SECOND DISARMAMENT DECADE
A realistic program —
to end the arms race

‘The USSR, ina letter to United
Nations secretary-general Kurt
Waldheim, has advanced a new
series of proposals for peace. On
the occasion of the UN proclama-
tion of the 1980s as the Second
Disarmament Decade, and in face
of new, dangerous threats to
world peace, the USSR urges
negotiations on a broad range of
issues toward peace.

**The USSR,’ says the letter to
Waldheim, ‘‘and other countries
of the socialist community, put
forward a realistic program of
measures covering practically all
aspects of the problem of ending
the arms race and achieving dis-
armament ... among others, the
following measures are at issue:””

* * *

e The termination of the produc-
tion of all types of nuclear
weapons and a gradual reduction
of stockpiles of those weapons up
to their final elimination and, with
these aims in mind, the opening
without delay of relevant negotia-
tions with the participation of all
states possessing nuclear
weapons, as well as a number of
states which do not possess nuc-
lear weapons — parallel with this,
measures must be taken to
strengthen the political guaran-
tees and the guarantees under in-
ternational law for the security of
states;

e The further limitation and re-
duction of the quantities of
strategic arms, as well as their
further limitation qualitatively,

8 AEN RE IEE

TRIBUNE PHOTO — EDYA WEIR

12-day vigil against war

Every day from April 28 to May 9, noon-hour crowds in downtown
Toronto encounter these peace activists who are bringing their
message to thousands in a build-up for a May 10 march from
Queen’s Park to City Hall. Members of the May 10 Ad Hoc Commit-
tee, incorporating about a dozen groups, are voicing a growing
concern of:a new war resulting from an uncontrolled arms race.

with due regard for all the factors

which influence the strategic situ-
ation in the world, including that
in Europe;

e The conclusion of a treaty ona
total ban on nuclear weapon tests;

e The conclusion of a treaty on
the prohibition of radiological
weapons;

e The adoption of further mea-
sures to prevent proliferation of
nuclear weapons and, with these

_ends in view, the securing of the

universal participation of states in
the treaty on the non-proliferation
of nuclear weapons;

e The conclusion of a convention
on strengthening security guaran-
tees for non-nuclear states;

e The conclusion of an agree-
ment on the non-deployment of
nuclear weapons on the territories

of states where there are no such

weapons at present;

e The establishment of nuclear-
free zones in various regions of
the world;

e The limitation and subsequent
reduction of military activity in
the Indian Ocean and the estab-
lishment of a peace zone in the
area;

e The conclusion of a convention
on the prohibition of chemical
weapons;

e The conclusion of an all-
embracing agreement on the pro-
hibition of the development and
production of new types of
weapons of mass destruction and
new systems of such weapons;

e The conclusion of a convention
on the prohibition of the produc-
tion, stockpiling, deployment and
use of nuclear neutron weapons,

e The ending of the creation of
new types of conventional arma-
ments of great destructive force;

e The reaching of agreement on
the renunciation of expansion of
the armed forces and of an in-
crease in conventional arma-
ments by the powers which are
permanent members of the U.N.
Security Council, as well as by
the countries which are bound to
them by military agreements;

e The limitation of the sale and
deliveries of conventional arma-
ments;

e The working out of an interna-

tional agreement banning or limit-
ing the use of conventional

weapons which cause excessive
damage or are of non-selective ac
tion; :
e The accession of all states
which have not yet done so to the
existing agreements on limiting
the arms race and on disarma-
ment; ae

e A reduction in the military
budgets of the states which are
permanent members of the U.N.
Security Council, as well as of
other militarily important states,
in absolute or percentage terms:

INTERNATIONAL NOTES
Afghan-India ties hailed

President N. S. Reddy of India sent warm
greetings to Afghanistan this week on the second
anniversary of the April 27, 1978 Afghan revo-
lution. Reddy’s message was sent to Presi-
dent Babrak Karmal of Afghanistan and said:
“On behalf of the government and the people of

India, and also on my own behalf, I want toconvey

to you and the people of Afghanistan the best of
wishes on the occasion of the second anniversary
of the April revolution. I am confident that the
traditional friendly relations between India and

Afghanistan will go on strengthening.”

Nepal recognizes PLO

Nepal officially recognized the Palestine Lib-
eration Organization (PLO) on Tuesday. Nepal
previously maintained close ties, including mili-
tary ties, withIsrael. :

S. Yemen message to USSR

Strengthened friendship between the USSR
and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen
(South Yemen) was backed by PDRY President
Ali Nasser Muhammed on Tuesday.

The recently-elected-PDRY President was re-
sponding to a message of congratulations sent to
him by President Leonid Brezhnev of the USSR.
Muhammed said in-his reply cable that Soviet-

South Yemeni relations ‘‘will daily grow
stronger.”

Pakistan unrest mounts

Mass unrest was reported growing throughout
Pakistan on Wednesday as opponents of the re-
gime seemed to be increasingly more bold in their
criticisms of it. Begum Nusrat Bhutto, widow of
executed Premier Ali Bhutto, predicted that the
dictatorship of Gen. (President) Zia ul-Haq would,
be overthrown soon. The Iranian-born Mrs.
Bhutto and her daughter Benazir were released
from house arrest two weeks ago because of mass
public pressure.

Fourth cabinet member quits

Salvadoran Treasury Minister Roberto Aiver-
gue Vides resigned from his post Tuesday, be-
coming the fourth cabinet member to quit the
government in the last six weeks.

Vides’ resignation as treasury minister fol-
lowed the departures last month of the deputy
minister of agriculture and the ministers of edu-
cation and economics who resigned in protest
against government repression.

The three fled the country immediately before
resigning, saying they feared for their lives.

Members of the popular organizations seized
four radio stations and broadcast appeals for a
massive turnout at a march today (Thursday).

Meanwhile, the rightwing paramilitary

groups continue their violence against the peas-

ants. The decapitated and torture-marked bodies
of a manand a woman were found near the town of
Tecoluca, 66 miles east of San Salvador. In
another ghoulish incident, three gunmen burst
into a hospital operating room in the town of
Usulutan, 67 miles east of the capital, and fired
three bullets into the head of a youth undergoing
surgery for a bullet wound.

African independence

Nigerian President Shehu Shagari told the
opening session of the Organization of African
Unity (OAU) meeting Monday that for Africa
political independence will remain a dead letter
unless genuine economic independence is at-
tained.

The developing nations do not intend to live in
misery, Shagari said. That is why the current
assembly marks a first real step toward a radical
reappraisal of the existing international eco-
nomic relations, he said.

UN General Secretary Kurt Waldheim indi-

cated that the forum is called upon to become an --

important milestone in the socio-economic devel-
opment and consolidation of African indepen-
dence.

Before the meeting, the delegates warmly
welcomed Robert Mugabe, prime minister of
Zimbabwe. The newly independent country has
offieialtysbecome the-50th member of the OAU.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MAY 16, 1980—Page 6