This lovel
Written

Political prisoners from
Greece greet PT readers

y card arrived at the PT office this week with the hand-
Oppy E Message addressed to PT readers:
pometen eT from the families of Greek political prisoners.”

‘Warm wishes fora

What future for youth?
theme of YCL parley

h
Fat at autre for you and Can-
be th S question is expected to

; em
Clal con € of the annual provin-:

cara of the B.C. Young
Weekeng ist League, meeting this
& at the Fishermen's Hall,

_ Youth
Mseeurity today faces increasing

Be Chamen oe
_ The tremendous in-
automation Mechanization and
Ousands - is wiping out
Dle = y jobs and young peo-
hired. € first fired and last

ce
to = °ur convention we intend
ANswerg c Ways of bringing our
eS Dabite young people in Can-
Need ie ularly our ideas on the
4 new economic policy

so that the benefits of modern
science and technology will be
shared by all the people.

‘At the same time,’’ Leyshon
added, ‘‘we will be looking for
new ways of projecting the only
final solution—socialism, a sub-
ject about which young Canadians
are showing a growing interest.”

In conclusion, Leyshon invited
all interested observers to the
convention. ‘*‘We welcome their
interest in our efforts,’’ he said.

The Fishermen’s Hall is at
138 East Cordova Street, and
sessions will last through Sat-
urday and Sunday. Nigel Morgan,
B.C. Communit Party leader is
expected to bring greetings to
the parley.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

FROM THE EDITORIAL BOARD

8 tha
ay editio
“Page paper.

te
fet th
Ures, h
"angem

Parry g s
Mtemat,

€ ej h
1H labor
the a Ww

all

the tate

that

and

rtieth

‘PT’ to publish
12 page paper

reader Pacific Tribune is happy to announce to its
t following next week’s special 16-page May
n, the PT will appear regularly each week as

altemat have been aware for some months that the
: 8 and 12 page paper was not adequate to
‘Mporta ope challenge of today’s events. Very often
featy, Ut Stories, especially national and international
ad to be left out for lack of space.

eer editorial board has now completed ar-
ents with the Canadian Tribune in Toronto to
‘Pecial four-page supplement of national and
onal features each week.

the g;., 8 arrangement will enable use to give space, in
Pages produced here, to the big issues facing
and democratic movements in our province.
saad we will be able to combine the resources of
4 Wider. an and Pacific Tribune to bring our readers

round coverage of important events.

a announcement is an important landmark for
a ae progressive movement in B.C.
tation ¢ f ages the PT will celebrate 30 years of publi-
read e Communist press in B.C. It is our hope
Versuh ers will greet the 12-page weekly paper by
b Scribing the present $18,000 financial drive,
t thi uilding our circulation so that we can celebrate
anniversary next year with a bigger

CIA HAND BEHIND EVENTS

Rightist coup in Laos
threatens Asia peace

Special to PT

The left-wing leader of Laos,
Prince Souphanouvong, appealed
to Britain and the Soviet Union
this week to stop American plans
to turn his country into a new
type of colony and military base.

The appeal came within 12
hours of a coup, with every
evidence of U.S. backing, which
forced the resignation of the
neutralist Premier, Prince Sou-
yvanna Phouma, and seized power
in the capital, Vientiane.

The coup was said to have
been led by the Vientiane mili-
tary commander, General Koup-
rasith Abhay, who staged the
December 1960 coup which re-
stored right wing power after
4 neutralist takeover two months
earlier.

Gen. Kouprasith was said to
be backed by a group of 70
to 75 right wing officers. He
immediately arrested Prince
Souvanna Phouma’s. coalition
government, during talks on the
Plain of Jars, in the presence
of the British and Soviet envoys
in Laos.

