L. Brézhnev's speech at Helsinki ‘To make peace in Europe durable and unshakeable’ It is generally acknowledged that the Soviet Peace Program approved at the Communist Party Congress in 1971, was a major impetus behind the successful holding of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, recently held in Helsinki. At that conference, July 30 to August 1, Leonid Brezhnev, general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Central Com- Committee, made a speech which delineates Soviet policy in such a way that no one neéd be unsure of where the USSR stands on the issues of peace, detente, disarmament, and the peaceful co-exis- tence of different social systems. A major part of the Brezhnev speech is contained in the accompanying excerpts. All of us who take part in the final stage of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe feel the unusual charac- ter of this event, its political scope. It can be said with con- fidence that the same feeling is shared by millions upon millions of people in all countries parti- cipating in the conference and not only in those countries. What has made the top politi- cal and state leaders present in this hall adopt such an attitude to the conference? The answer seems to be that the results of the conference are linked with expectations and hopes never before engendered by any other collective action during the period following the well-known allied decisions of the postwar time. The soil of Europe’ was drenched with blood in the years Expose real of the two world wars. Top political and state leaders of 33 European states, of the USA and Canada have assembled in Hel- sinki in order to contribute by joint efforts to makihg Europe a continent which would experi- ence no more military calami- ties. The right to peace must be secured for all the peoples of Europe. We stand, of course, for securing such rights also for all the other peoples of our planet. _ Fundamental Principals ' The Soviet Union regards the outcome of the conference not merely as a necessary summing up of the political results of World War II. This is at the same time an- insight into the future in terms of the realities of today and centuries-old ex- perience. of European nations. Relations between participat- ing states have been placed on the solid basis of the fundamen- tal principles which are to deter- mine rules of conduct in rela- tions between them. These are the principles of peaceful co- existence for which the founder of the Soviet state, V. I. Lenin, fought with such conviction and consistency and for which our people are fighting today. The conference has also deter- mined the directions and speci- fic forms of cooperation in fields of economy and trade, science and technology, environmental protection, culture, . education and contacts between individu- als, establishments and organ- izations. It is no secret that informa- tion media can serve the pur- poses of peace and confidence or they can spread all over the world the poison of discord be- tween countries and peoples. Military Relaxation The Soviet Union has con- sistently supported the idea that the conference should be follow- ed up by further development in the sphere of military relaxa- tion. In this regard, one of the first pricrity objectives is to find ways to reduce armed forces and armaments in central Eu- rope, without diminishing secur- ity of anyone, on the contrary, to the benefit of all. The special political import- ance and moral force of agree- ments reached at the conference in Ontario election TORONTO — The Ontario Tories, fighting for their political lives, have sprung.a late summer election campaign on the pro- vince, hoping to cash in on the summer doldrums, and win re- - election with a majority at Queen’s Park. : Premier Davis set Sept. 18 as voting day, allowing the mini- mum 37 days between the is- suance of the writ and the hold- ing of the vote. At dissolution the Progressive - Conservatives held 74 seats, Li- berals 23 and NDP 20, making up the 117 member Legislature. Under new redistribution the new Legislature will comprise 125 members. ‘A Sorry Record Tory fortunes have declined over the past couple of years under the impact of a deteriorat- ing economic situation in the province, which boasts an un- employment figure of more than a quarter of a million, and where price increases are seriously eroding pay cheques. Government housing policies have led to intolerable levels of rents and housing costs and an accute shcrtage of accommoda- tion. Regional government schemes have trampled under- foot civic democracy and saddle homeowners and tenants with skyrocketing increases. Scandal after scandal has degged the Tories, who, with 33 uninterrupted years in office are deep in the pork-barrel. Education and health facilities . have been under sharp attack by’ the government for the past three years, cutting most deeply into the health care and educa- tional perspectives of the work- ing people. Davis has been using the pub- lic purse over the past several months to try arrest the decline of his party’s popularity, as well as seizing on the sorry Liberal record in Ottawa to wean sup- port away from Ontario Liberals, who are head-on favorities to gain the most from disaffection with the Tories, according to the media pundits. Today’s election call is seen -as an indication the Tories feel the situation has turned at least somewhat in their favor, that to wait until the fall, when unem- ployment will be worse than to- day and the short term benefit of. their election goodies will have expired, would not be in their interests. ‘The Tories, Liberals, and the New -Demoeratic Party are all - expected to field full slates. of candidates. The Communist Campaign The Communist Party, which just applied for Registration un- der the new act Bill 3, announc- ed it intended to field 35 candi- PACIFIC TRIBUNE—AUGUST 15, 1975—Page 4 dates and has already