MANY HAVE ALREADY SIGNED

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A special meeting of peace workers held Tuesday at the B.C. Peace Council office!
launched plans for an extensive campaign around the postcard and petition urging Pa

Minister Pearson to act to end the war in Vietnam. A highlight of the petitioning will b
canvasses every Saturday in Vancouver’s downtown and Friday night canvassing in shor

ping areas.

The petition campaign was
kicked-off lastS aturday with can=
vassing downtown in Vancouver,
Hundreds of names were cole
lected by more than 20 canvass-
ers, The public showed great

Sy

MESSAGE TO COMMONWEALTH PARLEY. Above are
some of the demonstrctors outside: the British Consulate
in Vancouver last Thursday to urge the prime ministers
parley in London to take action to save peace. About 75
citizens on the picket line signed a cable to Prime Min-

y

about it,

—Carl Erickson photo

ister Pearson supporting a halt to bombing attacks on
Vietnam and for a negotiated settlement. Many private
citizens took part and most peace groups in the city
were represented in the demonstration which was head-
ed by Rev. George Strong of North Vancouver.

Military coup in Algeria
takes world by surprise

The world was caught by sur-
prise last Saturday by the mili-
tary coup which seized power in
Algeria, removing President Ben
Bella and setting up a “Revo-
lutionary Council” headed by
army chief Col. Boumedienne.

Many conflicting reports have
left doubts about the real meaning
of the events in Algeria, Large
demonstrations exploded this
week in the main cities which
were put down by police with
many arrests, The whereabouts
of Ben Bella himself is unknown
at this moment,

In Paris, the Association of
Algerians in France issued a
statement denouncing the coup as
the work of a “handful of am-
bitious adverturers claiming to
substitute itself for the legal
authority Algeria has freely
adopted.”

The statement issued by the

‘Association pointed out that 90

percent of Algerians had adopted
the F,L,N, constitution and elect-
ed Ben Bella as President of the
Algerian Republic, while the
F,L.N, Congress unanimously
elected him secretary-generalof
the Party.

“Any attempt to put these de-
cisions in jeopardy,” it said, “is

ascribable to adventurism and
treason, . .’. To seek to attack
the President is in fact to attack
the people and to place in jeop-
ardy its achievements in all
fields,”

It pointed out that under Presi-
dent Ben Bella’s leadership Al-
geria had gained great prestige
abroad while athome “the social-
ist sector each day gives further
proof of its vitality and its ef-
ficiency.” It denounced the coup
asa “criminal venture” and
called on the people of Algeria
“to crush the attempt of the
fascist adventurers,”

Col. Boumedienne’s military
coup apparently started at 2:30
a.m, lastSaturday morning, After.
communications had been cut for
a time aproclamation was broad-
cast denouncing Ben Bella as a
“diabolical dictator” and accus-
ing Algeria’s former national

Siempre
(Mexico)

hero of high treason and a long
series of misdeeds,

It denounced him for what it
called “morbid love of power,”
political narcissism, demagogy,
and mismanaging the country’s
economy, Foreign Minister M,
Bouteflika said Algeria’s foreign

policy of non-alignment and-

friendship with all nations would
continue and she would respect
existing commitments,

It is not known at press time
whether the Afro-Asia confer-
ence due to open in Algiers on
June 29 would take place as
‘planned or be postponed,

Algeria’s official news agency
said that China’s ambassador
in Algiers, Mr. Tsun Tao had
conveyed to Col, Boumedienne a
message from Premier Chou En-
lai, expressing “total and un-
conditional support” for the
council,

President Nasser ofthe U,A,R,
sent a message saying Algerian-
Egyptian relations were not be-
tween individuals, but “repre-
sent something bigger and
deeper”.

At press time there were re-
ports that about 200 “Communist
sympathizers” of Ben Bella had
been arrested,

interest and many signed while
expressing satisfaction that
somebody was doing something

The meeting Tuesday night
called by thé"B,C, Peace Council
to mobilize support for the cam=
paign adopted the following mea-
sures;

e Agreed that canvassing in
downtown streets in Vancouver
will proceed every Saturday be-
tween 1 and 4 p.m, Canvassers
will leave from the Peace Coun-
cil office in the Pender Audi-
torium at 339 W. Pender St.

® Agreed that area canvasses
will be organized in shopping
centres on Friday nights. Large
numbers of postcards and peti-
tions, as well as leaflets, have
already gone to many centres in
Greater Vancouver, Vancouver
Island, Fraser Valley and In=
terior points,

© Three committees have been
set up to conduct the campaign.
These include a campaign com=
mittee, a publicity committee
and a committee to prepare a
float and booth for the Pacific
National Exhibition.

Plans are also underway to
organize a peace picnic some-
time in August. Details are to
be announced later.

Many thousands of petitions,
postcards and leaflets have been
printed and the B,C, Peace Coun=
cil has announced that these are

Aussie dockers
strike over
Viet policy

Two thousand Melbourne
dockers walked off the job and
idled the port on June 18 in
protest against a fine of
2,000 pounds levied against
their union by the Australian
Industrial Court for their
strike action on June 8-9 in
protest against conscription
and involvement in the U.S,
dirty war on Vietnam.

The protest work stoppage
of Australian dockers at that
time involved over’ 20,000
workers and tied up shipping
in Melbourne, Sydney, Ade-
laide and Fremantle,

Sign and mail today! |

-
sd
a ee Se ce ee ee ee ee ce cee ee ee ee oe eee a Gee Ge oe ome oe Ge oe E

RT. HON. L. B. PEARSON,
Prime Minister of Canada,
Ottawa

Dear Mr. Pearson:

now to:

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ne ae cee Gee Ge Ge GES Ge Gee ees Gee ae ees ee ee ome eee eee ee ee ee ee

, = é
Please use Canada’s influence openly and fore

1. STOP THE WAR IN VIETNAM
2. Negotiate for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
3. Let the Vietnamese people decide their own 9

er
a

available to any individual ie
organization, by either wri
the B.C, Peace Council, 33?
Pender St., Vancouver; or pt
ing MU 5-9958, oo

tf

More than 100,000 poste
are being distributed nati?
according to the Canadiat Pe
Congress. The United ®
Workers local in Winds0l |
ordered “10,000 and the ;
Electrical Workers Unio 6,

# Soe

SIGNING FOR PEACE IN vere
Above photos show petiticot
collecting names at Victory | v

downtown Vancouver last $a yall
—Fisherman photos by G- Leg?

postacé ae
FREE =|
|
|

full! |
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ffairs-

Signed,