'DEFEND the Bill of Rights Secret Police' was the theme of a rally here on 6 June that drew close to 700 participants. The rally was sponsored by the Political Rights Defence Fund, which is supporting the Socialist Workers Party Young Socialist against government spying.
The first speaker was Morton Sobell, the codefendant who served fifteen years in a federal prison following the witch-hunt tria! that resulted in the execution of the Rosenbergs in 1953 He stressed an McCarthy tor Surviva ero go vernment s campaign to brand Today everything it doesn't like as 'terrorism' is going over like a lead balloon. ding ovation.
Jack Barnes, national secretary of the Socialist Workers Party, explained why the SWP had reTHE POLISH Communist opens in two weeks' time. It will confirm the process of 'socialist renewal' opened by last summer's massive strike wave and deepen the fears of the Soviet bureaucracy.
The majority of delegates to the vartv congress have „OW been elected. Hightv per cent of them are new to such con### Against Cosullay on ine Alliance trial important difference with the 'capitalism is fighting Sobell received a stanParty congress ferences and a third are members of Solidarity. These are the delegates who are likely to lead the campaign sweeping monetary damages only. Referring to one of the documents released by the government in court a few days earlier, which admits that the programme to disrupt the left was approved by then-president Eisenhower, Barnes said:
'We believe that no amount of money on earth could buy this. It is proof positive that what we have is not a runaway FBI but a conscious decision by the president of the United States to instruct the federal police to carry out these activities.' The fight against the frame-up on bombing charges of the NASSCO Three, Diego trade unionists convicted the night before testimony ot an • FBI provocateur, brought to the rally by Gwen Ferguson, presidentelect of Ironworkers Local 627.
A speaker who drew a particularly response from the audience was Ateni Shakur, a member of the National Black United Front and one of the Panther 21 defendants jailed in 1971 on frame-up bomb conspiracy charges.
Black activist and entertainer Dick Gregory, been released following a protest at the House asked for a moment of silence for the murdered children of Atlanta.
One of the things we've found out through the SWP suit, he said, is that 'this mess has been going on tor more than forty vears Carter, they're all the same.' He continued: 'I want to thank the SWP for not compromising in this struggle. You've got a whole lot of people's atchanges to Ine party's hierarchical structures.
But two thirds of the delegates are not elected from the workplaces but Cnosen provincial party conferences. The Dally larger provinces like War- Hiculucis the Usa Wi and Katowice have not been to tne torenron of the radical movement.
ACIC S LICICIOIC EKCIY LO be majority for the mouc alc reform' perspective of the party Ieducs like Kania and General Jaruzelski. Key Kania's programme does not challenge the fundamental bases ; of bureaucratic rule in Poland. He does not call for a separation of the functions of the party and the state - at present party nominates members to all The kev bosa luc slalc Nor will Kania sanction real democratisation of the party - recallability of officials, the organisation of tendencies or rank and file 'horizontal' structures.
SUDOOTLS the 'renewal' movement in the short term while working in the long term to restore the authority of the party over San was warm jail in White tention.' LBJ, Reagan. infringement of the 1946 censorship law.
In Poznan a new hardline (TOTUl emerged claiming 400 members.
Morton Sobell and other speakers at the New York rally A total of more than $8, 700 was contributed in pledges and donations to help further the work of the Political Rights Defence Fund. This, combined with the collection at the door, brought the evenPolish workers have set up new 'popular universities' the destabilising effects of LICtOVel ot cadre a1 every level of the party.
DEFEND THE BILL OF RIGHTS AGAINST SECRET POLICE King's proceeds to more tnan $10,000.
Chairperson Annette Rubenstein, summing up the response put it quite simply: This case is today what the Rosenberg-Sobell case was in the fitties.