Let's start with the article on MIM we published on the January 1997 issue and the points we were responding to. First, we do receive and analyze that entity's publications in the same way we do with articles we receive from reactionary outlets hostile to the People's War. The examples of MIM's line published in the NF were taken directly from their publications, and their line is indeed that bizarre. Second, our members have submitted two more pieces exposing MIM's views on feminism and other matters, however, we believe it is not worthwhile to waste time and effort on MIM for now. We said that MIM emphatically upholds that under Imperialism, "all sex is rape"; they strongly insist that "white workers in imperialist countries" are as a group not just backward, bourgeoisified, or ignorant, but reactionary. For example, they insist that the Detroit Newspaper strike is a strike by "mouthpieces of imperialism"-- even though the vast majority of strikers there are teamsters, press operators and other production and distribution workers who are in no position to be a "mouthpiece" of anything, except of protecting their jobs, bring some food to their families and their demands for living wages. Are those distortions?
On the Peruvian revolution, MIM sought splits among international supporters, even it reprinted articles written by counterintelligence operatives disguised as "journalists" against the Party such as a KK Campbell (a.k.a. Ken Howard or "Zodiac") from Toronto. In trying to discourage supporters of the PW abroad, they printed the article "MIM suspends support to the People's War for Now." And once they learned about the impending contradictions between The New Flag and Arce Borja/Olaechea, MIM pretended to be in Borja's side hypocritically "apologizing" for their anti-PCP article last April after announcing their purported suspension of "support work." Those are not distortions. Those are MIM's contrarrevolutionary positions.
Your criticism of the cartoon MIM is partially valid. We neglected to include what each character was actually saying. It was put along with the article simply to go along with the sense of humor of readers on MIM's Congress, not to make any specific political point on its trafficking with the proletariat's symbol: the sickle and hammer nor the lesbian symbol. The "lesbian-feminist" symbol was taken directly from the masthead of MIM Notes; apparently it is part of their official symbol. But according to a square-headed MIM thought, it is "NOT" a symbol of lesbianism, no matter what it means to most people who see it, which means that no one else suppose to understand anything they write, except themselves. That's the substance of MIM thought.
Your criticism that the characters in the cartoon appeared to be explicitly female misses the point. There is only one female character on it (MC-3). The other three show the decadent culture not only of MIM, but the lack of consciousness about how the oppression of women is promoted through culture in this imperialist country. Your comparison of the treatment received by Chairman Gonzalo by the world's reactionaries after his capture with the NF's cartoon depicting the undercover gang MIM, is ridiculous.
You are correct to point out that we haven't presented the evidence that indicated the capitulation of the handful of women you mentioned. However, there were, of course, hundreds of other female prisoners of war (the majority), assuming the correct position of the PCP Central Committee at the time the CIA/SIN was trying to split the Party three years ago.
The conclusion you draw from the mention of these women capitulators that we only praise dead women and denounce the living, are not accurate. For one thing, we have also denounced a number of men capitulators by name, while the only man we praise by name is President Gonzalo himself, it is not because he is a man but because of his record as a great revolutionary. In sum, it is not a matter who is male or female, the main thing is what class interests they uphold. The drawing line is whether they are with the historic role of the proletariat to conquer power or against it.
With regard to the poems of President Gonzalo. You may be unaware that the Party's Central Committee has published a booklet with his prose put into verse form by Comrade Murinache. Even the most canning reactionaries in Peru (case of journalist Patricio Rickets Rey de Castro of Expreso and senderologist Degregori) can't deny the strong poetic imagery and form of Chairman Gonzalo's writing and speeches. Have you read the documents "For the New Flag and We Are the Initiators?" They are revolutionary poetry as well.
Finally, let's give President Gonzalo (the President of the New Power, the People's Committees being built in Peru) or Chairman Gonzalo (Chairman and Leader of the Party and the Revolution) the stature he rightfully deserves along with Marx, Lenin, Stalin, and Mao. Let us drop the terms used by the imperialists and reactionaries such as "Guzman Abimael" and "Shining Pathway" used as labels to demonize the People's War. These terms are used by the reactionaries and traffickers such as Workers's World, MIM, RCP, New York Times, etc. For revolutionaries, the names to be called must not be "Ulianov," "Chang," "Bronstein," "Abimael," "the Path," but COMMUNIST PARTY OF PERU (PCP) and "PRESIDENT GONZALO" or "CHAIRMAN GONZALO."
With regard to the images of women in the graphics: women are portrayed in more of the graphics than just the one you mention. In particular, the drawing on p.69 shows a man and a woman prisoner each rising out of their separate building -- commemorating the Day of Heroic Resistance in May of 1992, when the women prisoners at Canto Grande fought their way over to the men's section of the prison as it was being attacked by the government forces. Together the women and men prisoners held off the assault for about three weeks before the criminal regime was able to put down the uprising, murdering selectively 100 political and war prisoners. In a couple of years, we have published more articles on women revolutionaries in Peru than the RCP/Co-RIM/Borja together did in 10 years.
Some of your points are well taken, though; that we need to improve our graphics and text for consistency in some of our articles and the News briefs. It should be more consciously chosen to reflect the actual situation of the People's War.
Our graphics choices should reflect the point of view of Proletarian Feminism, the understanding that the oppression of women is part and parcel, specifically of the division of society into exploiting and exploited classes, and can only be ended as part of ending class society itself. That can happen only through women themselves taking up -- and leading -- the revolutionary class struggle, side by side with men.
The PCP has implemented this more thoroughly than previous communist parties in history, and that fact needs to be graphically illustrated in our magazine. At the same time you and others criticize, please send your contribution, write your ideas on the role of women in the World Proletarian Revolution, especially here in your own country. Why don't you write an article unmasking the bourgeois feminists such as NOW, Patricia Felstein, Hillary Clinton (she just launched some conferences on micro lending and self-aid that is impoverishment women in the Third World. These are key counterinsurgency programs in Peru as well.) That's the only way you will be consistent with your criticisms to The New Flag.
As of the powerful male peasant fighter stomping on the invading Yankee imperialist you mentioned. This is a PCP poster designed by the prisoners of war in Cantogrande in 1991. The peasant fighter is kicking the butt of Yankee imperialism, and that's not an insult or belittlement to women in general, or to the women who are also part of the struggle being depicted. To honor your criticism, we will invite our readers to develop a poster showing a peasant women fighter kicking in the ass of that Yankee imperialist envoy Madeline Albright. She will be flying in the sky on top of a "witches' broom" screaming the words: "This is not cajones, but the real COJONES. The People's War in Peru."
Your suggestion that we include a map of Peru is an excellent one. We see the imperialist papers publish their disinformation on Xianjui or Juanjui and others parts unknown to the people with a map. They misinform and fool the apolitical masses in USA, let's learn from them to report the truth.
Finally, here is a question for you: As a feminist (we haven't read you make a clear distinction whether you upheld proletarian feminism or bourgeois feminism), what is your opinion of the article "Revolution: the Only Way to End the Oppression of Women," on p.16 of the Jan. issue and others in previous issues? The standpoint of Proletarian Feminism is different from other trends of feminism, and we are interested in how women from these other trends view our articles on women in the revolution.
In struggle,
NF.