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eft coalition victory .
Sicily elections

_ The coalition of Communists, Left-Wing Catholics headed
by Signor Milazzo, Socialists and other groups has won the
ection for the Sicilian regional parliament. The intervention
by the Vatican, which threatened Catholics who allied them-

selves with Communists, was defied. The final results were

(1955 results in brackets):

~ Christian Democrats 34 seats
37 ; Communists 21 seats
@0); Socialists 11 seats (10);

“Fascists nine seats (nine);
archists three seats
(nine); Social Democrats one
sat. «= (two); Liberals two

(three); Union (Milazzo
Blics). nine (no compari-

ZB

he Christian Democrats,
io had been trying to re-
gain power, are out-numbered
y the Milazzo group, Social-

‘The Left section of the
a. Democrats, under
ig or Milazzo, split the
Christian Democratic local
government in Sicily eight
ionths ago and formed a
few government in alliance

with Communists, Socialists

and some Right Wing groups.
Both the Italian Christian
Democratic Government and
the Vatican have intervened
Strongly in the election to
flsh the orthodox Christian
Democrats back into power.
The nine seats won by Mil-
a7zo’s new party represented
areal gain of four — four
nore than the bloc of five
dissident Christian Democrats
who founded the party eight
months ago.

Singapore people hail

Similarly, the Christian
Democrats’ 34 seats repre-
sented a gain of two. As Mil-
azzo defection had left them
with only 32 deputies in the
regional parliament. ~

The .Communists gained a
seat, the Right-Wing -Mon-
archists and Socialists being
the chief losers.

It appeared likely that the
Communists, Milazzo group
and Socialists would be able
to form a government with-
out the support of the Right-
Wing group that has. voted
with them for the last eight
months.

The Right-Wing groups sup-
ported the Left parties’ coali-
tion because it, too, opposed
the authoritarian methods of
the Christian Democratic gov-
ernment in Rome.

Behind the election battle
was the demand of the Sicil-
ians for a greater share in the
control of their own country,
much of the riches of which
are drained. off by the capi-
talist monopolies of North
Italy, who. use Sicily as a
reservoir of cheap labor.

It was also the first ex-
ample for some years of a
wide coalition, including Com-
munists, putting up for elec-
tion in a West European
country.

end of colonial rule

SINGAPORE—Singapore was last week declared an in-
dependent state within the Commonwealth, after 140 years of
colonial rule. The new constitution, Prime Minister Lee Kuan
Yew told a mass “victory rally” was but a step forward to a

merger with Malaya.
a
Dr. Toh, chairman of the

People’s Action Party, said

tnemployment was the big-
fest problem, with 5.2 percent
of the population over 14
years of age out of work.
The People’s Action Party,
fepresenting the working peo-
ple and liberation forces of
ingapore, won 53 percent of
votes.
First congratulatory  tele-
ram received by Prime Min-
a Lee came from Dato
Abdul Azak, the Right-Wing
prime minister of Malaya.
The British government will
sill retain control of foreign
policy and defense and have a
big say in internal security.

Big crowds greeted the eight

leading members of the Peo- .

ple’s Action Party released
from prision, where they, had
been interned on “security”
grounds. According to the
new constitution, the eight
leaders are barred from tak-
ing part in the government
for five years. :

_One of the first actions
of the new government was
te ban eight newspapers and
periodicals, as a step to root
out “pornographic culture of
a degraded colonial society.”

- During the recent election

campaign: the PAP- promised

to: prevent the bankruptcy: of

moral standards and-to foster .

a new, healthy, unified Mala-
yan culture.

Disengage Canada from

the U.S.

military alliance’ LPP demands

“Bither Canada will go all out to become a nuclear satellite of the U.S.-armed forces,
further endangering our sovereignty and security, or a basic change must take place—disen-
gagement of this country from the U.S. milit ary alliance,” says a statement issued this week
by the Labor-Progressive Party’s national executive committee. The statement reads, in frill:

New steps are being taken
by the Diefenbaker govern-
ment, with the support of the
Liberals and CCF members
of Parliament, to arm Cana-
adian forces with nuclear
weapons.

Already two Bomarc mis-
sile bases are being set up at
North Bay, Ontario and
Mont Laurier, Quebec.

The government’s Defense
White Paper of May 13 de-
clares its intention of putting
U.S. nuclear warheads on
Canadian soil, under US.
ownership and _ cntrol.

What does this mean?

It means that the govern-
mentment has further  sur-
rendered our national sovér-
eignty, and, more than that,
exposed this country to re-
taliatory nuclear war if the
U.S. decided to follow the
advice of some of its hot-
headed “preventive war”
generals and unleashes atom-
ic: war.

The White Paper also pro-

vides that Canadian troops
in Europe will be armed
with U.S.. weapons — again
under U.S. control.
- Further, . the
government has agreed that
the U.S. forces will train
Canadian troops in the use of
these deadly weapons.

Diefenbaker .

Clearly this agreement is
aimed.to pave the way for
complete conversion of Cana-
dian armed forces to nuclear
weapons,, which will be ex-
clusively under U.S. control.

This far-reaching decision
was taken by the government
without debate in parliament.
Liberal and CCF MPs have
not made a national issue of
Th

This is a warning to» all
Canadians — especially to

‘the labor movement, which

has not spoken out on this
matter — of the way the gov-
ernment is selling the last
remnants of. our sovereignty
to the U.S.A.

All this takes place four
months after the Arrow-Bo-
mare fiasco which is destroy-

ing the Canadian aviation in-.

dustry. Bomare — the vaunt-
ed “defense” of Canada is
widely held to be obsolete, by
the U.S., but the government
of Canada abjectly continues
on its path of tragic folly.

Canada has reached another
critical point in its present
belligerent foreign and de-
fense policy.

Now U.S. warships are tak-
ing over command of the
Great Lakes — starting with
a big naval demonstration.

Either Canada will go all-
out to become a nuclear satel-

lite of the U.S. armed forces,
further endangering our sov-
ereignty and security, or a
basic change must take place
—disengagement of this coun-
try from the U.S. military
alliances,

The Labor-Progressive Party
appeals to all Canadians —
and especially to the one and
a quarter million-strong army
of organized labor and to
members of. the CCF — to
speak out now against these
suicidal policies, Let us unit-
edly demand:

@ That Canada stay out of
the nuclear arms race —and
instead, works for banning
nuclear tests — the source of
deadly strontium 90.

@ That the Diefenbaker
government cancel the agree-
ment to station the discredit-
ed Bomarc missiles in Canada.

@ That parliament serve
notice on the U.S. that it re-
pudiates the agreement to in-
tegrate Canadian forces in
U.S. plans for war, and by so
doing recognizes the fact that
not a penny of Canadian de-
fense funds is for the defense
of Canada—but of the U.S.A.

@ A new foreign policy of
peace, disengagement of Can-
ada from the U.S. military
alliance, and peaceful co-ex-
istence and trade with all
countries.

June 19, 1959 —- PACIFIC TRIBUNE--PAGE 3

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