Ottawa should back
Soviet appeal — CPC

MOSCOW — During his
visit to the USSR to take part
in the celebrations marking
the 40th anniversary of the
victory over Hitler fascism,
Communist Party of Canada
General Secretary William
Kashtan welcomed the Soviet
Union’s appeal to all people’s
parliaments and govern-
ments in an address over
Soviet television broadcast
May 9.

“This is an historic moment
for the whole world,” said
Kashtan. “Listening to the
appeal of the Soviet Govern-
ment for peace, I thought
about 1917 when the young Soviet state made an appeal calling
upon the peoples of the world to act for peace, to stop the First
World War.

Moving on to the current situation, Kashtan pointed out that
the latest appeal was made under different conditions.

“Today,” he said, “there is a menace to the very existence of
human life on earth.” He emphasized that the Soviet appeal
shows the way tor action to prevent a nuclear catastrophe.

“The unity of the people of the Soviet Union, the USA,
Britain, France, Canada and other countries who fought to-
gether against fascism made victory possible. That victory
opened up a new chapter in the history book of humanity.”

He then went on to stress that the same unity is needed today
in order to stop the course of action stimulated by the reaction-
ary forces of imperialism, and first of all U.S. imperialism.

“This course of action,” he warned, “has brought the world to
the verge of nuclear annihilation.”

“We hope,” declared Kashtan, “that the peoples of the
world, their governments and their parliaments will give seri-

WILLIAM KASHTAN

ous attention to the Soviet appeal and that they will unite their’

efforts to make sure that another world war will not break out.’

He also expressed confidence in the strength of the peoples of

the world to prevent another world war “if they act together.”
“The Soviet Union made it absolutely clear in the speech of
Mikhail Gorbachev, CPSU General Secretary, on May 8, that it
is fighting for a world without war, for a peace without arma-
ments. The Soviet appeal should become the beginning of a

process to achieve that goal. We hope that the government of

Canada will pay serious attention to the appeal, that it will

accept it, support it and utilize the power and influence of

Canada in world affairs for the cause of peace — so that there
will be no nuclear catastrophe, which, unfortunately, is still
possible.”

Kashtan told his audience that this appeal represents a his-
toric stage in the endless flow of Soviet.initiatives for peace.

“It is time,” he said, “for the other governments to come
forward with their own initiatives and proposals in order to
provide security for the world, to open doors for negotiations
in order to prevent a nuclear war.” — Jack Phillips

‘Prevent an arms race in space
and terminate it on earth...’

“To the Peoples, Parliaments and Governments of all countnes from the
CPSU Central Committee, the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet
and the Counal of Munsters of the US SR on the occasion of the 40th

annwversary of the end of the Second World War’.

loving peoples against fascism, which had set
out to win world domination, ended vic-
toriously.

The victory of worldwide historical importance
over Hitler fascism and Japanese militarism was
won by the common efforts of the peoples and
armies of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition,
partisans, resistance fighters, anti-fascists, demo-
crats and patriots, millions of freedom fighters.

It is commonly recognized that the Soviet Union
and its armed forces made the decisive contribu-
tion to the rout of the forces of fascism and aggres-
sion and to the saving of humankind from enslave-
ment.

Hitler fascism posed a threat to the very exis-
tence of European and world civilization. The Sec-
ond World War took a toll of 50 million human
lives, the war imposed on the Soviet Union took
away the lives of 20 million of its sons and
daughters. There was not a family which escaped
the flames of war unsinged. Our pain and grief will
never subside, and the anguish of soldiers’ wid-
ows, mothers, and orphans is unquenchable.
The aggressor destroyed one-third of our na-
tional wealth.

The tragedy of the war and the happiness of great
victory will remain forever in the memory of the
people. The grim and instructive lessons of the war
cannot be forgotten.

One of the main lessons is that aggression must
be fought against jointly and decisively before the
flames of war burst out.

That was what the Soviet Union was seeking
perseveringly on the eve of the Second World War.

The means of warfare have now been quali-
tatively changed. While the wars so far fought in
human history claimed hundreds of millions of
lives, a third world war poses the threat of univer-
sal annihilation. If the planet is swept by a nuclear
hurricane, not even oases of life will be left behind.

Faced with the lethal fascist threat during the

Fe. decades ago, the battle of the freedom-

Second World War, states with different socio-;

political systems joined forces against the common
enemy and proved the possibility of effective polit-
ical and military cooperation for the sake of the
common human goal of freedom and peace. To-
day, too, the cohesion of peoples can become a
formidable obstacle in the way of those who are
pushing the world towards nuclear catastrophe.
The forces of peace and progress today are
in-comparably stronger than the forces of reaction
and aggression.

toric Yalta and Potsdam agreements, which laid

After the end of the war, the Soviet Union
spared no effort to avert another catastrophe, to
achieve disarmament and to ensure that conten-
tious problems are settled peacefully at the
negotiating table. The peoples of Europe have been
living in peace since spring 1945. The principle of
the peaceful coexistence of states with different
social systems is asserting itself ever more force-
fully in international affairs and in relations among
states.

n August 1, 1975, the states which par-

ticipated in the Conference on Security

and Cooperation in Europe signed in
Helsinki the Final Act, in which they mapped out
ways to overcome confrontation stemming from
the character of their relations in the past and to
better mutual understanding. The foundations of
detente were laid by the joint effots of states, and
it demonstrated its undubitable advantages and
benefits for everyone.

The peoples are marking the 40th anniversary of
victory in the aggravated, dangerous situation, —
which has been brought about by the U.S. and —
NATO course of tipping military-strategic equilib-
rium and seeking military superiority over the
Soviet Union and the other Warsaw Treaty —
member countries. But the hopes to dominate the _
world and dictate to others, including the Soviet
Union, are futile and dangerous to all the peoples.

The situation in Europe, which was swept by the
whirlwind of two devastating world wars, causes
great worry. Huge masses of armed forces and
arsenals are directly confronting each other there;
U.S. first-strike nuclear missiles continue to be
deployed in Western Europe, and the revanchist °
forces, trying to call into question the results of
the war and post-war development, primarily the —
post-war European political and territorial reali-
ties, have become more active.

Certain forces in Europe and outside it have not
given up their dangerous plans to subvert the his-

the foundations of post-war peace. Those agree-
ments have been dependably serving the interests
of European security and blocking militarist and
revanchist ambitions for 40 years now. Any at- ~
tempt to encroach upon those agreements is
doomed.

see SOVIET page 7

(ia rece ON Ce ea Oe arene ae

Apmil, 1945: Sovet and
Amencan soldiers link arms
in the town of T orgau
symbolizing their unity in the
anti-Hitler coalition. Urging
all peoples and governments —~
to recall this anti-fascist
umty, the USSR says
everything must be done to
avert a new world war.
“Reason must prevail over
recklessness, over madness,”

its appeal says.

ltinineiiaiii

6 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, MAY 22, 1985