DMU for amnesty
The Spanish armed forces are no
longer the monolithic mainstay for
the Franco regime they constituted
only a few years ago. They too have
been affected by the pervasive
climate of anti-Francoism in Spain.
There now exists an anti-Franco
movement in the armed forces
known as the Democratic Military
Union.
This development was revealed in
recent months following recurrent
reports of arrests of military officers
for "sedition". The regime has so far
admitted the arrests of twelve,
ranking from major down.
Opposition sources say at least 60
have been arrested to date. Several
hundred officers are under
investigation for their possible
disloyalty to Franco and his
government.
The fullest account of the D.M.U.
was given in Paris recently by an Air
Force Captain Jose Ignacio
Dominuez, for whose arrest a
warrant had been issued while
stationed. at a NATO air base in
Turkey.
"The DMU", Capt. Dominguez told
the news conference "only takes in
professional military officers,
captains and majors for the most part.
It is an autonomous movement with
no direct political affiliations. We
have, however, established contacts
with the Democratic Council of
Spain and the Democratic
Convergence Platform group. We
favor coordinated, united action by a
common organization of the
opposition forces."
The DMU, he stated, has a program
with two main points, national and
professional. The first point concerns
the reestablishment of democratic
rights in Spain which, he stressed,
include labor rights.
The DMU seeks a general political
amnesty, democratic elections, and a
number of socio-economic reforms
"aimed at a more just distribution of
wealth," as well as convocation of a
Spanish Constitutional Assembly and
respect for Spain's independence,
sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The second point of the DMU
program, he said, is the "profes-
sional" one and concerns reorgan-
ization of the Spanish armed forces,
including promulgation of a military
law code defining the rights and
duties of the armed forces, and of
their officers, noncommissioned
officers and enlisted men.
He said Spain's military officers
bitterly resent being used to maintain
a minority in power".
The DMU, largely liberal and
monarchist in political complexion,
is thought to include more than 1,000
active members. These are mainly
captains and majors, as was the case
with the Portuguese AFM.
West European journalists esti-
mated recently that about one quarter
of the entire Spanish officer corps is
either in the DMU or has
sympathetic contact with it.
Many officers beyond the DMU,
are incensed at the involvement of
the armed forces in the September 27
execution of five young anti-fascists
by the Franco regime. As one young
officer complained to a reporter of
Le Monde, the Paris daily. "they are
trying to involve the Army in their
own dirty business".
As regards Juan Carlos, the officer
said: .... it is a question for the people
to decide. We think that under
present conditions he is an integral
part of the Francoist regime. In other
words, we cannot support him so
long as he has not been
democratically elected."
Cardinal calls for
total democracy
MADRID, Nov. 11 Cardinal
Vicente Enrique y Tarancon, Spain's
leading prelate, demanded
democratic rule in the country in a
Sunday address shortly after the
secret police arrested the chief editor
of Spain's biggest Catholic
newspaper "Ya."
The Cardinal said 'uniformity," the
word he uses to refer to one-man
rule, "is against nature. It is
incompatible with liberty." He went
on to call for a democratic state that
would permit participation by all
Spaniards.
Some observers took this call to be
intended as a rebuke to some
elements in the opposition, such as
rightist Christian Democrats, who are
pushing for a post-Franco
government to include all political
groups with the sole exception of the
Communists.
Roman Catholic priests in Spain
are charging Franco with creating a
"climate of fear" in the country. In a
document signed so far by 832
priests and still being circulated for
further signatures, the Franco regime
was accused of using torture and
harsh repression against its
opponents.
Basques favor
BILBAO, Nov. 8 - The Provisional
Commission of the Basque
Democratic Assemblies, representing
all the three Basque provinces, has
proclaimed its adherence to the
recent joint statement of the
Democratic Junta and the
Democratic Platform of Converg-
ence.
In its statement, the Basque group
called for the unity of all the
opposition forces in Spain, including
those from the national minorities,
noting that their demands, such as
national autonomy, are included in
the opposition platform.
