Call to Create an International
Emergency Committee to Defend the Life of Dr Abimael Guzmán
On September 12th Dr Abimael Guzmán, known as Chairman Gonzalo of the
Communist Party of Peru, was captured by the Fujimori regime of Lima, with the
full assistance of the U.S.'s notorious counter-insurgency machine.
There is every reason to fear for the life of Dr Abimael Guzmán at the
hands of one of the world's bloodiest governments. The Peruvian state has repeatedly
murdered its political prisoners, from the hundreds killed at the El Fronton
massacre of 1986 to the 40 women and men gunned down in cold blood at Canto Grande
prison in May of this year. The Peruvian Constitution has been suspended, and
Fujimori is threatening to impose the death penalty on Dr Abimael Guzmán.
This must not be allowed to happen.
No knowledgeable and truthful observer of Peru, regardless of their political
beliefs, can deny that Dr Abimael Guzmán is the recognized leader of millions
of peasants, workers, students, intellectuals and others of various walks of life
in Peru. In no way can the twelve year long war he has been leading be dismissed
as "acts of terroism". In no way can Dr Guzmán be denied the stature of a
captured leader of a revolutionary party and army. Dr Abimael Guzmán merits
the broad international support that all imprisoned opponents of imperialism and
reactionary regimes have always benefitted from. He should be allowed access to
lawyers, journalists and doctors to ensure his health.
It is urgent that many voices be heard to demand that the Peruvian state respect
the international conventions concerning the treatment of political prisoners.
That a military tribunal cannot be legally competent. That the life of Dr
Abimael Guzmán be saved.
Signatories
This list is necessarily
incomplete as the IEC reports that they are receiving hundreds
of names and word of thousands more from many countries; due to
the emergency nature of this campaign there are also bound to
be errors and perhaps even important oversights, and we apologize
for these. Please note that in most cases it is the individuals
and not the organizations they are a part of who have signed the
call. - AWTW
Kamruddin
Absar, revolutionary singer, Bangladesh
Mumia Abu-Jamal,
political prisoner on death row, U.S.
Dr Krishna
Adhikari, medical office at Tribhuvan University Teaching
Hospital, Nepal
Buland Al-Haidari,
poet, vice-president of Iraqi Democratic Association, Britain
Reza Allamezadh,
Iranian film director
Dalal Al-Mufti,
sculptress, head of Iraqi Democratic Association, Britain
Arif Alwan,
playwright, Iraq
Sushil C.
Amatya, President, National Teachers Association, Nepal
Carol Andreas,
author of When Women Rebel, U.S.
Rudy Antoine,
Publisher & Editor in Chief of Caribbean Globe newspaper,
Miami, Florida, U.S.
Roberto Armijo,
Salvadoran poet, Paris, France
Mehmet Ali
Aybar, General Secretary, Socialist Revolution Party,
member Bertrand Russell War Crimes Tribunal, 1966, Turkey
Aydin Aybay,
Professor of Political Science, University of Istanbul, Turkey
Nina Baehr,
author of Abortion Without Apology, University of Hawaii Women's
Center, U.S.
Dr Bani-Sadr,
ex-President of Iran
Nihat Behram,
writer, Turkey
Dr Younes
Parsa Benab, Iranian lecturer, Strayer College, U.S.
Tony Benn,
Member of Parliament, House of Commons, Labour Party, Britain
Dr Baburam
Bhattarai, architect/designer, Nepal
Ione Biggs,
past President, Women Speak Out (Cleveland branch of Women's International
League for Peace and Freedom), U.S.
Govinda Biyogi,
President, Nepal Journalist Association, Nepal
Anne-Marie
Blanchet-Parodi, lawyer, Paris, France (member of First
International Delegation to Peru)
Emmannuel
Boutterin, President, Alumni Association of the School
of Journalism and Communications of Marseilles, France
Francis A.
Boyle, Professor of International Law, University of
Illinois, Champaign, U.S.
Bill Bowring,
Chairman, Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, London, Britain
Marjorie Broadbent,
Federated Teachers Union of Victoria, Australia
Victor Carpenter,
Senior Minister, First Unitarian Church, San Franciso, U.S.
Javier Centeno,
Federal Representative, Mexico
Jim Cairns,
former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
John Chandler,
Executive Director, Peace Campaign, Seattle, U.S.
