The following is theo text of a letter sent by Sal Santen to the tditorial Board of the French Commnist Party paper, L'Humanite, which he asked them to print. Necdless to say, it has not been printeds
"Comrades,
In your issues of November 13th and 14th you published information on a press conference given by a cortain Otto Freitag, who you described as "ex-leader of the Soction Gormanyand a member of the Executive Committee of tho Ixtkyist international orgenisation" and at the same time “agent of the spy system. and provocation services led by the nazi Gehlen on behalf of the Bonn militarists,."
"Before commenting on the defamatory statoment by Otto Freitag concerning my comrade and friend liichael laptis, I wish to declare formally, on behalf of lvichacl Raptis and mysolf, that we do not know at all this man, who was never a momber of the Fourth International, and still loess of its Mxecutive International Committee or of its leadership or of the German trotskyist movement erroneously called in your newspaper, soction "Germany".
"In your report of November 14th, you wrote:
"Otto Freitag denounced, for instance, the agents Raptis, called Pablo, and the Dutchmen Santen and Joop Zwart who, in printing shops bought at high prices, in Amsterdam and Osnabruck, made false French money and papers."
"This information is defam’4hory throughout. Dgring the trial against Michael Raptis and myself in Amsterdam, it was made cloar, that, in our activities in support of the Algerian independence war we never did collaborate, either directly or indirectly in anything with this Joop Zwart, against whom there was conducted another trial, quite indepndent and separate from ours. liichael Raptis did not oven know Joop Zwart, whereas during my long political activity I have always denounced the machinations of this man. That Zwart is "an agent of the spy systom and provocation services" as you say, I think it possible that your informant Friotag who, according to your own article, is an "agent of the spy system and provocation services led by the nazi Gehlen on behalf of the Bonn militarists.™ could perhaps inform you there on in a more detailed way. Michael Raptis and myself do not, hap,ily, have such information sources,
against Stilinist sl nders continued/
In your article on 14th November you speak of "agents Raptis, called Pablo, and the Dutchmen, Santen, otc." which is meant to imply that Michael Raptis and I, aro “agents of tho spy system and provocation services led the nazi Gehlen on behalfof the Bonn militarists." You must now understand that you cannot continue with impunity to make such slanders against the trotskyist movement and its leaders. llichael Raptis and I have fought since our youth in the service of the marxist revolutionary workers! movement, devoting ourselves completely to this causee One of the reasons for which we thought that the best way to develop our activity was in and for the Fourth International was the fact that the Stalinist burcoucracy exterminated almost all the Bolshevik old guard of the period of the great October revolution, including its outstanding leader Loon Trotsky, moking at the same time ths most defamatory accusations against thom (among - thom ti.at of "collaboration with the Gorman spy system")
The fact that wo were right in fighting during this period for the honour of Leon Trotsky and of the Bolshevik old guard,and exposing the Stalinist Slonders against them, was made clear during the 22nd Congross °f the C.P.52Ue where Khrushchov was obliged to divulge the crimes committed by Stalin and his collaborators.
It is obviously because you are ofraid of tho consegugnces of our concrete criticism among workers and intellectuals, because you afraid of the spontaneous solidarity demonstrated by the masses all over the world in favour of Ilidmel Raptis and mo for our help to the Algerian indepondonce war, that you think it necessary to utilise an obscure Otto Freitag to slander us in the old traditional way.
Happily the historical tide does not go along with you. iivery honest workor .or intollectual who has followed our trial can only read with disgust the infoumous accusations made by Freitag and published by you. Tho leadership of tho Algerian revolution knows too that wo have served its cause and endangered our liberty and our lives, without self-pretens ion and in strict conformity with the needs of the Algerian liberation fight. Your slanders against Michael Raptis and me can only arouse, in the F.L.N. too, the most profound scorn for your mothods,
In publishing Otto Freitag's slander and agrsoing with it, you attacked our honour and reputation as revolutionaries, obviously with a view to attack— ing also the Fourth International which was also slanderod by the "revelations" of shameful Otto Freitag,
Michael Raptis and I have not only fought hand in hand to help the Algerian revolution but also against the attack made against our movement by the worst reaction, With your slanderous publication you are accomplices of the enemios of the Algerian revolution and of the workers! movement.
That is why, on bahalf of Michael Naptis and myself, I ask you to publish this statement within a week in your paper.