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<font size=5 color="#800080"><b>3 Pieces Follow - <br><br>
</b></font><font size=3>On Lynching And The Ku Klux Klan<br>
<i>By Ho Chi Minh (1924)<br>
<br>
</i>It is well known that the Black race is the most oppressed and the
most exploited of the human family. It is well known that the spread of
capitalism and the discovery of the New World had as an immediate result
the rebirth of slavery, which was for centuries a scourge for the Negroes
and a bitter disgrace for mankind.<br>
<br>
What everyone does not perhaps know is that after sixty-five years of
so-called emancipation, American Negroes still endure atrocious moral and
material sufferings, of which the most cruel and horrible is the custom
of lynching.<br>
<br>
The word “lynching” comes from Lynch. Lynch was the name of a planter in
Virginia, a landlord and judge. Availing himself of the troubles of the
War of Independence, he took the control of the whole district into his
hands. He inflicted the most savage punishment, without trial or process
of law, on Loyalists and Tories. Thanks to the slave traders, the Ku Klux
Klan, and other secret societies, the illegal and barbarous practice of
lynching is spreading and continuing widely in the States of the American
Union. It has become more inhuman since the emancipation of the Blacks,
and is especially directed at the latter...<br>
<br>
From 1899 to 1919, 2,600 Blacks were lynched, including 51 women and
girls and ten former Great War soldiers. Among 78 Black lynched in 1919,
11 were burned alive, three burned after having been killed, 31 shot,
three tortured to death, one cut into pieces, one drowned, and 11 put to
death by various means.<br>
<br>
Georgia heads the list with 22 victims, Mississippi follows with 12. Both
have also three lynched soldiers to their credit. Of the 11 burned alive,
the first State has four and the second two. Out of 34 cases of
systematic, premeditated and organized lynching, it is still Georgia that
holds first place with five. Mississippi comes second with three.<br>
<br>
Among the charges brought against the victims of 1919, we note: one of
having been a member of the League of Non-Partisans (independent
farmers); one of having distributed revolutionary publications; one of
expressing his opinion on lynchings too freely; one of having criticized
the clashes between Whites and Blacks in Chicago; one of having been
known as a leader of the cause of the Blacks; one for not getting out of
the way and thus frightening a white child who was in a motorcar. In
1920, there were fifty lynchings, and in 1922 there were
twenty-eight.<br>
<br>
These crimes were all motivated by economic jealousy. Either the Negroes
in the area were more prosperous than the Whites, or the Black workers
would not let themselves be exploited thoroughly. In all cases, the
principle culprits were never troubled, for the simple reason that they
were always incited, encouraged, spurred on, then protected by
politicians, financiers, and authorities, and above all, by the
reactionary press...<br>
<br>
The place of origin of the Ku Klux Klan is the Southern United States. In
May, 1866, after the Civil War, young people gathered together in a small
locality of the State of Tennessee to set up a club. A question of
whiling away the time. This organization was given the name “kuklos”, a
Greek word meaning “club”. To Americanize the word, it was changed into
Ku Klux. Hence, for more originality, Ku Klux Klan.<br>
<br>
After big social upheavals, the public mind is naturally unsettled. It
becomes avid for new stimuli and inclined to mysticism. The KKK, with its
strange garb, its bizarre rituals, its mysteries, and its secrecy,
irresistibly attracted the curiosity of the Whites in the Southern States
and became very popular. It consisted at first of only a group of snobs
and idlers, without political or social purpose. Cunning elements
discovered in it a force able to serve their political ambitions. The
victory of the Federal Government had just freed the Negroes and made
them citizens. The agriculture of the South - deprived of its Black
labor, was short of hands. Former landlords were exposed to ruin.<br>
<br>
The Klansmen proclaimed the principle of the supremacy of the white race.
