WORLD Unease in Washington Europe’s view of Star Wars The ‘‘Star Wars’’ question is one of the main reasons that the election of Mikhail Gorbachev as general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (which is constitutionally the leader of Soviet society) has been received with lively interest in Western Europe. Incontrast to President Reagan, who claimed “‘it would serve no purpose,” virtually all heads of government promptly announced their departure for Moscow to attend the funeral of Soviet Presi- dent Konstantin Chernenko. The comment brought out to typify this attitude was that made last December by Britain’s Prime Minister Mar- garet Thatcher when the man who has become the Soviet leader was on a visit to Britain: “‘I like Mr. Gorbachev. We can do business together.”’ Thatcher happens to be the Western leader who has gone furthest in backing the Reagan Star Wars fantasy, although she says her endorsement is for the ‘‘research,”’ but not for deployment. Most op- ponents of Star Wars point out that there is really no difference between research and deployment. Thus, even this ‘“‘partial’’ endorsement has aroused strong British opposition that cuts across all political parties. Even in very conservative circles in Western Europe the concept of the U.S. building a nuclear shield for itself in space would mean leaving U.S. allies in Europe exposed to nuclear missiles in the event of a war. Many eyes therefore turn to a Gorbachev rather than to a Reagan to ease that threat. Lord Carrington, the new secretary-general of NATO, was one of those who supported research, but, in a carefully worded statement, he declared that ‘‘deployment would obviously be contrary to the anti-ballistic missile treaty of 1972,”’ and any- way the U.S. must ‘‘consult their allies’? and then William Pomeroy ‘negotiate with the Soviet Union’’ — all points rejected by the U.S. -The Labor Party’s shadow foreign secretary, Denis Healey (who belongs to the party’s right wing), made a strong television statement on the eve of the opening of the Geneva arms talks in which he called on European governments to “stand together and assert their opposition to President Reagan’s Star Wars plan.”’ He said Western Europe should be prepared to have ‘‘an almighty row’’ with the U.S. over the strategy of the Reagan government at the Geneva talks. On the day the Geneva arms talks began, March 12, the former British Tory prime minister, Edward Heath, delivered a major powerful speech to the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London, in which he fiercely assailed the entire Star Wars project. Saying that it would be ‘decoupling, de- stabilizing and a diversion of resources,’’ Health punched holes in the ‘‘defense shield’’ idea. Star Wars, he said, ‘“‘will not free the world from nu- clear weapons. If you think there is an arms race now — you ain’t seen nothing yet.” These trends are developing as the new Soviet leadership, regarded with favor in many quarters of the West, takes over. It is not surprising that there is unease in Washington. ess Canada’s exhibit a hit at Leipzig Trade Fair By FILS DELISLE Tribune Berlin Correspondent BERLIN — Will the switch to a Tory government at Ottawa affect the favorable trade relations built up over the years between the GDR and Canada under the former Liberal government? The question is considered relevant by those following international relations, because trade means jobs for Cana- dians, and Canada’s attitude to trade with the GDR could mirror its general policy on relations with the whole socialist camp. The first indications of Ottawa’s approach to the question under Tory leadership has come at the International Leipzig Trade Fair. The Canadian exhibit at the fair showed no ten- dency to depreciate the value to Canada of good trade rela- tions with the GDR. Canada was represented by an official exhibit organized by the Canadian External Affairs Ministry. Among those participating in the exhibit were firms whose products are raw materials, cellulose and ‘paper manufac- turers, electronic concerns, the clothing industry, grocery and food suppliers, and companies producing medical supplies and technical equipment. During the fair, Canadian Ambassador Alan Pittman McLaine was present to receive the traditional visit of GDR State Council Chairman Erich Honecker and other govern- ment and party leaders. The Ambassador welcome Honecker warmly, and transmitted to him a message of greetings from Prime Minister Mulroney. Ambassador McLaine drew