VIOLENCE  (Continued)

Organization of Violence

            The leaders of the Weatherman faction of S.D.S. have preached Urban Guerrilla Warfare for some time.  They are not underground, presumably to practice what they have preached.  What may we expect?

            A handbook to instruct urban guerrillas has now been distributed from Havana, Cuba.  It is entitled the “Minimanual of the Urban Guerrilla,” and it’s published in Tricontinental, January-February, 1970, Volume 16.  Tricontinental is the theoretical organ of the Executive Secretariat of the Organization of Solidarity of the peoples of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.  The postal address is PO Box 4224, Havana, Cuba.

            An editorial in Tricontinental states:

            “Outstanding in urban guerrilla warfare was Carlos Marighella, who was one of the strongest advocates, in theory and in practice.  Months before he fell, struck down by the Brazilian dictatorship’s bullet, Marighella left the summary of his rich combat experience in a Minimanual of the Urban Guerrilla.  Conceived as an instrument of the armed struggle in the cities of Brazil, the Minimanual contains valuable lessons useful to any revolutionary.  By publishing it in its entirety in Starting Points, Tricontinental fulfills its mission of spreading to the fullest extent possible revolutionary ideas, strategies, and tactics.”  Page 1.

            This minimanual is a practical handbook for the urban guerrillas.  Although it was written specifically for the urban guerrillas of Brazil, it is suitable for the urban guerrillas in the United States.  Selected significant extracts from this minimanual follow:

Objectives

            “The urban guerrilla is an implacable enemy of the government and systematically inflicts damage on the authorities and on the men who dominate the country and exercise power.  The principal task of the urban guerrilla is to distract, to wear out, to demoralize the militarists, the military dictatorship and its repressive forces, and also to attack and destroy the wealth and property of the North Americans, the foreign managers, and the Brazilian upper class.

            “The urban guerrilla is not afraid of dismantling and destroying the present Brazilian economic, political, and social system, for his aim is to help the rural guerrilla and to collaborate in the creation of a totally new and revolutionary social and political structure, with the armed people in power.”  Page 17

Recruits

            “As of now, the men and women chosen for urban guerrilla warfare are workers; peasants whom the city has attracted as a market for man power and who return to the countryside indoctrinated and politically and technically prepared; students; intellectuals; priests.

Workers:  “Workers have infinite knowledge in the industrial sphere and are best for urban revolutionary tasks.  The urban guerrilla worker participates in the struggle by constructing arms, sabotaging and preparing saboteurs and dynamiters, and personally participating in actions involving hand arms, or organizing strikes and partial paralysis with the characteristics of mass violence in factories, workshops, and other work centers.

Peasants:  “The peasants have an extraordinary intuition for knowledge of the land, judgment in confronting the enemy, and the indispensable ability to communicate with the humble masses.

Students:  “Students are noted for being politically crude and coarse and thus they break all the taboos.  When they are integrated into urban guerrilla warfare, as is not occurring on a wide scale, they show a special talent for revolutionary violence and soon acquire a high level of political-technical-military skill.  Students have plenty of free time on their hands because they are systematically separated, suspended, and expelled from school by the dictatorship and so they begin to spend their time advantageously, in behalf of the revolution.

Intellectuals:  “The intellectuals constitute the vanguard of resistance to arbitrary acts, social injustice, and the terrible inhumanity of the dictatorship of the guerrillas.  They spread the revolutionary call and they have great influence on people.  The urban guerrilla intellectual or artist is the most modern of the Brazilian revolution’s adherents.

Churchmen: “Churchmen – that is to say, those ministers or priests and religious men of various hierarchies and persuasions – represent a sector that has special ability to communicate with the people, particularly with workers, peasants, and the Brazilian woman.  The priest who is an urban guerrilla is an active ingredient in the ongoing Brazilian revolutionary war, and constitutes a powerful arm in the struggle against military power and North American imperialism.”  Pages 55-56.

