from a correspondent in Portugal
In Portugal, the first few months of 1965 have proved to be amongst the most violent yet in the struggle ssainst the Fascist rezime of Salazar, January saw the arrest of more than one hundred university and secondary school students including several 14 and 15-year-olds. Two of the students broke down under police torture and had to be committed into mental hospitals. A third attempted suicide by swallowing the crushed lenses of his glasses,
In February, General Humberto Delgado, the opposition candidate in the 1958 Presidential “elections", and his Brazilian secretary were battered to death and buried near the Spanish-Portuguese border town of Badajoz. so far neither the Portuguese nor Spanish regimes have had any explanation to offer, On: Tuesdsy May 24, the mounted National Republican Guard were called in at Pero Pinheiro, a mining town, to stop a strike of miners who hae taken over the local branch of the Government—controlled trade union.
The miners are demanding an increase in their basic wagefrom an average daily wage of 1:/- o one of 18/~ per daye The Republican Guard opened fire, killing two miners, and inpring others, Up to 80 miners have been arrested, but the 3,000 miners show no sign of giving in.
Retentiy, the forces of repression have been joined by groups of civilian "ultras" of the regime who are not satisfied with the extent of offical action, Two weeks ago the headquarters of the Portuguese Society of Writers was completely smashed up by "an unknown group of people", who ieft a number of swastika badges among the debris. The Society had, according to the Portuguese newspapers, “offended the feelings of the nation" in awarding its literary prize to a white Angolaa, Jose Mateus Graca, writing under the pen=name of Luandino Vieira. Mateus Graca is at present serving a sentence of 14 years hard labour at a concentration camp in the Cape Verde Islands, for opposing the regime's colonialist policies, The Government forces, however, were not -to be outdone. The Society was banned and 3 of the members of the jury which awarded the prize arrested.
The “unknown group of people" have, meanwhile, continued their work by breaking up a leading Lisbon bookshop, "Divalgacao", which had its window decorated to the theme of "The Book and War", with C.N.D,. badges, Picasso's peace dove and books on war. ‘Swastikas were painted on its walls. The police have, naturally, been unable to find the culprits, and the manager of the bookshop was called for interrogation by the political police, P.I.D.E,
This latest show of extremist brutality, far from discouraging the Portuguese people in their strugele will increase their determination to put an end to the Fascist regime. Editorial note: This article should serve to remind British socialists of the great need to bully and harass the Government into keeping what is left of its pledges to the people of Portugal. Im particular, can we not atone, in part, for the disgraceful treatment of General Delgade by honouring Labour's pledge to stop arms exports to Portugal, where they might used for colonial oppression? Indeed, would it not be an elementary step to cut out all arms exports to Portugal, since no control exists over where they go, and since any arms left in Portugal will certainly be used against the Portuguese people. Until this happens, Mr. Wilson piles shame upon shame on the relations between British socialists and their Portuguese co-thinkers,