EDITORIAL

Walk for Peace Apr. 28

British Columbians from all walks of life will demon-
Strate their opposition to the nuclear arms race when
they take to the streets this coming Saturay, Apr. 28, in
the annual Walk for Peace.

A significant feature of this year’s walk is the large
number of cities and towns throughout the province

which are participating in what has become one of .

Canada’s outstanding citizens’ actions for peace.

This year’s Walk for Peace will take place at a critical
juncture in world and Canadian affairs. Despite over-
whelming opposition by people everywhere, the nuclear
arms race is escalating as a result of the U.S. drive to
achieve overwhelming nuclear first-strike capability.
Whole new weapons systems are being introduced by
the Pentagon, including weapons in space. A few days
ago the U.S. announced the establishment of a major
naval base for Trident submarines at Everett, Washing-
ton, virtually on the Lower Mainland’s doorstep, post-
Ing yet another threat of survival to the entire region.

U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s actions in Central
America, where the U.S. and CIA are waging an unde-
clared war which was highlighted by the mining of the
harbors of Nicaragua, have shocked world opinion and
brought universal condemnation from the American
people. Now, under the guise of fighting terrorism, the
US. government has adopted the doctrine of pre-
emptive strikes anywhere in the world, which poses new
dangers to world peace.

Of all the issues that stand before humanity today,
the most crucial one for peace is to end the escalating

nuclear arms race in Europe. The major obstacle is the
determination of the U.S. and NATO to pursue its
objective of deploying 572 missiles in Europe which put
a gun to to the head of the Soviet Union and the socialist
countries with their ability to strike their targets in five
to six minutes.

Last week the Warsaw Pact countries issued an
appeal to the U.S. and NATO to take measures leading
to the withdrawal of these missiles and thereby allowing
negotiations to resume for removal of all medium range
missiles from European soil, a move which would be
welcomed by all peace-loving people. Canada should
use its influence to back such action which would give
hope to people everywhere that the drift to a nuclear
holocaust can be’ stopped.

Canada can also take significant steps to halt the
escalating nuclear arms race. it can cancel the testing of
the cruise missile on Canadian territory and the agree-
ment with the U.S. under which the testing of other
Pentagon weapons can take place. It can condemn the
undeclared war being waged in Central America, and
call for meaningful negotiations to outlaw all nuclear
weapons tests, ban the use of space for military pur-
poses, and demand a world-wide freeze on nuclear
weapons now. These measures would be hailed by most
Canadians. D

The Tribune extends its watmest greetings to all peace
marchers this coming Saturday. We join with the
marchers in support of the universal demand: no to
nuclear weapons, east or west.

U.S. terrorism must end

Protests against the U.S. government’s irresponsible
actions in Central America have risen to a crescendo
with the outrage of U.S. mining of Nicaraguan harbors.

On Apr. 11, in the House of Commons, Prime Minis-
ter Trudeau said: “We are trying to ascertain who is
responsible for this act of terrorism which has been and
will be condemned by us.” oe

It has now been ascertained. The CIA, its leased
vessel — the mother ship — patrolling 30 to 50 miles
off Nicaragau’s Pacific coast, sent its paid agents in
Piranha speed boats to lay the mines. All was approved
by Reagan, but kept veiled even from the US.
Congress. :

A heavy responsibility falls to the Canadian govern-
ment, and it is gratifying that on his return from the
area, including Nicaragua (while avoiding the U.S.
puppet regime in El Salvador), External Affairs Minis-
ter Allan MacEachen differentiated between Canadian
and U.S. official views.

“We have differences. They’ve become even clearer
on this mining question,” he said. His government's

view is that the U.S. contribution to the incréased mil-
itarization of the region is wrong, and that intrusion of
outsiders has complicated the problem. MacEachen
indicated that his criticism went beyorid the mine-laying
(which has damaged eight ships) and extends to inter-
vention by land as well.

It is up to Ottawa to condemn the U.S. “act of
terrorism” and to assure Canadians and the world that
its policies are tailored to Canada’s needs, and are not
an extension of Reaganism as they have too often been.

