SOUTH VIETNAM PATRIOTS REPEAT PEACE OFFER
) PARIS — Nguyen Van Tien, negotiator for the Provisional Revo-
tionary Government of South Vietnam (PRG), on Jan. 20, at the
Ist session inaugurating the fourth year of peace talks here, re-
‘ated his government’s seven-point plan to end the war, submit-
Sq last July but ignored by President Nixon. One point of the plan
sovided for the release of U.S. prisoners of war if and when Pre-
gent Nixon announced a date for the total withdrawal of U.S.
Rrces. The U.S. negotiators have refused to discuss the plan, and
xon recently claimed the U.S. had presented a plan for the re-
sase of the POWs which had been turned down by the PRG and
Banoi. At the Jan. 20 meeting, the U.S. negotiator again at-
smpted to avoid talking about the seven-point PRG plan or any of
ate major issues, but again brought up the question of American
OWS. Xuan Thuy, chief of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam
Slegation, replied that U.S. bombardments are continuing over
Yorth Vietnam, proving “Nixon’s will for war rather than for ne-
‘SOtiation.”
) In Hanoi, a DRV foreign ministry spokesman protested the bomb-
gs of densely populated areas of North Vietnam and the “crimi-
lal plans of American interventionists and the Saigon puppet re-
jume to forcibly relocate the population of northern provinces of
' buth Vietnam into concentration camp areas in the south” so that
: they easily terrorize the people and plunder their human and ma-
Srial resources to serve the U.S. war of aggression.”

CAPITALIST WORLD DEPRESSION PREDICTED IN 1972

: PARIS — A public opinion poll by the French weekly “‘Informa-
Mon’? was conducted among 15 leading French bankers, industrial-
y Sts and economists on the question: “Do you think that a depres-
iSion or a world economic crisis will take place in 1972?” Guy De
jRothschild, president and director-general of the Rothschild Bank,
Said: “I’d rather say yes.” A similar appraisal was given by Leon
Ningembre, president of the General Confederation of Small and
iddle Businessmen; Jeon Forgeot, president of the Schneider
3 ; Jacques de Fourchier, president and general director of the
wwanque de Paris et de Pays; Pierre de Calan, director of the Bab-
"Sock Fives Company; Edmund Maire, secretary general of the
french Democratic Confederation of Labor.

i

ITALIAN COMMUNISTS DEMAND SHIFT TO LEFT

.) ROME — The Italian Communist Party demands a shift of gov-
“Srnmental policies to the left to resolve the current crisis of all
Nspects of the country’s life. In a statement made public as Pres-
dent Giovanni Leone summoned leaders of five political parties
or separate talks on how to solve the governmental crisis, the
Sommunist Party central committee called on all party members
prepare for struggle “for a democratic settlement of the pro-
ound, complicated political and social crisis now gripping Italy.”
Xt emphasized “the need to eliminate unemployment, to improve the

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agriculture and the public health system, and to give rights to
‘egional government bodies as envisaged by the Constitution.” It
Yeclared the country “needs such a government as would be Cap-
sble of accepting a clear-cut program for the renovation of Italy”
snd said “Italy needs democracy based on social equality, the Re-
publican Constitution and ideals of anti-fascism.”

ik After talking with President Leone, Communist parliamentary
ar eader Pietro Ingrao told journalists, “The dilemma the Christian
WDemocrats can no longer escape” is either to change policies or
et “face the judgement of the electorate.” General elections, scheduled
efmMext year, may be advanced 12 months if the government crisis
improves insoluble. The crisis boiled over Jan. 15, when Premier
iywe=milio Colombo resigned after only 17 months in office. The Italian
“6 (Communist Party has a voting strength of 8.5 million, or more than
one-fourth of the electorate.

; NIXON THREATENS U.S. RETALIATION

Mm! WASHINGTON — President Nixon announced that the United
wiStates will retaliate against governments which seize U.S.-owned
eiproperty without payment. He said aid would be cut off, loans from
he World Bank and other agencies would be opposed and other
measures taken.