Anti Negro was their only policy. The agrarian and slaveholding
bourgeoisie saw in the Klan a useful agent, almost a savior. They gave it
all the help in their power. The Klan’s methods ranged from intimidation
to murder...<br>
<br>
The Klan is for many reasons doomed to disappear. The Negroes, having
learned during the war that they are a force if united, are no longer
allowing their kinsmen to be beaten or murdered with impunity. They are
replying to each attempt at violence by the Klan. In July 1919, in
Washington, they stood up to the Klan and a wild mob. The battle raged in
the capital for four days. In August, they fought for five days against
the Klan and the mob in Chicago. Seven regiments were mobilized to
restore order. In September the government was obliged to send federal
troops to Omaha to put down similar strife. In various other States the
Negroes defend themselves no less energetically.<br>
<br>
**********************************************<br>
<b>FROM:<br>
</b>THE BLACK COMMENTATOR<br>
ISSUE 139<br>
19 MAY 2005<br><br>
<b>MALCOLM X AND THE MUSIC<br><br>
By Norman (Otis) Richmond <br>
GUEST COMMENTATOR <br><br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.blackcommentator.com/139/139_malcolm.html">
http://www.blackcommentator.com/139/139_malcolm.html</a><br><br>
El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X)</b> was assassinated 40 years ago,
on February 21, 1965, because of his attempt to internationalize the
African American liberation struggle. <br><br>
Malcolm was born 80 years ago on May 19, 1925. While it is unlikely that
U.S. President George W. Bush will acknowledge these facts, people from
Cape Town to Nova Scotia and Brazil to Brixton definitely will. African
Americans in New York City have made a pilgrimage to Malcolm's gravesite
every year since February 21, 1966.<br><br>
Contrary to popular belief, it was Malcolm, not Martin Luther King, who
first opposed the war in Vietnam. Malcolm was the first African American
leader of national prominence in the 1960s to condemn the war. He was
joined by organizations like the Revolutionary Action Movement and the
Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. This was in the tradition of
David Walker, Henry Highland Garnet, Martin R. Delaney, Bishop Henry
McNeil Turner, W.E.B. Du Bois, Marcus Garvey, Ella Baker and Paul
Robeson. Malcolm continued to link the struggles of African people
worldwide. King came out against the Vietnam War after his famous April
4, 1967 speech at Riverside Church in New York City. Malcolm spoke
against this war from the get-go.<br><br>
Musicians did their part to keep Malcolm's name alive. Long before Spike
Lee's 1992 bio-pic, “X,” hip-hop, house, reggae and R 'n' B artists
created music for Malcolm, high-life and great Black music (so-called
jazz) artists first wrote and sang about Malcolm. The dance of Malcolm's
time was the "lindy-hop" and he was a master of it. The
Autobiography of Malcolm X, which Malcolm wrote with the assistance of
Alex Haley, gives a vivid description of his love of dancing.<br><br>
Years later, on a visit to the West African nation of Ghana, Malcolm
spoke of seeing Ghanaians dancing the high-life. He wrote: "The
Ghanaians performed the high-life as if possessed. One pretty African
girl sang ‘Blue Moon’ like Sarah Vaughan. Sometimes the band sounded like
Charlie Parker."<br><br>
Malcolm's impact on Ghana was so great that one folk singer created a
song in his honor called "Malcolm Man."<br><br>
Malcolm Man, Malcolm Man<br>
You speak your tale of woe<br>
The red in your face like our<br>
Blood on the land<br>
You speak your tale of woe<br>
Malcolm Man, Malcolm Man<br>
The anger that you feel<br>
Will one day unite our people<br>
And make us all so real<br>
Malcolm Man, Malcolm Man.<br><br>
After Malcolm's death, many jazz artists recorded music in his memory.
