Ae VV

_ Will test talks succeed?

ae late last week that the U.S. has agreed
7. e test ban talks with the USSR is a very
“Ws indeed, and may be regarded as a
ant victory for the peace movement and
‘Public opinion in general.
ver, a good deal more pressure will be
for to ensure that this new willingness to
ads to substantive gains, and does not turn
ol ibe. of those endless Reaganite arms
: 1Dusters, which have become nauseat-
We poe in recent years.
4 vced to remember that it was the Reagan

tration which abandoned the com-

“sive test ban‘ talks back in 1982, citing
€nt verification concerns as the cause.
Teal reason, however, had nothing to do
Toblems of policing a test ban.
. a. top White House arms adviser, Ken-
_delman, puts it in the April 1986 issue of
View, the U.S. will not agree to a com-
halt On nuclear testing because, “our
™ization programs over several admin-
/0ns —'the MX, B1, Stealth, Trident —
Ifthe a weapons are tested.” ,
‘in nepor; €agan administration is now intereste
ould lating a ban on testing, its first step
Norator; to join the voluntary Soviet
Year fee which has been in effect for almost
doing” his Reagan has conspicuously avoided
weed, if one listens closely to what the
Us Ouse is saying, it does not seem that the
Dlete S any intention of talking about a com-
Welearn’ total — a comprehensive — ban on
cof tests. Rather, they speak of the possibil-
. Tatifying two older treaties that were
Viel a more than ten years ago to limit the
Of atomic explosions.
aty # Tatifying the Threshold Test Ban Tre-
= the Treaty on Peaceful Nuclear Explo-
Wout peould certainly not be a bad thing, it
_._ 2 no way impede the present breakneck
ae Nuclear weapons development.
™ P€ace activists and arms control experts

News Analysis |#
Sy

Fred Weir

have consistently pointed out, a comprehensive
test ban would make those older agreements
redundant and would, in addition, go far toward
putting brakes on the arms race. It will also be
much easier to verify.

By abstaining from nuclear tests for almost a
year, the Soviet Union has demonstrated that a
comprehensive test ban is a realistic, feasible
and achievable goal. The "peace movement and
much of the world public have clearly placed a
total ban on nuclear testing at the top of the
disarmament agenda. The problem now is to
force the Reagan administration to stop slither-
ing and start negotiating in earnest.

Vietnam GP leader,
Le Duan dies at 79

Five days of national mourning
took place in the Socialist Repub-
lic of Vietnam following the death
of Le Duan, 79, General Secre-
tary of the Communist Party of
Vietnam on July 10. A state fun-

eral was held July 15.

Le Duan was born in Quang Tri
province in central Vietnam and
moved to Hanoi as a young man.
He joined the newly-formed
Indochinese Communist Party in
1930 and was active in the libera-
tion struggles against French,
Japanese and then U.S. imperial-
ism until the liberation and uni-

fication of Vietnam in 1975.

He was jailed for his political
activities from 1930 to 1936 under
French colonialism and from 1940

to 1945 under Japanese occupa-
tion.

Le Duan was elected Com-
munist Party general secretary in
1969 following the death of Ho
Chi Minh. In a message to the
Vietnamese Party and people,
William Kashtan, General Secre- -
tary of the Communist Party, on
behalf of the Central Executive
Committee, CPC, wrote:

‘‘We express our sorrow at the
untimely death of comrade Le
Duan, General Secretary of the
Communist Party of Vietnam. It
is not only a great loss to your
Party and people, but also to the
people of the whole world. We
extend our condolences to your
Party and people, to his family —
and friends.”

still too

waiting to return.

the Pentagon conducted 23

million.

40 years later Bikini

Inhabitants of the South Pacific atoll of Bikini who were re-
moved from their homes forty years ago, so that the U.S. gov-
ernment could conduct atomic weapons tests there, are still

The islanders, who were told they must leave “‘for the good of
all mankind”’, were assured that they would be able to go home to .
Bikini as soonas the nuclear tests ended. Between 1946 and 1958,

Forty years later, however, Bikini is still far too radioactive to
permit human habitation. The displaced natives are attempting to
sue the U.S. government for “‘breaching its promise to take care
of them,” and are seeking $625-million in damages. They are also
demanding the U.S. clean up their poisoned- home. ‘

Experts say decontaminating the island will cost up to $125-

radioactive

atomic explosions on the island.

