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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (March 9, 1981)
Chilean exile predicts rebellion By LESLIE FARRIS Of the Emerald The Chilean vote last September granting a 16-year presidency to Augusto Pin ochet, head of the military junta, was a farce and only encouraged a growing mass rebellion. So said Chilean exile Virginia Alarcon in a Friday press conference at the Eugene Pub lic Library. The ex-political pri soner’s visit was in honor of International Women’s Day and was sponsored by the African Peoples Solidarity Committee. Alarcon said the military junta that seized power in a 1973 coup has tried to repress all grassroots organizing. But since 1978, many sectors of Chilian society have been coor dinating efforts leading to the overthow of the military dicta torship. ‘‘There has been a great resurgence of the mass movement in Chile throughout many different sectors — even those that have been absent since the military coup,” said Alarcon, speaking through a translator. “That situation is even more defined since last year’s plebiscite.” The mandatory September plebiscite — or national election — asked Chileans to approve a proposed constitution. The junta announced a six-month to Photo by Dennis Tachibana Virginia Ailarcon three-year prison term and a stiff fine for anyone not voting, Alarcon said. The constitution, which granted Pinochet at least a 16-year term as president, received 63-percent yes votes. Alarcon said there was no proof of falsification, but many voting tables were staffed by upper class supporters creating an “environment of threat.” Prior to the plebiscite, Alarcon said, the traditional left-wing parties of Chile and the bourgeois opposition, represented by the Christian Democrat party, were working toward a class alliance and an alternative to the military dicta torship. “But the plebiscite caused the different social forces within Chile to polarize, and the great majority of people have realized the only way to get rid of the military dictatorship is through rebellion. The new constitution — taking effect March 11 — legitimizes an illegal government." Through 1978-79, the junta tried to “institutionalize itself" in all sectors of society, Alarcon said. But the attempt failed partly because of the “extremely well-organized and very well-received" popular movement of resistance. And the bourgeois opposi tion, including the small bus iness owners and manufac turers, also may be moving toward resistance because for eign investors have closed their markets, she said. Last June, a group of shanty town dwellers — homeless people who settle unoccupied land — were able to repel attacks by police. They were supported by the trade unions, students, human rights groups and groups of families of poli tical prisoners, she said. “After this period of intense activity, the shanty-town dwellers stepped back and the Chma stresses productivity but stays austere, expert says By JEFF BAKER Of the Emerald Despite great leaps forward, China will remain economically backward, a leading China expert said Friday. Ross Terrill, a research associate at Harvard University and author of five books on China, spoke on "The Problem of Mao and a Changing China.” "China will remain very austere for a long time to come,” Terrill told about 200 people. In outlining the four broad changes since Mao’s death in 1976, Terrill said economics is now the chief priority. Chinese leaders discuss economics more now than at any time since the 1949 revolution, Terrill said. Productivity is emphasized, with people told to "work hard and seek results." An effort to rid China of Maoist ideology is the second great change, Terrill said. Chinese leaders are speaking in value-free terms, con spicuously omitting Marxist-Leninist ideology, he says. "The science of management is big in China now. Chinese leaders say the class struggle is over.” Terrill said he believes “Marxism is an id eology that is dying in China." Stepping away from the arbitrariness of the Mao era is the third great change, Terrill said. Constitutional democracy is not on the agenda, but individual rights and responsibilities are increasing, he said. Many current Chinese leaders are victims of the Mao era, Terrill said. Vice Premier Deng Hsiao-ping's wife is opening an ombudsman’s office to deal with victims of Maoist purges. “There is a fragile but real feeling of fraternity between the government and people of China." A new degree of openness to non-Chinese ideas that would "make Mao turn over in his mauseleum" is the fourth great change, said Terrill. Books and television are "almost cos mopolitan by the standards of a decade ago. "Mao himself was the architect of a pro Western policy at a time (the mid-1960s) when Deng disagreed." The Chinese want to trade and are willing to "open the door of culture and intellectual freedom,” Terrill said. West Germany and Japan are mentioned' more often as economic models, he said. "So long in its own world, China is now reaching out its hand in the quest for ideas.” The author of a recent biography of Chair man Mao, Terrill devoted time to the man he called “Marx, Lenin and Stalin rolled into one.” "He was Marxist in his political analysis, Leninist in his seizure of power, and Stalinist in that he lived on for 27 years trying to implement his vision.” CENTER TEST PREPARATION SPECIALISTS SINCE 1938 485-5699 SPRING VACATION HAWAII March 21-28 $419.00 Airfare only Limited space available Call 687-2825 EUGENE TRAVEL 831 E, 13th Eugene, Or 97401 human rights groups began taking part in hunger strikes, marches, demonstrations and symbolic takeovers of embassies,” Alarcon said. “Again, all this activity was sup ported by the other sectors.” Then the trade unions began striking and university students refused to attend classes until intelligence-gathering activities ceased on campuses. Of course, all this rebellion met with increased repression, she said. Most universities were closed, and the 11 that remained open were made into private institutions available on ly to the wealthy Political pri (University of California, Santa Cruz WILDERNESS LEADERSHIP SCHOOL Spring Quarter, 20 Units April 20 - July 3 Backpacking in the Sierra Nevada TEACHING CREDENTIAL Financial Assistance Grants Available Phone (408) 429-2822 or write: JOSEPH LE CONTE FIELD SCHOOL Sierra Institute Cardiff House University of California ^ Santa Cruz, Ca 95064 soners were dispersed throughout the country, violat ing an agreement between Chile and the United Nations, she said. Military tribunals were reac tivated this year with Pinochet serving as supreme judge. "What bothers the authorities most is the coordination between the groups — the trade unions, the students and the human rights groups." Alarcon has been imprisoned and tortured twice for helping political prisoners. 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