Personal Qualities of the Urban Guerrilla

            “The urban guerrilla is characterized by his bravery and decisive nature.  He must be a good tactician and a good shot.  The urban guerrilla must be a person of great astuteness to compensate for the fact that he is not sufficiently strong in arms, ammunition, and equipment.

            “Other important qualities in the urban guerrilla are the following: to be a good walker, to be able to stand up against fatigue, hunger, rain, heat.  To know how to hide and to be vigilant.  To conquer the art of dissembling.  Never to fear danger.  To behave the same by day as by night.  Not to act impetuously.  To have unlimited patience.  To remain calm and cool in the worst conditions and situations.  Never to leave a track or trail.  Not to get discouraged.”  Pages 17-18

Training

            “The urban guerrilla can have strong physical resistance only if he trains systematically.  For that reason the urban guerrilla must learn and practice various kinds of fighting, of attack, and personal defense.

            “In the area of auxiliary medicine he has the special role of being a doctor or understanding medicine, nursing, pharmacology, drugs, elemental surgery, and emergency first aid.

            “The basic question in the technological preparation of the urban guerrilla is nevertheless to know how to handle arms such as the machine gun, revolver, automatic, FAL, various types of shotguns, carbines, mortars, bazookas, etc.

            “A knowledge of various types of ammunition and explosives is another aspect to consider.  Among the explosives, dynamite must be well understood.  The use of incendiary bombs, of smoke bombs, and other types are indispensable prior knowledge.

            “To know how to make and repair arms, prepare Molotov cocktails, grenades, mines, homemade destructive devices, how to blow up bridges, tear up and put out of service rails and sleepers, these are requisites in the technical preparation of the urban guerrilla that can never be considered unimportant.” Page 23.

Weapons

            “The urban guerrilla’s arms are light arms, easily exchanged, usually captured from the enemy, purchased, or made on the spot. . . . In general, light arms are characterized as short barreled.  This includes many automatic arms.

            “Automatic and semiautomatic arms considerably increase the fighting power of the urban guerrilla.

            “Experience has shown that the basic arm of the urban guerrilla is the light machine gun.

            “Each firing group of urban guerrillas must have a machine gun managed by a good marksman.  The other components of the group must be armed with .38 revolvers, our standard arm.  The .32 is also useful for those who want to participate.  But the .38 is preferable since its impact usually puts the enemy out of action.

            “Hand grenades and conventional smoke bombs can be considered light arms, with defensive power for cover and withdrawal.

            “Shotguns can be useful is used at close range and point blank.  They are useful even for a poor shot, especially at night when precision isn’t much help.  A pressure airgun can be useful for training in marksmanship.

            “Homemade weapons are often as efficient as the best arms produced in conventional factories, and even a cut-off shotgun is a good arm for the urban guerrilla.

            “Molotov cocktails, gasoline, homemade contrivances such as catapults and mortars for firing explosives, grenades made of tubes and cans, smoke bombs, mines, conventional explosives such as dynamite and potassium chloride, plastic explosives, gelatine capsules, ammunition of every kind are indispensable to the success of the urban guerrilla’s mission.

            “The method of obtaining the necessary materials and munitions will be to buy them or to take them by force in expropriation actions especially planned and carried out.”  (Pages 23, 24, and 25).

Organization

            “In order to function, the urban guerrillas must be organized in small groups.  A group of no more than four or five is called ‘the firing group.’

            “A minimum of two firing groups, separated and sealed off from other firing groups, directed and coordinated by one or two persons, this is what makes a ‘firing team.’

            “When there are tasks planned by the strategic command, these tasks take preference.  But there is no such thing as a firing group without its own initiative.  For this reason it is essential to avoid any rigidity in the organization in order to permit the greatest possible initiative on the part of the firing group.  The old-type hierarchy, the style of the traditional left doesn’t exist in our organization.

            “This means that, except for the priority of objectives set by the strategic command, any firing group can decide to assault a bank, to kidnap or to execute an agent of the dictatorship, a figure identified with the reaction, or a North American spy, and can carry out any kind of propaganda or war of nerves against the enemy without the need to consult the general command.

            “Any single urban guerrilla who wants to establish a firing group and begin action can do so and thus become a part of the organization.