Barbara Christian,
Professor of African American Studies, University of California,
Berkeley, U.S.
Genevičve
Clancy, Professor of Philosophy, Sorbonne, Paris, France
Ramsey Clark,
former Attorney General of the U.S.
Ron Clark,
Director, Whitney Museum Independent Studies, New York, U.S.
Stanley Cohen,
lawyer, U.S.
Raphael Constant,
Martiniquan lawyer, France
Luigi Cortesi,
historian, director of the magazine Giano, Italy
Dr Drew Cottle,
Lecturer in History, University of Western Sydney, Australia
Mary Belvins
Cox, lawyer, National Conference of Black Lawyers, News
Dimensions, Washington D.C., U.S.
Dr Massimo
de Santi, Coordinator of International FORUM U.N.O. of
the Peoples, Italy (member of Second International Delegation
to Peru)
Gilles Deleuze,
Professor of Philosophy and writer, Paris, France
Kasthoori
Devan, Convenor, Yuva Kerala Munnani, India
Harsha N.
Dhaubhadel, professor, Tribhuvan University, Nepal
Bashudev Dhungana,
Senior Advocate, ex-President, Nepal Bar Association
Hatip Dicle,
Member of Parliament (HEP Party), Turkey
Carl Dix,
national spokesman, Revolutionary Communist Party USA
Joe Doem,
Mohawk citizen, New York, U.S.
Ferdinando
Dubla, historian, Italy
Reverend Peter
H.F. Duncan, Vicar, Saint John's Church, North Woolwich,
Britain
Craig Everson,
lawyer, Aboriginal Legal Service Ltd., Canberra, Australia
Deborah Felton,
Women's Studies, Australian National University
Lavarice Gaudin,
Haitian activist, VEYEYO, Miami, U.S.
Prof John
Gerassi, author of The Great Fear in Latin America, U.S.
Lewis Godena,
Carpenters Local 107, Massachusetts, independent candidate for
U.S. Congress
Enrique Gonzalez
Ruis, researcher, National Autonomous University of Mexico
K.P.R. Gopala,
revolutionary political prisioner sentenced to death under British
rule, later released, India
Bernie Grant,
Member of Parliament, House of Commons, Labour Party, Britain
Claudio Grimaldi,
actor, Italy
Andreas Gross,
lawyer, Wiesbaden, Germany
Mr and Mrs
H. Groswami, musicians, Tower-Hamlet Sanatown Association,
Britain
Dr Michael
Hadfield, Professor of Zoology, University of Hawaii,
U.S.
Behrooz Hadhi,
Iranian former political prisoner and writer
Hamidul Haque,
President, Organization to Uphold the Martyr Revolutionaries and
Patriots, Bangladesh
Dr Masud Hasan,
Vice-president, Central Students Union, Jahangirnagar University,
Bangladesh
Dr A. Hassanpour,
University of Windsor, Canada
Mushaq Hossain,
General Secretary, Jatiyo Jubo Jote (National Youth Organization),
Bangladesh
Chrissie Hynde,
musician, The Pretenders, Britain
Safiqul Islam,
journalist, Bangladesh
V.R. Krishna
Iyer, Justice (retired) of the Supreme Court of India
Qutaiba Janabi,
filmmaker, Iraq
R. Jilani,
Director, Asian Studies Department, Toynbee Hall, Britain
Saban Iba,
General Secretary of 1968 Institute, Turkey
Eric Jackson,
lawyer, prison rights activist, Michigan, U.S.
Zuhair Jazairi,
writer, Iraq
Grace Jones,
coordinator, Free South Africa Movement, Ohio, U.S.
Mesbah Kamal,
Secretary, UK Consolidation, Workers Party of Bangladesh
Asok Karmokar,
artist, Bangladesh
Nasim Khaksar,
Iranian writer
Badri Prasad
Khatiwada, human rights activist, ex-President, National
Teachers Association, Nepal
Zenzile Khoisan,
South African exile, producer "Africa Report," WBAI
Radio, New York, U.S.
Frank Kirkland,
Professor of Philosophy, Hunter College, U.S.
Hans Koning,
author of Columbus: His Enterprise, Exploding the Myth, U.S.
