People clamor for negotiated peace in Indochina _

conquerable.

resistance.
the Viet Minh, struck back at the
_ Japanese and freed large areas of
the country even before Japan cap-
itualed.

Then, and since, they showed that

. heither Japanese nor French armies

can crush the spirit of a ration

fighting for its liberty and inde-
pendence.

On September 23, 1946, exactly
three weeks after the proclamation
of the Democratic Republic of Viet
Nam, French troops, equipped and
supported by the British, launched
-a surprise attack on Saigon and seiz-
ed the city.

_To gain time while they prepared
for a war of reconquest the French
conducted negotiations with the
new republic. But when their pur-
Pose became evident the negotia-

_ tions were broken off. On Decem-
ber 19, 1946, the bloodiest and most
costly colonial war in the history

PE ee

the French a war to reconquer a
colony rich in natural resources,
for the peoples of Indochina a war
BS of national resistance for their in-
ee es dependence.

The French counted on a quick
and complete victory.
seven years they have lost even
the hope of victory. And the
“dirty war” is opposed by the ma-
jority of the French people them-
Selves,

® The offensive they launched

- in 1947 in the region of Viet
--Bac ended in heavy defeat and a
shameful retreat.
@ By the end of 1950, the Peo-
ple’s army had passed over
to the offensive and attacks were
launched against enemy strong
Points in Cao-Bang, Lang-Son
. and Laskay. The extensive bor-
cs der area’ between People’s China
ee and Viet Nam was liberated.

The French dug in in the area

of the Red River Delta but here
too they. were subjected to con-
stant attack.
- -- @ ~=At the end of 1951,
4 French launch an attack
Bi: against Hao Binh and were again
a, compelled to retreat in haste,
| suffering heavy losses. as

® Between the end of 1952 and

the beginning of 1953, the

People’s army continued to press

the French troops and liberated

€@ considerable part of the coun-

try. Altogether an area of 80,-

000 square miles had been liber-
ated, apart from the liberated

areas in the French rear.

Since then, new victories which

have linked the People’s armies

- 0f Viet Nam and Laos have ex-
Panded the liberated areas. ~

i : Incomplete figures show that be-

the

1953, the People’s army had inflict-
€d 281,000 casualties on the French
and puppet armies, including 217,-
500 killed.

Tt captured 82,000 rifles and ma-
chine-guns, 850 guns and mortars,

of munitions and supplies; it de-
Stroyed 242 aircraft, 5,700 tanks,
armored cars and trucks, 370 boats
and landing barges, 1,000 wagons
and locomotives and huge quanti-
ties of munitions, fuel, equipment
and food. A
_This war has swallowed the best
divisions of the French army. Each
_ year it has taken a toll of as many
3 _ Officers as were graduated annual-
4 ly from the military colleges of
ance, ;
Tt has wrought havoc on the
Nances and economy of France.

Their guerilla forces, | 7

of imperial “France, started — for

But after]

tween December 19, 1946, and July}.

a 100 trucks and thousands of tons},

_ French lose hope of
victory in ‘dirty war’

After several years of war the people of Viet Nam have proved that they are un-

-Actually, the peoples of Indochina have been fighting for 12 years.
Japanese armies invaded Indochina and occupied the country in 1942 the French colonial
government collaborated with the new overlords. But the people organized their own

When the

&

rial
S|

While French military commanders in Indochina continue
to win paper victories, the worsening French position is indicated
by the place names thrown up into the headlines.
are bottled up at Dien Bien Phu, have lost and regained Thakkek
and are in full retreat at Luang Prabang, Laotian capital.

French troops

¥

The French people are clamor-
ing for an end to the war in Indo-
china, for’ holding of peace nego-
tiations and establishment of eco-
nomic and cultural relations with
the People’s government headed by
Ho Chi-minh. |

The largest political party in
France, the Communist party,
stands at the head of this people’s
struggle for the cessation of hos-
tilities. -

“When the news of the Korean
armistice was received,’ wrote
Paris Presse-L’Intrasingeant, ‘very
many Frenchmen began to ask
whether the time had not come to
end the hostilities in Indochina.”

Why then, with millions of
French people demanding an end
to the “dirty war’ which has been
imposed upon them, does the gov-
ernment still squander the coun-
try’s resources on one desperate
military operation after another?

One reason lies with the 45
French monopolies which, between
1946 and 1951 alone, increased their
profits in Indochina twentyfold and
they, naturally, blocked the men
in the French Chamber who stood
for ending the war.

This situation had forced the
A

HI CHI MINH

But this is only a partial explan-
ation. The rest of the answer can
best be given in the words of Paul
Reynaud who, as far back as Aug-
ust, 1951, said:

“You Americans obtain from In-
dochina 89 percent of the natural
rubber and 52 percent of the tin
you consume. Consequently it is
more your interests than ours we
are defending in Indochina.”

Quoted book,

faces prison

, GENEVA

For sending information from
handbooks — available in every
Swiss public library — to the
World Peace Council, a Swiss pro-
fessor is being tried on charges of
passing information to a foreign
organization.

» Victim of this McCarthyism is
Andre Bonnard, professor of Greek
at Lausanne University, chairman
of the Swiss Peace Movement and
a member of the World Peace Coun-
cil. Spee :

In March 1952, the U.S. State
Department asked the International

Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) |

—a co-opted body consisting en-
tirely of Swiss nationals mainly ex-
diplomats and businessmen — to
investigate germ-warfare charges.

