| | e: TRIBUNE PHOTO — GARY MacDONNE socialist and developing world. By TOM MORRIS Prime Minister Trudeau's recent travels to promote his version of the ‘‘North-South’’ dialogue, quite apart from his personal visions which appear to recognize the tremendous inequities on this earth, must be viewed in the context of political and economic reality. that it ignores the basic reality of today’s world — that of the existence of a world socialist system co-existing and competing alongside a system of world imperialism. The ‘‘North-South’’ theory sweeps this reality aside and proceeds to address the problem of economic dispar- ity, of backwardness, hunger, underdevelopment and exploitation on a north-south global scale. The theory: ‘‘equalizes’’ the responsibility for colonialism and neo- colonialism. ; : When Trudeau tells reporters ‘‘there has to be revolu- tion in international morality’ he neglects to finish the thought. For a ‘‘revolution in international morality’’ to take place, for the beginnings of a turn-around in world economic relationships to occur, to tackle the hunger and backwardness which is the lot of two-thirds of humankind, the system which gave birth to it must be pinpointed. - World imperialism and its multitude of international financial agencies, its trans-national corporations and its military might is the stumbling block to the creation of a new world economic order aimed at building the economic base in the so-called developing world. The fact is that the imperialist system thrives off its plunder of the wealth and labor of billions of people. And while the methods of super-exploitation change and vary, the super-exploitation continues and grows. The ‘North-South’ theory advanced today also is sometimes called ‘inter-dependence”’ or ‘‘integration’’. Its simplistic and consciously misleading purpose is to tie the economies of the developing states more closely to system. ~ It bases itself on the premise that the major contradic- tion in today’s world is between the “industrialized” and ‘‘non-industrialized”’ states, lumping together capital- ism and socialism in the former category. This con- veniently by-passes the colonial heritage left by imperial- ism in the past and the neo-colonialist strategy pursued today. Former Algerian premier Ben Bella, in a recent inter- view, cut through some of the moralist rhetoric. ** There is in fact no dialogue,’ Ben Bella said. **A true dialogue takes place between equals. The dialogue that takes place between those who are sated and have all the advantages on their side and poor, helpless folk who live in the ‘developing countries’ is an invention of the West.” Ben Bella joins those who point to the growing dis- parity caused by colonial and neo-colonial policies. He points to a worsening situation in which developing states are going deeper into debt (from $32-billion to Trudeau's world travels to promote a North-South dialogue begs some fundamental questions advanced by the The first problem with the “‘North-South’’ concept is - the economic and political web of the imperialist world Matching dialogue with real answers and concrete policies $50-billion between 1978 and 1979) and speaks of the dislocation of their economies. Prime Minister Trudeaustalks about creating a new energy affiliate of the World Bank. But he fails to men- tion the World Bank ‘‘earns’’ $2.50 for every $1 it loans News Analysis to Third World nations. Trudeau’s vision does not in- clude the political reality of such agencies which have a selective investment policy favoring fascist and military regimes and shunning states struggling toward social liberation. The International Monetary Fund, for example, a favorite Trojan Horse of Western capital, imposes in- credible terms for its ‘“‘loans’’ which include the receiver state agreeing to high levels of unemployment, cutbacks in social services, unfavorable trading quotas, increased prices — all the ills of the capitalist system dumped onto its weak economy. A recent international scientific conference in Berlin, GDR, dealing with the joint struggle of the working: class: movement and the national liberation movement against imperialism, tackled the ‘‘north-south’’ dialogue and labelled it a smokescreen behind which imperialism and its agencies tighten their grip and launch their counter-at- tack against the forces for social progress. “This strategy spreads theories about the ‘super- powers’ and the division of the world into ‘rich and poor’ countries. It is designed to conceal the real causes of colonial and neo-colonial exploitation and to separate the progressive forces in Asia, Africa and Latin America from the other revolutionary forces of our time,”’ the conference noted. The conference referred to the call by Fidel Castro at the Non-Aligned Summit in Havana last year on the urgent need to “‘fight together for a genuinely new world economic order from which all stand to gain’, and sup- ported demands to limit the power of international monopoly capital and to respect the national interests of third world states. And Trudeau? He might begin by examining Canada’s role in this area. A new world economic order is not aided by Canadian trans-nationals and banks bolstering" apartheid in Namibia and South Africa. A ‘‘revolution in international morality’’ cannot mean the plunder of Chi- lean copper by Canadian corporations or profits wrung from Brazilian workers by foreign holdings in mining, forestry, meat packing, rail and banking. Similarly, Canadian economic penetration into In- donesia, Argentina, Haiti, and elsewhere where cheap labor and high profits abound have nothing in common with ‘‘dialogue”’. The prime minister is expected to set forth his thinking in a major foreign policy speech soon and Canadians will see whether his concerns with the world’s inequities are matched by concrete answers and genuine policies. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JAN. 30, 1981—Page 8 ee GDR wants European | conference on peace _ By FILS DELISLE Tribune Berlin Correspondent BERLIN — The German Democratic Republic” will, in the coming year continue its work for worl peace, telaxation of tensions and the further normal- ization of relations between states. That assurance was given here by State Council chairman Erich Hon- ecker to representatives of 131 countries at a tra ditional reception held early in the year for diplomats stationed here. Honecker told the foreign representatives that ‘‘the current situation demands a sober estimate of the world situation from all governments, along with ap- ™ propriate conclusions for prac tical politics. “I would emphasize the determination of the GDR’’, he said, ‘‘to contribute forcefully to the political relaxation of tensions and to extending it through military relaxation of tensions, in the interests of 4 mutual and equal coopera- HONECKER tion’’. Honecker greeted the fact that Europe in 1980 achieved its longest stretch of peace in this century. He added: ‘‘unfortunately, the world situation has on the whole developed less positively. It was shar- pened, and harbors serious dangers for the peace. Military relaxation of tensions emerges as_ more necessary than ever to supplement political relaxa- tion. People yearn for progress in this area and under- stand its decisive significance for the guaranteeing of ” peace.” The GDR leader said the piling up of armaments ‘‘is already beginning to feed on the fruits of political relaxation of tensions”. He emphasized that ‘‘the German Democratic Republic notes with concern ef- forts to move from relaxation of tensions to con- frontation,”’ and warned that ‘‘the process of relaxa-_ tion of tensions, which continues to determine the basic tendency of international development, will | thereby be saddled with a heavy burden.” A move in the right direction, Honecker said, would be ‘‘the convening of a General European Con- ference on military relaxation of tensions and dis- armament”. He expréssed hope that the Madrid follow-up conference to Helsinki will sponsor such a move. ‘‘May the statesmen and peoples,’’ he said, ‘‘sive even more attention than up to now to the maintenance and strengthening of peace,”’ which, he added, ‘we regard as the basic task of our day. There is no doubt that requires not the breaking off of a political dialogue between the states but rather its continuation, regardless of the social system on either sides: U.S. hostages released On Jan. 20, moments after former president Carter stepped down from offifice, the 52 U.S. hostages held by Iranian authorities were released following 444 days of confinement. The release came after long and complicated nego- tiations for the return of some $8-billion in Iranian funds frozen by the U.S. In the negotiations, the Algerian Government played a key intermediary role, the U.S. and Iran having severed diplomatic ties following the collapse of the former shah. The hos- tages were flown from Tehran to a U.S. base in West Germany for de-briefing before returning to the U.S. HUUUUUUENNUOIDAGUEQUONNNNNUUUONOGUUUUOOEOQOOUEOOOUUUUONOQUEUOOOOUUEUEGUUUREOUUUEOOOOOOOOHOOOE!