— WORLD 10% OUT OF WORK U.S. jobless rate ‘national disgrace’ WASHINGTON — The call for jobs intensified last week with the news that the official unemployment rate soared to 10.1% — the highest since the Great Depres- sion. Actual unemployment, however, is much higher; those who have given up seeking jobs, who have only been able to find part-time work or who are looking to hold their first jobs are not counted in the figure. Not only is the unemployment rate officially acknow- ledged to be over 10%, but more than 6 million workers and their families are being denied jobless benefits. The Labor Department reported that 6.4 million workers and their families had exhausted their jobless benefits. The Labor Department reported that the plight of Afro-American workers worsened from 18.8% in August to 20.2% in September. Young workers, especially Afro-American youth, re- mained in a crisis situation. The unemployment rate for _ Afro-American youth was 48.5% and 23.7 for youth overall. Thomas (Tip) O’Neill (D-Mass.), speaker of the House, stated that he intends to fight for jobs legislation in Congress after the November 2 elections. Despite his statement that ‘‘our first objective must be to put Ameri- cans back to work,”” he did not call for a special session of Congress before the elections in order to pass emer- gency jobs and jobless benefits legislation now. Congressional observers have pointed out that there is little chance that the lame duck session of Congress would pass such legislation, ‘since the same congress- people who voted against jobs in previous sessions will consider the move. Reagan plays it down In Los Angeles with President Reagan, White House Deputy Press Secretary Larry Speakes said that the high unemployment rate shows that the economy is picking Statements of oppositicn to Reagan’s position came swiftly. AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland had already called for Congressional approval of jobs legislation. At an anti-Reaganomics rally in front of the White House last week, he said the figures were a ‘‘national disgrace and a human tragedy.” In New York, Benjamin Hooks, executive director of the NAACP, called on Reagan to come up with programs which seriously address unemployment. He stated, ‘The record high unemployment is specially tragic not only for Black Americans who suffer twice the hardships represented by these figures, but for the nation as a whole.” Adam Fioravanti, president of Local 506 of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers in Erie, Pennsylvania, commented, ‘‘We blame this on Reagan and his policies, he cannot run the country.’’ Said Fioravanti, ““We don’t believe anything he says any- more’’ about the country heading for a recovery. Tony Bonilla, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), said in Washington that the President may be able to tell Republicans to shut up, but he cannot tell the 11 million-plus jobless Americans the same. He was refering to a Republican candidates’ meeting at which Reagan told a heckling candidate to ‘shut up.” ‘‘The latest figures prove convincingly that Reaga- nomics is a fraud. The recent surge in the stock market, which the President is taking credit for, only confirms what we have alleged — the Administration favors the nich and not the poor. You don’t see unemployed work- ers buying stocks.” — U.S. Daily World U.S. jobless rate approaches 11 million with 6 million now having run out of jobless benefits. ~ Communists register big gains in Greek elections Special to the Tribune The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) has made considerable electoral gains in the first round of Greece’s municipal elections increasing its vote over its 1981 parliamentary supporty by 59-100% In many suburbs of Athens and Pireus the KKE elected its own mayors — come with substantial majorities such as in Koki ia, a left stronghold where the communist mayor Lo zothetis took 74% of the total vote. . In some cities where the left forces cooperated they obtained huge majorities as in Volos where a unity KKE/Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK( candidate received 71% of the total vote. Although the right-wing New Democracy Party made some gains over its showing in 1981 it is not enough to defeat the combined strength of the left in the second round Oct. 24. The increase of New democracy strength came mainly from the large cities. In the countryside it lost almost every munici- pality it previously held. : The second round is expected to see almost eve municipality in the country elect a left mayor and, with Greece’s proportional distribution of the vote, the new councils are expected to have a substantial left majority practically everywhere. In a post election comment, KKE chairman Florakis said the first round confirmed that the majority of the Greek people are totally behind the process for change. The