New crimes of the fascist
junta in Chile keep surfacing:
The Pinochet regime continues
_ to ignore world protests pouring

in and has recently begun mili-

tary trials for several leading .

patriots.

Among these is Luis Corvalan,
general ‘secretary of the Com-
munist Party of Chile, who has
been in prison since Sept. 27,
1973. He has survived several
concentration camps, been tor-
tured and brutalized.

But Corvalan has refused to
stop fighting. The victim of
Dawson Island, Ritoque . and
Tres Alamos continues tq. indict
the junta and his words from
prison are a message of faith
and courage — they are the
words of the people of Chile.

The World Peace Council has
produced a booklet, “Words
from Prison” and in it they pro-
vide a background to the life of
Corvalan and his _ statements
about Chile today.

Don Lucho, as Corvalan is af-
fectionately known to Chilean
workers, was born in 1916 in the
southern city of Puerto Montt.
His father was a school teacher,
his mother an illiterate peasant
woman. He grew up among the
coal miners of the area and, as
a student at the Normal School
in the city of Chillan, joined
the Communist Party in 1932.

He was fired as a_ teacher
shortly afterward for union and
political activities. In 1937 he
helped found the Youth Libera-
tion Alliance which played an.
important role in the struggle
against fascism and for solidar-

|

NAV an At

Luis Corvalan’s
words from prison

Luis Corvalan (right) with late Chilean president, Salvador Allende.

ity with the Spanish Republic.

Corvalan became a journalist
and wrote extensively condemn-
ing rising fascism in several
progressive journals calling on
the Chilean people to fight for
democracy and peace. In. 1947
‘when the anti-communist cam-
paign began to rise, Corvalan
worked underground and organ-
ized the illegal edition of Canto
General,: the magnificent work
of poet Pablo Neruda.

He was arrested and tortured.
During that period he was elect-
ed to the Central Committee of
the Communist Party. In 1958
he was chosen as its general
secretary and in 1961 elected as
a Senator.

Corvalan travelled extensively
— to the USSR, Cuba and

Disgusting crimes
in Chile's dark days

When the special panel ap-
pointed by the UN Commission
on Human Rights issued its do-
cument to the General Assembly
this month, they expressed their
“profound disgust” at having to
report what they\found about
crimes of the Chilean junta.

The group gathered informa-
tion from Chileans of all walks
of life..Made up of five nations,
it gathered its facts mostly from
expatriate Chileans because. the
junta refused it entry into the
country.

The report catalogued torture
— both physical and psycholo-
gical — gathered from eyewit-
nesses and victims. Rape, electri-
cal shocks, beatings as well as
horrible practices which include
rape by trained dogs.

These atrocities are being

practiced today by a regime
which has once again become the
darling of the Western “demo-
cracies” and the multi-nationals.
Contrast this with the last
words spoken by president Sal-
vador Allende broadcast from
the burning presidential palace
minutes before ‘his death: —

“I believe in Chile and her
future. Others after me will
overcome these bitter and dark
‘moments, when treachery is try-
ing to assert itself. Believe me,
sooner rather than later ‘free
people will stride through the
wide streets to build a better
society. Long live Chile! Long

live the workers! Long live the ©

people! These are my last words.

I am sure that at least it will be

a moral lesson that will punish
cowardice and treachery.”

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—NOVEMBER 28, 1975—Page s

throughout Latin America —
everywhere. expressing  confi-
dence that world peace can be
achieved. In 1967 he led the
march from Valparaiso to San-
tiago against the U.S. war in
Vietnam. ;
Under his leadership,
Communist Party was among
the strongest fighters for the
establishment of Popular Unity
-in Chile, a broad grouping

which, in 1970, won the presi-—

dency of Chile with Salvador
Allende..-

Shortly after his arrest he
spoke to an Italian journalist
about his thoughts: “My mind is
at peace,” -he said. “I love free-
dom, but I am not afraid of im-
prisonment. I love life, but I am’
not afraid of death. I do not

. want my name written down in

the book of martyrs. If I am
condemned to death, I will be-
come .a martyr against my
will =;

<

Soviet-Bulgarian

economic pact

MOSCOW — A protocol on
the coordination of the econo-
mic plans of the USSR and the
People’s Republic of Bulgaria
was signed here Oct. 7. It in-
volves cooperation in the oil,
gas, mining, metallurgical, pulp
‘and paper, and microbiological
industries, and in the production
of building materials.

Soviet technical assistance
will aid in new building and re-
construction, as well as in pow-
er, ferrous and non-ferrous me-

tal chemical, oil chemical, and -

other industries. The: USSR will
also step up its supplies of coal,
natural gas, oil and electricity.
Specialization in the engineering
industry was stressed, with an
increase of mutual deliveries of
mechanical-engineering products
of 180% envisaged over the next
five year period.

