wre Western imperialism enacted their infamous

““non-intervention”’ policy against Republican Spain
in 1936-37, that meant that every state sympathetic to the cause
and preservation of democracy in Spain had to ‘“‘cease and
desist” all forms of human and material aid to the beleagured
people of Spain. But it didn’t mean Hitler and Mussolini had to
halt their murderous bombing of Spanish cities and com
munities. °

“‘Non-intervention’”’ simply gave those Fascist bandits a
clear field to continue their bombing at will in aid of Franco; to
experiment with their new and destructive weapons against
Republican Spain as a “testing ground”’ for the world war they
were to unleash a few months later.

Speaking in the then defunct and paralyzed League of
Nations the Spanish Foreign Minister, Don Julio Alvarez Del
Vayo said, ‘‘ . . .The policy of non-intervention is explicitly
denounced as constituting a ‘de facto’ blockade of the lawful
Spanish government.”

The International Brigades of all nationals, including
Canada’s famed Mackenzie-Papineau (Mac-Paps) Battalion
were proscribed by this infamous ‘“‘non-intervention”’ and had
to be withdrawn, leaving the Hitlerite ‘‘Condor’’ and the
Mussolini ‘‘Caproni’’ aviation vultures to wreak their will upon
the Spanish people. The blockade was on, with the naval
squadrons of Britain, France and other imperialist satellites to
see that it was enforced, and Republican Spain denied arms to
defend its democracy, denied food to sustain its people, denied
medical aid to heal its wounded.

The Liberal government of William Lyon Mackenzie King,
despicable in all of its ‘‘foreign policy” behaviors, with typical
Liberal sanctimonious double-talk, was one of the key
proponents of this ‘“‘non-intervention’’ blockade. Only the
heroism and sacrifice of those Canadians of the Mac-Paps who
left six hundred of their dead in the olive fields of Republican
Spain could redeem Canada’s honor from the disgrace of “‘non-
interyention’’ and blockade.

For the record however, it should be stated that many
British French and other skippers ran their ships through the
blockade.

Today’s escalation of the U:S. aggression in Vietnam by
the mining of Vietnamese ports, rivers and canals by the Nixon
madmen of Washington and the Pentagon, bring sharply to
mind some of these lessons of the past, one, that desperate acts
by desperate lunatics can be thwarted and rendered futile. And
the Nixon mining of North Vietnam ports, illegal, immoral and
desperate in the highest sense, will also suffer an ignominious
defeat. :

History doesn’t always repeat itself in exact parallels, nor
does the Liberal government of Pierre Elliot Trudeau idly
chatter about a Mackenzie King ‘“‘non-intervention.”’ On the
contrary it maintains a deathly silence anent the Nixon mining
of Vietnam ports, rivers and canals; a deathly silence upon the
unprecedented U.S. mass murder and destruction now being
rained from the skies upon the heroic Vietnamese people by
Nixon and his Murder Inc. gang.

Such a silence in face of what is now taking place in ©

Vietnam on the orders of U.S. madmen can only mean
acquiesence, agreement, a form of moral cowardice, rendered
more shameful by its endless chatter about “‘peace.”’

Perhaps in Nixon’s blockade and saturation bombing of
Vietnamese women, children and old men, it speculates on
behalf of the monopoly interests it serves, that the additional
millions of blood-stained profits it can garner from the pro-
duction of war materials for the Washington meglomaniacs is
sufficient reward for its silence. :

Canada doesn’t possess a merchant marine to run this or
any other blockade, although hundreds if not thousands of
Canadian seamen would be ready and willing to do so. But
Canada does have a VOICE, which must be heard in Ottawa,
and through Ottawa heard in Washington. A VOICE declaring,
so that ail may hear in the U.S. and around the world: GET
YOUR MINES OUT OF VIETNAM WATERS, YOUR PLANES
OUT OF VIETNAM SKIES, YOUR TROOPS OUT OF VIET-
NAM. GET OUT OF VIETNAM. YOUR BLOCKADE IS A
DESECRATION OF HUMANITY.

FOR ALL YOUR TRAVEL NEEDS

Contact:

GLOBE TOURS

2679 E. Hastings St., Vancouver 6, B.C.

253-1221 254-2313

ea PAW eA 2rd a

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, MAY 26, 1972 —PAGE 2

“The next step in the fight for
a modern rapid transit system in
the Greater Vancouver Re-
gional District is to launch a big
campaign to improve the exist-
ing bus system and to struggle
for the long range goal of rapid
transit,’ said Bruce Yorke in an
interview with the Pacific
Tribune last week.

Yorke said he was gratified by

«the results of the rapid transit

conference sponsored by the
Citizens Co-ordinating Com-
mittee for Public Transit of
which he is the chairman, and
stressed that the decisions
made at the conference could
lead to action on a number of
fronts.

