LEU

=

Nord j into a new, serious crisis.

:
iin

ae from Libya showing that the
sh areas involved residential areas,
Ng a school and a clinic in Benghazi
Who renewed condemnation of Reagan
ol a Maintained in his press conference
‘eto hg the raid that only military and
Mist” targets were attacked.
hddre Teports also revealed that the US.
Opped anti-personnel cluster bombs,
a eating clearly the intent of the

Another Serious repercussion of the U.S.
been the suspension by the Soviet
On of a scheduled meeting between
et Foreign Minister Eduard Shevard-
ut a U.S. Secretary of State George
rback to plan the upcoming Reagan-
tin Chey summit meeting. In a hard-
8 statement condemning the U.S.
a the USSR said, “the U.S. adminis-
N itself has made impossible at this
= Planned meeting on the level of
Th ‘80 ministers of our two countries.”
€ Soviet Union charged the U.S. witha
“€ard for the interests of small states
Peoples.” It said the world sees
€r patent confirmation of the essen-
Weegee approach of the United
to independent developing countries
with each passing day is acquiring an
‘Wash ingly warlike nature.
ash: ington is trying hard,” the USSR
» “to translate into practice its con-
ofa new globalism’ which only differs
former varients by replacing gun-

crS.?
‘on warned the United States it is
_iNg with fire,” and said, “It should be
id tin the nuclear age all problems
Soly, qetions between states should be
ee by pecdtcal means.
Pema, Nited States — a great power and
Nent member of the United Nations
vt Council bearing special responsi-
. Maintaining universal peace — in
on flagrantly violates the United
fo a ‘Charter which prohibits the use of
Hac, 'N international relations. The policy
ntin® Mail and threats...should be dis-
Raed once and for all,” the USSR said.
avy ye in Western Europe, despite
te US. lobbying and pressure to sup-
¢ Tory action, has been critical. Other than
ty Thatcher government in Britain,

iplomacy with the diplomacy of air- |

The April 15 attack by U.S. aircraft against targets along the Libyan coast,
mluding on civilian centres in Tripoli and Benghazi, has plunged the region and the

diate reactions indicate that Reagan’s decision to bomb Libya, while
; arently popular at home, has been almost universally condemned as illegal and
-'6¢rous, The bombings, which caused an estimated 84 deaths, including that of
1S-month old daughter of Libyan leader Muammar Gadaffi, originated from
t carriers off the Libyan coast and F-111 long-range bombers based in
At least one F-111 with a crew of two was shot down.

every Western European “ally” of the U.S.
has either condemned or criticized the
action.

The mood of public opinion in Western
Europe, however, was even stronger. Mas-
sive demonstrations condemning Reagan’s
“Rambo politics” were held in Greece,
West Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria and
even Great Britain where many were
arrested outside the Prime Minister’s resi-
dence.

In the Arab world, condemnation was
universal. Demonstrations, school and pub-
lic building closings, rallies and newspaper
editorials all described the U.S. attack as
criminal. Business meetings between U.S.
and Arab states and Britain and Arab states
have been cancelled and, on April 17, the
parliament of the United Arab Emirates
condemned both the United States and Bri-
tain.

The Non-Aligned Movement wound up
its conference in New Delhi last weekend
with a strongly-worded resolution con-
demning the U.S.’ “totally unjustifiable mil-
itary action” and “developments in the
Mediterranean region resulting from re-
peated U.S. aggression and provocation ©
against Libya, thereby seriously endanger-
ing peace and stability in the region and in
the whole world.”

In the U.S. the campaign to sell the attack
as “fighting terrorism” took on a new,
bizarre twist April 16 as the U.S. charged
the Sc t Union was responsible for the
attack by ignoring a U.S. warning of
“Libyan terrorism.” This had followed ear-
lier charges by U.S. spokesmen that the raid
was made necessary by the refusal of West-
ern European nations to “address the issue
of terrorism,” thus leaving the job to the
US.

Former Secretary of State Alexander
Haig told Western Europe they will
“secretly get down on their knees and thank
God for America’s Free World leadership,”
while others suggested France, which
refused permission for F-111 overflights to
bomb Libya, was responsible for the loss of
one aircraft.

However, despite White House efforts to
link Libya with Nicarauga in the hysteria
blitz that descended on the United States,
Reagan’s $100-million Contra aid bill once
again failed to get Congressional support.

World condemns bomb attack on Libya

Austria and Czechoslovakia.

US. strike ‘display
of state terrorism’

“The Reagan administration’s brutal military attack on Libya has not only
brought death and casualties to many Libyans, it has also sharpened international
tensions, undermined the possibility of another summit between the U.S. and
USSR, and endangered world peace,” the Communist Party’s central executive
committee declared in a statement issued April 16.

“U.S. administrations have great experience in state terrorism,” it charged.
“They have been practicing it against Nicaragua. They practiced it in Grenada,
Cuba and in Vietnam. Now they have undertaken it against Libya.”