Bulgarian urban
population grows

In Bulgaria, more than 1.5 mil-
lion peasants have moved in the
past 30 years to urban communi-
ties, swelling the ranks of the
working class and urban -intelli-
gentsia. Before September 4,
1944, .80% of the population
lived in rural communities; now
less than half live there. Statis-
ticians estimate that by the year
2000 more than another million
villagers will have moved to the
towns. These changes are due
to the high rate of industrial
development of socialist Bul-
garia.

Zz

the -

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S YEAR '75 |

Wage controls |

and

By NAN McDONALD

THE WAGE AND PRICES CONTROL PROGRAM declared
by the Trudeau government must be condemned by all
democratic organizations Canadian women hold member-
ship in, as an act to freeze women in their position of in-
“equalities in economic, social, political, and legal status.

of women.

- Canada, a highly developed industrialized country, rich in

_ natural resources and in the skills and talents of her peo-
ple, is more than capabe of ending the scourge of in-
equality, discrimination, poverty, unemployment, and the
present crisis of inflation, Canadian women have witnessed
the federal and provincial governments waste their tax
dollars on gimmicks, senseless slogans, ad campaigns and
the latest country-wide conference, (at a cost of $60,000)
under the pretext of eliminating inequalities. As we near
the conclusion of IWY the Trudeau government’s icing on
the cake is bill C-73, with threats of fines, jail sentences,
tougher economic measures, and an increase in the police
forces to make sure that the law is upheld to the letter.

THE REAL ISSUES FACED BY WOMEN have been com-
pletely ignored by all levels of government—inflation ex-
pressed in the endless rise in food prices, slum landlords
and rent gougers, the endless search for employment and
decent housing, free quality daycare, the need for better
health protection, relief from the tax burden, and equal ‘pay
for work of equal value. In the present crisis the needs of
women are even greater and more critical. Mr. Trudeau
would have us believe, “we are all responsible, we-are all
in the same boat.” How can working women earning the
minimum wage be in the same boat as Dominion Stores,
whose profits rose to $17-million in 1974, and with Thomas
Bolton, Dominion’s president, who calls this insidious goug-
ing “a low rate of return’? ood

IF TRUDEAU AND HIS GOVERNMENT were really in-

- terested in the inequalities of 50% of the Canadian paqpu-
lation, he could have directed his attack at the multi-na-
tional corporaticns which cheated working women out of

- $7-billion dollars in 1973 by paying them less than their
male counterparts. He could have brought monopoly under
control by putting forward legislation that the majority of
Canadians would support, both men and women, for ex-
ample: Endorse the United Declaration on the rights of
Women (which Canada voted for in the UN); prohibit fur-
ther price increases; institute price and rent controls; estab-
lish a board having the power to prosecute the price goug-
ers and profiteers; roll back prices to January 1, 1974. The
board should not be made up of corporation lawyers or
apologists for monopoly, it could have representation from _
the trade unions, the farm movement, and consumers, giv-

_ ing greater guarantees it will defend the interest of the
majority of Canadians.

CANADA SPENDS $2-BILLION EACH YEAR on an arms
program, and now proposes increasing this amount a fur-
ther $2- or $3-billion. Why this waste when women and
their children are in need of the basic necessities in life?
Why is this type of spending not labelled inflationary? Can-
ada does not need this wasteful spending. What we do
need is to cut the arms ‘budget in half, and spend that
mcney Creating good quality universal daycare, opening
youth centres for culture and sports, providing hot meals
thrcughout the schcol system, providing health clinics in
every community, seeing to the vital needs,of Canadian
women. Programs such as these would create jobs, at equal
pay for work of equal value, create. conditions for women
to enter the work force. A work week of 30 hours for 40
hours pay would allow working women to spend more time ~
with their families. Why not, Mr. Trudeau?

More Spanish Civil War material © |

TORONTO — The Spanish

women workers |

Civil War. book collection at the
University of Toronto, donated
by the Canadian Committee for

a Democratic Spain on Oct. 21

(see Tribune Oct. 29) can_ be
augmented by future donations
of books and other relevant
materials.

“I am hoping people will dig
into their attics and basements
and will pass along this kind of
material now that there is a
central place for it to be kept,”
said CCDS president Gloria
Montero. This sentiment was

also expressed by Ross. Russell,
Director of Organization for the
United Electrical Workers and
a veteran of the Mackenzie-Pa-
pineau Battalion: “What is here
now is just the tip of the ice-
berg. There are books around.
this country, many of them held
by Spanish Civil War veterans.”
U. of T. acting chief librarian
David Esplin has expressed the
hope that the collection will re-
ceive future contributions. The
present collection numbers some
630 titles, 150 pamphlets and
other items. 2

pow