NEWS
LATIN AMERICA
Mothers of Plaza de Mayo
The majority of the Latin American people live under repressive political and social conditions. The political instability is constant and there exists continuous institutional crisis or the threat of a coup d'etat. In this situation, civil rights and democratic liberties which are legally guaranteed in the constitution are extremely vulnerable and often become inoperative. Democracy, as the expression of the people's sovereignity is easily subverted in the name of the doctrine of "national security". The final objective of this doctrine is to strengthen the economic domination and capitalistic monopoly of the big multinationals in agriculture, industry and finances."National Security" is also justified as a doctrine which protects the "christian and western civilization" but in reality imposes only authoritarianism in the guise of "neo-liberalism". The coup d'etat of March 24, 1976 which installed in power a military junta in Argentina reinforced these characteristics and the Argentinian people are suffering its consequences even today:
40,000 million dollars of foreign debt, 2 million people without jobs (in a country of 25 million people), an inflation of almost 200% , almost 30,000 "desaparecidos" (almost all of them between 18 and 35 years old and even 14 cases of children and babies who disappeared), 2 million people constrained to Hve in exile, thousands of political assassinations and a systematic repression of any expression of democratic opposition.
In this reality of terror and oppression a group of women, mothers, wives and sisters of the missing people, begin their struggle for truth and justice, asking for the reappearance of their loved ones taken alive from their homes, their work, or from the streets for not agreeing with the policies that the Military Junta wanted to impose. These women, united by a shared anguish and a common quest, began to meet every Thursday at Plaza de Mayo, in front of the Government Palace in Buenos Aires. The group grows as the repression and the number of "desaparecidos" grow. In this way the mothers of the Plaza de Mayo have defied the MiUtary regime throughout these years, denouncing with their silent presence and their white handkerchiefs the drama that many, because of fear or complicity, because of indifference or economic interests refused to recognize. Besides these weekly marches, these women take their protests to international forums like the Meeting of Human Rights of the United
Nations in Geneva and the Committee of Human Rights of the OEA (Association of American States).
They are no longer alone: their perseverance in their cause has created aseverance in their cause has created a global solidarity. In the early years, they were dismissed as 'crazy' by the junta and even the Church did not come forward to support them, let alone the politicians or trade union leaders, and their effort was unknown in the outside world. Today however, the Junta's attempts at labelling the disappeared as terrorists and declared dead, already killed in armed confrontations have been shown for what
they are: a cover for the illegal detention of thousands of young people for prolonged periods in inhuman conditions of torture and suffering.
The majority of the democratic forces have denounced the Junta: Heads of states as Pertini, the Spanish King, the Bolivian President, Hernan Siles Suazo,
the Venezuelian Parliament and even the European Parliament have declared themselves against the argentinian dictatorship.
Yet the Junta, isolated from the world continues in its chosen path of terrorism and greater repression and violence as the deaths of Cambiusso and Pereyra Rossi show, all of which they would repeat when necessary. The mothers respond to this with the following concrete points:
- The reappearance of: the "desaparecidos- prisioneros".
- Restitution of the children sequestered and born in prison to their legitimate families.
- Liberty for all prisoners detained for political and union reasons.
- Investigation of the not identifiedcadavers.
- Trial and punishment for those responsible for the desaparecidos torture and assassinations.
- The dismantling of the repressive apparatus that still functions with total impunity.
- No attempt should be made to "forget" the issue or plead for amnesty for the guilty.
This is the only way that the elections of the 30th of October, 1983 will ensure that Argentina can function as a true democracy. The mothers, through the evolution of their 6 year old struggle know today how to face the economic, political and moral crisis created by the military: peacefully and with determination. They have become a symbol and an example.
The Abortion Struggle in Brazil
Some years ago abortion was a taboo subject in Brazil. Today the struggle for the legalization of abortion is growing.
In March, a meeting of 57 representatives of women's groups of almost all the States of the country was organized in Rio de Janeiro. The Meeting declared September 27 National Abortion Day. On that day there will be demonstrations organized in each region of the country. This date was chosen because it is the beginning of spring..
After the meeting, a member of the Parliamentary opposition, Cristina Tavares, of the PMDB, presented a draft law to the National Congress that widens the legal grounds for abortion to include, for example, the lack of economic conditions for raising children. The draft law will be discussed by Congress this semester.
About 3 million abortions a year are performed in Brazil. The legislation that exists today is very restrictive and makes it almost impossible to carry out a legal abortion.
For further information about the meeting and the abortion campaign write to: Casa de la Mujer, Rua Debret, 231 1316, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 20.030, Brazil.
