BRITISH destroyers have been involved in a NATO exercise in 'dummy run' of a future invasion of Grenada, plans to •send a Margaret Thatcher volvement in a military exercise which is threatening a fellow commonwealth country.
The exercise entitled Ocean Venture 81 is under the joint command of the Us armv. Havy and Alli torces MOLO than 120,000 military personnel trom 4 countries. It is touted as the largest maritime exercise since the Second World War.
Rear Admiral Robert P McKenzie, who •was charge Caribbean phase described the cise as a show of military might 'We're here to reinforce in the eyes and minds of those watching, military commitment around the give an example OI the ability of one facet of the US capabilities to respond in the carlobean Dasil, ne said.
The Admiral revealed the thinking behind the millary manouevres In tne area - 'The Cuban missile crisis of 1962 was the last time we looked seriously at this part of the world.
'During the period in between Castro seizea or. the unemployment and unrest in the region spread terrorism, revolution and communism. Grenada are esad Cuba and practically one country Earlier this year an arTice enter menace threat to America's Caribbean Oil Koutes' appeared in the May-June issue of National Defence, the Pinochet of Chile with ex-dictator Gairy Support grows for Salvadoran liberation movement THE governments of France and Mexico issued a joint statement last weekend in support of the liberation movements in El Salvador.
They recognised the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) and the Revolutionary Democratic Front (FDR) as 'a representative political force' with whom the government should negotiate to find a political solution to the The statement ¡merican State Department that has recently stepses is its military aid to the brutal regime of oгхr burge the Caribbean that is special letter to protesting inright wing journal of the American Defense Preparedness Association.
claimed that Grenada has strategic importance in the Carib. bean. 'It is viewed as an important addition to the Soviet hegemony by Warsaw Pact strategists.
The author, Timothy Ashby, explained within a five hundred mile radius of the island are oilfields and refineries which current supply 56 per cent of the consumed the caster seaboard of the Ashby reckons that Russian-built MiG-27s overde Grenada could destroy facilities in Trinidad and St Lucia In ten minutes, in Venezuela in 17-25 minutes and in the Antilles in 35 minutes.
Now all of this could be the simple rantings of the ultra-right, except that it is echoed by the military spokespeople the Ocean Venture 81 project willet Rear Admiral McKenzie pointed to 'the importance of the Atlantic sea lanes, along which trave over cent US's imported oil, 65 per COlL bauxite and other strategic and nonstrategic imports.
'new (US) Adre istratine will take a more active inLEI CO America's vital Caribbean DIOCCLINS interests was received coldly by the significant step should be used by the movement in this country and abroad to ine campaign for recognition of the FDR • is he legitimate representatives of the " reople and for an end to militar! Maurice Bishop, Grenada PM predecessor did.' He goes on lo say, 'A re-institution of the is and's westminster-stvie would be a goveruucll.. lcCcosary towards United first Nations step supervised elections a la Zimbabwe.
*Given control over their own political destiny again. there is everv reason to believe that the people of Grenada will follow the example OI Jamaica in electing a democratic pro-Western government.
It was the destabilisation programme launched by the CIA that gave the recent victory to Seaga's right wing Jamaica Labour Party in Jamaica. It is clear that the schemes of invading Grenada have a similar aim of creating the conditions for a return to a pro-US government From the moment that ex-dictator Gairy was overthrown March 1979, the USA has been considering ways isolating smashing Maurice Bishop's People's Revolutionary GovernMercenaries training in Miami and Atlanta have publicly admitted that they are preparing for possible invasions of Grenada and In June 1980 a bomb exploded close to the leadership of the Revolutionary Government was sitting, killing three youths and injuring almost 100 people.
The main imperialist weapon against Grenada is the blocking BOUC OI needed economic aid to build their airport, and to repair hurricane damage Along with direct inthe US have been responsible for an international of vilification of Grenada.
Grenada's Prime Minister Maurice Bishop is appealing for internanona. support and says that his government is convinced of the threat from 'documentary and circumstantial evidence and recent intelligence reports'.
In Britain on August around 100 people mainly black, picketed the US embassy in Grosvenor Square demanding hands off Grenada.
The Grenadan High Commissioner, who had just returned Grenada, claims that 'his people are in a mood ol total readiness to defend Grenada and that the Us government should know tal icy run luc ualizel Ul having to destroy the entire population While the US government has since denied that military exercise had any sinister intent, ists in this countrv should remain alert to the possibility of an invasion and of Britten insent.
The gains the Grenadan, Cuban and revolutions must be defended.
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according to Fennis Augustin, Grenadan High Commissioner in London.
Solidarity with the people of