Agrarian Reformists Expelled From National Farmers' Association

SANTIAGO DE CUBA, 12 August (Oriente Free Press) - The two leaders of the recently founded independent farmers' movement have been expelled from the government-controlled association of small farmers.

Jorge Bejar and Antonio Alonso Perez, President and Vice President, respectively, of the fledgling non-governmental cooperative movement known as Transition, were forced out of the communist Asociacion Nacional de Agricultores Pequeños (ANAP) in a political move.

According to Alonso Perez, the expulsion took place in a local meeting presided over by county and provincial functionaries. "Apparently they were not sure of the compliance of the local farmers in our area, so they went around and brought people in from other areas. They mounted a show trial of sorts where all they did was insult me and present all sorts of lies about me. They were set on expelling me, because they said that if not, our views could infect the others".

[As with all government-run "organizations of the masses", controlled by the Communist Party, the ANAP complies with political directives received from central authorities.] The expulsion was carried out with the usual unanimous vote, with the exception of one abstention by Raul Ruiz, who was ordered to report to the political police, State Security, along with Alonso.

The crackdown on the Transition leaders came less than three weeks after a local ANAP meeting where criticisms of the centralized agricultural industry were voiced. Subsequent to that meeting, several local farmers were called in to State Security offices for warnings.

Transition President Jorge Bejar was similarly expelled from the ANAP in a meeting which took place in Loma de Gato.

"We will continue on with the Transition project even unto death" said Alonso.

Alonso added that we "are creating something new here, precisely because (ANAP officials) don't represent or defend the interests of the peasants." For a small farmers' association to expel small farmers for proposing changes doesn't make sense."

The Transition Cooperative submitted a public letter to the national ANAP directorate on June 26 in which they stated: "For years we have been under that organization which you direct, seeing how the State speaks through you, its representatives. The opposite, however, should be true ­ a peasants' association should represent us, the peasants, before the State."

Distributed by Cubanet