World journalists consider
_ tasks for peace, cooperation

By JAMES LEECH

The 9th Congress of the International Organization of
Journalists centred its discussions around three major
topics: the contribution of the IOJ to strengthening
peace, security and cooperation among nations; the New
International Information Order; and_ international
solidarity of journalists.

IOJ congresses and executive meetings rotate among
various countries. This one, which marked the 35th
anniversary of the organization met in Moscow, October
19-22.

In the presence of representatives of 86 organizations
of journalists from 78 countries and from a number of

regional and international organizations and institutions, ~

the gathering endorsed the view that journalists have a
grave responsibility for directing public attention toward
the reality of the war danger, and the direction from
which it comes. They have the task of dedicating their
work to world peace.

It is likewise a primary responsibility of journalists — —

of print media, radio and television — to insist upon an
end to colonialism in the field of information. In other
words, developing countries need the opportunity to
express their own points of view to the world and to
receive a full range of information about the world — not
the pre-digested, pro-imperialist. propaganda of the
Western news agency monopolies. They need to be free
of the media domination which accompanies and en-
hances economic and social domination from outside
their countries. Hence the demand for a new inter-
national information order.

The Congress called upon honest journalists the world

over to strengthen their unity in insisting upon truth and .

responsibility in reporting, and a willingness to take on
the deep-going, real problems of their peoples. '
Journalists Harassed

At the same time the assembled newsmen and news-
women from every continent vowed to defend the many
journalists who are being harassed, jailed and mistreated
by governments like those of Egypt, Israel, South Africa
and the Latin American dictatorships

In the closing appeal to ‘‘those working in the mass
media all over the world, newspaper editors, publicists
and reporters, leading radio and TV broadcasters, com-
mentators, photographers and TV cameramen,”’ the
Congress warned of the danger of the arms escalation,
and of nuclear missile arms in particular.

Canadians might have thought the document’ was
speaking directly to them, when it noted how the arms
build-up ‘‘undermines the national economy, heightens

inflation, deprives ever new millions of people of their.

At the same
and again

jobs and cuts allocations for social needs.”’
time, “‘it aggravates international tensions,”’
escalates the arms build-up.

The Congress, convening in the capital of the Soviet
Union, and having access to Soviet policies on disarma-
ment and detente, access to the USSR’s numerous
proposals for new steps to relieve tension and begin
disarmament talks, was unable to find the same readi-
ness on the part of the Reagan administration.

The participants, the document said, were convinced

_that the Soviet people who lost over 20 million loved

ones in World War II, want peace and good neighborly
relations. It also challenged slanders from the same
sources in which the “‘selfless fighters for independence
and freedom’’, are called ‘‘terrorists’’. A new inter-
national information order was needed to throw the light
of truth on such slanders.

Journalists have a special responsibility to the world,
the appeal stated. ‘‘Our journalistic duty, dignity and
conscience require that we write and speak the truth and

only the truth. For the sake of truth do not denigrate ~
‘people who are fighting against the war danger, for-no

one wants to die in a ‘limited’ or any other kind of nuclear
war.”

Turning to diewastigh of the proposed New Inter-
- national Information Order, over which western media

monopolies are attacking the United Nations Educa-
tional, Scientific and Cultural Commission (UNESCO),
a promoter of the NIIO, delegates were told that the
‘‘four sisters who have occupied all the positions in
information, Associated Press, United Press, Agence

;

Congress hail in Moscow.

France Presse and Reuters, pump out 45 million words a
day.

capitalist news agencies is grossly deformed and in-
concrete,’’ it was charged. Imperialist countries now —
offer developing countries information technology, but
only to better spread their own point of view.

: New Information Order
What is needed is trained journalists of the given coun-

try, a new type of journalist, closely linked with the fate Ee

of his or her own country. The journalism schools of the —
IOJ in Bulgaria and Hungary are ale to meet this”
need, delegates stressed.

The Congress elected an executive with Kaarle
Nordenstreng of Finland as president; Jiri Kubka of —
Czechoslovakia as’ secretary-general; Andras Kiraly of

Hungary as treasurer; as well as 22 vice-presidents from |

various parts of the world, and 42 additional members of
the executive, from 42 countries. -

‘ Imthe thoroughgoing ‘orientation document”’ read by ©
Nordenstfeng, the position of the IOJ on major issues of —

_the day was clearly stated.

’ At this Congress 21 new member organizations were

admitted to IOJ membership, including IOJ — Canada, —

which is in its formative stages. _
At a reception concluding the Congress, a number of ©
journalists from an array of countries’ representatives —

were awarded the coveted Julias Fucik Honarary Med- —

als — named in honor of the Czech journalist executed
by the Nazis sue World War Il.

