oc REe eNNRPSEPTA I etmn EDITORIAL Canada is once again playing its junior partner role in the service of the U.S. by using five young Soviet soldiers to deal a new hand in the Cold War. The men who spent three years as the cap- tives of Afghan “contras” were brought to Canada through as yet unexplained channels and are being paraded around by their spon- sors, a concoction of right-wing Ukrainian and Russian emigre groups, as “witnesses” to atroc- ities by the Red Army in Afghanistan. It is of more than a little interest that the soldiers should be enlisted for this task now. _ Afghanistan has not been front page news in the mainstream press for some time. The media has been otherwise engaged with U.S. dealings in Central America and the Mideast. What better way to take the heat off than to launch another disinformation campaign about “Soviet Using the soldiers is not an isolated incident. _ Their appearance in Canada follows closely on the heels of fresh allegations — this time com- ing from Britain in the Jane Defence Weekly — that the Soviets are using chemical weapons in Afghanistan. The journal claims to have new evidence at ‘its disposal but doesn’t cite it, perhaps through fear that their “information” will be discre- dited, as similar allegations have been in the special United Nations Commission inves- tigating “proof” submitted by the U.S. State Department of alleged Soviet use of chemical weapons, has just brought down its findings labelling the charges false. Experts from Egypt, Kenya, Peru and the Philippines found that not a single U.S. claim could be substantiated. _ The UN’s conclusions are backed by a number of independent investigations. Ian McPherson, a New Zealand physician, repres- A new Cold War front enting the International Red Cross in Pakistan, said that members of the organization’s medi- cal team working along the Pakistani-Afghani border found absolutely no evidence indicating the use of chemical weapons against the muja- hidin, the U.S.-backed counter-revolutionary forces in Afghanistan. Also at a recent press conference in London, Dr. Alistair Hay from Leeds University, an expert in chemical pathology, accused the U.S. of falisfying samples in an attempt to accuse the Soviet Union of violating the 1972 Biological Convention. Chemical weapons are being used in Afghan- istan. It is not the Soviets who are using them, however. Earlier this year Afghan armed forces seized a number of chemical weapons made in the U.S., West Germany and Italy. In Herat Province, bandits used West Ger- man nine-millimetre calibre bullets charged with toxic agents. In the same province gre- nades filled with CS gas were seized. The gas will be familiar to Jane’s editors. British special- ists were the first to synthesize it. U.S. military officials will also be aware of the gas. It was used by them during the war against Vietnam where it was pumped into caves to kill civilians hiding from the bombings. Now grenades filled with this same gas are being thrown at Afghan schools, hospitals and cinemas. And in the tradition of Goebbels’ propaganda, the victims are turned into the perpetrators. There is another twist to these events. They coincidentally all take place within two weeks of the United Nations General Assembly pass- ing a resolution prohibiting the use and devel- opment of chemical weapons. The United States, Canada and Britain voted against the resolution. eS I SAB ATH SB Editor — SEAN GRIFFIN Assistant Editor — DAN KEETON Business & Circulation Manager — MIKE PRONIUK Graphics — ANGELA KENYON Published weekly at 2681 East Hastings Street Vancouver, B.C. V5K 1Z5 Phone (604) 251-1186 Subscription Rate: Canada — $16 one year; $10 six months Foreign — $25 one year; Second class mail registration number 1560 W:; all become familiar with the road to peace would be much smoother policies and pronouncements of the big business community’s favorite far- right think tank, the Fraser Institute. In fact, we became uncomfortably familiar with the institute when, after advising former Socred premier Bill Bennett and his cabinet, its policies found their most potent manifestation in the infamous 27 | bills of ham-fisted legislation imposed on | the province back in the summer of 1983. Whether it’s Michael Walker’s pseudo- } economic. dissections of rent controls or . _ fair wages, or Walter Block’s reactionary | views on affirmative action or fighting _ sexual harassment in the workplace, the Fraser Institute through its