}IALTA CP APPEALS FOR AID AGAINST BRITISH PERFIDY

VALETTA — The Communist Party of Malta has called on de-
Nmocratic-minded peoples of the world to protest Britain’s refusal
to remove its troops and its efforts to instigate subversive actions
,fagainst the Dom Mintoff government. The CP appeal came after
Archbishop M. Gonzi of Malta arrived in London and former prime
inister George Borg Oliver called for new elections. Both: favor

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© Ge, FACHIl IMMUNE
nak ; e West Coast edition, Canadian Tribune:
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Or Editor — MAURICE RUSH

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At 2 Vancouver 4, B.C. Phone 685-5288. ;

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stem of pensions for the working people, to carry out reforms

By TOM FOLEY,

The Third Congress of the
Communist Party of Lebanon,
held in Beirut, January 6-9, was
one of the most important poli-
tical events to occur in the Arab
world in the past decade, and
may well mark a turning-point
in the history of the Middle
East.

It was my privilege and honor
to represent the Communist
Party USA as a fraternal. dele-
gate to this historic Congress,
and I would like to list the rea-
sons why I consider the Con-
gress of decisive importance. _

1) The Third Congress of the
Communist Party of Lebanon
was the first legal, open and
public Congress ever held by a
Communist Party in the Arab
world. The CPL was legalized in
August, 1970, after leading an
underground existence since the
time it was first formed in 1925.
This open congress symbolizes
the dramatic shift in attitudes
towards Communism now going
on in the Arab world.”

2) Every political party and
movement in Lebanon except
the fascists had observers at
the CPL Congress, and nearly
all pledged to work together
with the CPL to try to create
a national democratic front to
effect far-reaching reforms in
Lebanon’s political, economic
and social life. In short, the CPL
has gone a long way toward
creating the same sort of “Popu-
lar Unity” coalition which took
power in Chile. Lebanon may
well become the “Chile” of the
Arab world.

3) The entire Left of the Arab
world—except for the ruling
Algerian National Liberation
Front (FLN) party—sent observ-
ers to the CPL Congress. At its
closing session all of them
signed a _ historic document
pledging to work together with
the Arab Communist Parties in
the struggle against imperial-
ism. Specifically, they agreed to
attend an Arab anti-imperialist
conference to be held in Leban-
on in the near future, hosted by
the CPL. :

Among those who signed the
agreement on cooperation were
the ruling Ba’th Party of Syria,
the ruling Ba’th Party of Iraq,
the official Arab Socialist Union
Party of Egypt, and the Pales-
tine Liberation Organization
representing the Central Coun-
cil of the Palestinian liberation
movement.

Stronger Unity

The third CPL Congress there-
fore meant a dramatic strength-
ening and unification of the
Arab world’s forces against im-
perialism, Zionism and Arab re-
action, an event of major inter-
national importance. And, as
Nadim Abd al-Samad, chairman
of the CPL’s International Af-
fairs Commission, explained,
“This Congress represented a
defeat for the forces of anti-
Communism all over the Arab
world.

“It showed that the Arab
Communists are an_ integral
part of the Arab national-libe-
ration movement and cannot
possibly be separated from it or
isolated from it, as the anti-
Communists have tried to do,”
Nadim emphasized. “In our Con-
gress, for the first time, repre-
sentatives of 25 progressive
Arab parties came together and
agreed to work together for
Arab national liberation and
against imperialism. This will
have tremendous impact all
over the Arab world.

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aoe a a pe

Opening session of the 3rd Congress of the Communist Party of
Lebanon in Beirut. On wall are portraits of Marx,

Engels, Lenin and

the martyred leader of the Lebanese party, Farajallah el-Helon.

“In the Arab countries, from
now on, the issue will not be
‘for or against Communism,’ but
rather ‘for or against imperial-
ism,’” he said...