            “The organization is an indestructible network of firing groups, . . . that functions simply and practically with a general command that also participates in the attacks; an organization which exists for no purpose other than pure and simple revolutionary action.” (Page 27-28).

Activities

            “Action models which the urban guerrilla can carry out are the following: a) assaults; b) raids and penetrations; c) occupations; d) ambush; e) street tactics; f) strikes and work interruptions; g) desertions, diversions, seizures, expropriations of arms, ammunition, explosives; h) liberation of prisoners; i) executions; j) kidnappings; k) sabotage; l) terrorism; m) armed propaganda; n) war of nerves.”  Page 37.

a)Assaults:

            “Assault is the armed attack which we make to expropriate funds, liberate prisoners, capture explosives, machine guns, and other types of arms and ammunition.

            “The most vulnerable targets for assault are the following: a) credit establishments; b) commercial and industrial enterprises, including the production of arms and explosives; c) military establishments; d) commissaries and police stations; e) jails; f) government property; g) mass communication media; h) North American firms and properties; i) government vehicles, including military and police vehicles, trucks, armored vehicles, money carries, trains, ships, and planes.

            “Heavy vehicles, grounded planes, anchored ships can be seized and their crews and guards overcome.  Airplanes in flight can be diverted from their course by guerrilla action or by one person.

            “Ships and trains in movement can be assaulted or taken by guerrilla operations in order to capture the arms and munitions or to prevent troop displacement.

            “Important innovation in the technique of assaulting banks have developed, guaranteeing flight, the withdrawal of money, and the anonymity of those involved.  Among these innovations we cite shooting the tires of cars to prevent pursuit; locking people in the bank bathroom, making them sit on the floor; immobilizing the bank guards and removing their arms, forcing someone to open the coffer or the strong box; using disguises.”  Pages 37-38.

b) Raids and Penetrations:

            “Raids and penetrations are quick attacks on establishments located in neighborhoods or even in the center of the city, such as small military units, commissaries, hospitals, to cause trouble, seize arms, punish and terrorize the enemy, take reprisal, or rescue wounded prisoners, or those hospitalized under police vigilance.

            “Raids and penetrations are also made on garages and depots to destroy vehicles and damage installations, especially if they are North American firms and property.

            “When they are carried out in certain houses, offices, archives, or public offices, their purpose is to capture or search for secret papers and documents with which to denounce involvements, compromises, and the corruption of men in government, their dirty deals and criminal transactions with the North Americans.”  Page 39.

c) Occupations:

            “The occupation of factories and schools during strikes or at other times is a method of protest or of distracting the enemy’s attention.

            “The occupation of radio stations is for propaganda purposes.”  Pages 39-40.

d) Ambush:

            “A false message can bring the enemy to the spot where he falls into the trap.

            “The principal object of the ambush tactic is to capture enemy arms and punish him with death.

            “Ambushes to halt passenger trains are for propaganda purposes and, when they are troop trains, the object is to annihilate the enemy and seize his arms.

            “The urban guerrilla sniper is the kind of fighter especially suited for ambush because he can hide easily in the irregularities of the terrain, on the roofs and the tops of building and apartments under construction.  From windows and dark places, he can take careful aim at his chosen target.

            “Ambush has devastating effects on the enemy, leaving him unnerved, insecure, and fearful.”  Page 40.

e) Street Tactics:

            “Street tactics are used to fight the enemy in the streets, utilizing the participation of the masses against him.

            “Other street tactics consist in constructing barricades; pulling up paving blocks and hurling them at the police; throwing bottles, bricks, paperweights, and other projectiles from the top of apartment and office buildings against the police; using buildings under construction for flight, for hiding, and for supporting surprise attacks.

            “‘Peaceful’ Demonstrations: “Street tacts have revealed a new type of urban guerrilla, the urban guerrilla who participates in mass demonstrations.  This is the type we designate as the urban guerrilla demonstrator, who joins the ranks and participates in popular marches with specific and definite aims.

