By ALF DEWHURST

Tne Presidential Committee
of the World Peace Council,
meeting in Helsinki on Jan. 28-
31, called on all anti-imperialist
and peace-loving forces all over
the world to consolidate their
unity to make 1972:

e The year of victory over
U.S. imperialist aggression in
Indochina and the achievement
of independence and a secure
peace for the heroic people of
Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia;

e The year of political settle-
ment in the Middle East by
securing the fulfilment of the
Security Council Resolution, in-
cluding the recognition of the
rights of the Palestine people
and ensuring the integrity of all
states in the area;

e The year of a conference
on European security and co-
operation -and an end to the
ballance“ of terror, to make
Europe a continent of coexist-
ence, peace and cooperation;

e The year to intensify the
struggle of the African peoples
against colonialist and racialist
regimes and to support the
peoples in all continents strug-

“gling against imperialism and

neo-colonialism, for national
liberation, peace and social
progress. :

The Call to United Action,
unanimously endorsed by the
Meeting, declared that 1972 of-
fers far-reaching prospects for
success in carrying through
these objectives providing all
anti-imperialist and peace forces
consolidate their unity and seize
these opportunities.

_ Emphasizing the new condi-
tions favorable to realizing a
great expansion of the peace
forces, the call drew attention
to the relations developed, main-
ly over the past year, by the
World Peace Council with the
United Nations, Unesco, the Or-
ganization of African Unity and
other world bodies. It noted
that this took place together
with the recognition and sup-
port of the work of the WPC by
governments and leaders of
world opinion. These welcome

developments demonstrate the

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y

_ World drive —win

possibilities for extending and
intensifying the struggle for
peace and have served to help
develop new and powerful ini-
tiatives directed in particular
to national liberation and an
end to racial persecution, which
the Call states are ‘essential
conditions for permanent
peace.”

The Call declares that the
ultimate aims of progressive
mankind cannot be in doubt.
“More and more,” it states, “it
is becoming clear to the world
that the arms race must be halt-
ed, as the first step to general
and complete disarmament. Nuc-
lear weapons and other means
of mass destruction must be
banned. Threats to the environ-
ment must be tackled and the
creative genius of mankind must
be harnessed so as to use, for
the benefit of all, the resources
now wasted on arms expendi-
ture.”

On this vital question the
Meeting adopted an Appeal to
Governments and Peoples for
General and Complete Disarma-
ment. The Appeal. welcomed
the decision of the 26th UN
Assembly that a World Disarm-
ament Conference open to all
states shall be convened in the

.

Desolation: millions of tons of bombs have churned the soil of Vietnam into entire regions of desert.

very near future. It called upon
all peoples of the world to de-
mand that their governments
accede to their decision before
the end of August of this year
and to respond constructively to
the request of the UN Secretary
General in regard to the pre-
parations of the Conference. It
declared that it is the urgent
duty of every citizen to consider
what he can do to ensure that
this important conference be
held and shall succeed. The
Meeting voiced its conviction
that this vital issue cannot be
left to diplomats and general
staffs to settle, but that only

the mass movements of the peo- .
achieve a_ practical

ple will
result.

UN Represented .

The Meeting was attended by
more than 200 distinguished
persons drawn from 33 countries
and included the representatives
of 10 world non-governmental
bodies, namely, the Internatio-
nal Association of Democratic
Jurists, International Bureau for
Peace, Stockholm Conference
on Indochina, Berlin Conference
of Catholics of European States,
International Union for Dis-
armament and Peace, World
Federation of United Nations

Screening won’t do it

By WILLIAM KASHTAN, leader Communist Party

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“Many eyes will be fixed on the
pening of Parliament this
onth because of the promised
overnment policy on foreign
vestments. The curtain was

ised on some aspects of that

Nepolicy by way of a premedi-

icit
Tihs
wif

vi

ei
le!

ne

a
r (
wt
mv
alll
eC

ated “leak” to the capitalist
ress of the Gray Report and
e minutes of a Cabinet. meet-
g dealing with the same sub-
BCL.
Whether this will be the sum
otal of proposals the Govern-
ent comes forward with to
eal with the fundamental issue
f Canadian independence, will
known shortly. However,
ssuming the actual proposal is
mited to the establishment of
screening agency, such an

gency is not likely to have

uch of an effect on growing

J.S. control over the Canadian.
conomy. Even so, this minor

peace |

Associations, World Federation
of Democratic Youth, Interna-
tion Institute for Peace, Wo-
men’s International League for
Peace and Freedom, Internatio-
nal ‘Students Union. It is of
significance to note that a repre-
sentative of the Secretary Gene-
ral of the UN and of the Depart-
ment of. Political affairs of the
U.N. Security Council attended
and addressed the Meeting.
Also participating were repre-
sentatives of the UN Special
Committee on Apartheid and
Decolonization, ‘as well as a
delegation from UNESCO of
which the World Peace Council
is a member organization.

