Czechoslovakia — 30 years
of socialism and development

By WILLIAM KASHTAN
February 25 is the day of the
victory of the Czechoslovakian
working people. Thirty years ago
—in 1948 — the Czechoslovakian
people took the road of victory

over the forces of reaction.

The year 1948 marked the cul- |

mination of the peaceful growth
of the national and democratic
revolution into a socialist revolu-
tion, with all power passing into
the hands of the working class.
The leading role of the Com-
munist Party of Czechoslovakia
in the whole of society with
deepened and the process of
socialism was speeded up.

International reaction never

forgave the Czechoslovakian
’ people for their decision to take

the socialist road. It understood '

well that by its place in geog-
raphy, history and politics,
Czechoslovakia, by breaking out
of the capitalist world, would help
shift the balance of Europe to-
wards peace and socialism. This
would mark an end to the shame
of Munich in which Czechoslova-
kia was handed over to Hitler fas-
cism not only by the ruling class
of that country but by inter-
national imperialism as well, all in
the name of ‘‘peace in our time”’
and of open preparations for war
against the land of socialism, the
Soviet Union.

Munich was not only a
watershed for Czechoslovakia
but also for the peoples of the
world. It showed the people they
could not rely on their own ruling
class to defend the true national
interest. It showed that im-
perialism was prepared to make
all sorts of deals at the expense of
other peoples and other coun-
tries. Not least, it showed the
Soviet Union was the true friend,
the upholder and defender of the
freedom and independence of
peoples.

The Soviet Union’s liberating
role in the war against fascism
opened the door to the liberation
of Czechoslovakia. Klement
Gottwald, the then general secre-
tary of the Communist Party of
Czechoslovakia, a true son of the
Czechoslovakian people and an
outstanding internationalist, ex-
pressed the true feelings of the
Czechoslovakian people when he

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Demonstration of working people on Wenceslas Square, on February 25, 1948, waiting for the results of

negotiations between Klement Gottwald and the President of the Republic on the country’s future.

said ‘‘with the Soviet Union
forever’’. aN
These experiences led inevita-
bly to the Czechoslovakian
people taking the road of
socialism in February 1948.
Advances in All Fields

’ Inthese 30 years the Czechoslo-
vakian people have madé great
advances in all fields of endeavor.
Industrial output now is 11 times
higher than in the pre-war days.
The Czechoslovak Socialist Re-
public today ranks among the
industrially advanced countries of
the world. Czechoslovak agri-
culture is typified by large scale
production and the application of
up-to-date machinery. One of the
outstanding achievements of
postwar Czechoslovakia is the all
round development of Slovakia
which, before the war, was
merely an agricultural appendage
and a source of cheap manpower
for the industrially advanced
western parts of Czechoslovakia.
The gap between Slovakia and
Czechia in the economic, social
and cultural fields is now practi-
cally closed. In the post war years
Czechoslovakia has virtually be-
come a building site with schools,
hospitals and flats being built
alongside modern industry and
mining.

Another outstanding achieve-
ment of Czechoslovakia is the ex-
pansion of free health services.

Czechoslovak citizens received
not only free medical care but also
free hospital treatment, medicine,
sanitary aids and spa treatment.

Czechoslovak women receive 26 |

weeks paid maternity leave, the
highest in the world. All these
developments have taken shape
together with rising living
standards.
Counter-Revolutionary Assault -
However, imperialism hever
gave up hopes of tearing Czecho-
slovakia out of the socialist camp.
In 1968 the very same. forces
which had shamelessly betrayed
Czechoslovakia during the
Munich days, again raised their
heads. Taking advantage of tem-
porary difficulties, some of them
of an objective character and
others which took the form of
mistakes, they strove to break the
alliance between Czechoslovakia
and the Soviet Union and the
Warsaw Pact states, and shift the
balance in Europe towards im-
perialism. In this they were given
objective assistance by those who
hid their real aims behind the
mask of a “‘socialism with a
human face’’. Around this slogan
opportunist and _ revisionist
forces, anti-socialist and counter
revolutionary elements gathered
and under-took an assault on the
leading role of the working class
and of the Communist Party, on
socialism and the alliance with the
Soviet Union and other socialist

states. A grave situation de-
veloped and only the international

assistance of the socialist com-,

munity and the international sol-
idarity of Communist and Work-
ers’ parties changed the situation.

