19 Per 90 The International Journalist IQJ 4 THIRD CONGRESS OF THE IOJ J. Hronek: IOJ Between its Second and Third Congress.. D. Zaslavsky: IOJ- Organization of All Honest Journalists A. Kahn: Mass Production of War Propaganda. A. Grodzicki: War Propaganda in the Press. Gee Sek Bok: Fighting Korean Press J. M. Hermann: Material and Legal Situation of Journalists L. Barnier: Radio Journalists R. Petera: Problems of the Catholic Press 7 14 .. 18 21 28 50 54 Congress Reports on the Press of Albania, Algeria, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Dakar, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Mongolia, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Rumania, South Africa, Spain, USA, USSR and Vietnam Resolutions of the Third IOJ Congress The New IOJ Constitution 164 168 19 Per 90 R: Index Ae St: Gesch.d. Zochs. S. 12 222 DEUTSCH STAATSBIBLIOTHEK, BERLIN 24 No. 4 Prague, November 1950 Editor- in- Chief: JIŘÍ HRONEK, Secretary General of IOJ Managing Editor: DR. JOSEF KLÁNSKÝ, Secretary of IOJ ADDRESS OF THE IOJ: PRAGUE 3, LÜTZOWOVA 5, CZECHOSLOVAKIA ( ZD THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNALIST review published in English, Russian, French and German BY THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF JOURNALISTS DEMOCRATIC JOURNALISTS IN THE STRUGGLE FOR PEACE The Third Congress of the International Organization of Journalists is meeting at a time when the American imperialists, continuing their mad arms race, transformed the" cold war" into open aggression in Korea. Over the world hangs the threat of a new world war, prepared in the imperialist camp. Capitalist journalists, those faithful lackeys of Wall Street and the City, vie in aiding their masters to kindle a new war. With the foulest fascist methods they carry on an unbridled struggle against the democratic Press. Progressive journalists in capitalist countries are exposed to cruel persecution. Governments, subservient to capital, close down papers which stand for peace, and throw honest journalists into prison. The Congress considers that in present- day conditions the most important task of the International Organization of Journalists, of its national organizations, of all democratic journalists, is active participation in the movement of the Partisans of Peace. Acting on the resolutions of the previous Congress in Prague and according to the Constitution of the International Organization of Journalists, democratic journalists are called on to strengthen in every way the struggle against the instigators of a new war, against the propaganda for war in the Press, radio, cinema, literature, against war propaganda in any form. All those who spread war propaganda must be judged as warmongers, as war criminals. 2 Democratic Journalists in the Struggle for Peace The Congress charges the Executive Committee and the Secretariat with the preparation of the necessary materials and with organizing the publication in the Press and broadcasting on the radio and blacklists of warmongers. The democratic Press must become a mighty weapon of the progressive forces for a lasting and enduring peace, against imperialist reaction. The Congress considers the fight for peace a matter of honour and conscience for the honest journalist. Progressive journalists are called on at the present time, while not ceasing the struggle for the abolition of the atomic weapon, to carry on an energetic battle against any sort of arms race, for arms reduction, against all preparations for a new war. At this time when the attention of all progressive mankind is riveted on the events in Korea and the struggle of the Vietnamese people against the colonizers, the slogan " Hands off Korea and Vietnam" must be the fighting slogan of all honest journalists. The Congress expresses its decisive protest against the American aggression in Korea, against the inhuman bombardment of civil populations by American aircraft and appeals to all democratic Press workers to come forward actively in defence of the liberty- loving Koreans. The Congress addresses itself to the Security Council with a proposal for resolving as a legal body the Korean question in a peaceful manner. The Congress is convinced that in the future the progressive journalists will be in the front ranks of the army of many millions of active fighters for peace. The forces of peace and democracy, headed by the USSR, great and mighty, daily grow. The primary task of the progressive Press is the strengthening and increasing of these forces. The Congress appeals to all organizations to participate actively in the preparation of the Second Congress of the Partisans of Peace. The Third Congress of the International Organization of Journalists addresses to all journalists to whom the matter of peace is dear, the appeal: Close the ranks of the fighters for a lasting peace, peace throughout the world! ( Resolution of the Third IOJ Congress, adopted unanimously.) 3 THIRD CONGRESS OF THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF JOURNALISTS The third Congress of the International Organization of Journalists was attended by 62 delegates and guests from the following countries: Soviet Union, Poland, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, Albania, China, Democratic German Republic, France, Republican Spain, Vietnam, Czechoslovakia, Mongolian People's Republic, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Austria, Great Britain, United States, Nigeria, Holland, Italy, Algeria, Cyprus, Finland, Iran, West Africa, South- African Union, Korea, Belgium. In addition representatives of the following international democratic organizations took part: World Congress of the Partisans of Peace, World Federation of Trade Unions, World Federation of Democratic Youth, World Federation of Democratic Women and International Union of Students. On September 15 at eight a. m. the Executive Committee of the 107 met. It was resolved to recommend that the Congress approve the actions of the Secretariat and receive the Union of Vietnamese Journalists into the IOJ. The Executive Committee also worked out the following order of business: 1. Opening ceremonies 2. Report of the General Secretary and discussion. 3. Review and discussion of the tasks of democratic journalists in the struggle for peace. 4. Report and discussion of the material and legal conditions of journalists in various countries. 5. Adoption of amendments to the regulations. 6. Receiving of resolutions. 7. Election of new officers. 8. Establishing the place of the next Congress. The opening ceremonies took place at 10 o'clock in the morning in the Helsinki workers' theater, with the Finnish Prime Minister Mr. Urho Kekonnen, Minister of Education Mr. Lennard Heljas, Chairman of the Parliamentary fraction of People's Democratic Deputies Mrs. Herta Kuusinen, a representative of the Press Section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and numerous other guests in attendance. The Secretary General of the IOJ, Mr. Jiří Hronek, welcomed those present in the name of the 107 and thanked the Finnish Government for the aid offered in organizing the Congress. Editor- in- chief Mr. Mauri Ryömä, in the name of Finnish progressive journalists, greetted the Congress. The following were elected to the Presidium of the Congress: Mr. David Zaslavsky, Mr. Jean Maurice Hermann, Mr. Wu Wen Tao, Mr. Josef Kowalczyk, Mr. Paavo Kivikoski and Mr. Jiří Hronek. With this the opening ceremonies came to an end. The Congress continued at 11:00 under the chairmanship of David Zaslavsky. First the agenda and order of the day were adopted. Then Secretary General Hronek made his report which had previously been distributed to the delegates. The chairman then suggested the creation of the following committees: Organizations, Constitution, Resolutions, and Mandates Committees. The creation of the committees and the appointment of members were unanimously adopted. The Organizations Committee withdrew for its first meeting. Then Mr. Murto, General Secretary of the Central Office of the Building Workers Union, greeted the Congress in the name of the World Federation of Trade Unions. Anna Lisa Mantikoski welcomed the Congress in the name of the Interna 4 Third Congress of the International Organization of Journalists tional Federation of Democratic Youth. Following this Chairman of the French delegation J. M. Hermann proposed the acceptance of the Union of Vietnamese Journalists in the IOJ. This was unanimously approved. Then the debate on the Secretary General's report began with a speech of Chinese delegate Wu Wen Tao. The afternoon session opened at 14.00 o'clock with P. Kivikoski of Finland presiding. The French delegate Coin read greetings from the African journalist, Doudou Gueye, now imprisoned, whereupon the British delegate Sloan proposed that a telegram of greetings should be sent in reply. The proposal was approved and the telegram sent. Those who took part in the discussion were: Zaslavsky( USSR), Buckle( South Africa), and Tran Lam( Vietnam). The Congress was then adjourned and the delegates attended a reception which the Minister of Education gave in honour of the Congress. The second part of the afternoon session began at 17:45 with the Korean and Mongolian delegations present, for they had just arrived. Secretary General Hronek welcomed both delegations, whereupon a special welcome- amidst great enthusiasm- was given to the Korean delegation by the American journalist Wheeler. The Korean delegate Gee Sek- Bok, on the suggestion of the Czechoslovak delegation, was elected to the Presidium of the Congress. Those who participated in the ensuing discussion were: Kowalczyk( Poland), Sloan( Great Britain), Hu Ko- Chen, who read the report which Japanese journalists had sent to the Congress. Further speakers were: Barnier( France), Ryömä ( Finland), Stathatos( Cyprus) and Ikoro( Nigeria). The session adjourned at 20.00. In the evening the delegates attended a reception given by the mayor of Helsinki. The meeting of September 16 was opened at 9:00 with Wu Wen Tao( China) presiding. The Korean and Mongolian delegations submitted the request that their organizations be accepted as members of the 107. This the Congress demonstratively approved. Then followed discussion on the report of the Secretary General. Those who took part were: Appelt( Germany), and Ciocanu( Rumania). Vogli( Albania) submitted the report of the Mandates Committee, after which Helvi Laino greeted the Congress as a representative of the International Federation of Democratic Women. Those who took part in the discussion were: Khalfa( Algeria) and Sloan( Great Britain) who read the report on the Press in India. Then the following delegation of Finnish writers greeted the Congress: Elvi Ryömä. Aiti Backlund, Anja Vammelvuo and Jarmo Permanen- the last- named speaking for the delegation. The discussion was participated in by Carrel( France), after which the Congress was greeted by Vilma Bacaja representing the International Union of Students. With this the discussion of the Secretary General's report ended. After a short intermission, representatives of the Finnish youth welcomed the Congress. August Grodzicki( Poland) then reported on the tasks of democratic journalists in the struggle for peace. The afternoon session opened under the chairmanship of J. M. Hermann( France) at 14:30. The discussion was opened by Burkov( USSR), after which Zennström( Sweden) greeted the Congress in the name of the World Congress of Partisans of Peace. After Coin( France) had contributed to the discussion, the Congress was greeted by a delegation of Finnish workers: Gunnar Idman and Yrjö Makela. As the discussion continued the following speakers took part: Wu Wen Tao( China), Fiqri Vogli( Albania), G. Wheeler( USA), Alexieu( Bulgaria), Nguyen Anh Hong( Vietnam), Novikov( Rumania), Pellicani( Italy), Damidsouren( Mongolia). Then Secretary General Hronek read the message which had just been received that day from Albert Kahn, USA. The following participated in the ensuing discussion: Zajac( Czechoslovakia), Rak( Iran), Venéczi ( Hungary), Perk( German Democratic Republic), van Moerkerke( Belgium), Cherdantsev ( USSR). The discussion ended with the report of the Korean delegate, Gee Sek- Bok. The participants then gathered in a public demonstration sponsored by the Finnish Committee of the Partisans of Peace. Third Congress of the International Organization of Journalists 5 Those who spoke in the name of the IOJ at the demonstration were D. Zaslavsky, Desmond Buckle and Gee Sek- Bok. The session opened on September 17th at 9:35 under the chairmanship of Gee Sek- Bok, Korea. The report on the material and legal conditions of journalists was delivered by J. M. Hermann ( France), after which representatives of Finnish women greeted the Congress. Those who took part in the discussion were: Voicu( Rumania) and Pastore( Italy), after which delegates from the Finnish Pioneers greeted the session. Further participants in the discussion were: Stoikov( Bulgaria), Glaubauf( Austria), Striepukhov( USSR), Palmgren( Finland), Petera( Czechoslovakia), Otero Seco( Spain), and Mede( Iran). For lack of time the following relinquished their talks: Baruch( Holland), Andersen( Norway), Galinski( Poland), Bedel( France), and Sigurjensen ( Iceland). These remarks will be printed in the report in the same manner as if they had been delivered. The Congress sent a delegation to the Congress of the Finnish Partisans of Peace and Mr. Carrel of France greeted the Partisans of Peace in the name of the IOJ Congress. Committees met in the afternoon. The final session of the Congress was opened at 21:45 with J. Kowalczyk( Poland) presiding. First a delegation of the Finnish Partisans of Peace greeted the Congress- Elvi Sinervo speaking for them. Then J. Klánský submitted the financial report, which was unanimously accepted. Burkov ( USSR) submitted the proposal of the Resolutions Commission in regard to the work of the General Secretariat in the past and future. Sloan( Great Britain) suggested minor changes in the text. The resolution was unanimously accepted with the proposed changes. Then Burkov( USSR) submitted a resolution concerning democratic journalists in the struggle for peace. The resolution was unanimously accepted without change. Borowski( Poland) proposed a resolution on excluding the Union of Yugoslav Journalists from the IOJ, which was unanimously accepted. Carrel( France) submitted a resolution in regard to persecuted journalists and the establishment of a fund of internal solidarity of journalists. The resolution was unanimously accepted. Then J. Klánský submitted a resolution which charged the Secretariat General to make a study of the material and legal situation of journalists in various countries, further a resolution in regard to international exchange of reports on the political and economic situation as well as the position of the Press in various countries, a resolution which charged the Secretariat General with the systematic publication of an information bulletin and finally a resolution concerning the new arrangement for members' contributions. The resolutions were unanimously adopted without change. The chairman then proposed that a letter be sent to the Secretary General of the UNO, Trygve Lie, about Korea and a protest against depriving the 107 of an advisory voice in the Economic and Social Council. Both proposals were accepted unanimously and without change. Striepukhov( USSR) then read a proposal concerning new statutes, from which evolved a discussion participated in by Hermann( France), Sloan( Great Britain), Borowski( Poland), and Pastore ( Italy), who proposed certain changes in the regulations. The session accepted the proposal of the Committee on the Constitution with the proposed amendments. The session then proceeded to the election of officers. The Finnish delegate Ryömä proposed that J. M. Hermann of France be elected President of the IOJ. The proposal was unanimously adopted and J. M. Hermann was elected President for a period of two years. Elections were held for the same period for the vice- presidents, proposed in the name of several delegates by the Rumanian delegate Novikov. They were as follows: Konstantin Simonov( USSR), Hu Tsuo Mu( China), J. Kowalczyk( Poland), K. M. Rydberg( Finland), Doudou Gueye( West Africa). One place was left open for a representative of USA or Great Britain, which would be filled later. The proposal was adopted and the election of vice- presidents carried unanimously. On the proposal of the Korean delegate Gee Sek- Bok, Jiří Hronek was again chosen as Secretary General of the IOJ and the headquarters of the Secretariat General was established as Prague. The new President then said a few 6 Third Congress of the International Organization of Journalists words, in which he outlined the future tasks of the 107 and promised he would devote all his strength to this work. In the name of the French delegation he invited the IOJ to hold the next Congress in 1952 in Paris. The proposal was unanimously accepted. The Chairman of the session, J. Kowalczyk, read a congratulatory telegram from the organization of Finnish Lumber Workers. The Congress responded with a telegram of thanks for this greeting. In a final speech the chairman of the session thanked the Finnish organizers of the Congress, particularly Ontvoro Virtanen, Irja Hagfors, Vappa Janson, Margarete Romberg, Yrjö Kusmin, as well as Secretary General Hronek, and Secretary Klánský for their work. The meeting closed at 23:20. On September 18 at 11:00 the Executive Committee of the 107 met to act on concrete organizational tasks which resulted from the resolutions of the Congress. The Executive Committee also decided on an Editorial Board for the IOF quarterly. Jiří Hronek was appointed Editor- in- Chief, Dr. J. Klánský, Managing Editor. Members of the editorial board will be representatives of journalists of the Soviet Union, France and Germany. The President of IOJ will also be ex officio a member of the Editorial Board. pa ry 1235 8 8 a th k, SS on SECRETARY GENERAL J. HRONEK THE IOJ BETWEEN ITS SECOND AND THIRD CONGRESS 7 7- so f, a The Third Congress of the International Organization of Journalists is meeting more than three years after the second Congress which was held in Prague. It was originally to meet a year ago and then last spring, but it did not materialise for two reasons which are closely inter- related. The Belgian Union of Journalists, which was to be our host, upon the decision of its reactionary leadership, at the very last moment refused to arrange the Congress in Brussels. This refusal was closely connected with the endeavours, mainly Anglo- American, to break up the IOJ. Last spring, at the invitation of the French Union of Journalists we were preparing that the Congress be held in Paris. But here, too, the reactionary influences intervened, this time within the French Government which, without stating any reasons, refused to grant visas to a number of delegates including the Secretary General. It is obvious that it was on. the intervention of the American State Department that the French Government refused the visas, for neither the Americans nor the French Government had an interest in having honest journalists of the world meet on French soil and discuss what is to be done for the defence of peace, for the purity and honesty of the journalistic profession. The French Government was not interested in seeing journalists meet on French soil who do not serve monopolies and arms manufacturers, do not serve imperialist plotters of a new war, but serve the people and work for peace. Of course, it has already been said that the truth needs no visas to penetrate the iron curtain erected by the imperialists. Our truth, the truth which progressive and honest journalists are serving is penetrating and will penetrate the whole world. Now, on the invitation of our Finnish colleagues, to whom we owe cordial thanks, we are meeting here in Helsinki to discuss serious matters and to take grave decisions. Important events occurred in world politics in the last three years, events in which journalists had a considerable share. The world has split into two camps, the camp of warmongers who in the course of time turned 8 The IOJ Between its Second and Third Congress into plotters of a new war and now into aggressors- and the camp of peace- loving nations. On both sides the Press played a great part in this process. On one side, the Press which belongs to the people has become the great organizer of the struggle for peace. It awoke mankind to the danger of war, unmasked the plotters of a new war and greatly contributed to the fact that peace- loving humanity in hundreds of millions is rallying around the banner of the struggle for peace. On the other side, the Press which is owned by the monopolies has done everything to create an atmosphere of war hysteria and hatred among nations, an atmosphere in which mainly the American arms manufacturers are doing very well. We have been watching the activity of that Press, particularly in the United States, since 1946. We know that the real cause of that pernicious activity lies in the fact that the Press is, with negligible exceptions, in the hands of the Press monopolies. The monopolization of the Press in the United States has reached a high degree. The Press machine of the fascist Hearst includes 19 dailies, the INS news agency and two popular magazinės. The Press magnate, Howard, controls 19 dailies and the United Press agency. The multimillionaire McCormick- Patterson- Medill clan, with their corporate trusts, control the biggest American daily,( and one of the worst) the New York Daily News and the big and pathologically reactionary Chicago Tribune notorious for its defence of fascist organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan and persistent sponsor of General MacArthur for President. Among the most dangerous Press organs in America are the weekly magazines Time and Life, closely linked with the banking firm Morgan, as well as the Saturday Evening Post which is closely connected with the National Association of Manufacturers. Things have now gone so far that in twentyone big American cities there exist papers of only one Press trust. All those trusts are closely linked up with banking and industrial circles in the USA. They all are, naturally enough, and the American writer Seldes admits it, reactionary throughout. One witty American said that in America never did so many people know so little of world events as today. This is the truth but by no means the whole truth. Equally grave is the fact that the US Press- with the exception of the small percentage of progressive papers- is daily devoting its columns to warmongers. This Press is giving reports from abroad, and particularly from the Soviet Union and the People's Democracies, such an angle that the truth is always the sufferer. In its leading articles this Press is now quite openly instigating war. It does not inform the American citizen that the present US Government is leading him to the danger of war and misery, neither does it tell The IOJ Between its Second and Third Congress 9 the people of the USA that the policy of the American monopolists, as it manifests itself in the economic and military enslavement of foreign countries, is provoking resistance on the part of the working people of the nations oppressed by the Americans. While the really free Press is giving true expression to mankind's longing for peace, and is opening the people's eyes, the monopolists' Press is run contrary to the interests of the people, misinforms and blinds the people, and creates a smoke- screen under the protection of which the warmongers are spinning their further plans against mankind. Great is the guilt of the monopolistic Press in the present situation, great its guilt as co- perpetrator of the advancing internal fascisization of the United States, great its guilt as creator of the hatred with which it tries to infect the American people and the citizens of Western Europe. Many Press organs in American- dominated, countries have joined in this immoral and odious activity. But in all those countries as well as in the USA there are also our comrades, courageous fighters for truth and peace in the Press, who are exposed to all kinds of vexation and persecution. Two recent instances are directly connected with this Congress. The American progressive journalist and writer. Albert Kahn, was deprived of his passport to prevent him from attending this Congress. This is a violation of the liberties guaranteed by the American Constitution, but we know that it is not the first violation and will not be the last one unless the American people put things right in their own country. The second case concerns the outstanding African journalist, Doudou Gueye of Dakar, who was sentenced to three years imprisonment for having exposed a bribery scandal of the French colonial administration, and to a fine of 300,000 Frs. for having described in his paper how colonial soldiers murdered a child its mother carried on her back. The General Secretariat of our organization, has been and is the centre of information on oppression. We know quite well why all this happens. We know that in the colonial countries the present day rulers want to render the struggle of the oppressed people impossible, and are therefore persecuting the progressive Press, the organizer of that struggle. We know that in other countries the reactionary rulers want to get rid of uncomfortable and dangerous witnesses who are unmasking their subversive activity directed towards a new war, and that there also reaction is endeavouring to remove the organizers of the struggle for the freedom of nations. It is the duty of us all to defend those people. I emphasized this at the Stockholm Congress of the International Committee of the Partisans 10 The IOJ Between its Second and Third Congress of Peace. We shall manage it only if our organization is really strong, united and world- wide. You will see from our report what the General Secretariat of our organization has already undertaken in all these cases. We have sometimes had success, but not always. I think that it will be one of the tasks of this Congress to consider the best way to defend the freedom of the Press against oppression, to defend progressive journalists in capitalist countries and in colonial territories against reaction, which is behaving more furiously, the more it realizes that step by step it is losing its game, and the more it is aware that progress cannot be halted and that the camp of progress, the camp of the defenders of peace, is growing in strength from day to day. It is necessary that at the same time our international organization should also grow and strengthen. You may learn from the report by the Secretary General how our organization has worked and fought between the Congresses in Prague and Helsinki. These were three years of incessant fight for the real mission of our organization, a fight against the champions of warmongering in the Press, who tried either to get control of our organization and to misuse it for their ends, or to break it up. Today, we can say that we have won this battle. The IOJ has neither become an instrument of the imperialistic warmongers, nor has it, as we see, been broken up. On the contrary, its strength has grown in battle. If today, for instance, instead of the reactionary Dutch organization, the Vietnamese progressive journalist organization is our member, instead of the reactionary Belgian journalist organization the progressive journalist organization of the German Democratic Republic, and instead of the reactionary Finnish journalist organization an organization of Finnish progressive journalists, and if the journalists of victorious China are in our ranks, then this means a great strengthening of the world camp of progressive journalists. But this is not all. We have received applications, and by a change of our Constitution we must enable them to be accepted as our members, from numerous progressive journalists from the USA, Great Britian, Australia, Italy, Holland, Belgium, Scandinavia, Austria, colonial and semi- colonial countries. For the time being they are only applications from individuals, for it is necessary to bear in mind that in the majority of the Western countries progressive journalists are, for various reasons, remaining in their reactionary trade union organizations. But a continual process of classification is in progress, and it would be foolish to assume that it will not make itself felt among journalists. After all, opinion within the journalists unions had begun to divide already during the struggle for the preservation of the progressive line of our The IOJ Between its Second and Third Congress 11 organization and the fight of the reactionary unions against our organization. We know very well that this was the case in Great Britian, in Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, in Holland and the United States. The progressive journalists in those countries are already aware that strength lies in organization and not in separation, and that goes both for the situation in their homelands and, on a larger, international scale, for our international organization. Our cooperation within the United Nations was terminated for the time being, when the reactionary majority in the Economic and Social Council decided to deprive us of our consultative vote which we had in that Council. We have launched a protest against this unlawful step. On this occasion I pointed to the fact that at the same session two organizations of American businessmen, the Rotary Club and the Lions International, were admitted, an occurrence quite significant of the present state of affairs in the United Nations. Cooperation between the General Secretariat and the great majority of the member organizations developed harmoniously. But in the future a much closer contact will be necessary. The organizations will have to assist the General Secretariat by criticism and action, and show initiative in suggesting ways and means of improving the IOJ's work and raising its authority. If the Secretariat General is to work really well, it must be under constant supervision of the Presidium and the Executive Committee. I, therefore, think that it will be necessary to resolve that the Presidium should meet regularly, as the work of the organization requires. Close contact between Presidium, Executive Committee and the General Secretariat will be the more urgent as our organization is now linked with the powerful front of the World Committee of Defenders of Peace, and is cooperating with all progressive international organizations. The Secretary General is a member of the International Committee of Defenders of Peace and regularly attends all its meetings. The General Secretariat has already established close cooperation particularly with the WFTU, the International Federation of Democratic Youth, the International Federation of Democratic Women and the International Union of Students. In his function, the Secretary General attended many international congresses and manifestations such as the Congress of the Defenders of Peace at Wroclaw, the Congress of American Defenders of Peace in New York, the United Nations meeting for the Freedom of the Press in Geneva, the Paris Congress of the Defenders of Peace and the congresses of the Committee in Rome and Stockholm, the meeting of the World Federation of Trade 12 The IOJ Between its Second and Third Congress Unions in Milan, and that of the International Federation of Democratic Youth in Budapest. At all those meetings he spoke and negotiated in the spirit of the resolutions adopted by the IOJ Executive at its meetings in Budapest and Prague. For the future, however, I think it necessary for the Secretary General to receive detailed instructions for such important international conferences. The IOJ has emerged strengthened from the stormy period it had to go through since the Prague Congress. But this third Congress of our organization must become an important milestone in its development, and the starting point for its further successful struggle. The period between the third and the fourth Congresses must be a period of growth in strength and authority of our organization, as the more there are of us, the stronger we are; the more influence our organization wields in international life, the more successfully shall we serve the cause of progress and peace, and work for the complete exposure and isolation of warmongers and criminals in the Press on the one side, and on the other side to help the progressive Press, led by honest journalists, to become on a still larger scale a promoter of friendship among nations, and a world- wide organizer of the victory of the forces of progress and freedom. This Congress has before it a number of serious tasks. Besides the debate on the report by the Secretary General, there is in the first place the problem of the journalists' duties in the struggle for peace, then the discussion on the moral and material position of journalists. In this connection it will, I think, be necessary to consider the possibilities of concrete aid to the progressive Press and progressive journalists in capitalist and particularly colonial countries. Our Congress will have to amend the Constitution, to elect a new Presidium and a new Secretary General and to lay down directives and tasks for the further fight of honest journalists for progress and peace and against the lunatic plans of the imperialist criminals, who are willing to plunge the world into a new war for the interests of their class. This Congress is meeting at a time of immense importance for the future of mankind. Imperialist aggressors have already started an aggressive war against a free nation, Korea, a war condemned by all of humanity, and are feverishly arming for further onslaughts, fully supported by a dishonest and instigating Press, radio and film. On the other side, the forces of progress and peace have achieved great victories. The world is witnessing a campaign, such as never been seen before, for signatures to the Stockholm resolution of the World Committee of the Defenders of Peace, and The IOJ Between its Second and Third Congress 13 it was here that the truly free, progressive and peace- loving Press has played its beneficial part. Now, peace- loving humanity is preparing for the second World Congress of the Defenders of Peace to be held in Great Britain.. It is preparing for it by action in that it is extending its demand for the ban of the atomic bomb to the demand for the restriction of armaments in general, clearly expressing itself against any aggression and urging the Security Council to solve the Korean conflict justly, with the participation of the legitimate representatives of People's Democratic China and Northern Korea. Finally, humanity is demanding the prohibition of inciting war propaganda, thus allotting concrete tasks particularly to us. At the same time the peace movement is broadening to include all people of good will, and is gaining a wider organizational basis. It is the duty of all honest journalists to devote all their effort to the great work for peace, which will by no means end with the second Congress of the Defenders of Peace, but will increase in intensity and will not cease before the torch is knocked from the hands of the warmongers who want to kindle another war conflagration. The world is divided not into East and West, but into those who want war and those fighting for peace. This is the only division that counts among journalists. There are no borderlines between us, progressive journalists of East and West. One aim and one desire unites us: to be the servants of the working people of our nations, collective propagators of and agitators for progress and peace, collective organizers of the fight against the enemies of peace, the imperialist plotters of a new war. All of us who have assembled here are doing it daily at our working places. This our Congress will, however, serve us as encouragement and incentive to do this work still better, with still more zeal and effort. This Congress will be an encouragement and incentive to us all, the more intensively to build our international organization which will unite us in international solidarity, which will immensely multiply our forces and become the weapon of all honest and progressive journalists in the hard struggle for the wellbeing of nations, for true democracy, sincere cooperation between nations and lasting peace. The Press is a great weapon. An even greater weapon must be the international organization of Press workers. 14 PROFESSOR DAVID ZASLAVSKY( USSR) IOJ ORGANIZATION OF ALL HONEST - JOURNALISTS Our international organization is still young, only four years old, but it has a rich and turbulent history. The International Organization of Journalists had only existed for one year, when it was made the target of the splitting attack led by reactionary American newspapermen. But this attempt did not succeed. The young organization is still living and working. And what is more, it has consolidated itself and is now stronger than ever before. We Soviet newspapermen are convinced of the fact that it will continue to develop. We have every reason to believe this. Never before has the Press had such a tremendous significance as at the present time. The warmongers, the American imperialists, are preparing to plunge the whole of mankind into a new great catastrophe. They have initiated the" cold war" in which the imperialist Press serves as one of the principal instruments. They have already resorted to open aggression in Korea. Here too, the capitalist Press is an important implement in the concealing of truth and in the deception of the people. The democratic Press exposes this betrayal and reports the truth to the peoples who do not wish war. A very serious responsibility falls upon the newspapermen. A great deal depends on them. The people desire a sincere and truthful Press, which would serve only the people. On this and nothing else is based the freedom of the Press. Newspapers that do not belong to the people but serve the capitalist monopolies cannot be free newspapers. There is no more cruel or unjust a censorship than that of the masters of the capitalist Press. This was realized and expressed by our first Congress in Copenhagen in 1946. A resolution on Freedom of Press and the Constitution that form the basis of our democratic organization, were adopted at this Congress. What is stated in this resolutions and constitution which the founders of our International organization unanimously approved? They state that the capitalist newspaper monopolies and news agencies threaten the freedom of the Press. They state that all newspapermen must give honest and truthful news IOJ Organization of All Honest Journalists 15 to the people. They state that it is not permissible for sincere newspapermen to extol in the press fascism, race hatred and war. Why were the reactionary Anglo- American newspapermen in favour of these statutes, when they had the leadership in their hands? Why did they not at the time cry out, that they were" political"? For this one reason: that they are two- faced. They considered the Constitution of the IOJ as mere words. They wished to use the IOJ in the interest of reaction. They intended to lead our organization while extinguishing its democratic principles. But they did not succeed. In legal order, according to the rules of the Constitution, and all principles of democracy the leadership shifted into the hands of the democratic section. The Secretary General and the Executive Committee undertook the putting of the IOJ statutes and resolutions in practice. They came forward in defense of freedom of Press, against the oppression of progressive newspapermen. They took a stand against the warmongering newspapermen. And then the reactionary leaders of the American Newspaper Guild and the British National Unions of Journalists began to cry out that this is a" political" step! Of course the attitude of newspapermen against fascism and war is political. This is honourable politics. Of course the attempt to quell the voice of the IOJ in the struggle for peace is also political. It is disgraceful politics. The gentlemen Martin, Bundock, Kenyon and others initiated the cold war within the IOJ. They were defeated. And when they were defeated they withdrew from the IOJ, convinced it could not exist without them. Now they continue the war against us outside the IOJ. The American imperialists ordered the Social and Economic Commission of the United Nations to cancel the consultative status of our organization. But what of it, when they refuse to allow the legal participation of the great Chinese people or the heroic Korean peoples. Our modest IOJ is not the only organization that is being discriminated against there. In the struggle that we are waging and that is being waged against us, the last word is yet to be said. What do the reactionary Anglo- American newspapermen fail to understand up to the present time? They do not realize that the world has changed, that the end has come to the historic monopoly of the capitalist Press. Following the example of the Soviet Union, where the capitalist Press has not existed for more than 30 years because there are no capitalists, there have arisen a whole number of new states in which the Press belongs exclusively to the people. 16 IOJ Organization of All Honest Journalists This Press serves the purpose of peace and friendship among nations. The Finnish Social- Democratic Press called our Congress, before its composition was even known," a Congress of the East European countries". This is an example of the conscienceless reporting against which the statutes of the IOJ warn journalists. It is obvious that the teachings of the American salesman Morgan Phillips have taken hold. In any case we meet here with strange geographical conceptions. For example China is put in" Eastern Europe", so also are Korea, Italy and France. Even America is included in Eastern Europe. No, the hatred of the Anglo- American imperialists would not be nearly as great against our organization, if it really represented only Eastern Europe or some sections of Asia. In reality, the IOJ represents and reflects the growing democratic forces of all countries. We are well justified in claiming that the democratic Press has a wider range of readers than the imperialist Press. It has hundreds of millions of readers and its numbers constantly increase in the same measure as the circulation of the imperialist Press diminishes. But it is not only a question of numbers of readers, but also a question of the attitude towards the Press and newspapermen. Hundreds of millions of readers, ordinary people, love the democratic Press and honour the work of the newspapermen who are sincere and devoted to the people. They trust their Press, they trust us. Hundreds of millions of readers of the capitalist papers read their papers but do not respect them, do not trust them, nor the editors or writers. This is openly admitted by the bourgeois newspapermen themselves. We know the books of the American newspapermen Seldes and Willard. They write about the state of moral deterioration of the American Press. What is meant by the great success of the campaign for the gathering of signatures to the Stockholm Appeal? It means that the war propaganda will not be successful; that the peace propaganda will have great success. This conclusion has been drawn also by the leading men of the American aggressive war propaganda, Messrs. Eisenhower and Clay. They have discovered that the words of Mr. Martin and Mr. Bundock ring badly. For the struggle against the defenders of peace they invented a special brass bell to ring out their message in every country of the world. But the voice of lies has a disgusting sound- whether it is made of pure metal or of dirty newspapersheets. We are going to continue our work, the work of all honest journalists: PAIX MMP PEACE RAUHA FRED PAX The Third Congress of the IOJ 107 oficers elected at the Helsinki Congress: Vice- President J. Kowalczyk( Poland), President J. M. Hermann( France), Vice- President K. M. Rydberg( Finland) and Secretary General J. Hronek( Czechoslovakia) P. Kivikoski, President of the General Union of Finnish Journalists( first from left), Ontro Virtanen, Secretary General( third from left) and other members of the Preparatory Committee of the Congress with 107 Secretary General J. Hronek( sitting) and Secretary Dr. Klansky( first from right) The delegations of the USSR, China and Korea.( sitting: Wu Wan Tao, Strepukhov, Gee Sek Bok, Zaslavsky, Burkov). Italian delegate Senator Pastore with the delegates from Africa The Czechoslovak delegation The French, Vietnamese and Algerian delegations IOJ Organization of All Honest Journalists 17 denouncing the warmongers, fighting for truth, liberty, national independence and peace. We know that we are openly supported by the journalists of the free countries, where the entire Press belongs to the people. We know that we have with us the workers of the democratic Press in the capitalist countries. And we know that we have with us the honest journalists of the countries where- as in Greece and in the USA- the democratic Press is being persecuted, where the power is held by fascists and reactionaries, but honest journalists are thrown into prison. We know that in the capitalist newspapers of the USA, on the newspaper plantations of Hearst and McCormick and Luce white newspaper slaves are working serfs of the Press, who hate their masters and who have a secret sympathy towards us. We are convinced that the overwhelming majority of the wage- earners working on the newspapers in the USA and Great Britain consider us their true representatives, and we believe that we shall see them in our ranks. I believe that the Executive Committee and the Secretariat General have faithfully fulfilled their tasks, that they firmly defended the honour and dignity of democratic journalism and that they have performed a great and fruitful work in spite of the splitting policy of Anglo- American reactionaries and in spite of the vile treachery of the former President Kenyon. On behalf of the Soviet delegation, I suggest that the report of the Secretary General Hronek be accepted. 