The Meeting adopted a num-
ber of other important resolu-
tions and statements in addition
to those already referred to.
Chief among these were:

e Endorsement of The Paris
World Assembly for Peace and
Independence of the Peoples of
Indochina, condemning Nixon’s

so-called 8-point peace plan as_

a continuation of the policy of
“Vietnamization” aimed to keep
the Saigon regime in power and
designed as an election mano-
euvre to confuse and devide the
American people charging that
at the same time the U.S. gov-

on the

ELECTION
FRONT

agency,

tap on the hand is being argued
against by Mr. Stanfield who
hopes he can make some poli-
tical hay out of the desire of
some provinces for greater U.S.
investments in natural  re-
sources.

The fact of the matter is that
the proposed screening agency,
taken by itself, is a diversion-
ary manouvre, aimed at getting
away from the necessity for a
fundamental approach to the
winning of genuine Canadian
independence. A screening
agency will do very. little, if
anything, in that regard.

Moreover, while attention is
being ‘focused on a screening
with the Liberals and
Tories arguing from both sides
of their mouths for and against
such an agency, the real ques-
tion of U.S. imperialist pres-
sures on Canada for a conti-

nental energy policy is being
ignored or bypassed, as is the
question of safeguards for the
Canadian-USA automotive pact.
This does not appear to be ac-
cidental and may be part of the
game which is being played out
—“here it is and here it isn’t”’—
with respect to Canadian inde-
pendence.

What is becoming increasing-
ly self-evident to those con-
cerned with the question, is
that neither the Liberal nor
Conservative parties can be re-
lied upon to uphold or advance
Canadian independence. Tied as
they are to monopoly they will
compromise and sell out,
make deals aimed at strengthen-
ing monopoly at the expense of
the Canadian people and the in-
dependence and sovereignty of
our country.

Screening agencies will not

OM.

‘win Canadian independence.
The. way to achieve Canadian
control is through public own-
ership, starting with natural re-
sources including energy re-
sources, and those industries
based on them. Only through
public ownership and a govern-
ment dedicated to carry such a
policy out, can the Canadian
people come to grips with the
continuing expansion of U.S.
ownership and control and
make it possible to undertake
the kind of economic develop-
ment program which is clearly
necessary to begin coping with
rising unemployment.

Over the next decade more
than two million new jobs need
to be found for a growing labor
force. Obviously a massive pro-
gram of planned economic de-
velopment will be required to

ernment intensifies its electronic
war and bombings while claim-
ing is it ‘winding down the
war” through periodic troop
withdrawals; calls for a massive
mobilization of world public
opinion to force President Nixon

to not only speak of peace but
to make peace.

e Endorsed the work of the
WPC delegation just returned
from Bangladesh, hailing the
establishment of the People’s
Republic of Bangladesh—an in-
dependent and sovereign state—
as a victory for the forces of
democracy, . secularism and
world peace, and a victory for
the anti-imperialist. forces.

e Called for the freedom of
Angela Davis, described as a
young, Black, politically activ-
ist, militant Communist woman
and intellectual combining the
best features of those who fight
for peace and justice; charged
that U.S. imperialism is using
her as a target to strike down
the national struggle against
war, racism, poverty and repres-

sion; declared that injustice
anywhere is a threat to justice
and peace everywhere; and

pledged increased efforts to mo-
bilize additional millions on
every continent in the struggle
against U.S. political oppres-
sion: ‘‘Angela,” the statement
proclaimed, “will be free. Her
freedom will be a great victory
for the cause of world peace
and justice.”

The Meeting unanimously
adopted all resolutions and
statements including the report
of the General-Secretary of the
World Peace Council, Romesh
Chandra, and the report of tht
WPC delegation to Bangladesh
headed by Madame Blume of
Belgium.

In adopting the report of
Romesh Chandra the Meeting
declared that 1972 is the Year
of the World Peace Movement,
meaning a year of intensive ef-
fort to extend the influence,
grqgwth and activity of the
world body and all its national
affiliates which, of course, in-
cludes the Canadian Peace Con-
gress. The statements, resolu-
tions and reports adopted all
provide for great initiatives and
actions on a world scale appli-
cable to all countries in terms
of national initiatives and ac-
tions of a broad united charac-
ter. Hand-in-hand with peace
actions, preparations will pro-
ceed for the convening of the
greatest ever Congress of the
World Peace Movement in 1973,
and the 25th anniversary cele-
brations of the Movement in
1974.

achieve this. An industrial stra-
tegy is required which uses
Canadian resources as a base
for secondary industry and.
which orientates on expanding
trade with the socialist and
newly independent countries. A
social policy is required which
is directed .to raising standards,
assuring jobs or an adequate in-
come to all Canadians as a

right.
Independence, planned econo-
mic development, expanding

trade, jobs and rising standards
and a policy of peace, these are
the ingredients for a new direc-
tion in Canadian political life.
The proposad screening agency
does not even scratch the sur-
face or come to grips with the
over-riding necessity of achiev-
ing Canadian independence.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1972—-PAGE 5