The efforts of imperialism
failed. The Czechoslovakian
people saw through the aims of
the opportunists and revisionists.
The path of socialist construction
continued. But as before. im-
perialism strove again to attack
socialism. Instead of attacking it
directly it undertook to do so indi-

rectly, that is, through its cam-.

paign around human rights. This
time it placed its hopes on those
who support Charter 77 with the
aim of helping to establish a mass
legal base within Czechoslovakia
against socialism. Around the
human rights theme imperialism
wants to establish the right to
interfere in the internal affairs of
the socialist countries. The
Czechoslovak people can see
how empty is the cry for human
rights from those who permit
mass unemployment, inflation,
poverty, racism, cultural

genocide for the Native peoples, .

failure to guarantee national
rights, restrictions on democratic
rights. These ‘‘human rights”’

- characterize all capitalist coun-

tries with no exception. It is these
“*human rights’’ which socialism
put an end to.

This is why the present cam-

paign has also misfired. u
Czechoslovak people contifl
their task of building an advance!
socialist society where none ¢
the above evils exist, indec
where real human rights exist b&
cause they are based on a south
material foundation. Freedot
and socialism go, hand in hand.

Advanced Socialist Society _

The past 30 years shows thd!
because socialism acts as a mag
net attracting more and mom
people to strive for a fundament®)
reorganization of: society, real
tion seeks new ways to denigra
and attack socialism, all in th
name of improving

it. a
popularized national socialist
Christian socialism, socialis?
with a human face. Today it® —
popularizing eurocommunis®
The only socialism it does 1
popularize, but on the contrall
tries to tear down, is socialis?
based on Marxist-Leninist po!
ciples: —-/
The past 30 years have bee
years of growth and develo?
ment, years of difficulties, yea®
in which the Czechoslovaki
people have clearly demonstrate!
their capacity to build an ab
vanced socialist _ society
Throughout these years Czech?
slovakia has made a considerablt
contribution to the growing inteé
ration and cooperation of

countries in the socialist commu

ity of states. It has made #
equally important contribution f
the advancement of the policy?
peace, international cooperatid!
and détente and of solidarity with
the national liberation struggle-
has consistently stood for coo
eration and friendship with
Canada and her people. All this ip
turn has assisted the struggles
the working people of Canada. _
On this 30th birthday,
gressive-minded Canadians W
wish socialist Czechoslovak!
and the Czechoslovakian peop™
every success in their efforts a
in the common struggle agail®
imperialism and for a just and last
ing peace in the world.

The author of this article, Wik
liam Kashtan, is ‘leader and gel
eral secretary of the Communis
Party of Canada, a position ™
has held since January 1965.

Socialist countries cooperate —
in the war against cancer |

By JOHN WEIR

Tribune Moscow Correspondent

MOSCOW — While the Penta-
gon and NATO hawks are push-
ing up the arms race, preparing
the neutron bomb for production,
and weaving their webs of in-
trigue and aggression in various
parts of the globe, the as yet li-
mited activities to save lives in-
stead of destroying'them are good
news worth passing on and think-
ing over. One of these is the joint
program of -the Council for
Mutual Economic Assistance
(CMEA) socialist countries in the
war against cancer.

Five years ago these countries
signed an agreement on scientific
technical cooperation in this field.

They have worked jointly to de-
velop and use medical apparatus,
build oncological hospitals, etc.
“Cooperation has greatly in-
creased our opportunities for sol-
ving the cancer problem,”’
Nikolai Blokhin, president of the
Soviet Academy of Medical Sci-
ences, told the press.

The program is being expanded
this year with work on the prob-
lem of child cancer in a leading
place. Blokhin said the program
includes clinical and experimental
oncology and reported that ‘‘sev-
eral effective anti-tumor prepara-
tions have been developed joint-
ly.””
Scientists of the socialist coun-
tries have considerable achieve-

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FEBRUARY 24, 1978—Page 8

ments in surgical and combina-
tion treatment of malignant
tumors, are improving radiation
therapy and exploring the pos-
sibilities of proton and neutron
therapy. Especially promising re-
sults are expected from measures
to automate population tests, the
accuracy of the tests to be consid-
erably enhanced by endoscopic
examination and radiostope
methods.

This is what the countries ofthe —

socialist community are doing
while building their economies
and working for disarmament and
peace. What could we not do for
humanity if all countries joined in
the arts of peace?

oa

_ “Scientists of the socialist countries have considerable achiev?
ments in surgical and combination treatment of malignant tumors, 2
improving radiation therapy and exploring the possibilities of proton 4”
neutron therapy.” : 2

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