e Is there a mass peace movement in the Soviet Union? e How do Soviet people speak out for peace and Nuclear disarmament? The questions are frequently asked, and perhaps - the best way to explore Soviet peace movements Is to look at the surprising number of mass organiza- tions involved. The Soviet Peace Committee is one of these. Estab- lished in 1949, it elects its leadership at regular public conferences, and has permanent commissions on Various aspects of the work. Under chairman G.A. Zhukov, it maintains international relations with numerous anti-war movements. Its monthly bulle- tin, 20th Century and Peace, is published in Russian, English, French, Spanish and German. ’ * * * = _ Inaddition there is the Soviet Peace Fund, founded in 1961 at a meeting of public organizations. Today, some 80 million Soviet people take part, raising Money, and carrying out its programs. Voluntary contributions to the Fund range from modest sums, to royalties from scientific works and fiction, published in the Soviet Union and abroad. Besides covering expenses for conferences and other events at home and abroad, the Fund aids people in developing countries, aids victims of cala- Mities, and supports the families of victims and poli- tical prisoners of the reactionary regimes in Chile and El Salvador. * * * The Soviet Pugwash Committee came about as a result of the London conference of scientists against nuclear war in 1955, and the conference in Pugwash, Nova Scotia (in which scientists of 10 countries took part) in 1957. It was the beginning of the international movement of sgientists for peace, against nuclear war, for disarmament and scientific co-operation. ee ey Soviet Trade Unions together constitute the biggest ee The Soviet connection: working for peace Backgrounder [a Ta EM TOT mass organization in the USSR, with a membership of over 130 million. The struggle for peace and against the war threat is a major aspect of their activities. In international relations they focus on the “solidarity of working people ... in their struggle against the nuclear war threat, for stronger peace, for curbing the arms drive, and for peaceful co-exis- tence and co-operation’’. * * * The Soviet Association fur United Nations, af- filiated since 1956 to the World Federation of United Nations Associations, participates in all inter- national events devoted to urgent problems of strengthening peace. Research Council for Problems of Peace and Disarmament. In 1979 the Academy of Sciences, with the State Committee for Science and Tech- nology, and the Soviet Peace Committee, founded this organization. It intensifies and co-ordinates re- search on problems of peace and disarmament and relates it to practical tasks in the peace and detente struggle. It co-operates with foreign research centres and scientists with similar concerns. * x * The Soviet War Veterans’ Committee (1956) aims at the maintenance and consolidation of peace, keeps international relations, and helps educate younger people in that spirit. * * * ‘Other Soviet organizations which likewise make the struggle for peace a central concern, include the Soviet Lawyers’ Association (1964) with contacts in 70 countries; the USSR Committee of Youth Organ- izations (1956) with relations with 1,350 youth and student organizations in 140 countries; the Soviet Women’s Committee, embracing women from all _ walks of life, founded in 1941 and reconstituted in 1956, is connected with organizations in 114 coun- tries. Its chairperson is the Soviet cosmonaut Valen- tina V. Tereshkova. In addition, programs for peace and nuclear disarmament are carried on by the Soviet Committee for European Security and Co-operation (1971); the Soviet Afro-Asian Solidarity Committee (1957); and the Union of Soviet Societies for Friendship and Cul- tural Relations with Foreign Countries (1958). Taken together, these organizations seeking the means to avert nuclear war, bring about nuclear disarmament, and establish peace as a world norm, involve many millions of the Soviet population of all ages, from countless occupations and locations and in tens of thousands of working committees. They are a tremendous expression of support for their government's policies for peace and disarmament. Feealel | caer wer a ; “No nuclear war’ reads the banner in Red Square, Moscow. a See eee a CBC Radio ‘‘Morningside”’ recently aired an interview with an Ontario couple who have been laid off for. some 13 months. They had been saving to buy a home. Now their UIC benefits and sav- ings have been used up. They are a very angry couple, which they expressed quite vehemently during the course of the interview. The interviewer asked if (A time for change — a time to shift left Fain’ om, Alfred Dewhurst ‘. Marxism-Leninism Today democratic alliance would unite around a commonly worked-out program to put Canada back to work and would be a champion of disarmament and peacetime production. It is our opinion sucha program should aim to put an end to U.S. domination of the Canadian economy. The