Among them, Leon Thomas recorded the song, "Malcolm's Gone" on
his <i>Spirits Known and Unknown</i> album; saxophonist-poet-playwright
Archie Shepp recorded the poem, "Malcolm, Malcolm Semper
Malcolm" on his <i>Fire Music</i> album. Shepp drew parallels
between Malcolm's spoken words and John Coltrane's music. Said Shepp:
"I equate Coltrane's music very strongly with Malcolm's language,
because they were just about contemporaries, to tell you the truth. And I
believe essentially what Malcolm said is what John played. If Trane had
been a speaker, he might have spoken somewhat like Malcolm. If Malcolm
had been a saxophone player, he might have playeds somewhat like
Trane."<br><br>
Shortly before Malcolm's death, he visited Toronto and appeared on CBC
television with Pierre Breton. During the visit, Malcolm spent time with
award-winning author Austin Clarke talking about politics and music. Time
was too short to organize a community meeting, but a few lucky people
gathered at Clarke's home on Asquith Street. Clarke had interviewed
Malcolm previously, in 1963 in Harlem, when he was working for the CBC.
Clarke recalled they "talked shop," but also discussed the
lighter things in life, like the fact that both their wives were named
Betty.<br><br>
It is not surprising that Malcolm made his way to Canada. His mother and
father, Earl Little, met and married in Montréal at a Universal Negro
Improvement Association (UNIA) convention. Both were followers of Marcus
Garvey. His mother, Louise Langdon Norton, was born in Grenada but
immigrated first to Halifax, Nova Scotia and later to Montreal in
1917.<br><br>
Jan Carew's book, <i>Ghosts in Our Blood: With Malcolm X in Africa,
England, and the Caribbean</i>, documents this aspect of the life of the
Pan-Africanist. I suggest that Carew's volume be read to commemorate the
40th anniversary of Malcolm's assassination.<br><br>
While on a visit to Nigeria Malcolm was given the name Omowale, which
means in the Yoruba language, “the son who has come home”. It was this
period of his life that he visited Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Senegal,
Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Guinea and Tanzania. It was
during that period that he met with Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Julius K
Nyerere, and Nnamoi Azikiwe, Sekou Toure, Jomo Kenyatta, Dr. Milton Obote
and others. During this visit he also met Ras Makonnen, a legendary
Pan-Africanist from Guyana, Richard Wright’s daughter Julie Wright, Maya
Angelou, Shirley Graham Du Bois, the wife of W.E.B. Du Bois, and the
Chinese Ambassador Huang Ha.<br><br>
Malcolm was the chief organizer of the Nation of Islam and the founder of
the group’s newspaper Muhammad Speaks. He split with the nation and its
leader Elijah Muhammad in 1963. At the time of his death he headed two
organizations. The secular group the Organization of Afro-American Unity
(OAAU) was his political arm. He also organized the religious group,
Muslim Mosque Inc (MMI), which practiced Sunni Islam. Today Islam is the
second largest religion in the United States and Canada. Many credit
Malcolm with helping spread Sunni Islam as well as revolutionary African
American Nationalism and Pan-Africanism among African people in the
Western Hemisphere.<br><br>
Like Augusto Cesar Sandino of Nicaragua or Sun Yat-Tsen of China, Malcolm
was embraced by all sectors of the African American Nationalist and Pan
Africanist movements. All Nationalists and Pan-Africanists claimed to
follow his example. Revolutionary Nationalist groups like the Black
Panther Party, and the League of Revolutionary Black Workers emerged in
the late 1960’s, after Malcolm’s death. Even after the BPP and the League
embraced Marxism, Malcolm was still their man. The cultural Nationalists
who maintained that the Cultural Revolution must precede the political
one also embraced Malcolm.<br><br>
He was a controversial figure. <br><br>
<b>Actor Ossie Davis</b> eulogized him as our “Black Shining Prince”
while the director of the U.S. information agency Carl T. Rowan referred
to him as “an ex-convict, ex-dope peddler who became a racial fanatic.”
