant or confused now know the truth about what is going on in Peru. They know who Comrade Gonzalo is. They've read his words. His historic 24 September 1992 speech has reached millions. To increasing numbers of people, the People's War in Peru has come to represent the right of the oppressed to fight against their oppressors. Whether or not the leader of such a struggle can be defended against all of the might of the imperialists has become an ever more crucial battle.

For three years Comrade Gonzalo has been isolated in the dungeons of the Fujimori regime. He has been isolated from the people of Peru. He has been isolated from the Communist Party of Peru. He has been isolated from the international communist movement. It is of great importance that this isolation end. This is a crucial part of the battle to defend his life.

Move Heaven and Earth to Defend the Life of Chairman Gonzalo!

Footnotes

1   Interview with Comrade Gonzalo, reprinted in its entirety in AWTW 1992/18.

2   The 8 Dec 92 issue of Le Monde reported that the firing squad was held off by "fear of international reaction".