TOKYO — This rally at Yoyogi Park of 300,000 people was part of the
May Day celebration in Japan in which more than 4.5 million people
participated. In addition to wage demands and other issues related to
the workplace, workers demanded the banning of the N-bomb and
protested fascist-like legislation that has been proposed in the Diet
(parliament).

ANTI-SHAH DEMOS ERUPT IN 30 IRANIAN CITIES _

TEHRAN — Heavily-armed riot police patrolled central Tehran
May 12, following massive anti-Shah demonstrations by thousands of
people in the capital city of Iran. Police on May 11 opened fire on the
demonstrators but the Shah’s regime was silent on the number killed or
wounded. sa

Anti-Shah protest demonstrations have been going on in Iran since
January, and this week erupted in 30 different cities. But May 11
marked the first time there have been big protests in Tehran itself. The
Shah’s regime has blamed the protests on what it calls ‘‘an evil combi-
nation of Communists and fanatic Muslims.”’

There are an estimated 100,000 political prisoners in the Shah’s jails.
The Tudeh (“‘Masses"’) Party, the Iranian Marxist-Leninist party, has
been waging a bitter, prolonged struggle against the Shah’s dictator-
ship; it has been outlawed since 1949.

WORLD HEALTH BODY HITS ISRAELI POLICY

GENEVA — The World Health Organization (WHO) described as
“appalling’’ the state of public health services in Israeli-occupied Arab
territories. A report by a special WHO commission submitted May 11
said there are practically no hospitals in the occupied territories which
have a population of about 1.1 million Palestinians. The report said
wages paid Arab doctors are half those paid Israeli MDs and spoke of
“absolutely unsanitary”’ conditions endured by political prisoners in
Israeli jails.

SWEEPING REFORMS OUTLINED FOR AFGHANISTAN

KABUL — Premier Taraki of the Democratic Republic of Afghanis-
tan, said last week that a whole number of socio-economic trans-
formations will shortly be carried out in the country under the policy of
the new government. Speaking in a nationwide broadcast, Premier
Taraki said changes will include a democratic land reform ih favor of
farmers, abolition of traditional old feudal and pre-feudal social rela-
tions, consolidation of the state sector of the economy on the basis of
scientific planning, democratization of social life and other sweeping
measures.

30,000 PROTEST NEO-NAZIS IN WEST GERMANY

BONN — Thirty thousand anti-fascists from 21 countries have
demonstrated in Cologne against the rehabilitation of Nazism in West
Germany. They demanded that associations of former SS members,
the Nazi's elite military units, be disolved and neo-Nazi activities and
propaganda be banned. Joseph Rossaint, vice-president of the Inter-
national Federation of Resistance Movements, said, ‘‘We came to-
gether here out of anxiety about freedom and democracy. We demand
the dissolution of the SS and a ban on their rallies as well as on all

Nazi-propaganda.”’

BOSTON ARCHDIOCESE SLAMS NEUTRON BOMB

- BOSTON — The Archdiocese of Boston has sharply condemned
the neutron bomb as “‘a blasphemy” that should never be developed or
used. “‘Any weapon designed to destroy. God’s noblest handiwork
while preserving the material creations of human effort is a blasphemy
and should be condemned as such,” the Archdiocese said. The Ar-
chdiocese also said the neutron bomb would raise ‘‘the very real
possibility of converting a conventional war into a nuclear holocaust.

HORTENSIA ALLENDE ATTENDS MAY DAY EVENTS IN
ETHIOPIA

ADDIS ABABA — Hortensia Bussi de Allende, widow of the slain
former president of Chile, was honored guest at May Day celebrations
here. Mrs. Allende shared the presidency of the celebrations with
Ethiopian president Mengistu Haile Mariam and Enrique Pastorino,
general secretary of the World Federation of Trade Unions. The
Ethiopian leader paid homage to the memory of Salvador Allende and
praised the “‘internationalist responsibility of Cuba's socialist policy’’
for its aid in defense of Ethiopia against the Somali invasion.
PACIFIC TRIBUNE—May 26, 1978—Page 6

By B. TAFESSE

It appears to be the West’s de-
stiny to respond with anti-Soviet
and anti-Cuba slanderous cam-
paigns to each and every progres-
sive change in Africa. Not only is
the independent action of African
peoples undermined, in this ill-
willed concern of the West, but
also a shameful tag of ‘‘new im-
perialism’’ is attached by the im-
perialist propagandists to the frat-
ernal and decisive assistance
the Soviet Union and Cuba have
given and continue to give to the
revolutionary governments and
liberation forces in Africa.

The current Western prop-
aganda campaign against the
socialist camp and Africa’s re-
volutionary advance is led by
U.S. President Carter, the British
Foreign Secretary David Owen,
the leader of the British Conser-
vative Party Margaret Thatcher,
and other representatives of ‘‘a
stronger military and political ac-
tion”’ policy, in what these circles
consider to be a necessary offen-
sive if the West is to ‘‘stop’’ the
Soviet-Cuban involvement in Af-
rica.

Crocodile Tears

Certainly no serious follower of
international affairs would be
amiss of the real concern of the
West in Africa. The wave of prog-
ressive developments have cur-
tailed the realm of imperialism’s
domains. Africa and its vast re-
sources are slipping out of the
control by the Western
monopolies and, with Soviet and
Cuban assistance, turning into the
hands of Africans. This is the fact
in. Angola, Mozambique,
Ethiopia, Guinea Bissau, Libya,
and other revolutionary African
countries. The crocodile tears of
monopoly are being shed in self-
interest and with disdain to the
“accursed revolution’’ that is
sweeping away imperialism and
its agents in Africa.