ASIA
Japanese fear abortion law changes by Yuri Kondo from people News/ Features, 18-20 Lower Regent Street, London SWIY 4PW, England.
A draft revision of Japanese law, to be debated in the present parUamentary session, would restrict drastically the grounds for abortion. At present, abortion is easily obtainable in hospitals and private clinics, although technically it is illegal under Article 212 of Japan's Criminal Law
In the early 1950s, however, the Eugenic Protection Act was revised by the addition of Article 14 (1-4) which allows abortion in "exceptional circumstances", for example if the mother's life is in danger or if there are "economic circumstances which could result in danger to the mother's mental and physical health if the pregnancy is carried to full term". The latter clause has been liberally interpreted in recent years.
Abortion is widely practised in Japan, with 600,000 cases reported officially in 1981 and unofficial estimates at three or four times that number. The official figure gives an abortion rate of 380 for every 1,000 live births, almost double the rate in England and Wales, which had 196 abortions per 1,000 live births in 1980.
Restrictions on family planning are part of the cause of the high abortion rate. Contraceptive use of the PiU is illegal and it is only available on prescription for medical reasons. Although the lUD was first developed in Japan, it was only made legal recently. The most popular method of contraception is the condom, for which
high failure rates are reported.
Abortions in Japan cost between 300 and 500 dollars and are not covered by medical insurance or the public health service. If the proposed revision is passed it will allow abortion only when the mother's life is in danger, in the case of pregnancy after rape, or if the fetus is malformed.
The main force behind the proposed revision of the Eugenic Protection Act is a right-wing religious group called Seichonoie which supported the military government during the Second World War and has, for many years, been calUng for the repeal of Japan's Peace Constitution.
Like the Moral Majority and 'Right to Life' movements in the West, Seichonoie holds the view that abortion is murder because a fetus is a human being right from its conception.
Groups of doctors, nurses, midwives, feminists, lawyers, trade unionists and family planners have been organizing opposition to the revision on the grounds that the decision whether to have children is a basic human right with which the state should not interfere, and that although abortion is undesirable it must be kept as a last
resort since there is no entirely effective method of contraception. CalUng also for the aboUtion of Article 212 of the Criminal Law Act, which defines abortion as a criminal
offence, they stress that a change in the law will cause an increase in the number of illegal abortions and so in the number of pregnant women who die.
By the end of last year these groups had collected 500.000 signatures of support. Their efforts are co-ordinated by the Association against 'Reform' of the Eugenic Protection Act.
Women's group tries to raise bail.
The Women's Rights Protection Centre yesterday launched a campaign to raise 150,000 baht (about US $ 5000) in bail money for a young woman charged with murder after stabbing a man during an alleged rape attack.
Miss Som Sripang, 20, a brick kiln worker, claims to have been acting in self-defence when she stabbed Sgt Sommai Soikit on February 28 after he allegedly attacked her after breaking into her room.
She is being held at Bangkok Yai police station.
An official of the women's group, Miss Paineth Thanaboriboon, said Miss Som was suffering as a result of being held in detention and urged the public to donate towards the bail fund. Miss Paineth alleged that the attack occurred after Sgt Sommai had boasted of his sexual prowess during a drinking bout with friends.
Miss Som stabbed Sgt Sommai after he allegedly forced his way into her room because her screams for help failed to attract attention, she said. She said the group has launched the campaign because it did not have the 150,000 baht.
She urged the public to make contributions through the Centre (telephone nos. 282-0575 and 4654531), Miss Niramon Pruettathorn (222-3444 and 221- 9847), or Miss Siriporn Sakobaneck (282-9133).
Miss Paineth said Miss Som's trial would be a test case for women's rights.
From: Bangkok Post, March 1982, Thailand.
Indian women organise around sex determination texts
Women's organisations in Bombay are organising around the widespread use of amniocentesis as a test for sex determination. Organised by the Women's
Centre, Bombay, the women held discussions, after investigating local abortion clinics and hospitals. The major theme of these discussions was the question of women's choice and whether these choices are made in a social vacuum. It is quite clear, the women pointed out, that the motivation for undergoing these tests springs
from the deeprooted prejudice against female children.
With only a single proponent for resolutions calling for either a complete ban on amniocentesis or for inexpensive and easy access, the majority of the women called for a ban on amniocentesis for pre-natal sex determination. They backed up this demand with several specific measures designed to ensure that amniocentesis would be used only for genetic reasons. They are currently exploring the possibilities of forming a coalition of women's organisations on this issue.