from Dave Windsor
Our last issue carried extracts from a report on the opening stages of the trial of Hugo Blanco and others involved in the peasants' struggles in Peru. We follow with a brief account of the final days leading up to the savage sentences passed against Blanco and his co-defendants. The account is extracted from | World Outlook: The Peruvian military authorities, acting as both prosecution and judge, sent~ enced Hugo Blanco, the peasant leader, to 25 years in the grim prison of EL Fronton. His co-defendent Pedro Candelo was given 22 years ... and six others received sentences ranging up to 5 years. ... Up to the final moment on Sept 8, it was feared that the military might carry out the plan they had reportedly envisaged — giving Blanco the death sentence. Evidently they reconsidered in view of the reaction that was visible even in the small town court room of Tacna where people lined up for admission ... and where the audience clearly favoured the prisoners, at times expressing such sympathy that the judge had to clear the dourt. Despite the fierce repression in Peru and all the efforts to railroad the trial through in a hurry in the remote town of Tacna, near the border of Chile, it was clearly evident that nationwide sympathy for the prisoners was building up. Each day of the trial was featured in sensational headlines in the Lima press. Despite the garbled accounts, the heroic stand of the defendants broke through and ... echoed through the country. In addition, expressions of international sympathy were mounting, If Blanco were condemed these could rise to a storm of protest. Evidently the military decided that it was better to give a long sentence in the notorious dungeons of El Fronton. In Peru, where students and unionists were mobilising support for the defendants, the reaction to the trial and long sentences was immediate. Meanwhile, abroad, Bertrand Russell and Jean~Paul Sartre had joined the long list of distinguished figures appealing to President Belaunde for an immediate amesty. When Hugo Blanco was placed on the stand he was questioned for 2 hours, but very little of what he said concerning his political vieww and aims in the peasant struggle appeared in the biased Peruvian press. ... He indignantly denied that he had conmitted any crime and said that he was guilty only of initiating an agrarian reform. "I am contented with everything I have done for the peasants and I can now die tranquilly." At one point before the packed courtroom, Hugo . Blanco levelled an accusing finger at the consulting judge who had demanded the . death penalty. "If the death penalty is going to be applied against me,” he said, "then don't let a guard be the one to have to fire the shot, but the ‘ auditor Fernandez -— with his own hand 4" In face of the tumultuous response of the audience the judge suspended the hearing. Speaking for the defence, Dr. Batillana sought to bring out the humanitarian aims of the defendants as well as their political views. He challenged the jurisdiction of the court, stating that the charges should have been brought before a civil court. The military, he said, had not only acted as the prosecution but also as the judge. If the defendants were found guilty, he said, he would take the case to the supreme court. Pedro Candela's attorney, Doctora Laura Caller continued this line of argument .... After recessing for 8 hours, the judge opened the final session. Sentences of 2 to 5 years were passed on seven of the defendants, Candela was given 22 years, terminating 1985. Hugo Blanco was sentenced to 25 years, terminating 1988. He rose to his feet, "Tacna has passed down its sentence, The people will soon hand down theirs. Tierva o Muerte }" "Tierra o Muerte" responded the audience, and the judge ordered the court to be cleared. Both Blanco and Candela stated at once that they would appeal against the savage sentences.
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