Editorial An election signal The overwhelming victory of Gilles Duceppe in Laurier-Ste. Marie for the Bloc Quebecois should dispel any questions as to whether the status quo on constitu- tional matters is dead. This was a campaign initiated, run and decided on the issue of Quebec sovereignty. Perhaps the photos of Duceppe, in a literal clinch with the Tories’ former Quebec lieutenant Lucien Bouchard, will cause some disquiet and feed into perceptions that the separatist camp is firmly under the control of the Quebec bourgeoisie. But this would be an erroneous view. Two of Quebec’s labour centrals, the CSN and powerful teachers’ federation, the CEQ, backed Duceppe, while withholding support for the Bloc. Both labour bodies support a “‘people’s sovereignty” and are adamant, in the words of one union leader, not “to trade Conrad Black for Peladeau.” Duceppe, a union organizer, who describes himself as a “sovereigntist and a social democrat” pushed sovereignty as a means of dealing with other problems facing his working class riding. Indeed economic development and housing dominated riding meetings. On election night he promised to move quickly on his pledge to call a mini-summit of all elected officials and representatives of community, church, popular and labour organizations in his riding, to map out the priorities for him to tackle in Parliament. Such an undertaking is fully in keeping with the manifesto of the Bloc Quebecois whose seven point program places heavy emphasis on participatory democracy. While there is no party discipline governing the votes of its parliamen- tary members, adherents are expected to “respect and apply democracy; to champion equality and social justice; to fight discrimination and the dis- enfranchisement of oppressed groups.” On sovereignty its national allegiances are to Quebec; the National Assembly is the supreme democratic institution and its members are expected to “give voice to the right of self-determination for Quebec within a Canadian partnership.” So it would be a mistake to dismiss the Bloc Quebecois as simply a front for disgruntled Tory federalists. It is an alliance of diverse forces united around national self-determination. The left, in and outside Quebec, may be turned off to see the Bouchard love-ins. It should have criticisms of weaknesses in Duceppe’s economic program. But it must also face up to its own shortcomings and seriously address its ability to influence and assist Duceppe and to expand the very positive proposals in the Bloc’s program. The election results indicate something big and new is happening in national relations; if the left stands outside the process, it will only contribute to Bouchard’s setting the agenda. Her Faces Myp pie CoMe Were S ARG HUSSEIN 1S THE HITLER of IF SADDAM EAST , How TITE ONES WEARING NAZI STRLE q HERD Cue AiR «. EDITOR Sean Griffin ASSOCIATE EDITOR Dan Keeton BUSINESS & CIRCULATION MANAGER Mike Proniuk GRAPHICS Angela Kenyon Published weekly at 2681 East Hastings Street Vancouver, B.C. V5K 1Z5 Phone: (604) 251-1186 Fax: (604) 251-4232 Subscription rate: Canada: $20 one year; $35 two years; foreign $32 one year Second Class mail registration number 1560 anada’s Doukhobors may have the key to a peaceful future for the _ world. According to some Soviet film- _ makers, at least. Soviet director Tamara Lisitsian has _ been travelling with her film crew through the West Kootenays, and ultimately to Al- _ berta and Saskatchewan, making a doc- _ umentary on the descendants of Russian emigres who fled persecution in Czarist based on the arms industry, Podivinikoff observed. aE - Russian during the late 1800s. So says the Nelson Daily News in an article sent to us by a reader. Lisitsian credits glasnost and pere- stroika in the Soviet Union for the interest in making a documentary about the Douk- hobors, who faced persecution in their _ homeland because of their refusal to bear _ arms. The director is reported as saying the early refusniks’ remedy for a peaceful world is sought by Soviets seeking to re- structure their society from the ground up: “Where better to look than at pre-revolu- tionary idealists who dreamed of a united world based on freedom, peace and the right to live without oppression and ex- ploitation?” The News reports the Soviet film com- pany, Katarsis Productions, is spending around $1 million Canadian to shoot foot- age of Doukhobors in B.C., Alberta and _ Saskatchewan, and scenes in the Russian republic. One of the more interesting opinions cited was that of elder Doukhobor com- munity