18 ALBERT KAHN( USA) THE MASS PRODUCTION OF WAR PROPAGANDA I would have preferred to be with you in person rather than address you from a distance of several thousand miles. But the officials of the US State Department have preferences that differ from mine. They have denied me a passport on the alleged grounds that my traveling abroad would be, in their words," contrary to the best interests of the United States." They do not want me to report my impressions of events overseas. These officials do not like my views. And, to be frank, I do not like theirs. The language currently employed by our State Department officials tends to be misleading. When they speak of the interests of the United States, they generally have in mind the interests of the United States Steel Corporation. When they discuss the national welfare, they are thinking about the welfare of the National City Bank. Once you decipher their vocabulary, you can understand why they feel unfavorably disposed toward those of us in America who have aligned ourselves with the peace movement. In leading American industrial and financial circles, it is not war but peace that is regarded as a menace. To quote a recent editorial in the highly conservative magazine, US News and World Report: " Just keep this point in the back of your mind: A peace offensive can break out. Peace is Russia's propaganda game. Peace moves by Russia, right now, could embarrass US. They would get much support in a world fearful of big war... If a real peace scare' should now develop, watch out... Buying that has been so hectic would slow... and the boom would crack. Odds, however, are against a real peace scare." The American people, of course, are not afraid of peace. Like the peoples of other lands, we consider the lives of our children far more precious than the profits of armament manufacturers. Indeed, if the majority of Americans knew the real motivation behind the war program, there would be no war program. That is why our nation is being deluged with propaganda proclaiming that America is threatened by external aggression and that peace can be maintained only by constantly magnifying our armed forces and building more and more atom bombs. Every war measure is now portrayed as a defense measure, and every peace effort is branded as part of a Soviet war conspiracy. The mass production of war propaganda has become a major industry in the The Mass Production of War Propaganda 19 United States, and the leading manufacturer in that industry is the American press. That is not surprising, since American newspapers and magazines are the almost exclusive monopoly of a minute group of immensely wealthy publishers who have interlocking interests with the biggest industrialists and financiers. Day in and day out, these publications are filled with portentous accounts of so- called threats of war from Soviet Russia; ersatz revelations of" Red plots" to overthrow the United States Government; and frenetic editorials declaring that the only way of preserving peace is by immediately launching war against the Soviet Union. There are some honorable exceptions. They include the National Guardian, a weekly journal which reflects the viewpoint of the Progressive Party; the Daily Worker and the Morning Freiheit in New York and the Peoples World in San Francisco; Johannes Steel's newsletter, Report on World Affairs; the Negro newspaper, California Eagle; the magazines Masses and Mainstream and Jewish Life; and the New York Daily Compass, a newspaper which, despite various inconsistences, opposes the mounting repressions in our land and the drive toward war. Publications of leftwing trade unions and a considerable portion of the press of the Protestant churches are strongly denouncing the war program and demanding the outlawing of the atom bomb. And what of American journalists at this critical time? With the lives of countless human beings at stake, how are they seeking to place the truth before the people? I can mention one, an outstanding journalist as well as a noted novelist, who has set an example for all honest journalists to emulate. You know his name well. It is Howard Fast. The truth was sufficiently dear to Fast that, rather than repudiate it, he went to prison. There are other American journalists who also believe that peace and human dignity are worth fighting for, and who act upon that belief. Among them are writers like John T. McManus, Joseph North, Samuel Sillen, Richard Boyer, Cedric Belfrage, Charlotta Bass, Art Shields, Herbert Aptheker. But there is a tragic scarcity of such American journalists, who are using their talents in the cause of peace. The commercial market for truth is at present limited in our land. Some newspapermen privately explain that if they speak out against the war drive, they will lose their jobs. If they remain silent, however, they may lose their lives. And what journalist with a heart or conscience can offer the necessity of keeping a job as justification for countenancing the mass slaughter of men, women and children? Of course, there are journalists with neither hearts nor consciences. We have a plethora of such journalists in America today. Their special wares, which they eagerly sell to the highest bidder, are virulent lies about the peace movement, grotesque anti- Soviet slanders and frenzied war propaganda. Prominent among these war 20 20 The Mass Production of War Propaganda mongers are Joseph Alsop and Mark Sullivan of the New York Herald Tribune; Lester Markell of the New York Times; David Lawrence of US News and World Report; Walter Winchell, Victor Riesel and Westbrook Pegler of the Hearst press; and Demaree Bess of the Saturday Evening Post. But for every one of these more notorious figures, there are scores of lesser journalists who are selling human lives along with their words. One newspaperman, signing his article simply with the initials" B. B." wrote a short time ago in the Los Angeles Daily News:" It's entirely fitting that we should be thinking of new and better anti- tank, anti- aircraft and anti- submarine weapons... But shouldn't we also be devising some highly destructive anti- human weapons?" A recent dispatch from Korea written by James Bell, a correspondent for Time and Life magazines, contained this description of the death of some North Korean soldiers:" It served them right that they were caught by bullets which set their clothes afire and broiled them as they sprawled in the ditch." All the war propaganda, however, has failed to make the American people enthusiastic about the war in Korea. Commenting ruefully on this fact, a columnist in the Portland Oregonian wrote that he could not understand what had happened to the nation's young men they seemed, he said, to have" lost their spirit". A young man replied in a letter that he had not lost his spirit, but he did not want to lose it- he did not want to die in a war. The simple fact is that young men want to live. In every city large numbers of those drafted for military service are failing to answer their draft calls. Out of seventy young men summoned by draft boards in San Francisco a few days ago, thirty- seven failed to report. In New York and Los Angeles the number failing to report has averaged as high as 25 per cent of those called. Dissatisfaction with the war in Korea is mounting throughout the United States. In spite of intensive war propaganda, widespread repressions and ruthless measures of intimidation, the peace movement is gaining momentum. More than two million Americans have signed the Stockholm Appeal. At this crucial moment in the history of our land, the task of every honest journalist, of every newspaperman who values human life more than money, is to do everything within his power to expose the conspiracies of the warmakers, to counteract war propaganda and to build the peace movement among the people. AUGUST GRODZICKI WAR PROPAGANDA IN THE PRESS 21 21 Hardly 11 years have passed since the beginning of the most terrible war in world history, and already today the imperialists openly and cynically talk of a new war which will again plunge the world into blood and fire. Is it madness? Is this the action of lunatics, who want to set the world on fire? We know that this has already happened once, in the case of James Forrestal. But we also know that the illness to which Forrestal succumbed is only to a small extent psychological, and cannot be treated individually. It is a disease which to a greater or lesser degree has affected the minds of that whole category of people who, in the name of a dying regime, hold power today in the United States and the countries under the domination of American imperialism. The madness which affects them is not a psychological phenomenon. It is a criminal desire to set the world on fire and bury it in the ashes in the interest of the dollar plutocracy. These are the warmongers, the spokesmen of a third war, the aggressors, the murderers of Korean women and children, the organizers of air provocations over the Jalu river. The American politicians and generals who threaten the peoples with atomic bombs, the American scientists who are breeding plague bacilli as a means of war in the struggle for world conquest, emigrant traitors of all kinds, who are plotting against their own countries together with Hitlerite generals paid by Washington, these are the criminals. And the problem is neither psychiatric nor psychological. The words published in January of this year in one of the foremost organs of the warmongers, the New York Herald Tribune, speak better than any theoretical articles of the reason for all this activity: " If the proletarian dictatorship in Poland is going to continue to increase and improve the standard of life of the masses, then Polish experience can have a significant influence on Western Europe, especially if economic crises and unemployment affect these countries." By Polish experience is meant socialist reconstruction, as inaugurated by the October Revolution. And socialist reconstruction means such things as a gigantic hydro- electric plant near Kuibyshev of two million kilowatt capacity, a slightly smaller power station on the banks of the Volga near 22 War Propaganda in the Press Stalingrad, with a capacity of 1,700,000 kilowatts, the revolution made by man in nature, which in the Soviet Union is changing the climate of steppes and deserts, transforming them into arable and land pastures, or the economic plans of the People's Democracies whose accomplishment is equal to the industrial development of the most advanced European countries. Or the experience of Warsaw, magnificently rising from its ruins, where day by day grow up the walls of houses, schools and laboratories. In this way, the men who have faith in the future, and who will be the masters of the future, are working. In this way, men act when they believe it is possible to avoid war, and that one can and must struggle for peace. These men are convinced that their ideas are a necessity of life, and for that reason do not believe that they must be preserved by bombs. They are certain of the triumph of their productive labour, and therefore they have no intention of proving the justness of their views by armed force. In January, 1934, Stalin said:" Our foreign policy is clear. It is a policy of preserving peace and strengthening trade relations with all countries. The Soviet Union does not intend to threaten anybody, still less to attack anybody. We are for peace and defend peace. But we are not afraid of threats, and we are ready to reply to the blows of warmongers by blows. Those who want peace and want positive relations with us will always find us willing. And on the other hand, to those who try to attack our country, we will oppose such a fierce resistance, that they will never again want to poke their pig's snout into our Soviet garden. The problem is to fulfil this policy in the future with all determination and seriousness." We have all been witnesses to the fierce opposition which the Hitlerite aggression met in the Soviet Union. The peace policy of the Soviet Union has not changed. In September, 1946, Generalissimo Stalin answered a question from a representative of the British newspaper Sunday Times as follows: " I have no doubt that the possibilities of peaceful collaboration far from lessening will become greater." But to the imperialists, after each war there are posed the same problems, the problems which they have not been able to resolve in the intervening period and which they try to solve in vain in a new war. The American publicist Luce, in an article in the well- known magazine Life, has clearly stated the logical conclusion of this situation:" If we have to choose between a crisis and a war, we will choose without hesitation war. War, because otherwise we will be victims of a crisis." Such is the outlook War Propaganda in the Press 23 and such is the choice of the capitalists and bankers in the USA. But it is not they who ultimately decide. Even the most ardent warmongers cannot wage war only by machine, or by atomic or hydrogen bombs. To wage modern war, enormous armies are necessary, composed of men, and the overwhelming majority of these men want peace, as is demonstrated by the recent collection of signatures to the Stockholm Appeal. - It is in this clear act, brief and comprehensible to every honest man, that the nations have received a defensive weapon stronger than narrowminded people thought possible. These are not people who say that they are only unimportant cogs in an enormous machine whose movements are completely outside their influence. It is only a man of narrow outlook who would fatalistically believe that the fate of the world does not depend on him not on him alone, but on millions of men like him, the ordinary man in the street. The conscience and will of millions of men unified and acting in one single direction, is the greatest force in the modern world. It is therefore necessary to mobilise this conscience in the struggle for peace. We must unmask the whole machine of deception set in motion by the imperialists to lead the masses to war. We must awaken and affirm the certainty that our fate depends only on ourselves and that the masses of humanity will decide the question of war and peace. It is here we come to the question of the Press and its tasks in the battle for peace. In what way do we fulfil these tasks at the moment? And how should we do it? Those who want war have to prepare first by an enormous propaganda campaign to create in the masses a war hysteria. It is my view that nothing so pitilessly reveals the true character and role of the capitalist Press as its constant war propaganda. The mechanics of this propaganda, which is conducted by different means and in diverse tones by the" free" capitalist Press and radio, consist above all in accustoming the man in the street to the thought that war is inevitable. There is, for example, the American daily that wrote" if we do not find some means in time to stop the growth of population, we will be obliged to have a new war". In whose interest this war will be, we learn on reading the book of the American ideologist of imperialism, Mr. James Burnham, under the title Towards World Domination. This American professor writes:" It is absolutely necessary to give up the painful pronouncements of science on the equality of nations. The USA must openly present its claim to world domination. 24 War Propaganda in the Press This domination will have to be enforced by force; if not by war, in any case by the threat of war." And here is what the spiritual and liberal philosopher, thinker, and intellectual, Bertrand Russell, writes in an article:" Can Civilization Survive", which appeared in the Daily Mail of June 7, 1949:" The victorious war which will wipe out the terrible menace which today casts its horrible shadow( communism), such a war I firmly believe would bring a rebirth of hope and happiness, would have as a result a dynamic creativeness and would give enormous energy to the human spirit, leading to new achievements in the domain of arts and science, in politics and in the organization of the human way of life." In a word, let the atomic bombs fall sooner so that under the ruins, the happiness and hope of Prof. Bertrand Russel and the class whose philosophy he represents may flourish. If such ideas are put forward by a philosopher, we need not be surprised that British Field Marshal Montgomery promises recruits that the next world war will be a" good party" with lots of victims. If this is not enough we quote the Washington Times- Herald which last year wrote in the name of the defenders of American civilization the following:" We will send airplanes loaded with atomic incendiary and bacteriological bombs which will kill children in their cradles, old women saying their prayers and men at their work". The periodical Army Ordinance, writing of a new poison whose discovery cost 50 million dollars, said:" This expense is worth while because one ounce of this poison is enough to kill millions of human beings." The accomplishment of these criminal plans needs allies, and again the servile capitalist Press gives good advice. The fashionable daily the Times on Oct. 4, 1948, writes:" American military circles consider that only the Germans can provide Western Europe with an efficient and strong land army, the Germans who in coalition with ten states in the west would have an aim in the struggle more real than any other." The Times- Herald on March 31, 1948, comes to the help of the Times and writes:" Despite certain denials, plans have been elaborated to call back to life certain valiant German divisions and SS. Supplies and equipment from America of the best quality will be provided for them and they will be allowed to fulfil the functions of a rear guard under American officers. The Germans, always good soldiers, will fight more willingly against their traditional enemies than against their sister nations of the West, Scandinavians British, Americans and French. It is already several years since War Propaganda in the Press 25 we pointed out that Roosevelt had backed a bad horse in this war." And now let us examine further the sources of inspiration of the merchants of death, and let us quote the organ of American big business, US News and World Report, which writes:" One can always develop armaments when ordinary economic activity dies down. The war scare, easy to provoke, is an almost infallible means for supplying the funds necessary to continue arming. There are signs today which permit us to see( Feb. 1950) that in the near future the highest officials will begin to prepare American public opinion for the need for a much greater arms program." Is it surprising that the crimes committed in Korea should find a special echo in the imperialist press? Here is what we read in the publication Business Week:" The Korean crisis guarantees us one thing- we will not have trouble with a decline in industrial and business activity. In the course of this week consumers have begun to buy goods which they were afraid they'd soon find scarce. This will intensify future commercial and economic activity. It appears also that arms expenditures will grow progressively for several years.' وو Another American journal tells us that the Korean war has given new life to the American Merchant Marine which was facing bankruptcy. " The prospects of exports are excellent." Examples of this kind could be quoted indefinitely. They clearly reveal the nature of a Press sold to capitalism, which poisons the minds of its readers with this criminal greed for war. It is surely time for us to name all these Press gangsters, war criminals who openly are preparing the mass murder of humanity. The new Executive Comittee of the IOJ and the national organizations should prepare a list of publicists and writers who have particularly distinguished themselves in this criminal work. They should be publicly unmasked as war criminals. 26 BORIS BURKOV( USSR) PEACE! Peace! This little word today reigns in the hearts and minds of hundreds of millions of people all over the world. All of progressive mankind supports the honourable fight for a permanent and lasting peace. Progressive journalists are to be found in the leading ranks of this army of millions of active fighters for peace. Together with you, dear friends, we represent a great force. We all know the enormous significance of the Press, of the honest word of the journalist in the fight for peace. The progressive Press of all countries is called upon to expose, to tell all the people sincerely and truthfully, the threat of a new world war being prepared by the American imperialists. We must expose the instigators of a new war, actively fight not only for the banning of the atom bomb but for all types of armaments, for disarmament itself. We must use every means we have at our disposal, every day and every hour, to carry on the fight against the instigators of war, for a lasting peace. We must convince the people of the enormous power they hold, for this strength is of heroic proportions. All the attempts of the American imperialists to create a war hysteria and to frighten the masses are met by newer and greater support for the peace movement. Clear proof of this is to be seen in the hundreds of millions of signatures to the Stockholm peace resolution. But we cannot be satisfied even with this effort. The American fascists are already carrying out aggressive warfare in Korea. They are manufacturing thousands of new tanks, guns and airplanes. Their leaders threaten to use the atom bomb. More and more often they speak of their plans to exterminate nations, en masse. The American followers of Hitler and Goebbels have become the main ideologists of imperialist reaction. The American newspaper, the Times Herald wrote in an editorial," We will send planes armed with atomic, incendiary and bacteriological bombs in order to kill children in their cradles, old people at prayer and men at work." Such are the plans of the American imperialists, such is the standard of their behaviour and such are their morals. It is difficult to imagine that the above- quoted lines could have been written by any democratic journalist. The partisans of peace are not weak- nerved, but we know that reaction by means of slander and guile, force and bribery is attempting to influence ordinary people. Our duty, the duty of honest journalists, is to carry on propaganda for peace, against Peace! 27 the inciters of war. Our duty is to arouse our people to an active fight, to expose the sugary words of pacifists who talk of peace in general but who do nothing for peace. These pacifist nightingales only lull the people and harm the general movement for peace. I realize all the difficulties that face progressive journalists in capitalist countries. Soviet journalists understand, full well, the meaning of the so- called free word and Press in these countries. In these countries there exists" free" arrest and persecution of democratic- minded journalists for, as I have already said, they have their own standard of behaviour. The Americans have a saying:" If you steal a piece of bread for your hungry child they put you in prison, but if you steal a railroad, they make you a senator." Naturally, progressive journalists in capitalist countries must have a difficult time working under these conditions, where morals such as these are propagated. Therefore it is with great respect that we speak of the heroic acts of honest journalists, not idly do we call them the real fighters for peace. I am convinced that our Congress, in its resolutions, will urge all honest journalists to take a more active part in the fight against the instigators of war. The International Organization of Journalists will be doing a great service to the cause of peace if it exposes the perpetrators of war, discloses their real faces and plans. It would be a good idea if our Congress, through its commissions and Executive Committee and its Secretariat, after this Congress, would think of new ways of unveiling the propagandists of war. Our writings should be directed towards defending the peace- loving peoples of Korea, Vietnam and all peoples that are fighting for their freedom and independence. " Hands off Korea" should be the most popular slogan of today. Our motto is: for peace thoughout the world, against all instigators and propagandists of war. The fight for peace is the sacred duty of all honest journalists whether they work on newspapers, magazines or on the radio. The Soviet Press, continuously and consistently exposes the criminal plans of the instigators of a new war, it tries to help the development of friendly relations between peoples of all countries, both large and small. Today, when the imperialists are carrying on a mad armaments race, when they try to suppress the Korean people by force, which they will not succeed in doing, the Soviet people are concerned with peaceful, creative tasks, helping to strengthen and build up their country. Recently the Soviet government undertook to build enormous hydroelectric stations on the Volga, near Stalingrad and Kuibyshev. Each of these power stations will provide up to 10 billion kilowatt hours yearly. At the same time, our country has decided to build the Turkmenian canal which will be more than 1000 kilometres long. Soviet journalists direct their activities towards helping their people construct these gigantic projects. Soviet journalists always support the peace- loving policy of their 28 The Korean Press in the Fight for Freedom and Peace government, a policy laid down by that great standard- bearer of peace, Comrade Stalin. Today and in the future, we shall continue to guard the interests of peace, fighting the dark forces of imperialist reaction. Long live the progressive journalists of the world- first rank fighters for peace, freedom and national independence! GEE SEK- BOK( Korea) THE KOREAN PRESS IN THE FIGHT FOR FREEDOM AND PEACE Five years ago the Korean people freed themselves from the colonial yoke of the Japanese imperialists, thanks to the glorious armed forces of the Soviet Union, who had defeated Hitlerite Germany and imperialist Japan. The Korean people received the opportunity to arrange their life freely and according to their own ideas. However, the five years that have passed since the liberation of Korea were, for the majority of our people, difficult years. Through the crimes of the American imperialists and national traitors, south of the 38th parallel, our people were not free. The American imperialists were, through their protégé, the traitor to the Korean people, Syngman Rhee, shamelessly oppressing our people, denying them their human rights, introducing unheard of despotism and terror and exterminating by the thousands the best patriots and fighters for freedom and independence of our country. In the southern part of our country, not a single measure was introduced during those five years which served the interests of the people. Elections to government organs, land reform, nationalization of industry, all that remained for the population of Southern Korea an unfulfilled dream. National enlightenment lived a pitiful existence, the ancient national culture of the Korean people was destroyed by the American barbarians. At the same time, the northern part of our country completely changed its appearance. There our people had from the beginning established The Korean Press in the Fight for Freedom and Peace 29 a popular government- the National Committees. During the five years since the liberation, the National Committees under the leadership of a united government headed by our national hero, Kim Ir Sen, have done great work in the field of political, economic and cultural life. Land reform was carried out which made the Korean peasant the sovereign master of his land. Industry and railway transport have become national property. Workers and employees have obtained an eight- hour working day, the right to holidays, and old- age pension insurance. The people's government speedily restored the industry which had been destroyed during the withdrawal of the Japanese imperialists, built a number of new modern factories and workshops. We have achieved great successes in the restoration and further development of our national culture. Literacy among the Korean people considerably increased. The country has a wide network of national schools and compulsory elementary education. In the northern part of the Republic, where there existed previously not a single university, now fifteen higher educational institutions are established. I should particularly like to dwell upon our cultural achievements, which have a great meaning for us, Korean journalists. For forty years the Korean nation had been deprived of its national language. The Japanese language was the only official language; not even at home had all Koreans the right to speak Korean. But the people held sacred their ancient national tongue. The liberation of our country by the Soviet Army also revived our Korean language. Our children are now learning in our own language, our newspapers and magazines are written in this language and in this language are performed the plays by Korean playwrights and the classics of world literature; in the national language the songs of work and freedom are sung. In the northern part of our Republic more than 40 newspapers were published, of which 26 were issued in Pyongyang. In addition, 36 periodicals were issued with a total circulation of about half a million copies. Up to the day of the liberation of Korea there were no democratic journalists. The small gang of reactionary, mercenary scribblers who in the years of Japanese rule glorified their oppressors, went together with their masters. Therefore in the first days of our new life we faced considerable difficulties. In the course of the constructive work of our people, cadres of Korean journalists were built up. We have daily and hourly been learning from Soviet journalists to fight for peace, for the interests of the people, to unmask the warmongers, to call the masses to the fight for 30 The Korean Press in the Fight for Freedom and Peace democratic construction, to expose shortcomings and to find the way to remedy them. We have been successful in educating our own journalistic cadres. Such big papers as the Nodon Sinmoon, organ of the Central Committee of the Workers, Party, or Mindu Chosen, organ of the Cabinet and the Presidium of the Great National Assembly, as well as others, possess mature political cadres of journalists, and the newspapers enjoy great popularity among the Korean people. We are by our own means now printing a Korean language edition of For lasting Peace, for a People's Democracy, organ of the Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties, which enjoys particularly great popularity among the working people of our country. This year we started the first Russian- language paper in Korea, the Novaia Koreia( New Korea) in which all the achievements of our liberated people were reported, their struggle for the unity and independence of our homeland, their effort towards securing forever the friendship existing between the Korean people and the people of the Soviet Union. The first three numbers of this paper have been issued; they met with the greatest interest of the Korean and international public. The most important task facing the Korean democratic Press has been the struggle for peace in the whole world. About six million Koreans in Northern Korea alone have put their signatures to the Stockholm Peace Appeal of the World Committee of the Defenders of Peace; this was not to a small extent the work of our democratic Press, which thoroughly explained to the masses the meaning of that world- important document. Under completely different, incredibly difficult, conditions progressive journalists of South Korea had to work. The entire democratic Press in South Korea was banned by the American military administration. More than ten progressive papers went underground, such as the largest papers of the Workers, Party, the Kheban Ilbo and Inmin Ilbo, which enjoyed great popularity among the people of Southern Korea. In illegality the democratic Press went on actively fighting for peace and democracy, for the unity and independence of our country, against the South Korean reactionaries and their transoceanic masters. The illegal paper of the Central Committee of the Workers, Party of South Korea, Noriokcha( The Toiler), was a truly fighting paper of South Korean patriots who, with arms in their hands were fighting for the unity and independence of their homeland. While Syngman Rhee's puppet government was doing everything to The Korean Press in the Fight for Freedom and Peace 31 conceal from the people of South Korea the truth about the proposals of the United Democratic Patriotic Front for a peaceful unification of the country, the newspaper Noriokcha systematically explained to the population of South Korea the task of unifying the country, the proposals of the United Democratic Patriotic Front, explained the truth about how the American imperialists were turning the southern part of our country into their colony and using it as a strategic base in Asia, and about how they were preparing to unleash another world war. The paper published the Stockholm Appeal, appeals by the Central Committee of the United Democratic Patriotic Front and many other documents calling for the fight for peace. A no less important part in the struggle for a peaceful unification of the country was played by the Patriotic Front, organ of the Central Committee of the United Democratic Patriotic Front. *** Longing for new colonial gains and for the unleashing of another world war, the United States imperialists for a long time prepared their South Korean puppet, Syngman Rhee, for a drive against the Northern part of the Republic. On June 25th, Syngman Rhee's puppet army treacherously attacked the northern part of our Republic, thus initiating a fratricidal war in Korea. But the American imperialists and Korean reaction miscalculated. The National Army and the Guard detachments of the Korean People's Democratic Republic offered the Syngman Rhee army bitter resistance. Realizing that Syngman Rhee was suffering defeat after defeat, the American imperialists went over to open aggression. By order of Truman, the armed forces of the USA began military intervention against our Republic. Documents abandoned by Syngman Rhee clique and their American masters, which our National Army captured at Seoul, give undeniable proof that the attack on our Republic had been prepared long ago. The " March to the North" was openly spoken of by the Syngman Rhee leaders: Syngman Rhee himself, Lee Bom Sok, Tsoi Ben Den, Sin Sen Mo, and others. The American imperialists are trying to cover their military intervention with the United Nations' flag. The American aggressors declare that they are only executing police functions according to the decision of the Security Council. However, these hypocritical statements cannot mislead honest people the whole world over. It is clear to everybody that the 32 32 The Korean Press in the Fight for Freedom and Peace so- called decision of the Security Council, taken without participation of the great Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China, is illegal and contradicts the United Nations Charter. But even this illegal decision, fabricated by the Americans in order to cover their aggression in Korea, ' was taken after the American troops had received the order to invade Korean territory. That is why the lying statements by the American imperialists can mislead no one. It is clear to all that the Americans are pursuing in Korea but one aim to deprive our people of its freedom, to turn Korea into an American colony, a military strategic base in Asia, and to make our people obedient slaves of American colonizers. Following the aggression of the American interventionists, the war of the Korean people against the treacherous Syngman Rhee clique developed into a nation- wide war of liberation against the American interventionists, a war for the freedom and independence of their country. Following the call by the leader of the Korean people, Premier Kim Ir Sen, our whole people rose to that war of liberation. Workers and farmers, office workers and intellectuals, businessmen and merchants have adapted themselves to wartime conditions, and subordinated everything to the needs of the front. About 800,000 young patriots volunteered in the first days of the war for the front. The soldiers of our People's Army are giving examples of courage and heroism, dealing blows to the well- equipped troops of the American interventionists. We can state with pride that among the officers heroically fighting for the freedom and independence of our country, there are more than 150 journalists who, in the very first days.of the war, changed their clothes for military uniforms and went to the front. No less courageous are our journalists who are in the rear. They inform the Korean people of the crimes of the American aggressors, the barbaric bombing of peaceful towns and villages, the patriotic toiling of our workers and farmers, forging military strength in the rear. Our Press is mobilizing the people for the fight against the interventionists. Our journalists are meeting with great difficulties, but are overcoming them and devoting all their effort to the fight against the American interventionists, just as the soldiers of our People's Army are doing. The courage of our soldiers and officers, the whole nation's assistance given the front, the ardent support given by the population, are ensuring that our just cause will doubtles be victorious. The Korean Press in the Fight for Freedom and Peace 33 The American cannibals are submitting peaceful towns and villages to barbaric bombardment. They are shooting the civilian population and destroying national property. American airplanes are daily bombing the towns and villages of our Republic, dropping hundreds of bombs on living quarters and medical installations, on schools and theatres, on village markets and administrative buildings. The American barbarians have completely destroyed the beautiful Seoul Typography, building of the editorial and printing office of the newspaper Mindu Chosen and the editorial office of the newspaper Tusa, the State printing house at Pyongyang where books and text books for our children were printed. Twenty journalists, in addition to printing workers, were killed during the bombing. American vessels are mercilessly bombarding coastal villages and fishermen's settlements, destroying the huts of Korean workers, killing our mothers, women, children, old people. And all those crimes, daily reported cynically by MacArthur's headquarters, are declared to be a" blessing" to the Korean people. Documents captured by the Army of the Korean People's Democratic Republic bear evidence that the mass annihilation of the Korean population had been planned beforehand. The sabotage and espionage plan for 1950, worked out under the supervision of the American military advisers by the third department of the general staff of the landforces of the Syngman Rhee army, provided for infesting with bacteria wells, water containers, cating places, with the aim of poisoning the population. Is there any difference between these methods of mass destruction of the population and the wickedness of the Hitlerite fascists and Japanese militarists? All this is being done in order physically to destroy the Korean people, to intimidate it, to break its will, to undermine its economic power so as to turn Korea into their colony more casily. All progressive mankind is joining us in the protest against American aggression in Korea. We hear the nations of the world call:" Hands off Korea." All people of good will who do not want war and are fighting for peace protest against American aggression in Korea. They know that our liberation struggle in Korea is part of the general struggle for peace and democracy. And everyone who desires peace should demand with even more determination and energy that American intervention in Korea be stopped. In these circumstances, still greater tasks are facing the entire democratic 34 The Material and Legal Situation of Journalists Press. We must with still greater determination expose the warmongers and their helpers. We know that we do not stand alone in our struggle. Progressive journalists of the whole world, who are supporting us in our fight, are writing the truth about the war in Korea, are unmasking the aggressive intentions of our enemies, the American imperialists, and are greatly contributing to the cause of the struggle for world peace and security. Our voice, the voice of journalists- democrats, is the voice of the peoples. And the peoples of the world do not want war. Therefore we appeal to you to fight still more actively for peace, and devote your vigour to the cause of the struggle for the progress of mankind. The fight for peace is our foremost duty. To fulfill this sacred duty is a matter of honour for all progressive journalists of the world. We believe that the forces of peace will succeed in checking the warmongers. JEAN MAURICE HERMANN( France) THE MATERIAL AND LEGAL SITUATION OF JOURNALISTS A journalist is a journalist only when he writes and is able to get his work published, whether it is in a printed paper, through the microphone or in any other way. The working conditions of journalists therefore closely depend on the situation existing in press establishments where the immense majority of them are working. This situation is itself a function of political conditions and, in the last analysis, of the economic and social situation of the country where they exercise their profession. There is no regime which is indifferent to the circumstances in which the journalists and the press operate. In fact, there is no government in our day which can neglect public opinion. The press is the most powerful of the forces which form and direct this opinion. Fascist governments understood this very well. Their first concern was to get the journalists in hand, The Material and Legal Situation of Journalists 35 to tolerate none who were not devoted to their cause while helping them to orient readers through falsehood, incitement or silence, in the direction they wish. In a democratic regime, where public opinion has a direct influence on governmental policy and even on the composition of the government, the journalist's role is even greater. It is in the general interest that they should be honest and should be able truthfully to report to their readers pertinent information which will allow these readers to form a judgement and carry out their civic duties. One sees the danger which arises in letting such a power fall into the hands of unscrupulous people capable of using it not in the general interests of the people but in their own. The honesty of journalists is the indispensible condition of every democracy worthy of the name. The newspapers for which journalists work are the juxtaposition of two quite different things. First of all, there are the editorial offices, that is to say, a staff of journalists who edit articles and supervise the printing. Secondly, there is the business office, which organizes and carries out the selling of the printed paper. The true newspaper, the editorial offices, is the only part with which the reader is acquainted. Little does he suspect the existence of the other side of the paper which, however, in many cases exercises absolute power over the first mentioned. One sees immediately that journalists' conditions will be directly a function of the type of ownership of the papers on which they work. In our days there are two kinds of papers. One, which one could call private, belongs to certain owners whether they are individuals or capitalist groups. This is the oldest one. For a long time it was practically the only one. Ever since the immense ferment caused in the 16th and 17th century by the economic and intellectual spurt stimulated by the discovery of the new world, the birth of capitalism and the active appearance of the bourgeoisie, the press won larger masses of readers among the people, and more in the 19th century, at the time when the invention of machines permitted a big circulation and the inauguration of railway transportation accompanied the development of industrial capitalism and liberal bourgeois democracy. When Emile de Girardin created the Paper for a Sou, this was doubtless the only merchandise regularly sold below its price of production. The necessity of complementing their income from sources other than that realized by sales, introduced into the press a germ of corruption which was even more injurious when that press reached for the first time the popular masses, who had in their hands the electoral power and a considerable buying power. Do we need to add more in order to understand that the 36 The Material and Legal Situation of Journalists paper's business offices and editorial posts would soon draw the attention of those who, for whatever purpose, had an interest in influencing or neutralizing the mass of their readers: business men in search of clients, political or economic groups disturbed by the progress of new ideas, the police or foreign governments? Papers more and more ceased to be owned by journalists and became the property of businessmen of the lower sort, yielding their influence to the highest bidder. Very often since then they have been seen playing with the words freedom of the Press, which was only the freedom for them to carry on their business and not for the journalists to write what they thought. This is a contemporary phenomenon in all sorts of propaganda today which, under the pretext of defending" liberty" fights effectively only for " free enterprise", which is to say total license granted to businessmen to satisfy their personal interests, without regard for general welfare. This liberty is enough for them and in their eyes can dispense with all others. Monarcho- fascist Greece, Chiang Kai Shek's China, Korea of Syngman Rhee, Turkey, the feudal states of the Middle East, South American dictatorships, all this is considered as being a part of the so- called free world, simply because commercial freedom was retained there, all other liberties and notably that of the Press being non- existent. It is not astonishing that our organization should also have experienced the contradiction between this false conception of liberty and the true one, and that the American Newspaper Guild should have given as one of the reasons for its rupture with the IOJ our refusal to consider private capitalist ownership of newspapers as sacred and inviolable- an ownership which is the main source of Press corruption and the worst obstacle to its freedom. In reaction to this Press, which did not merit their confidence nor defend their interests, popular democratic organizations developed other papers which are written for the people without regard to any other interest. These are, for example, the papers of workers' parties, of trade unions, of youth organizations, of women's organizations, etc. They offer in contrast to the old type of press a fundamental difference, that is, they belong to their readers and give them the guarantee that they are created for them and express their opinions. These constitute the immense majority of the democratic Press, healthy and independent of the money powers. - Here we touch the crucial question of journalism that of freedom of the Press. The Press has the triple mission of informing the citizens, of educating them and, finally, of serving them as means of expression and of contrel in regard to the authorities. As long as it can fulfill this mission, it is an The Material and Legal Situation of Journalists 37 essential social organism. And only then is the situation of the journalist honcured, and materially and morally worthy of being so honoured. It is not so if a servile Press betrays that which should be its role. Very often when one refers to the liberty of journalists, one is not alluding to their political liberty which, under the law, permits the foundation and continued existence of papers in which journalists can express their opinions. What we have just said indicates that this is only one side of the question. Even if this legal liberty is effectively proclaimed, the Press would be just as enslaved because it is not at the same time protected against the corrupting influence of money. The work done by clandestine papers published under fascist terror, by editors who were risking their headswas not this work more sincere, more honest, more free than that of journalists who are today writing for papers published openly in sumptuous surroundings in certain large capitals, but where the editor could not attempt to write what he thinks on the most important subjects without being dismissed in twenty- four hours? - Fundamental freedom is freedom from money influence. A journalist is not free if his existence depends upon secret contributions or on publicity, the source of which the paper must conceal. Even if this independence is not limited, the journalist is subordinate although the law may proclaim the contrary. Political liberty of the journalist, that is to say, as regards the authorities, is theoretically ensured in a great number of countries. It was accepted and even demanded by the bourgeoisie of the 18th century because then the press served to defend its interests, and because it belonged to the bourgeoisie there was no risk that it would call in question the basis of the existing social order. But experience shows how precarious is this guarantee. First, because the exercise of this freedom meets considerable difficulty due to economic inequality. When many tens of millions of francs are required to found a newspaper, it is evident that individuals belonging to different social classes do not have the same real possibility of making use of the right which they can theoretically enjoy on an equal basis. This right will always very effectively give the advantage to the large financial and industrial interest, more than to workers who are, however, the majority. But the ruling classes never hesitate to violate even this unequal right without the least respect for their official principles if, in the hands of their adversaries, this right threatens to prejudice seriously their privileged position. The French Revolution of 1830 was fought in the name of freedom of the Press, but the constitutional monarchy which resulted multiplied 38. The Material and Legal Situation of Journalists the persecutions against journalists. If we glance around we can state that this is more true today than ever. What in fact is the condition of the Western journalists? I will allow myself to emphasize particularly what is going on in my country, in France. Not only because it is the example with which I am most familiar, but mainly because it is the only country where a very interesting experiment was tried, to reply to the question:" Is it possible to have a Press which is national, honest and independent in a regime which is a bourgeois parliamentary capitalist democracy?" The French Press before the war had for the most part fallen to a very serious level of degradation. It was an old evil. When, after the Russian Revolution, the Czarist archives were published for the period preceding the first World War, there was revealed the corrupt procedure used by the Czarist government to ensure that the important French journalists adopt a policy favorable to the opinion of those who were bribing them. The Russian Chargé d'Affaires Rafanovich himself distributed the cheques, for which lists were found, and did not hide his disgust for what he called" the abominable venality of the French press," a venality which on the other hand was no exception. Only a few days ago Raymond Recouly died, the well- known journalist who before and during the second World War was in charge of the foreign policy column of the French weekly Gringoire. Before the first World War, he had been appointed at 300 roubles a month by the Czarist Okhrana under the pseudonym of" Ratmir". The period between the two wars saw the growth of this decomposition, and the powerful capitalist press was often the active agent of fascist fifth columns, distorting facts and deceiving public opinion in a direction that was both contrary to national interests and to the interest of democracy. Thus, for example, in 1934 its role was decisive in the preparation of the fascist riot of February 6, aroused by a financial scandal which this Press exploited politically. It took the side against sanctions pronounced by the League of Nations, at the time of Mussolini's aggression against Ethiopia, using the slogan" sanctions mean war!" It went all- out, at the time of the Munich capitulation to discredit the Czechoslovak case, pressed for capitulation to Hitler and presented this as a victory for peace. Already at that time, Pierre Laval, the future leader of collaboration with Hitler, had created a group of a few hundred newspapers in Paris and the provinces, synchronizing their campaign against the Soviet Union. And at the very eve of the war, in 1939, there were found individuals working for the two largest papers of the moderate bourgeoisie, Le Temps and Le Figaro, men The Material and Legal Situation of Journalists 39 by the name of Aubin and Porrier, who were paid agents in service of the Hitlerites. However it was the communist press which was banned at the beginning of hostilities. After the defeat of 1940, the treachery of the French newspaper owners assumed such huge proportions that a patriotic public opinion was aroused in its entirety. The immense majority of the papers dismissed progressive or" non- Aryan" editors and launched a campaign of unreserved approval of the policy of collaborating with the Axis. The national conscience then found authentic means of expression through the spontaneous birth of a wide- spread, clandestine Press, whose editors and distributors were arrested, shot or deported in large numbers but never ceased to grow, up until liberation. The scandal in regard to the treachery of the capitalist French Press was so flagrant that the Resistance was unanimous in its desire to regenerate the French Press completely. During the occupation under the auspices of the National Committee of the Resistance, a commission of experts was formed in 1943 on the initiative of the author of this report. It established a complete plan. All the printing plants and paper stocks were inventoried and allotted in advance to the Resistance papers, the personnel of which. were ready to take over at the first signal of a national insurrection. All the former papers, with the exception of those who had voluntarily ceased to appear under the occupation, were to be banned and a severe control set up to eliminate the collaborators from this new Press. Laws prepared in advance were to base the new Press on a statute whose essential characteristics were to be the participation of the newspapermen in the administration of the paper, publicity given to the name of the owner, to financial sources, etc. We expected in this way to ensure an entirely reformed press against the secret corruption of money. With liberation came the effective carrying out of the first part of this program. The old Press disappeared at the time of the national insurrection, a new Press was born and the profession, purged of those who had dishonored it, recruited many new journalists who came out of the Resistance. No branch of national activity started with such a clean slate. But if the money powers were not able to prevent this reform from being carried out by the enthusiasm of an aroused people, they were from the very first able to exercise their influence to prevent measures which could hinder their revenge. The law regulating the transfer of the printing plants which had been seized to a national association was not passed until 1946, 40 The Material and Legal Situation of Journalists - years after General de Gaulle had left. Its application was immediately obstructed by ministers hostile to it, while the Vichyite judges who had stayed in their positions rendered many decisions acquitting the treasonous papers. As for the statute in regard to newspaper enterprises, it has not even been at the present moment- five after liberation- brought up in Parliament. Everything leads one to believe that if a govermental bill were now presented it would be profoundly different from that of the Resistance and would only aim at organizing political repressions. The result is that today the French Press, which was the object of this unique experiment, has fallen in the main part to a level even lower, perhaps, than formerly. The new publishers of papers lacked technical experience and even political knowledge and soon found themselves in very grave material difficulties; some abandoned their properties, others were put up for sale, while the magnates of the old Press carried on their manoeuvres. The big papers are today betraying their mission. The concern for commercial competition brings a superfluity of titillation of the lowest public instincts. Far from educating, they have become a means of diverting and stupefying the masses, turning their attention from essential problems to various sensations, to sexual excitations, to detailed accounts of all sorts of anti- social activities: crime, robbery, swindling, etc. Far from informing objectively, this press juggles numerous problems or presents them in a tendentious way. American intervention in Korea is presented as an undertaking which furthers peace, as is the Atlantic Pact and all other preparations for a new world war. The truth about the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and origins of the war in Indo- China is carefully disguised, the break- off the discussions on atomic disarmament is attributed to an imaginary refusal of the USSR to accept international control, etc. Millions of people who know little about international questions are thus systematically led into error and, by a distorted view of the facts, led without their realizing it in the direction desired by those who control this press. At the same time, of course, the real responsibilities of a regime which limits their standard of living is hidden from the public, a regime which eats up their savings with monetary devaluations and prepares a third world war to find a way out for the contradictions of the system. This Press has now for the most part once again fallen under the influence, direct or indirect, of the former owners. The industrialist Prouvost, who owned Paris- Soir and Match, is once again backing Paris- Match. Godet, who published the sports weekly, l'Auto, is today at the head of l'Equipe and Dépêche de Toulouse, bastion of the Munichites. The circulation offices have The Material and Legal Situation of Journalists 41 fallen into the hands of the managers of the former" green trust", Hachette, reactionary and collaborationist. Besides this, the French Press is experiencing a general crisis. A few figures will allow us to measure the extent. From 1947 to 1949 in Paris alone, 26 dailies have totally disappeared, four have merged with others and about 60 periodicals have ceased publication. The provinces provide a similar picture. Before the war, the total circulation of Parisian dailies was estimated at seven million copies, of which about two- thirds were morning papers. It is today less than four and a half million. In the provinces, people have lost the habit of reading the Paris papers as much as they did previously. Whatever caused the decline, it is little seen in the case of the local dailies. The latter, from 1938 to 1949 maintained a total circulation of about seven and a half million, the loss being not more than a few hundred thousand. On the other hand, one sees the phenomenon of concentration clearly emerging. This circulation was divided in 1938 among 197 papers; in 1949 there were no more than 133. The great regionals devoured the local journals, a process which does not operate in favor of the liberty of journalists. This concentration, which also favors the creation of newspaper chains, accelerates the disappearance of the small independent journals. The causes of this general crisis are multiple. We mention only a certain skepticism which has spread with regard to the press and, unhappily only too deserved, the competition of the radio, and above all the general and substantial decline in the purchasing power of the masses. The consumption of newspapers is reduced, but also that of tobacco, of wine, of all the nonessential purchases. The material situation of French journalists is seriously affected by this. Minimum salaries now represent a buying power of about 50% of 1939. And for four years it has been impossible to arrive at a new collective agreement, because of the manoeuvres of a divided and anarchic company union, which counts on the refusal to accord personal guarantees to journalists, and on the unemployment brought about by crisis to bend them more easily to its will. The only successes which union activity has registered in this entire period has been to secure a retirement pension at the age of 65 by the assimilation of those journalists into the ranks of employees who had enjoyed that retirement legally since 1947, thanks to union action directed by the CGT, and the institution of a recovery en bloc of the legal holidays not taken by journalists, generally in the form of a 12- day leave during the winter. 