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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Volume 36, Number 20. 29th August 1973

A Report From Chile 'Fatherland & Freedom'

page 6

A Report From Chile 'Fatherland & Freedom'

Shortly after being interviewed for Salient 15 Bob Jones left for South America. He promised to send back to Salient some impressions of the countries he is visiting. Below we print the first article received. If God, the Tupamaros, and the South American mails are willing, we will be printing more. Meanwhile........

Since my letter sent from Uruguay [not yet received - Eds.] further events have placed a different complexion on the Chilean scene.

Since writing to you the assassination of President Allende's military aide-de-camp has heated things up and if not on this occasion, then certainly on some future similarly created occasion, they will be brought to the boil.

I perhaps erred in not fully describing the composition of Allende's opposition in my earlier report but it is not sufficient to group it merely in the form of the parliamentary opposition and the other perhaps more significant component, public opinion.

The purpose of this report is to tell you about an interesting and logical development in Chile and that is the movement known as 'Fatherland and Freedom'.

Fatherland and Freedom was formed in late 1970 with the election of Allende's government. Led by Pablo Rodriguez, a reputedly brilliant criminal lawyer and well known figure, its original objective was to dissuade the Christian Democrats from ratifying Allende's election in congress in view of Allende's failure to gain an absolute majority.

Since then the organisation has acquired considerable strength although it has been underground since the abortive coup attempt earlier this month, which Fatherland and Freedom has publicly claimed credit for organising. (There is some dispute about the validity of this claim.)

A military court of enquiry indirectly linked Fatherland and Freedom with the October 1970 assassination of General S. Chneider, the then Chilean Commander-in-Chief and it is clear that the organisations right wing fanaticism matches the militant left Government-supporting factions.

In the early months of Allende's rule squads of Fatherland and Freedom members often wearing black helmets and black handkerchiefs over their faces, frequently paraded in the streets of Santiago, protesting against the new government and wielding chains and clubs they broke up the government supporter marches and demonstrations.

Apparently Fatherland and Freedom is well funded and runs para-military training camps as well as night patrols in the wealthy districts of Santiago. In the light of events in the countryside these patrols were not without justification and they have succeeded in protecting private residential property.

To date Fatherland and Freedom has made no attempt to run for political office possibly because among its expressed aims is the abolition of an elected parliament and its replacement by a parliament composed of representatives chosen from professional groups - a sort of corporate government. The movement is strongly nationalistic.

The movement has adopted an inverted swastika as its insignia and is openly modelled on Hitler's Nazi Party. Rodriguez has the official title of chief.

The murder of Allende's aide-de-camp was immediately attributed by the government to Fatherland and Freedom but the organisation has officially denied credit.

Since the June 29 coup attempt which claimed 22 lives. Rodriguez and five of his associates have been living in Equador and directing operations from there.

Photo of Peasant land grabbers

Peasant land grabbers

Photo of President Allende

Allende

The whole situation is highly complex. Both Fatherland and Freedom and their left wing counterpart fanatics the MIR have the same aspirations centred around the military. The MIR (Chilean Revolutionary Movement) has also been accused of the aide's murder in the hope that the army would be driven into a more vigorous support of the government by the acceptance of cabinet positions.

Fatherland and Freedom want the army to intervene and overthrow the government because of the economic mess it has created.

The main opposition party, the Christian Democrats are being wooed by Allende in a desperate attempt to save his government with the carrot of a coalition. Their leaders had talks recently with Allende but they appear to have resisted his overture.

The Christian Democrats are concerned with the prospect of civil war and army intervention. Both of these prospects seem probable if Allende is allowed to serve out his term.

The Christian Democrats aspirations are simple. They want Allende to serve out his term knowing full well that they will win the next elections by a massive majority and every subsequent election for generations to come. Such is the chaos prevailing in Chile today with the distinct likelihood of a complete breakdown in industry and food production, that the prospect of Allende serving his full term is remote. The events that will end Allende's reign of negligence, either civil war or a military takeover, will eliminate the Christian Democrat Party hopes of regaining control. Accordingly they have a very definite vested interest in maintaining a constitutional government with Allende in control.