‘U.S. paddling against the
stream’ backing colonialism

By SPARTAK BEGLOV

MOSCOW (APN) — One will
have to look hard through the re-
Cords of international relations to
find another example of one na-
tion publicly denouncing another
for no more than lending a helping
hand to a victim of aggression.

This is precisely what Ameri-
Can diplomacy has been doing for
the past few months with a zeal
worthy of a better cause. The
Soviet Union has more than once
declared that it is helping the
Ethiopian government repel ag-

gression by Somalia, backed up
by reactionary regimes, who has
occupied a portion of Ethiopian
territory in violation not only of
international law, but also of the
Charter of the Organization of Af-
rican Unity.

The Soviet Union, as do many
other countries, wants to see a
peaceful solution which means
the withdrawal of Somalian
troops from Ethiopia.

But the trouble is that one am-
biguity of the American position
leads to another: While backing

~The murder of Sebai

called act of terrorism

NICOSIA, Cyprus — The
Central Committee of AKEL, the
Marxist-Leninist party in Cyprus,
has condemned the assasination
of the general secretary of the
Afro-Asian People’s Solidarity
Organization (AAPSO) here Feb.
18. Youssef el-Sebai was gunned
down by two men at the Hilton
hotel in Nicosia.

“Whatever the motives of this
abominable assasination are,”’
said AKEL, ‘“‘and whoever the
assasins, they can only harm the
Cause which they serve. Ter-
rorism and assasination cannot be
Considered weapons for any |ib-
ration movement. AAPSO is a
broad, anti-imperialist liberation
Movement which opposes ra-
cism, Zionism and all forms of
exploitation and oppression. The
attack against this organization,’
AKEL says, “‘is in fact an attack
against the peoples fighting for
their freedom and national inde-
pendence.”

Dealing with the commando
Taid at Larnaca airport by 75
Egyptian soldiers, the president
of Cyprus, S. Kyprianou de-
Scribed it as unjustified and con-
demned the action in a telegram to

N secretary-general Kurt Wal-
dheim..

_ The Egyptians, said the Cyp-
Not president, landed at Larnaca
alrport under the pretense of br-
Inging a high-ranking Egyptian
&0Vvernment official. This occured
at a time when Cyprus was com-
Pleting negotiations with the
gunmen to surrender. During the
Egyptian commando attack, 16

8yptians died, 16 more were

Conference launches world

Cypriot president Spyros Kyp-
rianou.

wounded and two were missing.
Seven Cypriots were seriously in-
jured.

“‘The commando raid was an
aggression dagainst Cyprus,”
charged AKEL in a further
statement on the incident. The
Communist Party of Greece
(KKE) also strongly protested
against Egypt’s raid calling it a
‘‘violation of international law’’.

Yassar Arafat, chairman of the
Palestine Liberation Organiza-
tion, has also condemned the
murder of Sebai. In a letter to
AAPSO, Arafat accused im-
perialist and Zionist intelligence
agencies of being behind Sebai’s
murder. The incident has been
used by Sadat to whip up anti-
Palestinian hysteria in his country
to help pave the way for a sepa-
rate deal with Israel. Sadat has
also severed diplomatic ties with

Cyprus.

The trial of the gunmen, in the
meantime, has opened in Nicosia.

drive against neutron death

GENEVA — Opening the International Ban Neutron Arms
conference hore last week, World Peace Council president
Romesh Chandra said its aim is to launch a “world-wide cam-

Paign against neutron death”.

Delegates from some 126 non-governmental organizations
from over 50 countries met to condemn plans to build and
deploy the neutron bomb. “Millions of people are pressing hard
for a ban 6n this latest weapon of mass annihilation, Chandra
Said. He pointed out that the new Stockholm Appeal against

Weapons of mass destruction a

lready bears millions of names

testifying to a popular desire to end the dangerous arms race.

In a unanimously-adopted resolution,
that a total ban on the neurton bomb wa:
today for creating a favorable political atmosp

the Conference said
s the major condition
here for the suc-

Cess of the Special UN General Assembly session on disarma-

Ment to meet next May and for convening a

Onference.

World Disarmament

Public opinion in the U.S. and Western Europe, with the inter-
National community behind it, must call upon their sinieeiiess “3
P plans to arm NATO forces with neutron weapons,

fesolution states.

an unjust cause in one area,
Washington is trying to get the
rest of the world to accept its
interpretation of the standards of
detente. For this they have de-
vised a special ‘‘linkage’’ doc-
trine.

The whole idea is to make in-
ternational relations and the pro-
cess of detente look as if they bind
the Soviet Union to reject solidar-
ity with the struggle of peoples for
their freedom and independence.
In light of such a ‘‘doctrine’’, any
movement towards social change
is Seen as ‘‘damaging”’ to detente
and any act of Soviet solidarity is
interpreted as a ‘‘violation’’ of the
standards: of detente warranting
retaliation from the U.S., as for
example stonewalling at the
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks.

On my recent visit to the U.S., I
found that this new ‘‘doctrine’’
has infected even some otherwise
sober-minded Americans with a
fairly good knowledge of interna-
tional affairs. Some repeated the
shopworn argument that one can-
not seek stabilization in one area
of detente, while getting involved
ina “‘destabilization”’ of the situa-
tion in another.