42 The Material and Legal Situation of Journalists What we have said above shows that the democratic Press, still independent and faithful to the spirit of the Resistance, struggles under particularly unfavorable conditions against the crisis of the French Press. Boycotted by business, it has much less advertising income than its competitors who approve the reactionary policies favorable to the advertiser. It obviously does not benefit from any of the hidden subsidies which the capitalist groups are able to distribute, from secret government funds or foreign interests. Its readers belong to the poorest class of the population, who are the hardest hit by the reduction of purchasing power. It is forced to face commercial competition which with its resources can, for the same price per issue, offer a greater number of pages with huge costly articles, novels, and the abundant illustrations which the big capitalist papers. possess. The concern for its high purpose prevents it from demagogically flattering the lowest instincts or adopting a flippant and irresponsible tone, as the papers which, on the contrary, seek to lower the intellectual level of the masses do not hesitate to do. For it is indeed an Americanization of this press which is in progress. Direct Americanization, by the distribution of enormous numbers of magazines like the Reader's Digest and Life, or horrible children's papers exalting the myth of the" superman"; Americanization by" poisoning", the news photographs and the foreign news come in a large part from American agencies; Americanization indirectly by sensational taste, private scandals, by the place given to American reports( the page in Figaro given each day to the news in Korea is almost entirely devoted to it, and this same paper publishes the Alsop brothers), and probably in many cases, still more direct influence. The democratic papers, resting on the broad base of popular opinion, are putting up a strong fight, and in spite of their unequal weapons, they have won considerable success. Faithful to the founding charter of the IOJ, to the latest resolutions and to those of their congress at Nantes, the journalists affiliated with the powerful CGT have redoubled their efforts for peace and against the manoeuvres which seek to drag their contry into a third world war. They have had the satisfaction of seeing the people of Paris, in response to their appeal, demonstrate their anger in the ChampsElysées for several days, underneath the windows of Figaro, which dared to publish the memoires of the SS colonel, Otto Skorzeny. They are strongly committed in favor of the Stockholm Appeal, and have registered a series of victories. Further, they have broken the conspiracy of silence which the rightist Press has tried to organize around the Appeal, and have forced The Material and Legal Situation of Journalists 43 them to take a stand. Numerous journalists working for the bourgeois Press and forbidden to defend the Appeal have personally signed it. The efforts made by the journalist Duchet to obtain the retraction of signatures has failed. A vast stream has burst forth in the country where more than 12 million signatures have already been recorded, in spite of the lies and calumnies unleashed to sow confusion. What is there to say, for example, to the headline of the SFIO paper, Le Populaire, announcing on the first page, " The Stockholm swindlers want to keep the atomic bomb monopoly for the USSR?" I cannot think without emotion of that session of our congress at Nantes when the delegates of the dockers of St. Nazaire, who had been involved for weeks in an heroic struggle against the unloading of American arms, came to salute the journalists who are conducting the same fight with their pens, and the magnificent wave of solidarity which swept over the entire audience. Another example of this action was the publication of a memorandum written by the" Committee to Study European Questions" in which notably Mr. Churchill and Paul Reynaud participated, a memorandum which recommended aggressive atomic warfare against the USSR. This publication threw the" Committee" into the greatest confusion, and several members resigned or publicly disavowed its position, and helped immensely to alert public opinion to the dangers confronting peace. Honest journalists and newspapers have more than economic difficulties to surmount. A violent government repression has burst forth, not against the corrupt Press, but against that which has remained faithful to its ideal and to the service of the people. You have been told about the hundreds of prosecutions, and the arrests, of the sentences which are the daily incidents of our life. All communist journalists have been fired from the State radio, as Barnier, himself a victim of repression, has told you. The official agency France- Presse has just dismissed the Catholic writer Merleau- Ponthy, too stubborn to accept the pro- American line. You all know how the great writer, Louis Aragon, a fighter decorated in two wars, has been deprived of his civil rights, how Léo Figuières was held by the police for having sought, in an article on Indo- China, for a peaceful rapprochement between the French and the Vietnamese peoples. The criminal laws have taken up to the military courts the whole campaign against the war plans, and only lack of time has prevented the government from adopting press laws which would permit the elimination of progressive journalists from the profession. But you already know this 44 The Material and Legal Situation of Journalists situation. You have not forgotten that this Congress which unites us today, thanks to the hospitality of our Finnish colleagues, should have been held in Paris last spring, but because of the opposition of the French police authorities, entry visas were refused to the majority of delegates and to our good Secretary General Hronek. This prohibition was simply a normal part of the international offensive directed against the IOJ, whose spirit and whose principles are an embarrassment to the partisans of war. You have certainly not forgotten the expulsion of Ilya Ehrenburg, who had been decorated by the Legion of Honour for his exceptional services to France. Perhaps there is an iron curtain, but on which side is the lock? Already the offensive of the state against the free press is not enough, and fascism itself goes into action. Such was the destruction by explosives of the machinery of a paper at Chateauroux, such was the raid organized by a band of ex- collaborators against the newspaper Action, the organ of the Defenders of the Peace. One is forced to conclude that everything is happening in our western democracy as though that much- vaunted political liberty would in fact be denied more and more to just those journalists who are free from the power of money, and as though the state loosed the reins on the necks only of those whom it knows are sufficiently held elsewhere. Here we see, so few years after the Liberation, what is the balance sheet of an unprecedented attempt to create an independent and honest Press under a capitalist regime. Against this triple offensive- economic, police and fascist- the democratic French papers remain full of faith and confidence, for they know that they are saving the honour of their profession and have the strength of Truth on their side. There is nothing left of the hope which they had nourished, during battles and secret existence, of seeing born a Press freed from the power of money, where all could work with all their sincerity and talent to build a free and peaceful world. Even legal liberty, so precarious when the other kind does not exist, is each day further withdrawn from honest papers. Experience will serve to prove that it is not possible to have real freedom for journalists without the general freedom of their country and of all the people. We have rightly decided to fight until that total freedom reigns in our country and in the whole world. All the lessons drawn from this experience are confirmed by the facts assembled by the IOJ and already presented to the Congress by the delegates who have spoken during the past two days. Everywhere private The Material and Legal Situation of Journalists 45 ownership of the Press manoeuvers in the direction of a concentration which endangers still further the independence of journalists. Our Secretary General has spoken about the Press of the United States, dominated by the great chains, Scripps- Howard, Hearst, etc. In the USA, the local radio station often also belongs to the same people as the local paper, giving them complete control of information. In Great Britain, five chains control 45% of the papers, including two- thirds of the rural Press. The Lord Kemsley group alone directs 25 papers, dozens of periodicals, 50% of the total circulation of the rural morning Press and 20% of the evening. In West Germany the financier Pferdermeges, who actively supported Hitler, is building a vast Press enterprise. In Australia all the big papers of the capital are controlled by six men. Do you believe that all these magnates, closely tied to the great commercial, industrial or financial enterprises, are using their power to orient opinion in the direction of social justice, in the interest of the masses and of peace? They are certainly most rabid to conduct propaganda campaigns in the name of liberty! But they have never seemed to be aware of what is happening on their own doorstep. For everywhere repression increases, and it always strikes the same side. No western government has prosecuted newspapers that have published the article by Sir Duff Cooper defending the atom bomb and demanding that it be dropped without further delay on Moscow and the principal cities of the Soviet Union- no more than they have put in prison Mr. Matthews, American Secretary of the Navy, who is of the same opinion, and has said so. The great majority of the western press has tolerated or approved these incitements to massacre, this cynical vindication of genocide, whose character was established at the Nuremberg trials and proclaimed by UNO. On the contrary, the most violent attacks are made by these same governments against journalists who are revolted by the idea of this murderous insanity, and the" great Press" supports and approves this repression. Numerous examples have been given here. The occupation authorities have practically suppressed the progressive Press of Western Germany on the eve of elections. They have suppressed the progressive Japanese Press and caused to be thrown on the street all journalists suspected of communism, that is to say, in the eyes of General MacArthur all those who dare criticize his policy of bloody adventure. In all colonial countries the voice of the people is forbidden to speak, native journalists are persecuted and pay with their liberty and sometimes with their lives, for the brave effort that they are making to educate their 46 The Material and Legal Situation of Journalists compatriots and raise the level of the enslaved populations. Even Bao Dai, the puppet emperor of Saigon, suppressed five dailies at one time in the zone he controls, thanks to the French armed forces, and provoked a general strike of Vietnamese journalists! Who protested when, in Argentina, the dictator Peron suppressed at one stroke 150 publications, denied paper to opposition newspapers, and placed journalists under the inquisitional surveillance of a Committee of AntiArgentine Activities, set up on the model of the famous" Committee on Un- American Activities" of the Congress in Washington? Decidedly not Messrs. Truman or Acheson, so ready nevertheless to have millions of men killed in the name, they say, of freedom of expression. It is true that at the same time Peron allows the German nazis to publish on his soil their magazine, Die Brucke. Under what conditions do the journalists of Latin- America work? Who thinks of the conditions of terror in force in the monarcho- fascist Press of Athens which in practice permits the police to send to concentration camps all those who dare to oppose the officials? And in Iraq, where Anglo- American oil reigns, are they not aware of article 89 which permits the sentencing to death for the crime of opinion journalists hostile to the feudal monarchy? When has Mr. Truman protested? But time does not suffice to draw the true picture of the" freedom" of journalists in the" free world." In the name of the defense of the human soul, much has been said in all these countries about Cardinal Mindszenty, whose guilt even the Vatican has not dared to deny. But outside of the democratic Press, who speaks of Glezos suffering in prison? Of the assassination of Hsien Quen Yao, secretary of the" News of July 7 of Central China", of the death under torture of Yang- Chao, of the execution of the publishers of the Literary Digest of Shanghai, and of so many others of our heroic colleagues in China, still being massacred at the end of 1949 by the Chinese authorities protected and controlled by the United States? Long is the list of journalists who have died martyrs to the cause of progress, justice and peace. But if the road is lined with tombs, we are proud to follow it, because freedom walks there, and victory is at the end. The honest journalists, reacting to the appeal of the IOJ, cannot tolerate this prostitution of the most sacred terms of their profession. They cannot accept either the law of the lie or the gag. They respond to your appeals. We salute the example of men like George Wheeler, John Peet, Frank Stevens, all those who listened to their conscience and chose liberty- for all time! Everywhere the same choice presents itself- slavery, conscious The Frantic Campaign Against the People's Democracies 47 or otherwise, to the dictates of money, and police suppression; neo- fascist terror in chains, whether gold or not, and the stick. Our choice is made, without fear and without hesitation. Our material and moral position depends on it. The exploitation of journalists will cease with the ending of a Press which supports exploitation; their honour will rise to the height of their independence and their courage. Supported by the people, bound to the people, to the service of the people, the journalists will know how to keep their place in the front ranks of the only struggle worthy of man. What security, what dignity, will remain in our profession if we agree to devote it to maintaining injustice and the dissemination of lies, when it offers us the noblest of missions, that of lending our voice to those who create and who struggle, that of educating and of bringing together all men to help them build the peace for which they long, and the happiness which is their right? NIKOLA ALEXIEV( Bulgaria) THE FRANTIC CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE PEOPLE'S DEMOCRACIES We are witnessing a constantly sharpening campaign against the People's Democracies. This campaign has always been directly connected with the campaign against the Soviet Union, and that is quite natural. What is the main reason for the intensification of this slander campaign? The main reason is the failure of the plans of the Anglo- American imperialists to restore capitalism in these countries with the help of the domestic reaction. In the first years after the establishment of the People's Democracies, the imperialists still hoped to achieve their aims through the open and secret agents in their service. But in the course of the last two or three years, the imperialists' hopes have suffered a complete collapse. This fact 48 The Frantic Campaign Against the People's Democracies is the basic reason for the imperialists' mad fury. Their Press has stepped up to an incredible extent its campaign against the people's democratic countries. In that campaign ever new means are being used, particularly radio propaganda which is being intensified with a view to shaking the convictions of the working people in these countries. What are the essential elements of this campaign? The imperialist press and radio are striving, above all, to infuse into their readers and listeners false ideas of the character of the people's democratic regimes. The bandits and mercenaries of the pen are hard put to" prove" that in the people's democratic countries the governments are not in the hands of the popular masses, that the people there are victims of a dictatorship of a gang of usurpers. The imperialists canot, on the other hand, reconcile themselves to the idea that a whole series of countries have freed themselves from the economic yoke of capitalism, have embarked upon the independent development of their economies. Previously the imperialist robbers were able unhindered to dispose of the riches of these countries, but now that possibility has been taken from them. There is a good deal of talk in the Press and radio of the imperialist states about the economic conditions in the People's Democracies. They are portrayed in the darkest colours so as to present a distorted picture of the changes that have taken place in the economies of those countries. Imperialist propaganda is directed towards carrying confusion and mistrust into the ranks of those who are building socialism, to compromise economic planning, to discourage the enthusiasm for work in the people's democratic countries. In addition, the journalists of the imperialist camp are making a great effort to represent in a grotesque light those serious changes which are taking place in the cultural life of the People's Democracies. By means of spreading bourgeois nationalism, cosmopolitism, etc., the capitalist Press is endeavouring to pervert the consciences of men of science, culture and art in our countries, and thus to infect our young socialist culture with the poison of bourgeois corruption. What is the aim of this slander campaign? It endeavours firstly: To encourage the remnants of the reactionary groups in the people's democratic countries, who are experiencing the deep hatred of the popular masses, and are aware of their complete lack of influence on them. The Frantic Campaign Against the People's Democracies 49 Secondly: The imperialists are trying to prepare within each people's democratic country a fifth column for wrecking and in case of war. The Rajk trial in Hungary, the Kostov trial in Bulgaria and the series of similar court proceedings in Poland, Albania, Rumania and Czechoslovakia have laid bare the aims of the imperialist espionage. Thirdly: The imperialist Press and radio are endeavouring to demoralize those who are building socialism, to persuade them that the building of socialism is a senseless attempt, since the atomic bomb would destroy everything instantly. Fourthly: In the imperialist countries there are reasons deep in internal policy which prompt the ever more frantic campaign of slander against the Soviet Union and the People's Democracies. In the USA, Britain and in all Marshallized countries, unemployment is rising constantly, the economic crisis is growing and the armament race increasing. The masses of the people are with growing intensity striving to find an organized way out of the difficult situation. The national revolutionary movement and the class war in a number of countries embrace broad masses of the people. In the circumstances which prevail in the imperialist camp, the working people are with ever keener interest watching the events in the people's democratic countries. The major economic, political and cultural successes of these countries have already become known to the broad masses of the working people in the capitalist countries. The lies and slanders of the capitalist newspapers are daily becoming less effective means of distracting the attention of the working people from the gigantic progress in the Soviet Union and the People's Democracies. By its disgusting campaign, the imperialist Press wants to prepare the working people to become cannonfodder in a war against the USSR and the People's Democracies. The special role of the emigrés and Titoites in this campaign. The imperialists have allotted a special task to the Press of reactionary emigrés who fled during the rout of espionage and terror groups in the people's democratic countries. These who are deemed unsuitable for their own Press the imperialists readily leave to the Titoite Press and radio, the Titoites acting in the disguise of communists and attacking the people's democratic regimes from the" left". In order to conceal the preparations for a new war, the Titoites shamelessly pretend that in their Press that a military attack is being prepared against Yugoslavia, that Bulgaria, Rumania and Hungary are mobilizing or that Soviet troops are maintained 50 Radio Journalists Against the Propaganda of Hatred and War there, etc. The Titoite pen- bandits try to present the Soviet Union and the neighbouring people's democratic countries as aggressors and warmongers and to present themselves as victims of the" aggressive" policy of those countries. Thus the Titoite journalists are playing into the hands of their imperialist masters, not only in the Balkans but on an international scale. LUCIEN BARNIER( France) RADIO JOURNALISTS AGAINST THE PROPAGANDA OF HATRED AND WAR The radio of our country makes an important contribution to the war propaganda which is worked out at Washington. Radio Diffusion Française is a monopoly. The radio organization is governed by the statutes of 1942, that is to say those of the collaborators' government of Vichy. This permits an organic and political tie between Radio and Government. The Government has sole control of Radio, not the listeners who pay the total costs of technical operation and of the radio programs. The actual director of Radio is not the man who bears the title, but the Minister of Information. It is the latter who daily edits the News of the Day which reaches an average of at least 15 million listeners. At important moments in the struggle of the French working class, such as the big strikes for wage claims in 1947 and 1948, Radio is used as a means of demoralizing the workers on strike, especially their wives, through the publication of false reports of the return of strikers and in giving a platform to the secessionist traitors of the Force Ouvrière. The key positions of Radio are held by men who are for the most part renegades from the working class movement. For example the Director of the News of the Day is a typical renegade from the French workers' movement. He is a certain Gagneau who has surrounded himself with a real general staff of traitors to the working class and virulent enemies of the Soviet Union and the People's Democracies. In spite of ministerial changes which are usually followed by patronage appointments to important posts, these men have not been replaced. This emphasizes the permanence of the pro- American and reactionary policy of the Paris governments. In this way one can understand that Radio which reaches, I repeat, 15 million French people, constitutes one of the essential weapons of the war propaganda in France. Political control and censorship is not exercised over the news broadcasts alone- which Radio Journalists Against the Propaganda of Hatred and War 51 are based totally on the dispatches of the Anglo- American agencies( Reuters, AP and UP) or the government agency AFP- but also in the field of so- called variety programs. I have listed for one week only about 60 titles of American or American- type productions on phonograph record programs. Here are a few:" Music While you Work", " Manhattan Song"," Life in the Blues". The official delegate of Voice of America in France is a production official of RDF. It is also worth noting that French authors receive only 3% of the radio budget for their original productions. I would like to give you an example of the extreme interference of the United States in RDF. This is the case of Pierre Emmanuel. M. Pierre Emmanuel is a Catholic poet who is notoriously anti- communist. He was chief of the American Section at RDF, in charge of broadcasts to North American. On his return from a trip to the US, M. Pierre Emmanuel wrote in a French daily, Le Monde, a report which stressed the pro- fascist climate which he observed there. In spite of his reputation as an anti- communist, M. Emmanuel was immediately relieved of his duties, and this as a result of a personal telephone call from David Bruce, American Ambassador in Paris. There has been no denial of this fact. Is it not true that this serves to emphasize the submission of RDF to a foreign government as well as the vigilance of that government's representatives in carrying out the political line manufactured in Washington? In the framework of the American propaganda as laid out by Truman, RDF is not only a weapon of the war constantly waged against our own people. It is also a weapon in the war directed against the People's Democracies. The transmitters which cover these countries have a high kilowatt capacity- up to 120 KW short wave. These broadcasts are directed by a certain Rollin who is a man from the Quai d'Orsay, connected with Pierre Andrieu, ex- agent of Doriot, personal friend of the traitor Marion. Rollin is the man who promised Franco last year to dismiss the Spanish Republican journalists from the Radio. Now this has been done. The personnel in charge of broadcasts to the People's Democracies is composed exclusively of fascist emigrés, agents of Anglo- American intelligence. Thus for example, there is the Colonel, Count Dessewffy, Hungarian war criminal and a person who insulted France in a nazi publication which appeared in Budapest in 1941. These broadcasts carry code messages from Paris to clandestine groups of saboteurs who are situated on the territory of the People's Democracies in order to destroy the magnificent accomplishments of these peoples. In this way agents of the imperialist American war are able to make contact under cover of the RDF. Information we have received allow us to state that these activities will soon be greatly increased, because a group of very powerful radio transmitters are being set up at Isandre which are due to go into operation this very month. This group of transmitters can broadcast, under excellent technical conditions, war propaganda of the fascist emigrés from those countries which are building socialism. They have just engaged a certain white Russian who will have charge of the Russian language section. The Radio workers have not remained passive during this rapid transformation of Radio, aimed at making it an essential weapon in the ideological war against the Soviet Union. In one year alone- from July, 1949 to July, 1950- nine actions were decided on and organized by the Radio workers. In 1949, during the meeting of the" Big Four" in Paris, 52 Women Journalists a general strike of Radio workers showed the journalists of the whole world the fighting spirit of the Radio workers. provoIn order to restrain this fighting spirit and to free its hands for the dirty work of cation to war, the government instituted by ministerial decree, a permanent draft of Radio workers, including even the journalists. This has not prevented us from organizing four strikes at the Radio. Repression! This has indeed persisted at the Radio. We have lost trade union leaders. But others have arisen to replace them in the struggle. In conclusion I would like to ask the Congress to reflect on the possibility of closer ties among the Radio journalists who belong to the IOJ. We have a little different trade, in its character and working conditions, from our colleagues of the written Press. And this sometimes creates for us a slightly unique situation in the journalist family. Besides this we have to do with a very new technique. We must mutually learn from each other. Therefore we, the French delegates, propose the examination of constituting within the IOJ a body specially devoted to professional and technical questions which concern Radio journalists. MARIA CIOCANU( Rumania) WOMEN JOURNALISTS It is absolutely necessary that the 107 and the national member organizations should in every way support and encourage women to take up journalistic work, should educate women journalists in the spirit of the fight for peace and progress. It should feel obliged to look after the material and legal interests of women Press workers. The IOJ cannot remain indifferent to the problems of women journalists in general and those of the women's Press in particular. The women's Press plays an important part in the education of womenwho make up more than half the population of the world- plays an important part in drawing this huge force into the great fight of freedom- loving and peace- loving peoples against the warmongers, Anglo- American imperialists. Progressive women journalists have given and are giving considerable support to that struggle, indicating to the broad masses of women the way to fight for peace and for their children's happiness. Exposing the aggressive plans of the American imperialists, they arouse in the hearts of millions of women- hitherto following with anxiety but without clarity the course of international eventsa sharp interest in the daily political problems. They are more and more able to turn this interest into a flaming hatred and then into active participation in the decisive fight against those who are preparing death for millions. What angry resentment, for example, was evoked in the hearts of all women against the brigandusurpers by the article which the Soviet journalist Irene Volkova wrote describing the barbaric air attacks of American planes on the peaceful population of Korea. Women Journalists 53 The Press which is in the hands of the financial trusts has an interest in preventing women from being involved in an active fight for peace. Therefore it does everything possible to restrict their viewpoint on civic matters, with the so- called" women's corner", with frivolous worldly" content, having only to do with fashions, amusements for children, and so on. That is, with questions which certainly are of importance, but are in no way the basic problems which interest women of the entire world. In order to show how important it is to involve women in the fight for peace, I will give an example from my own country, the Rumanian People's Republic. Up until the liberation of our people by the glorious Soviet Army, the huge majority of Rumanian women kept out of public life. This helped to deepen the ignorance and exploitation and to draw our country into a criminal, piratical war. The majority of women, especially in the villages were illiterate. Now, under the people's democratic regime, women learn to read and write, follow with growing interest the papers and magazines which guide them toward participation in the political, economic and cultural life of the country. The journal Setianca, where I work, receives hundreds and thousands of letters from formerly illiterate peasant women. We read in one of them," I was a neglected, beaten and despised slave of the estate owner and of my husband. Today I want to show with this, my first letter, that I am a free woman of a free country, that I have the opportunity to work wherever I am hired, that I want to fight for that which we won in the fight for us and our children. I am exceedingly glad that we have a paper which shows us who are the enemies of peace and how to deal with them." This example, like thousands and tens of thousands of similar examples which I could cite from the experience of our country, emphasizes the huge work of mobilization by the women's Press, in the struggle for those aims which the 107 fights for. Among women journalists there are unfortunately, however, some who sell their consciences for dollars( for example Simone Beauvoir and others), women journalists who use their pen, in the dirty work of war provocations. They sow confusion and doubt in the ranks of women, spread foul, slanderous fabrications about the USSR and the People's Democracies. IOJ must expose them as well as other journalists. 107 should interest itself in the material conditions and morale of women journalists. In RPR, as in other People's Democracies, inspired by the great example of the Soviet Union, women journalists are assured paid vacations, equal pay for equal work, crêches and nursery schools for their children, free medical care and three months' paid maternity leave. We propose that 107 should further strengthen its ties with the International Federation of Democratic Women. We also propose that the Congress include in its instructions to the Secretariat General and national organizations, the recommendations that they should encourage in every way the inclusion of women in journalistic work, educational work among women journalists and the assurance of satisfactory material and working conditions for women journalists. 54 ROSTISLAV PETERA( Czechoslovakia) PROBLEMS OF THE CATHOLIC PRESS The Czechoslovak delegation has entrusted me with reporting the attitude of honest Catholic journalists, toward the fight for peace as a representative of the Catholic Press in Czechoslovakia. First I shall mention the basis for uniting all Catholic journalists in the world that they may stand in the front ranks of the fighters for the defense of peace. We journalists have been granted the power of the printed word and it is a question of honor, conscience and responsibility to choose whom this word shall serve. Only a journalist who sees his goal clearly, follows it directly and without hesitation, and who is also willing to fight for this goal, is worthy of the name of a good journalist. In our time there is no greater task than that of putting one's forces, one's convictions and the power of the pen in the service of the high ideal, the defence of peace on behalf of all the people of the world. This fundamental duty is laid especially on us, the journalists who accept the Christian point of view. One of the highest commandments of the Bible is love for one's fellow man and this means that we desire for men only that which is good, everything which will aid his perfection and development and which is the condition for universal progress and a happy life. And one of the important conditions for making possible the achievement of social and cultural welfare is peace. The benefit of peace is so great, writes Saint Augustine in De Civitate Dei, that we hear no other word with greater joy and no better can we devise. Therefore we Christian and Catholic journalists, call to the conscience and hearts of all men that peace is the greatest gift of God, that it is the result of love and not of hate and that the question of peace or war, is a question of life or death. Peace is an indivisible unity. There is no one set of moral laws for individual men and another for peoples and governments. To those who cannot understand this or who do not want to recognize it, we must bravely and openly say: if murder of individuals is a terrible sin, so much more horrible and frightful is the sin of war because it means the murdering of whole peoples. I could cite the words of the great Christian thinkers through the ages, who have condemned war and called it the greatest sin, the worst in human society, as a huge marauding campaign and the work of the devil. Saint Augustine called aggressors thieves and scoundrels. What words can we use to express the condemnation of those who prepare a third world war? The atom weapon could make this war much more horrible than all previous wars of history. Problems of the Catholic Press 55 In a moment of decision of such great responsibility, on which the future fate of humanity directly depends, the Catholic journalist must have the courage to expose, accuse and condemn those who refuse to recognize on which side truth, justice and righteousness stand, who defends peace and who prepares for a new war. The Christian journalist cannot and dare not hesitate an instant to judge who acts in the interest of mankind, those who speak out fully for the Stockholm Resolution which bans the atom bomb, or those who use the atom weapon as a threat against general peace. A Christian journalist cannot hesitate an instant on who acts justly- he who sows the good seed or those who destroy the harvest; he must know for sure whether he takes his place on the side of those who peacefully build human dwellings, schools, hospitals, houses for culture, science and art, or on the side of those who want to reduce our cities and villages to ruins. Czechoslovakia belongs to the countries of peaceful labour, which has directed its whole economic trend toward creative goals, on the example of the Soviet Union and in a brotherly alliance with other People's Democracies. It does so in order that the work of every single citizen will be assured, that our children will have a joyful life and that everyone will be insured in case of sickness, accident or old age. Our people is therefore firmly determined to do everything to obstruct the forces which want to unleash a new world war and thereby destroy our path to an ever better future. A world conference of representatives of Christian churches was held in the Czechoslovak resort town of Luhačovice on July 1 and 2. An especially strong impression was made by the attitude of Catholic priests who, deeply moved, expressed the great compassion and pain they felt for those who prayed for peace in the churches but at the same time would not support the peace movement and even stood on the side of its enemies. We must condemn with the same sharpness the writings of that Catholic Press which serves the propaganda which was born of imperialist plans and aims and for which the suffering of war is only an opportunity for speculation and gain. When the official organ of the Vatican, Osservatore Romano, which should preach love of one's neighbor and a Christian order in international political life, took a favorable attitude toward the American attack on the Korean People's Republic and described the American army as crusaders for western Christian civilization, in approving of murder it insults and betrays the moral rules of the Bible. When the second largest Catholic daily, the Paris La Croix carries on the biggest campaign against the Stockholm Peace Resolution, when the official organ of the Catholic archdiocese in Boston, The Pilot, writes in its September issue that one must perhaps consider a preventive war against the Soviet Union, then we feel disgust at the moral bog into which these Catholic journalists have fallen. They put the interests and profits of capitalist monopolies, trusts and bankers from Wall Street above the highest divine 56 Problems of the Catholic Press and human ideals. When there are Catholic journalists who today approve the murder of innocent children in Korea and tomorrow perhaps in the whole world, then we can rightly pose the question- what meaning has our Christianity when it deserts and betrays the people in the very moment when all men anxiously ask: peace or war? For this reason all Catholic journalists who believe that peace must be preserved, must address an effective peace appeal to their co- believers and give special pains to speak with those who have become victims of false demagogy. We, Catholic journalists from the People's Democracies, are fortunate to be able to serve peace and our people freely and in harmony with our Christian consciences. The idea of peace is for our people an admonition to undertake untiring and ever more assiduous work. In our country, the work of children in school, the work of laborers in factories or farmers in the fields as well as all creation of cultural and material values is blessed by peace. We Czech and Slovak Catholic journalists have taken over the motto of our patriotic priests and of the whole mass of believers: We pray for peace, we work for peace, we fight for peace. The Czechoslovak people is firmly convinced that world peace will be preserved. Our belief is based on the fact that the world peace front led by the powerful Soviet Union unites not only those who live in the People's Democracies, but also many millions of the working and progressive people of other countries. The firm belief of our people that the struggle for the preservation of peace will be victorious because it is lead in the forefront by the Soviet Union, has its historic and Christian- moral basis. In the times of the worst enslavement our people were strong in the belief that the great Russian people would liberate them. This great hope which was carried over from generation to generation, was twice in this century gloriously fulfilled. The independence of our state was born in 1918 out of the ideals of the great October Revolution and then, on May 9, 1945, it was the victorious Soviet army which saved our ancient and beautiful capital Prague from the nazis and so concluded the liberation of our country. Through the experiences of the Munich tragedy and during the second world war, we have thankfully and inseparably allied ourselves with the Soviet Union and have begun to build a new, just economic order. All church fathers learn that the best aid for the development of religious life is a just social order in which there exists no moral or material poverty. Here we can apply the words of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, that peace is an act of righteousness. The love of justice which unites our people, the spirit of justice which creates fraternal relations among men and between peoples, makes us strong to carry out the work of peace and gives us the firm hope that we can preserve peace. FIQRI VOGLI( Albania) THE PRESS OF ALBANIA IN THE FIGHT FOR PEACE 57 The Albanian Press, born in the underground as tiny leaflets, to- day numbers twelve centralized dailies and periodicals. It is growing daily. While before the war the biggest bourgeois newspaper had a daily circulation of 4,000 copies, today one paper, the Zeri i Popullit( The Voice of the People), prints 35,000 to 40,000 copies. The Press is reaching the broad masses, leading the struggle for the development of the national economy, for the strengthening of the popular regime, for peace and for friendship among nations. The working people themselves are to an ever greater extent participating in the publication of the papers. They are writing reports on the fulfilment of work pledges or about the achievement of their norms. Our newspapers are fighting for peace, against the warmongers. The Anglo- American imperialists and their lackeys cannot reconcile themselves to the fact that this important part of the Balkans has got out of their hands once and for all. They have through their agents for many years been causing provocative incidents on the frontiers of the Albanian People's Republic, where the government has passed from the hands of the capitalists and the bourgeoisie to those of the working people. First to begin those provocations were the Greek monarcho- fascists; then followed the Titoites. And the Greek papers, expressing the opinion of their trans- Atlantic masters on world domination, are attacking the people's governement of Albania in slanderous articles. Expressing the greed of despicable Greek chauvinists, they are demanding the seizure of the southern part of Albania, inhabited by true Albanians who have given their country the best men in the struggle against fascism and are now building a happy life. But to grab the southern part only seems too a small helping for the yellow press. The Greek paper, Elefteria, for June 22, 1950, demanded the incorporation of the whole of Albania into Greece. That is monarcho- fascist appetite. Yugoslav traitors had begun their openly hostile campaign against the USSR and the People's Democracies. To a considerable extent that campaign was directed against our Republic, against our people, for the Titoites thought that Albania should be their colony. But this calculation was made without the Albanian people. The fascist Yugoslav papers Borba, Politika, and others, obedient to the orders of their criminal masters and above all, to the orders of the dollar, use every device to slander the friendship of the Albanian people with the peoples of the Soviet Union and the People's Democracies. They allege without any shame that Soviet aid to Albania is only propaganda. Anybody watching the development of life in Albania could refute this provocation, but for the sake of accuracy let me quote a few facts: Albania was kept a backward country by the capitalists before the war. But if one compares present day Albania even with the Albania of 1945, the situtation appears to be as follows: The textile industry has increased to 782,1%, the leather and shoe 58 Freedom for North Africans and their Press! industry to 719.6%, the concerete cement output to 422.2%, the production of tobacco to 318.6%, the output of the chemical industry to 359%, the production of electricity to 307.8%. The output of bituminous coal is five times, and that of oil four times, the respective figures of that period. The land belongs to those who work it. There exist agricultural co- operatives, and agricultural machine stations; unemployment has gone for good. A new creative life is pulsating in the free Albanian people. Let the reactionary journalists of the neighbouring countries not worry that" the horseman's legs are suspended", as the saying goes in our country. Let them mind their own country with its misery and terror, with court trials of the best sons of the nation, with the concentration camp of Makronisos and the Yugoslav prisons. Many Albanians living in Yugoslavia and Greece were among those executed or deported without trial, but the newspapers of those countries might try in vain to find even one Yugoslav or Greek living under difficult conditions in Albania. Those newspapers, the instruments of capital are preparing for war. But there are millions and millions of people in the entire world who are preparing to defend peace. Our people, too, are among those fighting for peace, and our newspapers are struggling for the cause of the people. Our Press is proud to be walking in the footsteps of the Bolshevik Party and of Lenin's and Stalin's Pravda. BOUALEM KHALFA( Algeria) FREEDOM FOR NORTH AFRICANS AND THEIR PRESS! I am representing six Algerian newspapers, reflecting all degrees of progressive opinion in our country, that is to say, 95% of the Algerian people. These papers include two nationalist organs, two communist, a democratic daily and a progressive religious paper. Can one speak of freedom of the Press in a country which is deprived of all freedom? Can one speak of the right of a journalist to speak the truth, when nine out of ten Algerians are completely illiterate and are also deprived of the right to inquire, of the right to understand the events on which their future depends, of the right to know the truth about these events? Furthermore, in a country where for 95% of the inhabitants Arab is the native language, there exist only two weeklies printed in Arab. The truth is certainly welcome in all languages, but does it have the necessary effectiveness when it is not written for the people in the language which they speak? Of all the attributes of our Algerian personality which imperialism has tried to undermine, certainly our language has suffered most. In a colonial country like ours, where the masses of people ignore the radio almost Freedom for North Africans and their Press! 