INTERNATIONAL FOCUS

Despite this, ‘‘news of the non-aligned countries from

+

‘What was the excuse —the excuse, if there was not a
for abuse and single socialist state and the
, iliation?’ €zars ruled in all Russia?

Eloquently replying to U.S.
charges that the USSR, Cuba
and Nicaragua are ‘‘destabiliz-
ing” governments in the reg-
ion, Daniel Ortega, Comman-
der of the Nicaraguan rev-
olution set the record straight.

In his speech to the UN
General Assembly Oct. 7,
Ortega drew on history:

‘*... ver: since the U.S.
War of Independence, . the
model of a federal democracy
based on the ideals of freedom
which. inspired _ Washington
and Jefferson, also inspired the
leaders of Latin America’s
struggle for independence.

“But that dream was soon
shattered ... From 1840 on,
our peoples no longer received
the influence of those ideals,
but rather threats and the im-
position of treaties which ran
counter to the sovereignty of
our countries. Wars were pro-
voked, the U.S. fleet imposed
blackmail. Landing of.
marines, imposition of corrupt
governments and one-sided
economic treaties were the

order of the day...

“Why were our countries
abused, invaded and
humiliated more than 200 times
from 1840 to 1917? What was.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—NOV. 20, 1981—Page 10

_ ‘How can we explain the at-
tacks, interventions and land-
ings from 1917 to 1959 in Latin
America when the Cuban rev-

olution did not exist and could -

not be charged with ‘inter-
ference’ — a charge _resérved
for future use?

“The U.S. did not seize

‘The dream was soon shat-
tered...’

Cuba and Puerto Rico and im-

pose the Platt Amendment to
save the Caribbean from
Soviet influence ..: it did not
land marines in Mexico, Haiti
or Nicaragua, or set up in 1903
the most formidable military
force ever, to save the Carib-
-bean, to solve the East-West
crisis .:.”’

Ortega told the UN much
more. He listed each U.S.

intervention and unequal trea-

ty. He described their results in
poverty, economic sabotage
and national disruption.

A good thing to remember as
Haig, Reagan, Bush, Wein-
berger and others threaten

.those nations in Latin America
and the Caribbean which stand
tall and are defending. their
peoples. They will never re-
turn to the abuse, and humilia-
tion Ortego recounts and
others will follow.

it’s less than
the minimum wage
Who can ever forget the grim

ending to U.S. news broad-
_ casts every evening: ‘This is

Day three hundred and sixty

two... for our people’ in

Iran.”” a
_ What about the joyous re-

turn home, the smiling presi-

dent and the ticker-tape wel-

come?

and Pept toot

Remember the Iran-bashing,
the jingoism and hatred whip-
ped up? And the ‘Merci,
Canada”’ as our embassy in
Tehran broke every rule of
law?

The echiliess of the 52

- Americans must have come to

an end. Now we see the sleazi-
ness of two years of making
hay while the sun shone.

' Lawyers for the former hos-
tages are asking $1,000 per day .

compensation per hostage.
The government is offering
$12.50.

oting it

In acover story on U.S. Sec-
retary of State Alexander Haig
earlier this year, Time maga-
zine wrote: ‘‘Haig is a man of
simple, clear ideas. His world
view can be summed up in a

‘phrase: the Russians are com-

ing’...
-Time’s writers were’ right.

And the world since has shud- __
dered.

The latest example. of Haig’ s
“‘simple”’ thought process took -
place last week when he testi-
fied before the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee. He told

of NATO contingency plans to —

fire a nuclear weapon ‘‘harm-
lessly’’ over a European
battlefied to “demonstrate to*

_ the other side they are exceed-

ing the limits ofa conventional

_ attack.”

The remark has raised an-

other storm in Europe, since

everyone knows Haig isn’t
talking about. the nuclear roc-
ket falling on the cornfields of
Iowa. ad

Haig then went on to say he
backed Reagan’s belief a nu-
clear war could be fought and

limited to Europe. ‘‘It is pre-:

cisely right’’, he barged on.
First, the USSR has clearly

’ warned that limited nuclear

war is not possible, that it
would spread quickly and en-
velope the globe bringing death

_to hundreds of millions.

But even if simple Alexan-
der chooses to dispute that, his
arrogance and that of Reagan
to see Europe as expendable,
is stunning. |

The Time ‘story tells of

‘ young Haig’s passion to be a

soldier. ‘‘He had a bugle and
he kept it with him all the time,
marching around and_tooting
it; he took it to bed with him the

waysorber wide took a Stuffed.
animal .

The litte boyi is now iBecret=
ary of State. And the bugle is

now an arsenal of nuclear roc- -
.- kets. But Haig must learn one
- simple truth — rockets fire

both ways.

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