The Save Hugo Blanco Campaign

from Charles van Gelderen A well attended meeting at the Caxton Hall, London, on Thursday January 26, launched the British Campaign to save Hugo Blanco, Syd Bidwell, Labour MP for Southall, was theprincipal speaker. He expressed his complete solidarity with Hugo Blanco's struggle to organise the oppressed peasants of Peru, protested at the savage sentence passed on him by a military court and added his voice to the world-wide demand for an amnesty. Bill Molloy, MP for Ealing North, who had also agreed to speak at the meeting, was unable to do so because of a last-minute constituency engegement, but he sent a message of support through Syd Bidwell, Freda Laski, widow of the late Harold Laski, gave a moving account of the servile conditions under which the peasants of Peru were living and working, She said their status was little better than that of chattel slaves and she urged that all should be done to save Hugo Blanco and to give support to the movement he led, Messages were received from Ernie Roberts, Assistant General Secretary of the A,E.U., who conveyed his "personal opposition to the attempted legal assassination of Hugo Blanco." He called on the British trade union movement to "voice its opposition to this attempt to kill a man for his opinions," Bill Jones, of the T&GWU, also expressed his regret that a previous engage~..:. ment prevented him from being present. "IT have no hesitation," he said, "in supporting all your efforts on behalf of Blanco and wish them every success," Speakers from the International Socialist Group and the Irish Workers! League also addressed the meeting and expressed their solidarity with the campaign, Kenneth Jordan, Executive member of the Pan-African Congress of South Africa, drew a parallel between the situation in Peru and South Africa, where the peasants were also fighting for the most elementary human rights, Eightyfive members of his organisation had been executed for political activities since 1945 and nine were now under sentence of death in Cape Town. It was agreed to send a protest to the Peruvian Embassy in the name of the meeting, Since the first appeal on behalf of Hugo Blanco appeared in Tribune a few weeks ago, numerous letters of protest from individuals and organisations have been sent to the Embassy. None has been acknowledged. The Movement for Colonial Freedom, whose speaker was also unable to appear at the last moment, sent a message of solidarity and protest.