Does the Klan have a right to free speech?

Many concerned and honest supporters of demacracy

feel that outlawing the KKK would be a violation of the.

principle of free speech. They fear that barring a group on
the grounds of its particular ideology would set a prece-
dent that could be used against other organizations and
individuals. Thus the conclusion is made, that despite
one’s disagreement with the actions and statements of
racists, to restrict their “right” to advocate racism would
be rhore harmful to society than letting them speak.

Racism and Fascism are Crimes
This is the legal and universally recognized principle
With which Canada has concurred in many international
agreements. Aside from the Potsdam Declaration and
Agreement, signed on August 2, 1945 by the heads of
state of the USA, USSR and UK and the Opinion and

Judgement of the International Military Tribunal follow-

ing the Nuremburg War Crimes Trials, there are at least
three relevant UN treaties Canada has pledged to sup-
port. : :
The U.N. Treaty on Human Rights, December 10,
948, guarantees the rights of people to be free from
intimidation, harassment and hatred because of their
Tace or ethnic origin. The U.N. Treaty on the Elimina-
tion of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, November
20, 1963, stipulates that racism is a punishable offence
under law and that ‘‘all States shall take immediate legis-
lative and other measures to prosecute and/or outlaw

- organizations which promote or incite racial discrimina-

tion’’. =

Finally, the International Convention on the Elimina-
tion of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (U.N. Resolu-
tion 2106 A (XX), December 21, 1965) not only declares
racism and racist organizations illegal and prohibited but

also adds that the financing of racist activities shall be

“‘an offence punishable by law.”’ :

_ The illegal status of racism is incontrovertible.. Many
people maintain that Section 281.2, Subsection 1 of the
oe Code of Canada already makes the KKK il-
legal.

Freedom of Speech and the Law
Freedom of speech is neither an absolute nor an end in

. itself. Individuals or organizations who advocate or abet

the crimes of, for example, rape or murder are charged
with law-breaking. They do not have to actually rape or

oe?

Pad “5

at

The modern Klan is no longer for “men only”. Women and
children are now actively recruited.

murder to‘be designated, quite properly,.as criminals.
The arrest of those who advocate and encourage crimi-

_nal acts is never seen as an attack on the right to free

speech and opinion. Indeed, it is correctly understood as
an essential safeguard in order to preserve freedom and
basic democratic rights.

Furthermore, if there is sufficient grounds for suspect-
ing that the intention is to commit a crime then this alone
‘constitutes an indictable offence. It is enough to walk
down the street with a bag of burglar tools to be arrested.

One does not have to actually rob a bank. Can anyone -

still seriously doubt what the intentions of the KKK and
similar neo-fascist groups (no matter what “‘label”’ they
may adopt at any moment in time) really are?
Banning is Not a Threat to Other Organizations
It is often stated that banning the Ku Klux Klan would
allow for the banning of other groups which advocate
controversial or dissenting views. The fact of the matter
is that to outlaw the KKK and other racist and neo-
fascist groups will not deny rights to other groups. We do
not allow the Mafia to legally exist or to publicly engage
in the recruitment of new members. We have done this in

@ ast

- order to guarantee the preservation and expansion of

rights to all people.

It is Simply not possible to be confused or to equivo-
cate about the KKK’s purpose or policy. In its over 100
year old history the Ku Klux Klan has always been a
violent and terrorist organization which openly advo-
cates genocide and mass racial murder. '

It murders. It bombs. It burns. The notion that such a
group needs any further ‘‘monitoring”’ after such a his-
tory of consistent criminality would be laughable if it
were not so tragic.

The claim that there can be any confusion between
racist or neo-fascist organizations such as the KKK and
the legitimate rights of other groups to advocate dissent-
ing or controversial opinions simply does not hold up.

Such a claim assumes the law is devoid of any stipu-
lated criteria that are applicable in making judgements —
an obivous absurdity. We must be very clear on this: any
organization whose observable and concrete behavior
supports and encourages the crimes of racism and fas-
cism, as defined and set out through universally recog-
nized standards, is an illegal criminal organization.

It is simply not possible to legally justify the persecu-
tion of, for example, trade unions or other progressive
associations on such a basis. Indeed: all progressive
and democratic groups are actually enhanced by the
outlawing of racism and fascism. ‘

The aim of the KKK is to destroy the rights of the
overwhelming majority of Canadians. Our aim in ban-
ning the Klan is to guarantee the expansion of these rights
to all people.

Banning Will Have an Effect

- It is sometimes suggested that banning the KKK >
won’t help because they will just simply continue to
function covertly. But no one in their right mind would
similarly claim that because murder and rape continue to
occur we should therefore no longer designate them as
criminal. Surely we all recognize the difference it would
make if our society stopped treating such crimes as
illegal on the grounds that they have not been totally
eradicated.