news today, he said, is that broader democratic forces of the people are becom- _ ing conscious of the fact that this change is reflected in a substantial growth of the Communist Party and Victory celebration in Kokinia where a Comml) — mayor was elected with 74% of the vote. The s&”) | round on Oct. 24 is expected to show heavy gains ey Greece’s left forces. z its mass support. Florakis pointed out that the correct politic: clusions must be drawn from the fact that w. the democratic forces cooperated the greate cesses were achieved. a PASOK had been counting heavilly to wil) half-million first-time voters resulting from a 10" ing of the voting age but a high number voted B® The Communist Party campaigned widely fol) creased nationalization and for the withdraw Greece from NATO and European Economic ™, munity and was critical of PASOK’s hesitan“) carry out its 1981 election pledge to get Greece the Western military alliance. A sampling of some important city results 97 the KKE vote in Athens at 19% (up from 12.) Salonika at 22.5%; Patra at 30% and Piraievs 177 GDR leader reaffirms solidarity, ‘em me cooperation during Mideast tour economic relations betweel leading capitalist states ) By FILS DELISLE Tribune Berlin Correspondent BERLIN — Erich Honecker, State Council chairman of the GDR and general secretary of the Social- ist Unity Party, completed eight days of official visits to Syria, Cyp- rus and Kuwait, plus talks in Kuwait with Yasser Arafat, chair- man of the PLO. The communiques issued in each country indicated a strengthening of economic and political coopera- tion between them and the GDR. Honecker joined his hosts in joint condemnation of ‘‘the barbarian aggression against Lebanon, backed by the USA, the genocide against the Palestinians and Lebanese, the annexation of Syri- a’s Golan Heights in violation of international law, and the actions of Israel in the occupied Arab terri- tories”’. In his talks with Arafat, the GDR leader reaffirmed support for the ‘PLO and creation of a sovereign Palestinian state as the only road to peace in the Middle East. Neues Deutschland newspaper of the Socialist Unity Party, said the visits ‘‘would provide an im- portant stimulus for a cooperation useful to both sides’’. It attached importance to the fact that main- tenance of world peace ranked high in the discussions and noted that a number of important agreements were signed between the GDR and the three states visited. While _GDR and the three states, N@) Deutschland said, ‘‘involv@ deteriorating and are increas becoming the subject of bittel putes, the agreements betwee# various areas of economic, S¢ fic and technical cooperation, and including cooperation # field of health’’. In addition, in Damascus, cord was signed on cooperatiO” tween the Syrian Arab Sov, Baath Party and the GDR’s S® ist Unity Party. In Cyprus, @ communique called for the drawal of all foreign troops the island and guaranteeing of sovereignty and independen™ the country. = Ss 38 Palestinian state is goal — Arafat } KUWAIT, (WAFA) — Palestinian Liberation Or- ganization chairman Yasser Arafat addressed a mass rally here Oct. 19 and held the Reagan administration responsible for the Israeli-executed massacre in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila. Arafat pointed to the extremely difficult circum- stances that the Palestinian people and the Arab na- tions are living through. He warned there will be no solution, peace or stability in the region by by-passing the right of the Palestinian people, including their right to self-determination and the establishment of an in- dependent state with Jerusalem as its capital. The PLO leader said that everybody must under- stand that Palestinian decisions will remain in- dependent ones, protected by all the freedom fighters and the honorable people in the Arab world. He spoke about the dispersal of the Palestinian fighters to nine Arab nations and stressed that this does not mean the PACIFIC TRIBUNE—OCTOBER 29, 1982—Page 8 liquidation of the Arab revolution. Arafat described it ft as ‘‘an oil spill that has spread on the surface of seas of the region.” pil He disclosed that during the Israeli seige of there were ‘‘300,000 volunteers from amons friends waiting to join our forces’’, but that pro™, of passports and boundaries hindered their at, “This is why we are confident of our solid ba” | Das He referred to his recent talks with Jordan’s © Hussein describing them as ‘‘positive and com”), tive’’. He told his audience, ‘‘we agreed that the” executive committee should meet and appoint ao thorized delegation to continue the talks in AM if But it should be pointed out that the Pales ‘it fighters would not agree to anything less than © dependent Palestinian state. “It is the right of the Palestinian militants os express their opinions. Such a policy has lead 10), strength of the Palestinian revolution,” he conc®™”