When Prime Minister Trudeau heads into his partic-
ular minefield of bribes versus threats when he meets
Reagan in May, he might ask why the U.S. State
Department lied to Canadian Ambassador Allan
Gotlieb on Mar. 24, telling him there was no U.S.
involvement in mining Nicaraguan waters. Canada
should play a part in seeing that international steps are
taken to curtail U.S. aggression. The next step that
Reagan may take is the invasion of Nicaragua, after
bending his own country’s laws to the breaking point.
That step must be prevented. .

Huard tiller. | resent these unfounded accusations!

The picture’s clear. Télé-Métropole Inc., Montreal which owns
TV stations in Montreal and Chicoutimi, and has interests in othe!
stations, plus production of films, commercials, etc., had an after
tax profit of $9,111,000 for just six months, ended Feb. 29. In the
same period a year earlier it was $7,631,000.

—_IRIBUNE

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ae

By VLADMIR SIMONOV
The Los Angeles Games are a little
more than three months away,. but
Games’ organizers are already taking up

- Commentary

U.S. Olympics becoming security | nightmare

ambiguously that it isn’t clear which set-
vice would direct counter-measures in the
event of a hostage taking.

All this shows that the Olympic move-

arms. Here is a list of non-sporting equip-
ment purchased in the last few days: six
light machine-guns with silencers; 26
heavy rifles; 10 night-vision sights for
helicopters; five underwater radio sets; one
robot to detonate and defuse bombs.
According to the New York Times, all this
equipment is for response to any emer-
gency situations during the Games.

People are entitled to ask what is
expected — a holiday for youth and
sports, or a police operation against some
criminal groups?

I’ve read almost everything in the U.S.
press on the Olympics and find a tone of
serious concern for the safety of athletes
and spectators creeping in. Amazingly,
people whose duty it is to ensure security
are particularly nervous. It seems these
Officials are trying to justify themselves in
advance and to prepare the public for
what might happen.

“Very difficult,” says William Rath-
burn, the Olympic’s planning co-ordinator.
“I’m not sure we did everything we had to

do,” says Edgar Best, an ex-FBI man and
now the committee’s security director.

The organizers have reason to be ner-
vous. Independent experts have said that
protection of the Olympic sites and partic-
ipants is an insoluble problem. Never in
the Games’ history have’ facilities been
scattered over such a vast area.

Teams will live in several areas and
competition will take place at 23 different
sites in an area of 4,500 square miles,
which includes Los Angeles proper and
more than a dozen satellite town in three
districts. Some athletes will have a two-
hour bus ride to reach their competition
sites.

Buses will travel on open highways
across such distances that no amount of
steps will ensure their security. This is an
ideal situation for potential attackers, say
experts.

According to the New York Times Apr.
2, two main problems confronted officials
when planning security — the vast geo-
graphical area in which no single police

department can be responsible, and a
long-running feud between the FBI and
Los Angeles police over who will assume
major responsibility in the event of a ter-
rorist attack.

But what is most important in the
report is that neither the FBI nor the
LAPD want to assume responsiblity for
the Games’ security.

Why should participants live and com-
pete under such conditions? Because the
private corporation of businessmen which
call themselves the Los Angeles Olympic
Organizing Committee decided to save
themselves money by not building an
Olympic village and sports facilities.

The other day, Richard Bertsing, Los
Angeles FBI chief, said everything was
ready. He said an agreement had been
signed with the police and that the FBI
would “play ball” if anything happened.

Bertsing is fudging. The New York
Times reports that to reach agreement, the
FBI and police worded the document so

ment has cause for concern. But if the
security agencies responsible quake before
the complexity of their task. They have
one consolation: if the question of respon-
siblity does arise, they will take cover
behind their vaguely-worded document.

As this goes on, people, encouraged by |
Washington, continue to incite an anti-
Soviet campaign which they hope will
reach its climax during the Olympics.
Even now the campaign is assuming
frightening pathological forms. Peddlers
in New York are selling “Kill a Russian”
buttons; one person, heeding the call, fired
at an American woman because she was of
Russian descent.

Many national Olympic committees are
facing a serious choice. They’re wondering
whether to send their own security teams
or whether they should send their athletes
at all.

In Los Angeles the five-ringed Olympic
symbol has begun to resemble a bull’s eye.

Viadmir Simonoy is New York corres-

. pondent for Novosti.

4 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, APRIL 25, 1984.

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