nae

A mixture of sadness and joy

as lbarruri returns to Spain

MOSCOW — “The Spanish People, the working people, the Progressive forces ‘of Spain will never forget the great role played m their struggle against fascist dictatorship by the fraternal assis- tance and solidarity of the Soviet People,’’ said Dolores Ibarruri at a press conference here on the -€ve of her departure for home. “La Pasionaria’, Chairman of the Communist Party of Spain,

_ has returned to her country after

almost 40 years.

: Ibarruri told the Soviet people, ‘I am torn by conflicting emo- tions at this dramatic moment in my life. I feel-joy at returning home to my motherland, but I feel

’ Sadness at the same time because

T am leaving the Soviet Union where I have lived for nearly 40 years.

“Together with your people, I experienced the hardships of the war against Hitlerism; suffered together with you, fought side by side with you and shared the joy of victory,’ she said. Dolores Ibarruri’s son was killed fighting as a Soviet officer at Stalingrad.

“‘T have admired and continue to admire how quickly the Soviet people healed the wounds of the war and restored the ravaged economy. You have achieved spectacular successes. These successes have great importance for the liberation struggle of the peoples of the whole world.

‘‘The Spanish people,’ Do- lores Ibarruri continued, *‘regard~ the peoples of the land of the Soviets as their long-standing and true friends. This friendship was strikingly manifested in what was the most difficult time for us. And

Delores Ibarruri, chairman of the Communist Party of Spain, has returned to her country after over 38 years in exile. Seated beside her is Santiago Carrillo general secretary of the party. :

now every Soviet person, upon meeting Spaniards, cannot but feel their sincere love and sym- pathy. This means that our friendship has a great future, which cannot be destroyed by anyone.”

Answering questions about prospects for the democratic de- velopment in Spain, Ibarruri stressed that far-reaching changes are now taking place in the coun- try. ‘‘These changes were_pre- pared by a prolonged struggle of the working class, of all democra- tic forces against Francoism in all

its forms. This struggle has never ceased.’’ Dolores Ibarruri ex- pressed. confiderice that these changes in Spain will continue ‘‘for Spaniards have no desire to return to the grim past.”’

In conclusion, La Pasionaria said, ‘‘I would like to convey good wishes to the Soviet people. I wish the Soviet people happi- ness, successes in all spheres,

fulfilment of the grand tasks of

by the party of Lenin and prosper- ity of the homeland of the Great October Socialist Revolution.”’

International campaign mounted for release of Uruguayan patriot

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay — A renewed and urgent plea to

Rampersaud trial reset

GEORGETOWN, Guyana — The Arnold Rampersaud murder re-trial ended April 21 after 25 days. The jury was deadlocked after deliberating nine hours and, as a result, the 35-year-old father Of five is committed to stand trial for a third time. At his first trial in Nov. 197¢ the jury also failed to altive at a verdict.

persaud’s case has been

€nup internationally with calls:

to the Bumham government to

drop the charges against him.

© government has chosen to

Make Rampersaud an example to

Guyanese who struggle for

Socialism,’’ said his defence Committee recently.

He was arrested in July 1974

and was not brought before the |

Courts until November 1976. Dur- ing his long imprisonment he was Tutalized and his health has suf- fred. Rampersaud is a_long- Standing member of the People’s gressive Party. The Defence Ommittee is demanding this arce should cease and he be Spared the ordeal of a third trial.

save the life of Jaime Perez has come from Latin America. Perez, member of parliament and leader

‘of the Communist Party during

the imprisonment of Rodney Arismendi, was arrested on Oc- tober 24, 1974.

Since that time, he has under- gone severe tortures, been trans- ferred from prison to prison. His friends and comrades have raised real fears for his life. Last seen by his wife during a brief visit, Perez looked thin, old and extremely weak. Dressed in the same dirty, torn clothes he wore five months

. JAIME PEREZ

before, he bore signs of the tre- mendous physical and psycholog- ical suffering he was enduring.

‘ Jaime Perez is 48 years of age. He became active in trade unions at the age of 12, working in the leather trades. In the unions and later in the Communist Party, Perez’s work was of increasing in- tensity. He was elected to local municipal government in 1954.

The same year he became a member of the Central Commit- tee of the Uruguayan Communist Party and Party leader in the capi- tal, Montevideo. In 1961, during an attack by fascists on the Par- ty’s headquarters, Perez was se- verely stabbed and hovered near death for several days.

In 1971, with the establishment of the popular front (Frente Amplio) Jaime Perez was elected to the national parliament after having served 17 years in local government. In that capacity he spoke out against the growing trend to the right and the rise of fascism.