INTERNATIONAL FOCUS Tom Morris

4 llers with

H 8oline

cuit’ Tegime of Pinochet in

ino - ‘8 becoming so nauseat-
; repressive even the

fo ,.2dministration is forced

mae some bleating noises

are 2 is that events in Chile
rep; ming to a head as the
the © tightens its iron fist and
ome SSeS of the people be-
eter’ organized, more
ive ined and more effec-
‘Also certain is that

het couldn’t last another ~

™M su ;
and the y auents as Canada

awe Should recall that
Milit. €t was successful in his
dem Y Coup in 1973 in which
bigeeTacy was drenched in
“00d

ptt The CIA hand picked
fors {cher who, as others be-
What Im, is becoming some-
Wash an embarrassment to
ines with his. gross

Pinochet's military are now

.>ant killers running wild
Now, lack-painted faces. They
~ %1swer demonstrators by

» because of overt U.S.

dousing them with gasoline
and setting them afire.

Some years ago Canadians.

were constantly urged to boy-
cott Chilean products as a sign
of protest. This call by democ-
ratic Chile is still valid — more
valid than ever —as we see the
brutality and bravery from that
country on our television
screens nightly.

It’s also high time to renew
pressure on Ottawa to speak
up and to publicly name com-
panies doing business with

- CHILE’S PINOCHET: leading a

military on the rampage
against its own people.

Pinochet. As with apartheid in .

South Africa, Canadians
should expect more than we’re
getting from Mulroney and his
Tories. ;

The Pinochet regime is a kil-
ler regime. It took power in a
bloodbath. It exiled one million
persons, murdered thousands,
jailed thousands more. Its 13-
year reign has been a night-
mare of fascism. Pinochet’s
spokespersons in embassies
and consulates represent kill-
ers, and as such, should be told
to go home.

The time is now to speak up —

loudly for Chilean democracy.

U.S. Cuba policy
in shambles

What is described as a
‘byproduct of the return to
democracy’’ of several Latin
American countries has the
U.S. State Department wor-
ried. ,

What is causing concern in
Washington is the collapse of
American policy aimed at
isolating Cuba, a policy started
by the Eisenhower admin-
istration when it broke rela-
tions with the new revolution-
ary government in 1961.

Since that time, Cuba has
been the victim of U.S. eco-
nomic and diplomatic aggres-
sion as well as of open military
provocation. The White

House of the day reasoned the
U.S. carried enough clout to
bring down the government led
by Fidel Castro, but history
disagreed. _

Today’s Cuba is a far cry
from that which faced the
mighty United States in 1959.
By their efforts and sacrifice,
and with the consistent and
powerful support of the
socialist community, Cuba in
1986 is a model in Latin Ameri-
ca. It is a world leader in such
fields as health care and educa-
tion and, compared to the
crisis-ridden island states in
the Caribbean, an economic
example.

And this worries the Penta-
gon planners and the U.S.

State Department. They prefer
; neighbors with ~
pliant regimes and dependent

“friendly”

economies.

Today Cuba maintains dip-
lomatic and trade relations
with virtually every Latin

’ American state except for the

fascist regimes (and America’s

friends) in such places as Chile

and Paraguay. The latest coun-
try to resume diplomatic ties
with Cuba is Brazil — Uruguay
and Peru having done so last
year.

And so, 27 years after its

revolution, and living with 25

years of American blockade
and through seven (count ’em)
United States presidents,

Cuba not only survives, but

thrives.
Doesn't that rot the socks
down in Washington!

Telling
the truth | eet

A fine example of how th
United States supplies
“*disinterested”’ aid to develop-
ing nations was seen last week
in Zimbabwe.

The furor began when Zim-
babwe’s Youth. Minister,
David Karimanzira made a
critical remark about U.S. pol-
icy toward apartheid when
speaking at a reception July 4.
He accused Washington of
promoting South African
terrorism by refusing to apply
sanctions.

The fact that Karimanzira
was right didn’t faze the likes
of former president Jimmy
Carter who walked out along
with the ambassador. Too bad
they didn’t stay and explain -
how Reagan’s policies toward
Pretoria work.

The diplomatic snafoo,
however, wasn’t the end of the
affair. Days later, demanding a
formal apology, the U.S. sus- —
pended $13.5-million in aid to
Zimbabwe.

‘*Blackmail’’, charged
Prime Minister Robert
Mugabe. Like his Youth Min-
ister, Mugabe also spoke the —
truth.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE, JULY 23, 1986 ¢ 5