Olympic boycott
call a gimmick to

re-elect Carter

By ALD. HARRY RANKIN

I think the efforts being made by
president Carter to move or boycott
the world Olympics scheduled for
Moscow this summer are not only
unrealistic, they’re irresponsible.

I get the feeling that we’re being
manipulated by the U.S. State De-

_partment and the media, that we’re

being brainwashed, that we’re the
victims of a gigantic propaganda
campaign which has two major
aims — the re-election of president
Carter and an intensified arms race
and a return to the cold war which
would be very profitable for the
military-industrial complex that
dominates the U.S. but which re-
ceived some setbacks after the war
in Vietnam. :

I get the same feeling when I hear
our external affairs minister, Flora
MacDonald, try to frighten us by
saying a third world war is immi-
nent. And Joe Clark’s and. Flora
MacDonald’s haste in saying “‘me
too’’ to everything that Carter says,
gives me the same feeling that we’re
being used.

Cutting off trade in wheat and

ek

HARRY RANKIN. . “victims of a
gigantic propaganda campaign.”

other goods with the Soviet Union,
or boycotting the Olympics in Mos-
cow, isn’t going to change Soviet
foreign policy or its action with re-
gard to Afghanistan. :

But to get back to the Olympics.
If they are not held in Moscow this
summer, that will be the end of
world Olympics. Is that what Carter
wants?

Most countries of the world, and
most athletes in the world, favor
and support world Olympics. They
also believe that the Olympics
should not be made into a political
football. International crises of one
kind or another will continue, of
that we may be sure. This time the
Soviet Union and Afghanistan are
in the headlines; next time it may be
U.S. military actions in the Middle
East. Must the Olympics be put in
jeopardy each time?

The worid Olympics is not a gov-
ernment institution, even though
governments do and should support
their national athletes. The Olymp-
ics are primarily a sports forum
where we have keen competition
among the best athletes in. the
world. They are thrilling not only
for the participants, but for all who
enjoy sports and who appreciate ex-
cellence.

In addition to that, in this troubl-
ed world, always faced with the
danger of war, it is one avenue of
peace where athletes from all coun-
tries, no matter what their political
ideology, may get together, com-
pete, share experience, and form

friendships.

This time they’re being held in
Moscow. From all reports the prep-.
arations have been thorough and all
facilities will be ready on time. Our
own athletes have trained hard and
long for this chance. Let’s send
them and give them our full sup-
port.

‘Trained too long not

to go, say

Continued from page 1

Olympians

Jones-Konihowski told a Province

winner of a 1976 Olympics bronze - reporter from New Zealand that she

medal, said Thursday..

‘‘Training is not a trivial matter,
like Clark assumes,’’ runner Peter
Spir said. ‘‘It takes an incredible
amount of energy.’’ He added that
he had given up a year of education,
the year in which he would have
received his degree, to train. ‘‘I
didn’t work so I lost financially as
well.”’ ;

Like many Canadian athletes,
Spir sacrificed days and months to
prepare for what is a once in a
lifetime opportunity. Not being
able to go, he said, ‘‘would mess up
my life.’’

Kern also gave up time and
money and energy in her prepara-
tions. “‘I don’t have much money so
if the government withdraws finan-
cial support for athletes in training,
as Clark has threatened to do, then
my efforts will be undermined.”’

A participant in the Com-
monwealth and Pan American
Games, Kern noted that the Olym-
pics, like other international meets,
generate ‘‘understanding and com-
radeship’’ among athletes from all
over the world. ‘‘Training together
with one goal in mind draws you
closer together.”’

Seasoned athlete and gold
medalist in the pentathlon in the
1978 Commonwealth Games and
the 1979 Pan Am Games, Diane

is continuing training for what she
hopes will be a gold medal in
Moscow.

While athletes expressed differing
views about the Afghanistan crisis,
they were in general agreement that

the Olympics should not be moved, -

boycotted or cancelled.

“I don’t support the boycott,”
Canada’s swimming coach said
bluntly.