He was loved by the oppressed and hated by the oppressors. Malcolm spoke
about the MMI and the OAAU in these terms: “Its aim is to create an
atmosphere and facilities in which people who are interested in Islam can
get a better understanding of Islam. The aim of the OAAU is to use
whatever means necessary to bring about a society in which the twenty-two
million Afro-Americans are recognized and respected as human
beings”.<br><br>
At the time of his death Malcolm was not nearly as well known as he is
today. Each year his stature grew. By 1992 Malcolm was the subject of a
major motion picture, <b>“X” by Spike Lee</b>. Lee’s film was as
controversial as Malcolm’s life. Lee was attacked from the left, right
and center for his portrayal of Malcolm. And he marketed the hell out of
the movie. His campaign began with the marketing of “X” caps. He gave the
first cap to basketball icon Michael Jordan. And as they say, “the rest
is history.” Many who up hold the Black radical tradition fought Lee over
the film. They accused him of “pimping and sampling” Malcolm. Lee
responded with a book, <i>By Any Means Necessary: The Trials and
Tribulations of the Making of Malcolm X … (While Ten Million
Motherfuckers are Fucking With You!)</i>.<br><br>
<i>The Autobiography of Malcolm X</i> by Alex Haley and other books by
and about Malcolm continue to sell worldwide. Some of his books have
recently been published in Cuba. Malcolm was one of the few African
American Nationalist leaders that welcomed Cuban leader Fidel Castro to
Harlem in 1960. Many Nationalists didn’t want to be identified with
communism. But African people in the West could easily identify with the
slogan, “When Africa called Cuba Answered.” Kwame Ture (Stokely
Carmichael) was fond of reminding us that the only place in the United
States that Fidel felt safe was in Harlem.<br><br>
<i>Toronto-based journalist and radio producer Norman (Otis) Richmond can
be heard on Diasporic Music, Thursdays, 8-10 p.m., Saturday Morning Live,
Saturdays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and From a Different Perspective, Sundays,
6-6:30 p. m. on CKLN-FM 88.1 and on the Internet at
<a href="http://www.ckln.fm/" eudora="autourl"><b>www.ckln.fm</a>.</b> He
can be reached by e-mail at <b><u>norman@ckln.fm<br><br>
***********************************<br><br>
</u></i></font><h1><b>General Augusto C.
Sandino</b></h1><font size=3><b>In the second decade of the twentieth
century U.S. Marines were intervening in Nicaragua. They were sent by the
government of the United States to intimidate and control the local
political parties – involved in a civil war at that time – in order to
ensure that the presidential seat would be occupied by a submissive
Nicaraguan leader who would cooperate with the voracious exploitation of
Nicaragua by the United States. This strategy worked well for the U.S.,
the strongest country in the world, until a general – small in physical
size but gigantic when it came to patriotic conscience – started to fight
back. With the support of an army of peasants this general showed the
world that he was not permitting the exploitation of his free, sovereign
country. This general was Augusto C. Sandino, general of the free men,
hero of Las Segovias. <br><br>
<br>
</font><h2><b>The Constitutional War</b></h2><font size=3><b><i>Before
starting his heroic struggle Sandino participated in the civil war on the
side of the Liberal party. These Liberals were taken out of power by the
rival party, the Conservatives, who took over presidency by force. A
historical overview is given below. <br><br>
</i>In January 1925, after national elections, the Liberal Party came
into power with the duo Carlos Solórzano as president and Juan Bautista
Sacasa as vice-president. However, this situation was not well-received
by the losing candidate, the conservative general Emiliano Chamorro, who
immediately started planning taking over power through violent means.
