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FRENCH SOCIALIST DENOUNCES CHINA AS THREAT TO
WORLD PEACE

PARIS — A leading French Socialist has denounced Peking’s anti-
Soviet hysteria as a danger to peace. Claude Estier, national secretary
of the Socialist Party of France, said he favors U.S.-China diplomatic
recognition, but said, ‘‘We cannot follow the new Chinese leaders, just
as previous ones, in their anti-Soviet obsession.”’

Estier charged that China is seeking a so-called unification of West-
ern Europe as a military machine against Moscow. ‘‘Establishment ofa
motley front against the Soviet Union would be a serious threat to
universal peace,”’ he said. If France supported these designs to the
slightest extent, it would be deplorable, he concluded.

DIFFERENCES SHOW UP AT LATIN AMERICAN BISHOPS’ MEET

PUEBLA, Mexico — Differences in approach to the role of the
Catholic church on social conditions and injustice in Latin America
surfaced at the close of the Conference of Latin American Bishops here
as three members walked out during a speech attacking progressive
theology. An official statement issued for the first time admitted ‘*dif-
ferences of mentality and opinion”’ and denounced repressive military
regimes and violations of human rights. The conference followed the
Pape’s Mexican tour where the question of the church’s attitude to-
ward massive inequality were brought into the open. Half the world’s
700 million Catholics live in Latin America.

DAYAN’S COMMENTS ON PLO STIR CONTROVERSY
IN KNESSET

JERUSALEM — Israeli Foreign Minister Moishe Dayan’s com-
ments last week that the Palestine Liberation Organization “‘is not a
state, but we cannot deny their position or their value’’ in the Middle
East, brought a quick response from Israeli premier Begin who stres-
sed there is no policy change by his government.

The incident raised questions about a possible difference in ap-
proach by Israel toward the PLO and the Palestinian question in
government circles by a regime that has consistently refused to recog-
nize the existence of a Palestinian problem or include the PLO in any
negotiations. The Dayan comment may be significant as he is to repre-
sent Israel in talks with Egypt which resume Feb. 21.

U.S. ARMS BUDGET TERMED ‘PERVERSE’ DURING IYC

WASHINGTON — Women’s Strike for Peace meeting here last
week called Carter's inflated arms budget ‘‘perverse’’ in the face of
cutbacks in social services especially affecting children in this Interna-
tional Year of the Child 1979.

Representative Pat Schroeder (D-Colo) summed up this thought
when she told the press: **f look at America in the Year of the Child and
wonder ... Last year we had over a million, runaways. In my state
alone in 1978 we had a 70 percent increase in child abuse . .. We have
had schools in our society in America, one of the richest on earth, that
had to shut down because children needed shots they hadn’t received
— and our government's response is to build more nuclear weapons to
make these children more ‘secure’ ... and cut.down on children’s and
social programs. | think that’s real madness!*"

U.S. AGREES TO SELL MORE ARMS TO SUDAN AND YEMEN

DHAHRAN, Saudi Arabia — The U.S. has agreed to a request by
Saudi Arabia to strengthen pro-Western regimes and boost its presence
in the Gulf area by increasing arms sales to Yemen and Sudan. ~

Yemen will receive $300-million in arms including F-5 fighters, mod-
em tanks and troop carriers. Sudan will receive $60-million in jet
fighters — both tabs to be picked up by Saudi Arabia.

The deal was made during a recent visit’ by U.S. Defence Secretary
Brown where he gave the Saudis assurances the U.S. intends to

“strengthen friendly Middle East states against outside aggression’’.

as 2h ae pet
mesa ee

DACCA — A Communist Party aie “s Siniticiaah during the aca
elections in which the CPB took part.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FEBRUARY 23, 1979—Page 6

Terrorism — a weapon used to
discredit revolutionary struggle

Terrorist shootings can be
heard now and again in various
countries. What puzzles one is
that those criminals are so hard to
catch; one suggestion is that there
is a well-hatched international
plot in operation.

Who Are They?

It is clear from press reports
that such acts of terror are some-
times committed by Maoists and
sometimes by anarchist ter-
rorists. There have also been
some Trotskyites at work here
and there.

Most often they are called
‘left’ extremists. Adding the ad-
jective ‘‘left’’ enables them to be
distinguished from a rightist vari-
ety of extremism, neo-fascism. In
real practice, however, sucha line
of distinction is very hard to draw.

To be “‘leftist’’ does not mean
to be left. Taking people hostage
and wreaking inhuman violence

“on them, hijacking airliners with

passengers doomed to suffer
through no fault of their own,
overturning motorcars “‘just for
the fun of it’’, acts of vandalism
and rampant hooliganism and
savage reprisals against the
‘*turncoats’’ within their own
ranks, all this looks very. much
like common .crime which can
have nothing in common with a
genuinely left, sevelbuonary. lib-
eration movement.

Disguised as Red a

The attempts of the extreme
leftist groups to camouflage their
provocative antics by red color
are sacriligious. The terrorists
who kidnapped Aldo Moro call
themselves ‘‘Red Brigades’. It
was not-by accident either that the
name of the *‘ ‘Red Army’ fac-
tion’’ was adopted by the
Baader-Meinhof anarchist group
which has also engaged in similar
kidnappings, bank robberies and
bomb-planting in shops. Maoists
and Trotskyites in a number of
capitalist countries have called
their newspapers ‘“‘Red Banner’’.
“Left’’ extremists most often
parade behind red flags in break-
ing up demonstrations of working
people or staging ‘‘counter-
demonstrations’.

