NATO DECISION 'A CONSPIRACY
AGAINST PEACE’ WARNS PRAVDA

—-

ariel ORLO

Latin American regimes
ban political freedom

_The Communist Party of Argen-

tina has been ordered disbanded
and liquidated, in a government
move to prevent Communist par-
ticipation in the July 7 national
election.

In a decree published in May
the government established severe
penalties for party membership.
Party members are excluded

ANTI-CUBAN FRONT

—Damadian in Bucharest,
Romania Libera

from the civil service, labor com-
mittes, professional associations
‘and work in education. They are
also deprived of their right to
vote or be elected.

Foreign Communists, other than
diplomats, are not allowed into
the country under the decree, and
anyone distributing propaganda
may be jailed for as much as
six years.

Similar events are taking place

in Venezuela under U.S. pres-

sure to outlaw progressive and
Communist activities in Latin
America.

A statement issued by the par-
liamentary group of the Comun-
ist Party of Venezuela said the
government was trying to stop
Communist and left-wing partici-
pation by the Venezuelan Com-
munist Party and the left-wing
revolutionary movement, “the
election will be a farce which will
bring about serious consequen-
ces.” It was signed by the nine
Communist MP’s.

U.S. wifch-hunter dies

The notorious witch - hunting
Congressman, Francis Walter,
died in Washington last weekend
from leukemia at the age of 69.

He was chairman of the House
of Representatives’ Un-American
Activities Committee when it was
investigating alleged Communist
activities in the teaching profes-
Sion, the film industry and other
fields. He was also co-author of
the Walter-McCarran Imigration
Act, the notoriously anti-labor
measure.

This week it was announced

that the U.S. government has
dropped a 15-year conspiracy
charge against eight U.S. Com-
munist Party leaders.

The eight were among 11 Com-
munists jailed in 1949 on charges
of conspiracy to teach and ad-
vocate the violent overthrow of
the government. They are still to
be tried on a 1948 indictment ac-
cusing them of joining the Com-
munist Party with knowledge of

the conspiracy.

The outstanding cases were dis-
missed by a federal judge after
the government said “‘no useful
purpose”’ would be served in try-
ing the Communists for activities
which took place more than 15
years ago and which were sub-
stantially identical with those for
which they had already been
sentenced.

Among those freed of the charge
was Gus Hall, 52,the Communist
Party’s leading spokesman. But
the Party is stillbeing persecuted
under the McCarran Act for ‘‘fail-
ing to register as a foreign

agent.” The Party’s appeal will

be heard in Washington on June
20%

Fourteen men and women have
already been cited by the board
and have appealed against its
decisions. On Monday of this week
six more people cited as ‘‘mem-
bers of the Communist Party’’ be-
gan hearings before the Sub-
versive Activities Control Board.

Hit attempt to link

CP with terrorists

“The attempt by some sections
of the daily press to implicate
the Communist Party in connec-
tion with acts of terrorism which
recently found expression in the

Party.

“Our party’s position on terror-
ism is well known. We oppose it
as being against the best interests
of the Canadian people and this
is spelled out in our program
and in our constitution, both of

‘which are binding on our .mem-

bership.

“These are not the methods
through which the French Cana-
dian people can advance their
interests and achieve national,
Social and economic equality. Our
party advocates the right to self-
determination for the people of

French Canada up to and includ-
ing the right to secession if the
French Canadian people so de-
cide. But to win the right of self-
determination requires united po-

“The. Liberal government in
bringing forward a proposal for a
conference on biculturalism begs
the issue before the country. What
is involved is not biculturalism
put full equality for French Can-
ada in every sphere of Canadian
life. It is this over-riding issue
of. full equality which needs to
find reflection in a New Act or in
amendments to the British North
America Act. It is only in this
way that the unity of English
and French speaking Canada can
be cemented and advanced,’ says
the statement.

The Soviet Communist Party
newspaper Pravda said last week
that people of good will could not
remain calm or indifferent to the
decisions of the NATO Council
meeting in Ottawa on the forma-
tion of a NATO nuclear force.

Calling it a ‘‘conspiracy against ©

peace,” Pravda said the decisions
placed fresh obstacles in the way
of the disarmament talks and a
nuclear test ban.

It said that the U.S. policy mak-
ers had to face the fact that as
the nuclear power of the Soviet
Union was big enough to inflict
irreparable damage on the U.S.
it would be too risky for the U.S.
itself to start a thermo-nuclear
conflict.

