repressive military junta National Liberation Front (FMLN).
the period of this offensive. army won't go out alone — it's too demoralised, it backbone.
Attack A diversionary force of about guerrillas held off the attack for an hour, suffering two light casualties In the mean time, force of assembled in chalant and unhurried way showing that the guerrillas perenced in dering wit. were of Jose Napoleon Duarte in the aftermath of the first phase of the 'generalised offensive' by the Farabundo Marti MIKE CHANAN was in El Salvador during He was with the guerillas, primarily in the El Vicente region of the country, filming for a television programme. He recounts his impressions for Socialist Challenge.
of the peasantry.
The main problem of the offensive was in the lowis wild te operanon of the mass organisations. Origınally, FMLN strategy was to use mass mobilisations LaKe over parts of the cities, militias defence groups and then mill tal losses. It was never the objective to permanently occupy the towns. Funeral However the level of repression had considerably risen since las! when the army went in for cold blooded massacres as the funeral Archbishop Romero, impossible the sort of mass mobilisations that had been planned It Was remarkable that despite the militarisation of the main and some so rest e activity per cent of the work force in San Salvador general strike, paralysing 40 of the largest enter prises. peasantry' ing work without adequate excuse (for example, no transport) was threatened with the sack and being handed over to the military authorities.
formed from a fusion of the military wings of four revolutionary organisations and the Communist Party.
The armed wing of the CP is fairly small, having joined the front early in 1980 after a self-criticism leading to withdrawal from the junThe FMLN is committed to smashing the junta through mobilisatons, replacing capitalist stal orcasanon. based on the masses including the militias which it promotes.
. proposes the nationalisation of all major factories and enterprises 'The FMLN has the near unanimous support of the union organisations and the General Association of Salvadoran University Students.
The FDR includes representatives from the Revolutionar National Movement (MNR) which maintains ties second international and Tne Peoples Christian Movement (MPSC) which arose out of splits the Christian Democratic Party. The bourgeois representatives the MNR and the MPSC accept the leadership of the struggle by the FMLN.
The Duarte junta would survive will trig backing Already Honduran and Guatemalan operating boraer regions of Salvador.
In Santa Ana there is a 500-strong contingent of ex-Somoza ning of Sunday January.
Ever cursory analysis shows that these were in the streets with the aris US 'advisors' have been killed including Olit positively identified as a certain Thoma. Bracken. Il l claimed that planes which carried out bomb raids in Chaletenango the north of the country had US pilots It is clear that US im perialism, either directly r through its puppets i Juatemala or Hondura: is prepared to invade to this which 1980 alone claimed 13,000 lives In an interview which ConducTed the main leader of the Salvador Cayetano Carpio, he renewed his appeal to the people of the world to
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HONDURAS SALVAD San Fr. Gortera Zacatecoluca
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