———— ee Nicaragua responds to Reagan’s attacks ‘We shall remain a free people’ U.S. president Reagan, in the latest in a series of attacks, again threatened the Nicaraguan revolution in a speech April 27 and openly declared Washing- ton’s intention to roll back the tide of national and social liberation in Central America. In an interview with the Tribune, Pastor Valle- Garay, Consul General of Nicaragua in Toronto out- lined the position of the Sandinista National Libera- tion Front in response to the growing U.S. involve- ment against the revolution, its support of armed attacks against Nicaragua and increasing role in the region. oe We found Reagan’s speech to be a shabby treat- ment not only of the people in Central America, but also of the American people’s intelligence. It appears Washington has taken over the business of running the governments of El Salvador and Honduras, and now wants to run the Nicaraguan government without concern for our sovereignty and independence. Name calling, as he did in his speech, is easy when you have control of the three main news networks and speak to orchestrated applause in the U.S. Congress. But Reagan’s intentions are clear — he plans to continue taking a military path in Central America. His speech contained several lies. The key one being that Nicaragua is attempting to overthrow the El Salvador government by shipping arms to the guerilla forces. On May 1, the leaders of the counter- revolutionary forces (contras) told the press they don’t know what Reagan is talking about. “‘We have not intercepted a single arms shipment.”’ one said. Contrary to Reagan’s claim he is not trying to over- throw the Sandinista government, the contra leaders publicly said that is exactly what their aim is. These are but the latest in a long series of lies by the Reagan administration that have been building up to the April 27 speech. They began during the term of former-Secretary of State Haig and continue to this day. Here are some of the main.ones: ee U.S. claim: Nicaragua has 1,000 Soviet MIG air- craft. Fact: To this day, the best estimate is we have no more than eight U.S.-built Korean war vintage P-33 trainers in poor condition. e U.S. claim: A wholesale slaughter of Miskito In- dians whose bodies were floating in the Rio Coco. Fact: This was refuted by every international human rights organization and even by the govern- ment of Honduras itself. e U.S. claim: Photo published widely supposedly of the bummed corpses of Miskito Indians at the hands of the Sandinista government. Fact: The photo belonged to Le Figero newspaper in Paris and showed the burned bodies of Sandinista fighters murdered by Somoza troops in 1978 during the civil war. e U.S. claim: Production of a U.S.-compiled ‘*White Paper’’ on Nicaragua’s military build-up and subversive activities in the region. Fact: The ‘‘White Paper’? was rejected both in Europe and Latin America as ridiculous, even by USS. allies. Since Haig, it appears U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Jeanne Kirkpatrick has taken over this job. <= e U.S. claim: Nicaragua has concentration camps holding 200,000 Miskito Indians. Fact: The Miskito population in Nicaragua numbers 60,000. Amnesty International, International Com- mission of Jurists, church groups from Canada, the U.S. and Europe have refuted charges of ‘‘concentra- tion camps’’ and commended what the government has done to resettle the Miskito population away from the areas of fighting where they would be subjected to military attacks by contras. : e U.S. claim: There are 5-10,000 USSR advisers and thousands of Cubans in Nicaragua training its armed forces. Fact: Our volunteer army: couldn’t possibly use such advisers. They don’t exist. e U.S. claim: Reagan said 50 PLO pilots are flying Nicaraguan airforce planes. v ae Fact: Within two days his own State Department reminded him there is no Nicaraguan airforce. e U.S. claim: The defection of former Nicaraguan ambassador to Washington, Francisco Fiallos was due to his objection to lack of religious freedoms in Nicaragua. Fact: Fiallos left with $650,000 in embassy funds. We are demanding his return, but he is being given political asylum by the U.S. He’s acommon thief, not a politi- cal refugee. e U.S. claim: Just before the proposed visit of Interior Minister Tomas Borge to Canada in April, the Associated Press which behaves like the State Department’s official mouthpiece, ran a story that a Nicaraguan military plane had been shot down by contras and that the pilot was a Canadian. Fact: It was a lie to embarrass Borge in Canada, to require him to face the press about this pilot which to this day has not been produced by the U.S., the contras, Honduras or by anyone. Such a pilot doesn’t exist, such as a Nicaraguan airforce doesn’t exist. e U.S.claim: Presentation ofa so-called Nicaraguan soldier captured in El Salvador. Fact: The “‘soldier’’, paraded at a