\ ee a A ringing call to avert nuclear war and Preserve détente was issued at the recently Concluded 26th of the Commu- nist Party of the Soviet Union in the fornr of major peace initiatives. Present at the Congress as fraternal delegates repre- Senting the Communist Party of Canada Were its General Secretary William Kashtan, Labor Secretary William Stewart and President of the Parti Com- Muniste du Québec, Samuel Walsh. . The Tribune asked Kashtan to com- Ment on the Soviet peace initiatives and that country’s stand on major inter- national events. The Communist leader Will also address a public meeting in To- ronto March 24 where he will deal with the full range of issues raised at the Congress. sz» * * “Soviet premier Brezhnev’s call, in the keynote address, to the United States and the NATO alliance for a summit Meeting fits in with the basic orientation of the 26th Congress’, Kashtan said. The report outliped a series of new Pe€ace initiatives which the Congress was asked to adopt, among these a call for a Summit level meeting. “These peace proposals were wel- Comed by the 5,002 delegates and by the 107 fraternal delegations present. In _them they saw a marked contrast be- tween the USSR’s effort to strengthen détente and check the nuclear arms drive and the dangerous course being taken by the Reagan administration.” Kashtan pointed out that these Soviet Proposals were made at the very moment Reagan was stepping up the arms drive with a proposed 32% jump in defence Spending and expanding his policy of cold war and confrontation. “What the 26th Congress emphasized was a sharp difference between two so- Cial systems on the basic question of Peace and war. We saw socialism, dedi- Cated to the maintenance of peace, the Prevention of nuclear war, and imperial- Ism’s aggressive arms programs and threats of nuclear war. “Since the peace initiatives were ad- vanced,’’ Kashtan noted, ‘‘the Reagan administration has been compelled to declare itself in support of a summit call. But it does this with tongue in cheek — trying to link it to other questions. One of these is the lie that the USSR pursues a line of ‘international terrorism’, Washington’s term for Soviet support for people striving for national liberation. . ‘*Premier Brezhnev made it clear: the struggle for world peace stands on its own feet in the interest of all humankind. - He also reaffirmed the Soviet Union’s position that people have the right to strive for and win national and social liberation. ‘ “The Reagan administration links détente with events in Poland, charging the USSR and other socialist states with interference in Poland’s affairs. The fact is,’’ Kashtan said, ‘‘it is U.S. imperial- ism which interferes in Poland’s internal affairs around its strategy of ‘creeping counter-revolution’ which aims at pull- ing Poland out of the socialist camp, away from the Warsaw Treaty alliance and bringing about the territorial dis- memberment of Poland by West German revanchists. WORLD [Steps to safeguard | peace advanced by USSR at Congress Interview with William Kasthan leader of the Communist Party of Canada and delegate to the 26th CPSU Congress ae “The Congress made it clear that the USSR and the socialist community stand with socialist Poland. ‘*Washington links events in Afghanis- tan with détente. And here, too, Brezhnev made clear the right of the Af- ghan people to carry through their demo- cratic revolution without outside inter- ference. He repeated that Soviet troops will be withdrawn when all neighboring states, China, Pakistan (and including the U.S.) stop sabotaging the Afghan revolution and recognize the legal government of that country.” Kashtan pointed out that since the Congress, president Reagan has said he would arm the bandit groups which are carrying out terror raids across the bor- AT THE 26th CONGRESS ie leader of the Communist Party of Canada William Kashtan (centre), leader of the Communist Party of Argentina Atos Fava (left) and Chairman of the Communist Party of Belgium Louis Van Geyt. : der. ‘‘The fact is,’’ Kashtan stressed, ‘the U.S. has been doing just that since 1978. ‘*Reagan also links events in El Sal- vador with détente and continues to base U.S. policy on the Munroe Doctrine of 1823 which proclaims the ‘right’ of U.S. imperialism to control the destiny of Latin America and the Caribbean. ‘Washington has decided to keep re- actionary regimes in that region in pow- er. It has decided to prop up the military junta in El Salvador despite overwhelm- ing opposition in the country and uses the lie of ‘Soviet-Cuban intervention’. It’s a repeat of the Vietnam scenario,”’ Kashtan warned, ‘‘sending advisers and weapons as a first step to supress a rev- olutionary struggle under way for free- dom and independence. : ‘*These and other developments at the 26th Congress showed the basic differ- ence between a socialist policy for peace and national independence and imperial- ism’s policy of aggressiveness, militar- ization and war threats.” The positions of Washington are aided by the Peking leadership which supports the drive to