@ workers and peasants.

;

entral Committee of the slovak Communist Party Prague last week and re- Alexander Dubcek as Secretary of the Party Gustav Husak, who was cretary in the Slovak

elected a new 11 mem- dium. The members of ¥ Presidium are first sec- Gustav Husak, Premier President Svoboda, Na- Front chairman Evzen Trade Union Council an Karel Polacek, Slo- remier Stefan Sadovsky, Party leader Lubomir il, Vasil Bilka, Peter Co- Alexander Dubcek and

announced that the of the Communist Party’s baper Rude Pravo Iiri Sek- d resigned and was re- by Miroslav Moc. Central Committee _is- Statement in which it ® party has gone through if the deepest political and that it was “neces- reconstruct the exec- Odies of the party so that omings should not hue to occur in ensuring implementation of resolu- “0nS of the Central Committee.” | It appealed to the Czechoslo- vak People to understand that Me decisions of the Central Committee were aimed at better ‘ tation of policy adopt- ‘St the Party’s 13th Congress

Toad upon which we em- in January 1968 met Oval and support not Our Party but among the Public.

Overwhelming majority people welcomed and ap- d the initiative of the ist Party in carrying pen criticism of past °S and making efforts to

.

e desire to over-

' ? al — Oe "4 ‘ ft : J od a: . tel ee EE edb ysl

“| ‘old Vietnamese girl works at her machine, people struggle heroically for peace.

|

come the many contradictions that had accumulated in the Party and in society and parti- cularly the prospect of solving the problems of further Social- ist development, activated the healthy forces of our nations, sincerely devoted to the ideas of Socialism.

“At the same time, however, there appeared various opposi- tion trends which, abusing de- mocratic freedoms and advanc- ing various pseudo-radical and demagogic slogans, tried to achieve not the development but the disintegration of Socialist society.

“Political crises occurred more and more often, exhausting not only the forces of the Party but of the whole of society, which was kept in a state of constant tension, unrest and uncertainty.

“We believe that this situa- tion cannot be tolerated any longer. If the Party is to carry. out what it set before the peo- ple early last year and to achieve the objectives formulat- ed in the November resolution, it is necessary to go over from correct decisions to resolute actions.”

The Central Committee appeal said that it was these considera- tions that governed its decision to make changes in the Party leadership and organizational changes.

It was Mr. Alexander Dubcek himself who submitted these proposals to the Central Com- mittee on behalf of the Party Presidium and asked to be re- lieved of his position as Party first secretary.

“We are firmly resolved,” it said, ' “to implement the post- January political line, expressed in the program documents of the Party, primarily, in the Novem- ber resolution.

“We reject political duplicity and the desire to revise the Len- inist character of our Party as the militant vanguard of the working class.

- *s

* a 7 nes hal , producing welding rods. The indomitable Viet- ¢ They long to work in peace, to rebuild their war-torn Canadian labor by pressing forward in united actions will help win peace for Vietnam, and complicity of the Canadian government in the U.S. war of aggression against the brave Viet-

e

_Husak elected: Party oves from words to deeds

“We are aware that we shall be able to strengthen our peo- ple’s confidence in the Commu- nist Party, to rid our life gradu- ally of uncertainty, not by wav- ering, not by concessions or by borrowing alien ideology, but by ps oe aay resolute leader- ship.”

In his statement on Thursday night over radio and television, Dr, Husak declared: “Our policy will remain based, even in the future, on the post-January policy, the democratic process of our society as defined in last

November’s Central Committee’

resolution.”

Dr. Husak said that one of the reasons why questions had not been solved so far was lack of unity in the leadership and in the leading organs of the Party and State.

He added that another rea- son for the steps taken now was that half measures had been taken in the past, coupled with inconsistency and _ insufficient overcoming of internal differenc- es in the Party and in society.

“Because of internal political struggles which have been go- ing on in this country for so long, we have been unable to get around to implementing the positive program of our Party, above all to the solution of urg- ent economic and social prob- lems.

“Some people fear whether the deliberations of the Central Committee or the election of a new leadership does not mean a reversal in the policy of the State.

“TI can assure you all that the new leadership of the Party, just as the former Party leadership, follows no such aim, and will not do so, nor will I nor anyone in the Party leadership consent to anything like that.

“We are not giving up any of the great ideals which entered public life last year.”

Make C anada

nuclear free

“Public pressure finally com- pelled the Trudeau government to decide on a ‘phased and con- trolled’ withdrawal of Canadian troops from NATO while leav- ing open the vital question of when and how many troops are to be withdrawn,” William Kash- tan, leader of the Communist Party stated this week.