The Arab peoples desperately
need this kind of unity to con-
front the grim realities of life in
the Middle East today. One of
these realities is an aggressive,
expansionist Israel, armed to the
teeth by American imperialism.
On the day I left Beirut to re-
turn to the U.S., the Israeli ag-
gressors invaded Lebanon, at-
tacking and destroying several
Lebanese villages.

Fight for Angela

One of my most vivid mem-
ories is of a group of comrades
from the Marj Uyun area of
southern Lebanon, which has
been repeatedly bombed, shelled
and invaded by the Israeli ag-
gressors. Many of these people
had seen their relatives and
friends killed, their homes dy-
namited, and some had lost
everything they ever owned.

What they told me was:
“Comrade, don’t let them kill
Angela Davis. Tell her we are
behind her and we are fighting
for her.”

Lebanon’s Communists are
fighting for Angela Davis. Al-
though the CPL has been able
to operate legally only since
August, 1970, it has mounted a
nationwide solidarity campaign
to “Save Angela!” and has held
scores of mass meetings which
have made the name of Angela
Davis known to practically the
entire Lebanese population.

Not Against Jews

When I asked Nadim Abd al-
Samad of the CPL Political Bur-
eau what we in the U.S. could
do which would be of the great-
est help to Lebanese Commun-
ists, his reply was: “The best
thing would be if you can keep
us informed of the struggle pro-
gressive American Jews are
waging against imperialism and
Zionism.

“You see, we have been tell-
ing people here all along, in our
newspaper and publications, in
our meetings and speeches, that
our fight is not against the
Jews, as the Arab reactionaries
try to make out.

“We say that our struggle is
directed against American im-
perialism and the Zionists and
Arab reactionaries who are
working together with it; we
have emphasized in our Con-
gress, as you know, that we de-
fend the right of all peoples to
national self-determination.

Examples Needed

“What we need more than
anything are concrete examples

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of how progressive people in
the American Jewish commun-
ity -are fighting for the same
things we are, particularly for
the rights of the Palestinian
Arab people, so that we can use
those examples in convincing
people here that our view is
correct.”

I was happy to be able to tell
him of the Committee fora Just
Peace in the Middle East, which
is organizing just such a cam-
paign among progressive Jews
in the U.S.

Unfortunately, there were not
too many more examples I
could point to.

The Communist. Party of Le-
banon can be taken as an out:
standing example of how to
overcome chauvinism. Few par-
ties can have been confronted
with such a hard task as the
CPL was, for Lebanon is a mo-
saic of divided and antagonistic
communities.

By its constitution, the Repub-
lic of Lebanon is defined as a
Christian state with a Christian
majority. The Muslims and the
Druses (an off-shoot of Islam)
almost equal the Christians in
numbers; all three religious
groups are divided internally in-
to numerous sects and have liv-
ed for centuries as separate,
segregated communities.

For Alliance

“The Communist Party of Le-
banon,” CPL General Secretary
Nicholas Chaoui told the Con-
gress, “will continue to fight
with boldness and determina-
tion to achieve the strongest and
broadest possible alliance be-
tween nationalist and progres-
sive forces in Lebanon,” in or-
der to isolate the pro-U.S., reac-
tionary financial oligarchy and
to bring a broad progressive
front into power which can car-
ry out fundamental reforms.
Judging from the forces present
at the CPL Congress, it has gone
a long way toward creating this
broad front.

The CPL is a remarkably
youthful party—I would guess
the average age of Party mem-
bers to be 25—and their enthus-
iasm and vitality infected every-
one. present at the Congress.
These young men and women
came from every walk of life,
but it is especially significant
that 65 percent of the CPL are
workers and peasants. Trade-
unionists, from the CPL-led Na-
tional Federation of Trade
Unions (24 separate unions),
were prominent in the work of
the Congress.

(@aily World)

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1972—-PAGE 3

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