GRANT POLITICAL ASYLUM
TO ARMSTRONG, PAGAN

In a letter to Minister of Justice Otto Lang, Alfred Dewhurst,
executive secretary of the Communist Party of Canada, de-
a political asylum for revolutionary exiles in Canada. He

ites:

“Our Party is deeply concerned by the extradition proceed-
ings, undertaken at the request of U.S. authorities, against
= ig an American, and Humberto Pagan, a Puerto

“A study of both these cases clearly establishes that the
charges laid against both these men arise from political acts.

“We draw your attention to the fact that Canada’s Extra-
dition Act specifically forbids the return of fugitives facing
trial for political offenses. This being the case we ask you to
use the authority of your office to grant immediate political
asylum to Humberto Pagan and Karl Armstrong, releasing
them both from custody.

“We cannot but contrast the inaction of the Justice Ministry
on the above cases with the action of the Federal Government
in the case of Dmytro Kupiak, now living in Toronto.

“In October of 1964 the Foreign Ministry of the Government
of the USSR asked the Government of Canada for the extradi-
tion of Mr. Kupiak to stand trial as a war criminal. The Cana-
dian Government refused to extradite Mr. Kupiak on the
grounds that there is no Canadian law to compel extradition
of war criminals.

“From this comparison it is plain that the Extradition Act is
disregarded in the cases of Armstrong and Pagan, whose extra-
dition is requested by the Government of the United States,
but invoked to protect Kupiak whose extradition was re-
quested by the Government of the USSR.

“We place the question to you, Mr. Lang, why two standards
on the part of the Canadian Government? Do charges of war
crimes, including arson and mass murder rate as political acts?
While unproven charges of murder arising out of a struggle
for independence in the case of Pagan, and out of opposition to
the U.S. war in Vietnam in the case of Armstrong, rate as crim-
inal acts? There is evidence to show that Mr. Pagan’s life was
threatened in Puerto Rico and that he would not have obtained
a fair trial, facts which we presume were at the disposal of
the immigration authorities.”

The letter ends with an expression of expectation of a favor-
able reply to the request for political asylum for Karl Arm-
strong and Humberto Pagan.

fans ot RR 2S a Jct. hoe Gide SA

ak _jPacitie Tribune

West Coast edition, Canadian Tribune-

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PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, JUNE 9, 1972—PAGE 4

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Editorial Comment...

A great victory

The freeing of Angela Davis is a
great victory for justice. It is a great
victory for the cause of freedom.
Against her were arrayed the most:im-
perialistic, most racist, most reaction-
ary and hateful forces in the U.S. They
wanted to kill her because she was a
courageous and progressive woman, be-
cause she was a fighter for freedom
and equality of the Black people, be-
cause she was a Communist battling for
peace, for academic freedom, for a so-
cialist America.

By killing Angela Davis they wanted
to throw fear into the hearts of the
Black people, of all Americans who are
rising to protest and challenge the
reign of the military-monopoly-state
cabal. That has always been the pur-
pose of lynchings, whether legal or
plain murder.

They have lost. Angela has been
snatched from the executioners. Decent
America of all colors and origins rose
to her defence. And great masses of
humanity from all the corners of the
earth demanded her freedom. The peo-
ple have won.

This was only one round in the fight,
however. Political prisoners~still lan-
guish in confinement. Racists still shoot
and torture innocent victims. Angela
herself is still in danger from assassins.
Freedom is still denied to millions.

Angela Davis is free! On to greater

efforts to force the gates of the prisons’

to open for those who are still pent in
the U.S., to win freedom for labor and
political prisoners and the right of asy-
Soe Armstrong and Pagan in Can-
ada!

Win back our earth

It is a pity that the persistence of
the cold war approach has hamstrung
the international conference in Stock-
holm on action to prevent pollution
from destroying the ecology of the
earth. There are no borders to the poi-
soning of the oceans, the atmosphere
and the continents. All the countries of
the world must work together to clean
up the mess that has already been made
and set the rules to prevent further
harm to our environment. Nothing will
come of separate efforts. In this we are

‘truly One World.

When the German Democratic Re-
public was barred from the conference,
notice was served in effect that joint
world effort was not really in the plans.
Why did the Canadian government
slavishly follow in the U.S. wake on this
important issue? Canada had the op-
portunity to assert its independence, to
lead the breakthrough on this question
(as it has on others in several instances)
instead of again playing the role of
accomplice of the American cold war
circles.

The Soviet Union and other socialist
countries refused to take part not only
out of solidarity with the socialist GDR,
though that certainly is good cause, but
also because the organizers had demon-
strated they were not serious in pro-
moting world-wide action.

RN Ak |

Pollution is a deadly serious me)
to the future of humanity. Therell if

must be treated seriously.

Can we claim to be seriously 4)

ing pollution when a smokescreell!
up with deceptive talk about the!

ple themselves polluting the Stuy

and water by their everyday #
while thousands of bombs are buP
and chemicals killing everythimg
grows on wide stretches of Indot
Can we say we're fighting PO
when industries dump their was

the streams, lakes and seas?

tankers spill oil over the oceans:

The great polluters are the
and they must be stopped. Let

ent fund for armaments be turmetyy

to heal the wounds they have
humanity and its environment.

The great polluters are the mor

lies that operate the industries
own without regard to human i
or nature. Make them pay to (”
the dirt they have made.

Pollution, like nuclear weapon

become too dangerous to life of
to leave to chance. Mankind can ‘4
er afford cold war mentality a /
tices to bar the way to rem

progress. We must together W)

this planet which we inhabit, © is
its soil and waters, and make ~~
sweet to the breath once agai:

sentas

Who is ‘infiltrating’!

qd its

The cold war has create i
language and tactics. Take iy

Hellyer’s recent performance with i”

of red-baiting, for instance. a

mien of exposing a gigantic COly gi

he declares that “Communis’ |

years ago “infiltrated” the Com al

Young Canadians. For good Meg
throws in vague references 1 —
ists.”

Now who does Mr. Helly
when he speaks of “Commun hel
can’t be real Communists, mé he!

the Communist Party, for

would be exposed as a lial: init

once got around that by, ©? ap
term “erypto-Communists” 77

people who didn’t happen to

1]

munist Party members but
peace and labor’s rights. ‘i :
casts a wide net; in his 5
“Communists” takes in es
Maoists, what have you..-: ne
with a big brush, and people

like, including the aboveviag
anti-Communists, become
ists.”

Marxists? He labels FLQ on
as Marxists, but then the 1 a
pins that title on Prof. Herbe
LOD. 5. eal!

» mee,
And what does “infiltrate mil
a worker in a plant is a UOQ'y¢g

he “infiltrating” the plant? unis 7

dian who believes in com p ace
member of a trade union, jg ht
mittee, glee club or whatey 3
filtrating” those organizatlo’”
What nasty nonsense!
Is Mr. Hellyer then “in
human race?
Or just infesting it?

qltrat

Cat, baled tad od

me! e