Certain differences remained,
but before they could be resolved
the right wing moved into action
in Vientiane. In his statement,
over the left wing Pathet Lao
radio, Prince Souphanouvong
charged that the coup was organ-
ized by a ‘group of U.S. lack~-
eys,’’ and called on Britain and
the Soviet Union as co-chairmen
of the 1962 Geneva conference
which guaranteed the neutrality

PREMIER SOUVANNA PHOUMA,
whose neutral government was
threatened this week by a rightist
coup. Canada is one of the signa-
tory countries pledged to uphold
the neutral government of Laos.
The Pearson government has so
far not made any statement on the
situation.

of Laos, to normalize the Lao-

tian situation.
At the beginning of this month

it was disclosed that Britain
and the Soviet Union in a joint
Note had expressed their grave
concern at the deteriorating mil-
itary and political situation in
Laos. They urged the leaders
of the three factions to get to-
gether as soon as possible to
sort out their differences.

The U.S. claimed that it, too,
was seeking a solution. But be-
hind the scenes, agents of the
U.S. Central Intelligence Agency

in Laos sought to sabotage the
talks, bring the right wing to
power, and bring down the coali-
tion government led by the neut-
ralist Premier Prince Souvanna
Phouma,

The CIA played a large role
in the downfall of Prince Souv-
anna Phouma in 1960 and in im-
posing on Laos the right wing
General Phoumi Nosavan.

Again during the last Laos
crisis in May 1962 the CIA was
reported in action backing the
right wing military groups. The
1962 crisis came after the former
chief of the CIA, Allen Dulles,
had turned up in Saigon, capital
of South Vietnam, with a Penta-
gon ‘*study group’’.

The U.S. Secretary of State,
Dean Rusk, is now in Saigon
after holding talks with Chiang
Kai-Shek on Formosa. The pur-
pose of his visit is toseek means
to bolster up the increasingly
shaky position of U.S. puppet
regimes in the area. He hadtalks,
too, with the U.S. Ambassador
in Laos, who appears to have
hurried back to give the signal
for the right wing coup.

The coup in Laos, which could
lead to the resumption of civil
war there, may well be a move
to extend war to the whole of
Indo China, including Cambodia.
The U.S, policy-makers may be
playing with fire by attempting
to extend the flames of war in
South East Asia in a desperate
bid to save their crumbling
position in South Vietnam and on
the continent.

LABOR ROUNDUP

Civic showdown near—
strike set for Thursday

As the PT went to press Wed-
nesday afternoon, last-ditch talks
were being held to try to avert
a strike by Vancouver Civic Em-
ployees—Outside Workers.

The strike had been set for
Wednesday, but personal inter-
vention by provincial labor min-
ister Leslie Peterson set up Wed-
nesday’s meeting between the
union and representatives of city
council and because of the talks,
the union agreed to postpone its
‘strike deadline for 24 hours.

The union membership voted by
94 percent to go on strike in
support of wage demands of 19¢-
an-hour. This was exactly the
same percentage that turned’
down a minority conciliation
board award of 55¢-an-hour at
a meeting with over 1,000 mem-
bers present.

Observers of various political
hue are agreed city council is
in an almost untenable bargain-
ing position. For a group of
aldermen who acted with such
alacrity when it was proposed
to raise aldermanic salaries,
they have shown amazing reluct-
ance to. bargain seriously with
the city’s outside workers.

e

The Marineworkers and Boil-
ermakers union, one of 22 unions
on strike in the shipbuilding
industry, has sent the follow-
ing telegram to the 5th Con-
stitutional Convention of the Can-
adian Labor Congress;

WHEREAS: The major work of
the shipyards now on Strike in
B.C. has been and inthe foresee-
able future will continue to be,
construction for provincial and
federal governments; and

WHEREAS: The tremendous
profits of these companies are,
in effect, a direct drain on the
public treasury and an unneces-
sary further burden on the tax-
payers generally;

THEREFORE BE IT RE-
SOLVED: This union demands
that these shipyards be taken over
by the provincial and/or federal
government and operated in the

CIVIL RIGHTS FIGHT NEARS PEAK. With the opening this oh of the New

public interest as government
enterprises; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That we seek the support of all
other sections of the trade un-
ion movement and the public
generally for this proposal.

Copies were sent to Premier -
Bennett, Prime Minister Pear-
son and all B.C. MPs in Ottawa.

j

York World’s Fair, a new high was reached in the ‘‘civil disobedience”
campaign in the U.S. Above picture is from an earlier integration action in

Cleveland, Ohio.

April 24, 1964—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 3

ae |