KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent — The Organization for Progress (OFPSG) has come out in opposition to a new series of anti-democratic laws being considered by the government of Prime Minister Milton Cato and his St. Vincent Labor Party. The OFPSG in a press statement May 29, outlines the Cato regime’s series of such mea- sures, its failure to develop the economy of this 150-square mile island. * * Prime Minister Milton Cato and the ruling circles of the St. Vincent Labor Party are in the process of adding other pieces of repressive legislation to its already big list of oppressive laws. Called the Public Safety and Public Order Act, and the Essential Services Act, they were presented to the Parliament of St. Vincent and the Gre- nadines, May 7. In effect, the bills provide the ruling SVLP with the legislative weapon to halt, obstruct, and suppress the work of all political opponents and trade unions under cover of ‘‘Public Safety and Public Order’’. They can be . used to prevent strikes, picketting, demonstrations, political public meetings as well as the publication of anything which the Government interprets as being ‘*threatening’’ to the public. ; For example, Section 8(1) of the Public Safety and Public Order Act states: “‘No person shall, whether by specification, gesticulation, sign, placard, pamphlet, efigy or written matter or by any other overt act, do anything that can have an adverse effect on the demo- cratic process as envisaged in the constitution nor in any manner challenge the continuance of any such demo- cratic process.” By giving enormous powers to persons ‘‘authorized by the Government”, it permits the establishment of a ‘“*Ton-Ton Macoute”’ like Duvalier’s Haiti. In the name of ‘‘democratic principles’”’ and **demo- cratic process”’, the bills in fact remove the democratic and trade union rights of the people as enshrined in the country’s constitution. These rights include the right to life, assembly, association, privacy of home, and freedom from arbit- rary search among others. Considered internationally as fundamental and inalienable, they are now being uncon- stitutionally struck out of the constitution by these bills which many note are ultra vires the Vincentian con- stitution. : THE WORLD Laws to suppress dissent Recognizing that will never get the needed support from the population for a constitutional amendment which requires a referendum, the SVLP Government is trying to sneak in changes via the backdoor. These latest laws join the huge list of repressive ones passed by Cato’s SVLP during two previous terms of office, 1967-1972 and 1974-1979. Whenever faced with the resistance of the Vincentian people to the worsening conditions brought about by his pro-capitalist policies, Cato responds predictably by building up the military and passing repressive laws. We take note of such legis- lation as the Emergency Powers Act (1979), Public Ser- vice (Conditions of Employment) Act (1971), and the Praedial Larceny Act (1976) to mention a few. For years, the gap between the two major classes has been growing wider. In fact, in 1969, during the SVLP’s first term of office, a team of top Caribbean economists. - noted in a study called The Development Problem in St. Vincent that ‘‘ ... most of the people on the island are living in a way which in terms of material and environ- mental conditions could scarcely be far removed from the situation as it was under slavery’’. Again in 1975, during the SVLP’s second term of office, a PAHO Re- port said that St. Vincent and the Grenadines had the highest infant death rate from malnutrition and gasto- enteritis in the Caribbean, while a UNESCO Report of that same year pointed out that ‘‘... 30-50% of the population lack the basic learning skills and must be considered as functionally illiterate’’. It is against these terrible and worsening conditions that the Vincentian people are fighting. Within recent months, workers through their trade unions, have been waging a disciplined fight against the decline in their standard-of-living caused by the policies of the Cato regime which has run out of solutions to the permanent deepening economic crisis in the nation. Increasingly, the Cato regime is moving further and further from the people. Political analysts say that the regime has the support today of only 15-20% of the electorate compared with the 34% (less than 18,000) in the last election, a year and a half ago. With