Date: Sun, 22 Dec 1996 21:16:03 +0000
Subject: M-G: PERU: MRTA Seeks Only Dialogue.


               MRTA ARMED REVISIONISM
      EVERYTHING FOR DIALOGUE NOTHING FOR REVOLUTION. 

The world has witnessed the spectacular seizure of the Japanese
Embassy by the MRTA, a small revisionist group that emerged in 1984
>from the remains of  "focoist"organizations of the 60's (followers of
Che Guevara's foco theory) and sectors of APRA, a party of the
Peruvian oligarchy. The attention of the world imperialist media is
again on Peru to demonize the actions of the insurgency. However, it
is helping to expose the farce of a "pacified country," "booming
economy," and "defeated Sendero" at the time when even the "dead" and
many times "buried" MRTA walks again.  

The Embassy take over is a good political test for the MRTA. They have
in their hands legitimate targets of any revolution: dozens of war
criminals and heads of death squads, intelligence advisors (allegedly
4 to 6 CIA operatives), notorious exploiters and blood suckers of the
Peruvian masses, and representatives of several imperialist countries,
etc.  What is the MRTA going to do? Two outcomes are expected:
genocide and/or class conciliation. The former is the specialty of the
Peruvian armed forces (and its Yankee advisors) and the latter is
inherent in the MRTA. These two options for the Fujimori regime have
already been delineated by U.S. State Department spokesman Nicholas
Burns and William Perry, head of the Yankee Pentagon, who along with
Germany and Japan have sent special assault forces and high tech
equipment to Peru. This proves once more that it is Yankee imperialism
that leads the low intensity warfare against the Peruvian people.

                           IDEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND.

MRTA proclaims it is making revolution by means of "all forms of
struggle," and follows the example of M-19 from Colombia and the FMLN
in El Salvador, seeking their own insertion into the capitalist
system, thus serving the old State. Initially, their aim was to become
an armed tool of the United Left (IU), especially when this loose
coalition of opportunists was supporting the APRA regime of Alan
Garcia Perez. At the start,  MRTA attacked the People's War (mostly
through the bourgeois media), but gave the regime one year of truce to
"solve the problems of the country." When the truce expired, the MRTA
through the reactionary media, called for "peace negotiations" with
the government on every occasion when the People's War was involved in
great political and military offensives nationwide (e.g., armed
strikes). The purpose was to sow confusion and demoralization among
the masses. Also, there were cases in which the MRTA joined the armed
forces in fighting the People's Army led by the PCP (e.g., Department
of San Mart=EDn in 1991.)

What we wish to emphasize is the fundamentally different natures of
the strategies and tactics of the PCP and the MRTA.  Ours is a road
that leads to the conquest of power countrywide; theirs is one that
leads only to negotiations for reforms and capitulation, down the
well-worn path of M-19 in Colombia and Central America.  This is the
difference between a genuine People's War and the tactics of armed
revisionism.

The MRTA's actions are aimed at gaining publicity and at making
demands on the reactionaries isolated from the masses.  The PCP's
actions are not aimed at taking hostages for ransom, but at building
the New Power, towards the conquest of power countrywide. 

For example, the MRTA, like many other armed revisionist movements,
often kidnaps wealthy businessmen for ransom.  The PCP, in contrast,
believes in self-reliance and support from the masses.  The People's
Army of Liberation not only is ingrained in the masses for support and
intelligence,  but also engages in production in large portions of the
country so as not to be a burden on the people.  That's the way the
New Power is being built. 

The MRTA carries out elaborate commando-style actions that create
headlines, such as the overrun of a police station in the city of
Juanjui, Department of  San Martin in 1990.  Regarding that, the PCP
pointed out in the 1991 document "On the Two Hills": 

"In their own communique they claim that it was a `political-military
campaign to call the national and international attention to the
situation of  neglect in the region, the corruption of many of its
authorities, and the abuse and omnipotence of the  military. Their
political objective defines their type of actions, and this was a
simple propaganda action.  And why do they call for attention?  They
say nothing about the  systemic causes of exploitation of the people,
or the semi-feudal, semi-colonial or bureaucratic capitalist character
of our society; they list no causes within the political
superstructure or in the character of the old state, through which the
class regime of  Fujimori acts, because for them the problem of
Fujimori is one of `the inhumane policies of Sr. Fujimori', or the
`fraud of electoral promises' or `submission to the international
bankers' or the `surrender of our sovereignty through the anti-drug
treaty.'  For them, the problem is not the exploiter, the big
bourgeoisie nor the landowner nor principally Yankee imperialism. 

"As to the propaganda actions themselves, these are few compared with
the thousands of actions carried out by the Party, which for more than
eleven years has been conducting guerrilla attacks on military posts,
simultaneously in all the regions of the country, not in just one, as
part of a unified program armed actions such as sabotages, blockades,
blackouts, arms seizures, and the capture of enemy forces; or compared
to the retention of our forces in the cities and strategic points,
including massive propaganda actions in base areas, and people's
assemblies for agitation and armed propaganda, including people's
trials.  Thus, MRTA's action was nothing but a small and deformed type
of propaganda action which failed them. Its purpose was to call
attention, but to date they have not addressed the problems of the
province, and by the way, they have not even denounced the genocide
which continues today. 

"As to the policy with prisoners, we apply our political principles,
because those taken prisoners are asked if they want to return, if
they want to desert, or if they want to join us. We never, on
principle, return them to the enemy like they did in a spectacle with
the Catholic Church....President Gonzalo teaches us that for the MRTA
the question is `everything for dialogue,' nothing for revolution,
revolutionary war or new power'; and `everything in the name of peace
based on justice and the sovereignty of our people.'"

 President Gonzalo also said of MRTA: "Finally, another issue that
 makes us different--and forgive me if I'm insistent--it concerns
 independence, self-reliance, and making our own decisions. Because
 others do not have these characteristics they are used as pawns,
 while we are not. However, there is one far-reaching difference: We
 uphold Marxism-Leninism-Maoism as our guide, others do not. In sum,
 the greatest difference, the fundamental difference, is in the point
 of departure: Ours is the ideology of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism,
 principally Maoism, applied to the specific conditions of our
 country. I insist here again, that it is very clear that they show
 their falsity of their accusations of "dogmatism" against us--which
 they do at the behest of their masters."

While some of the MRTA's actions, such as today's at the Japanese
Embassy, have an anti-imperialist character, they are not part of  the
struggle for socialism or for the true liberation of the people from
imperialism as is the People's War led by the PCP.

Peru People's Movement (MPP)
December 1996.

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Published by The New Flag, a magazine at the service of the oppressed
people in Peru. 30-08 Broadway, Suite 159, Queens, NY 11106. USA.
E-mail:lquispe-AT-nyxfer.blythe.org PCP Web Page:
http//www.blythe.org/peru-pcp
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