Deependra
B. Kshetri, Economist, Member of National Development
Council, Nepal
Linton Kwezi
Johnson, musician, Britain
Farah Juste,
Haitian recording artist, "The voice of those without voice",
U.S.
Ercan Kanar,
Chair, Human Rights Organization, Istanbul, Turkey
Nasim Khaksar,
Iranian writer
Charles Kilduff,
former Chief Justice of the Australian State Territory
Maina Wa Kinyatti,
former Kenyan political prisoner, U.S.
Jan Kirsch,
M.D., Member, Board of Directors of Physicians for Social
Responsibility, U.S.
William Kunstler,
lawyer, Center for Constitutional Rights, New York City, U.S.
Hubert Jabot,
Guadeloupan lawyer, France
Carlos and
Delia La Torre, father- and mother-in-law of Dr Abimael
Guzmán, in exile for 12 years
Raniero La
Valle, Member of Parliament, Italy
James Lafferty,
Executive Director, National Lawyers Guild, Los Angeles Chapter,
U.S.
Erik Larsen,
G.I. resister to Gulf War, U.S.
Kenny Leon,
Artistic Director, Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, U.S.
Raymond Lotta,
author of America in Decline, U.S.
Faisal Luaibi,
painter, Iraq
Father Lawrence
Lucas, priest, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York,
author of Black Priest, White Church, U.S.
Suresh Ale
Magar, Lecturer, General Secretary, Nepal Federation
of Nationalities, Nepal
N.C. Mammootty,
General Secretary, Yuva Kala Sahiti, Kerala, India
Michael Mansfield
Q.C., Defence lawyer for Cardiff 3, presenter of TV documentaries,
Britain
Ludo Martens,
General Secretary, Party of Labour, Belgium
Andreé Michel,
sociologist, Director of Research, CNRS, Paris, France
Professor
Paul Milliez, M.D. (retired), Paris, France
Tanvir Mokammel,
film director from Bangladesh
M. Moosha,
lawyer, Convenor of the Revolutionary People's Movement, South
Africa
Claudine Nahori,
lawyer (retired), Paris, France
Aziz Nesin,
Political satirist, writer, Turkey
Heriberto
Ocasio, Committee to Support the Revolution in Peru,
U.S. (member of First International Delegation to Peru)
William O'Donnell,
Pastor, Saint Joseph the Worker, Berkeley, California, U.S.
Giovanna Pagani,
President, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom,
Italy, Consultant to United Nations ECOSOC, UNCTAD and UNESCO
(member of Second International Delegation to Peru)
Jorge Palacios,
former Chairman of Philosophy Department, University of Chile,
Santiago
Parizat,
poetess and novelist, vice-president, Human Rights Organization,
Nepal
Jeff Paterson,
first U.S. soldier to refuse to serve in Gulf War, U.S.
Biswa N. Pathak,
Lecturer, Tibhuvan University, Nepal
Siwan Perwer,
Kurdish singer
Molefe Pheto,
Secretary for Education and Culture, Black Consciousness Movement
of Azania, Central Commmittee., Britain
Felice Pignataro,
painter, Italy
Gordon Poole,
historian, Italy
Sushil Pyakurel,
Human Rights activist, Nepal
Dr Geralyn
Pye, Discipline of Politics, Flinders University of Southern
Australia
Massoud Rahimi,
Provisional Coordinator, IEC, London, Britain
A. Rahman,
singer, Bangladesh
Hafizur Rahman,
Member Senate Committee, Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh
Shaheen Rahman,
Road Transport Workers Union, Bangladesh
Leonardo Albino
Ramos, professor, Mexico
Michael Ray,
lawyer, President, So. Florida Chapter National Lawyers Guild,
U.S.
Bert Reese,
Gulf Humanitarian Relief Activist, Seattle, Washington, U.S.
John Reid,
Deputy Director, Institute for Aboriginal Development, Australia
Shah Ahmed
Reza, Editor of Anusaran, Bangladesh
Paolo Rossi,
artist, Italy
Alan Rossman,
lawyer, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Rick Rothschiller,
Exec. Director, People's Fund; chair, Sane Nuclear Freeze, Hawaii,
U.S.