59 completely, the democratic Press has a great rôle to play in the fight for liberty and peace. Franco- American imperialism understands this, for it has tried by every means in its power to gag all the free newspapers, all the papers which belong to the people and express their aspirations. In this, imperialism has a double purpose: first to prevent by force, if necessary, the colonial people from rapidly becoming aware of the nearness of liberation. To be able to read the newspaper is a luxury denied to most of the dispossessed peasants, the exploited industrial workers in the mills and dockyards, the agricultural workers, who are bent over the planters' fields from dawn to dusk( from starlight to starlight, as we say). They do not have the right to hear news of the agricultural reforms which have been realized in other countries; likewise it is hidden from our hundreds of thousands of unemployed that there are countries where unemployment has disappeared, where men and women have the right to work; in the same way, they try to hide from our people the path which has been followed, and which other colonial people are still following to reach their liberation. The second aim of imperialism, in its drive against the people's Press, is to hide from the people the preparations for war on our soil, which is today transformed into a huge arsenal. The progressive Algerian journalists denounce them. They call on the people to oppose the unloading of American arms, and to refuse to allow their sons to be sent to fight their brothers in Korea or Vietnam. Our papers insist that the Algerians will never make war on other free peoples, and they give important assistance to the campaign for signatures to the Stockholm resolution. To the degree to which they clarify for the people the criminal objectives of the warmongers, the extent to which they mobilize the workers and patriots, through numerous strikes and demonstrations, against these designs, our papers considerably hinder Franco- American imperialism. Repression does not stop the struggle of our press nor that of our people, and today I can assure our Vietnamese comrades who are present at the Congress that since the launching of aggression by the French colonialists against their country, not a ship of supplies or munitions has been loaded by the Algerian dockers. They have struck each time, and have demonstrated their solidarity with their brothers of Vietnam, in spite of misery and repression. Imperialism tries to check the activity of the progressive newspapers by multiplying the number of its own publications. For one democratic daily in Algiers, there are actually at this time ten dailies in the service of the warmongers, and which could not exist except for their subsidies. Their task is to divide the people, to justify repression and the unpopular measures of the French government, to lie in order to make the idea of war acceptable, and to defame the Soviet Union and the People's Democracies. Several of these papers appeared under Hitler, and supported the fascist barbarity. If they were not been suppressed from 1942 to 1945, they owe it to American protection. It is therefore normal that they continue today to serve the plots of Wall Street. They even anticipate their masters. They day after the start of the Korean war, M. René Richard, who under Hitler treated the resistance like criminals and bandits, wrote in the Echo of Algiers:" Not an Algerian has yet received his notice, but everyone must consider himself as already mobilized." Is not M. René Richard a warmonger? We also note that the other Algerian journalists who serve Hitler are today the warmest partisans of Truman. They are the ones whom he has entrusted to lead his" campaign of truth." In Morocco, which is today an advanced American base, censorship was never lifted 60 Freedom for North Africans and their Press! after the victory over Hitler. All articles which denounce imperialism and American preparations for war, or demand independence, are censored. An example: when Soviet territory was violated by an American Privateer, based in Morocco, which was shot down, a Moroccan newspaper denounced the transformation of Morocco into an American base of aggression. The censor cut everything which accused the Americans, and particularly the mention of the point of departure of the American plane. The colonialists have on one occasion been ridiculous enough to censure the accounting of disputed ballots by striking electricians. In the course of the same strike, two newspaper photographers were beaten up, and had their equipment confiscated by the police. In Tunisia, a serious measure recently put into effect threatens with imprisonment all patriots who call for the independence of Tunisia, and the journalists are affected by that law. In certain parts of Algeria, all readers of the democratic Press, as well as the correspondents and the subscribers, are directly threatened by the administration. The reading of progressive papers is completely forbidden in certain communities. Recently, I myself was accused of defamation, and fined 400,000 francs for a report on a terror raid by the police in the village of Sidi Ali Bonnab. I had nevertheless published irrefutable photographic proof of the destruction caused to the village. The court did not want to hear my evidence, nor that of my witnesses who had visited the destroyed village. They sentenced me only because the French government demanded it. The latter has gone to the extent of prosecuting us for printing a statement by the president of the council before the French National Assembly, confirming his decision not to allot one franc more for national education. The text of this speech, which was in the analytical account of the proceedings of the Assembly, was afterwards cut out of the official journal to justify these measures. The illiterate agricultural worker who earns hardly enough to keep himself from starving to death, helps the progressive papers financially, because he knows that they fight for freedom from exploitation. The oppressed do not know how to read, but they know all the news and their initiative makes up for everything. It is enough if only one of them can decipher the writing for the news to fly from place to place, crossing forests and mountains. No one fails to know that today China is a free country, or that the people of Vietnam, the Philippines, Korea or Malaya struggle for their independence. They know that they are not alone in their struggle, and that they can count on the solidarity of all the free countries, from the USSR to China and Czechoslovakia, on the solidarity of all the other peoples. I have received instruction from the Algerian journalists to ask the Congress to adopt the principle of sending a protest from the IOJ, and from its branches in each country, each time a paper or a journalist is hit by repression. Imperialism needs darkness to continue its wicked blows. To the extent which the IQJ brings to light all the repressive measures which strike us, it will help to arrest the arm of the criminals. This solidarity in the matter of repression should also be shown in the matter of information. In Algeria we are reduced to official sources of information, and our work is rendered very difficult. At the same time, the administration has placed a virtual blackout on all the events which occur in our country. This is why the readers of the world know little, or not at all, that on May 8, 1945, the day when all the people celebrate the victory over fascism, 40,000 Algerians were massacred during a colonialist provocation. Thousands of others were imprisoned. The Material Situation of Austrian Journalists 61 The readers of the entire world are not sufficiently aware that our country is transformed into an immense base of aggression or eventual strategic retreat, that arms and V2's are being stored there, that experiments with chemical gas are being made there on sheep, while our people are sunk in frightful misery. The world does not know that in Algeria, imperialism offered the unemployed, the miserable peasants, to buy them by weight, at 1000 francs a kilogram, to send them to fight in Vietnam- but imperialism is deluding itself, because we are not for sale, and the Algerians, Tunisians, and Moroccans who fight in the North African anti- colonialist brigade under the flag of Ho Chi Minh, show the Franco- American imperialists that they have no desire to strengthen oppression, but the contrary. On the other hand, we are very poorly informed about events in the free world, the countries of the Soviet Union, the People's Democracies, and the people already liberated, or who struggle for their independence. Imperialism stops all this information. The IOJ can, I believe, organize an exchange of information between journalists. Thus we will all have new arms in our struggle for peace, and to halt the campaign of imperialists' lies. Repression has never stopped our fight for liberty, for the end of our slavery. Our struggle grows sharper, and at the same time, our responsibilities as journalists in the service of the people are becoming greater and greater. Assured of the solidarity of all the free countries and peoples, with the Soviet Union at their head, assured of the fraternal aid of the French people, assured of the solidarity of the democratic journalists of the entire world, we are certain that our struggle will soon have results. And I hope that at the next Congress of the IOJ, it will be the delegate from free and democratic Algeria whom you receive. Dr. FRITZ GLAUBAUF( Austria) THE MATERIAL SITUATION OF AUSTRIAN JOURNALISTS Our newspapermens' union in Austria of which I am the vice- president, has been able to conclude a collective agreement which calls for a number of important guarantees for the permanent journalists of the daily papers. 1. A minimum wage( its renegotiation is being considered), smaller than the wages of the compositers. 2. Fourteen months wages a year. 3. Three months' pay in case of dismissal. 4. Five percent increase after every 5- year period of service for the same firm. 5. One year's pay in cases where the newspaper changes its political tendencies. 62 The Material Situation of Austrian Journalists In other respects, the journalists enjoy the same rights as the rest of the staff; in other words they are covered by social insurance in case of sickness or disability. But the old age coverage is by no means satisfactory. But I do not wish to conceal the fact that only a portion of our colleagues enjoy the benefit of this collective agreement: This agreement does not include the journalists in the service of the weekly newspapers. They work in private enterprises for very low wages. The journalists in the service of the Press of the occupation forces and news agencies. do receive the minimum wage laid down by the trade union, but they do not receive 14 months pay a year nor the other benefits of the agreement. In a very difficult position are the so- called temporary workers who are paid by the line; they do not receive holidays or social insurance. If the minimum rate of the trade union calls for 50 gross per line, many of them are paid 25 or even 15 gross. It is only natural that the position of this group presses our colleagues, who are engaged on the basis of permanent wages. The Executive Committee has been discussing this question, but to date no progress. has been made. The rise in the cost of living has affected the circulation of the newspapers and the employers on their part save at the expense of the weakest group- the newspapermenbecause the typographical and the technical workers on the papers have strong trade unions. We have also observed that there is unemployment among the journalists, the older are discharged and live on minimum pensions which are not sufficient even to cover food expenses. I know a newspaperman who has served in this field for more than 40 years, and now is living in the poor- house. *** I think that the question of the economic position of the journalists in the capitalist countries should not be removed from the agenda of our organization. It helps us to broaden out and to win over new defenders of peace and progress among the journalists. Practically speaking, this means that our review and the letters written by the Secretary General should pay continuous attention to the following questions: 1. Accounts of the economic situation and the struggle of journalists in different countries( concretely in each country). 2. Exchange of information on the existing collective agreements, and on the struggle for such agreements. 3. Publication of facts concerning the regulations for journalists in the countries of people's democracy. I do not think that it is necessary to explain how important it is to give to our organization this specific trade union life, so necessary for the colleagues in capitalist and colonial countries. That is the main area for our work and our fight, and our colleagues who are happily and freely working in the People's Democracies can support us with their experiences. We are a specific organization, a professional organization of journalists, and our General Secretariat should be transformed into a center of exchange of information on the specific professional questions of the journalists. I purposely take up these questions during this debate because otherwise it would have been possible to interprete my words as minimizing our great and decisive task: the mobilization of journalists for peace. GERARD VAN MOERKERKE( Belgium) THE ASSASSINATION OF LAHAUT AND THE BELGIAN PRESS 63 When, scarcely a month ago, criminal hands, armed by the gangster politicians of American imperialism and with methods dear to nazi killers, felled the president of the Communist Party of Belgium, Julien Lahaut, one of the best loved leaders of the working masses of Flanders and Walloon, a wave of anger passed through the workers of Belgium and of the entire world. In protest strikes, in demonstrations, in funeral services great in their moving simplicity and their mass support, the workers expressed their determination to bar the way to the fascist assassin, to American- instigated Leopoldism, to the reactionary warmonger and abettor of misery. The workers, and particularly the working class, understood what was the aim of the killers and their chiefs. The working class had demonstrated its growing strength in the general strike of July, 1950, a strike to evict the collaborator- king Leopold de Saxe Coburg- Gotha. It inflicted definite defeat on reaction, directed by Yankee imperialism. It proved that the Belgian people do not want fascism, do not want misery, do not want war. And if it had not been for the treachery of the right- wing leaders of certain workers' organizations, the victory, in this case only partial, would have been complete. Reaction, feeling itself unable to install its dictatorship. by bourgeois- democratic methods, had recourse to bloody terrorism, to the cowardly assassination of Julien Lahaut, one of the leaders of the progressive forces, venerable fighter, resister from the very beginning, director of the first strike of the masses against the nazi occupiers, political prisoner. The assassination of Lahaut was the revenge of American reaction for the partial victory won by the working class in the strikes at the end of July, it was a blow against the forces of peace, liberty and social progress, which were personified by the great figure of the president of the Communist Party. But while the working class realized the exact political significance of this foul murder, the so- called democratic Press has given additional proof of the depths to which it has fallen. The social democratic Press hid this political meaning. It does not wish to see, it cannot see, the American responsibility for the murder. The reactionary Catholics papers, owned by certain financial groups and, as they say themselves, the great champions of Eternal God and Leopold, of the immutable and sacrosanct principles of honesty, integrity and journalistic aesthetics, publicly declared, in black and white, that Lahaut was assassinated by order of Moscow. It is to such baseness, to such ignominy, that the bourgeois Press which calls itself democratic, has recourse, in order to hide its own responsibility. Nevertheless, the assassins of Lahaut read this press, believe the lies, the blasts, of this press; they have put into practice the calls to war, to violence, to bestial hate against the Soviet Union, the People's Democracies and the communists, appeals with which this press is daily filled. It must be added that it is the rotten journalists of this same press who left the IOJ and refused to take part in the IOJ Congress at Brussels. These journalists, who sell 64 The Assassination of Lahaut and the Belgian Press their pens for a few dollars and who have nothing in common with what is good and great in man, howl like wolves because the IOJ, taking its stand on its previous declarations, participates with all its strength in the great struggle for peace in the world, in the struggle for real liberty for journalists, that liberty which finds its roots in the enduring working masses of the people. These journalists, directing the Professional Union of the Belgian Press and the General Federation of the Belgian Press, take part actively in the organization of the new international of journalists, under American guidance- one more instrument of American imperialism. These journalists refuse membership in the professional organizations to communist journalists, but see no obstacle to admitting journalists working for newspapers which appeared during the nazi occupation. However, I believe that this applies only to a minority. But unfortunately the conditions of work in Belgium are such that it is impossible for a journalist to express political opinions contrary to those of his employer. He is forbidden to say what he thinks. He is forbidden to write what he has seen. He is forbidden to write for peace. He is even forbidden to ask that normal commercial relations be established between Belgium and the USSR, between Belgium and the People's Democracies. This largely explains the situation in which the journalists for bourgeois newspapers live. This also explains to a great extent their attitude toward the IOJ, their demand that organizations of journalists stand, as they say, aloof from politics. However, it is necessary to indicate that not to require that organizations of journalists take a positive attitude on the great problems which concern the world is to play into the hands of those who want war, who are actively preparing it, who are already waging war against the Korean people. In the great battle actually being fought between the living forces of peace and the decaying forces of war, no neutrality is possible. One must choose. One must choose the right side. One must choose the side of peace, welcome all attempts to strengthen it, participate actively in the battle and unify the forces of peace, take every intiative to serve peace, place one's pen at the service of this noble cause, the salvation of humanity. It is thus that we, journalists, will acquit ourselves in the best, the only way possible, in the great and noble task which is incumbent upon us: to serve the people. ENCHO STAIKOV( Bulgaria) SPEECH IN THE DEBATE ON THE MORAL AND MATERIAL CONDITIONS OF JOURNALISTS The Bulgarian journalists enjoy the full support of the People's Democratic Government, and are able to fulfil their responsible tasks as Press workers in a praiseworthy manner. Four years ago the first collective agreement for journalists was concluded in our country. This agreement considerably improved the material position of journalists. The salaries paid secure them a comparatively good standard of living. The collective agreement, in addition, provides for paid holidays and other material benefits. The Bulgarian journalists have no fear of unemployment, their jobs are secure. They are therefore devoting all their strength and effort to the fulfilment of their journalistic duties. The Bulgarian journalists are first of all striving to increase their ideological and political knowledge and their professional qualifications, so that they can contribute through the Press to the building of socialism in Bulgaria, and to the fight against the warmongers. I should like to tell you briefly what the Union of Bulgarian Journalists is doing to raise the standards of its members and to care for their material interests. The ideological and professional preparation of journalists' cadres is carried out mainly at general education meetings and conferences, at journalistic schools, foreign language courses, and through independent study of literature on journalism. Of particular importance in this regard is the one- year journalistic school of the Union. of Bulgarian Journalists. At this school, editorial workers study without interrupting their daily work. The curriculum at this school is developing the ideological, political and professional standing of journalists, in line with the experience of the members of the Soviet Press. Another one- year course in journalism is given at the Lenin College a boarding school where the students are fully cared for. At the House of Journalists in Sofia there exist various departments, for essayists, film critics, feature writers, cultural editors, etc. At their meetings, the members of the individual departments, who hold responsible jobs, exchange experiences, discuss problems of creative work, and study the experiences of the Soviet Press in their respective fields. Particularly useful is the" council of journalism" at the House of Journalists. Its tasks include the gathering and study of documentary material connected with the theory and practice of various branches of journalistic work: leader writing, essays, features, newsediting, critical bibliography, etc.; gathering material concerning the history and development of the Bulgarian and Bolshevik Press, as well as the Press of the People's Democracies and capitalist countries; compiling and applying the teachings of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, Dimitrov and other outstanding leaders in the field of the Press, and finally they 65 65 66. The Bulgarian Press on the Side of Peace and Progress give advice in matters concerning the Press. The House of Journalists also possesses a wellequipped library and reading room. Besides its care for the ideological, political and professional preparedness of its members, the Union of the Bulgarian Journalists is concerned with their material condition ( grants in case of sickness and marriage, holidays, etc.). The material condition of journalists is not the exclusive responsibility of the Union. In their professional capacity, journalists are attached to the trade union of employees of the cultural institutions, the printing industry and the press. They thus benefit by all the measures that protect the workers and employees of Bulgaria. Such an important problem as that of pension insurance has been solved at a national level so that the journalists are in the same position as all Bulgarian workers and employees. The People's Democratic Government of Bulgaria is deeply concerned with the creation of conditions for journalists which will enable them to make a still greater effort in the service of the people and their struggle to build socialism in our country. NIKOLA ALEXIEV( Bulgaria) THE BULGARIAN PRESS ON THE SIDE OF PEACE AND PROGRESS The fight against the warmongers and for the strengthening of peace in the whole world- this is the most serious task of our time. In this fight the Bulgarian journalists are taking an active part. The press workers collectives in the editorial offices, in the Office for Press Affairs of the Council of Ministers and in the national Christo Botev broadcasting station, are devoting a great deal of attention to the activities of the Defenders of Peace, both in our country and abroad. It is no exaggeration to say that all the work of our Press and journalists is done with the struggle for peace in mind. All our internal economic and political problems are dealt with by the Press in the light of the problem of strengthening the world camp of those struggling against imperialist war, for the ban of the atomic weapon, and for lasting peace among nations. The Bulgarian journalists can state with justified pride that their cooperation played no small part in the lightning- like campaign for the collection of signatures to the Stockholm Peace Appeal, to which, out of a total of about seven million Bulgarian citizens, 5,846,227 gave their signatures. The Press of our people's republic is an important factor in the propaganda for peace, a collective organizer of the struggle of the Defenders of Peace. The Union of Bulgarian Journalists stands firmly in the foremost ranks of the Defenders The Bulgarian Press on the Side of Peace and Progress 67 of Peace. The Union is a collective member of the National Committee of the Defenders of Peace in Bulgaria, and is taking active part in all its work. The Union recently sent the Secretary General of the United Nations Organisation a strong protest against American aggression in Korea and the barbaric bombing by the American air force of peaceful villages and towns. Members of our Union have held numerous public meetings in defence of peace, against American aggression in Korea. In addition, members of our Union gave eleven lectures in the cultural workers' club in Sofia on problems of the struggle for peace, including these subjects: 1. The Chinese People's Republic in the struggle for peace; 2. The Greek people's struggle in the foremost ranks of the world peace front; 3. The Vietnamese people's struggle for freedom and independence; 4. The events in Korea; 5. The French people's struggle for peace; 6. The national liberation struggles in Burma, Malaya and elsewhere. The Union's book- publishing department directs its publishing policy exclusively with the idea of unmasking the policy of the imperialists and strengthening the camp of peace and democracy. Here are the titles of some publications: Fear, War and the Bomb by Prof. P.M.S. Blackett; Red Star over China by Edgar Snow; The Truth About American Diplomacy by Annabelle Bucar; Black Imperialism in Manhattan; selected statements by the world- known fighter for peace, the Soviet writer Ilya Ehrenburg, and others. In its activities our Union is carrying out the decisions of the International Organization Journalists. It has already achieved considerable resulst. But we cannot be content with our achievements. Our Union must intensify and widen its activities directed towards the defence of peace. We find the following shortcomings in our work: first, we have not made use of all the opportunities for organizing public lectures, and have not supervised sufficiently the way our union members carry out their work as speakers at public meeting for peace. Second, our union has still not been active enough in unmasking the war propaganda of the imperialist Press and the journalists' unions in the imperialist countries, particularly in the Press of the Titoites, the Greek monarcho- fascists and the Turkish reactionaries- the agents of imperialism in the Balkans. As is known, the government of the Bulgarian People's Republic is, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Bulgaria, pursuing a firm policy of strengthening peace. This policy is enjoying the full support of the people. We journalists have strongly rebuked the imperialist and Titoite drive in Press and radio. The majority of the working people of our countries are already well aware of the aims of this frenzied campaign. But I think that we should take a more aggresive attitude toward the imperialist propaganda, following the example of the Soviet journalists, their initiative, resourcefulness and determination. I trust that the Union of the Bulgarian Journalists will maintain the successes it has achieved in the struggle for peace, eliminate its shortcomings and gain new successes in the great struggle of all people of good will by unmasking the criminal activities of the warmongers, and fortifying peace among nations. The campaign of the imperialist Press cannot confound us. We are not alone; we are part of the great camp of peace and democracy headed by the powerful Soviet Union. We firmly believe in the victory of the democratic forces over the dark forces of imperialist reaction. May it flourish and grow in strength- our young but vigorous international organization of democratic journalists! 68 WU WEN TAO( China) CHINESE JOURNALISTS AGAINST IMPERIALISM The American imperialist forces in Korea are barbarously bombing the peaceful Korean population in their desperate endeavour to colonize Korea. They let loose all the reactionary forces in Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan, etc., to suppress the fight of the people for national independence. No sooner did President Truman launch the aggressive war against the Korean Democratic Republic than he sent his sanguinary forces to occupy our island Taiwan and make military provocations by strafing Chinese people along the Sino- Korean border. As the Wall Street henchman MacArthur untimely revealed, the USA would permanently occupy Taiwan as an" unsinkable aircraft carrier" to attack the Soviet Union and People's China. To the Chinese journalists, these criminal activities of the US imperialists are no surprise. For immediately after the Chinese people had won victory over Japanese fascism after eight years' hard fighting, the same American imperialists instigated Chiang Kai Shek in 1946 to launch the anti- popular war in China to make our country their colony and a base for further aggression. The Chinese people answered this by another four years, hard fighting under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and Chairman Mao Tse- tung, with the result that the American colonizers and their lackeys have been beaten and thrown out. of China's mainland. In this heroic struggle of the Chinese people, progressive Chinese journalists have made no small contribution. Hundreds of reporters, cameramen, etc. have sacrificed their lives in the front for this great cause and for the awareness that with the rule of imperialism and its lackeys in China, there will be no peace for the Chinese people and no national independence. Today, besides the liberation of Taiwan and Tibet, the main task of the Chinese people is peaceful construction work. The ten thousand journalists organised in the All- China Journalist Association are doing their best to serve the Chinese people wholeheartedly. In the recent conference of journalists representing 624 dailies and magazines held in Peking, Chinese journalists are called upon by the Communist Party of China to make the Press an instrument for further carrying out criticism and self- criticism with a view to achieve improvements in every sphere of peaceful constructive Chinese Journalists against Imperialism 69 69 work. And at the same time they have the responsibility to expose to the people all the criminal activities of the imperialist warmongers and together with all progressive journalists in the world under the banner of IOJ to defend peace. They have compiled the list of war criminals in the remnant Kuomintang journalist circles, which includes such notorious names as; Tao Hsi- shen, Vice Kuomintang Information Minister and chief editor of the Kuomintang Central Daily and the Hongkong Times; Yeh Chin, main writer of political articles for Kuomintang papers and magazines; Hsiao Tung- Tse, head of the Kuomintang Central News Agency and Chen Po- Sun, chief editor of the Kuomintang Central News Agency. In the more than one hundred million peace signatures now collected in China, all the names of the Chinese progressive journalists are included. The Chinese journalists know well from their own experience that peace and national independence cannot be won unless you fight for it. Now, as the imperialists headed by Wall Street monopolists are madly preparing a new world war, every honest man and woman and every honest journalist must take up his or her position to fight against it. There is no" middle way" to follow, because it in reality does not exist. As pointed out by Chairman Mao Tse- tung you must lean to one side: either to the camp of peace and progress headed by the Soviet Union or you are to serve the handful of imperialist warmongers. *** The IOJ has conducted a persistent struggle against the instigators of a new world war headed by the US imperialists. It is because of this that the consultative status of the IOJ in UNO was illegally withdrawn, together with the WFDY and World Federation of Democratic Lawyers. This is a direct violation of the United Nations Charter, and clearly shows the criminal designs of the US imperialists to make the UNO their tool for aggression. It reveals at the same time that the fight of the 107 for peace and against aggressive war has been effective. Furthermore, this illegal action on the part of the United Nations Economic and Social Council reminds us of the obstructive efforts of the US and other reactionary forces to bar the legal delegation of the Chinese People's Republic to sit in the UNO. This is because the Chinese people, under the leadership of Chairman Mao Tse- tung, has liberated the Chinese mainland from the American imperialists and their lackeys, and because China wants peace and to build up a prosperous new life. But notwithstanding the imperialist intrigue to bar the representation of the Chinese people in the UNO and to expand their aggressive war to other parts of Asia, the heroic and victorious Chinese people together with other brotherly peoples know how to deal with the warmongers! In the name of the All- China Journalist Association, we move that our Congress voice its strongest protest against the illegal actions on the part of the UNO. We firmly believe that despite the withdrawal of our lawful consultative status, our organization will one day recover its right in the UNO, because truth is with us and our organization is the only representative of world progressive journalists, the ranks of which are strengthening day by day. 70 70 REPORT BY JOURNALISTS OF CUBA Cuban journalists send this report to the Third Congress of the International Organization of Journalists at a time when freedom of the Press is destroyed in their country and the right of free expression guaranteed by the Cuban Constitution is disowned and violated by the government of Dr. Prio Socarras. Hardly two months have passed since the Cuban Government issued Decree No 2273 which the public rightly called the decree for strangling the radio. According to that decree, which provoked strong protests on the part of the majority of radio stations and particularly of the" press of the air", the government is able to protect itself from its political opponents and critics. Under the pretext of safeguarding to all citizens the right to a reply, the broadcasting stations are obliged to concede gratis to persons who feel unjustly attacked the same space of time as had the critics and during the same broadcasting time of the day. Since it is a governmental commission which determines when the broadcasting station is bound to grant free time to the" unjustly" attacked, the government is in a position to deprive its political adversaries and critics of one half of their paid time and to have that time at the disposal of members of the government and its propaganda service and thus to turn the opposition's broadcasting time into government time. When the protest movement against Decree No 2273 had reached its peak the government with complete lack of respect for public opinion launched an even more brutal attack against the right of free expression guaranteed by the Cuban Constitution the assault on Noticias de HOY which happened less than a month ago, on August 24th to be exact. On that day, shortly before 6 o'clock in the morning the building of the editorial office, administrative offices and printing rooms of Noticias de HOY was attacked by the police machine- gun equipped body of more than a hundred men under the command of Major Rafael Casals, head of a motorized group, and in the presence of Prime Minister Dr Antonio Varona who had arrived at the spot almost at the beginning of the action, occupied the building after removing by force the porters and the few employees who were already at work at that early time of the day, and prevented editors and employees from entering the premises. Only Parliament Member Anibal Escalante Dellunde, director of the newspaper Noticias de HOY and chairman of the publishing firm, who had insisted on his right, was able to enter. When he entered the building and asked for the reason of the assault, he was informed by the Prime Minister Dr Antonio Varona himself of the decision No 2600 taken by him in his capacity as Minister of Labour and ordering the seizure of the newspaper, Noticias de HOY. That decision No 2600 gives as one of the main reasons of the action, a request presented by the appointed leaders of the Confederation of the Workers of Cuba and the Federations of industrial workers, who were illegally using their official position in those trade unions on the basis of arbitrary and unconstitutional decisions of the government which had placed them in the position of workers' leaders in order that they might split and destroy the trade union movement in Cuba. The request was made under the pretext that the said workers' organizations had contributed towards the share capital of the Report by Journalists of Cuba 71 Noticias de HOY and that the collection of money for the purchase of the printing machinery of HOY had been carried out by the leadership of the Confederation of Workers of Cuba. The second reason pointed to as the motive of the decree No 2600 was the propaganda of Noticias de HOY in connection with the war in Korea, which was denounced by the paper as criminal aggression of the North American imperialists against the people of Korea and described the heroic fight of that people as patriotic war for independencethus according to that decree disturbing" continental solidarity". In order to realize to what extent the decree No 2600 ordering the seizure of the Noticias de HOY constitutes a monstrous attack against the rights guaranteed by the Cuban Constitution, it suffices to recall the history of Noticias de HOY and those constitutional provisions which the decree violates. The newspaper Noticias de HOY is the property of the joint stock publishing company Noticias de HOY S. A. presided over by Parliament Member Anibal Escalante Dellunde. The Company was founded in 1938. An extraordinary number was issued on May 1st of that year and regular publication started as from May 16th. At that time the Federation of the Workers of Cuba( CTC) did not yet exist- only an illegal one with the great workers' leader Lazaro Peañ at the head- nor did the industrial unions. The CTC was constituted in 1939, then followed the industrial unions to the integration of which Noticias de HOY contributed in a decisive way. Those workers' organizations could therefore not have participated in the formation of the share holders capital of the publishing company of Noticias de HOY as the present- day false leaders of the trade unions are alleging when accepting the decree No 2600, since the Company was founded a year earlier than those organizations. The printing offices of the Noticias de HOY were bought with money from a popular collection directed not by the CTC but by the" Printing- machines- for- HOY" Committee under the presidency of Joaquin Ordoqui with the great Cuban poet, Nicolas Guillen, and the veteran of the war of independence against Spain, the lawyer Dr. Anibal Escalante Beaton, as secretary and treasurer respectively. That collection was carried out among the whole nation and the receipts issued for the voluntary contributions clearly stated that the possession of the receipt granted no title to the property acquired with the collected. money Thus the first allegation on which the decision on the occupation and seizure of Noticias de HOY is based, is completely false. The paper was and is property of the Noticias de HOY S. A. In it those organizations which are now officially but illegally ruled by the false leaders who are now claiming Noticias de HOY for themselves have no share. The violation of the right of ownership guaranteed by the Constitution is brutal enough but still more monstrous is the violation of the right of free expression guaranteed by Article 33 of the Constitution. The Constitution of Cuba, guarantees freedom of expression. It not only requires proper judicial decision for any confiscation of a paper but also prohibits the seizure and the prevention of premises, equipment and machinery serving the organ, in this case the newspaper Noticias de HOY, from being used. The paper's attitude towards the war in Korea served as pretext which in itself constitutes a flagrant limitation of and attack on the right of free expression guaranteed by the Cuban Constitution. In view of this state of affairs, Anibal Escalante, Director of Noticias de HOY, refused to accept the illegal and unconstitutional decision on the seizure of the paper and in his 72 Report by Journalists of Cuba capacity as chairman of the owning Company put the following statement on official record: " This daily and its printing presses have an owner: the shareholders' company Noticias de HOY S. A.