Date: 23 Feb 97 02:47:58 EST From: neil <74742.1651-AT-CompuServe.COM> Subject: M-G: Anti-CIA/cocaine march & rally dear friends, Saturday, there was a spirited picket line march and rally at the LA Times building then an assemblage at LA City Hall across the street followed by a lively legal march to the Ronald Reagan State bldg. then march went north 4 blocks back to the Federal Bldg. downtown. In all the anti/CIA/cocaine mass event drew about 750 protestors. The protestors denounced the CIA/contra drug connection which flooded the mainly latino and black working class area of So. Central LA with wholesaled crack cocaine beginning around 1982. The CIA/contras funneled this thru local drug dealers like "Freeway Ricky Ross" and also spreading out the "action' to include street gangs like some of the "Bloods" and the "Crips" groups.. The drug businesses are one of the main material basis for the bloody gang turf wars that have plagued LA and other cities since the early 80s. The other causes are the loss of most the industrial infrastructure and stable industry jobs that left when corporations like GM, Bethlehem Steel, Firestone, Goodrich.etc pulled up stakes from 1978-83 and packed off their capital in search of cheaper labour and supplies, materials ...higher profits.. Also continuing Federal and State social services slashes, health, education and welfare "reforms" (cuts and layoffs mainly) ordered by big business and carried thru by the Demopublicans have really started to get close to the bone marrow now-- and the cuts are not over. Also the ubiquitous racist hiring and firing practices by a great majority of Corporations has also had a demoralizing effect on those they cheat and rob heavily in poor workers communites of color.. Protestors at the LA march and rally came >from over 50 organizations at least. The protest targetted the LA Times because of the slick cover up series of articles the bourgeois paper printed in November '96 whitewashing the CIA and the rest of the US government agencies. All this in spite of the piles of evidence exposed by the Series of articles in the San Jose Mercury News last August and other credible research. Even a couple ex-cops are fessing-up to their foul deeds in protecting the CIA/contra drug sales outfits. Protestors are also angered and upset by the continued stonewalling of the "investigation" of the CIA/cocaine by Clinton's so called Justice Dept. and Congress. Many protestors felt this was a sham from the get-go. Kind of akin to asking a group of Corporate exploiters to investigate whether capital exploits and robs waged workers!. The chantings at the march were lively and militant in many contingents and they also pointed to other numerous crimes of the CIA since its inception. A minority however felt the CIA was now an anachronism since the "Cold War' is over and sowed illusions in various liberals who only want to lick the blood off the US flag and "Reform the CIA". A real bankrupt form of politics, typical of liberalism and opportunists, who fear any kind of mass movement of struggle they can't dominate and bogart. This also shows new activists inexperience and political confusions. Marxists here need to sharpen up our critique of imperialism and explain that huge CIA type secret services are used by all imperialist powers with the US the top robber at present, hence the use of huge police -intelligence forces to keep workers militancy and organizaing at bay and attack rival capitalist powers.. To really oppose the CIA, etc, you have to oppose capitalism and imperialism Many activists thought correctly that Social Control was the main reason for the CIAs crack cociane operations in the US --as well as raising money for supporting the Nicaraguan contra war (possibly 200 million dollars over 7 years from LA alone.) We can see how "successful" the US government has been when we see how they viciously mopped up the Black Panthers and Young Lords miltance and organizing against racism and class oppression in the late 60s-early 70s, including their positive work to rid communites of drug dealers and other hoodlums, including racist cops and organizing political groups to fight for steady jobs and expanded human services.. Sadly today this kind of politicization for struggle has given way to the gangs like the "Crips" and the" Bloods" who in spite of posturing end up reliant on the State, Crack Cocaine ,and contra middlemen and "turf" wars for drug markets in which thousands of innocents in LA and other US cities get caught in gang crossfire & have become stats for the morgues to count. A new movement from below , from working class forces needs to be built , onebased on socialist concepts of workers of all colors fighting the bourgeois exploiters , their rancid parties , their $300 billion/yr. drug industry used to bolster bankers/Corps. profits and keep ruling class social control in the metro cities of the USA. The marxist LA Workers' Voice distributed about 600 leaflets to protestors and passers by denouncing the congressional/CIA cover-ups and calling for new worker organizing from below to fight Welfare/SSI cuts. About a dozen other leftist outfits were also hawking their papers and leaflets and others had lit. tables in the park at City Hall. There seemed to be much open mindedness amongst most participats in the mass action. --- from list marxism-general-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
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