THE WORLD SES GD ON 2 4 Cancun over, ne remain Tribune Combined Services The titanic efforts being made by some media to find a bright spot in the recent Cancun discussions in which 22 nations participated is remarkable. The conference, billed as a meeting to tackle questions. of disparity between “‘have’’ and “‘have not’’ nations arose out of talks previously held when U.S. president Reagan visited Ottawa last spring. The topic has been a favorite of prime minister Trudeau who acted, along with Mexican president Portillo, as co-chairman of the Cancun meeting. As expected, the meeting ‘‘on co- operation and development” ran into se- vere roadblocks. It faced the reality that the massive problems confronted by the underdeveloped world are not a ‘‘north- south”’ issue at all, but have arisen as a result of decades-long exploitation. of a great section of the world’s. people by colonial, neo-colonial and imperialist systems. This. reality, ignored by capitalist states at Cancun, was further compli- cated by the fact that the United States, the leading imperialist state today, ar- rived with no new solutions. Worse, president Reagan came with tough con- ditions — all geared to improve the U.S. economic and political position concern- ing the underdeveloped world. If we put aside the rhetoric Reagan used holding up the model of the emergence of the United States (a model hardly helpful to any underdeveloped state) and examine the actual proposals he advanced, the issues emerge. Reagan said the U.S. would agree to start talking only under certain pre- conditions: that any future talks should proceed by respecting existing. multi- News Analysis lateral development agencies; should improve the climate for private capital flow and private investment and should refrain from any criticism of U.S. policy. In short, Reagan demands not a clos- ing of the gap between the capitalist world and the underdeveloped nations, but a widening of this gap. The efforts by, for example, Canadian External Affairs Minister MacGuigan to portray the meeting in Cancun as a step forward cannot conceal the fact that the U.S. position precluded any progress. MacGuigan told the press that Washing- ton’s view of ‘‘global negotiations’’ had developed since, Ottawa. This was promptly refuted by U.S. spokesmen who said ‘‘the fundemental position is the same.”’ The futility of the talks were seen in the comment of another delegate who said the U.S. position “throws the entire question back to a point ... passed in 1979."" India’s premier Ghandi _re- ~ marked, ‘‘all we can hope for is that the door will not be closed.” Reagan opposes dealing with the underdeveloped world under UN au- spices and rejects a ‘‘global negotia- tions’’ concept. He says bluntly that the ‘third world”’ execises too much control at the UN and offers to deal ‘‘case by case’’ on the basis of his tough pre- conditions. * i¥: * Premier Fidel Castro, speaking at the opening of the 68th Conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in. Havana last month (the U.S. barred Cuba from Cancun) set out clearly the problems faced by the underdeveloped nations, the ree ae -y a) WORLD NEWS e* Pe Federal labor body zaps PATCO ~~ iy WASHINGTON — The U.S. Federal Labor Relations authority last week revoked the status of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization, in effect decertifying the union. Earlier this year the Reagan administration fired the 12,000 air controllers for taking strike action and replaced them with supervisory and military personnel. The National Trans- portation Safety Board, however, now warns that pressures are building as controllers are working 48 hours a week and some 52. WPC urges a return to détente HELSINKI — The World Peace Council, commenting on the reconvening of the Madrid follow-up conference, urged the participants to “achieve immediate and effective steps toward disarmament and to revive the process of détente.’’ The WPC pointed to the massive demonstrations for peace throughout Europe and said they express the overwhelming - desire of the European public to avert a nuclear conflict. U. S. Senate okays AWACS sale WASHINGTON — The U.S. senate, Oct. 28, approved the sale of AWAC radar planes to Saudi Arabia after weeks of heavy lobbying by White House officials to swing the vote. Two weeks earlier the House of Representatives opposed the sale by a 301-11 vote. The arms package which includes missiles and air tankers, is woah $8.5-billion. Polish leader calls for end to strikes - WARSAW = Polish United Workers Party leader Wojciech Jaruzelski, Sah toa meeting of the party's central committee, Oct. 28, said that authorities may be forced to outlaw strikes and charged Solidarity’s leadership with losing control of sections of the union. He urged Solidarity to take ‘a constructive approach ... in the name of saving the nation.” Solidarity has again heightened tension in the country by calling a nation-wide one hour strike, Oct. 28. “There, is little time left,” Jaruzelski said, “the blockade must be lifted.” Greece wane eioerhes Poticats ATHENS — Newly-elected premier Andres Papandreou, speaking on nation-wide radio and television, Oct: 28, said his government favors. peaceful cooperation and coexistence with neighboring-countries.