Canadian athletes have also seen
some American athletes as well as
U.S. representatives on the Interna-
tional Olympics Committee voice
their opposition — in the face of
Carter’s massive campaign.

Julian Roosevelt, U.S. represen-
tative on the IOC, said in an inter-
view with the Daily World that he
rejected Carter’s proposal for a
world boycott of the Games.

He accused Carter of attempting
to use U.S. athletes ‘‘as pawns in
the faltering international chess
game.

“It disturbs me a great deal that
politicians and our so-called leaders
in Washington must so openly ad-
mit defeat — politically,
diplomatically, and militarily —
and call upon the Olympic move-
ment, which has been a force for
the good in the world for over 80
years, through two world wars, to
pull their fat out of the fire.”

4

TASS PHOTO—GEORGI NADEZHDIN

Political prisoners arrested during the Amin regime greet their relatives following their release

under the amnesty instituted by Karmal.

Karmal gov't ‘reaffirming

By JIM SMITH

LOS ANGELES (PW). — The
new government of Babrak Kar-
mal is being hailed by the vast ma-
jority of Afghans as a giant step
forward for the national
democratic revolution that began
April 27, 1978, says Mohammad
Zarif, a leader of Democratic
Youth and Students of Afghanis-
tan interviewed here last week.

Karmal, who was the nation’s

best known and most popular .

Marxist during the long struggle
to overthrow the monarchy and
after that, the right-wing regime
of Mohammad Daoud, was nam-
ed President by Afghanistan’s rev-
olutionary council Dec. 27, 1979.

Karmal replaced Hafizullah
Amin, whose brutally repressive
rule had alienated large sectors of
the revolutionary forces in the
country. Instead of broadening
the base of the revolution, said

’ Zarif, Amin had sought a repress-

ive solution to all problems and

had jailed members of the central”

committee of his own party, the
People’s Democratic Party.

Upon assuming power, Karmal
had to deal immediately with the
deteriorating military situation.
An international band of counter-
revolutionary forces led by. Paki-
stani, Egyptian and Saudi soldiers
were in control of five provinces.
Contrary to U.S. mass media re-
ports, the invasion armies are €x-
ceedingly well armed with the lat-
est sophisticated weaponry from
the United States and China.

Training and supply bases for
the CIA directed counterrevolu-
tionaries are being maintained in
Pakistan and Sinkiagn Province,
China. In addition, approximately
2,000 Iranian secret police agents
(SAVAK) have been operating in
Afghanistan since the overthrow
of the Shah forced them to flee
Iran.

In the face of this gang-up
against the revolution, the govern-
ment asked for and received mili-
tary assistance from the Soviet
Union.

The vicious attacks on Babrak
Karmal in the U.S. media are
nothing new, said Zarif in an in-
terview here this week. As an Out-
spoken Communist who was elect-
ed to the House of representatives
under the monarchy, Karmal con-
stantly drew attacks, both verbal
and physical, from reactionaries.

Zarif was present in April,
1966, when Karmal was physically
beaten on the floor of the Na~-
tional Congress by supporters of
the monarchy. His head was frac~
tured and he would have been
beaten to death except for the in~
tervention of his supporters in~
cluding Zarif. Dr. Anahita, one of
the leading women in the Party
was also attacked and had to be
rescued.

Even after the revolution, Kar~
mal continued to be the focus of
public attacks because of his wide
popularity and consistent Marxist
approach. This time, however, the

attacks were directed by Hafi-

zullah Amin.

The Parcham, which united
with the Khalgq in 1977 to form the
People’s Democratic Party, was
led by Karmal and was one of the
leading forces in the establishment
of the republic. Orginally, three
Parcham members were ministers
of Daoud’s government. How-
ever, Daoud failed to follow
through with democratic reforms
and instead began moving toward
the right. :

Daoud was overthrown by a
mass protest over the murder of
Mir Akbar Khaibar, the popular
leader of the underground trade
unions and a:leader of the Par-
cham. He was assassinated by a
gang linked to Daoud’s secret po-
lice, the Masuniet Melly. At his
funeral April 21, 1978, Karmal
spoke to 40,000 people, the largest
gathering in the history of Af-
ghanistan.

