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| Sunday, 20 March 2005 |
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The right column La Passionara II Last week the Sceptic hailed all women. This week the right column is dedicated to a remarkable woman of our age, a woman whose life and struggle is an example for all. We refer to Gladys Marin from distant Chile who died on March 06 at the age of 63 after battling cancer for some time. It's not the sickness that made her a legendary figure in her lifetime. It is her struggle on behalf of her people. The latter named her affectionately as La Passionara after Dolores Ibaruri, the legendary Spanish Communist leader who earned that name during the Spanish Civil War That her struggle was genuine and sans self-interest was seen by the massive affection the people had for her. Over a million people paid homage to her remains in the two days of national mourning and more than 200,000 people participated in the funeral procession. A peasant girl Gladys Marin joined the communist movement at the age of 16. She soon became a leader as she always led from the front. At the time when the fascist coup orchestrated by Washington and led by Augusto Pinochet took place she was the General Secretary of the Communist Youth League and Member of the Politbureau of the Chilean Communist Party. She narrowly escaped death at the hands of the butchers when they raided her hiding place after the Coup d' tat. The fascists murdered Communists, Socialists and all democrats in a campaign of genocide that was only second to that of the Indonesian genocide under Suharto in October 1965 when a million people were killed. Much against her will her comrades managed to send her to the Dutch Embassy in December 1973 under cover outwitting the military guards. She got asylum at the Embassy and managed to leave the country. Afterwards she toured the world gathering support for the struggle of the Chilean people against the Pinochet regime. She also visited Sri Lanka where she was warmly received and her visit here concluded with a massive solidarity rally at the Nava Ranga Hala, Colombo. She was, however, not content to lead the life of an exile. In 1978 she returned to Chile clandestinely and took direct part in the struggle to oust the hated Pinochet regime. She was one of the leaders of massive protests against Pinochet in the 1980s and often faced repression. She was considered a symbol of resistance against the fascist regime. Even after democracy was restored she continued her struggle. She took a particular interest to safeguard human rights. She initiated legal action against Pinochet for human rights violations and other crimes and won battle after battle. The Communist Party of Chile elected her its General Secretary in 1994 and its President in 1999. She held the latter position till her death.. In 1993 and 1998 she twice contested the Presidential election as a party candidate. Her husband Jorge Munoz was arrested by the Pinochet regime and had disappeared. Two sons Rodrigo and Alvaro survive her. - the Sceptic |
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