key eco- nomic levers should be nationalized under people's democratic control as their anger was for real. The answer was an emphatic YES. They emphasized that Welfare and makeshift jobs, while neces- Sary, are not the answer. The govern- Ment and the private sector, they said, should adopt a new economic policy to Provide stable, productive jobs. On the very next day CBC aired a radio program featuring military and nu- Clear survival experts. These nightmare dreamers tried to explain how govern- - Ment and military plan to cope with a Nuclear attack on Canada. The nuclear Survival plan they attempted to explain is absolutely unreal. * * * Economic crisis, accompanied by Mass unemployment, broken dreams, and war, are twin evils of the capitalist System. This should never be forgotten. For working people, the poor and dis- abled, are the main victims of these two evils. In the past, economic crisis and war have gone hand-in-hand, down this Toad in murderous repetition. This must be stopped. Wars and preparation for war gobble up billions upon billions of our country’s budget on useless products meant only for death and destruction. These massive funds are diverted from socially useful Production. Billions that could have gone toward fulfilling people’s needs and wants. The military budget robs the workers’ wage-packet, through runaway inflation, ruinous taxes and sky-high in- terest rates. é * * * The scenario is mass unemployment, economic crisis and a monopoly offen- sive against the working people, fol- lowed by war to seize territory and mar- kets from other (generally weaker) coun- tries. Nowadays, the imperialist first-strike war hawks are striving to ig- nite a nuclear war against another social system — socialism. Their aim? To Te- scue the system of world capitalism. At war’s end comes a period of indus- trial recovery, restoring war destruction, and updating technique and machinery. It will be a period of a plentitude of jobs for those who survive the nuclear holo- caust. These three periods, militarization of the economy, war, and recovery period, are periods of rip-off profits for the giant corporations. But hard times, death and indescribable suffering for working people. ey In our times one cannot fight for poli- cies of full employment and better living standards, without fighting against war, and for peace and disarmament with se- curity for all countries. * * * - Canadians are paying’ heavy price for the crisis policies of government and the monopoly corporations, which include vicious attacks on wages, living stan- dards and social services. This situation can be turned around by government | implementing and enforcing economic policies that put people before the profits of U.S. transnationals and Canadian monopolies. An economic policy that puts people first, needs to be backed by an independent foreign policy that puts Canada first —a policy solidly based on peace and good neighborly relations with all countries. The struggle for new economic and new foreign policies cannot help but be political. Such a new direction requires a change in government policy — a shift leftward in Canadian politics which would change the political composition of parliament and of government. One cannot expect the Liberal and Conser- vative parties to make the changes necessary. Both are wedded to the crisis policies of monopoly. It is‘ time to start working for such a shift. * * * The struggle for new policies needs to be directed squarely at the Liberal government and the Tory opposition, and the monopoly corporations. This will help to bring into being an electoral al- liance of democratic and left forces, em- bracing the trade unions, New Demo- cratic Party, Communist Party, many other democratic people's organizations, and left-oriented individuals. Such a part of Canadianizing our economy. This is absolutely essential to all-Canadian development, and opening the way to the planned expansion of the economy and the creation of new, stable and socially useful jobs. * * * A new economic policy for Canada. and an end to the continuing threat of world nuclear war has to be at the centre of united action onthe part of all Cana- dians. Without this, no real progress can be made. Think it over and roll up your sleeves. Footnote A reader has drawn it to our attention that the column appearing in April 11. 1983 issue of the Canadian Tribune under the head ‘* Karl Marx and the class strug- gle’’ contained a mix-up of two important dates in the history of the International - Working Class Movement. This mix-up involves the date of the founding of the International Working Men's Associa- tion which was in 1864 not in 1848, the latter being the publication date of the Communist Manifesto. Our reader noted also that the founding congress did not adopt the Manifesto, although it adopted the slogan, **Workers of all countnes, Unite!” - We wish to thank our reader in draw- ing this serious mix-up to our attention. (A.D.) ence PACIFIC TRIBUNE—APRIL 29, 1983—Page 7