member, Joseph Podivinikoff, who noted that the “mother country” was recognizing the community while Canada _has yet to do so. He is reported as saying the USSR is seeking Doukhobor solutions because the arms race is killing the planet. It may be harder for Canada to move in that direction, since the economy is still heavily e just received word that Tribune reader Dave Clark died June 30 at age 76 in Lions Gate hospital. Dave was born in Virden, Man. in 1913 and spent his early working life as a farm worker. He moved to Flin Flon to work in the mines 1936, and married his surviving wife, Mary, the next year. In 1942 they moved to B.C. where Dave worked in the North Vancouver shipyards, becoming a shop steward in the Marine Workers and Boilermakers Union. In 1946, he started at B.C. Electric, forerunner to B.C. Hydro, where he worked until retirement. ~ He is remembered as an involved mem- ber of the labour movement and a sup- porter of progressive causes until his death. RK n Associated Press wire story we just read reported that peace talks have “bogged down” between the government of El Salvador and the Central American country’s liberation forces, the Farabun- do Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN). According to the source, an FMLN demand for the abolition of the Armed Forces and the punishment of army officers for political murders was deemed by Justice Minister Oscar Santamaria as “not in accord with the seriousness of the peace process.” The brief story also describes the de- mands as additional to previous FMLN positions presented in July at the last round of talks. However, a recent missive we received from the E] Salvador Information Office in Vancouver reports that the proposals, part of an 18-point program, were pre- sented on April 30 of this year in Caracas, Venezuela. The document aims to “dis- mantle militarism, to reach a ceasefire and to advance towards democracy without arms.” The contentious first point does not insist on the immediate disbandment of the Salvadoran Army but on the gradual elim- ination of both Army and liberation forces. It calls for “the commitment to total de- militarization of society through a process of abolishment of both armies.” Other points the U.S.-backed Salvador- an government finds objectionable include judgement and punishment of the perpetrators of, and “executioners” in, such crimes as the 1980 assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero, killings of leaders of the union, FENASTRAS, and the massacre of six Jesuit priests and their two employees during the insurgency ac- tions last fall. The document also calls for the disbandment of paramilitary forces, secret services and garrisons, and for su- pervision by human rights organizations. For its part, ESIO urges that continued pressure for continued negotiations be put on the Salvadoran, U.S. and Canadian gov- ernments; in the latter case, that Canada end bilateral trade with the Salvadoran _ government and channel all aid through _ non-governmental organizations, People and Issues. sha n the subject of El Salvador, we note the leaflet we received recently from the El Salvador Support Coalition ur- ging Canadians to boycott Salvadoran coffee. Particularly eye-catching was the notice on the front page: “Coffee sales in the North American market furnish the largest source of currency for El Salva- dor, second to U.S. military and econ- omic aid.” The campaign was initiated by the 60,000-member U.S. group, Neighbour to Neighbour, following the massacre of the Jesuit priests last November. The group observed that the large coffee growers were the backbone of the ultra-right ARENA government that continues to kill civilians with U.S. support. The bright news is that the boycott is working. Last February a freighter was forced to carry its load back to El Salvador after dockworkers refused to unload it, starting in San Francisco, through Seattle and Vancouver, and finally Los Angeles— thanks to support for the boycott from the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union. The following brands use Salvadoran coffee: Nescafe, MJB, Hills Bros., Tast- er’s Choice, Maxwell House, Sanka and Folgers. The following companies do not: Murchies Coffees in Vancouver, Ed- wards Coffee, Nabob Coffee and Bridge- head Coffee, a brand marketed by the CRS Workers Co-op in Vancouver. The boycott campaign can be reached c/o 1672 East 10th Ave., Vancouver VSN 1X5, phone 684-7342. 4 + Pacific Tribune, August 27, 1990 ee a ee ee eS ee, ee ae, Oe ee ee ee ee eg ee a ee Se eS ee ee.