WORLD a Compensating for the loss of Euromissiles NATO sounds the,,. By VICTOR KATIN APN Political Analyst Reports coming in from West European Capitals create the impression that serious ‘War preparations are underway. Judge for yourself: _ Paris and Bonn have agreed to set up a Joint force at brigade level. The Spanish g0vernment immediately reacted by its Chairman saying ‘‘The project appeals to Us and we plan to join it...” France is adopting and speedily imple- Menting huge arms programs for the - Manufacture of binary toxic gases, neu- _ tron bombs and nuclear-tipped missiles. In - five years’ time it will increase the number Of nuclear warheads in one salvo from 176 to 500 — almost a three-fold growth. Their Tange will also extend from 3,200 km to 6,000 km. Influential political leaders in France - Call for French nuclear weapons, especial- ly neutron bombs, to be stationed in the Federal Republic of Germany, and Bonn Teadily accepts this idea. Britain plans to increase by one-third the number of F-111 bombers deployed on its territory capable of carrying both nu- Clear missiles and bombs. Reports about large-scale NATO Manoeuvers on land and sea are aug- mented by France and the FRG which are each conducting their own manoeuvers to exercise troop coordination. Why this flood of military preparations? The main reason, I believe, is retrogres- Sive thinking on security. Now, as cen- turies ago, it is based on military build-up. As soon: as two classes of» Soviet and U.S. nuclear missiles in Europe show signs of being scrapped, an alarm was sounded in NATO headquarters and the military establishments of West European states. Their staffs are now searching for ways to compensate for the lack of these WSs missiles and nuclear warheads if an agreement is reached at Geneva. It seems every West European country party to this frenzy also pursues its own aims: France, it appears, has set itself the goal. of becoming Europe’s leading nuclear power. The Russians and Americans may destroy their missiles and warheads, but the French are multiplying theirs. In this, Paris sees its greatness and its role in world affairs. But it fails to see that the road of nuclear deterrence runs along a precipice — the more such weapons exist in Europe and the world, the closer we find ourselves toa nuclear holocaust. In the FRG, too, there are forces, politi- alarm cal parties and individual politicians who want to see their country join the nuclear club. The ambition to make the country “‘sreat’’ through aquisition of nuclear weapons is also coloured by open re- venge-seeking. We’ ve all seen the political battles fought in the FRG over the 72 American Pershing-1A missiles, which the Bundeswehr (army) and the steel helmet faction in the ruling camp are reluctant to give up. No, Europe will not see an era of se- curity and West Europeans will not sleep peacefully if things go the way NATO plans. Nuclear weapons eliminated in one part of the continent must not be compen- sated for with their build-up in another part and by expansion of military prepara- tions. Europe must rid itself of nuclear weap- ons in an honest way, without trickery. Otherwise it will lose sense and meaning. Sees Honecker visit aids detente ‘‘War should never again come from German soil. Peace should come from German soil. ..’’ says the communiqué signed by the leaders of the German Democra- tic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany at the end of the two-day official visit by Erich Honecker, Chairman of the GDR Council of State to the FRG, the first since the establishment of the two German states in 1949. : The visit, which has been al- most universally described as “‘historic,”’ also resulted in the signing of agreements on environmental protection, scien- tific cooperation and joint re- search into the hazards of radia- tion. Other topics discussed and in which progress. was reported were the enhancement of tour- ism, the pairing of cities, bilateral sports competitions, the issues of restrictions on travel and the af- firmation of the 1971 Four Power agreement on West Berlin and the necessity to maintain it. Honecker also advanced the concept of a nuclear weapons’ free Central Europe which could even- tually be expanded to include Europe entirely as an important contribution to the international search for disarmament. Next week the Tribune will carryan- analysis of the Honecker visit to the FRG by our Berlin Correspondent Gerry Van Houten. tis the individual worker who must be Tought fully into the productive pro- fess, must identify his/her interests Clearly with the end results of the work, and must feel a full participant with pow- €r, influence and respect. Where enterprise managers used to be 4bpointed from above — often witha nod of acquiescence from trade union com- Mittees — they will now be elected, right UP to the level of director, from a field of itiple candidates, by the work collec- e. The formalism that characterized Workers’ control in the past — what Orbachev has described as ‘“‘the Mass-meeting type of democracy’? — as certainly not meaningless, but is Now giving way to a greater emphasis on debate, individual initiative, input and Participation. The mass organizations that function thin every work collective — Com- Munist Party, Young Communist £ague, trade unions, women’s coun- Cils, etc. — are also being democratized from within. All are going through a dif- Ncult transition, redefining and sharpen- ‘ng their roles, responsibilities and obli- 8ations to their members. The result will almost certainly be a far more active and Mtense, if unpredictable, political life Within the work collectives. In removing the bureaucratic. fetters 4nd unleashing initiative and creativity, © Soviets expect to reap great eco- Nomic rewards. Workers look forward to Tapidly rising wages, based upon the {pplication of new technology and Mnovations, and improved personal per- formance. The principle ‘‘to each ac- Cording to his work’’ is becoming the main determinant of wages, rather than ‘levelling’ of paycheques for all re- gardless of performance. Still More Benefits Consumers hope the reforms will bring an end to line-ups, shortages and other frustrations that force Soviets to spend three or four times as long shopping as the average Canadian does. However, Soviet leaders have also served notice that the price structure, which keeps the cost of food, rent, trans- portation and other basic necessities artificially low, is going to have to change. At present, prices are deter- mined by bureaucrats with little or no reference to labour or resources input. “The present situation in price- formation is strange to say the least,” says economist Gennady Lisichkin. He gives the example of meat, the pro- duction of which is subsidized to the tune of 20-billion rubles a year. Every time a Soviet consumer buys meat, he says, he or she is “receiving a premium from the state .. . The more meat we eat, the more the state subsidy will be. It’s an abnormal situation.” The total agricultural subsidy exceeds 50-billion rubles annually —a sum which often goes to offset inefficiencies or even downright stupidity. Bread, for example, is often used a illegally — by collective farmers as anl- mal feed, because it is cheaper than fod- der. Bread is so inexpensive and plentiful that Soviet families are given to wasting it on a monumental scale: more bread is thrown away in the USSR than is con- sumed in the United States. The point of pricing policy was always to ensure that all Soviets, regardless of Soviet workers electing their management. No more nods from above. income, would be able to afford staple goods and necessities. Soviet leaders stress that this principle will not be lost. Prices will not be raised abruptly — as they were in Poland, for instance — but only after some years of public education and discussion. If there are people in need of special assistance, such as pen- sioners and students, provisions will be made. The ‘Bottom Line’ The bottom line, says economist Lisichkin, is that the fundamental in- terests of the working people must be protected. ‘‘Every year during the peres- troika, working people should not see their situation deteriorate, but see it im- prove,’’ he says. The goal of perestroika, Gorbachev told the June plenum, is to bring out the full inherent advantages of the socialist system. In many respects the way ahead is still uncharted, he said, and mistakes are bound to occur. ‘And yet,’’ he said, ‘‘I’m sure that the greatest mistake is the fear of making an error. If someone, fearing the complexi- ties of the current stage, cowers in his office and refuses to hear the ever-louder knocking of change on his doors and windows, this will be the biggest mistake of all.”