“Tn order to achieve the goals
set out by the conference public
transit committees need to be
established in all areas in the
greater Vancouver district, and
those that have already been set
up need to become exceptionally
active,’ Yorke said.

“Activity could take the form
of pressure on local municipal
councils to set up park and ride
facilities, small dial-a-bus sys-
tems, more frequent service,
new routes, provision of
shelters and the like. The impor-
tant thing is to start with pres-
sure on the local councils.”

Yorke said from this activity
will come experience and know-
ledge how to go about getting a
regional transit authority;
what forms of transit should
have priority, and how to get the

Yorke urges active campaign
on bus system; rapid transit |

senior levels of government
committed to an overall finan-
cial formula that will look after
the more long range trans-
portation needs.

The CCCPT will actively seek
the co-operation of the Amal-
gamated Transit Union for a big
pressure campaign and will
appeal directly to the present

bus users for support. Consit:
eration is being given to SOM
sort of petition or post card call
paign, the Committee’s chall-
man said. ;

He appealed to all thos?
interested in taking part ue
campaign to contact the cocP
offices at Room 7, 199 Bast
Avenue, Vancouver.

——s

: eI
sh ies ° ‘

NEWS REPORT: The NPA and TEAM are exploring. the possibilitt }

joining forces in next December's civic election “to keep

element out of City Hall.”’

{ A :
The guBLE-HEADED MONSTER.)

the 1

{

Inhuman

By ALD. HARRY RANKIN

City Council has decided to
make some drastic changes in
Pioneer Square, the small tri-
angular area at the corner of
Hastings and Carrall. The aim
of these changes is to make it
impossible for people to use it
as*a ‘‘hangout’’ for ‘‘derelict
individuals afflicted with
chronic alcoholism.’’ (These
are not my words, they are the
words of the Special Council
Committee on Pioneer Square,
composed of aldermen Wilson,
Bird, Sweeney and Hardwick).

“Their conduct and behav-
iour,”’ the committee said in its
report to Council, ‘‘is a deter-
rent to shoppers and elderly citi-
zens prompting them to avoid
the area.’’ The pressure for
these changes came from the
merchants in the area, led by
Woodwards.

All the benches and planter
walls are to be removed leaving
only ‘“‘a flat surface at sidewalk
grade’’ so that no one will have a
place to sit down. And just to
make sure, the police are to be in-
structed to keep out any of the
people who formerly fre-
quented the Square.

Council’s action didn’t receive
my support.

The main reason for my opposi- |

tion was that Council refused to
make any provision whatsoever
for the people who were being
evicted. Council and the mer-
chants just want to get rid of
them and don’t give a damn
where they end up, as long as it
isn’t near their business estab-
lishments. These people, many

attitude at City

of whom are Indians, do need
some special care and attention.
And they need_a place to gather
together outdoors even if, as
the Committee charges, they
are ‘‘derelicts.”’

In fact, that is all the more
reason why something should be
done to make their miserable
existence more tolerable, even
if it is only to have a place to
commiserate with their fellow
human beings. While it is under-
standable, even if not excus-
able, that the big merchants in
the area couldn’t care less what-
happens to them, Council is sup-
posed to represent all the
people, not just merchants.

My second reason for opposing
the Committee’s report was the
insulting attitude of the Com-

SLIPSHOD
MERCHANDISE,

INC.
NON. Nees

MILLAR

ss : -— PAI Cartoon

I said, you'll do fine. Your
job will be to listen to cus-
tomer complaints.”

_all its hunger,

pate |
mittee to the people wrt
been congregating 1? 4
Square.

agencies in the area” 4”
bornly insisting on ae
i -out.” OF

square their hang ralse: N ;
oft

anything which compan oF
gather. oe On
Secondly, the Committ ing |
temptuously and inst cb)
refers to them aS “sell ge
social outcasts.’ It mea”
both angry at and asham®” 4) 0)
fellow aldermen tha a
them could say that thes? ? je)
voluntarily chose tO |) Py
bottom of the social 1add@" ion
malnutl) ot
squalor, yes, and degr4 net a
too. As far as I’m CP ius
they are the victims of aD all
social system that M@™ ji)
casts of some and ™! 4
of others, like Woodwards: gia j
Sending these people sit)
from Pioneer Square @ ait! 3
the police to keep them yet
solves nothing. Thel! pr idee
have to be tackled by P pili .
facilities that. will TeMA seh h
those that can be re
and making life at le?” oy
able for others. This ?
decent housing, a det oi
centre, recreation ares” no
indoor and outdoor, ae
important of all— jobS: —" cof
that until Cound Z
thing along these line»
lem will recur again and agi