In a statement for the Central Executive of the Party, Kashtan went on to say:

“Even this. timid first step of intent, not of action, is now under attack by the West Ger- man, British and United States governments who fear it might become contagious and stimu- late similar measures by other NATO members. It is equally un- der attack by powerful interests in Canada who are tied to the U.S. war machine.

“The Washington-Bonn Axis in NATO want more not less Can- adian troops in NATO,” he said. “They want Canada to increase, not decrease its military and defense expenditures. They want Canada tied to the NATO mili- tary alliance indefinitely. They dispute the sovereign right of Canada to withdraw from it. Their immediate aim is to com- pel the Government to retreat from its declared position.

“An aroused public opinion can defeat these aims and force the Government to go beyond vague declarations of intent to the actual withdrawal of Can- adian troops from NATO.

“The Trudeau Government,” said Kashtan, “is trying to cre- ate the pretence that it is mov- ing towards an independent foreign policy by the decision

‘in principle,’ to withdraw troops back to Canada.

“This completely misrepre- sents the facts. ;

“Whether Canadian troops are stationed here or in West Ger- many, Canada will still remain in the: NATO military alliance

and committed to its policies. Canada will have no sovereignty or independence of action as long as this is so. Prime Minis- ter Trudeau admitted as much. The Communist Party said that 20 years ago when Canada joined the NATO alliance.”

The statement goes on, “The Government now proposes to transfer these troops to NORAD. To do so, however, is like get-, ing out of the frying pan and into the fire. It will increase Canada’s dependence upon the U.S.A. and subordinate it to U.S. imperialist aims, sweetened tn, by a so-called continental de-- fense policy of which the ABM system may be a part. Contin- ental defense in reality is a noose around the neck of Can- ada which U.S. imperialism will tighten to undermine Canada’s: sovereignty and independence.

“The alternative to NATO is

not NORAD but a truly inde- pendent foreign policy. The Communist Party believes such a policy could include the fol- lowing:

e “Instead of the withdrawal of some troops from West Ger- many in the far distant future, all Canadian troops should be withdrawn from NATO as quick- ly as possible, demobilized and given useful work in an expand-

Canadian economy. those troops should be retained that are adequate to the defense of the sovereignty of Canadian territories. The real threat to Canada’s sovereignty comes from one source only—U.S. im- perialism. To pretend otherwise is to close one’s eyes to reality.

e “Instead of considering Can- adian territory an essential part of the Pentagon’s ‘expendable’ territory, an integral part of an ABM system which accelerates the nuclear arms race and threatens Canada’s survival, the Canadian Government should de- clare Canada a nuclear free zone,

guaranteed by the U.S.A. and’

the U.S.S.R., and call for the scrapping of the ABM system.

e Canada should withdraw from NATO and NORAD, adopt a position of military non-align- ment and work for the dissolu- tion of all military blocs. Cam ada’s security lies in an .istter- national détente, in support of an all European Security Pact and in nuclear disarmament, not in being a sandwich, to be gob- bled up by the U.S.A.

e “The defense budget should be cut by at least 50 percent as part-of the urgent task of lifting the onerous burden of taxes on the Canadian people, and be fitted into an overall democratic reform. of the taxation system. Priority in spending should be given to solving the housing crisis, ensuring health and edu- cation for all Canadians, and getting at the war against pov- erty.”

Mr. Kashtan continued, “The Communist Party believes such. a four point program would Strengthen Canadian sovereign- ty and independence and make it an effective force for peace in the world.

“The Communist Party ap- peals to the NDP, the trade union and farm movements, wo- men and youth, all peace move- ments, to unite their efforts to win a foreign and defense poli- cy such as this for our country.

"It is not Prime Minister Tru- deau with his sham change,” Kashtan concludes, “but the

Canadian people, if united, who -

can win such a policy for Can- ada, and by winning it buttress the sovereignty, independence and security of our country.”

“Communist Party's new executive --_‘The central office of the Communist Party announced _ ‘the members of its Central Executive Com-

at the first meeting of its 51-member Cen-

- The Executive Committee members are: W. Beeching, Regina; T. Buck, Toronto; M. Cohen, Toronto; D. Currie, \. Dewhurst, Toronto; N. Freed, Toronto; G.

| Harris, Toronto; H. Hunter, Hamilton; W. Kashtan, Toron- ‘Magnuson, Toronto; W. Stewart, Toronto; J. Walsh,

mittee electe tral C

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—APRIL 25, 1969—Page 13