CHILEAN REACTION BREWING CRISIS

SANTIAGO—Chile’s super-rich families and their foreign capital-
ist allies have promoted opposition to the program of the Popular
Unity government headed by President Dr. Salvador Allende to the
brink of a political crisis. Operating in the Chilean Congress, the
rightwing propertied class has organized a bloc of 106 opposition
Senators and Deputies to restrict the power of President Allende to
impose state control over private companies.

The opposition adopted a constitutional amendment to this effect
two weeks ago, prompting Dr. Allende to declare he won’t surrender
his rightful presidential powers. The amendment would require ap-
proval of the Congress for each expropriation by the government,
and would prevent state agencies such as the Chilean Development
Corporation from using general funds to buy control of private
companies through stock purchases. Moreover, the amendment
would challenge retroactively state control of private enterprises
and hinder the takeover of 91 companies for state control. The 91
companies account for 55% of Chile’s output.

Dr. Allende has announced his intention to veto restrictive clauses
of the amendment, and contends that two-thirds of the 200 members
of Congress are required to override a Presidential veto. The oppo-
sition claims that only 101, a majority of one, are required. While
lawyers argue the issues of the controversy, labor organizers are
mobilizing workers to defend companies already under state control,
and to back Dr. Allende’s move to extend control over the ear-
marked 91 business companies.

COMMUNISTS JOIN BAATHISTS IN SYRIAN FRONT

DAMASCUS—A five-party National Progressive Front dedicated
to the achievement of Arab unity in opposition to U.S. imperialism
and its Zionist Israeli pawns has been formed in the Syrian Arab
Republic. Consisting of the ruling Socialist Baath party, Arab
Socialist Union, Syrian Communist party, Arab Socialist Movement
and the Arab Socialist Unionists, the front is to be governed -by a
central leadership of 18 members headed by Syria’s President Hafez
al-Assad. According to the charter of the new grouping, only the
Baath party will be allowed to operate in the armed forces and
among students. The president and other Baathists hold nine of the
17 executive places and two each are allotted to the other four
parties. Previous Baathist regimes have refused to cooperate with
other left-wing parties. :

BRITAIN JOINS U.S. IN ARMING ISRAEL

TEL AVIV—Britain has agreed to build two submarines for the
Israeli navy, thereby joining the United States government in arming
Israel against her Arab neighbors. The U.S. recently agreed to pro-
vide Israel with 40 Phantom and 80 Skyhawk combat planes. The
British decision indicates that the Tory government has lifted

. Britain’s four-year embargo on arms sales to Israel.

COMMUNIST PARTY ON ALABAMA BALLOT

BIRMINGHAM—The Communist Party made Alabama election
history last week when it filed a petition with more than 6,000 sig-
natures in the Secretary of State office. The petitions force the state
into recognizing the Communist Party as a political party and it
places its candidates on the ballot for the upcoming federal elec-
tions. The signatures were collected under difficult conditions, with
FBI agents photographing many of the endorsers. Despite the har-
assment, the signature drive which centered in Birmingham, Tusca-
loosa and Huntsville, was completed in five days and the coopera-
tion of the citizens was outstanding.

In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the State Commissioner accepted

€ Rion Rien been Oe et Se ET
tor veruicauull Ui peuiuvls CONtaming 4U,DUU Signatures, well over
the 36,000 signatures needed to be on the state’s ballot in November.

JAPAN URGES CHINA TO JOIN DISARMAMENT TALKS
GENEVA—Although the Peking government has derided moves

for disarmament and rejected proposals and invitations to consult.

with other governments on ending the arms race, Japan called on
China yesterday to join the disarmament conference as soon as pos-
sible. Japanese negotiator Masahiro Nisibori told the 25-state con-
ference it should work on ways to convince Peking to participate.
He declared nuclear disarmament must be given priority at the
conference. U.S. foreign policy officials are concerned over Japan’s
reaction to China’s accelerated program of nuclear weapons and
missile production, having expressed fears that Japan may enter the
mucicar arms race and upset the four-power balance which the Nixon
government hopes to build in Asia. Nisibori also urged France to
join the conference, and asked both China and France to ban nuclear
arms tests.

AFRICANS ACT TO REINFORCE FREEDOM EFFORTS

Africans acted on several fronts to support their struggles for
liberation and independence. In Windhoek, administrative center of
Namibia (South West Africa), African demonstrators greeted United
Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim with demands that the
UN enforce its decisions ordering the South African racists to
withdraw their occupation forces from Namibia. In Ovamboland,
where African workers have been protesting contract-labor condi-
tions, Waldheim met with African leaders following talks in Pretoria
‘with officials of the racist regime headed by Prime Minister John
Vorster. Waldheim’s visit coincided with publication in UN head-
quarters in New York of a report by the International Labor Organ-
ization and UNESCO that cited discriminatory, exploitative and op-
pressive measures against Africans in South Africa.

In Capetown, Colin Winter, bishop of the Anglican Church, con-
demned the South African regime’s brutal reprisals against the
Namibian people. In another development, the states of the Organ-
ization of African United countered Britain’s alliance with the ra-
cists in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) by increasing their aid to the Zim-
babwe liberation movement.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 1972—PAGE 6

British workers’ victory ~

By JOHN WILLIAMSON

LONDON — Two newspaper
headlines describe the political
atmosphere of the moment.