- whose property rights have not for a moment been disputed and on whichaccording to the Constitution and Laws of the Country- only the tribunals can decide. " Therefore the occupation and closure constitute an act of repression and political tyranny in the clear intention to suppress the freedom of expression, the freedom of the Press and the democratic liberties in our country, in order to secure the predominance within the nation of those who are endeavouring to destroy the democratic achievements of our people, paid for with bitter sacrifices, and to silence the voice of the political opposition which is defending the rights of the working people, and the peasants' claim for land, the struggle for equality and against racial discrimination, the fight in defence of our national economy and the independence of our fatherland against the oppressive Yankee imperialism, and is actively participating in the propaganda for peace and the ideals of socialism". *** Not satisfied with the brutal violation of the Constitution, the closure of the Noticias de HOY, Dr. Prio Sacarras' Government only four days later, on Monday August 28th, closed down America Deportiva which had two days before, on August 26th, begun to appear as a daily newspaper defending the rights of the people. An extraordinary issue on Friday August 25th had strongly protested against the occupation of Noticias de HOY. Applying methods similar to those used im the Noticias de HOY case the police at 6 a. m. on August 28th attacked the printing office where America Deportiva was printed, removing by intimidation the porters and the few employees, barring the entrance to the administrator of America Deportiva and the chairman of Tipografia Flecha S. A., the owners of the printing business. In the first moment the police produced no other reason for the seizure than that of force. Later the decision No 2660 was shown, dictated by Dr. Antonio Varona in his capacity as provisional Minister of Labour. The decision was based on the false allegation that for printing America Deportiva the same letter types and some machines of Noticias de HOY had been used, though it was certain that the printing offices where America Deportiva was printed had been acquired by the Tipografia Flecha S. A. from Mr. Jose Vilaboy, owner of the newspaper Mañana which previously used to be printed there. This new decision which only confirms the government's intention to resort to the most flagrant arbitrariness in order to suppress the voice of the political opposition, constitutes with regard to America Deportiva a brutal violation of the right of free expression guaranteed by Article 33 of the Constitution, and with regard to the Tipografia Flecha S. A. a gross violation of the right of property guaranteed by Articles 24 and 87 of the Constitution. Protests The closing down of Noticias de HOY has provoked strong protests in Cuba and on the whole American continent and the resignation of Ramon Vasconcelos, Minister without Portofolio in Dr. Prio Socarras' Cabinet and director of the Cuban daily, Alerta. Vasconcelos, an old liberal politician and outstanding journalist, on the day following the assault at Noticias de HOY wrote in his paper, Alerta, an article of protest qualifying the closing Report by Journalists of Cuba 73 down of Noticias de HOY as a" sinister precedent" and denouncing it as unconstitutional and illegal." In Cuba", Vasconcelos said," the worst thing is a precedent. After this first intervention there is no newspaper enterprise which would be exempt from a similar act of violence. " In place of mental agility and polemical ability a rigid pattern is introduced. On such a plane and with such a system there can be no real freedom of Press. Over the heads of all papers there will always hang a pretext for decapitation at a given moment..." Prime Minister Dr. Antonio Varona answered this article with an almost indecent attack on Minister Vasconcelos, who in turn on August 28th came out with a fiery article in which he, after restating his attitude against the closing down of Noticias de HOY, announced his resignation from the Government adding that he was not doing it in reaction to the extempore of the Prime Minister but out of" loyalty to the democratic principles rooted in my conscience... It would be sheer treachery on my part if I were to agree at the desk of the Council of Ministers with opinions or measures contradicting my way of thinking, my principles and the conception of my profession, if I sat arms crossed while open violence is done to freedom of expression". The Colegio Nacional de Periodistas, official organization of Cuban newspapers, protested also in public statements. After stressing its independence of any political movement, it said: " The National Union of Journalists considers it to be one of its foremost tasks to defend the freedom of expression and the moral and material interests of its members. " The C. N. P. holds that the closing down of the newspapers HOY and America Deportiva violated the provision of Article 33 of the Constitution and grossly encroached upon the material and moral interests of journalists working at those enterprises. " The C.N.P., upholding the principle established by our Supreme Court of Justice in its sentence passed after an appeal against the Presidential decree No. 1849 of 1948, will in all cases now and in the future oppose any measure restricting freedom of opinion and in contradiction to the law." Dr. Guillermo Martinéz Marquez, President of the Cuban Press Society, in a personal statement to the Prime Minister expressed his disagreement with the closing down of Noticias de HOY. Dr. Tebelio Rodriguez, Minister of the Interior, refused to obey the Prime Minister's order to issue a decree on entering and seizing the printing office of America Deportiva which was thus left to Dr. Antonio Varona to do as provisional Minister of Labour. All these and many other protests, as well as the manifestations of protest by the people, the refusal on the part of the Minister of the Interior to back the order on the closing down of America Deportiva together with the fact that the decisions on the seizure of the newspapers Noticias de HOY and America Deportiva could not be approved at the regular meeting of President Dr. Prio Socarras' Cabinet, show how monstrous was the violation of the Cuban Constitution constituted by the two acts. From all over America numerous protests against the closing down of Noticias de HOY poured in. Worth mentioning is the protest from the Senate of the Republic of Ecuador; from the Ecuador paper El Comercio edited by Carlos Mantilla, President of the InterAmerican Press Association, who wrote in a leading article that, though he did not share the ideology of the Cuban newspaper, he regretted that" in Cuba such an incident could have happened which added to the dishonour and shame that had already befallen America as far as freedom of Press is concerned". Further we may mention the protest V 74 The Progressive Press of Cyprus of the former President of Mexico and a figure of world reputation, General Lazaro Cardenas, who addressed himself to President Prio Socarras demanding respect for democratic liberties in Cuba; the Mexican periodical Tiempo, which in its edition of September 10th qualified the closing down of Noticias de HOY as an act of a purely political character aimed at preventing the paper from continuing its opposition campaign against the government's internal and foreign policy; the Mexican newspaper El Popular which in its editorial of August 26th said:" The working- class paper HOY was banned by the government so that there may be no other voice than the official one, that is the voice of North America. HOY has a great and noble task to fulfil in Cuba. During many years it defended the rights of the working class of Cuba, the interests of democracy, the interests of the people. The Government of Cuba is ever more ready to obey the orders of the State Department." To these protests should be added those from various sections of the Mexican intelligentsia, from student organisations, from workers and peasants and from other American nations. In the United States the Daily Worker and many prominent democratic figures joined in these protests. COSTAS STATHATOS( Cyprus) THE PROGRESSIVE PRESS OF CYPRUS The struggle of the Cyprian people for liberty and for peace is directed by the National Coalition for Liberation( EAS), which is supported by 60% of the population, and whose main organizations are the Progressive Party of the Working People( AKEL), the Central Organization of Trade Unions( PSO), the organization of youth, the Association of, Progressive Women, and the organization of peasants. In January of the current year a plebiscite was held in which 96% of the adult population voted in favor of the union of Cyprus with Greece. After the plebiscite, a national delegation of the people, under the leadership of the secretary general of the Progressive Party, went to Lake Success to submit the question of Cyprus to the General Assembly of the UNO, in the belief that the Cyprian people would have the support and sympathy of all people who love liberty. The attitude of the reactionary government of Great Britain toward the constantly growing resistance was expressed by launching new terrorist actions and repressions. The British government not only refused us national sovereignity, but also most of the fundamental human rights. To give an example, our people do not enjoy the right of free assembly. Political meetings of five people or more, and all demonstrations, except religious ones, are forbidden unless one obtains written permission in advance from the The Progressive Press of Cyprus 75 British commissioner of the region. Hundreds of us have been imprisoned, including two mayors, a deputy mayor and the entire municipal council, simply because they expressed themselves in favor of liberty. On one occasion, the police did not hesitate to open fire and to kill three and wound a dozen young peasants, who carried Greek flags while returning in a group from the village church where they had just celebrated the anniversary of Greek independence. Cyprus does not enjoy liberty of thought, either. Two years in prison and a fine of 100 pounds- this is the penalty which awaits every person who prints, publishes, sells, transmits through the post, or possesses books, periodicals, pamphlets or other things which, according to fascist law, are of a seditious nature. This term has received so broad an interpretation that many people have been sentenced to several months in prison for having in their possession books like Sur la Piere Blanche, by Anatole France. The right of organization no longer exists. Every group of people who, according to the fascist law, defend or encourage by their propaganda, or by other means, an action which is of a seditious nature, is an" illegal organization." This article has also been interpreted in such a broad way that the Trade Union Council of Cyprus was proclaimed " illegal" in 1946, and its members sentenced to a year and a half in prison. Only a few months ago, the members of the Council of the Pan- Cyprus Federation of Teachers lost their jobs, and the director of the Greek grammar school, Hiotelis, was exiled because, to quote the words of the government, they had instructed the pupils in a national spirit. Even stronger is the repression applied to the Press. Before the war as well as after, the progressive Press has constantly been the object of government attack. Several papers were banned, and their publishers and editors- in- chief were imprisoned and sentenced to hard labor. The terrorism and the suppression of the Press has grown worse during the last two years as a result of the strengthening of the movement for national independence. In the month of March, 1949, the biggest daily of Cyprus, Democratis, the organ of the central committee of the Progressive Party, was banned and the editor- in- chief was sentenced to six months in prison and a fine of 500 ponds. Six months ago, Policarpos Ioannides, editor of the journal Efimeris, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, as was the publisher, after their paper had been banned. Soon after, the journalist Pantelis Bistis, was exiled and sent to monarcho- fascist Greece, although he was a citizen of Cyprus by birth and had a Greek passport. I, myself, as editor- in- chief of Democratis, was formally warned by the Cyprian police, in January, 1949, to cease my political and journalistic work; otherwise I would be deported to monarcho- fascist Greece because I had been a Greek citizen. I can give you only a vague idea of the conditions under which the progressive Press of Cyprus carries out its tasks. I would like to add that to edit a paper, it is first necessary to have written permission from the government, and further one must possess landed property which can be confiscated by the government in case the publisher is sentenced. The latter must be a person" loyal to the government"-meaning, evidently, the British imperialist government- and, finally, he must be a British subject. This means that, indirectly, the right to publish newspapers or periodicals is denied to progressive elements and popular organizations. The Cyprian journalists possess hardly any of the rights ordinarily accorded journalists in capitalist countries. They are subject to the restrictions of the government, and receive no support in their work; the doors of government departments are closed to journalists. And if, up to the present, severe measures against journalists have not been 76 Why the IOJ Constitution should be Amended very numerous, this is due to the fact that all the newspaper printing workers of Cyprus are progressive and organized in the union of printing workers, member of the PanCyprus Federation of Trade Unions which, in turn, is a member of FSM. Another important reason lies in the fact that the extent of the national liberation movement in Cyprus is so great that it is impossible to impose more open repression, because the government must make an effort to keep up appearances. RUDOLF ZAJAC( Czechoslovakia) WHY THE IOJ CONSTITUTION SHOULD BE AMENDED I would like to say, on behalf of the Czechoslovak delegation, a few words about the Constitution. The IOJ has gone through a certain period of development since July, 1947, from the time the Second IOJ Congress took place. The interval elapsed between the Second and Third Congresses was marked by a sharpening of the international situation. The rising general crisis of capitalism and the growing economic crisis resulted in the sharpening of the war hysteria of the rulers of Wall Street and their vassals. The dissension in international cooperation, the organization of strategic- political aggressive blocs and finally direct aggression on Korea, Taiwan and other countries, accompanied by unbridled repression of all progressives this policy of the imperialists had its repercussions also in the IOJ, as we were told in the written and delivered report of the Secretary General, Jiří Hronek. That part of the journalists of the US, Great Britain, France, Belgium, Holland and other capitalist countries which are in the service of the journalist trusts, wanted at least to create an illusion that they spoke in the name of all their country's journalists, after they had not succeeded in conquering the IOJ and turning it into the servant of the overlords of capital. The best token of their unheard of lies and betrayal is this very Congress, the presence of many journalists from capitalist countries. And the best geography lesson was the one they received from the Soviet delegate Zaslavsky. All the activity of the capitalist journalist trusts is a part of the preparation for a new criminal war. In the spirit of total warfare which the warmongers have taken over from nazi Germany, these capitalist Press trusts recognize no moral or humane limits in the cold war and in the dissemination of unbelievable instigations, falsehoods and provocations. In Czechoslovakia and other People's Democracies we have had a series of sad experiences. The short time at my disposal will not suffice even for touching on the most shocking cases. You have heard from the French delegate how the French Radio, in col Why the IOJ Constitution should be Amended 77 laboration with traitors of the Czech and Slovak nation, have attempted to introduce chaos in the ranks of our population, and to disturb the progress of our people's peaceful and constructive work. A few so- called" journalists" had to be expelled from Czechoslovakia and other People's Democracies, because their journalistic activity acted only as a cover for their main profession: espionage and organization of espionage and sabotage in the People's Democracies. A militant, organized and indestructible world peace movement against warmongers is being created. It includes hundreds of millions of working people, prominent cultural and scientific workers, and also brave fighters in the Press in all parts of the world. The IOJ has organized the honest journalists who desire peace and friendly cooperation of all peoples into the fight for liberty, truth, independence and lasting peace. - These are the conditions under which the Third Congress of the IOJ takes place, so that the IOJ shall become an even stronger and more meaningful part of the world peace front. The strength of the IOJ will not lie in the slightest degree in its good organization. It is necessary to test whether the previous Constitution forms a sufficient and suitable framework for fulfilling the great tasks of the IOJ. The Czechoslovak delegation is of the on the opinion that this Congress of the IOJ should draft such a Constitution as will basis of the previous traditions express the tasks of the IOJ in the struggle for peace, freedom of peoples, independence and freedom of the Press and also for the independence, freedom and proper living conditions of journalists. Such a Constitution will formulate the tasks of the IOJ in the fight against all false and fraudulent information, and for journalistic work which will express the cooperation and mutual trust of peoples and their journalists. peace and The IOJ must become an organization of all journalists who are fighting for against warmongers. This means that the Constitution of the IOJ must respect realities, that the great peace movement will make the process of differentiation among journalists of capitalist countries more rapid and deep, and that a constantly greater group of journalists will go along with those who wish peace and fight against war. For this reason the Czechoslovak delegation joins with the proposal of the Polish Journalists' Organization, to the effect that the Constitution of the IOJ be so changed that besides the organizations which will include all the journalists of a given country, means will be worked out to include individual journalists and unions of journalists even in those countries where the IOJ is not the major organization. In this way the IOJ will become the voice of all honest journalists throughout the world, and will be based on the opinion of hundreds of millions- those hundreds of millions who call for a fight for peace. It will become a significant contribution in the fight of the peoples for peace, for the annihilation of the criminal plans of the warmongers, for democracy, independence and freedom of all peoples. 78 MESSAGE FROM DOUDOU GUEYE( Dakar) ( read by COIN[ France]) In a dark dungeon in Africa, a man whose heart beats in time with the march of the world has his eyes turned today toward Finland, where our international Congress is being held. This intelligent and sensitive fighter, eminent representative of the African peoples, who are roused to the struggle and actively participate in the great fight of the people for liberty, is our comrade, Doudou Gueye, vice- presicent of the African Democratic Union, editor in chief of the Reveil of Dakar, whom colonialism, the peoples' oppressor, has condemned to two years' imprisonment. This messenger of truth and peace would be among us if the claws of the imperialist warmongers were not closed around him. But his voice will be heard. It will be heard because if, at this hour, Doudou Gueye thinks of us, all our thoughts are directed toward this man in fetters, who looks at his tormentors with a smile, and with the optimism of the victor. It will be heard at last because Doudou Gueye has sent our French delegation this message, which I take the liberty of reading to you: " Today I would have reached Paris, to take part in the work of the Congress of the IOJ. But as you probably have already learned from Humanité, I have been arrested and imprisoned. I cannot therefore be with you. " I am determined, nevertheless, to write you before the Congress to tell you that in spite of my imprisonment I maintain my allegiance to the IOJ, and that I associate myself with the decisions that you will take, with a view to strengthening the role and the effectiveness of the Press in the struggle, important above all, against war and for a just peace. " Our country, its peoples, its unexploited riches, constitute an important part of the reserves on which imperialism counts to conduct successfully its war of aggression against the countries of socialism. Colonialism aims to transform our territories into politically dependable countries', and assure for imperialism a quiet rear. But the struggle against colonialism grows stronger every day, and in spite of fierce repression, unprecedented, the RDA is developing and asserting itself. " In this struggle, which rouses all the African peoples, indignant, trembling with anger and resolute, our press plays each day a larger role. Our central organ, the weekly Reveil, is the subject of more than 20 prosecutions. Its director, our secretary general, Gabriel d'Arboussier, has been the target of four demands for the waiving of parliamentary immunity in the space of six months. Message from Doudou Gueye( Dakar) 79 " Our editors are persecuted, condemned our comrade, Etcheverry, manager of the paper, is threatened with several months' imprisonment, and on top of that by more than two million francs in fines. In the same year I was condemned to three months in prison, which I am at present serving, then to two years in prison, plus 300 thousand francs in fines. " Subscriptions to our journal are forbidden by means of arrests. No trouble is spared to control our distribution. Papers sent to distant points do not reach their destination. The official decisions forbid the entry and distribution of our paper in military establishments, and they have organized their boycott in most of the administrative services. " The offensive of colonialism against our liberties is complete with a powerful offensive against our Press. But the peoples' will to struggle grows stronger, and we remain for them an excellent instrument for liaison, propaganda, agitation, and also education. Our work completes the activity of our public conferences, of our discussions and conversations in the dialects of the country. Daily our Press helps the peoples to convince themselves by their own experience, of the correctness of the information, the directives, the slogans' which RDA puts forward. ' In spite of the difficulties, the repression, we will succeed in consolidating the alliance of the African peoples, in the struggle for more democracy and liberty, with the democratic forces of peace of the mother- country and of the world. " That is what I wanted to tell you for the Congress. " My best regards to all the comrades I have found over there, and I say to you, دو soon-" Yes, soon. Soon, Doudou Gueye, brother in struggle, comrade- in- arms whom I salute from this tribune in the name of the French delegation, and also in the name of our heroic people. Soon, in Paris, when with the support of all the forces of peace, the united action of our French people and the African peoples will rescue from your dungeon, as we have rescued the fighters for peace of Roanne. This united action will be directed against our common enemy, the French government, servile agent of the Wall Street bankers, who are preparing a new world slaughter. Soon, Doudou Gueye, for the future does not belong to the slave- traders. The future belongs to the people, who are tomorrow's judges. The future is for the book, and not for the sword. The future is for happiness. The future is for the great forces who struggle vigorously to assure the victory of peace in the world. 80 MAURI RYÖMÄ( Finland) PROGRESSIVE AND REACTIONARY JOURNALISTS OF FINLAND As the Secretary General said in his report, the leadership of the SSL( Suomen Sanomalehtimiesten Liitto- Journalists' Union of Finland) announced on December 3, 1949, that the Union would leave the International Organization of Journalists. The Union's president, M. Gronvik, in the Union's organ, gave as reason for the action the allegation that" in practice it served no purpose to be a member of the 107" and that the IOJ, after the National Organizations of the US and England had left" had espoused solely the outlines of a certain political orientation". The annual meeting of the SSL approved this decision. The reason for the resignation which the SSL gave, while quite enlightening, does not exhaust the subject. May I be permitted to throw some light on the background for the decision in question. At the same time, such a study will illuminate the positions taken on freedom of the Press and the struggle for peace which the various groups of the Press and Finnish journalists have taken. Without counting the organizations for the journalists of the several bourgeois parties, there exist in Finland three important and independent organizations which cover the entire country. 1. The organization which does the honours at the Congress, the YLL( Yleinen Lehtimiesliitto- General Union of Journalists) mainly includes the editors of the papers of the SKDL( Democratic People's Union of Finland, political front uniting the Communist Party, the Socialist Unity Party and the local Democratic Societies) and of some neutral papers. The members number around 90. The editions of the papers which the Union represents have a circulation of about 150,000. This Press was founded almost entirely after the second World War, after the defeat of fascism. The Union is a member of the Central Union of Trade Unions of Finland, which in its turn is a member of the WFTU, although the Social Democratic majority has just proposed leaving the WFTU. 2. Socialdemokraattinen Sanomalehtimiesliitto( Union of Social Democratic journalists) is of about the same size and the circulation of the papers it represents is about the same. This Union is subordinate to the Central Union of Trade Unions. 3. The SSL( Suomen Sanomalehtimiesten Liitto- Union of Finnish Journalists) which up to the moment of its resignation from the IOJ, represented international Progressive and Reactionary Journalists of Finland 81 relations of all the Finnish journalists, is an organization composed mainly of bourgeois papers and journalists, although it includes democratic and Social Democratic journalists among its members. The total number of its members is 1000 and the circulation of bourgeois papers is over a million. The Union is not a member of the Central Union of Trade Unions. During the World War, Finland being among the satellites of Hitlerite Germany, the bourgeois papers and those of Social Democracy carried on war propaganda. And today the largest part of the bourgeois and particularly the Social Democratic papers takes its place beside the countries of the Atlantic bloc and publish war propaganda material which originates from the US news agencies. The" foreign affairs experts" that these papers quote are illustrious personages such as Bedell Smith, Winston Churchill, George F. Kennan, Marshall Halder and Professor Bertrand Russell. In autumn, 1948, the democratic members( of SKDL) in the Finnish Diet, on the basis of the decision of November 3, 1947, of the General Assembly of UNO, proposed a new law according to which war propaganda would be declared a crime within the purview of the law. The bourgeois and Social Democratic papers declared that this law would mean the death of freedom of the Press and in the spring of 1949, the bourgeois Social Democratic majority rejected the proposal. We have had experiences, however, which show that the bourgeois and Social Democratic papers are not too consistent as partisans of freedom of the Press. They do not remember this liberty until it comes to the question of suppression of war propaganda. In the summer of 1949, the Finnish government, purely Social Democrat at the time, gave the order to the police and to the military forces to fire on a demonstration of striking workers. Two workers were killed. When the democratic Press related what had happened and defended the workers' right to strike and other democratic rights of the people, the government accused them of" remarks slandering the government." The bourgeois and Social Democratic Press, almost in its entirety, took the government's side. The trial of the democratic papers was based on the discriminatory law of 1930, established by the fascist regime of the time, according to which it was forbidden to criticize the government. When, at the beginning of 1950, the democratic members of the Diet, proposed to abrogate this law, the bourgeois and Social Democratic papers wrote that the fascist law would be necessary to prevent" abuse of freedom of the Press." The Diet has not yet reached a decision, but in June, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Diet gave its opinion on the question and, of all the members, only those belonging to the SKDL pressed the proposal to repeal the fascist law. The members of YLL feel a profound gratitude toward the IOJ which has so often given proof of solidarity with the Finnish journalists struggling for the people's 82 Progressive and Reactionary Journalists of Finland democratic rights and for the freedom of the Press. We would say that the SSL, which has seen in this solidarity" the outlines of a certain political orientation" is quite mistaken about the main tasks and duties of the free Press and its journalists. It is evident that the SSL and the Union of Social Democratic journalists do not want to understand the duties of journalists in the struggle for peace. Neither organization takes part in the campaign of the Partisans of the Peace, neither supports the campaign for the Stockholm Appeal. The Social Democratic Press which obeys the decisions of Comisco and serves the American imperialists wages an inexorable war against the peace movement. From the moment of its foundation, the YLL, on its part, has considered the struggle for peace and the unmasking of the warmongers as one of the most important duties of a paper and of an honest journalist. The papers for which the members of our Union work, contrary to the Finnish Press in general, revealed the truth about the war in Korea and condemn as criminal the aggression of the American fascists. The members of the YLL have all signed the Stockholm Appeal and work to the best of their ability to attain Finland's aim, which is at least a million signatures. We are well aware of the fact that the activity of warmongers is directed against the friendship of the Finnish and Soviet peoples and we know that the consolidation of that friendship is a task which is inseparable from the struggle for peace. The members of our Union demand strict observation of the provisions of the Pact of Friendship, Mutual Aid and Cooperation concluded between Finland and the Soviet Union in the spring of 1948, under the initiative of comrade Stalin, and according to which Finland's duty is that of putting all its forces into steps destined to preserve peace. Although YLL is a young organization and its numbers are very small, the members of this Union are inspired by a strong will to work at the side of all progressive journalists of the world in the cause of peace. The ideas which it represents are decidedly those to which the future of Finland belongs. JEAN COIN( France). THE STRUGGLE AGAINST WAR PROPAGANDA 83 I. Ideological Prepration for a New War. In the name of the French delegation, I would like to make a few observations on the struggle against war propaganda and on the participation in this fight of democratic and progressive journalists. " Propaganda is not science," wrote Hitler in Mein Kampf. And he added:" Its intellectual level must be as low as the number of people for whom it is designed is great. And when it is a matter of propaganda designed to favor war, one cannot be too careful to avoid high intellectual premises." Leaving aside the disdain which this murderer of people showed for the great masses, let us retain only the last admission" propaganda is only a means, a means of supporting war in every way..." The truth is that today, even more than yesterday, the people who have not forgotten the horrors and the suffering of war passionately desire peace and have affirmed their determination in many combats. Just as Hitler did, and using exactly the same means because the ideological arsenal of warmongers is always the same, the American imperialists and their servile agents from the Marshallized countries are developing the ideological basis for a new world conflict. A communiqué from the American State Department announced to the world on August 18 the" creation of a national bureau for psychological strategy which would have the responsibility under the direction of the Secretary of State to censor information broadcast to foreign lands and for psychological strategy in the case that joint action of several governmental organizations would be necessary in this field..." The Minister of Defense was asked to appoint personnel for this bureau and the communiqué adds:" for several months an inter- departmental consultative commission has prepared plans in the field of foreign broadcasts, in order to confront any urgent situation which could present itself." And from the commentaries which the Press Attaché, Mr. White of the State Department, felt obliged to add to the communiqué, we excerpt:" one of the examples of when this Bureau of Psychological Strategy would function is that it would study in a thorough way the statements of Mr. Malik in the Security Council and would seek ways to reply to them." Thus we see that this Press Attaché has declared that" the administration of the Marshall Plan would have a representative in this Bureau in order to coordinate the news broadcast by the State Department and the ECA with American policy. He would also be charged with furnishing the different sections of the State Department and of the Marshall Plan abroad with the directives from Washington..." 84 The Struggle Against War Propaganda This measure of the State Department is the application of the directives which Truman gave on April 20 at a banquet when he launched the slogan:" truth campaign." He said:" We are already doing excellent work, thanks to the' Voice of America' and information services and to U.S. literature in many regions of the world. Another important part of our effort must be to apply the great mediums of public information, papers and magazines, radio and moving pictures." And on August 6, Secretary of State Acheson declared to Congress that since the aggression in Korea:" it was more vital than ever to intensify the' truth campaign' of the United States, by means of a much greater information program." The time is also past for protestations of affection and of non- interference and of socalled American generosity. The time for declarations of everlasting love is past; the testimony and admissions are contained in official specehes and State Department documents which confess to their crime, just as Hitler undersigned his own crimes in advance in Mein Kampf. The struggle of the peoples for peace, life itself and the struggles of life lift the mask of the warmongers. But in order that the war maniacs can forget their diplomatic language to let fall such confessions, the ideological preparation for a new war, as well as the total preparation for war, must now pass to another stage. This is one thing which, in our opinion, this Congress of the IOJ must hinder. Let us now review a few of their measures as they are applied in France. On the 11th of last December, the New York Times devoted a long article to what it called" The battle for the French workers' soul." This paper wrote:" Thirty Americans and eight French people are working in contact with the French Press and a daily mimeographed sheet is sent to 3000 people, that is to say, to all the French papers and all the important people in political and private life... If a French journalist comes into the American offices and says, I would like something about American women, he will be helped in writing his article." So, in the country where Kravchenko was helped by being given the court as a platform for his ideas, for the same reason a good number of so- called journalists have turned over their papers. The ideological language which is given to these so- called journalists is extremely simple, which does not mean that it is harmless. Hitler, who serves as inspiration for the National Bureau of Psychological Strategy, once said:" The intellectual level of propaganda must be as low as the number of people for whom it is directed is great. The more modest is the scientific ballast of the propaganda, the greater its success..." The scientific ballast of war propaganda is small indeed, but this does not stop certain editorial writers of American papers in the French language, even when as is the case of some of them they belong to the Academy. Let us have a look at what this scientific ballast of their truth campaign is worth. I wish only to cite some examples of various kinds, in order not to take up the time of the Congress. But I am sorry to say that there are hundreds and hundreds of the like. Echoing the Trotskyite and Titoist campaign of David Russeau on the so- called concentration camps in the USSR, the phony workers' organization of General de Gaulle published several photos titled in this way:" These unique photos were taken in 1940 by a Polish engineer. They constitute irrefutable proof that there are concentration camps in the USSR." We have collared the paper of Mr. de Gaulle and refuted his so- called irrefutable proof. We have published these two photographs beside two identical The Struggle Against War Propaganda 85 photos which had about the same title, which were found in an old magazine of 19 years ago and published in 1931 for the same reason as they were published in 1950, at the time when French imperialism with Tardieu and Poincaré were preparing anti- Soviet aggression. In order to fight the CGT in the elections, the same paper published in the same issue the picture of a queue at the Social Security pay offices, blaming the CGT trade unions for the bureaucracy which is brought about by the government. The picture in the RPF paper was nothing more nor less, as we have shown, than a picture of a queue at the box- office buying tickets for the final football match for the All- France Trophy. Another example: On September 24, 1949, the weekly Paris Match published by the Hitlerite Prouvost, former Petain minister, published a photograph stretching from one page across another at the head of an article titled" Death Sentence in Prague.", supposed to be the scene in front of the Prague Court and adding" in the first row the children and the family of the accused, now the condemned. Young girls are choking, women sobbing. They are all about to kneel. Even the men of that People's Militia, who took such a large part in the peaceful seizure of power..." The photo was simply a document sent out by the official Czechoslovak photograph agency, which showed the crowds at the Beneš funeral and which the war- minded press used for its own purposes. A third example: The paper L'Espoir, edited by the right- wing Socialist and Deputy Just Evrard and by Camille Delabre, published in the issue for August 6 a collection of falsehoods by M. Jules Delignes, got out for the necessities of the cause, under the scientific formula of a" study" of the regimentation of labor in Poland. And he gave to this the unequivocal title:" Polish Workers Must Submit to Regimented Work and Living Conditions." No less! The article was illustrated by two pictures. One was supposed to represent " What we would see if the Soviets would over- run Europe", the other" An old mother weeps over the disappearance of a loved one." To the misfortune of the right- wing socialists, Evrard and Delabre, who were lead to shed some crocodile tears in Le Populaire, official journal of the right- wing Socialists in France, these pictures like those of Mr. de Gaulle's had been published before. They had been previously published under the nazi occupation in L'Oeuvre by the Hitlerite Deat, the first on March 11, 1943, the second on February 22 of the same year. The fourth example is taken from L'Aurore of the 30th of last August. On the first page is found a photograph representing soldiers with helmets in a trench with the title; " Advance Units of U.S. in a Trench before Pohang." The photograph in question, sent out by an inter- continental agency for June 28, 1950, dates from before the Korean hostilities. It was taken, not before Pohang, but on the 38th parallel and illustrates the preparations made by the Syngman Rhee provocateurs. I beg your pardon for having given the Congress during the last few minutes a few samples of the poison that the imperialists and their flunkys use to inoculate our people. I have done this to give an idea of their methods which flow directly, as I stated at the beginning, from the Hitler methods. Even more, the right- wing Socialists, as I showed in the example taken from their paper Espoir, feel that it is not useful to wear oneself out or to use a little imagination. So they purely and simply repeat what was said under the occupation by the nazis, enemies of all peoples. 98 86 The Struggle Against War Propaganda I have done it also in order to show what disdain these manipulators of calumny and falsehoods, cynically exhibit for their readers and for the opinion which they wish to corrupt. I have done it to prove that these so- called journalists, who are only vulgar fakirs, dishonor the profession and are cynical apologists for an iron heel regime, and slave traders for racial hatred and bourgeois democracy, for cosmopolitanism and renouncing of national sovereignty, for stupification and war hysteria. Finally, I have done so especially to give the Congress an idea of the extent of preparation by the press for a new war in which the imperialist Americans want to bathe the world in blood. More than one hundred years ago, our great Balzac said about the founding of bourgeois papers," It is a bad place for thought, a school for falsehood and treason." Life has shown Balzac's genius to be right. And the great realistic novelist added:" Good Lord! What a cavern...” What a cavern indeed! But in our days it is no longer filled with the conniving obscurity which allows it to cover the fixing of bayonets with silence. It is now lighted by powerful spotlights- these are the democratic and progressive newspapers and journalists. And the people now can see to the rear of the cavern, can see through this school of falsehood and treason, illuminated by a bright light and back there are the dwarfs of this dark world in decrepitude, carrying on their business, exchanging their piastres amassed in the blood of colonial wars and piling up their bombs, while dreaming like famished vultures of the corpses of a martyred humanity. The unmasked enemies of the human race in France would like to put out these spotlights, shatter our presses, choke off our voice. I would like simply to say to the Congress, in the name of our French friends, in the name of our heoic people, that they will never succeed. II. The Struggle Against War Propaganda. Thanks to this illumination our people become every day more conscious of the need for struggling against this war propaganda which is carried on by Press and radio. Great demonstrations took place in Paris, Marseilles, Bordeaux, Saint- Étienne, Aixen- Provence and in many provincial towns to protest against Figaro publishing the memoirs of S.S. Skorzeny. More than 70 wounded and 120 arrests, that was the final accounting of the skirmish in which the fighters for peace, the Patriots and Resistance workers, engaged the forces of repression. The popular reaction takes different forms, from the delegation of workers going to demand retractions from newspapers, up to boycott demostrations against papers and films and to bonfires on public places where war- minded papers were burned. For our part in France, we have opposed the false propaganda of the bandits of the pen with the battle for popularizing the Stockholm Appeal, broken the conspiracy of silence imposed in this Marshallized country, developed the movement of the Partisans of Peace, denounced the military and political alliances, called for unity to put a stop to these alliances, explained the ravages of a new world conflict and also shown the result that a unity, a cohesion of all the peace forces could and must bring about. We have denounced by name in our papers as foreign agents, enemies of their people and their country, also as war propagandists, the new crusaders for" Truman's truth”, The Struggle Against War Propaganda 87 people like Etienne Borne of l'Aube, MRP journal of Monsieur Bidault, the heir of Simon de Montford, the slayer of the Albigians, whose motto was:" Kill them all", who dared to write:" Life revives more quickly on soil devastated by the atomic bomb than liberty in a country plundered by totalitarianism." We have also denounced Ronsac and Treno of the Trotskyite and Titoist paper Franc- Tireur, Benazet and Bony of l'Aurore, Leenhart of Populaire, the paper of the rightwing Socialist leaders, Valentin, former director of the Petain Legion, an editorial writer of the fascist journal l'Epoque. We have carried on this campaign of exposure in the firm conviction that we are aiding in the enlightenment and the cohesion of the movement of the fighters for peace. We have carried on at the same time the day by day struggle against the unloading and the transport of arms which the American imperialists would like to see us use in their attempt to make France an ally of the Germany of the reactionary and irridentist Bonn government and we shall continue in this way. It is our opinion that this Congress should launch on its part the same appeal as was issued by the Bureau of the World Committee of the Partisans of Peace. We shall continue with even more force our campaign for the prohibition of atomic weapons, for general reduction and control of armaments of any sort. We shall denounce with even more firmness armed intervention in a nation's internal affairs. We shall act more effectively for the settlement of the Korean question by pacific means and for the abolition of all kinds of war propaganda. Our Press prepares and will prepare a greater number of popular assemblies and large public discussions on the basis of the proposals of the Bureau of the World Committee of the Partisans of Peace, in order to organize tens of thousands of active Peace Committees. At a time when all the peoples of the world are struggling to avoid a new cataclysm, to prevent others from starting a new Hitler's war against the USSR, the journalist's responsibility is immense. We are in the front rank of that gigantic battle for peace, for the life and happiness of all the people. We must carry it on the offensive as fighters for peace and as journalists in the area of battle which our people have confided to us. We, who have the honor and the immense responsibility of being the heirs and followers of those great French journalists, Gabriel Peri, and Lucien Sampaix, shot by the Hitlerites, wish to say quite simply, but at the same time as a pledge regarding France's concerns, that that section of the front will be held. 88 JEAN BEDEL( France) THE ORGANIZATION OF REPRESSION AGAINST THE DEMOCRATIC PRESS IN FRANCE It is little known abroad, where France still wears the glorious halo of our great Revolution, that democratic newspapers are the victims of numerous attacks, as are the journalists themselves, who are every day beaten, arrested, thrown into prison. I do not think that I am exaggerating when I say that freedom of the Press is in our country today merely an empty formula. It will be the purpose of my speech to establish this point. Among the means used to prevent the democratic press from existing freely, there are weapons of procedure- these are the legal obstacles placed in the way of newspapers by the government to cause their death. There are also completely illegal weapons- police abuses, arbitrary seizures, investigations, expulsions, etc. 1. Court Actions. More than three hundred legal proceedings have now been begun against the papers where we work, on the most varied and the most pointless pretexts. Here are the principal types of offenses which are charged: a. The crime of" false news." This is an act which refers to the press law of 1881, but which has, I want to emphasize, never been applied under the Third Republic. The conception of false news is such that one could find in any issue of any paper, dozens of pretexts for applying it. In this way the great regional daily, La Marseillaise, was fined 20,000 francs for having said that the police chief had" unleashed" the police dogs on demonstrators, when the dogs in question were held on leash by the police( which did not prevent the cruel biting of several workers, as is proved by a series of photos showing the limbs of some of the demonstrators torn by the fangs of the beasts in the service of the police. The same paper was again found guilty of printing" false news" under the pretext that it wrote, after a procession had been brutally dispersed by the police, that the demonstrators had been" clubbed", when they had been belaboured by means other than clubs. The findings of the court are worth quoting: "... Since... it has not been established that the police had, under orders,' clubbed' the demonstrators, and since the word means in its original sense' knotted stick in the form of a club', a meaning which has been extended to all blunt instruments, stick, black- jack, iron bar, and the neologism' club' means to beat with an instrument in the form of a stick more or less knotted, more or less in the form of a club... Since the prisoners have summoned several witnesses who have said that, finding themselves at the head of the demonstration, they collided with a barrage of policemen who drove them The Organization of Repression Against the Democratic Press in France 89 back by means of bicycles, which no doubt they made use of in the manner of a shield, there could be no question of clubbing." For these reasons, La Marseillaise was found guilty of the crime of' false news'! In the course of the trial, the demonstrators came to the bar to show the wounds in their heads, but they had not been" clubbed." Thus in the eyes of judges charged with administering" Justice", in the name of an anti- democratic government, a broad interpretation of the idea of false news is enough to condemn a paper which prints a single word the sense of which does not conform to governmental" truth". Many democratic papers are now being prosecuted for" false news". b. Attacks on the morale of the nation with the intent to injure national defense. Close to 50 papers are prosecuted under this act for articles in favor of peace. There is the case of the regional newspaper, Ouest- Matin, which was suspended for three months and whose publisher, M. Henri Denis, a Catholic professor of the faculty of Renne, was himself sentenced to a year in prison. c. Possessing information involving national defense. Under this pretext, the Minister of War has secretly detained for several months reporters for France D'Abord and Regards, who had prepared an article on the conversion of airplane factories into tractor factories. This same minister who, without fear of ridicule had declared secret, documents which are available at all libraries, had previously made believe that a report of General Revers, commanding officer in Indo China, was not secret. In reality this report, stolen by a crook in the service of the American government, could not be declared secret because it was necessary to avoid the prosecutions which would be embarrassing to our" allies". d. Libel. Contrary to an established tradition under the Third Republic, the members of the government do not hesitate to sue for libel the authors of articles which mention them. Once the penalties are pronounced, an interpretation of the law permits indiscriminate application of the penal clauses against the publishers of the papers. The writer Aragon, publisher of the paper, Ce Soir, sentenced for an action by his paper, has been deprived of the exercise of his civil rights for five years, by virtue of an ordinance passed in Algiers during the war which was intended to prevent journalists who collaborated with the Germans from voting. Finally, even when the government finds no cause for an accusation, it prosecutes just the same. So it was in the case of Leo Figuières, for whom a warrant for arrest was issued following a report on Indo- China, even though the examining magistrate could not find the least reason for an accusation. Thus hundreds of legal proceedings harass the democratic journalists whose fines add up to tens of millions of francs. To empty the treasuries of the newspapers, this was the tactic of the most reactionary governments in our history, those of Louis Philippe and Napoleon III. 2. Criminal Laws. But the acts interpreted by the Third Republic, the articles of the code which has existed for more than a century, are not sufficient to close down the papers and put the journalists in prison. In the month of March this year, in the face of the anxiety of the government, which was powerless to prevent the development of action for peace, incapable of silencing completely the newspapers demanding an end to the war in Vietnam, it was necessary to manufacture new legal weapons. Thanks to a servile majority, 90 The Organization of Repression Against the Democratic Press in France a law was voted to consider as an accomplice in sabotage, all persons participating in any kind of an action for peace. It is evident that any journalist could, in view of the events which are occurring, and which he is assigned to report, be considered as an accomplice. This base law, this criminal law, was completed by a decree which permits the government to arraign the prisoners before a military court, where elementary guarantees of justice are not observed. We did not have to wait long for the application of these new laws. A few days after the vote on the law, the journalist Benoit, who should have participated in our Third Congress, was thrown into prison to await trial. His crime? He took part, in his capacity as a professional journalist, in a demonstration at Roanne against the departure of a train of war supplies for Indo China. A total of 18 fighters for peace were taken into custody for a period of more than five months. Finally all our friends were acquitted by the military judges, impressed by the importance of the popular movement of protest. 