State Department press conference in Washington, turned out to be a student kidnapped by the Salvadorean troops. He publicly embarrassed the U.S. by charging he was — kidnapped and told what to say. He has since returned home. e U.S. claim: Secret talks have been held between Nicaragua and the USSR to build an Atlantic to Pacific canal. Fact: This latest lie has two aims: to “‘prove’’ the USSRis threatening U.S. interests inthe region, andto harm Panama-Nicaragua relations. The entire series of lies and misinformation is being launched with one aim — to convince the American people of a ‘‘threat’’ to the U.S. and Win them to Reagan’s policies. : Let’s be clear: They want to overthrow our government. What the U.S. administration is doings neither overt nor covert — it’s an undeclared war they’re waging against our people and revolution. It should be said that we are not answering Rea- gan’s accusations. Nicaragua is stating its facts very clearly. As a sovereign, independent, free people we have the right to buy weapons or rice or wheat or anything from any country in the world without the approval of the United States. We do not apologize for our relations with the So- viet Union, or Canada or Mexico or any other state with whem we wish to cooperate and trade. This is our right as a free nation — and we intend to use it. Today we can enjoy relations with nations which were previously denied to us both by the U.S. and the Somoza family who were U.S. puppets. Former Mexican president Portillo once told Rea- gan: ‘‘I know the Sandinistas very well. And you know, tkey have a slogan which is more than just a slogan — ‘Patria Libre o Morir’. Be very careful. I know the Nicaraguans, the Sandinistas. And I know they are ‘crazy’ enough to mean it.” And we are. The recent mass demonstrations last _ week in Nicaragua show clearly who our people see as the enemy of Nicaragua and mankind. It is U.S. imperialism. Washington has turned the situation in Central America into an ‘‘east-west confrontation’’ which doesn’t exist. It’s confrontation between our deter- mination to achieve social justice, political justice and U.S. imperialism. We are now prepared, if needed, to arm two or three miilion people to defend our revolution and our people. We will never again live under U.S. im- perialism, or any imperialism. We are a free nation. We intend to remain free, sovereign and independent. 4 PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MAY 13, 1983—Page 8 USSR makes new missile offer MOSCOW — The USSR, May 3, in an renewed effort to get the Geneva arms talks off dead centre, proposed striking a balance in Europe between Soviet and NATO missile systems which would include deep cuts in the USSR medium- range arsenal in exchange for cuts in British and French arsenals. The Soviet proposal would also render unnecessary NATO plans to deploy 572 Cruise and Pershing-2 rockets, scheduled for western Europe this year. In a Kremlin dinner for. visiting GDR leader Erich Honecker, Soviet leader Yuri Andropov outlined the USSR offer: ““We are prepared to reach agreement on the equality of nuclear potentials in Europe as re- gards delivery vehicles and war- heads, with due account for the corresponding armaments of Britain and France.” The British/French nuclear poten- tial, which is currently being rapidly- modernized and expanded, has been a major sticking point at Geneva. The U.S. has refused to include them in weapons’ calculations, al- though the sytems are capable of reaching Soviet territory with devas- tating results. The USSR contends the entire U.S.-British-French military nu- clear potential must be counted, aimed as they are at the Soviet Union. Britain is a NATO member as is France, though French ‘weapons are not under NATO milit- ary command. Initial Washington response to the new Soviet offer is to repeat its T& fusal to include the British/Frencb arsenals. At the same time, a presk dential commission on_ strategi¢ forces has recommended deploy ment of 100 new U.S. intef continental MX missiles, each catty” ing 10 warheads. ee ‘Halt arms race’, Bishops Say CHICAGO — By a vote of 238-9, - U.S. Catholic bishops have ap-. proved 4 pastoral letter to 51 million American Catholics calling fora halt to the arms race. _ The National Conference of Catholic Bishops adopted the letter after 18 months of study and debate, and in spite of pressure from the U.S. administration whose nuclear policy runs in the opposite directibn. - The letter, which will serve as a teaching guide, calls for a halt to test-_ ing, production and deployment of _nuclear weapons, noting U.S. plat ning designates 40,000 Soviet targets. ; The bishops said they could see 1° situation ‘‘in which the deliberate 1” itiation of nuclear warfare, on how ever restricted a scale, can be jus tified. The Reagan administratio® argues it needs the first strike t as a major component in its nuclea! strategy.