I tried to show my American
colleagues how distorted this pic-
ture of the relationship between
the stability factor and detente
was. What is detente, after all, if
not a worldwide restructuring of
international relations on -the
principles of ajust and democratic
peace? I pointed out it is the U.S.,
in a number of regions, where
colonialism is on the way out, that
has found itself paddling against
the stream.

Instability in Africa, is gener-
ated by the very forces which are
trying to prevent the African
people from opting for social

. change; to pit some African states

against others, incite and encour-
age strife, and provoke’ disputes
around problems the African
peoples have inherited from colo-
nial times.

We regret to say that the lead-
ership of Somalia has cast itself in
the role of a protagonist of this
game. And it is not accidental that
the regimes and governments
which are in a hurry to respond to
its appeals for ‘‘help’’ are those
which have the reputation of the
most reactionary or are seeking
favors from imperialist power
centres. :

It is complicity with such a pol-
icy that runs counter to the de-
mand for detente, to the princi-

- ples of peaceful coexistence and
_to the need to faithfully observe

the principles of non-interference
and respect for sovereignty and
independence.

The.USSR has repeated over
and over that it is opposed to all
interference in the internal affairs
of African countries. It is not
looking for any privileges and
benefits in Africa. Its policy is one
of building peaceful and friendly
relations with all peoples and
helping them advance along the
road of independence and prog-
ress they have chosen.

The important thing is not to
lose sight of the fact that detente
cannot serve as an excuse for
condoning racism and the exploi-
tation of Africa by monopolies; to
acts of violence by mercenaries
and to encroachments on the
sovereignty and integrity of
emerging nations.

ICELAND LABOR CALLS FOR GENERAL STRIKE
REYKJAVIK, Iceland — Icelandic trade unions, angered by gov-
ernment austerity measures, called a general strike Feb. 28-29. This is
the first step in labor’s campaign against a law passed this month which
cut in half index-linked pay hikes. The strike by 65,000 workers in-
cluded government employees.

WEST MILITARY BUILD-UP IN EUROPE CONDEMNED

VIENNA — The socialist countries have hit U.S.-NATO stalling at
the Vienna talks on troops and arms reductions in central Europe. The
Hungarian delegate told the press that the West had rejected all pro-
posals for troop and arms reduction put forward in 1976 and 1977 as
well as for this year. He spoke at the close of the 159th full meeting of
the talks and said the West is actually seeking to increase the size of its
European forces and deploy such weapons as the neutron bomb in
Europe. The talks began in 1973.

EGYPT PLANNING TO JOIN CENTO?

ANKARA, Turkey — The newspaper ‘*‘Guenaydin’’ has reported
that Egypt is considering joining the Central Treaty Organization
(CENTO) which was formerly known as the Baghdad Pact. The paper
said it learned that president Sadat responded favorably to a U.S.
proposal that Egypt join the group which now includes Turkey, Iran
and Pakistan.

GOODYEAR BUYS TIRE COMPANY IN CHILE
AKRON, Ohio — The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company an-
nounced its new Chilean subsidiary was acquiring Corfo-Insa, Chile’s
biggest tire maker for $34-million. Goodyear de Chile will operate the
plant on the outskirts of Santiago. The U.S. company is Latin Ameri-
ca’s leading tire marketer with plants in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia,
Venezuela, Guatemala, Peru and Mexico.

NICARAGUANS JOIN LIBERATION FRONT
MANAGUA — Hundreds of Nicaraguans, mainly young people,
are reported joining the Sandinista National Liberation Front following
the biggest protest strike in this country’s history. The 15-day general
strike was ‘directed against the pro-U.S. dictatorship of president
Somoza.

MARXIST PUBLICATION BANNED IN TURKEY

ISTANBUL — The first issue of the Turkish-language edition of
World Marxist Review has been confisicated here by order of an
Istanbul Criminal Court and its editor, Ahmet Tastan, has been
charged with disseminating communist propaganda. Article 42 of the
Turkish criminal code considers this a ‘‘crime’’ and the prosecutor is
asking for a jail term of 7'2 years. Tastan already faces a sentence of
nearly 200 years in prison for publishing similar materials in the
monthly Uran magazine he edits. .

PEACE DELEGATES DENIED VISIT WITH CHAVIS
RALEIGH, North Carolina — A request by four delegates from the
World Peace Council to visit imprisoned civil rights leader Rev. Ben-
jamin Chavis was denied by U.S. authorities. The four were in the U.S.
recently and prison authorities met their request for a meeting with the
reply it was ‘‘untimely”’ and ‘‘interferred with the policy of limited
access’’. -

A column of Native American Indian marchers trudges through the
cold and snow near Nevada’s border with California Monday as they
began a 3,000 mile, six-month walk from Sacramento, Galif., to
Washington. The protesters will seek a meeting with President Carter to
discuss the general plight of Native Americans and congressional ef-
forts to limit hunting and fishing rights guaranteed to Native Americans
in treaties signed by the government in the 1800s.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MARCH 10, 1978—Page 7