John Rutherford,
Secretary, Plumbers and Gasfitters Employees Union, Victoria Branch,
Australia
Tim Ryan,
Secretary of Food Preservers Employees Union, Australia
Dr Ali Sadeghi,
nuclear scientist, Ranjbaran Party, Iran
Ilyas Salman,
film actor, Turkey
Abbas Samakar,
Iranian filmmaker
N. Sanmugathasan,
General Secretary, Ceylon Communist Party (Maoist)
Reverend Paul
Sawyer, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Berkeley,
California, U.S.
Jens Scheer,
professor, University of Bremen, Germany
Professor
Sydney Selwyn, Professor of Microbiology, University
of London, Britain
Ahmad Shamloo,
poet, Nobel Prize nominee, Iran
Krishna P.
Shivakoti, journalist, Secretary of FOPHUR, Nepal
Shyram Shrestha,
journalist, Nepal
Shamim Sikder,
sculptress, Bangladesh
José Maria
Sisson, Chairman, Board of Directors, International Studies
of the Philippines
A. Sivanand,
Editor of Race and Class, London
Giovanni Russo
Spena, Member of Parliament, Italy
Christopher
D. Stanley, lawyer, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Hugh Stephens,
International War Crimes Tribunal, London, Britain
Dr Shamsul
Tabriz, General Secretary, Central Students Union, Jahangirnagar
University, Bangladesh
Emdad Tallukder,
Bengali Cultural Forum, Toynbee Hall, Britain
Serrer Tanilli,
Professor of Contemporary Turkish Cultural History, Strasbourg
University, Germany
Saadi Timini,
architect, Iraq
Frances Viglielmo,
Church Women United, Hawaii, U.S.
Kiki Wainwright,
Haitian poet, recording artist, Miami, U.S.
John Edgar
Wideman, author, U.S.
Prof. Shakh
Abdul Wideman, Dhaka University, Bangladesh
George Weber,
New York Theological Seminary, U.S.
Ragip Zarakolu,
journalist, Turkey
Among the
group signatories received:
Black Lawyers
Association, South Africa
Comité Sol-Pérou,
France
Committee
to Support the People's War in Peru,Mexico, D.F
Committee
to Support the People's War in Peru, Spain
Fight Racism!
Fight Imperialism!/ Revolutionary Communist Group, Britain
Grup YORUM,
Turkish musical group
La Patria
Radical, newspaper of the Puerto Rican National Liberation
Movement (MLN)
Latin America
Solidarity Committee, Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.
Movimiento
Popular Dominicano (MPD-ML), Dominican Republic
Prison Legal
News, monthly newsletter from Monroe Washington Prison,
U.S.
Save Gonzalo
Committee, India
Save Gonzalo
Committee, Nepal
Society of
Black Lawyers, Brixton, Britain
Solidarity
Council for Peruvian People's War, Bangladesh
Stop the U.S.
War Machine Action Group, Hawaii, U.S.
Vietnam Veterans
Against the War (Anti-Imperialist), Hawaii, U.S.
12 artists
from the Whitney Museum Student Artists Program, New
York, U.S.
64 autoworkers,
Ford plant in Detroit, Michigan U.S.
31 homeless
people occupying Pacifica Hotel, Seattle, Washington,
U.S.
8 journalists,
Italy
19 journalists,
Bangladesh
83 members
of Elazig Human Rights Association, Turkey
90 Members
of Parliament, Nepal
10 Members
of Parliament, (HEP Party), Turkey
5 members
of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Friendship Association
48 poets,
Turkey
90 political
prisoners on hunger strike from Buca prison, 300 from
Elazig Prison, 75 from Malatya E-type prison, Turkey
4 professors
in Black and Latin American Studies, Hunter College,
U.S.
9 students,
New York Theological Seminary, New York, U.S.
10 students,
Toulouse, France
13 students,
Elezig Firat University, Turkey
233 students,
Dhaka, Jahangirnagar and other universities, Bangladesh
5 students,
members, Haitian Student Association, Queens College, New York,
U.S.
200 Turkish
garment and other workers, Paris, France
More than
ten thousand people have signed the call in Nepal
Emergency
Committees to Defend the life of Dr Abimael Guzmán exist
in many countries. Readers who would like to make contact with
one in their area are invited to get in touch with the London
IEC office:
Tel/fax: (44) (71)
482-0853.
Address: BCM IEC,
27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3XX, U.K.