Naturally, this does puzzle

some people sometimes. But this

is exactly what the “leftists”:
need.
‘Left’ Extremism Aids Reaction

‘“‘Left’’ extremists behave in
various ways but always in a pro-
vocative and truculent manner.
However, reaction, whichis wont
to suppress the slightest opposi-
tion to it, not only puts up with
these antics, but even openly en-
courages them. Why?

The real concern of reaction
nowadays is to contain the grow-
ing urge of the large mass of the
working people in the capitalist
countries for democratizing social
and political life and for funda-
mental social change. By trading
on the ‘‘horrors of revolutionary
terrorism’? and detailing leftist
outrages (the bourgeois press
gives them far more space thant
does to any major action by
Communists), bourgeois. prop-
aganda intimidates the public with
a ‘danger from the left’ and
seeks to get across the idea that
any profound social change will
make things ‘‘still worse’’ and
‘‘still more horrible.”

During the seventies reaction
has more than once played up its
argument about the dangers of
‘‘left’’ extremism in order to jus-
tify anti-democratic actions. The
Pinochet clique has been claiming
since the very first days of their
seizure of power that that was the
only way to ‘‘rescue”’ Chile. Ter-
rorist acts in Federal Germany
have been used to justify an_of-

fensive against democratic rights.

In Portugal and Spain the ac-
tivities of the ‘‘leftists’’ have been
invoked as an excuse for reaction
to hold up the incipient process of
democratizing these countries.

Another reason why reaction
needs the sensational ballyhoo
over the actions of the “‘leftists’”
is to divert the attention of the —
public away from many crimes
committed by imperialism.
Right-wingers have been amaz-
ingly concerted in launching their
propaganda campaign about the
need for a ‘‘tougher political line’”
and calling for ‘‘an end to
liberalism’* and a ban on Com-
munist parties.

The crime which the ‘‘left’’ ex-
tremists have committed and are
still committing against revolu-
tion consists in trying to discredit
the very idea of revolutionary
struggle. This is also the purpose
of the entire ideology of the pre-_
sent “‘left’’ extremists, -whether
anarchists, Trotskyites or mem-
bers of Maoist groups.

At their international congress
in August 1971, the anarchists de-
clared capitalism to be a ‘lesser
evil’? than socialism. They have
been echoed by Maoist groups as-
serting that the Soviet Union is —

‘“‘more dangerous than the im-
perialist states of the old type" ‘
The Trotskyites have long been
urging the overthrow of the
socialist system of government

‘‘Left”’ extremists always-and
everywhere replace the struggle”
against imperialist reaction & 4
opposition to Communist Parties
and to their policy guidelines cal-_
ling for an alliance of all left forces
and for profound economic and
political change:

‘‘Left’’ extremism is acting, |
besides, as an enemy of the basic —
interests of all peace forces. By its |
irresponsible and provocative |
calls for action to oppose peaceful
co-existence and international de-
tente, ‘‘léeft’’ extremism is aiding |
the reactionary forces harboring
plans to reduce international de-
tente to nothing. Combatting it,
just as any other variety of anti-
communism and anti-socialism, is
a matter of common concern to
the international communist
movement and all democratic and
progressive forces. - :

M. Basmanov, a Candidate of

Science (History) in the USSR-

wrote this article for the Soviets
news agency APN.

Mackenzie- taeda a vetera ns
plan reunio

The Mackenzie-Papineau ‘Bat-
talion, which wrote a glorious
chapter in Canadian — and
Spanish — history, will be making
another trip to Spain, this time in
conditions of peace. In 1937 the
Mac-Paps helped to defend
Spanish democracy and the
elected government, against the
fascist onslaught of Franco, Hi-
tler and Mussolini.

The veterans of _ the
Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion of
Canada are planning a reunion in
a collective return to Spain in

' 1979. The reunion is, being or-

ganized **at the request of some of
our members,” explains Ross
Russell, one of the Spanish vets.
The proposed minimum stay of
two weeks includes four days in
Madrid with visits, during eight
hours of the day, to interest areas
in and near the capital, travelling
by air-conditioned bus. Approx-

imately one-day visits will be
made to Albacete. (with a three-
hour stop at Chinchon), Murcia,
Valencia, Teruel, Belchite (witha
stop at Quinto), Gandesa, Bar-
celona, Guadalajara, with return
to Madrid on the 13th day.

For members of the Mac-Paps
and their families who are in-
terested, the office of the general
secretary gives this information:
Hotel accommodation will be at
least 3-star, with 90% of the ac-
commodation double and 10%
single. Meals (except lunch), and
air-conditioned buses will be pro-
vided.

‘*We cannot give you the exact
cost,’ -states the initial informa-
tion sheet, ‘‘due to the fluctuation
of the Canadian dollar, but the
figure given to us in October 1978
was a total price of $899 per per-
son for two in a room. A single
room costs an additional $87.”

VIS! & Di

comes a

(This is the price for departure
from Toronto. Some group fare
arrangements across Canada can
be made.) .

Those who wish to may extend :
their visits to up to five weeks, but 4
the return trip must be Madrid —_
Canada.

During the visit, the group ex-
pects to meet with veteran
organizations of the Republican
People’s Army of Spain, and ev-
ery effort is being made for a brief
visit with Dolores Ibarruri (La
Passionaria).

A questionnaire on which to fill.
in number in your party, length of
stay, suggestions for itinerary,
and other information, may be
had from: Veterans: of the Inter-
national Brigades, Mackenzie-
Papineau Battalion of Canada,
Office of the General Secretary, —
Box 835, Station Q, Toronto,
M4T 2N7. x,