Revolution in Central America,"
called on all "consistently anti-imperialist forces" to join in a separate contingent.
It was this group that assembled most of those who opposed Willy Brandt's speech tion in support of revolutionists in Central America, and, for example, because it hailed Duarte's election in El Salvador as "democratic."
In a contested vote in the Coordinating Committee, it was decided by a 12 to 8 margin that Brandt should speak instead of the SPD left winger, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul.
from the Christian Democrats. They claimed that the SPD had followed slavishly in the tow of a leftist demonstration led by the Greens, forces that wanted to express their hatred of the US.
In this campaign of abuse, the Chris-
Democrat speaker Walter Brueckmann was joined by a "comrade" of Brandt, the head of the SPD slate in the Berlin Senate elections, Hans Apel. In Berlin, the latter denounced the common mobilization of Social Democrats and left organizations against Reagan's military policy as "an outright disgrace."
at the final rally.
The following statement was published on the front page of the November 11
This group faced the threat of massive issue of Was Tun, paper of the German section of the Fourth International.
harassment from the police. Decked out for war, hundreds of police blocked the
The threat of a massive direct invasion of Nicaragua or El Salvador by US troops street and searched almost all the demon-
The CIA-directed international press campaign against the strators for weapons. They had to pass elections in Nicaragua is designed to prepare world public opinion for such an through a double line of police and subinvasion. In connection with the reelection of US president Reagan, the US impermit to being frisked.
ialists are looking for the right time to bring their military machinery to bear
Although the German Confederation to crush the entire liberation process in Central America.
of Trade Unions (DGB), as well as the
Therefore, the Central American Solidarity Committees and other third world
SPD and the Greens backed the demongroups decided to demonstrate together with the peace movement in Bonn on stration, most of the demonstrators were
November 3 against US intervention and for peace and justice in Central America.
supporters of the Christian Initiative
In order to build a powerful demonstration here in the country that is the US's
Group and the various organizations of most important ally in Europe against Reagan's war policy in Central America, the socialist left.
Turkish and Kurdish it was necessary to form the broadest possible united front.
organizations also mobilized more broad-
The basis of this front could only be one central issue - rejection of direct US ly than usual for this demonstration.
aggression. Moreover, positive support for the revolutionary process in Nicaragua
The Revolutionary Socialist Youth/ and the armed liberation struggles in El Salvador and Guatemala could be ex-
Red Mole group, which was formed in pressed by individual components of the coalition.
mid-October, formed a common contin-
The whistles, rockets and bags of paint directed at Willy Brandt in Bonn's Hofgent with the GIM [German section of garten went entirely against the objective of the demonstration. These disruptions
Fourth the
International] of several harmed the fighting and suffering masses in Central America, whose resistance to hundred persons in the northern feeder the world's biggest military power was exploited here for the sake of local political
This section of the march was march.
kept in high spirits by the militant slo-
The provocative action by the police against the participants in the southern gans of the youth group.
feeder march of the demonstration was designed to enflame feelings at the demon-
At the concluding rally in the Hofstration. It was aimed at discrediting the solidarity movement through promoting garten Helmut Gollwitzer spoke for the
Christian Initiative Group, Comandante
If the Social Democrats are prepared to take a stand against the threat of US
Ana Guadalupe Martinez for the FDR/ intervention, we have to grant them the right to have a speaker, as well as other
FMLN of El Salvador, Herberto Incer for components of the coalition. Moreover, Willy Brandt spoke out clearly in defense the Nicaraguan embassy in Bonn, Ilse of the elections in Nicaragua and against the US's policy in the area. He even came
Brusis for the DGB, and the final speaker out in public opposition to the Spanish premier, Felipe Gonzales [also a major was Willy Brandt.
figure in the Social Democratic Second International], who strongly criticized
For weeks before, having Brandt as a the Nicaraguan elections. In this way, in the present extremely critical situation, speaker had been a bone of contention
Willy Brandt took the side of the Sandinistas. This helped Nicaragua.
in the solidarity movement and in the
In view of this fact, it was a grave error for the Informationsburo in Wup-
Coordinating Committee of the Peace pertal and some Solidarity Committees to mobilize opposition to Willy Brandt's
Movement.
Sections of the solidarity movement, including the majority of the
Nicaragua Information Bureau in Wuppertal were against Brandt as a speaker, because the SPD has not taken a clear posi-
International Viewpoint 26 November 1984 is greater than ever.
as violent confrontations as possible.
speech.
21
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The spectre of a political favors (such as codetermination rules in the interests of management in the factories). If the investigating committee comes out with any more revelations about involvement of the chancellor in this bribery scandal, it could lead to the worst crisis yet for the Christian Democrat-FDP coalition.