“But why not try to embroil in
such a conflict some of their Euro-
pean allies by giving a certain
freedom of action to the most

_ reckless of them?”

In this way, West European
NATO members would be given
the “pleasure” of ‘“‘exchanging:
nuclear blows with the Soviet
Union so as to enable the U.S.
to join the conflict much later
and with fresh forces.

“Under the Ottawa decisions
the Bundeswehr generals have
got a finger on NATO’s atomic
trigger. But they are not content
with that, they want to have this
trigger at their complete dis-
posal.”

Pravda draws attention to state-
ments in the West German news-
paper, the Frankfurter Allge-

meine Zeitung, which called the
commitment never to strike first
in a nuclear war, a “luxury”
‘which the Bundeswehr ‘cannot
afford.”

Pravda says: “In these condi-
tions it would be unforgivable

levity on the part of all those
who prize peace to consider that
nothing important has happened.”

ECCLES {British Daily Worker}

“In ze English, it means ‘Do not press this button’!”

Union lobby in Ottawa
to save B.C. fisheries

A delegation of ten people from
the United Fishermen and Allied
Workers Union is in Ottawa seek-
ing to have the recently approved
amendments to the North Pacific
Fisheries Treaty go to Parliament
for ratification. The amendments
give Japan the right to fish her-
ring and halibut in traditional
Canadian waters and were passed
by order-in-council.

The delegation is seeking meet-
ings with the Cabinet, Minister of
Fisheries H. J. Robichaud, all
B.C. MP’s, and the NDP, Socred,
Tory and Liberal caucuses. It is
the second union lobby in four
months over the same basic is-
sue.

The lobby is pressing for:

e Tabling in the House of Com-
mons of the cabinet order-in-
council, on the basis that the
elected Members of Parliament

Melting

from “Common Cause",
journal of the
Australian Miners’ Union

have a right and a duty to debate
and decide any treaty amend-
ments affecting Canada’s natural
resources and because govern-
ment by order-in-council is un-
democratic.

e A full public hearing before
the Parliamentary Standing Com
mittee on Marine and Fisheries.
(The union received assurances
from Robichaud on May 1 that
such a hearing would be held;
on May 8 the cabinet decided to
give away our halibut and _ her-
ring, thus by-passing the commit-
tee and Parliament.

e A new, all-inclusive fishery
treaty for the North Pacific.

The treaty proposed by the
union would include the Soviet
Union, stop all high seas salmon
fishing by Japan, prevent Soviet
and Japanese exploitation of hali-
but stocks which have been con-
served by the U.S. and Canada,
and prevent Soviet and Japanese
exploitation of B.C. herring stocks
which migrate offshore.

Probe peace

Taking his cue from the John
Birchers and ultra right in the
United States, Social Credit
leader Robert Thompson last
week proposed that the Com-
mons defence committee in-
vestigate what he called, ‘‘the
many vociferous peace move-
ments that advocate nuclear
disarmament.”

He said he was “concerned
whether or not some of these
movements are legitimate in
the light of the nation’s secur-
ity.”

Japan has already demanded
negotiations in Washington on
June 6 which would open the way
for unlimited salmon fishing by
that nation. This illustrates, says
the UFAWU, that Canada’s give-
away of halibut and herring has
only served to whet the Japanese
appetite, contrary to the false
hopes of those who supported the
give away, including fishing com-
panies and editorial hacks.

COLUMBIA

Cont’d from pg. 1

The New Democratic Party in
the House has pledged itself to
wage a strong fight to block
the sellout of the Columbia. They
have declared themselves in sup-
port of Gen. McNaughton’s plan
for development of the river. (See
speech of Herridge in House on
pg. 2).

In Vancouver the Columbia
River for Canada Committee is
circulating a postcard opposing
the giveaway of the Columbia.
Quantities of the card are avail-
able from the Committee’s secre-
tary, Mrs. Elizabeth Wood, 3506

Province of Quebec is sheer ir- _ litical struggle not acts of ter- rou says

s : é ; E. 25th Ave., HE 3-2049.
responsibility,” declared the Na-  rorism which get in the way of g Y The tag coac% in a have
‘tional Office of the Communist a united effort to win full equality. Thompson strongly opposed the "present

treaty and have called repeatedly
for public action to save the Co-
lumbia.

Cuba exiles

trainin U.S.
It was reported from Miami,

Florida this week that a large
group of Bay of Pigs invasion
veterans completed a military
training course at U.S. army base
in Ft. Jackson.

They are organizing as a com-
bat unit for future action against
Cuba

June 7, 1963—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE 3