BERLIN ROME e Doing all we can to achieve unity, says Soviet party (Special to the Tribune) MOSCOW The central committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, in a decision on the-cele- bration of the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution, Stresses that “the Soviet state is carrying into life new prin- ciples of ‘relations ‘between states and countries, the prin- ciple of equality, sovereignty and non-interference in each other’s domestic affairs.” The CPSU statement says: “Beginning with Lenin’s decree on peace, the Soviet Union has been pursuing a foreign policy which meets the most cherished aspirations of the peoples.” The statement adds that the CPSU “is doing everything in its power to. increase ,the co- hesion and might of the social- ist system, to rally the interna- tional Communist and working- Class movement on the basis of the principles of ' Marxism- Leninism, proletarian interna- tionalism. It is supporting the revolutionary struggle of the proletariat against capitalist slavery, supporting the peoples fighting against colonial oppres- sion and neo-colonialism and is Steadily pursuing a policy of consolidating an alliance with the forces of national libera- Hone Later on the ‘statement em- -phasizes: “The October Revolu- tion was a turning point in the development of the national lib- eration movement. It proved the concrete possibility of complete national liberation of the peo- ples, marked the beginning of a crisis of the colonial system and opened up concrete prospects for revolutions of national lib-. eration.” The past 50 years have proved the correctness and vitality of Marxism-Leninism andthe pow- erlessness of reformism and social democracy, says the state- ment. It also points out that “any attempt to replace Marx- ism-Leninism with pseudo-revo- lutionary phraseology and dog- ma inevitably suffers a fiasco.” “In these 50 years the. party and the people have known both the joys of big victories and the bitterness of losses, temporary setbacks and mistakes. From all the tests our party emerged even more steeled, even _ stronger, with unshakeable revolutionary optimism and confidence in the victory ef-the great Communist cause.” oe around the world _ FRENCH COMMUNIST Party membership has risen by 50,000 Since 1961 to 425,800, according to reports at their recent Congress. Membership in the under 25 age group has increased from 3.8 per- cent in 1959 to 9 percent of the present total .. . The British maga- zine, The Grocer, in its latest issue, lists 4,134 grocery price in- Creases in 1966. There were only 22 recorded decreases in prices. * * NEW YORK’S DOCTORS, medical students, nurses and other hospital workers demonstrated Jan. 7 against the war in Vietnam, They staged the demonstration both because of their moral ‘opposi- WASHINGTON tion to the use of napalm, harmful gases and the bombing of civi- lians and because they are concerned over the enormous cost of the war. They pointed out that New York City spends $34 million a year on hospitals while the expenditure on the Vietnamese war is $55 million per day . .. Seven members of the Bertrand Russell War Crimes Tribunal have arrived in Hanoi to investigate the U.S. bomb- ing of North Vietnam.civilians. - * * * WITH THE BEGINNING of the year a new decentralized sys- tem of economic management and planning came into force in Czechoslovakia. Under the new system prices and production costs are linked more directly and responsibility for detailed planning is shifted from central authorities to factory management . .. Sudan’s Interior Minister has ordered the release on bail of the secretary general of the Sudanese Communist Party, Abdel Khalig Mahgoub, who was arrested after the alleged army coup on Dec. 28. * * * LEADING LEFT MP’s in Britain, including John Mendelson, together with prominent Labor figures, are organizing a big public meeting for peace in Vietnam soon after parliament reconvened in London Jan. 17 . . . Italian Communist leader Luigi Longo told the French Communist Party Congress that his party was not in favor of an international Communist conference but thought ex- change of opinions and. meetings of various parties was preferable. The mini skirt has found the German Democratic Republic—it’s even in production thel® these garments, including those worn by the lone male, were designed by Apolda, a researc for Wolpryla, a co-operative chain. EAST GERMAN MINIS - ___ BUENOS AIRES : Tri al Gus Hall looks ahead Independent candidate for president in 68 » DDRESSING a gathering of leading Communists’ in New York, Gis Hall, gen- eral secretary of the Communist Party said that the people’s desire for peace in Vietnam was the underlying factor in the Nov. 8 elections, and urged that ef- forts towards influencing the 1968 elections, through broad mass coalitions and. independent political activity begin now. Hall noted that, while in most cases voters were given ‘little choice in the selection of can- didates, they took every oppor- tunity open to express dissatis- faction with the _ escalation policies of the Johnson admin- istration. “We must now consider ques- tions of unity and alliances,” said Hall, “‘to include all forces who view the present course of United States policy as against the best interests of the U.S.” . Hall maintained that the Viet- nam war was responsible for the “extreme isolation” of the U.S. abroad, and inflation, high cost of living and cutbacks in welfare programs at home. He pointed out that the bur- den for past wars had been borne by other nations, but that this is not the case today. “U.S. capitalism was light on casualties,” he said, “but heavy when the loot was being distrib- uted. What is new is that this old formula is not working. The tables are being turned . . . There is nowhere else to shift the bur- den than onto the backs of the American people.” But the people are fighting back, Hall noted. He said that the government and big business are readying a major assault on this resurgence, citing new anti- labor legislation as-an example. Hall cautioned against only looking at the bright side. While the nation did not “turn to the right”, he said, “the danger of the ultra-right has increased.” He maintained that their for- ces have. become more skillful, more demagogic, and that the increased power of the police, as symbolized by the defeat of the Civilian Review Board in New York plus the heightened use of terror throughout the nation, pose a real threat. He said that the Vietnam war impedes the struggle against the ultras because of the oppressive atmosphere it creates. “You can’t effectively fight the ultras,” said Hall, ‘“‘without conducting a struggle against the war and you cannot conduct a fight against the war without a struggle against imperialist war policy. The struggle against this po- licy, the major thrust of which will be directed against the John- son administration, must be con- ducted concurrent with the fight against the ultra-right, he added. The fight against the adminis- tration, he continued, ‘‘must not become a smoke-screen behind which the ultras can smugly hide.” : Hall emphasized the need for independent political action ‘“‘to break the stranglehold of the two major parties.” . He added that he was not advocating the formation of a new party now, because the for- ces which would provide the foundation for such a develop- ment were not yet ready to take that step. Hall said there had bet underestimation of the t® } ward political independé®) recent years. He charac!) such independence as *# within and outside the t f jor parties. Hall cited the) primary struggles withl!) Democratic Party, which ™) r ed “the highest coming '? for peace, civil rights a) liberties forces we have! had.” He also maintained th by Robert Scheer in Call for the Democratic nom for Congress, and the Mis pi Freedom Democratic P#. prime examples of indep™ struggles within a majot p Outside the two-party th Hall cited the 60-odd pea, didates who ran in the 1as!. tion on independent tickelV He took note of the diff” confronted by these indeP"}o forces in uniting aroun?) mon goals. He cited the pt tion Conference’ on P? Power in California, an as*) of liberal, labor, peace a gro forces, which split 0” gubernatorial race. a “Political independenc® | said, “is the process of dg ing on many different lev? using many different forts “We should not try 1?’ walls between these level) He said that the convele of the two major parties * be arenas of mass sttl that independent forces 4 show “more boldness, 1% perimentation’ a “We should start thi about an independent cal: for President in 1968 no™’ ; concluded. January 20, 1967—PACIFIC TRIBUNE”