undermine détente and re- turn to the cold war. While noting this dangerous course, however, the Con- gress reiterated the Soviet Union’s call for normalizing relations with China. Kashtan pointed out that the struggle for peace is at a new and crucial stage. “The Soviet Congress’ call for the inter- vention of the people of the world to maintain détente, including military détente, made that very clear. By it’s firm, calm and reasoned position on-this key issue, the Congress made a decisive contribution to the fight for peace today. “Bearing in mind the dangerous course of world events, the Congress emphasized the need for unity of all pro- gressive and democratic forces including Communist and Workers’ parties to de- feat the nuclear war threat and strengthen the forces for peace and social progress. ; ‘Of special interest to us,’’ Kashtan said, ‘‘was the emphasis in the report which pointed to the possibilities for an improvement of relations between the USSR and Canada, to overcome the negative consequences of Canada’s tag- ging along with the U.S. policy of boy- cott and embargo against the Soviet Union.” . Kashtan noted that Canada has paid dearly for supporting U.S. policy in our trade relations with that country and in subordinating our foreign policy to U.S. imperialism’s aims. “The ‘benefits’ of this one-sided rela- tionship have shown themselves for what they are: acid rain, the Garrison project, the auto pact, broken fishing treaties, great lakes pollution, and now U.S. efforts to press Canada to drop its energy program. ‘*We can’t afford such ‘benefits’ which undermine our sovereignty, independ- ence and economic future,” he said. ‘*The call by Premier Brezhnev to ful- fill the potentials present for improved relations between our two countries should be taken up by Ottawa. Our government should also take up the call for a summit meeting and be in the fore- front of those NATO members who are pressing for such a summit to bring about achange in the international climate from tension to cooperation,’’ he concluded. By NORMAN FARIA Tribune Caribbean Correspondent BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — Canada’s military has come under attack in the West Indies for training Carib- bean armed forces personnel which could be used for a Bay of Pigs-type invasion of Grenada. An article in the Barbadian newspaper **Brek-Loose!” has accused Ottawa and other major Western powers of training members of the Barbados Defence Force. ‘‘The Barbadian troops are being trained af Britain, the U.S. and Canada. France is also willing to elp. “The potential of such an imperialist military alliance at a time when Ronald Reagan is president of the USA, and who is a man who has promised to teach Grenada a lesson, is limitless,’’ the newspaper wrote. Concern over Canada’s role comes after a four-day visit in February of the Canadian destroyer HMCS Iroquois to this sunny Caribbean island. The navel ves- sel is ostensibly designed for anti-submarine work but can also use its guns to bombard shore positions in support of assaulting troops. Apprehension over the build-up of Barbadian armed \ co and its links with the military of countries like Canada also comes at a time when British marines from Py tau, in Mts gt i i passe fi # Hs ap e i ae British soldiers instruct members of the Barbados armed forces. Use of equipment including the assault craft shown behind has given rise to suspicions that an attack on Grenada is planned. ; the visiting assault ship HMS Intrepid led Barbadian troops in full-scale assault landing exercises on a west coast Barbados beach. French military forces stationed in the neighboring French islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe have also been paying regular visits to the island. A contingent of French marines, for example, recently took part in full battle dress in the changing of the colors of the Barbados Regiment (a militia force). ‘‘People throughout the Caribbean want to know what the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) is so vigorously preparing for. Every two weeks the Force is now holding exercises somewhere or the other on the island. These exercises are scaring not only Barbadians, but people throught the eastern Caribbean,”’ the ‘‘Brek-Loose!”’ article said. ‘“‘So Barbados is preparing — not to defend itself against an assault, but rather to prepare for an assault. We must ask: against whom and in whose interests are these assaults being planned?” The newspaper reminded its readers of warnings by Grenada’s Prime Minister, Maurice Bishop, who spoke of the danger of a CIA-inspired plot against his govern- ment which celebrates the second anniversary of its revolution March 13. ‘ ‘The possibility is there that Caribbean governments hostile to the Grenadian revolution could be used for such purposes. What better candidate could there be for such collaboration than (Barbados Prime Minister) ae ‘Canada trains assault force in Barbados Adams and his gang?’’ it added. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MARCH 20, 1981—Page9 segs as