this rapidly growing unpopularity, the SVLP regime is seeking to protect itself through the buildup of the military forces and with more repressive legislation. - South Koreans _ march for freedom _ Seoul, South Korea — Tear gas billows up as police INTERNATIONAL FOCUS : — Refloating the ‘Christian navy’ The U.S. navy plans to bring four of its big battleships out of mothballs and use them to fly the stars and stripes like the good old days. As part of building its fleet from 456 to 600 ships, the navy will spend $5.4-billion refitting the ships which have been sit- ting for 23 years. The battle- ships carry nine 16-inch guns which can hurl a 6 foot long, 2,700 pound shell 23 miles. The navy loves them as a weapon of intimidation, con- ceeding the old tubs really won’t do much to frighten the modern Soviet fleet. ** All they (the Soviets) will do is target a missile or two at them and that will be that,’’ one Senator quipped. But Reagan and Congress and the old navy brass think they’re great. Retired rear ad- miral Julian Becton, the last skipper of the Iowa, one of the four to be refioated, recalled fondly that the ship really did its job when it visited Sicily in 1958. ‘‘Just"to see a ship like this off a city gives the impres- sion that we mean business,” he said. Another old tar, retired rear admiral Edward Snyder, who PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JUNE 12, 1981—Page 8 commanded the Iowa's sister. ship, U.S.S.. New Jersey in Vietnam, really lays it on the line with this racist comment:. “If you are a Buddhist and someone trains a battleship’s 16-inch guns on you, you say, ‘Where do I sign up to be a Christian, boss?’ ”’ How’s that for Yankee arro- gance? First the Bomb, then a lecture As repulsive as Snyder and Becton are, the week’s. prize for absolute gall must be given to a Harvard professor, Edwin Reichauer. He was U.S. am- bassador to Japan from 1961 to 1966 and caused a storm of pro- test in Japan last week with the © comment that a secret U.S.- Japan treaty allowed U.S. nu- clear-carrying ships to ply Japanese waters contrary to the country’s laws. That wasn’t bad enough. Now Reichauer has written an article calling the Japanese over-sensitive and ‘‘somewhat absurd’’ in their attitude to- ward nuclear weapons. He told the astounded Japanese it would be impossible for U.S. warships ‘“‘to change their * If some Americans wonder why the Japanese are sensitive about nuclear arms, they might recall the summer of 1945. armaments every time they enter Japanese waters.” Can you imagine that? It’s ‘almost beyond belief that this neanderthal could spend five years in Japan and not noticed why a ‘‘sensitivity’’ about nu- clear weapons — especially United States’ nuclear weapons — exists. You wonder if he visited the shrine at Hiroshima to the dead or spoke with Japan’s radiation victims slowly dying in the most horrible manner. You speculate if the man knows his country dropped two atom bombs on the Japan- ese, the only case of atomic. weapons being used against cities in human history. He calls the Japanese. atti- tude ‘‘somewhat absurd’’. Can you just imagine Houston and New Orleans disappearing in a cloud of atomic dust from a: Japanese attack? And then could you hear the cries of out- rage as a Japanese spokesman criticizes Americans for being over-sensitive? It’s hard to find the right words. ‘A little lie, a little profit We reported recently that the U.S. voted against a World Health Organization code to put restrictions on the danger- ous baby formula campaigns carried on in developing na- _ tions by the big concerns, and that Nestlés was at the centre of the criticism. The Americans lost the vote (93-3) but argued that the re- strictions would harm free enterprise. That by itself wasn’t too surprising. Now we find more goodies. It turns out the Reagan’s ff buddy Ernest Legever has his hand in. the till. It seems Reagan wants to name Lefever as the administration’s spokesman on human rights. Under questioning Lefeve- r’s private business was found to be working with Nestlés who paid for a mailing list with which his firm distributed material favoring sales of in- fant formula to developing na- tions. This ‘‘human rights’’ expert earlier denied under oath that his firm accepted ‘‘contribu- ‘tions for specific projects in which a donor has a direct or indirect interest.” So he lied. And so Nestlés does grease government palms. That’s free enterprise at its sparkling best.