It was natural, therefore, that Jaime Perez, Communist leader and people’s representative, was among the first arrested by the junta. The international campaign to secure the release of this Uruguayan patriot, as it secured the release of Arismendi,

‘continues. ~

CARIBBEAN COMMUNIST PARTIES MEET ON LIBERATION

HAVANA — Communist and Workers’ Parties of the Caribbean met here recently and in a joint statement issued May 4 noted “a growing tendency toward socialism which has been victoriously man- ifested on the African continent and also expressed in the Caribbean.”

Parties represented were the Communist Party of Cuba, the Guadeloupe CP, People’s Progressive Party of Guyana, the Unified Party of Haitian Communists, Martinique Communist Party, Puerto

’ Rican Communist Party and the Dominican Communist Party. The CP

of Venezuela took part as an observer.

‘DIFFERENT LAWS FOR RICH AND POOR NEW YORK — The U.S. Communist Daily World commented editorially on the contrast betwetn the treatment of Patty Hearst whois free on $6,000 bail on kidnapping, terrorism and robbery charges and that of the Wilmington Ten who languished in jail (282 years combined sentences) on framed-up charges brought by witnesses who have since

admitted they lied.

“Judge Callister’s (Hearst’s judge) decision highlights the fact that in the U.S. the courts are rigged to favor the rich at the expense of the worker and the racially oppressed,’’ wrote the Daily World.

NEW USSR POPULATION FIGURES RELEASED

MOSCOW — At the beginning of 1977 the Soviet Union had a population of 257.9 million, according to a new edition of ‘‘Data About the USSR”’ published here. Seventy-five percent of the USSR’s people live in cities and 25% in rural areas. Moscow is the largest city with 7,819,000. Leningrad has a population of 4,425,000; Kiev, 2,079,000; Tashkent, 1, 689,000. Baku, Gorky, Kuibyshev, Minsk, Novosibirsk, Odessa, Omsk, Sverdlovsk, Tbilisi and a number of other cities have

over one million.

’ ISRAELI RIGHT WING WINS IN NATIONAL VOTE

TEL-AVIV — The right wing Likud party won 41 seats in the new parliament upsetting the 29-year rein by the scandal-ridden Labor Party. Led by Menahem Begin, the Likud party campaigned on the slogan ‘‘not one inch’’ of occupied lands will be returned. With incom- plete returns in, the standing is: Likud 41 seats; Labor Party 33; Democratic Movement for. Change 14; National Religious Party 12; Communist Party 6; Agudat Israel 3; United'Arab List 1; Shlomzion party 2; Flatto-Sharon 2; Shelli party 2 and Civil Rights Movement 1 Reaction from neighboring Arab states was swift: Syrian and Iraqi radio both called Begin a ‘‘notorious terrorist who advocates the , : : establishment of a greater Israel at the expense of Arab territory’ "= He communist construction outlined has jong advocated the annexation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip together with their population of one million Palestinian Arabs.

ABOR ™ BRIEF

‘OVERTIME LAW CHANGED IN MAN.

WINNIPEG — A bill restricting the use of compulsory overtime to emergencies, or where it is written into an agreement, was read for the second time in the Manitoba legislature last week after a sharply divided NDP caucus debate.

Manitoba Federation of Labor president Nels Thibeault welcomed the bill as far as it goes in introduc- ing the concept of voluntary over- time into law, but indicated the MEL would continue pressing for a complete ban on overtime in collec- tive bargaining legislation.

PSAC HITS GOVT. . WITH BAD FAITH

OTTAWA — The Public Serv- ice alliance of Canada last week charged the federal Treasury Board with negotiating in bad faith in refusing to move from its 6% wage-cutting guideline in con- tract talks with the PSAC’s 18,000 -member General Labor and Trades group.

The 125,000 member PSAC took its stand in the fact of the

federal .government’s hard headed determination to blud- geon the GLT’s with the wage- cutting legislation.

BELL WORKERS WILDCAT

MONTREAL — Reluctance by the leadership of the Communica- tions Union of Canada to release the details to its members of a con- tract settlement May 18, with Bell Canada has prompted walkouts by 350 of 470 operators here.

The strike which began May 10, with 45. operators walking out in Montreal has since spread, with 55 workers joining the protest in Chicoutimi, Quebec May 19.

RUBBER WORKERS VOTE TO STRIKE

KITCHENER — With a con- ciliation meeting planned for May 19, more than 1,270 members of the United Rubber Workers at Uniroyal Ltd., here voted last week to strike to back up their contract demands for a settlement in line with similar settlements in the rubber industry this year.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MAY 27, 1977—Page 9