3. Violation of Legality. This is not enough. Legality still hampers the government. This is why it does not embarrass them to flout it. They violate their own laws, just as they violate the constitution in making war in Indo China. There is a law( of May 11, 1946) intended to prevent the return of the collaborationist Press, but today numerous old German collaborators have taken back their printing plants, their premises and their lackeys of the pen. The papers issued by the Resistance, like the Patriote of Bastia, the Voix des Charantes, have been illegally deprived of their means of publication. Unwarranted attachments are too numerous to count, although preventive attachments are formally prohibited by the press law of 1881( examples: L'Humanite, Ce Soir, and five provincial journals). The police make illegal searches in raiding the offices of papers, where they seize material, as at Lilles( La Liberté) or photographic documents, as at Renne( Ouest- Matin). As for police brutalities, they are the daily fare of progressive journalists. Here are a few examples, taken from a protest addressed on April 8, 1950, by our union to the Ministers of Interior and Information. " In the course of the last few weeks, a number of professional journalists have been molested by police when they were covering popular demonstrations. " 1. March 21, at Belfort, René Cheri was escorted handcuffed across the town, mauled and jailed. His photographic equipment and his documents were confiscated. " 2. March 23, at Roanne, Lucien Benoit, was brutally arrested and transferred to Fort de Montluc, where he had already been imprisoned for two years during the occupation. " 3. March 27, Blvd. Saint- Michel in Paris, M. Guillemin, reporter for the photographic agency AGIP, was rendered unconscious by the blows of policemen. " 4. March 31, on the Champs- Elysées, Robert Yoakum, a reporter for the New York Herald- Tribune, and Piere Delatre, reporter for Liberation, were all the more savagely beaten when they indentified themselves as journalists. At this demonstration, several photographers had their equipment damaged by police in order that it would not be possible to publish documentary evidence of police brutality. " 5. April 5, on the Champs- Elysées, two foreign journalists were victims of police brutality, Al Baum, an American, photographer for the INS Agency, and DeVries, of Belgian nationality, Paris correspondent for Gaumont newsreels.( Thus, in their The Organization of Repression Against the Democratic Press in France 91 stupid mania for beating journalists, the police attack even those who are in the service of American politics.) All these facts prove that the police have received directives to prevent professional journalists from exercising their trade and to add a further aggravation to the attacks on liberty of expression, already made a mockery by numerous judicial abuses." A Parisian reporter sent to a popular demonstration is never sure of returning without being clubbed. Police abuses of all kinds are visited not only on French journalists, but also on foreigners working in our country. The Paris correspondent of the Polish Press Agency was, last year, expelled arbitrarily and without notice. Exactly a week ago( September 9) four publications edited by the Spanish Republican refugees in France were supressed( Mundo Obrero, Nuestra Bandera, Cultura y Democracia, Lluita). 4. Criminal Attacks. This is not all. The government's own job of repression does not satisfy it. It incites and encourages individual initiative. A number of criminal attacks, as yet unpunished, took place this year at Chateauroux( in February) where the rotary presses of La Marseillaise of Berry were destroyed, at Toulouse( in March) where two teletype machines, extremely costly pieces of equipment, were put out of commission, at Paris( in August) where the office of the weekly paper of the Defenders of the Peace, Action, was ransacked. The police did, it is true, arrest the young scoundrels who committed this fascist- style attack, but they were quickly released, which constitutes a veritable encouragement for future attacks. 5. Journalists' Guilds. All these measures are still not enough. The government wants the journalists to remain quictly at the disposition of their war policy. This is why the Ministers of Information( they change, but their politics do not) have tried to shut up the journalists in a corporative style organization, such as existed under Hitler and Mussolini. Our union managed to reject the first proposal. The government then acted more cleverly and assigned a member of the splitting Force Ouvrière union to draft a new proposal for a Journalists' Guild. The creation of this body makes it possible on any occasion whatsoever to prevent journalists and democratic newspapers from the normal exercise of their profession. Each one of the points which I have raised- trials, criminal legislation, police abuse, unpunished attacks, corporative organizations of journalists- constitutes in itself a serious attack on the liberty of the press, the sum total of which are demonstrated by the evidence to constitute a concerted plan by the government to stifle completely the voice of the democratic newspapers, to break the pens of the free journalists. But we will not permit ourselves to do less than what we did under the Resistance, when the Press of freedom was never suspended. And we will continue the same struggle against the same people, for they are the same, those who rule the press and who promote the politics of a foreign nation in a new" Kollaboration". I would like to say in addition a few optimistic words on the struggle which we are conducting, because we often have great moments of joy, and great satisfactions, such as the acquittal of our friend Benoit and the defenders of peace at Roanne. The judges of France do not docilely follow the wishes of the government, and we can cite several additional acquittals which were a reproach to the employees of Washington in Paris. 92 The Organization of Repression Against the Democratic Press in France There is the case of Florimond Bonté, prosecuted for having reprinted the declaration of M. Thorez," The French people will never make war on the Soviet people." This Communist deputy, who is also a colleague, was almost congratulated by the court which- in its decision- pointed out that since the USSR was our ally, according to existing treaties, it was perfectly correct to encourage the French not to make war. What a slap in the face for the government! Another of our joys is to feel the active solidarity of the working class. We meet in our struggle with a great degree of understanding. This was the case when our friend Louis Dupont( of La Voix de L'Est) was arrested for articles in opposition to the manufacture of war materials. A committee for his liberation was set up which included representatives from almost all the political parties, including the MRP( Christian Democrat). I should like to add that the telegrams which we receive from the IOJ are not only an encouragement but also an argument carrying international weight, which we use in our protests. But we have in our hands still another weapon which no one can take away from us, and with this weapon we fight every day. And strange to say, our enemies never make use of this weapon. And still more strange- they allow themselves in the end to be conquered by this weapon, without uttering a cry. It is Truth. The publication of the truth often weakens the effectiveness of the prosecutions begun against the journalists. And the more one gives publicity to the truth, the more the government retreats before its claims. It is thus that on the occasion of the big miners' strike, a journalist was prosecuted for an article accusing the government of having one of the strikers shot. But the government had to withdraw its charges as a consequence of the following events: At the time of the big miners' strike at Firminy in 1948, near Saint- Etienne, a huge number of police were ordered to take a pit where the miners had shut themselves in. To reach and overwhelm the strikers, who were repulsing them with their bare hands, they fired their rifles. I was personally a witness to this firing. I was not the only one. Twenty- two reporters from all the papers and even the American agencies saw the guard mobile shoulder their guns and fire. But that evening, the Minister of the Interior announced in a communiqué that it was the strikers who had fired. Thanks to the action of the representatives of our union, we obtained the signatures of all the journalists, who were indignant at such a flagrant lie, and we published jointly the following communiqué: " Declaration of the journalists who witnessed the shooting at Firminy: " The undersigned journalists protest against information, written or broadcast, which tends to distort the truth about the shooting at Firminy. They declare: " 1. That not a single shot was fired by the demonstrators. " 2. That the police force fired their guns provocatively and not in self- defense. " Anxious to fulfill with complete objectivity their responsibility as newsmen, they protest solemnly against all other versions of the events of October 21." This was delivered to the Minister of the Interior and had enormous reverberations. Thus we have a role to play even among the hired journalists, because when we can prove the truth so strikingly, our enemies are forced to withdraw. The truth is our weapon, and we must use it on all occasions. Certain French journalists accuse our union of being political. Yes, we are political, because we wish to change the politics of our country so that the press will be free. Yes, we are political, and we are thus continuing the best traditions of the French trade Stop Persecution of Progressive Journalists! 93 union movement. Yes, we are political when we refuse to accept the blows of a club and to place our pens at the service of the lie. Yes, we are political because by our union activity we seek after national interests higher than those which changing governments, more and more removed from French affairs, trying to stop the march of history by corruption, diplomatic intrigue and crimes, claim to defend. Such men do not express the nation; they are thrown up by it. Thus the stand of the union is not only political but profoundly national. And only such a stand will permit us to exercise our union rights to improve our living conditions. That is why we continue to" be political", in struggling for peace, in joining our efforts to those of the IOJ. We know that this is the only way to help our country recover its true countenance. We know that after all our difficulties, in spite of the repression to which I have referred, we will enjoy a better future in liberty regained and world peace. ANDRÉ CARREL( France) STOP PERSECUTION OF PROGRESSIVE JOURNALISTS! Some days ago in my country the Spanish Republicans, they who with their bodies built a living rampart for France, have been the object of outrageous persecutions, as have numerous democratic emigrés from other places. From what motive and under whose direction is the French government acting? First, in attacking the Spanish Republicans, the Pleven- Moch government is continuing the work begun in his time by Leon Blum and the right socialist leaders who, under the cover of non- intervention, proceeded to assasinate the Spanish people. Second, in attacking the Spanish Republicans, the Pleven and Moch government is paying Franco his wages. It is, in effect, a question of assuring the participation of the Fascist dictator in the war against the USSR and the People's Democracies. Third, in attacking the Spanish Republicans, the Pleven- Moch government seeks to conform to the orders from Washington, to assure its rear by creating in France a fascist climate of" red hunts"; that is to say, hunts for democrats, for partisans of peace. It is in the nature of a trial balloon, in order to use the repressive machinery, after seeing the results, 94 Stop Persecution of Progressive Journalists! against the French people themselves. It is not simply chance that the same day that our Spanish comrades were hunted down, Pleven and Moch launched a campaign to revive the 1939 laws of exception against the Communist Party, laws established at the instigation of Ribbentrop. Let us state, at the outset, that it is a long way between the intentions and the practical realization of these intentions. And if the Pleven- Moch government has been able to expell or deport to South Algeria hundreds of anti- fascist emigrés, not without arousing general indignation, as will be seen elsewhere, it depends upon us, the people of France, to see that they are not able to proceed in the same way with our best partisans of peace. Why have I begun this short speech by referring to this police action of our government of national prostitution? Quite simply because it has at the same time struck at the anti- fascist Spanish journalists in illegally forbidding the appearance of the central organ of the Spanish Communist Party, Mundo Obrero, and also the central organ of the United Socialist Party of Catalonia. By the attack on our two colleagues, our comrades of the staff of these two democratic papers, all the progressive journalists, all the honest journalists in the world are affected. But, and I want to say this emphatically, it isn't so easy. Because the reaction of the people of France, brought up in the purest spirit of proletarian internationalism, has been immediate and powerful. When we left Paris, a big meeting of seven to eight thousand Parisians was being held, which hailed Mundo Obrero, and demanded the withdrawal of these illegal measures. The wors a Renault, the largest metal works in the Paris area ( 35,000 workers) held a meeting and protested with the utmost vigor. Likewise in many other factories in France, particularly at Toulouse. At Carmeaux, where Jean Jaurès was born and grew up, the miners stopped work. All these things prove that the movement of the masses of the French people is strong and conscious of that strength. It will do everything to defend and to rescue from prison the fighters for peace, in whose front ranks the democratic journalists are privileged to appear. This repression does not fall on our Spanish friends only, but on our Greek comrades as well. About two months ago, two Greek journalists were arrested at Anvers, under circumstances which remain unknown. In France, the great journalist and writer, Melpo Axioti, has just been expelled in his turn. Stop Persecution of Progressive Journalists! 95 We are still waiting for a single protest from the lackeys of the pen of the Marshallized press, quicker to shed crocodile tears or howl like dogs for the traitors Rajk or Kostov, than to raise their voices to save the journalists who are victims of the warmongers. But what is there to say then about the silence which surrounds the abominable crimes comitted against our comrades and colleagues from Greece, Spain and Argentina? Those who chatter the whole day long or who slaver for columns in their papers on a manufactured issue, what have they done for Manuel Glezos, venerable editor- in- chief of Rizos Pastis, who is dying in the monarcho- fascist dungeons of the underground prison of Korfu? When did they protest against the assassination of Ligeros? At what moment did they lead the campaign against the tortures inflicted on Greek journalists detained in the concentration camp on the island of Macronisos, or on the Argentine journalists who are dying in the cells of the Special Section of the police of Buenos Aires? Never. They have not lifted a finger. And those who speak of freedom of the press with sobs in their voice, what efforts have they made to liberate Doudou Gueye, imprisoned for two years at Dakar? What protest have they raised against the condemnation of John Gates, editor- in- chief of the Daily Worker of New York, or that of Benoit, editor of the Patriote of Saint- Etienne, in France? Or again, against the warrant for arrest issued for Leo Figuières, guilty of having spoken the truth about Vietnam? In fact, for the journalists who have deliberately placed themselves at the service of the warmongers," liberty", like" truth", are phrases behind which they hide, the better to disguise their misdeeds, to pursue their campaign of lies, and thus to prepare ideologically the people's minds for war. It is up to us, progressive journalists of the entire world, to pierce the curtain of silence, and alert the people to the threats, persecutions and tortures whose victims are the members of our profession. We must do it, because it is a basic requirement of our solidarity. We can do it, because the battle against repression is an integral part of the battle for peace, and as in the battle for peace, we are winning important victories. An example which illustrates this truth well: the workers in the great industrial city of the center of France, Rouen, demonstrated several months ago to prevent the departure of a train of war materials destined 96 Stop Persecution of Progressive Journalists! for Vietnam. Twenty arrests were made, among them a journalist who was excercising his profession, our comrade, Benoit. These fighters for peace were transfered to a fortress at Lyon to be judged there by a military court. But France awakened: meetings, resolutions, petitions. The court was literally bombarded with protests demanding the acquittal of the patriots. During the entire trial, powerful strikes took place, going so far as to stop the means of transportation. Not a minute, not a second, was left to the judges. The result? General acquittal, including that of the journalist Benoit, who with his comrades was literally rescued from prison by our people. This example shows us the method to follow in the Marshallized countries. All the problems arising out of repression cannot be resolved except with the aid of the masses of the people. This example also shows us that repression is not fatal, and as long as there is united action, the preparations of the capitalist warmongers can be checked. I Will the French government, perhaps in the days, perhaps in the weeks to come, want to take its revenge? Perhaps it will try to use force against our democratic press and the journalists who write it? In any case, and say this firmly before our colleagues of the entire world, neither persecution nor threats will make the progressive French journalists retreat an inch, they who fight with their people for peace and national independence. In conclusion, I propose in the name of the French delegation: 1. That the Congress of the IOJ solemnly protest against persecutions of every kind, whose victims are the journalists of many countries who are faithful to its charter. 2. That the Congress of the IOJ demand of all journalists to denounce pitilessly to the world all those who in their respective countries make themselves purveyors of prisons in the press and on the radio or who, by their silence, become accomplices to the purveyors. 3. That the Congress of the IOJ direct its Executive to study the creation of an international fund for the aid of persecuted journalists. Dear Colleagues, in the struggle for peace some of our colleagues and best men are victims of fierce repression on the part of those who fear all campaigns of truth except those invented in the US State Department. This is proof that our writings are contributing to the mobilization of all humanity against the handful of criminals who dream of hurling it into a frightful carnage. That under these circumstances they become enraged is normal. And it is the sign for those who are our concern that whatever happens, we are going rapidly toward victory. 97 97 FRITZ APPELT( Germany) THE GERMAN PRESS ASSOCIATION The German Press Association with its 2600 members is affiliated to the Federation of Free German Trade Unions. Almost all journalists and co- workers of the democratic Press in the German Democratic Republic are organized into its ranks. The Association considers as its most important task the active professional and personal participation of all members of the Association in the fight for peace, for the exposure of preparations for war, against warmongering and Press lies. A substantial part of this fight for peace is the national liberation struggle of the German people against the Anglo- American splitters and occupation forces and against their German accomplices. The German Press Association makes it the duty of its members to take advantage of every opportunity to accomplish the aims of the National Front of Democratic Germany. As regards the reactionary development in Western Germany, the German Press Association supports by the spoken and written word as well as by deed the especially hard struggle of the democratic journalists in Western Germany against the development of a monopoly capitalist Press which is promoted by the American imperialists. It also takes a stand against the persecution of progressive German journalists by the Western powers and against the arbitrary suppression of newspapers. The Association marches side by side with the democratic journalists of Western Germany in defense and protection of democratic freedom of the Press and for the liberty of public opinion. The German Press Association supports the democratic journalists of Western Germany in a material way through an aid fund, and by giving persecuted journalists a chance to rest at resorts in the German Democratic Republic. The German Press Association makes it the duty of its members to give great care that the reputation, dignity and purity of the democratic Press in Germany should be preserved. Here it is proper to include the struggle against the ideas and influence of Anglo- American imperialism and cosmopolitanism, the fight against corruption, against journalists, venality and the defense of the democratic Press against spies and agents. The German Press Association considers as one of its most important tasks that of preserving the best cultural traditions of the German people, and of endeavoring to deepen the friendship with the Soviet Union and the People's Democracies. As a member of the International Organization of Journalists, the German Press Association took active part in its program. It has undertaken to cultivate friendly relations with the journalist organizations of the Soviet Union, of the People's Democracies and with all journalist associations which are founded on the program of the IOJ. The German Press Association, as a trade union organization in the journalist profession, considers it a special duty to attend to the social, economic and professional interests of its members and constantly better their living conditions. This takes the form of concluding wage contracts, creation of a scale of fees for free- lance journalists, the creation of social aids, recreation facilities and the betterment of aid to the aged, widows and orphans. It protects by means of legal aid journalists who, in the pursuit of their pro 98 Journalists of Western Germany for a Free, Peace- Loving, Democratic Germany fessional activities, are being unjustly prosecuted. It aids in placement of journalists and furthers adult education programs in building up a new generation of journalists. The German Press Association possesses a Press club house in Berlin which offers the members a place for social gatherings in the club rooms, lecture halls and theater, as well as a place for recreation and relaxation. It serves also as a place for expert training and education of new journalists through organization of lectures and seminars. The German Press Association recently held its Congress, in which the question of the struggle of German journalists for peace and German unity were thoroughly discussed. In its appeal the Congress called on all German journalists to carry on with all severity the fight for peace, and to expose the warmongers relentlessly. The demands and aims of the German Press Association were determined in its works program and the organizational structure and rights and duties of members were resolved in a new statute. The appeal of the IOJ was widely distributed by the German Press Association and found a strong response from all honest and peace- loving journalists in Germany. All the members of the German Press Association stressed the appeal for the outlawing of the atom bomb. In all its reporting and general activity, the German Press Association placed itself fully and entirely in the service of the fight for peace, democracy and understanding among peoples. It has solemnly declared its willingness to cooperate with all journalists and their organizations who have the same aims. We do not want to serve the forces of annihilation and death, but a better, peaceful future of our people and of all humanity, and to this end we devote all our ability and strength. WILLI PERK( Germany) JOURNALISTS OF WESTERN GERMANY FOR A FREE, PEACE- LOVING, DEMOCRATIC GERMANY A terrorist campaign has been launched against the progressive peace Press in the zone of my country that is occupied by the Anglo- American and French imperialists. Ninety- nine percent of all newspapers with an active program of defending peace and unity of Germany have been banned. The paper of the partisans of peace in the Saar has also become a victim of this same ban. But the warmongers do not stop there. Methods that have hitherto been used only in colonial countries have been introduced to oppress the progressive peace- loving Press. All editorial offices were searched by police and publishing houses placed under police guard. Journalists of Western Germany for a Free, Peace- Loving, Democratic Germany 99 But this was not enough. All printing presses, even those under private ownership that printed newspapers as a business enterprise, were closed and their rotary presses partly dismantled. The fear that is felt by the American and West German warmongers against the progressive journalists can be seen in the ban preventing these journalists from exercising their profession. However, before this open terror was initiated against the Press, the imperialists thought they could stifle the voice of peace by oppressing, imprisoning and sentencing journalists. Military courts pronounced heavy prison sentences on the journalists, tried to ruin the publishers with fines and disorganize the readers by the confiscation of individual numbers. One of the heroic journalists is colleague Landwehr who attacked remilitarization and the planned reconstruction of the former nazi armament works and called on the people to resist. Because of this activity for peace, the British military court sentenced colleague Landwehr to a year's imprisonment. He has spent terrible years in Hitlerite concentration camps in which he sacrificed his health. Regardless of the fact that doctors claimed that his health was in danger and demanded his release, colleague Landwehr was forced to remain in prison, according to the order of the military tribunal. At this international forum I would like to protest in the name of progressive journalists of west Germany against this inhumanity. The life of a courageous fighter for peace is threatened. We demand the immediate release of colleague Landwehr and all other imprisoned friends of peace and the repeal of all bans that have been placed against the peace Press of West Germany. The paper of which I have the honour of being chief editor has also been placed under permanent ban by the British General Bishop. This newspaper appeared in the Ruhr, in other words in the area that the American warmongers have selected as the new armaments center against the progressive European countries and the Soviet Union. But the people of the Ruhr do not wish to die for a small group of domestic and foreign armament magnates. The banned paper published this stand of the population clearly and in detail. That is why this newspaper was so dearly loved by the people of the Ruhr. It had the largest circulation in the entire British Zone. The British Military Administration then compulsorily lowered the number of copies printed from 420,000 to 83,000. Then one day a certain Miss Lewis from the British press section appeared and explained that we must follow a course more suitable to the policies of the British occupation forces. We were to give up our position against the reinstal 100 Journalists of Western Germany for a Free, Peace- Loving, Democratic Germany lation of former nazis in economic, administrative and police offices. It would be necessary to keep silent on rearmament measures. We were told that if we did not give ground on the demands of the British Military Administration, we would have to face the possibility of a ban. However we would not and could not serve as the fountain pen of the warmongers. After this General Bishop sent us a notification of the ban of our paper for a supposed slanderous attack on the USA. Actually we have only demanded that the population of West Germany and especially the miners and steel workers of the Ruhr must not permit any armament production, and that the plans of the US warmongers must be exposed. The Anglo- American warmongers banned the West Germany peace Press on the grounds that its call to the struggle for peace disturbed peace and order. As an important factor, the imperialists took into account that these papers published a facsimile from the Bonner Bundesanzeiger which revealed the permission of the western allies for transportation of arms -from tanks to poison gas- to West Germany. These artificial reasons for banning papers are themselves exposed as false, for now the foreign ministers' conference of the western allies will decide on the rearmament of West Germany and put it into practice. It is a fact that the peace- time production in West Germany is diminishing at a rapid rate while those factories that produce exclusively for American rearmament can mark to their credit a very rapid jump in production. Allow me to present a few facts to illustrate the seriousness of the situation, and in order to show the significance of the fight for peace in West Germany. The position of West Germany in the war schemes of the Americans can be seen in the following statistics: taking the industrial production for the first quarter of 1950 as compared to the same period in 1949 for the various western European countries, we see the following index figures: West Germany 110, England 107, Italy 105, France and Belgium 100. In the second quarter of 1950 this development can be seen even more clearly, as during this period the West German index figure is 120- above the average of the European countries. The rearmament tempo under the American hierarchy, compared to that under Hitler fascism appears in the following examples: in the years 1935 to 1938, the figures are 100, 111, 112, 130 respectively, but during the years 1948 to September 1950 the tempo increased to 100, 147 and 160 respectively. A further indication of the manifest armament boom is the diminishing Journalists of Western Germany for a Free, Peace- Loving, Democratic Germany 101 of the consumer goods industry. Thus the production of shoes has dropped by 21% and textiles by 13%. The machinery industry, however, during the same period has chalked up a sharp rise of 32%. West Germany therefore offers an illustration of the type of economy in which war industry is developed at a rapid pace in accordance with the orders of the American imperialists, and at the same time the branches of industry that satisfy the demands of civilian consumption are being cut. Allow me to present a few more figures on who is benefiting from the bloody massacres of the Korean people. From the middle of July the stocks of Hoesch AG have jumped from 48 to 61.5, Mannesmann- Röhrenwerke from 46 to 49.5, Vereinigte Stahlwerken from 46 to 52 and NSU from 100.5 to 118. Therefore we can observe that from the time American bombs began destroying Korean cities and villages the stocks of the armament concerns in West Germany have risen on the average by 25%. But there is also another table of statistics which indicates the increasing poverty of the West German population as a result of the preparations for war. In this respect the West German industrialists have decided that 5 million families will have to exist on pensions and unemployment insurance. Of those workers who are still employed, 50% receive less than 250 marks per month. It is officially established that the minimum subsistence wage is 270 marks. I would like to give the position of the most important workers, 500,000 West German miners, as a suitable example. The wages of this group of workers are from 78 to 116 marks below this minimum. If before the last World War a miner's family required 1171 marks per year to purchase the necessary food and consumer commodities, today after the rise in prices, this same family must pay 2538 marks for the same commodities. Now if we take 250 marks as the basis of monthly wages, the miner's family has only 400 marks yearly to pay for clothing, rent, household and other necessities. Add to this the fact that miners are considered among the higher paid workers. It is therefore understandable that the West German people are not prepared to go along with American policy. The recent great strike movements and the present wage struggle in many West German industries are an indication of the birth of a counter- offensive. The decision of the dockers of Hamburg and Bremen not to unload any American shipments of arms has had wide reverberations among the workers of West Germany. Following the example of Hamburg, Peace Committees were set up in the harbour towns of Lübeck, Bremerhaven, Emden, Nordenham and Bracke. This peace movement has recently embraced the harbours of the Rhine. 102 Journalists of Western Germany for a Free, Peace- Loving, Democratic Germany Europe's largest inland harbours, Duisburg, Krefeld, Düsseldorf, Köln, Mannheim, Mainz and Worms, have also set up Peace Committees. From them the movement has moved to other branches and now it can be observed that in West Germany over 250 large industrial plants have Peace Committees. In this peace campaign, the youth play a very special role. In the campaign to gather signatures for the outlawing of the atomic bomb, the youth have performed notable work in the factories and homes. The bans and police terror by warmongers against the peace movement and especially against the peace- loving youth, indicate fear of the continously growing preparedness of the West German population in defence of peace. In this active struggle in defense of peace the progressive journalist plays a very great role. He has a special responsibility in the exposing of war preparations and pointing out the relation between deterioration of living conditions and war preparations. As a journalist on the peace front this is his special obligation. In order to accomplish these tasks successfully, it is imperative that he have the closest relations with the workers in industry, with trade unions and all organizations and societies. Due to his wider perspective, a journalist is obliged to explain these questions in meetings, especially neighborhood meetings, readers' groups and also in street discussions. his A journalist must also advance the peace campaign activities through paper. This means that he must stay in close contact with the local and industrial Peace Committees, he must support their work, give publicity to their achievements and also point out weaknesses. But all this is possible only if the journalist does not confine his work to his desk- he must participate in active work. From this he receives his facts and daily directives on how to improve the struggle for peace. We have developed a new system in West Germany. In place of the 15 banned newspapers, the campaign for peace is now being led by the hundreds of factory, street and neighborhood papers. The journalists of the banned newspapers participate in this work by giving ald and advice. Of very great effect has been the brigade formed by the editors and journalists of the banned papers for the gathering of signatures to the Stockhom Appeal. Through this, the population was not only mobilized to protest the banning of the newspapers, but at the same time the journalists strengthened their ties with the people, received new ideas from the people and suggestions on how to lead the peace campaign even more decisively and concretely. Political or Non- Political? 103 We progressive journalists of West Germany wish to do all in our power so that never again will a war start on German soil and spread over Europe. In this hard struggle we know that we are supported by our colleagues in the German Democratic Republic. We know also that we can expect great help from our international organization the IOJ. It is planned to make West Germany a springboard for attack in a new American war against the Soviet Union, the People's Democracies and the German Democratic Republic. That is why there is the terror against the peace Press and the progressive journalists. Neither terror nor oppression must however keep us from the struggle for peace. Finally allow me to voice a request in the name of all the progressive journalists, publishers and correspondents of West Germany: Support us in our struggle. To you, our friends from England, Belgium, France, Norway and Denmark, whose troops are at present engaged in huge war manoeuvers on West German soil, we appeal: explain to your people the collaboration of your governments with the nazi generals and armament concerns of West Germany. Tell your soldiers that they must not allow themselves to be used jointly with the former SS leaders in marching against the socialist Soviet Union, against the People's Democracies or the progressive peace- loving people of Germany. If we, the progressive journalists of all countries, establish closer contact, if we more and more help each other mutually, then we will demonstrate that the pen can also be a sharp and destructive weapon in the fight against the imperialist war criminals. PAT SLOAN( Great Britain) POLITICAL OR NON- POLITICAL? It is necessary that I should emphasize the fact that I am here purely as an individual British journalist and as an individual member of the National Union of Journalists. It is my deep regret that no other British journalists are here, but you must appreciate that in the conditions now existing in Britain, there is hardly a journalist employed by a capitalist newspaper who would dare to make this journey without almost certainly 104 Political or Non- Political? losing his job. It thus falls on me, who am not employed by a capitalist concern, to speak here as the only journalist from Britain. Today in Britain the whole daily Press, with the sole exception of the Daily Worker, is supporting the American drive to a third world war, with Britain as the main atom bombing base of the American imperialists. The disasters which this can bring to our country are passed over almost in silence, while the British people are told that any sacrifice is worth while in defending the so- called" Free World"-which now includes fascist Greece and Spain and the remnants of Chiang Kai Shek's rotten regime on Formosa. In order to harness public opinion to the war drive, it is essential to suppress facts, distort the news, and even invent news when this suits the purpose of the warmongers. I would like to give you a few examples from my personal experience: For five years now I have been editor of the Greek News Agency in London. We have been informing the press, month after month, of the horrors of the Greek concentration camps, with detailed reports, signed by inmates of these camps at the risk of their lives. But apart from the Daily Worker, not a paper has taken the slightest notice. The Liberal News Chronicle, which some time ago boosted a slanderous handout of the American Embassy alleging that one prisoner had been maltreated by the Bulgarian police, described this story as worse than anything since the nazis. But the News Chronicle has not said a word to mitigate the horrors of Makronisos, confirmed by endless testimony, while British police" advise" the Greek authorities and it is well known that Britain has a direct responsibility for all that has happened in Greece since 1945. I am also something of a specialist on the USSR. Day after day in the Daily Telegraph and the Manchester Guardian, in the Sunday Observer and in the News Chronicle, in the Conservative Daily Mail and Labour Daily Herald, to mention only some of the papers, there is a constant stream of provocative attacks on the Soviet Union. They write of a so- called" Iron Curtain" round the Soviet Union. But when delegations of rank- and- file workers or leading trade unionists return from visits to the USSR, not one of these newspapers will publish an article by one of the eye- witnesses of what Soviet life is really like. Not long ago, for days on end, the whole capitalist Press in Britian was full of the" news" that some Russian trawlers were passing through the English Channel. Every possible sinister suggestion was made concerning them. Political or Non- Political? 105 Recently a boy, Donald Beer, left for Poland with a football autographed by a local football team. The press raised such a scandal over this- particularly the Daily Mail- that finally the boy's father was persuaded by the Daily Mail to fly to Copenhagen at the Daily Mail's expense to bring his son home before he reached Poland. The behaviour of the Press on the peace campaign is similar. At first, they thought they could kill it by silence. But as the number of signatures to the National Peace Petition based on the Stockholm Appeal neared a million, and the second National Peace Congress was held, they turned it into an occasion for the persecution of a young girl of 16 who had collected 150 signatures at school. She was pursued to her home by reporters, her photo was widely publicized. There were headlines aimed at stirring up the widest ill- feeling against this young girl. Here are a few examples:" London Girl Ran Red Peace Plan at School" ( Sunday Chronicle)." Schoolgirls Signed Red Peace Pledge"( Sunday Mail). " My Girls Lured Away by Reds"( Daily Mail allegedly reporting the girl's mother)." Communism in School Inquiry"( Daily Telegraph)." Geraldine, 15, Tells Soviet: We Wouldn't Fight"( Daily Graphic). As a result of this press campaign round the girl, Geraldine Chalmers, a witch- hunt on American lines is being started in our schools in which anyone who works for peace is denounced like a criminal. As for Ilya Ehrenburg's visit, the journalists behaved at his press conference like enraged opponents at a Hyde Park meeting. When the Korean war began, the first communiqué of the Korean People's Republic was practically suppressed. Only the Daily Worker printed it at any reasonable length. Most British newspaper readers even now do not know that the People's Republic ever issued a communiqué that it had been invaded at 4 a. m. on June 25. I want now to turn to another aspect of the British situation— namely the growing wave of victimisation of journalists for their opinions. It is well- known in Fleet Street, but not to the British people, that the editor of the Evening Standard was recently dismissed because on the outbreak of the Korean war he wrote that we must not get involved. The Americans have read about this in their magazine Time. But an iron curtain still keeps this news from the British people. A sub- editor on the same paper was dismissed for a headline which said that the Korean peasants were defeating US troops. Ajournalist was recently dismissed from a large London agency because of the way in which a Truman speech was handled. There had been a complaint. 106 Political or Non- Political? In a provincial town a local reporter recently sat next to an American businessman at lunch. In the course of the conversation he apparently expressed his approval of nationalization and also said that he did not regard Truman as infallible. He lost his job a few days later. A young reporter of 28 in the south of England was recently dismissed because he had collected signatures to the Peace Petition at work. And so it goes on. Now you see why it was impossible to get any British journalist employed by a capitalist newspaper to attend this Congress. I would like now to say a few words about my fellow journalists, because I know that, judging from the British Press, you must inevitably get the impression that with the exception of the staff of the Daily Worker they are nothing but warmongers. I would remind you, first of all, that 769 members of our Union voted against disaffiliation from the IOJ. So we are by no means all supporters of the splitting of the world into two rival warring camps. There are, of course, some journalists in Britain who are completely unscrupulous and who will write literally anything for money. I like to think these are a tiny minority. At the opposite end of the scale there are a number of journalists, like myself, who know the real threat to world peace comes from American imperialism, and who are doing our utmost to avert the danger which threatens our country. But in between these extremes are the vast majority of journalists who are not warmongers at all, who want to live in peace, but who have been completely influenced by the prevailing propaganda, which is organized very efficiently by a very few people very high up. The average British journalist is honest- as a trade unionist I would say he is far more honest than his employer- but he is ready to let himself be used, again and again, to put across a policy which is not in his own interest. There is profound truth in the lines of the poet, Humbert Wolfe, written a few years ago: You cannot hope to bribe or twist, Thank God! the British journalist. But, seeing what the man will do Unbribed, there's no occasion to. In case the translators have difficulty with these little verses let me say that their meaning is just this: there is no need to bribe the British journalist, he'll write what's wanted anyway. Political or Non- Political? 107 This is not a very complimentary thing to write about any profession. But it is fairly true about the British journalist. And I believe that you, all of you coming from countries where journalists are politically- minded, have still a great deal to learn about your fellow journalists in Britain. I know, for example, that serious friction arose, between my Union leaders and the IOJ over the question of politics. The leaders of the NUJ attacked the other leaders of the IOJ for indulging in politics because they insisted that journalists should work for peace. They said the NUJ was " non- political" and therefore they could not be drawn into" political" arguments on peace and war. Personally I think they were absolutely wrong in this. Because it is a well- known fact that our Union has gone on record against fascism, and went on record in support of a world war against fascism. If it is permissible for a non- political union to oppose fascism and support a war, then surely it is no less permissible for the same union to oppose war and support peace after fascism is defeated. Unfortunately, however, you were faced with the leadership of my union using the" non- political" character of the union to justify their refusal to co- operate in the world- wide drive to save peace and prevent a third world war. Naturally, you will be inclined to conclude from this that the" nonpolitical" character of the NUJ is just a simple mask for a reactionary policy. You will be inclined to condemn our members, who say their union is" non- political" and let this argument be used to justify withholding support from the fight for peace, as a lot of shameless reactionaries. But you would not necessarily be right. Let me just give you one example. You may find it hard to believe, but in recent years a communist, Allen Hutt, has been elected at the Annual Conference as Editor of our Union's paper, the Journalist. Each year a certain number of right- wing members try to get rid of Hutt, and each time so far he has got a larger majority. So the Union cannot be completely reactionary when it solemnly elects a communist to edit its journal. What is the explanation?-It is the fact that in the NUJ the members as a whole are quite serious when they claim that the Union is non- political. Because they hold this view, they consider that officials should be elected on their personal merits and not on their politics. As Allen Hutt is the best man for the editorship of the Journalist, it is generaliy recognized that not to elect him, because he is a communist, would in fact be an act of political persecution. Hence the Union elects and re- elects Hutt to edit the Journalist. 108 Political or Non- Political? This fact may bring home to you- more clearly than any amount of argument- the peculiar mentality of the British journalist today. In every one of your countries I expect that the idea that a trade union can be non- political is regarded as completely out- of- date. When, therefore, an Englishman tries to use the non- political character of his union as a reason for not acting with you on the issue of peace or war, you will tend to think that not only he, but the union members as a whole are a bunch of hypocrites. But we are not. The example of Allen Hutt is clear proof that the British journalists take absolutely seriously the non- political character of their union- even today. If that were more widely appreciated in other countries, I believe you could make a better approach to your British colleagues. I am not here to apologise for the British journalistic profession. I believe that our profession in Britain has achieved much. I believe that our journalists are, in the main, sincere human beings of average intelligence. I believe, however, that like so many others among our trade unionists, they are far too ready to accept the ideas of centuries of imperialism as eternal truths, and far too uncritical of policies which emanate from Wall Street and Washington, from the City and Downing Street, from the Foreign Office and from the newspaper proprietors. Far too many British newspapermen, to put it bluntly, actually believe the things they are told to write. They do not yet see how much of what they are told to write serves the interests of the millionaire proprietors and their class, and is against their own interests which are the interests of the common people. Nevertheless, you may be assured that in Britain, not only on the Daily Worker and among communists, there are a growing number of journalists who are realizing that the American way of life means war and and economic crisis, that a new way of life must be forged before peace prosperity can be achieved for all, and that the international solidarity of all working people, whether manual or professional workers, is absolutely essential to peace and prosperity being achieved. I believe the IOJ must find ways and means of inspiring and winning the respect of every British journalist who wants peace and hates war. If my personal visit to this Congress can in any way help to do this, it will have been well worth while. For my part, I can at least promise this: on my return I shall do all in my power to inspire my colleagues with confidence in the IOJ in the hope that they will again affiliate in the not- distant future. 