<br><br>
The Liberal Party was able to stay in power only for one year. After two
attempts by Chamorro, president Solórzano stepped down and left his seat
vacant. Normally the vice-president would become the next leader but in
this case vice-president Sacase had fled the country after being accosted
by conservative soldiers. And this was how the Nicaraguan congress named
nobody less than Emiliano Chamorro provisional president. He assumed
power in January 1926. <br><br>
From Mexico, Liberal exiles led by vice-president Sacasa prepared for a
return to Nicaragua to take over power, which was legally to be handed
over to the elected vice-president, according to the constitution. Troops
were armed and shipped to the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua, where they
then started the so-called ‘Constitutional War’. <br><br>
General José María Moncada was the military chief of this Liberal
expedition. His troops disembarked at the city of Puerto Cabezas at the
north-Caribbean side of the Nicaragua. Although they were belligerently
inferior, they did maintain their position and they even took over other
towns in the region. At the Pacific side, another Liberal disembarkation
was destroyed by the conservative forces. However, liberal uprisings also
started to take place at other places throughout the country. <br><br>
Even before the arrival of the Liberal troops at Puerto Cabezas, the
United States sent warships to the Nicaraguan coast, arguing that they
were sent to protect the life and property of U.S. citizens living in
Nicaragua. The North-American military chief asked both parties to find a
solution to the conflict. In order to gain ‘gringo-support’, the
conservatives arranged the renunciation of Chamorro (who, after enforcing
a military coup, could not be recognized by the U.S. government, as set
out in international treaties, signed and initiated by the same U.S.
government). Therefore, in November 1926, Adolfo Díaz was named president
of Nicaragua. With him, the U.S. had a perfect marionette to secure their
interests. <br><br>
Still led by chief Moncada, the Liberals continued their struggle. Only a
couple days after this presidential change the situation intensified when
Juan Bautista Sacasa, political chief and presidential claimant of the
Liberals, arrives in Puerto Cabezas. <br><br>
After hearing of the arrival of Sacasa, Augusto C. Sandino – already an
influential leader in his local community – traveled with some others to
Puerto Cabezas to participate in the Constitutional War. Here, however,
general Moncada refused to give Sandino a military duty or arms.
<br><br>
The United States had already recognized Adolfo Díaz as the official
president of Nicaragua. However, they denied that the presence of their
boats had anything to do with the Nicaraguan conflict. Despite this
statement, on December 24, 1926, U.S. Marines disembarked at Puerto
Cabezas (headquarter city of the Liberals), where they declared a neutral
zone which meant that Liberal soldiers were disarmed or removed. This was
the first sign of definitive intervention by the U.S. <br><br>
Two weeks later, on January 6, 1927, North American troops entered
Nicaragua, arguing that lives and property of U.S. citizens had to be
protected. They also claimed that Mexico (a country at that time accused
to be pro-Communist) was about to send troops to Nicaragua. Although the
United States said to take a neutral position, they frequently supported
the conservatives, either directly or indirectly. In one such instance,
U.S. planes bombed the city of Chinandega (at that time in control by the
Liberals). The government then assured the world that its pilots were
acting voluntarily and without official orders. <br><br>
About ten weeks later, reports from the North American marines (who were
officially ‘observers’) noted that most Constitutional troops were
defeated throughout the country and that Moncada, held at bay by the
conservatives, was about to be taken down in Chontales.<br><br>
However, shortly after these reports the international media reported a
surprising victory of a Liberal battalion: led by an unknown general
named Sandino, Liberal troops had taken the city of Jinotega and were on
their way to rescue Moncada. <br><br>
This was the first time the name of Sandino showed up in the
international media. Despite his victories, however, the Constitutional
War ended shamefully a couple days later when military leader Moncada met
with conservatives and marines in Tipitapa, where he negotiated the
surrender of the Constitutional Army and the realization of strictly
monitored elections (to be monitored by the marines) where he, general
Moncada, would participate as candidate. Even though the treason was as
clear-cut as it gets, the Liberal troops were disarmed and Sacasa fled to
Costa Rica. <br><br>
Although this meant the end of the Liberal Constitutional struggle, it
also signified the beginning of Sandino’s struggle for liberty. Sandino,
who did not lay down his arms, declared that as long as invading soldiers
would exist on Nicaraguan soil, he and his men would continue to rebel
against the government of the traitor Adolfo Díaz. <br><br>
<br>
</font><h2><b>From Sandino's perspective</b></h2><font size=3><b>Augusto
C. Sandino was born on May 18, 1895, in the small town called
Niquinohomo, located in the department of
<a href="http://www.vianica.com/visit/masaya">Masaya</a>. He was the
(unrecognized) child of Margarita Calderón and the small landowner
Gregorio Sandino. In fact, it is assumed that the letter “C” that appears
in his name really stands for his maternal last name (Calderón), and not
a second first name (César), as also has been suggested. <br><br>
He was raised by his mother, with whom he dedicated himself to
agricultural activities. During his youth, Sandino worked at different
places throughout Nicaragua and in other Central American countries.
