NATO is now 25 years old

and still threat to peace

Our flashback for 25 years ago
on the editorial page this week,
reminds us that the Canadian
Tribune was then in the midst
of a major fight against the
North Atlantic Treaty.

In that early spring of a quar-
ter of a century ago, the Trib-
une and the Communist Party
were standing almost alone in
their condemnation of what they
quite correctly called-““The North
Atlantic War Pact.”

It was quite clear from the
beginning against whom the
North Atlantic Alliance was di-
rected. Louis St. Laurent who-
was Minister of External Affairs
and later Prime Minister of Can-
ada described its aim “as a dy-
namic counter-balance to com-
munism, and a magnetic pole of
capitalism.”

John Foster Dulles, the United
States Secretary of State in the

The ‘HONEST JOHN’ rocket, one

50’s was to put it plainer; NATO
was going to “roll back” Com-
munism and that meant World.
War III. ;
Organized by USA

The War Pact was organized
by the United States govern--
ment, with the Canadian govern-
ment playing a — disgraceful
“front man” role. It included
Great Britain, Norway, Denmark,
Iceland, the Benelux countries,
France, Italy, Portugal, and
those two well-known North At-
lantic powers — Greece and
Turkey. Later West Germany
was enrolled in the ranks in the
days when its government was
totally dominated by revenge-
seekers out to reverse the re-
sults of World War II.°

The military might of the So-
viet Union coupled with its con-
sistent struggle for peace, sup-
ported by all of progressive man-

of the obsolete weapons Can-

adian’s invested in under the NATO pact.

One of the main attacks by
leftists against the policy of
peaceful coexistence is that it
denies the class struggle and, in
fact, is tantamount to class col-
laboration. This attack, led by
the leadership of the Chinese
Communist Party, and taken up
by leftists groups around the
world including Canada, argues
that the peaceful coexistence of
states with differing sdcial sys-
tems plays into the hands of im-
perialism, weakens the system of
socialist states and’ is an aban-
donment of Leninism.

The following is an abridged
article on the subject from the
Soviet journal “Political Self-
Education”.

%

By G. KOVALEV and A. SPASSKY

Loyalty to the creative spirit
of Marxism-Leninism, consistent
implementation of a class, revo-
lutionary line in foreign policy,
the foundations of which have
been laid by Lenin, are behind
the success in the international
activity of the CPSU and the
Soviet state. The realization of
this line has brought about tan-
gible positive changes in the
contemporary world situation.
The main tendency of develop-
ment in international relations
today is a turn from the cold
war to detente, from military
confrontation to stronger secur-
ity and peaceful co-operation.

Addressing the World Con-
gress of Peace Forces, Leonid
Brezhnev stressed that “the prin-

xistence in a changing worl

ciples .of the peaceful co-exist-
ence of states with different so-
cial systems are winning ever
broader recognition. They are
becoming more and more specific
in content, and are gradually
‘becoming generally accepted as
a standard of international rela-
tions.” :

In these conditions one of the
foremost tasks of Communists,
of all progressives, is to firmly
rebuff the actions of the ene-
mies of detente and the cham-
pions of the cold war.

Long-Term Strategic Line

On the basis of a deep anal-
ysis of the historical conditions
and the tendencies of social de-
velopment, in accordance with
the vital interests of socialism,
of the world revolutionary pro-
cess, Lenin defined the long-
term strategic line for relations
with capitalist states. He proved
and thoroughly substantiated
the following: first, the inevit-
ability of the simultaneous exist-
ence of states with different
social systems throughout a
whole historical period; second,
the advisability, in the interests
of socialism, democracy and
progress, of peaceful forms of
such co-existence; third, the
real possibility of peaceful co-
existence, or, as Lenin put it,
of socialist and capitalist coun.
tries’ ‘(peaceful co-habitation),’
despite their opposite  social-
economic systems, despite the
aggressive character of imperial-
ism.

The principle of peaceful co-

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 1974_PAGE 4

kind, has prevented NATO from
starting the Third World War.
But for 25 years it has poi-
soned the political life of Europe
and the world, Its establishment
followed hard on the heels of
U.S. dictated moves to oust the
Communist Parties from the
postwar governments of France
and Italy. Every temporary dif-
ficulty that arose in a socialist
country (Hungary in 1956,
Czechoslovakia in 1968 for ex-
ample) was exploited to the full.
When Greece showed signs of
independence, democracy in that:
country was crushed. :

Right to Interfere

Built into the Pact was the
right to interfere in the business
of every member country to pre-
vent “internal aggression”’—that
is to block the coming to power
of democratic movements pledg-
ed to policies of peace and pro-
gress.

For example, if the resistence
to the colonialist policies of the
Portuguese dictatorship were to
become a powerful threat to
the powers-that-be in Lisbon,
the terms of the treaty could re-
quire Canadian troops to join in
putting down the people’s strug-
gle. Whether the relationship of
forces in the world of 1974
would permit this to happen is
another matter. But the point
here is that Canada is part of
a treaty which calls on us to
take exactly such action.

