WORLD Has membership of 25,000 New Spanish CP formed .MADRID (TASS, Ceteka) —A three-day Unity Congress of Spanish Marxist-Leninist groups and individuals ended Jan. 15 with the formation of a 25,000- strong new Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain. The new party, founded as a response to the profound crisis of the Spanish communist and _ - workers’ movement over the past years, approved its political guidelines analyzing the situation in the country and internationally and outlined its tasks. The con- gress approved rules which de- scribe the new party as being formed on the principles of Marx- ism-Leninism and proletarian internationalism and as a com- ponent part of the international communist and working class movement. It announced the new party will oppose Eurocommunism as a manifestation of revisionism and that it will continue the struggle for unity of all real communists. The final document noted that - Eurocommunism had resulted in chaos among Spanish left forces which lacked an ideologically strong and truly revolutionary party. Spain’s NATO membership, planned entry by Spain into the European Economic Community (EEC), a worsening economic situation, soaring unemployment and mass impoverishment have led to a revived class awareness by working people for whom the Communist Party of Spain (CPS) with its Eurocommunist ap- proach had become unattractive. The new party, by contrast, in- tends to formulate its demands clearly for withdrawal from NATO, rejection of EEC membership, the right to work, forthright opposition to capital- ism and policies in which class struggle will replace the reformist theory of class collaboration. The congress elected to its lead- ing committees many former rep- resentatives of Spain’s Workers’ Commission as well as former leaders of the CPS _ including Spanish Civil War veteran and former CPS Central Committee member Ignacio Gallego who was elected the new party’s General Secretary. Afghan protest to CPI The People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (DPA) has sent an open letter to the Italian Commu- nist Party (CPI) protesting the publishing in the CPI newspaper Unita of series of articles ‘tassessing the international as- pects of the situation around Afghanistan in a way basically identical with the stand of western imperialist circles and regional reaction.” The series, the DPA charges, “distorts the real meaning of the Democratic Republic of Afghan- istan and the international sup- port extended by the USSR to Afghanistan’s struggle for free- dom and national indepen- dence.” The DPA letter said Unita’s series cast doubts on the fact that the April, 1978 revolution had broad mass support and outlined the tasks of the Party in this period of Afghanistan’s develop- ment. It pointed out that these tasks would advance much more rapidly were it not for the aggres- sion launched by regional reac- tionary forces aided by im-- perialism. In line with the interests of the Afghan working people, the letter says, the decision was made to ask for help to repel external aggression. This was done under Article 4 of the Afghanistan- USSR Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation signed Dec. 5, 1978 and in accordance with Article 51 of the United Nations’ Charter. The DPA was critical of Unita’s reporting also because it. was based on statements and ‘assessments’ by Afghan emig- rants and western capitalist sources including the head of the ‘Afghanistan Information Cen- tre’’ in Rome whose head is a member of the family of the ex- king of Afghanistan who also re- sides in the Italian capital. SANTIAGO — Police armed with clubs and shotguns broke up a meeting of labor leaders here Jan. 24 where plans were being made for a general strike against the Pinochet dictatorship. Man- uel Bustos, head of the national labor movement said a broad grouping of labor and political forces are working together to organize “a great national strike to demand immediate changes in economic, political and social conditions in the country.” Another ale oon demonstration was broken up the same day when police fired shotguns into the crowd. International Focus. Tom Morris The problem is the people “There is a lot of concern that once things get rolling here again, these people will go out and elect another Bishop,” one U.S. army officer told the press last month. The problem he was talking about is the difficulty being en- countered by the U.S. and its appointed puppets in trying to hammer together some re- placement political system which will ‘‘guarantee’’ the de- sired results while appearing to be “‘democratic’’. More evidence of this came last week. Nicholas Braithwaite, the so-called “head of Grenada’s interim government” told his spon- sors, leaders of the Organiza- tion of Eastern Caribbean States, that foreign troops may have to stay on the Island for up to three more years. The country, says Braithwaite, is under “‘con- stant threat from people with a certain ideology’’. Everyone knows that when people like Braithwaite speak, the Americans move their mouths. And what Washington is saying is that three years are needed to stamp out all ves- tiges of the revolution, build a strong police force to keep it that way, hammer together a couple of friendly political par- ties and ensure an electoral vic- tory for the country’s new masters. A U.S. marine teaches a Barba nadians. ©. STARLET wnihe tsunst dian policeman how to shoot Gre- - The U.S. will boost their embassy in St. George’s to 30 people — more than twice the staff of the U.S. legation in Barbados which handles American interests for the en- tire eastern Caribbean. A sure sign that U.S. norms are being firmly put in place: Grenada’s police force, 100 men under the Bishop government, will be boosted to 500 under the Americans. But as history proves, ‘people with a certain ideolo- gy’’ persist. Nicaragua’s pride and dignity The U.S. helicopter shot down by Sandinista troops Jan. 11 while fiying its CIA operation was now “‘misled”’ by a U.S. Airforce-manned control centre in Honduras, according to American mili- tary sources. The unmarked aircraft car- ried three U.S. soldiers, one of whom died in the incident. Reagan and Shultz blamed the Nicaraguans and called the shooting provocative. The CIA boss in Honduras, U.S. ambassador John Negripointe, demanded an apology from Managua. It’s not difficult to imagine ‘what the Americans would have done to a Nicaraguan helicopter flying a secret mis- sion over Texas. ~ The investigation brought out other facts about the anti- Sandinista operations being carried out by Washington: e The U.S. military has 5,500 troops in Honduras on a so-called joint military venture named Operation Big Pine; e The U.S. military uses portions of five existing Hon- duran bases for its operations; e It is building airstrips in that country to accommodate any aircraft in the U.S. fleet; e The U.S. is negotiating with Honduras for the building of ‘‘one or more’’ exclusive U.S. military bases; e There are now 3,000 CIA _ personnel in Honduras with access to U.S. military com- munications and logistics capacity. This overt/covert build-up backs up the thousands of con- tra killers in their daily attacks against Nicaragua. It also applies direct U.S. military pressure on the Nicaraguan people by a land-air-sea en- circlement. There has rarely been a ‘covert’? operation so well publicized — and that’s what Reagan wants in this case, hop- ing to batter the Nicaraguan government into submission. But what the world sees in- PACIFIC TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 8, 1984 e 9 stead is a proud, dignified and determined people responding to threats with a high degree of courage and militancy. $836-million every single day Speaking directly ‘“‘to the people of the Soviet Union’’ Reagan urged the two coun- tries ‘‘to preserve civilization”’ and to do-away with nuclear weapons entirely. That was in his State of the Union message Jan. 25th. On Feb. 1 he brought down the largest military budget in U.S. peacetime history — larger than during the Korean or Vietnam wars. He is asking for $305-billion, a 13 per cent jump over 1984. This works out to $836-million per day. Included are all the key weapons: $5-billion for the MX missile; $8.2-billion for the B-1 bomber; $1.8-billion for his space wars program; $2.3-bil- lion for the Trident submarine. Billions more are tagged for other pet projects. When Soviet leader An- dropov challenged Reagan to match his words with deeds he was right on the mark. Again we see the results of the so- called ‘‘two-track’’ policy as Reagan talks peace and arms to the teeth. The lesson won’t be missed.