Later, he moved to Mexico where he worked in the Tampico and Cerro Azul
oil industry. Here he started to consider moving back to his beloved home
country after getting acquainted with the ideology of social equality
that the strong Mexican labor unions promoted. <br><br>
He headed to Nicaragua on May 15, 1926, and he started to work in the
mine of San Albino, in the northern region of the country, property of a
U.S. citizen. Here he tried to convince his fellow workers of the
patriotic ideals he believed in. When the Constitutional War broke out he
took his savings (brought from Mexico) to buy arms at the border with
Honduras and, together with other workers, he took off after exploding
the mine with dynamite. <br><br>
Fully motivated to fight, Sandino met Moncada in Puerto Cabezas. Sandino
asked the general to supply arms, ammunition, and instructions, and
Sandino proposed him to lead the Las Segovias region (encompassing the
northern departments of the country) in order to cover the northern flank
while Moncada would advance in the direction of the capital,
<a href="http://www.vianica.com/visit/managua">Managua</a>. However,
Moncada despises the idea and does not give Sandino anything.<br><br>
The marines then invaded the city of Puerto Cabezas, declaring it a
neutral zone and confiscating arms of Liberal soldiers in the region.
Sandino came into action the same night by taking back arms that the
marines threw into a river. During this operation he was assisted by
several prostitutes who he convinced of the importance of the patriotic
constitutional struggle. <br><br>
With his arms and his men he headed to the mountainous northern area,
after being reluctantly accepted by Moncada. The first time he
encountered resistance happened in a small town and, being outnumbered,
he lost the battle but he did manage to continue his journey. He reached
San Rafael del Norte, which was transformed into his headquarter city.
From here he started winning battles in neighboring villages. He also got
to know the telegraph operator Blanca Aráuz, who became his girlfriend.
<br><br>
The Constitutional Army, however, was being defeated in almost all other
places. The conservatives, with direct and indirect support from the U.S.
marines, already had general Moncada enclosed in Chontales, halfway in
between Puerto Cabezas and Managua. At this moment of despair, Moncada –
who had always despised Sandino – sent him a message and ordered Sandino
to help him out or he will be held responsible for a Constitutional
defeat. <br><br>
Sandino decided to send out a group of volunteers to support Moncada. In
order to have all attention of enemy troops in the region focused on the
northern zone, Sandino decided to attack the city of
<a href="http://www.vianica.com/visit/jinotega">Jinotega</a> in April
1927. After a final battle he completely took over control of the city,
and here he reunited with several Liberal generals who were defeated at
other places throughout the country. <br><br>
Several days later Sandino and his troops head to Chontales, together
with the other generals, to rescue the military leader. The soldiers of
Sandino went ahead, and upon entering the battle zone they attacked and
destroyed one of the stronger battalions threatening Moncada. <br><br>
The conservative troops returned to Managua to protect themselves for the
Liberal movement. Moncada, after being liberated, initiated a march
towards the capital, using the routes liberated by Sandino. Moncada
ordered Sandino to stay around to protect one of the flanks. Complying
with the order, the general of Las Segovias prepared his troops to attack
the city of Boaco. At that moment, he is informed of a 48-hour truce due
to the fact that Moncada is about to meet the enemy, with mediation of
the Americans. <br><br>
Sandino obeyed the order but decided to return to Jinotega to
re-establish his troops as his men, not doing anything and without any
food, started to disorderly return back north. <br><br>
In Jinotega Sandino was informed of the pact signed by Moncada in El
Espino Negro, Tipitapa (department of Managua), which put a period behind
the Constitutional War, accepting the presence of North American marines
on Nicaraguan soil. <br><br>
This happened in May 1927. This month, Sandino would not only celebrate
his birthday, but he would also marry Blanca Aráuz and initiate his
