Evening star., 1934-03-18
NEW CENTRAL AMERICAN
+ TREATIES ARE PLANNED
Cuatemalan President Invites Heads
of Other Nations to Discuss Politi-
cal and Economic Affairs.

the parties from diSregarding them
or getting around" them when the
actual emergencies arise.
Other declarations, highly resound-
ing but similarly inrocuous, are con-
cerned with the uniformity Of educa-
ton; the interchange of scholarships;
the validity of professional and mill
tary titles: the unihcation "as soon
as possible" of civil and criminal legis-
lation; the improvement of commune
cations; the increase of tourist travel,
and so on.
But, seemingly lost among such
idealistic projects, we find Article ID,
headed, Cooperation for the main
tenance Of the existing institutions"
And here Is the crux Of the whole
thing. Article 13 provides for CO.
operation and assistance in re-estab-
fishing internal order and repressing
anarchy sin case Of any revolutionary
movement threatening the institutions
and the constitutional life" of any one
Of the Central American nations.
In the very unfortunate presence
Of an attempt to upset by violence the
existing order Of things in one of the
signatory countries, it is specified,
the other sister republics will lend
all their assistance in order TO re-
establish normally" for which the
police forces of the respective coun-
tries will combine their efforts in
suppresSing the revolt"
In this article and in another pro-
vision stating that the parties "recog-
~ Saalora ont eFr
legal way of changing the public
power other than that provided in the
constitution" and denying recognition
to any revolutionary regime, the real
intentions Of the authors Of these
draft treaties are plainly disclosed.
Would Deny Right to Revolt.
A more reactionary and autocratic
instrument could not have been de-
vised. Not since the ill-remembered
Holy Alliance Of the nineteenth CEN
tury spread its legitimist doctrines
over absolutist Europe bad anything
so repulsive to human liberty and
popular rights been suggested.
Acting under which divine power,
could the Central American govern
ments-or. rather. the representatives
of the present Central American gov
ernments-proscribe forever the right
of their respective peoples to express
dissatisfaction with their form OF
government and TO attempt to alter
it by violence when all other demo-
cratic" means had been exhausted?
The enactment of such measures
as are proposed would be tantamount
to denying the people Of any Central
American republic the right TO revolt,
which is nothing more nor less than
denying them the fundamental right
of self-government. Revolution Is
quite often-more so in Latin America
than anywhere else-the only way out
of a tyrannical and arbitrary regime
which has suppressed all other forms
Of popular expression.
To deny any people the right to
revolt against unpopular institutions
is to deny the very essence of popular
sovereignty on which all the Ameri-
can republics are founded. To deny
it with the aid Of foreign govern
ments involves outside intervention
Of the worst kind.
Would Be Accessories.
BY agreeing to cooperate with each
other in the maintenance of the ex-
sting institutions, the governments
of Central America would be binding
themselves to intervene in the do
mestic affairs of the neighboring
countries whenever internal order was
threatened in any one of them. In
the case of dictatorial regimes trying
to repress. popular discomfort with
violence-a case only too frequent in
that part of the world-they would
be accomplices to the crimes and
vengeances of a few autocratic indi-
viduals. In every case, whether sup
porting a bad or a good government,
they would be denying sovereign, for
eign peoples the right to give them
selves the sort of government they
choose-a right without which the
democratic system which they intend
to uphold cannot exist.
Even though these endeavors to
Danish liberalism or social reforms
from Central America are lost in
mass of generalities and declarations
Of principles in the drafts submitted,
1t is to be hoped that the delegates
considering the latter will recognize
where the dangers lie and will
avoid them.
(Copyright 1q34)