nominated in 21 ridings. William Stewart, Ontario lead- er of the Communist Party, wel- comed the calling of the election as it gives the people of this province an opportunity to deal with the sell-out of the province to big business and to United States interests. - The Communist Party, Mr. Stewart stated, will use every ounce of its energy to see that the real record of-the Tories ‘comes up for scrutiny, and that they are not permitted to use high-falutin advertising gimmicks to hide this perfidious record behind the charisma of Mr. Davis, or obsure it by pointing to the equally disasterous poli- cies being pursued in Ottawa. ‘The Real Issues The issues in this election are: e putting the people of On- tario to work; e eliminating disastrous un- employment; e ending scandalous poverty; e@ overcoming regional dis- parity; e restoring democracy to the working people, — to Ontario municipalities; e revival of our flagging argri- - culture in the interests of farm- ers and the people, not big agri- business; our education e and health facilities to meet the. real needs of an expanding society. lies in the fact that they are to be certified by signatures of the top’ leaders. of the participating states.- It is precisely the materializa- tion of relaxation which is the essence of everything that should make peace in Europe truly durable and unshakeable. Therefore, uppermost in our mind is the task of ending the arms race and achieving tan- gible results in disarmament. It is very: important to pro- claim correct and just principles of relations among nations. It is no less important to see that these principles are firmly root- ed in present. day international relations, are put to practical uses and are made a law of in- ternational life which is not to be breached: by anyone. This is the aim of our peaceful policy and this is what we declare once ~ again from this lofty rostrum. Benefit Peace The success of the conference has become possible only be- cause its participants continu- ously took steps to meet each other half way and succeded, overcoming often great difficul- ties, to work out, in the final analysis, mutually acceptable agreements on each of the issues before them. These agreements were conceived and reached, not by way of imposing the views of some participants in the confer- ence upon others, but on the basis of accommodating the views and interests of each and ‘every one and with general con- sent. If there are compromises here, then these compromises _ are well-grounded and of the kind that benefit peace without obli- terating the differences in ideo- logies and social systems. The main conclusion . . . is this:'no one should try, on the basis of foreign policy consider- ation of one kind or another, to dictate to other peoples how they should manage their inter- nal affairs. It is only the people of each given state, and no one else, that have the sovereign right to decide their own in- ternal affairs and - establish their own international laws. A different approach is a flimsy and perilious ground for the cause of international coopera- tion. 2 Living Conditions The document we are signing is a broad but clear-cut _plat- form .. . Today, it is the maxi- mum of the possible, and tomor- row, it should become the start- ing point for making further headway along the lines mapped out by the conference. Agreements we have reached expand the possibilities of peo- ples to increase their influence upon the so-called “big politics’. At the same time they also touch upon wordly problems. They will contribute to better living conditions of people, pro- Before the U.S.-USSR meeting during the Helsinki existence. Conferenct (L to R), Soviet Foreign Minister Andre Gromyko, U.S. President Ford, CPSU General Secretary Brezhnev and U.S. Secretary of Sto#) — Kissinger. . viding them with work, and im) proving conditions for educt’) tion. They are concerned .W care for health, in short | at many things related to individ) — als, families, youth and differe™ | groups of society. a The results of the prolons negotiations are such that ¢ are neither victors and ¥ 6 quished, nor winners and lo This is a victory of reaet Everyone has won: countries |) East and West, peoples of S%) alist and. capitalist states parties to alliances and neutt E big and small. This is the pr of all people who cherish pea and security on our planet. - School of Politics .. We are convinced that 4 sn cessful implementation, of W i we have agreed upon here only will have a beneficial e on the life of the European ples, but will also become : major contribution to the cal” of strengthening world peace : And one more thought whit 6 is, perhaps, shared by many ot} those present here. The con 4 | ence has proved to be a ud : school of international polit’) for the participating states, ry ticularly useful in our when incredible means of © struction and annihilation ate") 45 A powerful impetus provide : by the meeting of leaders 0 |) states participating in the on ference is intended to y , 3 everyone inside and outside rope to live in peace. French labot leader dies | PARIS — Benoit Frach general secretary of the FFé | General Confederation of **) , Unions and a founding mem, of the French Communist P? died. in Paris Aug. 4 at the % of 82. He served as CGT ! from 1945 to 1967 and was | of the most prominent Comm™ jj) ist trade union leaders in Fre” | histcry. . al : fe. The Communist Party of & ada’s Central Executive Cy mittee, on learning of Frach? | “a death sent the following mm sage: 4 “With profound sorrow jj — received the news of the d@%| — of comrade Benoit Frachon, standing Communist leader the French working clasS "| — trade union movement.” THE U.S. SLANT The Canadian Press %, agency, maintained by, Cana” _news media, has no perma correspondents in Asia, Aff’ or Latin America, but relié the regurgitation of foreig vices, mostly of the USA, 1. port and “interpret” the for Canadians.