109 JÁNOS VENÉCZY( Hungary) HUNGARIAN JOURNALISTS DEMAND THAT YUGOSLAVS BE EXCLUDED FROM THE IOJ The Hungarian journalists are confronted with a great and important task: they must give a daily account of the events of the country, the results of industrial and agricultural production, the work of women and youth, learning, cultural events, etc. But at the same time it is also the task of the Hungarian Press to battle intelligently with the American warmongers and their agents. We make the large mass of workers aware of the strength of the peace camp, and we expose the flunkeys of the warmongers in our country who are trying to harm the People's Democracy from within. We continue an implacable struggle in the columns of our papers against the rightwing Social Democrats. The Hungarian Press has so participated in the successful production and improvement of the country that it is aware of the importance of productive work from the point of view of strengthening peace. Why has the Hungarian Press been able to fulfill its task? In the first place because it works in the interest of the people. The great masses of workers take part continuously in the editing of our papers; we are constantly receiving more letters from workers and working peasants. These letters draw our attention to our faults and put forth proposals for bettering the work of the papers. The only basis for developing our Press is a permanent contact with the masses. That is the basis and also the explanation for its development and the growth in strength of the International Organization of Journalists. A further important condition for the growth in strength of the IOJ is the expulsion of the Union of Yugoslav Journalists which has proved by its previous activity that it is the enemy of peace and democracy. The Union of Yugoslav Journalists has played an active part in all the measures taken in Yugoslavia against progressive and democratic journalists by the Tito regime. The Union of Hungarian Journalists proposed the following resolution at the Executive Committee meeting of the IOJ in Prague, September 17: " The Union of Hungarian Journalists declares that a terrorist dictator 110 Problems of the Press in Iceland ship has been established in Yugoslavia, that the freedom of the Press has been entirely suppressed, that progressive journalists are persecuted in Yugoslavia as they are in the Spain of Franco and monarcho- fascist Greece, that the Union of Yugoslav Journalists has not even raised a protest against this fascist policy, but on the contrary defends it, which constitutes a violation of the principles of the IOJ." When the Yugoslav government began openly to apply a fascist policy, the Union of Yugoslav Journalists adopted an attitude which was directly hostile to the Secretariat of the IOJ at Prague. The Union of Yugoslav Journalists has completely taken over the policy of the American journalists which was aimed at breaking up the unity of the IOJ, and on several occasions has demostrated its servility in regard to orders from New York and London( in the campaign at the beginning of 1949 against the IOJ in regard to the so- called delay in delivering membership cards, etc.) The Union of Yugoslav Journalists has shown itself in its true light when it sent to all journalist organizations an open letter full of base calumnies and attacks on the IOJ. The Union of Yugoslav Journalists has proved through its activity that it does not serve progress but the enemies of progress and the instigators of war. It has especially proved this in its outrageous attack on the struggle for liberty by the heroic Korean people. Therefore the Union of Hungarian Journalists proposes that this Congress drive the Union of Yugoslav Journalists from the IOJ. ASMUNDUR SIGURJONSSON( Iceland) PROBLEMS OF THE PRESS IN ICELAND As a delegate from a little country under imperialist domination, I would like to call the attention of the Congress to the fact that we in Iceland are struggling against mounting difficulties when we combat imperialist propaganda, which at this time will literally inundate our country and drown out truth, following the terms of the Marshall Plan. Radio, the capitalist Press, the cinema, popular magazines and all other propaganda Problems of the Press in Iceland 111 means are used to an ever- increasing degree to lead the masses astray, to create a war atmosphere, to serve the interests of the imperialists and American warmongers. In my country, as in most Marshallized countries, the progressive forces are not strong enough to equal the gigantic propaganda machine of the American imperialists. This is why we hope for the support of all progressive journalists of the world and of the IOJ. We must establish closer contact, we must cooperate in every way, daily, to assure exact and true information about what is going on in the world. In my opinion this is one of the most important tasks of the IOJ in the future. Allow me one example: In Iceland we are forced to use the propaganda of the imperialists as a basis of our information material, the news from abroad, for example, is partly based on BBC propaganda and on other capitalist radio agencies, simply because that is the only source of information available. Our financial situation is such that expensive reports are above our means. The only way we can get the news of the day is to listen to the radio. As for the commentary on the news, we are obliged to follow our intuition and base it on our experience, which often is not enough. We need facts and dates. To tell the truth we do receive facts and dates. We get them every day in an information bulletin sent out in teleprint by the United States Embassy. The day after the attack on North Korea, for instance, we received a long bulletin from the American Embassy giving the" background", as they said, of the Korean situation, with excerpts from speeches by Synghman Rhee and his companions. This was the only material we had on Korean and I must say we greeted it with joy and made good use of it. But on the other hand, I cannot insist too much that this is an intolerable situation. It is insane, I think, that the organs of the progressive forces in western Europe, as for example the Scandinavian countries, are obliged to use the propaganda put out by capitalist agencies such as Reuters, AP and UP or the propaganda which comes directly from the State Department, Washington, as the basis of their news material, only because they lack contact with the other progressive forces of the world. Perhaps the Congress is not the proper forum, but as I am already well into this question, I dare to declare: I believe that it is time to found a progressive news agency which will send out a daily service to all the progressive papers of the world. It is necessary to combat imperialist propaganda with its own weapons. Progressive journalists are in many cases obliged to rely on reactionary and malignant propaganda from the imperialist news agencies and the American State Department, in their daily work. This is why I regard as one of the first tasks of the IOJ the work of establishing contact and closer cooperation among progressive journalists in the form proposed above. 112 SHARAF ATHAR ALI( India) REPORT ON THE PRESS OF INDIA In our country, all honest and progressive journalists recognise that with world peace is linked the question of our national independence and liberation, and therefore our whole future. The real liberation of India, with its 330 millions in a huge country, when it comes will end forever the era of imperialist world domination and colonial slavery in all Asia, and thus help to usher in for all time the era of permanent world peace. We Indian journalists consider it our special moral duty to tell the truth about Americanled imperialist aggression in Asia, with all its concomitant brutality, which is a threat to our own independence and seeks to prolong the agony of our colonial status. Our task is to denounce in whatever way is open to us, in the press and publications, the imperialist aggression in Malaya, Vietnam, Korea and Formosa. This Congress will be glad to learn that almost all of the press in India, irrespective of other issues, condemned American- led imperialist aggression in Korea in no uncertain terms. Practically the whole press supported Premier Nehru's peace initiative, in his correspondence with Premier Stalin. Now to say a few words about the conditions confronting the Press in India today. In common with the Press in all capitalist and colonial and semicolonial countries, the democratic Press in India, in its struggle for peace, for the cause of liberation, finds itself restricted and hampered in its freedom. In India, a new constitution was recently adopted for the country. It is claimed by its sponsors that it is modelled on the" free" constitutions of the United States and Britain. However, the Indian Constitution studiously does not mention the right of freedom of the Press among its list of fundamental rights. It is quite clear, therefore, that this right, which is a part of the human rights contained in the United Nations Charter and which exists and is exercised so completely in the Soviet Union and the countries of People's Democracy in Europe and Asia, was not to be found in the so- called" democratic" countries of America and Britain. Naturally, if such a right does not exist in the Indian Constitution, the Press is unable to claim it and therefore must suffer for it. Here is a list of various acts on the Indian statute books which deprive the Indian Press of all rights of freedom: 1. The Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867 This Act makes it impossible to print a newspaper or any document without making a declaration before a magistrate and getting specific permission from the government. It imposes all sorts of other restrictions on the free publication of newspapers. 2. Indian States( Protection Against Disaffection) Act, 1922; and Indian States( Protection) Act, 1934 These make it a crime to criticize the actions of the loyal friends of imperialism— the Indian Princes- and their repressive rule Report on the Press of India 3. The Official Secrets Act, 1923 113 Imperialism uses this all- embracing Act to prevent the disclosure by the Press of almost any matter relating to Government decisions, which had not been made public. 4. Indian Press( Emergency) Powers Act, 1931 This Act was introduced by imperialism to crush the national movement. Under it, through the taking of securities and their forfeiture, hundreds of papers have been suppressed. Very broad definitions, under which the most mild criticism becomes a crime, are a special feature of this totalitarian Act. 5. Foreign Relations Act, 1932 This is another slave Act, making it a crime to criticise imperialism's allies. 6. Section 124- A of the Indian Penal Code This deals with" sedition" with the widest, all- embracing definition. 7. Section 153- A of the Indian Penal Code This makes it a crime to" promote hatred between different classes of His Majesty's subjects".-a definition broad enough to include all writing in support of the exploited classes. 8. The Criminal Procedure Code Under this code the government has power to seize and make forfeit documents. 9. Sea Customs Act Under this, the government has power to stop and confiscate any literature coming from abroad which it considers to be against the public interest. 10. Sections of the Indian Telegraph Act and Post Office Act These provide for the censorship and suppression of Press news. 11. The Public Safety Measures Acts These are extraordinary emergency laws imposed by the various State governments in India at the present time, which fall heavily upon democratic journalists and editors, who can be arrested and held in prison without trial for indefinite periods. And here are some examples of Press suppression: 1. In Bengal State alone, over thirty dailies and weeklies, including the popular Bengali Communist daily, Swadhinata, have been forcibly closed down during the last two years. Five dailies and several weeklies run by the Communist Party with several thousand circulation have been forcibly closed down. 2. In Bombay State, a Marathi weekly called Inquilab, belonging to the Peasants' and Workers' Party, had to suspend publication for several months last year, and the editor of the paper was detained for nearly one year without trial. 3. A non- communist paper, Paschim Banga Patrika, a Bengali daily published from Calcutta, had to suspend publication because of an order compelling it to submit every word to government censors. 4. An Urdu cultural monthly called Preet Lari, devoted to the cause of mocracy, published in Delhi, has been arbitrarily banned. peace and de5. The editor of a children's paper in Bengal, called Pather Alo( Light of the Way) was arrested for bringing out a peace number. 6. Another children's paper, Bal Sandesh( Children's Message) published in Amritsar in the Punjab, has been forced to stop publication because of heavy securities demanded from it by the government. 114 The Imperialists in Iran and the Iranian Press 7. A demand for a security of 1,000 rupees was made from the Indo- Soviet Journal, the organ of the Friends of the Soviet Union movement in India. 8. The pre- censorship order recently was imposed on the progressive Gurumukhi weekly, Nawen Rah of Delhi. The authorities demanded that all" political and labour" matters be submitted for pre- censorship. From these examples, which by no means exhaust the list, it will be clearly seen how difficult are the circumstances in which the democratic Press and journalists of India have to work, if they wish to exercise their right of freedom of expression and to serve the sacred causes and issues to which the International Organization of Journalists is dedicated, and in regard to which this Congress will carry on its deliberations. PARVIZ RAD( Iran) THE IMPERIALISTS IN IRAN AND THE IRANIAN PRESS For the warmongers, headed by the American imperialists, Iran represents a particularly tempting field of action by reason of its 3,000 kilometres of common frontier with the USSR. The last world war had not yet ended when they began to transform Iran into a base for aggression against the Soviet Union. However, a serious obstacle was placed in their path. It was the opposition of the Iranian people. In fact, the entry into Iran, in 1941, of the Soviet Army of liberation and the forced abdication of the fascist dictator, Reza Khan, had created favorable conditions for the growth of the popular movement which soon took on startling dimensions. Under the direction of the Toudeh Party, the workers' trade unions, the democratic organizations of the youth, the women and the peasants, the Iranian people became conscious of their legitimate rights, of which they had been deprived until then; they presented their demands and increased their fight for bread, peace and national independence. The democratic Press informed the masses of the people, who for 70 years had been kept in ignorance. In the struggle against dictatorship, for the democratization of the national institutions, and for the emancipation of the people, the vanguard turned to the newspaper Rahbar, the central organ of the Toudeh Party. In order to understand the dimensions that the popular movement had taken on in Iran, we should remember that six and a half million of Azerbaijans and Kurdes in the northwest of Iran had, by means of an armed insurrection, established autonomous governments of popular democracy, and realized actual economic, cultural and social The Imperialists in Iran and the Iranian Press 115 reforms during the space of a year. In the other provinces, the Toudeh Party had almost the unanimous support of the population. In July, 1946, more than 100,000 workers of the Anglo- American Oil Co.( in the South of Iran) struck work. Great demonstrations took place in Teheran. At this time, nearly 70 newspapers were published in Teheran. The Anglo- American imperialists understood very well that this powerful popular movement endangered their plans of exploitation, and of making Iran a platform of aggression against the Soviet Union and the People's Democracies. They decided to do everything to smash this movement, to destroy the democratic Press and to prepare the ground for their campaign of lies against the Soviet Union and in favour of their preparations for war. In December, 1946, the Iranian government, directly supported by the Anglo- Americans, launched a bestial repression against the people of Azerbeidjan. Nearly 15,000 Azerbaijans have been hanged, shot or beheaded. The three beloved leaders of the Kurdian people, Ghazi Mohammed and his two brothers, have been hanged. In 1947 and 1948, military agreements were signed between Iran and the USA. All along the Soviet frontier, 24 airdromes have been built. Three military ports have been created in the Persian Gulf. The Iranian railways have been reconnected with the Turkish and Irakian railways. American" advisers" invaded Iran. Mission followed on mission. American" tourists"," hunters"," mountain climbers" began to show their interest in the northern regions of Iran next to the Soviet border. The Shah went to the USA, then he made a visit to Pakistan; the king of Afghanistan came to Iran; the regent of Irak assisted at the military manoeuvres of the Iranian army. The war hysteria increased. Parallel with the military and strategic preparations for war, the imperialists did not forget the ideological preparations to this end. Thanks to the intervention of the State Department, the notorious fascist Chahrokh, who holds a diploma from the Nazi School of Propaganda, directed by Goebbels himself -the same Chahrokh who assured for many years and up to the end of the war, the emissions in the Persian language of Radio Berlin- has been made General Director of Iranian Propaganda and Radio. A wave of slander and lies against the Soviet Union was sent out by the reactionary Iranian Press, by the Radio of Teheran, by the Voice of America in the Persian language, and by the illustrated American Press which is published in Persian, Russian and Armenian and distributed gratuitously in Iran. This anti- Soviet campaign was denounced by the democratic Press, which showed the hypocritical aims that it concealed. This anti- Soviet campaign had the less success since during the war when the British, the American and the Soviet armies were in Iran, the Iranian people had the occasion to discover the difference between, on one hand, the policy of the Soviet Union which is based on equality of nations and the respect of the independence of peoples and, on the other hand, the policy of enslavement and exploitation of the peoples under the imperialists. The 4th of February, 1949, the Iranian government, in fulfilling the orders of Washington, declared unlawful all democratic organizations. The American imperialists thought naively that they could thus strangle the voice of the people. The newspapers, the magazines and the offices of the democratic organizations were shut down, millions of fighters of the democratic movement were sent to jail. During several months, the military courts sentenced many of them to long prison terms. Thirteen of the accused were sentenced to 116 The Imperialists in Iran and the Iranian Press death for contumacy. Among them were Doctor Radmaneche, professor at Teheran University and chief editor of the newspaper Mardome, and Doctor Iradj Eskandari, former minister and chief editor of the newspaper Rahbar. The government also closed down newspapers which did not belong to any democratic organization. Thus 69 Iranian newspapers were closed down. The military governor of Teheran called the representatives of the Press together in his office and declared that newspapers should not interfere with politics. But some days later, the voice of the people was heard. The paper Mardome, central organ of the Toudeh Party, was edited illegally and distributed in Teheran and in the provinces. The Razm, organ of the democratic youth, followed. Then came the paper Zafar, organ of the Central Council of the United Trade Unions. The illegal newspaper Solhé Paydar( Lasting Peace) was edited in several millions of copies and distributed all over Iran. The police mobilized all its forces to discover the printers. The police hired seven Swedes, educated by the nazis and especially trained for the hunting of democrats. But all this in vain. The Toudeh Party carried on its part in the leadership of the democratic people and the democratic Press. In addition to the newspapers, innumerable handbills were distributed every day in Teheran and in the provinces. On the walls of Teheran, and particularly on the walls of the Palace of the Shah and the American Embassy, were written the three slogans of the Toudeh Party: " We shall never make war against the Soviet Union." " Down with Anglo- American imperialism." " The people want bread and not guns." The Chief of the General's Staff, who is today Prime Minister, published a communiqué in which he said notably: " As traitors to the country and their partisans are continuously distributing newspapers and handbills, and sizing posters or writing certain things on the walls, it has been decided that everyone who who has a single copy of such a publication will be punished most severely." In February, 1950, the government began to deport hundreds of people who were arrested for political reasons to the tropical and unhealthy regions of the Gulf of Persia. Among those deported were Doctor Kia- Nouri, professor at the university and chief editor of the newspaper Razm- Haftegni, and the journalist Ghassemi. The treatement of these deported people is comparable to the regime of extermination of the nazi concentration camps. But all the propaganda, all the theatrical gestures, all the repression have not been able to prevent the illegal newspapers of the democratic organizations from extending their campaign against the anti- Soviet slander and in favour of peace. The campaign for the collection of signatures under the Stockholm Appeal has registered enormous successes. At first the Appeal was signed illegally, and up to June, 1950, the Organization of Democratic Youth had alone collected 30,000 signatures. The campaign took on such dimensions that the police were overwhelmed. The movement of the Defenders of Peace could no longer be kept illegal. At this moment, the lawful democratic Press appeared and began its campaign in favour of the banning of the atomic weapon. Great religious personalities such as Their Eminences Chahrestani, Khalessi, Djazaeri, have signed the Stockholm Appeal and have called on all Musulmen to sign it. The Italian Press in the Fight for Peace 117 On June 8, 1950, a Committee of Partisans of Peace wass formed in Teheran under the chairmanship of the well- known poet Bahar, formerly Iranian Minister of Education. The Committee has its own organ, the Maslehat. The military aggression of the American army in Korea provoked to great anger the Defenders of Peace of Iran. The newspapers of every tendency, with the exception of the government Press, attack the Prime Minister who has taken a position in favour of the Americans. In order to calm public opinion in Iran which had been alarmed by the arrival in Teheran of the new American Ambassador, Henry Grady, called the" Hangman of the Greek people", the Ambassador gave a Press conference during which he declared that he had come" to preserve the independence of Iran" and to show the" sincerity" of America in playing the part of" defender of the independence of the small countries". He cited as an example- the American military intervention in Korea. In spite of the police terrorism, millions of handbills have been distributed against the attitude of the new Ambassador. Demonstrators have marched in the streets of Teheran to protest against the intervention of the Americans in Iran's internal affairs. Almost unanimously the Iranian Press has strongly attacked the Ambassador. According to the newspaper Nemayechgah, Grady demanded that every newspaper which wrote articles against the American policy in the Korean question be suspended. This paper was suspended the next day by police orders without any reason being given. This is the situation regarding the struggle of the Iranian democratic Press against the warmongers. In our struggle, we are hoping for the aid of the IOJ. We beg the Congress to send an appeal to every Iranian journalist, without exception, asking them to form a common front for the struggle for peace. The Iranian people know that they have before them days of very hard fighting. The recent news of the landing of a detachment of American" sailors" in Iran shows clearly the intentions of the Yankee imperialists in Iran. The Iranian people, who see in the Soviet Union and its leader, the genius Stalin, their main support and hope, have begun the work of defending peace. This work will be brought to a successful end. Long live Peace! Long live the International Organization of Journalists! MICHELE PELLICANI( Italy) THE ITALIAN PRESS IN THE FIGHT FOR PEACE The situation of the Italian democratic Press is made particularly difficult by the fact that the clerical party, which is the governmental party, has betrayed all the aspirations of the people and in consequence all the hopes of regenerating the Italian Press. 118 The Italian Press in the Fight for Peace All the old bourgeois, imperialist and fascist papers, with their names somewhat changed, have remained in the hands of the same owners, the same industrial and banker groups which put them at the service of fascism and its policy of aggression and which now put them at the service of the imperialist American war. I would like to give you a very significant example. Il Gazzettino of Venice, which is the most important paper of the Venice area and of which M. De Gasperi, the Prime Minister, is one of the owners, is managed by a former fascist journalist who collaborated with the nazis even during the war of liberation. He was called to this post a few months ago, evidently because the clerical party thought that no one could serve its American policy better than he could. In the same way, the former fascist journalists who prepared public opinion politically and ideologically for the wars of aggression against the Soviet Union, France, Spain, Greece, Albania and Ethiopia, have now returned to the scene and resumed the management of the most important papers, or the columns on foreign policy in the Press as well as radio commentaries. Among these are sadly famous names such as Ansaldo, Zingarelli, d'Andrea, etc. We can understand what anti- democratic hatred they employ in influencing Italian public opinion to serve the new patrons from Wall Street. If in the bourgeois French, English and even American Press one finds a little hesitation, a little doubt or even some denunciation of imperialist policy and the crimes committed in Korea, this is not the case in the bourgeois Italian Press which betrays thus the national interest. The fascist papers have revived their old slogan:" War is the world's hygiene." They declare that the" young Americans go singing to their death", etc. In this situation the Italian democratic Press- and at its head the communist Press- has a very difficult task which it fulfills quite well. The Italian democratic papers have no printing plants and must use bourgeois plants in which they were installed immediately after liberation and where they are now merely tolerated. Our papers get no help from banks, they are persecuted by the police- but they are powerful and loved by the people, because the people feel in them the force of truth, the defense of their economic and national interest and of peace. , There are at this time several hundred widely disseminated democratic reviews and weeklies. Our main strength lies in the fifteen democratic socialist and communist dailies which have a circulation of about two million daily. Report on the Persecution of the Progressive Press in Japan 119 The long- established paper of the Italian socialist working- class movement has remained in the hands of the Socialist Party which has a united action agreement with the Communist Party. In this way, l'Avanti! in its Milan and Rome editions fights effectively against war. The central organ of the Communist Party, l'Unità, the paper of Gramsci and Togliatti, in its four editions for Turin, Milan, Genoa and Rome -attains a circulation of about a million every day. Therefore it is the most widely disseminated paper in Italy. Also, the Communist Vie Nuove is the largest illustrated weekly with 300,000 copies. Our papers have the special merit of having aided in the struggle of the partisans of peace, and they can consider it their vic ory that 15 million signatures were gathered for the Stockholm Appeal. The democratic Press has shown a great organizational imagination in the fight of the partisans of peace. Naturally, the struggle for peace will grow sharper and more difficult daily and I can assure you that the democratic Italian journalists will fully perform their duty. ALL- JAPAN PRESS WORKERS UNION REPORT ON THE PERSECUTION OF THE PROGRESSIVE PRESS IN JAPAN The All- Japan Press Workers Union, the only trade union of journalists under the influence of the Zen- Ro- Ren,( Liaison Council of Trade Unions of Japan) is confronting a serious trial. On July 28, the influential newspaper companies, including the Asahi, the Mainichi, the Yomiuri, the Nippon Keizai, and the two important Kyodo and Jiji News Agencies, gave discharge notices to their progressive and honest journalists. This action was explained as an act to purge communists and their sympathizers from newspapers. The discharged were immediately driven out of their offices by force, without being given any reason for discharge and, in some offices, even police force was employed for this purpose. The managements of these newspaper companies, refus 120 Report on the Persecution of the Progressive Press in Japan ing to negotiate with the discharged workers, have increased the number of guards and policemen in plain- clothes to prevent the" infiltration" of the discharged into the offices. The discharge of progressive journalists still continues, and as of August 6, more than 600 persons are known to have been fired. Representatives from the All- Japan Press Workers Union, visiting the Press and the Labor Divisions of the General Headquarters, were given views similar in essence to the statement of Lieut. Colonel Nugent of the Civil Information and Education Section that" The Japanese press publishers and the management of the Japan Radio Association have recently re- examined the international constitution of their establishments, and consequently ordered present and potential destructive elements to be discharged. This is a timely, brave and praiseworthy action..." Particularly, the opinion of the Labor Division gave them the impression that communists were not regarded as ordinary workers by that authority. The statement by Lieut. Colonel Nugent contains a serious contradiction of what has been given by the managements as a reason for refusing negotiation, that is, that the present action was due to a strong suggestion from the Occupation Authorities, and was above all domestic laws. The discharge of peace- lovers and militant unionists from the organs of public information is aimed at stifling the aspirations of the Japanese people for peace. We consider this as pressure brought to bear on journalism with the view to wiping out anti- war sentiments and checking the popular movement for outlawing atomic weapons. By setting up the so- called" police reserve force", more than 700,000 strong, the Japanese government is trying hard to create an atmosphere in favor of the action of the United Nations in Korea. In view of this attitude of the government, it is not difficult to see in the present sacking of progressive journalists and press workers, the same pattern of thought control which had been instituted by Tojo in launching the military adventure in the Pacific. The present expulsion of progressives affects the greater part of the executives of the Headquarters in Tokyo of the All- Japan Press Workers Union, and of the leaders of its chapter unions. All these discharged leaders have so far fought hard to make their unions really militant under the banner of freedom, peace, and independence, under the leadership of the WFTU and the Zen- Ro- Ren. If a split is made between the leadership of the All- Japan Press Workers Union and the masses, the union will be made a powerless group, or it will be made into a union no longer able to raise any political slogan. The Press in Mongolia 121 With the above conviction, the All- Japan Press Workers Union, raising the slogans" Defend the freedom of Press and Speech"," Defend a fighting union!" has risen in struggle jointly with workers of other industries, and is calling on the general public with the slogan" Don't make your newspapers organs of Tojo's Imperial Headquarters". One of the results of our activity is the formation, on August 9, of the League Against the Repression of Press and Speech. It goes without saying that our main objective is to develop the fight as a fight for peace, through the collection of signatures to the Stockholm appeal and others. All- Japan Press Workers Union, informing the workers, farmers, and other people of the world how the Japanese people are being turned into a tool of war, expresses its firm detemination to fight as a link in the struggle for peace and against war, under the guidance of the WFTU and the Zen- Ro- Ren. TSENDE DAMDINSOUROUN( Mongolia) THE PRESS IN MONGOLIA Journalists have an important part to play in forming public opinion. It is the sacred duty of journalists to write the truth. In this, the Soviet Press is setting us a great example. Not in vain is the most popular newspaper in the USSR called Pravda( Truth). We, the representatives of the journalists of the Mongolian People's Republic, are happy to be present at the Congress of progressive journalists of the world, journalists who write the truth. The Mongolian people during the Second World War firmly stood on the side of the freedom- loving nations against fascist Germany and imperialist Japan; they made their contribution towards fascism's defeat, and are deeply concerned that there should not be another war. Our people are now engaged in peaceful constructive work. During the 30 years of the Mongolian People's Republic's existence our people have, with the help of their great friend, the Soviet Union, done a great deal to build the prosperity of their homeland. Mongolia is no longer that dark, backward, poor, illiterate country, as foreign travellers, sparing no dark colours, used to picture her. Today 70% of the adult population can read and write. In Ulan- Bator, the capital of the Mongolian People's Republic, there is a university which was founded during the war. Mongolian professors are teaching together with Soviet professors. Throughout the country 27 dailies and 14 periodicals are published. While in 1921 the majority of cattle, which constitutes the main resource of the country, belonged to the Buddist Lamas and priests, the entire stock belongs now to the working people. The number of cattle is growing, and there are now 30 head per person. 122 The Dutch Progressive Press Our people has preserved its achievements and its economic independence and strengthened them during the constant struggle against the imperialist aggressors, first of all the Japanese imperialists. We do not want our achievements to be threatened by a new war. We do not want a gang of imperialists to play with our life. That is why the Mongolian people are ardently supporting the activities of the Defenders of Peace in strengthening peace, security and friendship between nations the world over. In the Mongolian People's Republic there exist 400 Defenders of Peace Committees. The entire adult population of the country has signed the Stockholm Peace Appeal. Having come to the capital of Finland from the heart of vast Asia, we are glad to greet all you who are attending this Conference, all you true representatives of the democratic Press, and to tell you that the Mongolian journalists are ready to fight together with you for peace and progress. F. BARUCH( Netherlands) THE DUTCH PROGRESSIVE PRESS On behalf of those Dutch journalists who have remained true to the principles of the IOJ, I want to make some remarks on the struggle for peace in my country. It is true that only a small number of journalists in our country protested against the disaffiliation of the Dutch Organization of Journalists from the IOJ, an act dictated by the wish to strengthen the pressure on progressive journalists and draw them into the camp of war preparation. This, however, does not mean that the majority of our journalists without reserve and wholeheartedly is willing to serve the interests of the Anglo- American and Dutch warmongers. I would like to illustrate this with one example. About a year ago the government of my country submitted for consideration and, of course, approval a draft law concerning the state of journalists. This law, being, in essence, a purely fascist law, derived from the practice of the corporate state of Salazar, aimed at virtually outlawing the expression of all progressive and peace- loving ideas in the Netherlands. Its purpose was to make the whole Dutch Press a more trustworthy instrument of war preparation and especially to kill the Communist Press. It proposed, among other things, to establish a" Sondergericht", a special court for journalistic" crimes". It proposed further to set up a government commission, to which everybody would have to apply in order to get permission to work as a journalist. Furthermore, it permitted the exclusion of those who were accepted as what I should call" good American" journalists, for a year or for life from journalistic work, if they" offended" the American version of journalistic honour. Adoption of this draft law of course would have brought to an end all free thought and expression. During two special congresses in a very heated debate, in which the progressive journalists took a very active part, this draft law roused such indignation that, The Dutch Progressive Press 123 in the end, it was unanimously rejected. Only the chairman of our organization voted in its favour. Of course, I would not dare to say that this decision of our organization proves that the majority of Dutch journalists adheres to the principles of freedom and peace. The contrary is true. But it proves that some journalists are still able to think, and that there is a possibility to draw more journalists into the progressive peace camp. As it is, however, many good journalists have succumbed to the ever- growing pressure of American warmongers. Those who did not, were driven out of their work. And at this moment, besides the Communist Press, only a few papers in my country, as for instance the journal of the Dutch peace movement, Vrede, serve the course of lasting peace. Besides this, there exists a widely read weekly paper whose journalists dare to utter doubts as to whether the American war policy is a good course. Furthermore, there are individual journalists who have the courage to accuse American policy in our country, and even a big bourgeois paper printed, in December of last year, the article of a wellknown journalist who dared to call Stalin a great leader of his people and of the peace movement. But these are exceptions in the great war music of the bourgeois Press. A new tune was added to this war music by the chairman of the Labour Party, Mr. Vorrink, when he declared at a public meeting that the worst day of his life was the day when the Soviet Army crossed the river Oder. Against the army of warmongers, the daily paper, Waarheid, which I have the honour to represent, wages a constant struggle in the interests of friendship between the peoples and of peace. This paper has vigorously exposed the leaders of the colonial war against Indonesia: it had an active part in organizing a strike movement against the sending of troops and war material to Indonesia. It defended the many thousand of soldiers who refused to go to Indonesia and consequently were arrested. Some of them were set free, thanks to this campaign of my paper. Other soldiers, as for instance a young man of 21, who was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for his refusal to shoot at Indonesian people, remain to be freed. Also the journalists of this paper helped to expose the so- called volunteers who were recruited on the order of America to fight against the Korean people. It appeared that more than 50 percent of these mercenaries were former fascist delinquents, who after the liberation were sentenced to prison for having joined the SS batallions which fought against the Soviet Army. In addition, I mention the role of my paper and its journalists in the campaign for the signing of the Stockholm Appeal. Thanks to the daily reports about the significance of this peace campaign, which was seriously behind in Holland, it is being made a success. Our paper popularized the magnificent results of individual fighters for peace in my country: the results of the campaign in other countries. It published separate leaflets, as for instance the discussion of one of our journalists with a right- wing social democratic newspaper about the issues of the Stockholm campaign. At the beginning of this month, our paper organized in Amsterdam a peace rally under the slogan" Amsterdam, City of Peace", which was attended by 80,000 people. And also our journalists canvassed actively themselves for signatures to the Stockholm Appeal, thus rendering their modest assistance to the great cause of peace in the world. * 124 Labour Champion- The Only Working Class Paper in Nigeria Finally, I would like to say some words about the situation in Indonesia. As you know, the whole progressive Press in this country was driven underground after the events in the autumn of 1948. Many good colleagues of ours were summarily shot; the fate of others still is unknown. But at this moment, a score of progressive papers under very difficult circumstances, are again being published, such as Bintang Merah( Red Star), organ of the Communist Party of Indonesia, or Buruh( The Worker), central organ of the Indonesian Trade Unions which, with their several million members, are affiliated to the WFTU. At this moment the editor of Buruh is in danger of being imprisoned for having published a cartoon which exposes the American warmongers. I propose to greet on behalf of this Congress those brave colleagues in Indonesia who serve the cause of freedom and peace. AMAEFULE IKORO( Nigeria) LABOUR CHAMPION - THE ONLY WORKING CLASS PAPER IN NIGERIA To Coloured and colonial workers, in and outside my country, who constitute the most oppressed and exploited section of the world proletariat, this Congress is a big event, and inspiration, and furnishes particular ground for optimism. During the last war we made unparalleled contributions, and took our stand in overwhelming numbers against fascism, with the promise that we would have perfect democracy after that. But the signatures on the Atlantic Charter were hardly dry when it became clear that imperialist politicians had no intention of carrying out the obligations they had assumed; all their attractive declarations they deliberately disregarded and pigeonholed because they did not coincide with imperialist expansionist policy. We cannot agree to become weapons in a new fascist program. The full weight of our struggle must be thrown into the scales against imperialism; we will no longer tolerate any restrictions on our fundemental freedom. Nigerian workers and their press are absolutely determined to fight with all their might in the defense of peace, to refuse to become again foot soldiers of imperialist gangsters. The purpose of the Labour Champion is to inform the workers of the kind of policies they can support, the policy of concentrating on ending imperialism, with all its crude and cruel repression, and its cynical mockery of government of, for and by the people. You must have heard about the callous assassination of our miners who made a humble request for a wage increase. The demands of unarmed workers, whose only crime is their protest against terrible living conditions and starvation wages, were met with fire from British" democratic" bullets. Last month, the 38,000 members of the Amalgamated Union of UAC African Workers, Labour Champion- The Only Working Class Paper in Nigeria 125 went on strike. There were immediate arrests and imprisonments. The General Secretary was also arrested, bringing his total number of arrests in the past year up to four. On one occasion, imperialism did not require a warrant for this purpose. To complicate the conflict, the riot- governor selected a single arbitrator. The union rejected this condition, without example in the industrial history of the country, and the disturbance continues. Our workers were asking for better wages, medical care, promotions, security, pensions, but the UAC Ltd. rejected these demands. Now, as the Labour Champion reflects the policy of labour, I will permit you to imagine the nature of the attacks we receive in our work. It would take long to relate all the obstacles placed in the way of our activity. We were fined about£ 300 for our comment on the attitude of a severe judge, even though we were not alone in the view that this verdict was much too severe and appeared to be imperialist- inspired. The editor was fined£ 200; five other members of the board of directors were found guilty of vicarious responsibility. For asking workers to collect support for meeting this fine, two members of the board, along with others, were invited to court to expain what justification they had for promoting funds for such a purpose through the pages of the paper without permission. One other fact which you might like to hear is that the Labour Champion still enjoys preIndustrial Revolution printing conditions. It is still operated by hand, by manpower- an affair which has given us considerable difficulty because of the economic problems involved. The Government was unable to supply us electricity when we approached it before starting the paper. Our resources do not permit us to circulate it by air, like other organs of opinion in the country. As a result, our news is late; this reduces the usefulness of the paper. We could relate indefinitely other difficult conditions under which we are trying to make this program a reality. The trade unions in the country are not yet financially very strong, because of the small pay envelopes of the workers, due to the capitalist wage standard, which is a disguised but all the more effective form of slavery. The task we have undertaken is a supreme and difficult task, but there is no doubt in our determination to push ahead with it. We stress our willingness to suffer, since in the end we will achieve our purpose, to give correct working class education, to bring about political awakening and national independence. Despite all dam and dike, the Champion has a tremendous future if it can be again published. Its influence has already reached several sections of Africa. Struggling under tremendous odds, we have now been forced temporarily and reluctantly to close down. But can we afford to close down? When our workers need to be awakened, to be aroused? When imperialism is happy at this temporary delay in our work? Today we cannot publish appeals for the support of the people for our activity without a permit. We cannot even hold a mass rally without a police permit. Workers are intimidated if they demonstrate any desire to support the socialist cause. There is no other working class newspaper to defend their interest. I think I now have the responsibility of placing before you certain considerations relating to this question, to propose to you the task of helping to relieve this situation. In the light of the background I have presented, the only possible conclusion, I suggest, is for you to agree to examine what can be done to assure the continuance of this single working class paper of Nigeria. I do not believe that my request will fail to meet with your sympathy, moral and material, so that we can get on in our campaign against imperialism. Your support can assume whatever form you find possible, including the 126 Progressive Press in Americanized Norway supply of news to us, as information has been lacking since we began to publish. Your answer to our call will do much to strengthen the relationship between you and colonial workers, will demonstrate your tireless support of the ideal of common solidarity. We must continue our struggle against capitalism. We deplore colonial imperialism, whether Truman's or Atlee's, because it betrays the equality of peoples. Already Yankee imperialism is carrying on the pretense of helping the development of backward countries, in order to collect its own share of black exploitation. Information recently received has it that dollar experts are in my country for the purpose of getting it properly Marshallized. Even when disguised by phony patriotism for Africa, we know too well the economic and strategic motives of Yankee financial greed led by Trumanthat implacable foe of democracy- to allow them to solve our political and developmental problems. We reject the idea of development by any alien power.