A BRITISH rose garden is to be laid out at Lidice, Czecho- ‘* slovak mining village destroyed by the Nazis in 1952, and now rebuili. An appeal has been made for funds ‘to send between 5,000 and 10,000 British rose bushes. On June 10. 1952, the Nazis wiped Lidice off the map in retaliation for the assassination of the butcher Heydrich —Hitler’s Governor of Bohemia and Moravia. They shot the 192 men and boys of the village, including the village priest; the women they carried off to concen- their mothers. German Reich for “re-education.” The village itself they razed to the ground. But Lidice did not die. It became a symbol of the figh: against fascism all over the world. “Lidice Shall Live” the people said, and today it is living again. True, all that marks where the old village stood is a simple wooden cross hewn from pit-props and encircled with a crown of barbed wire. But above the site of the old village a new village stands, a village of neat little houses, beautifully equipped and surrounded by gardens and green slopes. A® first it was a village without men and without children. Those women who survived the horrors of con- oo camp and their terrible bereavement came back alone. ¥ Out of the 105 children carried off by the Nazis only 17 were ever traced; and their experiences had changed them tration camps, and the 105 children they separated from | Some they sent to the aas chambers, others to the into little old men and women. But the women wanted to come home. work with a will, administered their tha, had belonged to their families. Now, after eight years, Lidice is fully alive once more. It has ceased to be a village without children. the younger widows have married again — miners ‘and foundry workers from nearby Klano, where the men of the old Lidice had worked: Several of the 17 children who returned have themselves . arried, like Maria Hansova, now Mrs. Pincikova, and now . have their own children. Las: time I visited Lidice about a year ago, | talked to Mrs. Ruzena Petrakova, Mavor of the village, who was very happy to 'see children running about in Lidice again. despite the memories it brought back of her own three who never returned. . It was the Staffordshire miners who started the. idea of a “Lidice Shall Live” Committee, as an expression of brotherhood with the Czech brothers. This year the committee has launched an idea worthy of a nation of gardeners; they are asking for rose bushes to send tc Lidice, to plant a rose aarden which will be a perm- anen: symbol of peace and friendship between the two countries. The rose bushes will be sent in the autumn, at the best time for planting, to beautify the new Lidice. é —RUTH SHEPHERD local affairs, gave advice on the rebuilding of their village, farmed the land They set to Some of English rose gardens will soon be blooming in Lidice | i Facts behind the big move-out. of British troops from Egypt. 4 WHO holds Egypt’ holds the Middle East,” declared Sir William Slim, the former Chief of Britain’s Imperial General Staff, four years ago. 4 ‘Now, after negotiations in which Jefferson Caffrey, U.S. Am- bassador in Cairo, played the role of “honest broker,” British troops are to quit Egypt and the Suez Ganal Zone. Despite repeated promises to quit, they have been there for 72 years. Characteristically, they first landed to “restore order” during a national uprising against A puppet ruler in 1882. “As soon as order is restored, we will withdraw,” promised Joseph Chamberlain. But as one reference book notes with unconscious irony, “‘the British Expeditionary Force sent to quell the rebellion of 1882 re. mained in the country as an arniy of ‘occupation until 1936.” It remained after that, too. For in 1936 Britain succeeded in’ enforcing a treaty. “legalizing” her continued hold on Egypt, pro- claimed “independent” in 1922., The special rights retained by Britain under the 1936 treaty ~ir.- eluded: 1. The right to maintain a garrison of 10,000 troups and 400 aircraft in the Canal Zone, over ‘which only British and Egyptian’ aircraft were to fly; 2. The right to use Alexandria and Port Said as naval bases. ‘Which windew docs he usually come out T’ 3. The right to move troops across Egypt in time of war. The British never adhered to its’ terms; there were, for ex- ample, 80,000 troops in the Canal Zone on the eve of the new agree- “ment. In postwar years, the Egyptian people’s demand for the com- plete and unconditional withdraw- al of all British troops has be- come more and more insistent. Popular "pressure prevented the carrying-through of a compromise treaty initialled by Ernest Bevin, Labor Foreign Minister, and the then Egyptian Premier Sidky in the autumn of 1946. : Every succeeding attempt by various reactionary governments to do a deal with British imperi- alism was similarly defeated. But, in October 1951, the peo- ple forced decisive action upon a government headed by the Wafd, the traditional Egyptian na- tional party. It was forced to denounce the 1936 treaty with Britain. Armed guerilla struggle was launched against the heaviiy-re- inforced British forces in the Canal Zone, who replied with the familiar methods of Malaya and Kenya — their Commander-in- Chief was General Erskine, who is now British Army chief in Kenya. The climax came on January_ 26, 1952, when’ 46 Ismailia auxil- tary police were slaughtered after their rejecting a provocative de- mand to give up their arms and submit to expulsion from the Canal Zone. a Shells from. British tanks smashed into their tiny police station from 20 yards -range. The British commander refused to allow ambulances to evacuate, the wounded during a cease-fire. Among the survivors were four wives and three tiny children. The massacre was cynically de- scribed by Sir Winston Church:ll as “a rather rough episode”; he boasted that British forces could deal with any cituation.that might arise “without requiring any as- sistance from the United States or anyone else.” ; : Anglo-U.S. rivalry