heroic struggle against U.S. intervention and in favor of a sovereign and
independent Nicaragua. <br><br>
<br>
</font><h2><b>The struggle continues</b></h2><font size=3><b>In Jinotega,
alter finding out about the agreement signed by Moncada, general Sandino
regrouped his men and refused to disarm. Both Moncada and the marines
tried to convince Sandino to stop his struggle, but Sandino told them
that his struggle was not over with this betraying pact. He again
headquartered in San Rafael del Norte. <br><br>
The North American press announced the end of the war in Nicaragua,
stating that all Liberal leaders had disarmed except for one guy named
Sandino. Soon the general of the free men took action to find out how
strong his position really was. He first took the mine of San Albino and
he then attached the town of Ocotal. <br><br>
Although he was defeated in his first autonomous battle due to the
intervention of U.S. bomber planes, Sandino did start to be known as
somebody to take into account. Through the attack he was able to
demonstrate a document, explaining why he was fighting, justifying his
position: it stated that his troops were organized and idealistic, and
not gangs of criminals, and that they preferred to die as patriots
instead of as compliant citizens. He said he was waiting in the mountains
with his arms ready to combat the traitors and invaders. <br><br>
The Nicaraguan authorities and the U.S. government started to label
Sandino as a bandit who dedicated himself to assaults and smuggling, and
this same statement was told to the international press. However, on
September 8, 1927, Sandino came into contact with the Honduran poet
Froylán Turcios, director of the magazine ‘Ariel’ and a big admirer of
Sandino’s actions. Turcios is therefore selected to become Sandino’s
outside representative. <br><br>
The marines, who underestimated Sandino and his troops, started to take
action to defeat them, but they soon became aware that the bravery of
these men was as significant as the mountains from where they operated
were inaccessible. The continuous bombings affected mostly the civil
population and the communities close to the headquarters of Sandino,
which was at that time a hill called “El Chipote”. <br><br>
Sandino’s struggle became known in the international press and newspapers
from Mexico, Columbia, Argentina, Brazil and even the same United States
started to frequently publish articles that supported Sandino and his
men. The North American government, meanwhile, argued that presence of
its marines in Nicaragua was necessary to guarantee fair elections.
<br><br>
Although the government in Washington always minimized and distorted
information about the actions of Sandino, the Nicaraguan fighters became
so effective that the U.S. started to send backup marines, arms, and war
planes to Nicaragua. The U.S. also started to recruit and train a local
army led by North American officials, which would soon be known as the
National Guard. <br><br>
At the end of this year battles took place even more frequently, and –
despite inferiority in arms, training, and sometimes men – the troops of
Sandino, supported by the population, turned out to be a respectable
enemy. In the forested mountains the rural communities, ambushes,
dynamite, and machetes caused continuous losses for the marines and the
National Guard. The bombings from their side destroyed both civil
communities and the guerilla camps at the same time. <br><br>
Many Latin American writers, organizations, and the public opinion
started to favor Sandino, and he was declared hero of the dignity of
Latin America, battling against North American imperialists. <br><br>
When the U.S. militaries asked Sandino what his conditions were to stop
fighting, he listed three points: 1) the immediate withdrawal of invasive
forces from Nicaraguan territory, 2) the substitution of Adolfo Díaz by a
Nicaraguan citizen who was not currently presidential candidate, and 3)
supervision of the next elections by Latin American representatives and
not by North American marines. <br><br>
These simple demands were unacceptable for the U.S. government and the
struggle therefore continued. Sandino named his troop the Defending Army
of National Sovereignty, and he adopted a flag with red and black bands,
and a motto: “motherland and liberty” (<i>patria y libertad</i>).