publications and newspaper columns has injected some | of the most reactionary venom into the Canadian political and economic debate. Not to rest contentedly on its laurels, the institute is now eyeing the interna- tional scene. As might be expected, it’s found suitable subject matter in the ques- - tion of South Africa and the continued call for sanctions against the white. racist regime that rules and oppresses the nation’s 23 million blacks. In doing so, it’s featuring — in speak- _ ing engagements in Vancouver and Toronto — Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, head of the KwaZulu “homeland” in South Africa and one of the country’s chief black apologists for apartheid. While claiming support for “gradual” reforms in _ a nation long-overdue for a reckoning of justice, Buthelezi vehemently opposes the People and issues That thought occurred to us when W main liberation groups of South Africa, the African National Congress and the Uni- ted Democratic Front. Anti-apartheid activists in Canada are planning a response. A demonstration in Vancouver is planned to coincide with Buthelezi’s address at 12 noon, Friday, Dec. 5, outside the Hotel Vancouver. In Toronto, activists there will protest his talk on Dec. 8, which is also sponsored by the Fraser Institute in an apparent attempt to extend its influence beyond B.C.’s boun- daries. Vancouver anti-apartheid activists are also hosting a public meeting on Thurs- day, Dec. 4, in the Charles Tupper high school auditorium. Beginning .at 7:30 p.m., the meeting’s speakers include Peter Mahlangu of the South African Congress of Trade Unions, B.C. Federation of Labor secretary Cliff Andstein, Native leader George Manuel and Rev. Tom Anthony. * * * he latest $100-million aid package from the U.S. Reagan administration to the counter-revolutionary gangsters seeking to topple the popular Sandinista government of Nicaragua — and the latest revelations of the arms-to-Iran scandal that money from the sales were ploughed into further aid for the contras — make it highly unlikely that the residents of the beleaguered Central American nation will have the merriest of Christmases. But countering these developments are, as ever, the international aid Nicaraguans receive from friendly sources. Locally, we're pleased to report, the Coalition for Aid to Nicaragua — which runs_ the annual Tools for Peace campaign — is planning its third yearly “Nica-Noel.” The Latin Christmas festival this year is concentrating on procuring donations to meet the objectives of six Nicaraguan national projects. They’re asking for items such as pencils, blankets, antiseptics, sani- tary napkins, boots and hammers. The festival includes children’s events begin- ning at 6 p.m., followed by performers and a dance, and is at the Ukrainian Hall, 805 E. Pender St., on Saturday, Dec. 6. Tickets cost $5, with children admitted free. For . further information, phone Tools for Peace at 879-7216. * * * ultural and other exchanges between socialist and non-socialist countries are one of the finest things we can think of to counter Cold-War sentiments and pro- paganda. And we think that if the media in Canada approached the subject the way the press in the socialist world does, the pursued a recent issue of the weekly En lish language version of the Cuban dail Granma. It contains two articles that de cribe in positive terms a visit to Cuba b representatives of the Canadian Confel ence of Catholic Bishops and recent cultt ral contacts between Canada and Cuba. In relating the visit of Canadian bishop Bernard Hubert, James M. Hayes ani Denis Robitaille, the paper notes a ke, purpose of the trip was to “strengthe! co-operation ties beteen the two bishop’ conferences.” In the cultural article, Canadian ambas sador to Cuba, Michael Kergin, is quote as remarking that “the relations bet Canada and Cuba are an important b of a broader relationship and greatt understanding” between the two cou tries. The ambassador cited several e ples, including visits to Cuba by gu Liona Boyd, the publication of novels authors Anne Hebert and Gabrielle Ro Cuba, visits to Canada by Cuban cult minister Armando Hart and a recent ing post by Cuban ballet artist Alonso at the Banff school of fine arts- We note that not only are Canadia not regularly apprised of such cultuf exchanges; they seldom see them P ented in their most positive light. An¢ think that if that situation was reve the sabre-rattling of Canada’s © warriors would find little sympathy.