The Observer screams out
“Heath Blown Off Course” as it
describes the Tory disarray fol-
lowing the great victory of the
miners. Heath now proposes a
£35 million subsidy to the Upper
Clyde shipyards, (UCS), having
originally ordered the closing of
the yards because he was un-
willing to grant a mere £6 mil-
lion. The Tory Lord President
of the Council, Mr. Whitehead,
is reported to have told Heath,
according to the Observer, “that
if the money stopped Glasgow
from exploding” it was worth
it.

Morning Star has a banner
headline “Push Heath Over-
board This Year” summing up
the sentiment of the most en-
thusiastic Morning Star rally in
years. Speaking side by side were
Communist leader John Gol-
lan and miners’ Labor MP Den-
nis Skinner, and accompanying
them were Chile’s Senator Tei-
telboim, North Ireland’s Civil
Rights Association secretary
Edwina Stewart and North Viet-
nam’s Lai Van Ngoc. On the
platform were delegations from
the UCS, from the victorious
miners. and many trade union
leaders.

No one has illusions that it
will be easy to bring’ down the
Tory government. While they
suffered a setback and may be
“blown off course’, they have
not changed their aims. They
are still determined to carry
through their offensive by hold-

ing back other wage increases,

by passing the rent bill, by use
of the Industrial Relations Act,
by threats of cutting off bene-
fits to families of men on strike,
by continuing their armed at-
tack on the people of North Ire-
land and entering the Common
Market.

But the same unity and soli-
darity that won the miners’
strike, if broadened out and
strengthened can bring down
this hated Tory government. The
Financial Times says, “It is no
earthly use Heath asserting that
the miners did not win a great
victory because that is exactly

what tney dia uo as everyone
who has eyes to see and ears
to hear well know.”

The fury of the Tories and the
capitalist class they represent is
all the greater because of their
own miscalculations. At the end

Student fares

Among the resolutions pass-
ed at the recent Metro Toronto
convention of the YCL were de-
mands for thé right to organize
political clubs in the high
schools, and non-limitation on
student fares.

“While high schools allow
World Politics classes’, the
resolution states, “students are
not allowed as a basic right in
all schools any direct political
involvement in the form of par-
tisan political politics within the
school. This is a basic right of
youth which is being denied.
Therefore we resolve that stud-
ents should have the right to
organize political clubs in their
individual schools.”

The resolution on_ student
fares demanded “that student
fares on Metro Toronto public
transit systems should be ex-
tended to cover all the operat-
ing hours .. . and that these
fares be extended to include all
students.”

of January the Economist wrote ~

“the miners are busy getting
nowhere” and “‘the chance of the
miners winning any worthwhile
concession still seems to be re-
ceding as steadily as the futile
anger of their pickets is increas-
ing.”

But unity in the miners’ ranks,
carrying the mass picketing to
every power station, solidarity
support from ‘workers in the
factories, public support, and
unprecedented Left unity a great
victory — now hurriedly being
misnamed a “special case.”

The Wilberforce award was
three times the size of the final
offer of the Coal Board, amount-
ing to 75% of the full claim of
the miners. While the right wing
of the union executive were will-
ing to settle for this, the exe-
cutive by a 13 to 12 vote in-
structed them to go back to the
Coal Board and get more, and

at midnight negotiating at 10.

Downing St. additional conces-
sions were won, including five
extra days holiday, the full in-
crease in miners rates to apply
to all auxiliary workers around
the pit, the full adult rate to be
paid at 18 years and full over-
time to be paid for all “bonus”
shifts worked.

_The entire capitalist press
yelled in fury. The Daily Tele-
graph editorially called it “Terms
of Surrender” compelled by
“the irresistible force” of indus-
trial action, while the Evening

Standard talked of the minels
power “to hold the country
ransom” and said “troops will
have to be called in” if mine
don’t now accept this Wilbe™
force offer. 4

Much was said at the begif

1926 the miners’ victory in 197
has made “a gaping hole” in the
governments incomes  polid”
(Evening Standard), And abow
all it is spurring on other WOlNy
ers to follow their lead. 5!B”
nificantly, The Observer notes
“that the most effective of MN
strike leaders have political ®
well as economic aims . «+
change our system of govelm
ment...” a,

This victory of the miners ¥!
fortunately owes nothing t0
help of the TUC. John Goll!
puts it bluntly that Vic Feat
er’s men of the TUC “were ® |
cowardly as the miners wa
audacious.” The Communls
among the miners and in %:
miners’ union executive play
an outstanding role while ™
ers MP Dennis Skinner pais?’
the role of the Commun
paper, Morning Star as “a pape’
that has always backed the mit
ers .. . and has educated mat
miners like myself in the Pf
cess.”’ 150

During the strike over ist
miners joined the Commu
Party.

Jee Holoshko.

and provision of d

Our photos (by Edya Weir) show Mrs. Murray (above)
Gcceptina a financial contribution from a member of thé

audience, Helen Lukas, chairing the meeting (above) and
the Popovich Choir of the AUUC, composed of senior
citizens, which sang several numbers under the baton of

Photo below: Toronto women gathered at a concert
meeting on March 8 to hear Canadian Congress of Women
President Hilda Murray tell about International Women’s
Day and its meaning for Canada today and Helen Lukas
describe the grandiose World Assembly for peace in Indo-
china recently held in Paris. A collection in aid of a hospital
in Vietnam brought in a total of $1,033.25 ($728.25 in cash
and the rest in pledges) from individuals and organizations:
This brings over $25,000 the CCW has collected in aid of
the Vietnamese victims of the U.S. aggression.

Thé meeting adopted a number of resolutions, calling for
day care centers for working mothers, the deletion ©
abortion from the criminal code, the inclusion of dental caré
entures in the medicare, and others.

rea