attention to the fact that for a long period now there have been good relations between Canada and the GDR. At the Fair, he said, two large dele- gations of businessmen were present, representing. more Canadian participation than ever before. Ottawa was now also looking forward to the visit to the Canadian capital of GDR State Secretary Gerhard Geil in May. The Leipzig Fair drew 9,000 exhibitors from all the con- tinents in 41 branches of investment and consumer goods. More than 40,000 products were exhibited. International Focus Tom Morris pro-U.S. representatives. tions along the frontier. Partners in crime The carnage that resulted from South African police firing into a funeral procession March 21 in the Black town- ship of Langa was due, said apartheid’s Law and Order Minister Louis le Grange, to the crowd surrounding two police vehicles. Not so, testified Lt. John Fouche. He contradicted le Grange’s statement to parlia- ment that the crowd had sur- rounded the police unit and was carrying gasoline bombs. When the shooting was over, 19 people lay dead, many more were wounded. The lieutenant told an in- quiry he ordered his men to fire after a woman threw one rock (which was later found 40 metres from the vehicle). He furhter said the vehicles were not surrounded and no gasoline bombs were found. Details aside for the mo- ment, what took place was an escalation of police violence against the growing anti- apartheid sentiment in South Africa. The violence, added to arrests of United Democratic Front leaders on treason charges, is the regime’s answer to the inexorable movement for change. Surely by now any pretense that apartheid will ‘‘change”’ under Reagan’s benevolant “constructive engagement’’ policy is indefensible. The rapidly-escalating repression and mass murders being car- ried out by the apartheid state would, you might think, even make the likes of Canada’s UN ambassador Stephen Lewis realize that Ottawa’s position of gentle pressure is a fraud. All, no matter what sort or how small, relations with South Africa help the regime and hinder the struggle for liberation. For years the United Na- tions has called apartheid a crime against humanity. Diplomatic ties, trade and eco- nomic relations with Pretoria make Canada a partner in this crime. Joe Clark’s thunder On March 15, External Af- fairs Minister Joe Clark felt impelled to add his thunder to Reagan’s over the debacle tak- ing place on the Thai-Kam- puchean border, where the in- frastructure of Pol Pot’s re- mnants is being destroyed. Clark ‘‘deplored’’ the com- bined) Kampuchean-Viet- namese offensive against the terrorist base at Tatum ‘‘oc- cupied by defenders loyal to the resistance leader Prince Si- hanouk’’. Reagan, however, did more than deplore. On March 20, the House Foreign Affairs sub- committee on Asia voted $5- million to prop up the three groups that make up the so- called ‘‘Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea’, a bizzare collection of deposed princes, ultra-leftist killers and In a related move, Wash- ington announced it would sell Thailand an_ unspecified number of F-16 fighter planes, armoured personnel carriers and other hardware. U.S. arm- ing of Thailand has steadily in- creased since 1979, the year Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge was defeated and took up its posi- Clark can ‘‘deplore’’ and Reagan can rearm the Kam- puchean contras. Apologists for Pol Pot abroad can protest Kampuchean genocide never © happened. But none of this will bring back the horrors of the Khmer Rouge or the Byzantine rule of the princes. First hog into the trough Had this happened two years ago, Washington pre- sumably would have charged Canada with ‘‘aiding Soviet- Cuban penetration’’ into the Caribbean. The Point Saline airport on Grenada, built by the former People’s Revolutionary government of Maurice Bishop, was described as a military installation by Reagan in his preparations for the eventual attack in October, 1983. The post-invasion rhetoric was different: the facility is now said to be vital to Grenada’s tourism and trade — exactly what Bishop had maintained throughout. Understanding this not-so- subtle policy change, Ottawa has earmarked $7-million to help complete the airport and the first hog into the trough is the Montreal firm Janin Con- struction, which has landed a $5-million contract for Point Saline work. Which proves again the old adage that the dollar follows the Marines. ' Que 55 HS PRIVES THE CRENADIAN AIRPort WAS BUILT FoR MILITARY PUR Poses.