Abridged from a position paper by the Committee for
Racial Equality.

é

. that peace will triumph over world war
three.

Canada and the course of world peace

A reader asks for an explanation why
communists and the socialist countries
consistently advocate and campaign for
international agreements on disarma-
ment measures between states, to ensure

* * *

This is a good question, particularly in
these times of the ever-present danger of

Alfred Dewhurst

' Marxism-Leninism Today

dropped more than $12-billion in buying

power annually.
* * *

There is a growing body of opinion in

_ Canada which realizes that the struggle

for new economic policies of full

eniployment is linked inseparably with

the struggle for peace — for an indepen-

dent Canadian foreign policy of peace,

détente and disarmament. It appreciates

world nuclear war. A short answer
would be to say that communists hold the
view that socialism is the only system of
human society that is capable of putting
an end to war: Because socialism is gov-
emed by its basic aim — everything for
the good of Man. $9
Socialism has been influencing world
development ever since the workers and

Peasants of Russian took over political _

power and established the first socialist

‘| State and government over 60 years ago. ”
_ This in turn began the process of altering

the relationship of forces on a world scale
In favor of peace, democracy and
Socialism. Thus, began also a process
which made possible the emergence of a
number of socialist countries which are
allied in a world community of socialist
States. This important development pro-
duced new conditions for the struggles of
the workers in the capitalist countries
and the national liberation movements.
And made it possible for the international
working class to emerge as an effective
world force.

* * *

7 Socialism created the material condi-

» tions to ensure that the rights of Man are

Not abstract ideals, but a reality. This is
reinforced by the fact that as the eco-
nomic foundations of socialism became

stronger and deeper, socialist democracy
was extended and this process con-
tinues. This is an absolute law of socialist
development.

On the other hand, it is an absolute law
of capitalism that in its period of his-
torical decline, the tendency of
capitalism is to limit, undermine and to
take away democratic and human rights.

- This tendency is very easy to discern in

Canada and other capitalist countries. As
the-current crisis in the capitalist world
stubbornly refuses to go away, the con-
trasts between capitalism and socialism
became sharper and clearer. The ever-
deepening crisis of capitalism exposes
the inevitable decay of the capitalist sys-
tem more sharply in the areas of eco-
nomic and social inequality, racism,
environmental poisoning, corruption,
crime, militarization, aggression against
other peoples and nations.

The contrast between the dynamic
growth of socialism on the one hand and
economic stagnation, rising unemploy-
ment and inflation in the capitalist world
on the other, is clearly visible. The ef-
forts of imperialism to overcome its crisis
by coordinated action of the main
capitalist countries have produced little
or no results. On the other hand, the

coordinated efforts of the socialist coun-
tries have brought about continued
growth of the productive forces of soci-
ety and of living standards and social
amenities.

* * *

Capitalism cannot. guarantee a basic
right of Man — the right to work, Instead
it creates conditions where mass chronic
unemployment becomes a permanent
feature of society. Mass chronic
unemployment is a direct consequence
of government economic policy which
declares that the main economic problem
is inflation, and that to overcome in-
flation it is necessary to create
unemployment. But, this does not work
because of the structural and financial
crisis and, not least, the U.S.-inspired
arms drive which the main capitalist
countries are deeply involved in.

Ever since 1976 the living standards of
ordinary Canadians have been subjected
to increasing decline. In this way
capitalism demonstrates its inability to
provide another basic right of Man — the
right to continuous steady improvement
in living standards and quality of life
commensurate with existing production

possibilities. During the period 1976-79

the real income of the total work force

also that peace is inseparably linked to all
the vital social, economic, democratic
and political aims and aspirations of the
working people.

War has always been anti-human. But
modern wars, as World War Two so
murderously demonstrated, means

. death and destruction on a scale almost

beyond comprehension. The cold war-
rios in NATO and the Pentagon are
guilty of the heinous crime of preparing
the ground for world war three. How-
ever, they do not have things all their
own way. This is so because the policy of
détente and peaceful co-existence have
sunk deep roots into the economic and
social fabric of the people of all coun-
tries. To work for a world without war is
to struggle to attain the most precious
right of Man — the right to live in peace
and security. ©
* * *

Socialism and peace are indivisible.
Peace has its best defender in socialism.
Socialism needs peace in order that it
may grow and prosper. Man needs peace
in order that together we may build a |
world that reflects the dignity and aspira-
tions of peoples everywhere.

For all the above reasons, communists.
are ardent champions of world peace
based on security for all countries big and
small.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JUNE 5, 1981—Page 5