-He-urged the creation of a nuclear-free. Balkan zone and the removal of U.S. weapons from Greek soil. He also said NATO policy is at odds with Greece's interests. y PACIFIC TRIBUNE—NOV. 6, 1981— Page 10. NoW... TO WHICH ONE OF YOU GUYS SHALL UNCLE RONNIE GIVE sf _—" THIS YUMMY JELLY BEAN ?..... source of these problems and steps to- ward solution. Castro outlined the present wide and growing gulf between the developed and underdeveloped nations: ‘‘Hundreds of millions of people in countries represent- ing three-quarters of the world’s popula-’ tion are living in poverty, suffering from hunger, disease and ignorance,” he said. . **So long as this tragic state affecting the vast. majority of humanity has not been ended through the establishment of new economic relationships based on equality and justice, it is hardly likely that much headway can be made towards genuine and lasting peace.”” Castro said this disparity gave rise in 1974 to the concept ofa new international economic order. He explained that the 6th summit meeting of non-aligned na- tions put before the United Nations in 1979 proposals to mitigate the desperate ‘economic and social conditions faced by third world peoples: ‘‘First we proposed the creation of an additional fund of no less than $300-bil- . lion in 1977 real terms and its distribution beginning with the initial years at a rate of no less than $25-billion a year for invest-" ment in the economically under- developed countries. This sum was to be made up of donations and long-term cre- dits at minimal interest rates.’ The summit put forward an additional 10-point program: e Unequal trade is ruining our peoples. This must be ended; e The inflation being exported to us is Tuining our peoples. This must be ended; e Protectionism is ruining our peoples. This must be ended; e Inequality in the exploitation of _ marine resources is an abuse. It must be- abolished; e The financial means received by the developing countries is insufficient. They must be increased; e Spending on arms is. irrational. It sist be ended and the funds released used to finance development; e The present international monetary system is bankrupt and should be re- - placed with another; — e The debts of countries that are rela- tively underdeveloped and find them- selves at a disadvantage are unbearable and impossible to repay. This indebted- ness should be annulled; « e Debts are a heavy economic burden on the rest of the developing countries. This burden should be made lighter; . e The economic gulf between the de- veloped and developing countries, far — from diminishing, is growing greater than ever. It must be done away with. ‘These, ’’ said Castro, ‘tare the de- mands of the underdeveloped coun- . tries.” ~ oe eee His speech was rich in facts: The ex- ‘ternal debt of so-called third ‘world na- tions has exceeded $500-billion this year. and grows each day. In Latin Ameri- — ca, the debt increased from $10-billion in 1965 to $150-billion today. At the same time transnationals - pumped out of the underdeveloped coun- tries profits running to the astronomical figure of $100,218-million — roughly — $2.40 for every dollar invested: US. profits from their investments amounted to $39,685-million, or $4.50 for every dol- - lar put in. Castro predicted the gap will widen rapidly — that one out of every four per- sons in the underdeveloped world will be starving by the year 2000. UNESCO figures, he said, show 820 million illiterate persons in 1980 which will jump to 1,000 million by the 2tst Century. Castro quoted World Health Organization figures showing.that 1,000 million people live in poverty, conges- tion and under conditions endangering — life. More than 70% of children in under- developed countries, he said, suffer from infectious and parasite-caused disease. **To sum up,”’ he told the conference, **800 million adults are illiterate; 1,500 million have no access to medical aid; 1,300 million have an annual income of less than $90; 1,700 million have no hope of living to age 60; 1,030 live in dwellings - unfit for habitation; 250 million children are denied opportunities to study and 1,103 million are without work.”’ r * * * _ This is the world in 1981. And, as Cas- tro repeated again and again. the situa- tion is rapidly getting worse. The Cancun meeting, the platitudes _ and hollow rhetoric, ,Reagan’s ‘*solu- — tions’’ of more of the same medicine, MacGuigan’s pathetic attempts to ex- plain away reality —all these fade before the stark, harsh picture of today’s world _and the incontestable fact of imperialist exploitation and aggression. _ Cancun is over. The problems remain, and so does the struggle ofall progressive . humanity to. bring a new set of economic relationships into being.