World Over 20,000 young people from over 150 countries will gather this summer in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang to participate in the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students. And among them will be over 100 Canadians. From July 1-8, beginning with an ing 50,000 spectators, Canadian partici- pants will have the opportunity to express the aspirations of our people in relation to global problems such as peace, the envir- onment, democracy, education and youth rights through various meetings and spe- cial thematic centres. The main purpose of the festival, according to the Canadian Organizing Committee (COC), is to initiate lasting dialogue between the participants, which ideally will be the basis for greater mutual understanding and future co-operation. Delegates will also seek to establish imme- diate cultural and sports exchanges. “The festival represents both a great opportunity and a very serious challenge for Canadian youth,” said COC chair James Tate. “In face of global problems, which seem almost insurmountable, it’s absolutely crucial that young people world-wide become bearers of an entirely new international example based on sim- ple trust and the realization'that our indi- vidual destinies have become permanently intertwined, We cannot afford to make the same mistakes our parents did.” Tate, who is also deputy chair of the Canadian Federation of Students, noted that Canadians have an important role to play “as catalysts for improving interna- tional relations.” The festival idea was first introduced Olympic-style opening ceremony involv- . North Korea to host’ sph at Gy ie Psi ngs a youth festival ae ae. Part of the Canadian contingent at the open following World War II at a 1945 world youth conference in London. The first fes- tival took place in Prague and was attended by youth from 72 countries. Since that time, festivals have been organ- ized in Austria, Finland, Hungary, USSR, Roumania, GDR, Bulgaria and Cuba. The 13th Festival is the first to be held in Asia. Organizers point out that festival prep- arations are a lengthy and involved pro- cess designed to ensure broad and democratic participation from all kinds of youth and student groups regardless of political, ideological or religious stance. Several preparatory meetings have been held in Moscow, Nicosia, New Delhi, Alg- iers and Berlin and a festival program is being organized to reflect a wide range of issues and opinions. ing of the World Youth Festival in Moscow in 1985. The COC embraces the non-partisan spirit of the festival itself and is composed of a wide diversity of Canadian youth organizations. Participation is open to all interested groups and individuals. For information contact: Canadian Organizing Committee, 13th World Youth Festival, c/o Canadian Federation of Stu- dents, 300-126 York Street, Ottawa, Onta- rio KIN S5T5. Phone: (613) 232-7394. NATO stance key to talks on armed forces BY TOM MORRIS As the 23-nation Negotiations on Con- ventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) talks get underway in Vienna amid high hopes for a major and permanent reduction in both NATO and Warsaw Pact military strengths, attention is beginning to shift from the general to specifics. There’s little doubt that both the tone and concrete nature of the Warsaw Pact side’s proposals, as outlined by Soviet For- eign Minister Shevardnadze at the opening session, have placed these talks in a setting ’ markedly different from previous stalem- ated ones. There’s also little doubt serious difficulties lie ahead, due at this stage mainly to what appears to be a one-sided dance, with the Warsaw Pact leading, but NATO reluctant to follow.: The initial response by Britain’s Foreign Secretary Sir Geoffrey Howe revealed NATO thinking — the alliance welcomes the Warsaw Pact’s unilateral cuts, it wel- comes full scrutiny of those areas in which Despite confident predictions that the Kabul government would collapse over- night following the withdrawal of Soviet troops on Feb. 15, an all-out mujahedin attack on Jalalabad, Afghanistan’s third largest city, has stalled in face of stiff resistance. In open violation of the Geneva agreements, under which the USSR agreed to withdraw its troops and the U.S. and Pakistan would end support to the rebels and assist in a search for a negotiated settlement, thousands of mujahedin attacking the city are not only being equipped with U.S. weapons fun- nelled via Pakistan, but are actually being directed by Pakistani military per- sonnel. More than two weeks after the assault on Jalalabad began, both military and civilian casualties are reported heavy. In anticipation of a mujahedin military vic- tory, the Bush administration is report- Afghan accord violated - crisis via political talks. It also placed edly considering breaking relations with the government of President Najibullah and recognizing the Pakistan-based rebel government-in-exile. On March 10, President Najibullah appealed to the UN Secretary-General as well as to the USSR and U.S., as guaran- tors of the Geneva agreements, to help end the dangerously escalating war. On March 13, the Soviet Union charged that the cause of bloodshed in Afghanistan “clearly is not Soviet mil- itary presence, but unceasing outside interference ... incited and encouraged by certain political and military circles in Pakistan, the U.S., Saudi Arabia and other countries.” Moscow reiterated its support for the Geneva agreements and for resolving the direct responsibility for continued blood- shed in Afghanistan squarely on the vio- lators of the accords and their backers. 8 Pacific Tribune, April 3, 1989 the Warsaw Pact holds an edge, but refuses to open up its own strengths to examina- tion. This, of course, won’t lead to a successful breakthrough in Vienna. In a press briefing earlier this month, | Soviet Gen. Nikolai Chervov, department head of the USSR’s Armed Forces, outlined the complicated issues facing the negotia- tors. The Warsaw Pact is ready to make uni- lateral cuts, observe the principle of suffi- ciency, and restructure its armed forces to serve only defensive purposes. And that, he said, creates good conditions for productive talks. Even though the sides have different positions and approaches, they have points of agreement, or “bridges,” which include elimination of asymmetries and priority cutbacks in offensive weapons. Given polit- ical will, said General Chervov, these bridges may provide a foundation for agreements. The two sides have amassed extensive experience in holding talks, and experience shows the productivity of talks depends on how acute problems are solved at the sum- mit level. An all-European summit on con- ventional arms reductions in Europe, involving the U.S. and Canada, would set a business-like tone to the talks and foster agreements, he said. But there are also obstacles, General Chervov noted. The main one would be to concentrate on numbers alone which, in his view, would bring the talks to a standstill. The talks should not simply be reduced to figures and polemics. Initial data is not what matters most, but reaching the lowest mutually- acceptable ceilings of weaponry after the cuts. Another obstacle, said the Soviet general, may be NATO’s plan to ensure the talks are on ground forces alone — tanks, artillery and armoured personnel carriers — in which the Warsaw Pact has numerical superiority, and postpone or evade talks on attack aircraft and combat helicopters in which NATO leads. “If we accept such an agenda,” he pointed out, “the Warsaw Pact will find itself busy cutting its armaments, while NATO sits back and controls us.” He also finds incomprehensible why NATO refuses to talk about troop sizes and cuts (each side has about 3.5 million troops). NATO also excludes naval forces from the talks. With reduction of ground forces, General Chervov argued, the role of naval forces increases. Here NATO holds a 5-1 edge in surface ships and a 12-1 edge in cruise missile-firing warships. Lastly, NATO’s drive to modernize its short-range (up to 500 km) nuclear missile system contravenes the spirit of the INF treaty, and means Europe could actually end up with more missiles than before the INF pact was signed. This is a serious stum- bling block to an overall military reduction of forces in Europe. The Warsaw Pact is proposing a special set of talks on cutting and eliminating tactical nuclear weapons in Europe. Canada isa NATO member, contributes to NATO’s European military program, and is at Vienna. As the negotiations begin, our representative should be instructed to _ shift from simply expressing sentiments for a successful outcome and begin serious talks toward reduction and elimination of all weapons’ systems — ground, air, naval, nuclear, chemical and biological — which in today’s terms translate into mega-deaths if used.