It could be said that in these
days of growing spirit of de-
tente NATO is as out-dated as
the muzzle-loading cannon we
see around old historic forts.

existence -of states with differ-
ent social systems is, therefore,
an inseparable part of the
Leninist strategic foreign-policy
course; this principle is pursued
firmly and consistently~ by the
Communist Party of the Soviet
Union, by the fraternal Parties
of the socialist countries,

Lenin regarded peaceful co-
existence as a special, specific
form: of class struggle against
imperialism, transferred into the
realm of inter-state relations. It
is called upon to consolidate the
international positions of social-
ism, to expand the social basis
of the revolutionary process and
to enhance socialism’s impact
on the course of history. “The
foreign policy of the proletari-
at,” Lenin wrote, “is alliance with
revolutionaries of the advanced
countries and with all the op-
pressed nations against all and
any imperialists.”

Class Struggle Continues

Peaceful co-existence of states
belonging to different social sys-
tems and the normalization of
relations between them do not
and cannot mean an end or a
weakening of the class struggle
between socialism and capital-
ism, This struggle is historically
inevitable. The contest between
socialism and capitalism will go
On in every-sphere of social life
— political, economic and ideo-
logical, for the class aims and
the world outlooks of these two
systems are opposed and irre-
concilable. ‘Competition, con-
frontation between the two sys-

wt

eee cee
John Foster Dulles in South Korea in 1950. He was kicking et

: . ilure ©
war to roll back Communism there which ended in failure 4

‘ : ol '
bloody years later. He never succeeded. in getting the war 9
Europe for which NATO was organized.

Vested Interest in War

But to let it go at that would
be to miss the main point. De-
tente is a process for which the
world’s people must struggle.
There are all kinds of powerful
and dangerous efforts being
made to turn back the tide to
tht Cold War. The generals of
the capitalist countries — above
all the Pentagon — meeting in
the councils of NATO are cease-
lessly plotting and working to-
wards this end. They have a
vested interest in war. As long
as NATO exists it is a grave
threat to, peace.

Canada could strike a hard

tems in the world arena con-
tinues,” stressed Leonid Brezh-
nev in his speech in Kiev in
July 1973. “The crux of the mat-
ter is only to see to it that this
process does not develop into
armed clashes and wars be-
tween countries, into the use of
force or threat of force in rela-
tions between them, and that it
does not interfere with the de-
velopment of mutually advanta-
geous co-operation between
states with differing social sys-
tems.”

The class nature of imperial-
ism remains the same also in
conditions of international de-
tente. The new and positive that
is taking shape in the relations
between the states of different
socio-political systems does not
alter, of course, the antagonistic
essence of their contradictions.
However, serious changes are
now taking place in the policies
of the capitalist countries, whose
ruling circles are beginning to
realize that the cold war has
discredited itself, that the con-
tinuation of policies “from posi-
tions of Strength” in regard to
the socialist countries is futile.

Ideological struggle intensifies

In the present international
Situation, as the general posi-
tions of imperialism weaken and
those of socialism strengthen,
the ideological Struggle grows
particularly sharp. There is not
nor Cannot be any truce on the
ideological front. The turn from
the cold war to detente, far from
excluding, on the contrary, in-

_and unite public opini0

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de
blow for world peace and oe |
tente by withdrawiDB of }
NATO as an essential reo
developing a new inde rer |
foreign policy which ye ou
world peace would sé st att
country’s own best intere 5 jock |
which would also, not “eal of
dently, save us a grea
money. | d not?
There ‘are more afl is col”
Canadians coming to t# orsitl
clusion and the 25th anna 4
of this death pact von pm!
good time for the deve®® i¢

a
of organized efforts a 4 oa
aby |
Canada to insist that Canagaaam
out of NATO now.

tensifies the battle fof
minds and hearts. a ay
Foreign policy and idee ei poll
interrelated, yet in forelé en!
compromise is possible : uti!
facilitates the positiv® nati
of controversial Beis
problems; but not in Be ota
where compromise is °F, gil |
question. Lenin poln'” ott
the only choice 15 ~ ge0i08! ;
bourgeois or socialis eae
There is no middle cone ide
Hence, to belittle ee a |
logy in any way, ep
from it in the slightest (|
means to strengthen bo )
ideology.” 2 vinci |
Proceeding from this P net # |
the Soviet Union and O° jit

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cal, economic, techn! 2 tA
tific, cultural and of on yy
with bourgeois countriet a
basis of mutual inte! in ‘
benefit, but without 8° af!
the criticism of capital old
without weakening the BS
cal struggle against the “en
The ideas of Marxis™ jst }
ism which indicate | “a ihe
roads to the emancipatiO” iyifh
working class, of all Yo i
people from the yoke 9 cial
to the construction of § ind,
and communism, are SPT@" jf
the world. Taken up Dy wor
of people throughout th ate!
these ideas become 4 onstt? ;
force directed to the rn res!
tion of society in the te Jett,
of the working people. ey wot!
going changes in today
bear this out. i