The statement continued: “The rationale given for this is that the U.S. is acting
in “self defence.” But Libya did not attack the U.S. or invade it. :
“The U.S. admninistration states its actions are in conformity with international

law. But there is no such law. What the Reagan administration undertook was in

defiance of the United Nations’ principles of sovereignty and non-interference. _
“Tt was an act of lawlessness, of illegality directed, as Secretary of State Shultz

declared, to “establish an important principle for the world: that the U.S. will take
_military action under certain circumstances.” What this means is that the U_S.
intends to abandon political negotiations and political solutions and use its
military power to suppress other peoples in its drive for world domination; exactly
- what it is doing in Libya, in Nicaragua and other countries.
“This state terrorism, the U.S. claims, is to protect “U.S. zones of vital interest.”
_ “One is reminded that Hitler advanced a similar “argument” when he invaded

“Peace loving peoples throughout the world have publicly condemned thisact
of barbarity and state terrorism. Governments have condemned it. But not the
Canadian government. Mulroney has joined the company of Mrs. Thatcher, and _
of the expansionists in Israel in giving support to ais: latest criminal action of the

‘Reagan administration.

“Prime Minister Mulroney knew of the saneiding brutal and bloody attack by —
the U.S. against Libya but he did not condemn some ‘He has seen the results —

of his silence and still defends it. :
- “Here at least he is true to this election pledges — — that he stands with the U.S.
This is a tragedy for Canada, for its people, for world peace.
“A question could be asked — is the complicity undertaken with ie hope it

will clear the path to free trade? _

“The Reagan administration says it has launched military action against Libya
so as to crush terrorism. Prime Minister Mulroney supports the action because he

says he too wants to crush terrorism.

- “Butterrorism in the Middle East wiltinever be Snahaa whuil eter agate

democratic peace established in the Middle East. Itis U.S. action and its support of :

expansionist Israeli governments which is the source of terrorism.

“Tt is the refusal of the U.S., Canadian and other governments to recognize the
rights of the Palestinian peoples to an independent state of their own and recogni-
tion of the PLO as the authentic spokesmen of the Palestinian people that has

- helped to aggravate the situation in the Middle East.

~ “Security in the world won't be achieved by placing more guards at airports. It
will be achieved by recognizing the right of all peoples to determine their own
governments and systems and to own their resources. The people of Canada must ~
now allow the world terrorism to be used as a cover up for an attack on ~ rights

of the peoples to achieve national and social liberation.
“Instead of supporting the Reagan administration, the government ia parlia-
ment should condemn it for its act of brigandage and align Canada with the
majority in the United Nations and in the world who have told the U.S. adminis-

tration in clear and unmistakable language that ‘they oppose military action as a

solution to political problems.

ao a 's world there can be be no eos solutions, ne apes solutions.””

Rallies
protest

threat
to peace

Reagan’ s

TORONTO — Protesters braved
heavy rain here April 15 to demonstrate
at the United States consulate against
the U.S. bombing atack on Libyan cit-

_ ies on April 14.

Calling U.S. President Reagan the
“real terrorist” for ordering destruction
of lives and property in the cities of
Tripoli and Benghazi, about 50 con-
cerned Canadians marched before the

consulate for an hour following a day-
long vigil by members of an ad hoc
committee against the U.S. aggression.

In Regina, some 60 people responded
to the short-notice call of the Regina
Coalition for Peace and Disarmament
to demonstrate in protest of the U.S.
bombing raids in which an estimated
100 persons were killed, including the
infant daughter of Moammar Gaddafi,
the Libyan leader. The Regina group
also organized a phone-in campaign to
express outrage to the U.S. embassy in
Ottawa.

The Toronto Disarmament Net-
work issued a statement April 16 which

“condemns the United States attack on
Libya. ..as an unjustified use of force
that threatens world peace.”

It called attention to a major demon-
stration at the Toronto U.S. Consulate
for April 19 at noon, sponsored by the
same ad hoc group which planned the
previous activity. This time, partici-
pants will march to the Conservative
party office and return to the consulate.
(The Mulroney government is one of
four in the world to support the U.S.
bloodletting; Canada is teamed with
South Africa, Israel and Thatcher’s Bri-
tain.)

In an immediate response to Cana-
da’s shameful response the Canadian
Peace Congress wired the prime minis-
ter: “Urge your government’s condem-
nation of the U.S. government military
aggression against Libya. Use of terror-
ism by U.S. government destroys inter-
national law and security.”

The Toronto Disarmament Net-
work’s position against the attack on
Libya “is based on the TDN statement

of unity, agreed to by the 82 peace and
community groups that belong to the
TDN, expressing opposition to war as a
means of settling international dis-
putes. The TDN is also opposed to
terrorism in any form.”

Ina press release the TDN urges the
use of existing mechanisms such as the
United Nations or the World Court for
settling disputes. It also notes the fragil-
ity of today’s international order, which
makes nuclear war an ever present
threat.

“A matter of particular concern,”
the TDN points out, “is the use of a
third country, the United Kingdom, as
a base from which to launch the F-111
jets that carried out the attack on
Libya.” The TDN sees a parallel in a
future U.S. request to base Star Wars
weapons systems on Canadian soil.
“The Canadian government’s support
for the U.S. action, which the TDN
condemns, is particularly ominous,” it
says, “in the light of the use of the U.K.
as a base for the attack.”

PACIFIC TRIBUNE, APRIL 23, 1986 e 5