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World peac

Itis not ‘two superpowers” that areresponsible for the mass nuclear arms buildup that threatens to en- Sulf the world in a catastrophic war — the blame for that goes to the

‘S. administration, a’ world-re- owned peace leader told an audi- €nce in Vancouver Friday.

In fact, the ‘‘two superpowers” Notion is part of a deliberate cam- Paign to confuse the mushrooming Peace movement in North Amer- 1a, said Romesh Chandra, presi- dent of the 137-million member World Peace Council, who spoke to about 150 people at the Vancou- Ver Planetarium.

“The Soviet Union has consist- ently stood for a freeze on nuclear Weapons manufacturing. So when you march you should say ‘we

- Stand for a freeze, and we’re glad that the Soviet Union stands for a freeze,’ ”’ he declared.

Such outspoken views almost Kept Chandra and his high level Colleagues — former Portuguese President Marshal Francisco da Costa Gomes and Camilo Perez, former dean of law at the Univer- Sity of Panama — from receiving Visas to enter the U.S. and address the current second Special Session On Disarmament at the United Na- Mons (UNSSOD II).

_ As it was, he and his delegation were given limited visas. They Could only address the special ses- sion and were forbidden to engage In public speaking elsewhere in the United States, despite years of cross-country travel by World Peace Council delegations.

_ Chandra said he found it incred- ible that personages such as Costa mes, a former president of Por-

tugal, could be stopped at U.S. cus- toms,

“They were afraid we’d tell the truth, and the movement would stow,” said Chandra, who with the WPC vice-presidents marched in the one’ million strong peace March in New York June 12.

The WPC president addressed the session when it opened June 7, and saw the delegates take the un- Precedented step of agreeing on a Plan of action the first day. He is Scheduled to address UNSSOD II again June 25,

World Peace Council president Romesh 18. Flanking him are Marshal Francisco da Costa Gomes (I) of P

That session has raised ‘great hopes for the people of the world,”’ Chandra said at a press conference earlier in the day.

“There have been demonstra- tions all over the world to mark this session. The public interest in dis- armament has never been greater, and we think that’s inevitable,”’ said Chandra, who also noted that the danger to world peace has “never been greater.”’

The worldwide concern for peace was reflected in recent ac- tions in the USSR, said Chandra. There the special session sparked a ‘week against nuclear war,’’ in which 16 million Soviet citizens took part in rallies and meetings across-the.country.

They made the same call as is be- ing made in the United States, said the peace leader: ‘‘Stop building nuclear weapons.”

Canada also can play an import- ant rolein world disarmament, said Chandra, emphasizing prime min- ister Pierre Trudeau’s remarks at UNSSOD I calling for a “‘suffoca- tion’’ of the arms race and a ban on weapons testing.

The agreement reached at the opening of the 1982 special session was the launching of a ‘‘world dis- armament campaign.”’ The World Peace Council ‘‘hails’”” such deci- sions, said WPC secretary at the

DISARMAMENT e leaders hai

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UN, Karen Talbot, while noting that these are not binding on indi- vidual world governments.

The campaign plan calls for in- dividual governments to provide their peoples. with information on disarmament, and to seek to moti- vate public opinion in favor of peace initiatives, said Talbot. The WPC has called for a world confer- ence on disarmament to achieve “binding agreements’’ committing participating gdvernments to this plan of action, she added.

Chandra has been president by acclamation of the World Peace Council for 20 years. Formed in Helsinki, Finland in 1949 it consists of numerous member organiza- tions. from 12. different.countries. In Canada, these are the Canadian Peace Congress and its provincial affiliates, such as the B.C. Peace Council. ©

It is a non-governmental body recognized by the UN, and has re- cently been the subject of attack from the U.S. State Department. During the last year U.S. embassies around the world, and the U.S. UN mission in New. York, have distri- buted a glossy booklet ‘‘full of lies about the world’s largest peace or- ganization,’’ said Chandra.

That ‘‘glossy booklet’’ attacked the organization on the ground that it is recognized by the Soviet gov- ernment, which is in turn praised by the council for its consistent dis- armament initiatives.

In Chandra’s words, “‘I can’t help it if the Soviet Union has been the country which has always pro- posed measures for real disarma- ment. If the Reagan administration did the same, I would praise that government.”

The most recent initiative was Brezhnev’s letter to the UN disarm- ament session, in which the Soviet president unilaterally renounced first-use of nuclear weapons by the USSR in any conflict.

‘“‘Two hours later the U.S. state department replied — and what a frightening reply it was,’’ said Chandra.

Iks

Chandra (centre) talks to reporters at press conference June ortugal and Camilo Perez, Panama.

That reply revealed that the en- tire strategy of the U.S. and its NATO allies is based on the first- use of nuclear weapons, and that is “a most dangerous position, a most dangerous philosophy to have,’’ Chandra told reporters at the press conference.

Reagan’s address to the assem- bly was similarly ‘‘frightening,”’ consisting of a full-scale attack on the USSR that ‘‘accused them of every wrong that ever was. He’s en- titled to his opinions, but that was not the forum for them,’’ Chandra said.

Last year, the WPC president said, his organization toured the U.S. to counter the claims.of state secretary. Alexander. Haig. that a “imited’’ nuclear war was win- nable.

“This is the barbarism and the lunacy that was preached, and toa large extent, believed last year.

“‘This year, people no longer be- lieve it,’’ he.said, pointing to the massive peace rallies that have shaken Europe and North America this year.

Costa Gomes, wearing a red car- nation that symbolized his country’s April 1974 revolution, said NATO forces have some 80,000 nuclear weapons ‘‘in the European theatre.’’ A retired Por- tuguese army general, recently pro- moted to the rank of marshal, Costa Gomes pledged the Euro- pean peace movement to a contin- uing fight against Haig’s ‘“‘limited’’ nucléar war concept.

Perez, speaking partly in English and partly through translator Ellen Hammerschlag, said ‘‘Reagan lies in a cynical way. In supporting re- actionary regimes throughout Latin America, he has helped our organizing work, because nobody believes him.”’

Karen Talbot said the mass peace movement has grown over- night because of the cold war speeches of Reagan and his admin- istration. ‘‘He himself is the organ- izer of the mass movement,’’ she said.

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PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JUNE 25, 1982—Page 11