[Jerry Rawlings: revolutionary or opportunist? sudan rioters ON…]

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Jerry Rawlings: revolutionary or opportunist? sudan rioters ON NEW Year's Eve in Ghana, an ex-British colony on the West coast of Africa, Flight-Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings led sections of the armed forces in a coup against the corrupt pro-imperialist regime of Dr. Hilla Limann.

A Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) of military officers was set up, and measures of martial law introduced.

Limann and other officials of his People's National Party (PNP) were arrested, along with reactionary officers, and key economic and communications installations were occupied.

Within a week, Rawlings was in control.

The PNDC broadcast decrees announcing cuts in food prices and fares. People's courts and peonie's defence committees have been set up by the PNDC.

The PNDC has come to power on a platform of democratic and economic reforms. •In Rawlings' words:

"Democracy involves food, clothing and shelter. The time has come for us to restructure this society in a real and meaningful democratic way, so as to ensure the active involvement of the whole people in decision making. Only a revolutioon can rectify the problems produced by the worst regime in Ghana's history"

These words have great support amongst the mass of working people, who have known only hardship and oppression under the successive neo-colonial bosses' governments since indpendence. During Limann's rule shortages of food and other basics have become critical, inflation has reached over 100% and unemployment has risen aboves even its 'normal' massi levels.

These conditions show!

the impact ur wit capitalist crisis on Ghana, of tho worle whose economy is totally geared to the production of profits for the imperialist bankers and bosses, and their lackeys in Ghana.

The wealth produced the workers is wasted private profits and on ancing the repressive st te:

noored to protect profits.

Masses of working peo ple have no jobs, or lose their jobs, for the sole reason that the bosses do not see profits coming from investing in production and services. Peasants are forced to suffer without enough land, without cheap credit, without access to nanufactured goods and Machinery. "he mass of the people 'a constant struggle to ger oven the minimum daily needs of life. There was deep and growing anger against Limann and the bosses behind him.

This anger focussed on the blatant corruption of the regime - which is in fact just the most obvious part of the alliance between the bosses' politicians and the bosses. The politicians and officers are handsome.

ly rewarded for their services to the bosses while the people suffer.

Rawlings is speaking t the anger and the exper ience of hardship amongs the working masses. He has come to power, not through the mobilisation of the masses, but through their passive support.

Resistance to the coup amongst reactionary officers and bosses' politicians found no support amongst the people -and was quickly crushed.

Rawlings' reputation as a champion of the cause of the oppressed stems from the coup which he led in 1979 to end the corruption of the previous regime.

He quickly handed power over to Limann after elections. Limann was soon exposed as an enemy of the people, while Rawlings remained a hero.

He and his programme of reform have not been tested by the workers.

Even if Rawlings is not an opportunist, but genuninely on the side of the oppressed, it remains the ase that any reliance on WORKING CLASS youth and students in Omdurman and Khartoum (capital of Sudan) came out onto the streets last week in a fighting protest.

against massive increases in the priee of sugar (up by 62%) and other basics. Rawlings by the working elass is dangerous.

Lacking any coherent perspective of socialist revolution, he is forced to balance uneasily between the pressure of the international and national capitalists, the contradictory aspirations of his supporters in the armed forces, and the demands of the working masses.

In the new conditions opened up by the latest coup, the working class must develop its struggles, building independent organisations that can put forward their own demands as a class and give a lead to the peasantry and petit bourgeois in the establishment of a workers' and peasants' government.

From this standpoint it is correct to put demands on Rawlings to implement his call for 'revolution' • Not one of his goals can be achieved while capitalism They were attacked by police and soldiers of Numeiri's bloody regime.

But if Numeiri and the bosses behind him thought that terror would crush the protest, they were soon proved wrong. The mobilisation, far: from being broken, grew in strength and size.

By the weekend, Numeiri had ordered all schools closed down, and sent troops to occupy the university in Khartoum.

At least two people have been killed by gorernment forces. and repars speak of the worst Inis are 1976 - abet 5t5 ETEE =0.E4 "ST 2144 CH E NEMI DI remains intact.

Workers must demand the establishment of a Constituent Assembly to carry through demands that meet the needs of Ghana's proletariat and peasantry, together with the guarantee of democratic rights for the working masses.

They must call on Rawlings to break all links with Ghana's capitalists and arm the workers and peasants, who alone can defend a revolutionary regime against internal and external capitalist attack.

And while forming in each area revolutionary committees to mobilise workers and poor peasants, they must call for the establishment of committees of rank and file soldiers to build a solid base of revolutionary struggle within the armed forces.

JIM FARNHAM Machterranean Sea LIBYA EGYPT CHAD SUDAN)

FRI Khartoum Allantc River Ocean is very thin. In particular, it is not yet known to what extent workers have added their strength to the youth mobilisation. The explosion of militancy amongst the youth is a barometer of the anger and militancy within the working class as a whole.

Last June, 40,000 workers brought the railway system to a halt in a three week long wage strike (after which Numeiri threatened to execute union officials and strike leaders).

Before announcing the price rises. the government had launched a massive campaign in Khartoum and other wwns. espelling unemplosed and STELE =-CHATE lle..

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