developed rapidly over the settlement of the Suez Canal dispute. So, while taking care no to encourage the genuine Egyptian liberation movement, the U.S. backed Egypt’s demand for the 2” - ‘and : Cairo protest demonstrations © ‘free evacuation of British troops and sought a settlement that would pave the way for eventual U‘S. control of the base. t Nazi ‘‘advisers” arrived fron: Western Germany with U.S. con- nivance; Franco. Spain, herself fortified with U.S. arms, now sells arms to the Egyptian - military junta. The Ismailia’ provocation and some acts of violence and incen- diarism by picked fascist bands secret agents during the against it provided the pretext for the restoration of martial law and King Farouk’s deposition of the Wafd government. The Neguib military coup of July 1952 which deposed Farouk himself was the climax of six months nyanoeuvring by imperial- - ism and Egyptian reaction to get rid of the Wafd and smash the liberation movement: It was welcomed by the U.S. as’ a means of weakening Britain, ‘which had traditionally relied on Farouk and the corrupt paiace clique for support. Churchill labelled Neguib as a “dictator” and warned that “what he did to others may be done back to him.” . ‘ But President Eisenhower sig- vificantly sent him a gun, and Secretary of State” John Foster Dulles hailed him as ‘“‘one of the most remarkable leaders of the world in the post-war period.” : But Britain’s “uncooperative” ettitude meant that the US. could not intervene with open eccnomic and military “aid”; Britain was in no hurry to reach an agree- ment which would provide the “settled” conditions necessary to attract’ U.S. capital which would oust her own. So Ambassador Caffery played “honest broker,” and, in the words of the New York Times, “under gentle, persistent urging from the U.S.,” the British gov- ernment “decided to make con- cessions.” — But the developing National Front in Egypt, uniting Commun- ists, Wafdists, trade unionists and other genuine patriots, will not stand quietly by while one foreign occupation force is replaced by another, even though it be in the guise of a U.S.-backed Middle East military pact force. 3 a) OPEN FORUM Medical opinion asked R. TURNER, South Burnaby, B.C.: A tendency to blame our last; two years of unseasonable weather on the results of H-bomb testing is now a generally accept- ed conclusion, even without “proof.” A further sentiment has been crystallizing in relation to our health. For some months now there has been a_ tremendous amount of chest, intestinal and bowel infections attributable to so-called viruses, which defy any known treatment. One doctor in claiming he was baffled, further stated that he had never seen so many unnamed viruses. : For, the last few months there has been an epidemic, admitted by some doctors though there has been nothing in the press, of a virus jaundice. It is a debili- tating illness that requires weeks in bed and often months before recovery, with the possibility of easy relapses and a further like- lihood of a serious liver disorder in a few years time. Most of these cases should be hospitaliz- ed, but of course there are no beds unless one is an “emerg- ency.”” : This gives rise to’ nfany ques- tions about the inadequacy of our hospitals, social services and so on, but the questions I wish to pose are: Where do these un:- named viruses come from and why is there such a scourge of them. at this time? Why ‘are they so baffling and untreatable? And why isn’t there public ack- nowledgment of these diseases, which strike at persons regard-. less of age? y I am wondering along with my neighbors and friends if these are scme of the follies of* germ war’ fare, perhaps fanned by atomic winds. Is there any medical opin- ion that can clarify us on this. Radio Moscow BERT PADGHAM, Rosedale, B.C.: Recently I wrote Radio Mos- cow on the good reception I get of their program and being an ex-postman asked regarding liv- ing standards. I received a re- ply and thought there may be a few other postal employées around the country who may be interested in listening. The letter from I. Petrov of Radio Moscow said: “We wera glad to hear that vou are enjoy- ing our programs and that they, x are coming through so cleaily at times. ae “As for the information you requested, .we. have arranged a special program for you abou: the life of Soviet ‘postal ae. ployees. It is scheduled for aa ust 16 at 5.30 pm. PDST. W trust that the time and date Wes be conventient for you and ey you will have good listening. 5 any case, should you be unable e hear the program for any par lar reason, do let us know and Wo shall be only too glad to repe#! if for vou at any time of yon choosing.” PT and the truth a MRS. MILDRED MOOR, AFT strong, B.C.: I am. enclosing : ¥ for a renewal of my subscUP. tion to the Pacific Tribune- certainly hope that we never prods to be without it. We, listen © the “news” on the -radio, the” wait until Saturday Me Pacific Tribune arrives to Se our guess was right about oe : real truth. of the matter. Of cout i your paper contains many pe that are ignored by the ra' er and we don’t bother with “° called newspapers any more- Flashbacks 40 years ago (From the files of the B.C i Federationist, August 14, 191 Over 350 people were rendere” homeless by a fire which destroy ed residences of striking The miners in South Wellington. | cir B.C. Federationist charged, he cumstantial evidence points t0 is ‘ fire being incendary,’ an manded an investigation. I5 years ago (From the files of the People * August 11, 1939) ted Nigel Morgan, IWA district ee president, laid charges of F timidation and threat of oss of employment” against officials B.C. Plywoods under the ® federal labor code. 10 years ago (From the files of The Peop!® _ August 12, 1944) Chinese and East Indians B.C. pressed the Hart Libe 1p ral . joo ‘government to’ pass legislatt0” — giving them the provincial ira chisé. — : PACIFIC TRIBUNE — AUGUST 13, 1954 — PAGE 4 See when We.”