The World Peace Council asked
Prof. Bonnard to examine whether
the ICRC which had desponded to
the U.S. proposal with alacrity, was
in a position to organize an im-
partial inquiry. ;
_ Bonnard prepared some material
—articles from Swiss newspapers
and extracts from Who’s Who in
Switzerland, the Handbook of the
Red Cross, and similar non-secret,
non-confidential publications.

In June 1952 as he was leaving

Switzerland he was stopped and}.
searched by the Swiss police.

*

>

|New world —
|Steady rise

in standards

Purchasing power of the Czecho-
slovak working people was raised
7,000 million crowns (approximate-
ly $1 billion) last year, according
to the report on 1953 from the state
Statistical office. -

Seventy-three percent of the na-
tional income, which rose by 5 per-
cent, was devoted to the people’s
social and cultural needs.

Number of persons employed in
industry rose by 180,000. Of the
newcomers, 35 percent were wo-
men.

During last year, 185,500 Czecho-
slovak workers received spa treat-
ment, and. 285,000 workers had
trade union subsidised holidays at
specially reduced prices. Pensions
paid to the aged and infirm totalled
10 percent more than in 1952.

Sport also mirrored the rising
prosperity of the people. New clubs
formed totalled 2,879 and close on
200,000 more sportsmen were en-
rolled.

* *

This: is what the people of the
German Democratic Republic got
in 1953:

@ Wage increases, Pension
increases, improvement of health
services to a total value of 447 mil-
lion marks.

e' Price reductions to a total
value of 540 million marks.

@' Tax reductions, particularly
for low income groups, to a value
of 70 million marks.

@' Concessions to farmers, to
the value of 476 million marks.

_ @ Extra government grants for
housing of 600 million marks.

e Salary increases for doctors
and dentists valued at 20 million
marks.

These savings mean that every
man, woman and child in the Ger-
man Democratic Republic was on
the average 125 marks better off
in 1953 than in the previous year.
For the average family this repre-
sented a gain in income sufficient
to pay the rent for nine months.

* x *

A new review satirising short-
comings in ‘public and private life
is drawing packed houses at» the
Army Art Theatre in Prague.

Tickets to see Scandal in the
Gallery are sold out for a month
ahead. .

The fun is fast and furious and
no one is spared—pompous officials,
ministry chiefs, bureaucrats and
professional big-talkers in many
occupations.

The man who objects to every
proposal because it “isn’t in the
plan.”

The cultural brigade which visits
a farm at harvest to “raise morale”
and does everything—except lift a
sack of grain.

And the statistical fellow who
talks for hours about how many
hundred miles of cloth could be
saved by not putting bands on
uniform caps. ...

Bad old ways — and some bad
new ones — get a rough handling

*~

.in the review, which was written

by staff members of the humorous
Magazine Dikobraz.
* * *

. Extending its trade agreement
‘with Belgium, Poland will import}
coffee, cocoa, and rubber from the
Belgian Congo.

Belgium is’ to send Poland in-
creased quantities of fertilizer, flax,
engineering and chemical goods in
exchange for timber, minerals, tex-
tiles and other products.

* * *

Hungary, stepping up its drive
_ for East-West trade, plans trade
exhibitions in 15 cities this year,
including one in Toronto. First
‘of the exhibitions opened in
_ Cairo last month. Others are to
be held in Teheran, Stockholm,
Casablanca and- Diakarta (Indo-

nesia).

D. N. PRITT, QC

Pritt defends
Guiana leader

: LONDON

D. N. Pritt, QC, world-famous
British barrister, will leave for
British Guiana on February 22 to
defend two leaders of the People’s
Progressive party, Fred Bowman
and S. Nasrudeen, against charges
of sedition.

Meanwhile, addressing a public
meeting in London last week on
his return from India Dr. Cheddi
Jagan, deposed prime minister of
British Guiana, was cheered for
his statement:

“We are going back to Guiana,
and I can assure you we are going
to put up a stiff resistance, whether
it means being jailed or being de-
tained.”

The applause was renewed when
he added: “They may lo¢k a few
of us up but there are thousands
behind us who will come forward.”

Dr. Jagan and his colleague, L.
F, Burnham, minister pf education
in the ousted People’s Progressive
government, are returning to Brit-
ish Guiana following a two-month
tour of India. .

“In India,“ said Jagan, “we
found moral and financial sup-
port from every quarter, from
all organizations.

“The Indian people recognize the
necessity of a united front against
imperialism. :

“We are returning to our coun-
try, and we realize the struggle is
going to be difficult.

“We know the government there
is ruling with an iron hand. It
has placed our comrades under
house arrest.”

The legislative council in Guiana
now consisted entirely of nominat-
ed members—including five indi-
viduals who dost their seats in the
election. Four of these five had
lost their deposits.

“This is the democracy that is
being practised in our country,”
said Jagan.

“People who have been elect-
ed have to report to the police
twice a week, while people who
lost their deposits are running
the country.

“We know we are not isolated in
our struggle. ‘We know we have
powerful allies all over the world,
including Britain.”

Franco court will
try Il Socialists
; PARIS

~ Eleven Spanish Socialists who
have been held in Franco jails for
a year will be tried in Madrid at
an early date.

They face charges of clandestine
activities against the Spanish goy-
ernment, of receiving money and
propaganda from abroad and of or-
ganising a railwaymen’s commit-
tee. :

The leader of the group,, Tomas
Senteno, was tortured to death by
Madrid security police in February
1953, a crime which provoked pro-
tests from both the International
Confederation of Free Trade
‘Unions and the Socialist Interna-_
tional. :

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — FEBRUARY 12, 1954 — PAGE 3