            “These aims consist in hurling stones and projectiles of every type, using gasoline to start fires, using the police as a target for their fire arms, capturing police arms, kidnapping agents of the enemy and provocateurs, shooting with careful aim at the henchmen torturers and the police chiefs who come in special cars with false plates in order not to attract attention.

            “Snipers are very good for mass demonstrations and, along with the urban guerrilla demonstrators, can play a valuable role.

            “Hidden at strategic points, the snipers have complete success, using shotguns, machine guns, etc.” Page 40-41.

f) Strikes and Work Interruptions:

            “The strike is a model of action employed by the urban guerrilla in work centers and schools to damage the enemy by stopping work and study activities. . . .

            “The urban guerrilla must prepare the strike in such a way as to leave no tracks or clues that identify the leaders of the action.  A strike is successful when it is organized through the action of a small group, it is carefully prepared in secret and by the most clandestine methods.

            “In certain cases, strikes and brief work interruptions can offer an excellent opportunity for preparing ambushes or traps whose aim is the physical liquidation of the cruel bloody police.”  Pages 41-42.

g) Desertions, Diversions, Seizures, Expropriations of Arms, Ammunition, Explosives:

            “Desertion and the diversion of arms are actions effected in military camps, ships, military hospitals, etc.  The urban guerrilla soldier, chief, sergeant, subofficial, and official must desert at the most opportune moment with modern arms and ammunition to hand them over for the use of the Brazilian revolution.

            “When there is no possibility of deserting and taking arms and ammunition, the military urban guerrilla must engage in sabotage, starting explosions and fires in munitions and gunpowder.”  Page 42.

h) Liberation of Prisoners:

            “The liberation of prisoners is an armed operation designed to free the jailed urban guerrilla.  In daily struggle against the enemy, the urban guerrilla is subject to arrest and can be sentenced to unlimited years in jail. . . For the guerrilla, his experience is deepened by prison and continues even in the dungeons where he is held.

            “The guerrilla operations that can be used in liberating prisoners are the following:

i) Execution:

            “Execution is the killing of a North American spy, of an agent of the dictatorship, of a police torturer, of a fascist personality in the government involved in crimes and persecutions against patriots, of a stool pigeon, informer, police agent, or police provacateur.

            “Those who go to the police of their own free will to make denunciations and accusations, who supply clues and information and finger people, must also be executed when they are caught by the urban guerrilla.

            “Execution is a secret action in which the least possible number of urban guerrillas are involved.  In many cases, the execution can be carried out by one sniper, patiently, alone and unknown, and operating in absolute secrecy and in cold blood.”  Page 44.

j) Kidnapping:

            “Kidnapping is capturing and holding in a secret spot a police agent, a North American spy, a political personality, or a notorious and dangerous enemy of the revolutionary movement.

            “Kidnapping is used to exchange or liberate imprisoned revolutionary comrades, or to force suspension of torture in the jail cells of the military dictatorship.

            “The kidnapping of personalities who are known artists, sports figures, or are outstanding in some other field, but who have evidenced no political interest, can be a useful form of propaganda for the revolutionary and patriotic principles of the urban guerrilla provided it occurs under special circumstances, and the kidnapping is handled so that the public sympathizes with it and accepts it.

            “The kidnapping of North American residents or visitors in Brazil constitutes a form of protest against the penetration and domination of United States imperialism in our country.”  Pages 44-45.

k) Sabotage:

            “Sabotage is a highly destructive type of attack using very few persons and sometimes requiring only one to accomplish the desired result.

            “. . .A characteristic form of sabotage is explosion using dynamite, fire, and the placing of mines.

            “A little sand, a trickle of any kind of combustible, a poor lubrication, a screw removed, a short circuit, pieces of wood or of iron, can cause irreparable damage.

            “The urban guerrilla should endanger the economy of the country, particularly its economic and financial aspects, such as its domestic and foreign commercial network, its exchange and banking systems, its tax collection system, and others.

            “Industrial workers acting as urban guerrillas are excellent industrial saboteurs since they, better than anyone, understanding the industry, the factory, the machine, or the part most likely to destroy an entire operation, doing far more damage than a poorly informed layman could do.