<br><br>
In 1928 battles continued between the well-equipped National Guard and
marines, and the Sandinista troops, who were using rapid attack
strategies. At the end of this year elections took place, supervised only
by the United States, and resulting in a victory for José María Moncada,
traitor and old chief of Sandino. Surprisingly, Juan Bautista Sacasa, the
old leader of the Constitutional struggle, accepted to be ambassador of
Moncada in Washington. By this time, both of them praised the
intervention and support to the democracy of the United States in
Nicaragua. <br><br>
The guerilla general decided to travel to Mexico, to find support for his
struggle and to avoid giving the marines another excuse to stay in
Nicaragua. During his journey, accepted by the North Americans and
protected by a Mexican delegation, Sandino was welcomed by large groups
of people in Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico. <br><br>
In Nicaragua, the marines did not leave and Moncada assumed power. As
instructed by Sandino, his troops continued their guerilla struggle.
<br><br>
<br>
</font><h2><b>End of the struggle</b></h2><font size=3><b>Sandino’s
unfruitful stay in Mexico lasted almost one year. Apparently, the Mexican
government, conspiring with the U.S. government, tried to keep him there
as long as possible. Sandino, however, achieved to mislead his Mexican
security guardians and clandestinely cross borders until he arrived at
his headquarters. <br><br>
The guerilla attacks continued. Sometimes, for a certain period of time,
Sandino would disappear and speculation would arise that he had fled,
before strongly hitting enemy command centers in the area. These kinds of
attacks would continue, and the marines nor the National Guard were able
to eliminate Sandino, while he did not achieve to get international
support for his cause or force the invaders to retreat from Nicaragua.
<br><br>
In 1933, after winning the next elections, Juan Bautista Sacasa assumed
presidency of Nicaragua – which actually should have happened in 1925,
before the Constitutional War. This same year, on February 2, the last
North American soldier sent to defeat Sandino, left Nicaragua without
achieving this goal. <br><br>
Without a reason for war, Sacasa declares friendship with Sandino and the
general and his troops are given land in the Segovia region. The
revolutionists and their chief accept disarmament and they start to
integrate into society as agricultural producers. <br><br>
However, another ambitious, fatal person enters Nicaraguan history. One
year before the truce, in 1932, the National Guard was headed for the
first time in history by a Nicaraguan military: Anastasio Somoza García.
The next year, this military leader started an evident persecution of old
Sandinista soldiers, illegally arresting, hurting, and even killing these
men. <br><br>
This situation forced Sandino to visit Managua to complain about this
situation in front of president Sacasa. Sandino was invited to a gala by
the president and the same Somoza. After arranging a compromise of
ceasefire, Sandino accepted the offer. On the road, in Managua, the car
of Sandino was intercepted by soldiers of the National Guard. The
soldiers then escorted Sandino and two of his generals to a place where
the hero and his men were brutally shot to death. <br><br>
This marked the end of the heroic deeds of one of the most important
people in the history of Latin America, although history has also made
people forget about this man’s struggle. In Nicaragua, Somoza prohibited
the name of Sandino to be used and the acknowledgement of his deeds until
another generation of idealists again freed the country, almost half a
century after Sandino’s death. <br><br>
Nowadays, despite the fact that the exact place of death of the 'General
of the free men' is unknown, his achievements have once again found their
place in the history books. The only thing left unsaid is that Sandino,
interestingly, never even wanted to become president. He only wanted a
free country. <br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
</font><x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<font size=3 color="#FF0000">Freedom Archives<br>
522 Valencia Street<br>
San Francisco, CA 94110<br><br>
</font><font size=3 color="#008000">415 863-9977<br><br>
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