Liberation Process and Solidarity

The peoples of Africa and their
struggles are now the focus of in-
ternational politics. The African
National Congress is intensifying
the political and military struggle
against the apartheid regime of
South Africa. The Zimbabwe Pat-
riotic Front is in the midst of a
decisive struggle against the tot-

tering ‘‘internal settlement” gov-
ernment of Ian Smith. |

In Namibia, SWAPO, the
South West African Peoples Or-

ganization is battling against
‘South African occupation of the
territory and the diabolical
“peaceful settlement’? schemes

of the Western imperialists — of
late Canada, the U.S., Britain,
France, and West Germany have
been trying to impose a neo-
colonial solution of the Namibian
question on SWAPO while the
South African army continues to
occupy Namibia and South Africa
plans to snatch away the coun-
try’s port, Walvis Bay.

The recent South African milit-
ary incursion deep inside Angolan
territory and its murder of 500
Namibian refugees is an indica-
tion, despite Western efforts to
paint apartheid South Africa as
willing to come to terms: with
SWAPO, of Vorster’s determina-
tion to pursue the policy of colo-
nial control of Namibia and by ex-
tension to maintain a hostile post-
ure against Angola.

In the wake of this concerted
imperialist offensive against the
African patriots, it is quite under-
standable that the Soviet Union
and Cuba give all the necessary
internationalist solidarity to the
forces of progress in Africa. It is
scandalous for Carter, Owen and
their allies from Peking to Pretoria
to speak of the Soviet Union as
“imperialist’’ and Cuban inter-
nationalists as ‘‘mercenaries’’.

_This horrendous pronounce-
ment could deceive no one. Im-
perialism always tries to paint
others after its own image. The
accusation the Western powers
throw against the Soviet Union
and Cuba are the exact same ac-
cusations Africa makes against
the Western imperialists. In Af-
rica the liberation process is inex-
tricably linked with the unstinting
solidarity of the socialist coun-
tries. .

Owen, Carter, Thatcher

In April, Owen vehemently at-
tacked Ethiopia, Cuba, and the
Soviet Union in a speech he gave
to London concerning the Horn
of Africa. Owen was motivated
by the defeat of the Somali invad-
ers and the successful Ethiopian
offensive which is destined to be
victorious over the imperialist-
backed monarchist and separatist
forces in northern Ethiopia.

Owen alluded to the Soviet
Union as a ‘‘feudal baron’’ and
Cuba’s heroic internationalist
forces in Ethiopia and Angola as
“feudal armies’. This was fol-
lowed by the British Defence
Staff Chief who on May Day
spoke to a Chinese tank unit and
identified the Soviet Union as the
“enemy’”’ of both China and Bri-

tain. This was followed by the ra-
cist Margaret Thatcher who, dur-
ing a visit to Iran, lamented about

Africa fights for freedom

the necessity of organizing a ““un-
ited front against the Soviet offen-
sive in Africa’.

On May 6, Carter attacked the
Soviet Union as motivated by
‘‘innate racism’’ in its activities in
Africa. :

Thus sheer stupidity becomes a
policy statement: and in the end
causes embarassment even to
Carter. Carter would not, of
course, accept the fact that the
victory of socialism in the Soviet
Union had obliterated the root
cause of racial and-national op-
pression and liberated many
peoples from the racist pogroms
and brutal exploitations of the
‘czars and their gendarmes. Today
the Soviet Union, despite im-
perialist and Zionist propaganda,
is a country of advanced human
relationships, mutual respect, and

harmonious socialist progress.
Doomed Manoeuvres

The Western manoeuvre to un-
dercut the advance of the libera-
tion struggles in Southern Africa
is doomed. The so-called ‘‘inter-
nal settlement’’ government so

meticulously rigged by Ian Smith.

and his Anglo-American suppor-
ters is finding the going tougher.
The resignation of Byron Hove,
an African supporter of Rev.
Muzerewa from the joint justice
ministership calling Smith a
“‘fraud’’ and the whole scheme as
an intrigue contrived, ‘‘... to
cheat us, to take us for a ride, and

_to cheat the whole world’’, has

brought Smith and his col-
laborators into a major disaster..

The entire Western scheme for
Zimbabwe and Namibia ‘is en-

gineered to cheat and take the Af- f

rican people for a ride along the

despicable road of neo-colonial ~

tutelage.

Behind this strategy in Africa,.
garnered by anti-Soviet and
anti-Cuba statements, is the de-
sign of multinational corporations
for the redivision of Africa, if not
under the secure condition of di-
rect colonialism, then under ‘‘the
Western plan for an internation:
ally acceptable independence of a
neo-colonialist Namibia.

History proves that the col-
onialists had never conspired
against themselves in order to
“‘free’’ a country they subjugate.
Would Carter advocate the inde-
pendende of Puerto Rico and re-
move his occupationist navy from
Cuba’s Guantanamo? We know
differently! The collapse of the
colonialist-imperialist system is
becoming even more evident.
The victorious advance of Afri-
ca’s liberation is guaranteed.

Soviet tanks for Ethiopia; massive assistance from the socialist countries altered the balance of power.

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