            “With respect to the enemy’s transport and communication systems, beginning with railway traffic, it is necessary to attack them systematically with sabotage arms.”  Page 45.

l) Terrorism:

            “Terrorism is an action, usually involving the placement of a bomb or fire explosion of great destructive power, which is capable of effecting irreparable loss against the enemy.

            “Terrorism requires that the urban guerrilla should have an adequate theoretical and practical knowledge of how to make explosives.

            “The terrorist act. . . is an action the urban guerrilla must execute with the greatest cold bloodedness, calmness, and decision.

            “Although terrorism generally involves an explosion, there are cases in which it may also be carried out by execution and the systematic burning of installations, properties, and North American depots, plantations, etc.  It is essential to point out the importance of fires and the construction of incendiary bombs such as gasoline bombs in the technique of revolutionary terrorism.  Another thing is the importance of the material the urban guerrilla can persuade the people to expropriate in moments of hunger and scarcity resulting from the greed of the big commercial interests.

            “Terrorism is an arm the revolutionary can never relinquish.”  Pages 46-47.

m) Armed Propaganda:

            “These actions, carried out with specific and determined objectives, inevitably become propaganda material for the mass communications system.

            “Airplanes diverted in flight by revolutionary action, moving ships and trains assaulted and seized by guerrillas, can also be solely for propaganda effects.

            “But the urban guerrilla must never fail to install a clandestine press and must be able to turn out mimeographed copies using alcohol or electric plates and other duplicating apparatus, expropriating what he cannot buy in order to produce small clandestine newspapers, pamphlets, flyers, and stamps for propaganda and agitation against the dictatorship.”  Page 47.

n) The War of Nerves:

            “The object of the war of nerves is to misinform, spreading lies among the authorities, in which everyone can participate, thus creating an air of nervousness, discredit, insecurity, uncertainty, and concern on the part of the government.

            “The best methods used by the urban guerrilla in the war of nerves are the following:

a)      using the telephone and the mail to announce false clues to the police and the government, including information on the planting of bombs and any other act of terrorism in public offices and other places, kidnapping and assassination plans, etc., to oblige the authorities to wear themselves out, following up the information fed them;

b)      letting false plans fall into the hands of the police to divert their attention;

c)      planting rumors to make the government uneasy;

d)      exploiting by every means possible the corruption, the errors, and the failures of the government and its representatives, forcing them into demoralizing explanations and justifications in the very mass communication media they maintain under censorship;

e)      presenting denunciations to foreign embassies, the United Nations, the papal nunciature, and the international judicial commissions defending human rights or freedom of the press, exposing each concrete violation and use of violence by the military dictatorship and making it known that the revolutionary war will continue its course with serious danger for the enemies of the people.”  Page 48.

Security

            “The worst enemy of the urban guerrilla and the major danger we run is infiltration into our organization by a spy or an informer.

            “The spy trapped within the organization will be punished with death.  The same goes for those who desert and inform the police.

            “Nor is it permissible for everyone to know every one and everything else.  Each person should know only what relates to his work.  This rule is a fundamental point in the abc’s of urban guerrilla security.

            “The battle that we are waging against the enemy is arduous and difficult because it is a class struggle.  Every class struggle is a battle of life or death when the classes are antagonistic.

            “Address and telephone books must be destroyed and one must not write or hold papers; it is necessary to avoid keeping archives of legal or illegal names, biographical information, maps and plans.  The points of contact should not be written down but simply committed to memory.”  Page 51.

Breakdown of National Will

            “When they see the militarists and the dictatorship on the brink of the abyss, and fearing the consequences of a revolutionary war which is already at a fairly advanced and irreversible level, the pacifiers, always to be found within the ruling classes, and the right-wing opportunists, partisans of nonviolent struggle, join hands and circulate rumors behind the scenes, begging the hangman for elections, ‘redemocratization,’ constitutional reforms, and other tripe designed to fool the masses and make them stop the revolutionary rebellion in the cities and the rural areas of the country.”  Page 54.