Daoud responded by arresting
the entire central committee of

revolution’'—student leader

mal had returned or that anything
was amiss.

It was also a majority decision
of the central committee to make
the request for Soviet assistance to
defend the revolution.

That decision has wide support
among the people of Afghanistan,
says Zarif. Afghanistan and the
Soviet Union have enjoyed friend-
ly relations for many years.

At a news conference in Kabul
Jan. 11, Karmal was asked if and
when Soviet troops would leave
the country. He responded, ‘‘they
will leave any time we ask.’’

Zarif, who is planning to return
to Afghanistan within a few
weeks, believes that the Afghan
government, with Soviet assist-
ance, will completely rout the
counter-revolutionary forces by
the time he returns. The only real
opposition within the country
comes from feudal landlords
whose land has been given to the
peasants who work it.

Contrary to reports in this

AFGHANISTAN

the People’s Democratic Party in-
cluding Karmal, Taraki and
Amin. When rumors spread that
they would all be executed, the
party’s supporters in the military
moved against Daoud. The new
revolutionary council named Tar-
aki president and Karmal vice-
president.

Within two months, Amin, then
the foreign minister, launched a
concerted attack on Karmal that
threatened to split the party.
Wishing to avoid a split, Karmal
and some of his supporters left the
country to become ambassadors.
Without Karmal’s presence in the
government, Amin’s drive for
power was practically unchecked.

In September, when Taraki re-
turned from the non-aligned con-
ference in Cuba, he was arrested
by Amin and later killed. Amin
then directed a newspaper and
radio campaign against Karmal,
calling him at various times, a
monarchist and an agent of
Daoud.

Apparently not too many Af-
ghans bought the stories if Kar-.
mal’s present level of popular sup-
port is any indication. Since be-
coming head of government, he
has pursued a policy of ‘‘going to
the people’ to support the revolu-
tion.

In public, Karmal has sought to
reverse the damage done to the
revolution by Amin. He has
released nearly all prisoners in the
country and has given assurances
to all groups violations of their
liberties under Amin will not reoc-
cur.

Karmal had secretly entered the
country three weeks before Dec.
27 and met with the central com-
mittee of the People’s Democratic
Party which then voted to remove
Amin. During the whole time,
Amin had no knowledge that Kar-

country, most of the Moslem
clergy is strongly in support.of the
new government. ‘‘Only a few re-
ligious leaders who are among the
wealthy are against the
revolution,”’ he said.
Afghanistan, which is about the
size of Texas and has a population
of 17 million, is overwhelmingly
rural. Until the revolution, about
80 per cent of the population lived
in feudal conditions. Less than

two per cent of the population

owned giant estates of thousands
of acres while millions of peasants
grew up, lived their 40 years life
expectancy and died without ever
leaving the estate on which they
were born.

The industrial working class has
greatly increased in size over the
last few years thanks in large part
to aid from the Soviet Union. Be-
fore the revolution, textile, build-
ing material, petrochemical, steel
and auto assembly workers had no
right to organize.

One of the first decrees. of the
revolution was to abolish the bri-
dal price that made women ob-
jects to be bought and sold. Now,
instead of being sold to a husband

for from $500 to $20,000 only a 25 -

cent fee must be paid to the gov-
ernment for a license. Women
have also won the right to divorce
their husbands.

Women workers won the right
to equal pay for equal work and
are benefiting from child care cen-
tres being established where they
work, said Zarif.

An end to massive unemploy-
ment and 80 per cent illiteracy was
begun when 20,000 unemployed
youth were sent to all parts of the
country to teach basic reading
skills. A number -of these volun-
teers were brutally murdered by
the U.S. supported ‘‘freedom
fighters,’’ he said.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FEBRUARY 1, 1980—Page 3