The most explosive issue in Spain today is that of the thousands of political prisoners sitting in Juan Carlos's prisons. They are living symbols of the nature of the Franco regime - a brutal dictatorship pledged to crush every expression of independent action by the working class.
For that reason no regime in spain can even make an effective pretence at being democratic' unless it first releases all these antifascist fighters. But at the same time the defenders of the old order see the continued persecution of the prisoners as essential to upholding their cause.
Caught between these forces -in this matter as in all others - the heir of Franco, King Juan Carlos, can do nothing. The indulto (amnesty) which he proclaimed on his accession is totally phony. cludes anyone accused of "terrorist" crimes (including belonging to a "terrorist' organisation - i.e. every group to the left of the Socialist Party) and thus only affects a tiny proportion of the political prisoners. because of the decision to step up repression against the workers' strug gles in the Basque country.
Carlos was being crowned and the heads of capitalist Europe were toasting his 'democratic' pledges, thousands of people demonstrating in Madrid, San Sebastian and Barcelona to demand the release of all anti-fascist prisoners were getting a first taste of this democracy it carried the same reek of tear gas and the same sting of police batons that has characterised the Franco dictatorship for nearlv fortv vears
In the wake of the abortive revolt by left-wing soldiers in Lisbon last week, the Portuguese Government has been able to undertake repressive moves it had previously only been able to dream about.
The brunt of the repression has been borne by those militants in the army who have dared to challenge the holy principle that soldiers owe their unquestioning loyalRed Weekly 4 December 1975