( Unfortunately, British imperialism cannot oppose this project because it is now merely a branch of the State Department.) We will, we can, we must, with your support, work for independence, and take our place in the international society of free peoples. ASBJÖRN ANDERSSEN( Norway) PROGRESSIVE PRESS IN AMERICANIZED NORWAY The Americanization of Norway has developed very quickly and has had a far- reaching effect. In Oslo we have something called the United States Information Service- an information bureau that employs 16 people. It has a library, and from it the Norwegian Press is supplied with the latest news from America, especially that which has to do with the political and economic front. The Norwegian reactionary and social democratic Press supports Americanization 100%, and loses all control when one or another Gauleiter from the new Herrenvolk visits the country. And that happens quite often. On the radio they are interviewed in English. If Truman or some war- crazed American makes a speech, extracts of it are broadcast directly from the USA, and in order that the Norwegian people should not misunderstand what the big masters say it is all translated into Norwegian afterwards. In Oslo we have a permanent American military mission which sees that all the dollars the country receives are used for the purpose they are intended for: to buy arms and to keep arms in a good condition. In the trade unions we have a special Gauleiter, with employment problems as a speciality. He is to watch over the trade union movement. In the tourist magazine we read rules about the manner in which Americans should be Progressive Press in Americanized Norway 127 treated at the hotels: the toddy- water and the water for their baths should be neither hot nor cold, the Americans like an aperitif for breakfast and dinner- in short, all that an American business man is used to at home, that he must also find in the" tourist country", Norway. Visits from the American as well as the British Navy and Air Force occur daily, and joint exercises are arranged. Such is the situation in Norway today, in a country which has been so much praised for its democracy. Marshall Plan and Atlantic Pact politics are leading to the increase of armaments. Today 450 million kronen a year is allotted for military expenditures. The Americans grow richer and Norway poorer as a result of this policy. It is under such difficult conditions that the progressive part of the Norwegian people work today. In connection with the campaign for the Stockholm Appeal, the entire bourgeois and social democratic Press has put up a hard fight against the Appeal. Standard lies about the working conditions and life behind the iron curtain are served daily. In order that the people should accept Americanization, the government has in these days proposed some appalling emergency laws- after the model of the last occupation days in Norway. Capital punishment, according to their proposals, to be restored, also press, telegraph and telephone censorship, concentration camps reestablished, and people can be held without legal rights on suspicion only, if this law is accepted. The government organ, Arbeiderbladet, maintains that this law is directed solely against the communists. And the laws can be enforced in time of peace- against a strike or other action in a tense international situation. It is very hard for the progressive part, the peace- loving part of the people, to work under such conditions. But in spite of this it looks as if the working people will not willingly accept the policy that the government is initiating. We of the progressive Press of such a land work under heavier and more difficult conditions than many of you can conceive. I hope that we in the IOJ may find some practical way of coming to the help of journalists in such countries- better information, some method of getting the news more quickly so that we can comment on current events at the same time as the capitalist Press. We suffer from the lack of news and other material, i. e. fresh information, with which we can hit back and expose provocations of the bourgeois Press. We who live in lands that America has ravished ask help of you, our colleagues, who work under conditions easier than ours. 128 TADEUSZ GALINSKI( Poland) JOURNALISTS IN OLD AND NEW POLAND I should like to say a few words on the present- day integrity and material conditions of journalists in people's Poland. This question can only be examined by a comparison with the conditions of journalists in pre- war Poland, in the situation which prevailed in that field under capitalist rule. It is difficult to speak of the integrity and material conditions of journalists in a country where, with few exceptions, the entire Press was owned by a handful of capitalists who considered the Press as a source of huge income and at the same time as an instrument for stupefying the readers, feeding them with cheap sensations in order to divert their attention from burning problems of the day. They were intoxicated with the" national renaissance" of Hitler's Germany and Mussolini's Italy, they poisoned the souls of the people with false information on the Soviet Union, and filled the pages of the newspapers with notoriously nonsensical propaganda against the communists and against all who were sincerely striving towards unity of the national forces, against fascism and war. Let me quote an instance from the thirties: At that time Polish public opinion had been shocked by the destruction in our coal- mining areas. This was the time of growing world economic crisis, mass unemployment, when foreign industrial barons- masters of the Polish mines- flooded the pits. Qualified miners, deprived of work and bread, saved themselves from starvation by working in abandoned mines under primitive conditions, defying the most elementary requirements of security. The matter caused much comment and was discussed in the Press. But not for long. Suddenly, as though by the stroke of a magic wand, all allusion to those coal- mines disappeared from the papers. The coal- kings, having found that the campaign of the capitalist Press was endangering their interests, threatened it with the withdrawal of the lucrative advertiesments. Needless to say, their wish was a coumand for both the owners and the editors of those papers. In pre- war Poland" freedom of the Press" was dictated by the capitalists who paid for the advertisements. They determined the political line of the Press and financed it as long as it served their interests. it is clear that with such" freedom", the journalists who served on those papers were but Journalists in Old and New Poland 129 scribblers producing on order dithyrambs in honour of domestic and foreign fascism. With the complete absence of freedom of criticism, and the lack of any possibility of stating an opinion which did not suit the publisher, a type of so- called professional journalist grew up who had no opinion of his own and was a helpless instrument of the publisher. Such were the moral conditions of the pre- war journalist. The material side was no better. Apart from a small group of well- paid top men, who were the ideological support of the colonels' regime, the majority of journalists worked without any collective contracts, without any guaranteed right to a holiday or to social security, even without the right to be a member of a trade union. The then- existing journalists' union used all means to limit the influx of new members into the profession and turned journalism into a sort of closed society, cut off from the life of the nation, from its joys and troubles, its struggles and achievements. Such was the moral and material position of pre- war journalists in Poland, where" freedom of the Press" was restricted to the freedom of the owners to poison the readers with war propaganda or cheap sophistication. The freedom of the journalist consisted in the freedom to sell his pen, or to lose the job and be unable to continue in his profession if he failed to submit to the wishes of the newspaper boss. In that difficult time for the Polish people there existed and developedin spite of police attempts to strangle it- a truly popular, free Press whose participants did not submit to the blackmail of the industrial lords and the landowners, a Press which fought for the improvement of living conditions, for the liberation of the working masses. Such a Press could, of course, exist in pre- war Poland only semi- legally or in the underground. It appeared under incredibly difficult and primitive conditions, reaching all parts of the country, bringing to the workers hope of a better future. In these unknown workers on illegal, revolutionary newspapers, who daily and hourly risked arrest, long- term imprisonment, and even death sentences- a fate so many journalists have met and are meeting in capitalist and imperialists- controlled countries- we Polish journalists see our forerunners and teachers, and we are proud of them. In this tradition a new free, post- war Press grew up in People's Democratic Poland, a Press serving the interests of the working people and tied to it by a thousand threads. Let me quote a few figures to characterize that Press: while before the last war the entire newspaper circulation in Poland amounted to 900,000 copies, the total newspaper circulation in the middle of this year exceeded 130 Journalists in Old and New Poland 5 million, or 5.5 times the pre- war figure. The total circulation of dailies and periodicals amounts to 5.5 million copies of which about 4.5 millions ( or 20 times more than under the" colonels"" regime) are distributed in the villages. The most popular pre- war newspaper in Poland hardly reached a circulation of 100,000, while today the Trybuna Ludu, central organ of the United Workers' Party in Poland, appears daily with a circulation of 400,000 and the Trybuna Robotnicza, the Silesian organ of the Party, with over half a million. Before the war the most popular Polish fortnightly women's magazine had a circulation of 100,000; today the women's weekly publishes about two million copies. There existed almost no dailies or periodicals for farmers before the war, while now millions of copies are distributed by the village postmen to the most distant corners of the country. These figures tell the story not only of the cultural revolution which the People's Government of Poland has carried through during the six years of its existence, but also of the fundamental change in the field of the Press. It is no longer the individual financial magnates who own newspapers in Poland and determine their direction, but political parties and social organizations. Our trade unions are publishing 17 dailies and periodicals, the co- operatives 10; 26 newspapers and magazines are issued for the youth and children of school age. The youth organ which was started a few months ago has a circulation of half a million. Is there any need of better proof of the popularity of the Polish Press among the broad masses? Can there be more convincing evidence of the fact that the Polish reader did not begin to order and to buy and to read newspapers and magazines until they were freed from the fetters of capitalism, became truly free and began truthfully to interpret his needs and desires, and entered the great effort for the building of a better future. Our Press, our journalists, do not pretend to be non- political, to be neutral, to be specialists only. There can be no neutrality when the destiny of mankind- the question of war or peace- is at stake. Together with the entire Polish people, we are taking an active part in the establishment of the foundations of socialism in our country, in the struggle for the fulfilment of our beautiful six- year plan, for strengthening peace. The Soviet Press serves as a great example, the foremost Press in the world. We are striving to reach the level which the Soviet Press has attained in approaching the readers and contributing towards socialist construction. This places before us completely new tasks and duties. From our Press have disappeared forever platitudes, sensationalism and pornography. We are not appealing to low human instincts, but on the contrary endeav Journalists in Old and New Poland 131 ouring to awaken in man the highest feelings, to create in him the consciousness that work is a matter of honour and heroism for every man. At the recent Warsaw conference of worker and peasant- correspondents of our newspapers and magazines, one of the speakers, a worker from Pomorze said:" Before the war the name of a common man appeared in a paper only if he happened to become the victim of some catastrophe, committed suicide or a crime. Today everybody can find his name printed in the paper if he distinguishes himself at his work." These simple words express the reality of those changes which have taken place in our Press. It is not famous gangsters or screen stars of whom our papers write, it is not their pictures, nor that of the pet dog of the millionaire's wife, which the papers publish on their front pages. Our papers report on the heroes of our life, on foremost shockworkers and innovators, on great scientists and artists. Our Press does not stupefy but educates, it mobilizes the masses for the fulfilment of the tasks which the people's government has placed before the people the building of socialism. Our Press would not be able to stand up to its great task if it were not in close contact with its readers, who approach it with requests for advice and help, and themselves offer advice. Numerous correspondents, workers and farmers, students and office workers, write us from all corners of Poland. Following the example of the Soviet Union, a movement of worker and farmer correspondents, has developed in Poland as in the other People's Democracies. At present they number in Poland over 15,000. They are regularly contributing to their papers, reporting each new achievement and pointing out every carelessness or mistake. More than one failure was made good, more than one offense corrected thanks to the initiative of the army of correspondents in our Press who are unflinchingly fighting for the justice of their cause and the elimination of shortcomings. Thanks to these correspondents, and to the close contact with the life and struggle of the people, the Polish Press has become a powerful instrument of criticism and self- criticism. No force can stop us from writing the truth and criticizing the evil. We are well aware that our enemies, misusing our Press, are trying to distort the critical comment in order to slander People's Democratic Poland. But their helpless, infuriated babble will not divert us from the right path in our struggle to reveal shortcomings and difficulties wherever they may appear, so that remedy may be found without delay. This is the strength of our Press, and we are proud of this. People's Democratic Poland has educated a new type of journalist, 132 IOJ An Instrument of Progress and Peace sharply distinguished from those scribblers I mentioned earlier. The Polish journalist is a social worker, an active fighter for the cause for which the people are fighting- peace and socialism. With the increasing circulation and size of the papers, a great demand for journalists has arisen in Poland. At the Universities of Warsaw and Cracow there exist journalistic faculties. In addition there exist special schools and courses for journalists. Thanks to the existing collective agreements, journalistic work is well paid. Journalists enjoy social insurance, have their own trade union organ, their own rest homes, where they spend their holidays together with their families. In Hitlerite- destroyed Warsaw a journalists' home is under construction where the social life of thousands of journalists of our capital will be centered. We are free members of a free Press whose fighting spirit, sharp criticism and richness of ideas are the distinguishing features of our profession. That is why the journalists in people's Poland are enjoying a respect, confidence and love on the part of their readers of which the pre- war hired writer had never dreamed. Therefore the voice of the journalist, the voice of the teacher, the conscious builder of socialism, is listened to everywhere. JÓZEF KOVALCZYK( Poland) IOJ AN INSTRUMENT OF PROGRESS AND PEACE Today's meeting of the Third Congress of the IOJ is a great triumph for progressive journalists of the entire world, a victory of truth over the falsehood and deceit of the capitalist press, one more victory of peace and democracy over the forces of war, pillage and the monopolist policy of enslaving peoples. Evidence of this victory is the fact that here in this hall are gathered more than thirty organizations from all corners of the world, a record number as compared with the First and Second Congresses. More than that- the delegates gathered here together demonstrate as never before the success of the struggle for those aims which lay in the foundation of our international organization from its very beginning- the realization of which was hindered by the leadership of the reactionary U.S. and English organizations. The events of the past year give evidence of the fact that Messrs. Martin and Bundock IOJ An Instrument of Progress and Peace 133 never did behave honestly and democratically in regard to the principles of the IOJ. They entered the organization under the pressure of the democratic members of their own organizations, but they did so in order to try to weaken our organization from within, to make it inactive or transform it into a weapon of the reactionaries in the interests of the monopolistic masters of the capitalist press. And when these attempts were exposed and the majority of the member organizations began strengthening the fight for peace, these" democrats" took the path of schism and slander, breaking all elementary democratic principles according to which a minority is subordinate to the will of the majority. We are sure that a significant number of journalists in the U.S., England, Belgium, Sweden, Australia and other countries have no feeling of solidarity with Martin and Bandok, but rather one of solidarity with us and eventually will act in cooperation with us- despite the efforts of the reactionary heads of their unions. The fact that American and English and other journalists follow this course and are becoming more convinced that our ideological position is correct, is testified to by the protests sent to the IOJ as well as by the greetings from Chicago, Canada and other places which Secretary Hronek read to us today. All this without any doubt gives evidence of IOJ's success and is a guaranty that our correct political line- the line of steadfast struggle of all journalists for peace and against imperialist war- lays the groundwork for the isolation of schismatics and for the attraction of all honest, democratic journalists of the world to our ranks. We must, however, take account of the fact that this will not occur automatically. It is absolutely necessary to strengthen the propaganda and organizational work of the IOJ. We note with satisfaction the fact that during the past year this work has grown and the IOJ has begun to act more consistently, more closely integrated in the struggle against warmongers. However, today this is not yet enough, and daily we see how the class struggle is sharpening and how the furious preparations of the American imperialists go forward to spread the war and to repress all sincere fighters for peace and democracy. More and more these acts of repression are committed against democratic journalists who stand- and cannot fail to stand- in the front ranks of the fighters. The cause of the peoples battling for peace demands experienced and strongly tempered journalists- demands of them a steadfastness, devotion and intrepidity- demands the ability to see through the enemy quickly and to nullify the harmful propaganda of the imperialist Press, whether it is open or whether it is veiled in a rosy light as the Titoist and Social Democratic Press is wont to be. In this situation the significance and responsibilities of the IOJ are constantly increasing. Our Congress will have failed in its duty if it does not give exact directives on the strengthening of future work. We also consider that it is necessary to publish the IOJ journal more often and to give the press current information by means of an IOJ bulletin issued regularly. We support all proposals for amending the Constitution in such a way as to enable progressive journalists in those countries not having a national union affiliated to the IOJ to become individual members. However, we should advise these individuals to take part in work among members of the journalist organizations of their country and thus to further among them the principles of IOJ. The Polish delegation also proposes that the Secretary be instructed to organize among the member organizations and left- wing groups the exchange of reports on subjects connected with IOJ work and that of national organizations of journalists. 134 Rumanian Journalists Fight Against Warmongers in Press and Literature The question of membership dues must also be examined by the Congress. The Third Congress must make the IOJ stronger and more active- more able than hitherto to influence the broadest sections of press workers of all countries in the spirit of international solidarity and of steadfast struggle against warmongers- for Peace and Democracy! MIHAI NOVIKOV( Rumania) RUMANIAN JOURNALISTS FIGHT AGAINST WARMONGERS IN PRESS AND LITERATURE The Rumanian journalists are making the greatest effort fully and truly to mirror the powerful mass movement for peace which has developed in our country. Thousands of letters from workers, farmers, teachers, scientists, writers and others, expressing just anger against the criminal plots of the warmongers and stressing their own readiness to devote their creative force to the struggle for peace, have been printed in the newspapers and periodicals in the Rumanian People's Republic. A great army of worker and peasant correspondents have unfolded a picture of the popular movement." More oil for the country, for peace";" Produce a rich harvest- for the country, for peace", Under slogans like these the Press has actively participated in spreading the movement, in mobilizing the broad masses in increasing numbers. The Rumanian journalists have travelled to all parts of the country, gathering precious material reflecting the striving and the creative effort of the working people. During those unforgettable days of the signature campaign for the Stockholm Peace Appeal, the newspapers daily published letters from readers in support of the Appeal, features, poems, songs and drawings. And it was to a large extent due to the cooperation of the Rumanian Press that over ten million signatures were collected in the course of the campaign. The Rumanian journalists have devoted particular effort to explain to the people who are the enemies of peace, and how inhuman are the bloody plans of the AngloAmerican imperialists. Our people bear deep hatred towards the warmongers. Much has been said here about the abominable activities of individuals who are degrading the honourable profession of journalism and are taking part in the drive to start another world war. I should like to say a few words about one particular aspect of that evil and underhand work: the systematic slandering of the people's democratic countries. Nothing is more unworthy of a journalist than deliberate misinformation. The lying hirelings of Wall Street specialize in misinformation. The broadcasters of the" Voice of America" and the B.B.C. are particularly addicted to it. Let me quote an example: Last spring the Government of the Rumanian People's Republic had sent notes to Rumanian Journalists Fight Against Warmongers in Press and Literature 135 the Governments of the USA and Great Britain demanding the closing down of their respective information offices in Bucharest. The notes were precisely documented. During the court trial of a group of spies and saboteurs, it became apparent that the USA and British information offices in Bucharest had been but a cloak for spying activities. In spite of this, both the" Voice of America" and the B.B.C. were not ashamed to allege that the Rumanian Government's demand was unfounded. They did so not without pouring more slander on the Rumanian People's Republic. The following quotation illustrates the groundlessness of the lying evasions of the lackeys of American imperialism: On July 22, 1950, the American journalist Frank Stevens, correspondent of the Christian Science Monitor and Religious News Service at a Press Conference made the following statement:" Generally, the majority of American newspapermen going abroad undertake to do espionage work or at least to gather information". Unnecessary to say how poor is, in the light of such a statement, the" displeasure" of the" Voice of America" and the B.B.C. at the Rumanian Government's justified measures for safeguarding the State's security. You can read reports every day in the Rumanian Press on the steadily rising living standard of our people but the imperialist Press takes no notice of it. We are not surprised. It does not surprise us that that Press finds no space for the news that during the past summer, 300,000 Rumanian workers and employees spent their holidays in the mountains or at the sea, that the prices of textiles were cut as much as 20 percent, that the working farmers, until recently living in ignorance, now have at their disposal 10,000 libraries, that the writers have at their disposal three" Houses of Creative Work" and special funds for journeys, so as to enable them to become acquainted with the life of the people. We are not surprised that the gangsters of the imperialist press do not like that kind of news, or news of the victory of peace. The servants of imperialism like a different kind of news." The outbreak of hostilities in Korea," Geoffrey Coaks notes with obvious pleasure in the News Chronicle," has brought to an end the period when public opinion in England was almost exclusively interested in internal problems, reconstruction and British economy... The news from the theatres of war have again taken up the front pages of the newspapers. But most important is the fact that the belief in the cooperation of the two worlds has vanished." This is quite clear: They do not want to write of the successes of peaceful work; they need bombs, excitement, death, heaps of bodies, heaps of gold. But the people want no excitement, no death. They want and need a peaceful life. And that is also why our people react to each new provocation in the imperialist Press with further successes in socialist construction. As our poet Mihai Beniuk has put it: " Every new screw in the socialist machine is a blow to the hearts of the warmongers." And there is no doubt that the pace of our development will not slacken because of the slanderous attacks by the B.B.C. or the" Voice of America". It is, nonetheless, the duty of progressive journalists to combat slander and misinformation by every means. Slanderers and distorters of news not only discredit the journalistic profession, but create tension between nations thus playing into the hands of the imperialist warmongers. We, therefore, propose that the IOJ Secretariat and its organ, The International Journalist, should intensify its activity with a view to unmasking slanderers and misinformers and exposing them in the pillory. Before concluding I should like to touch upon another question: the shaping of public opinion in preparation for another world war is being carried on by the imperialists 1-36 Working Conditions of Rumanian Journalists in the field of literature and art as well. All kind of decadent currents, art- for- art's sake, as well as the glorification of crime and corruption in literary works, are aimed at raising the necessary cadres for bandit armies. In the United States, a book of fantastic stories appeared recently in which, under the guise of future inter- planetary wars, the actual American preparations for war on our earth are justified as well as the misanthropic racial policy of American imperialism. In France, the Sartre school is using literature to spread cosmopolitism, one of the favourite instruments of American expansion. The newest novel, Prophesy and The Ape, of Huxley in fact advocates the destruction of man who, says the author, does not deserve a better fase. The progressive writers of all countries, headed by the Soviet writers, the creators of the most progressive literature in the world, are waging a bitter struggle against the warmongers in our profession. I think that while speaking of the duty of journalists in the struggle for peace, we cannot neglect this problem. In the ideological struggle, literature is as sharp a weapon as any. We know how the corrupt, unprincipled bourgeois so- called" literary critics" are creating" great" writers who are ready to sell their talents and their souls. That is why I think that one of the results of our deliberations should be a more active participation by progressive journalists in the struggle on the ideological front against the decaying, anti- human literary refuse which serves the warmongers. STEPHANE VOICU( Rumania) WORKING CONDITIONS OF RUMANIAN JOURNALISTS The economic and the legal position of the Rumanian journalist is today fundamentally different from that of journalists during the time when our country was enslaved by international imperialists, and the political and the economic power was held by the exploiting classes. The time is gone when the Press was the property and the servant of the great capitalists and the great land owners, whose low interests it served: deceiving, brutalizing and killing the people. The time is gone when the press was considered a commercial matter, and when the capitalist proprietors of a newspaper could extract great profits. The time is gone when a small group of journalists had a good economic positionthose who succeeded in creating for themselves a reputation because of the fact that they showed themselves completely unscrupulous in selling their conscience, in serving the financial trusts and in acting as brutal enemies of peace and democracy, while the great majority of the journalists of the capitalist Press lived a miserable and obscure life, Working Conditions of Rumanian Journalists 137 and were often obliged to write articles which were afterwards signed by the great jackals of the Press. The time is gone when the journalists who were conscious of their dignity as citizens and professional workers, who were fighting with courage and love for their native country under the banner of truth and social progress, filled the prisons, as today so many of our colleagues today are filling the prisons of Greece, Yugoslavia, Italy, France, America and other imperialist and Marshall Plan countries. In the People's Republic of Rumania, the journalists have today complete liberty of exercising their noble mission of expressing and supporting in the Press the aspirations of the people for peace, for the improvement of the standard of living and culture. The newspapers do not belong to a limited group of exploiters, they belong to different trade unions, social or cultural organizations, or institutions. They are fighting heralds of the prosperity of the country, of the defence of peace, and of the democratic development of the people. The journalist is a active participant in the common activity for the realization of the patriotic and democratic aims of the organization or institution to which the newspaper belongs, and he enjoys the love, the respect and the support of the people. A journalist is employed on the basis of a collective agreement which stipulates the reciprocal obligations of all wage- earners of the institution and the leaders of the enterprise, and on the basis of working regulations which were endorsed this year by the Great National Assembly, and which guarantee the professional rights of the journalists. The fixing of salaries is not left to" free negotiations", the salary rates are established by law. The salary is in accordance with the real functions and the professional qualifications of the journalist, with the professional responsibility of each journalist personally and with the quality of the work performed. In order to apply the payment according to the quantity and the quality of the performed work, a table with twelve categories has been established, containing all the functions of journalists, of editors, and technical workers. The classification of each journalist is made by a competent commission. The journalists' union plays a very important part when these categories are ratified. Besides these fixed salaries, the journalists on many newspapers receive special remuneration which, for the newspaper Sceanteia, for instance, ranges from 50 lei for an ordinary news item, to 4000 lei for an article on an ideological or cultural subject. Further, the journalists receive special remuneration if they are sent to the provinces or abroad. It should be pointed out that the pay received by the journalist represents only a part of the real salary, because the benefits of the social security must be added: the medical attention that is free for the journalist and his family; meals at the place of work at a low rate because the institution pays a part of the expenses; protective clothing for reporters who often visit industrial enterprises, mines, villages, etc.; children's nurseries and homes. The journalist's children can be sent to children's camps in the summer, at the seashore or in the mountains, all at the expense of the state and the institution. Women journalists are entitled to a three months' maternity leave, and they receive financial aid during 9 months while they nurse the child. In general, each journalist is entitled to from seven to 30 days vacation each year. The trade unions' central organzation provides for each big newspaper a certain number of rest- homes at the seashore and in the mountains, which are specially adapted 138 Journalists in the Struggle in the Colonial and Semi- Colonial Countries of Africa to the needs of the journalists, and for the journalists on the small papers who do not have such homes, places are reserved in homes maintained under the social insurance scheme. Special attention is paid to the improvement of the professional, political and ideological standard of the journalists. Special courses in professional training are held, some of them in the form of boarding schools which are completely free of charge; the journalist receives his full salary while he attends school. These are in the main the economic and legal conditions under which journalists are working in the Rumanian People's Republic. These rights have been received thanks to the fact that the political power is held by the working class allied with the working peasants, and to the fact that the Press is no longer in the hands of the monopoly capitalists, but in the hands of the people; and finally to the fact that our country, following the glorious example of the Soviet Union and with the help of the Soviet Union, is marching along the victorious road which leads to socialism. DESMOND BUCKLE( South Africa) JOURNALISTS IN THE STRUGGLE IN THE COLONIAL AND SEMI- COLONIAL COUNTRIES OF AFRICA An outstanding feature of the epoch which began with the ending of the Second World War in 1945, is the awakening of the colonial and semi- colonial peoples characterized by the rising tempo of their struggle for national liberation. This is a struggle which is in accord with the best interests of mankind, and it is one in which journalists of the respective countries have an honourable rôle to play. The mood of the people, their fundamental aspirations to attain that right to govern themselves and to establish national sovereignty, must find expression in the writings of the journalists. We must report on the activities of the people through their mass organizations, trade unions, peasant co- operatives, women's and youth organizations and the progressive political parties. In many colonial countries these organizations are Journalists in the Struggle in the Colonial and Semi- Colonial Countries of Africa 139 of very recent growth; they constitute the new forms which the people have adopted in order to carry on their age- long struggle against imperialist oppression and exploitation. Moreover, it is the duty of the journalist fearlessly to expose the deep wrongs suffered by the people, the daily experiences of life of millions in conditions of grinding poverty, lack of sanitation and inhuman degradation made tolerable only by perpetual sunshine. It is in order to prevent journalists from carrying out these honourable duties that the imperialist governments of the African territories take elaborate measures to curtail Press freedom. Nowhere in Africa is this more evident than in the Union of South Africa under Malan's fascist regime. A sustained Nationalist campaign against English- speaking journalists was brought to a head last October when at the Congress in Bloemfontain of the Nationalist Party, Dr. Malan described these journalists as" the most undisciplined in the world". In the course of the campaign, Mr. F. C. Erasmus, Minister of Posts and Telegraphs, made a threat to refuse to transmit messages he considered politically slanderous", and Mr. Eric Louw, the Minister of Economic Affairs, suggested that foreign journalists who" misrepresent" the government abroad should be deported. It is important to recall Mr. Erasmus' words. At a meeting at Piet Retief, according to the South African Press Association,( November 27, 1949) he said:" As Minister of Posts and Telegraphs I want to say to those people who send reports to newspapers overseas, slandering South Africa, that they must not expect of me that all their reports will reach their destination." Overseas reaction to this fascist threat was summed up in a leading article entitled" The Dark Dominion" appearing in the News Chronicle, London( December 1, 1949): " Since the Nationalist Party came into power," said the article," the Dominion of South Africa has been sinking into a political twilight, a sinister obscurantism and smelling of decay. For some time there have been suspicions that the Nationalist Government has been imposing some sort of censorship on critical Press messages leaving the Dominion. The Minister of Posts and Telegraphs has denied this, but out of his own mouth he is convicted of tampering with mails in order to suppress opinion that his party does not like. The South African Press had been strongly critical of Mr. Erasmus' conduct, and it is greatly to the paper's credit that the most striking condemnation of such a step has come from a newspaper which strongly supports the Nationalists- Die Burger of Cape Town." 140 Journalists in the Struggle in the Colonial and Semi- Colonial Countries of Africa. While the Nationalists had made much of alleged distortions and misstatements in the South African Press, Dr. Malan made it clear that his anger was directed chiefly against those journalists who, according to him, lined their pockets by sending overseas" false reports" defaming their country. It was in January, 1949, during the Durban race riots that allegations of" misrepresentation abroad" first received prominence. This statement was vigorously challenged by a correspondent of the New York Times, among others, without any satisfactory reply being forthcoming. The Nationalists have two chief objects in view. They not only want to stop criticism of the government- the so- called false reports- leaving the Union for publication abroad; they also want to exercise control over news and comment entering the country from outside. So for a time they turned their attention to other targets. They decided that the B.B.C.- referred to by Dr. Dönges, Minister of the Interior as" His Master's Voice"-was wilfully including in its news, items that might be harmful to South African ears, such as extracts from speeches by FieldMarshal Smuts, who could be regarded as a dangerous liberal only by the Malanazis. " No one is going to dictate to us what is good for South African listeners and what is not," said Dr. Dönges. So without consulting the listening public who pay licence fees, it was decided to cease the South African Broadcasting Corporation's relays of B.B.C. news. Let it be noted that these relays began during the war in the face of strong pro- German protests by the Nationalists. Action has also been taken in regard to the entry of foreign newspapers whose views are inconvenient to the government. Among those banned are, For a Lasting Peace, For a People's Democracy, New Times, Soviet Weekly,( published in London), New Africa( published in New York) and the Pittsburgh Courier, leading American Negro organ. They have been banned under the Customs Act of 1944, a measure which. was originally framed to keep pornographic literature out of the country. Anyone who sells, offers, or keeps for sale, or exhibits a copy of the abovementioned journals is liable on conviction to a fine of£ 200 or imprisonment not exceeding 12 months, or both. Sex books from the United. States, of course, find their way in without difficulty. In early February a motion asking for a Commission of Inquiry into. the South African Press was proposed by a notorious Broederbonder who sanctimoniously declared himself in favour of a" free press through discipline", and that he was consequently alarmed at the monopoly control of the Journalists in the Struggle in the Colonial and Semi- Colonial Countries of Africa 141 English- speaking Press. He claimed he had studied the yellow Press in America, although he gave no reasons why he took the trouble to go so far. In the debate that followed, Dr. Malan and other members of the government repeatedly referred to the" need for discipline." Dr. Malan hinted that he wanted the newspaper proprietors or their editors to act as unpaid censors for the government, and to use their powers as employers to check what correspondents of overseas papers wrote. The Nationalists have made it clear that overseas there must be only one voice of South Africa- the voice of the Government as interpreted by the State Information Office. The majority of Nationalist journalists do not belong to the South African Society of Journalists, and they explain their non- membership by declaring that they are not journalists at all, but" crusaders". This" crusade" which Dr. Malan emotionally describes as his idea of the functioning of a free Press, is one the purpose of which is to praise the Broederbond way of life, to agree with everything the Nationalist Government does, and to propagate the racist creed of" apartheid". Being crusaders confers the advantage of being able to treat news otherwise than on its merits, as news. Die Transwaler of Johannesburg not so long ago implied in its headlines that South Africa had devalued the pound sterling and Britain had decided to follow her example. For all the talk of a free Press, no newspaper could start publication in South Africa with less than£ 500,000 as initial capital. This fact was explained in the Press debate in Parliament by Mr. Arthur Barlow, Labour Member. He also pointed out that the South African Press Association exercized a monopoly over new services, not permitting any of its subscribers to take news from any other service. Advertising, the life- blood of the capitalist newspaper, was also subject to the indirect control of the Newspaper Press Union. In these matters the pro- United Party English language newspapers and the pro- Nationalist Afrikaans Press work hand in hand, despite their rivalries and differences in other respects. There is no daily paper in South Africa representing the interests of the working- class or of the non- European people. The only regular weekly serving the interests of all workers regardless of colour or race, is the Guardian. This newspaper leads a precarious existence in view of the Press clauses in the Suppression of Communism Act, which enable the Minister of Justice to suppress any journal he considers guilty of advocating a system 142 Journalists in the Struggle in the Colonial and Semi- Colonial Countries of Africa repugnant to the government. The example of South Africa is being followed elsewhere in Africa, where the alien imperialist rulers are confronted with the urgent demands of the people for freedom. The Southern Rhodesian Subversive Activities Bill contains clauses for prohibiting the publication, importation or dissemination of any newspaper, pamphlet or other document containing matter which may arouse hostility between one section of the population and another, or which contains" subversive propaganda". In other territories the authorities, as in the case of the Labour Champion of Nigeria, seek to close down progressive newspapers and silence their journalists by means of crippling fines on some concocted charge. The Nigerian Government is said to have issued an order forbidding any further comment on the Report of the Commission which inquired into the shooting of miners at Enugu last November. At Dakar in Senegal, Doudou Guèye, editor- in- chief of Reveil, secretarygeneral of the Senegalese Democratic Union, vice- president of the Rassemblement Democratique African( African Democratic Union) and secretary of the Senegalese Peace Committee is in jail for three months for having exposed, at the end of 1948, in his paper certain misuse of power by a local administrator in Upper Volta. All these actions against the progressive Press and its journalists in Africa. serve to increase our determination to pursue our course even more vigorously. Education of our own people through the Press is a task of paramount importance. To paraphrase the words of Sun Yat Sen― and I ask our Chinese comrades to forgive this liberty- we must awaken the masses of our people, we must teach them to hate imperialism and to unite in a common struggle with those people of the world who are prepared to treat us on the basis of equality. We must advocate, therefore, drawing closer to the peoples of the great Soviet Union, New China, the People's Democracies and the truly progressive forces in the capitalist countries, to build a world front against the imperialist warmongers and for lasting peace. With such a high purpose in view, no imperialist force can daunt us. ANTONIO OTERO SECO( Republican Spain) DEPLORABLE CONDITIONS OF JOURNALISTS IN FRANCO SPAIN 143 Much has already been said of the horrible persecution by the Franco regime of what was once a free Press of Spain. But, with few exceptions, the matter was always limited to expressions of regret without any energetic measures being taken which would prevent the further existence of a dictatorship which is daily annihilating people of free thought who desire to express themselves freely to their compatriots. Of course, much has been said about it, but yet not enough. Not everything has been said which must be said. Very hard has been the persecution of journalists during those 14 years. During that time a considerable number of Spanish journalists were shot, many others were sent to prison. Those who were later on released, struggle against hunger and persecution by the agents of the regime and the Falange. At the same time hundred of journalists have spent 14 years in exile, unable to return to their country. I am a witness to all this. I am not telling you what I was told or what I heard, I am telling you what I saw with my own eyes. I spent five years in a Franco prison and I know how one's life there is in constant mortal danger. My only guilt was that I was a journalist and did not agree with Spanish fascism. I had no sooner left prison, than I was arrested for a second time, again prison and terrible suffering. I finally succeeded in escaping from prison and reaching France where I am now living as political emigré. Why was all this? Only because I was a journalist and republican, loyal to the legally formed and freely elected government against which General Franco had risen in alliance with the army and the Falange, for this sole reason I was sentenced to death with those provisions of the military penal code applied against me which are set against rebellious military service men. Imagine, not General Franco but I was that rebelling soldier! What happened to me happened to many. True, it was better than the lot of those who were deprived of their lives, having been distinguished by Spanish fascism with lead bullets. Though many of you are acquainted with the statement made by the 144 Deplorable Conditions of Journalists in Franco Spain Union of Spanish Journalists at the meeting of the IOJ Executive at Brussels in February 1948, I shall take the liberty briefly to quote a few facts: In March, 1937, at the start of the civil war, the so- called" Burgos Council", over which Franco presided, published a decree ordering republican journalists to leave their jobs. Should they fail to do so, the fascist order stated, the directors of the newspapers and those journalists describing the war events would be executed and the others sentenced to life imprisonment. A while later General Cheino de Liano announced by radio that after the war newspapers would be printed on the backs of those journalists who remained loyal to the Republic. The General's threat was not made literally true, but immediately after the civil war a hunt was organized against those journalists, a bitter and bloody one, worthy of those who in Salamanca had publicly hanged the philosopher, L. de Unamuno, in fulfilling the slogan of another fascist General:" Death to the intellect, long live death". Those Spanish journalists who either did not succeed or did not want to leave Spain were immediately thrown into prison. In Madrid alone more than 100 journalists were arrested within eight days. Throughout all the territory which the fascist regime called" liberated Spain" more than 250 professional journalists met with the same fate. Almost all of them went through physical suffering, but all of them suffered mentally. When they protested in court at having no right of defence by documents or witnesses, or the right of a defence counsel, 80 percent of them were sentenced to death. In Madrid 14 journalists were executed. In all, 50 journalists were executed or killed, not including those who were sentenced to death before the civil war had ended. The others spent five to six years in prison under constant threat of decapitation. After the prolonged imprisonment some were amnestied and released" under observation". I know a journalist against whom no court proceeding was opened but who was kept in prison for eight years because no court wanted to free him, being" unable to establish the charge against him." No one has the right to work in his own profession. I venture to say that none of them is thinking of regaining this right as long as there exists in Spain not even the most elementary freedom. The majority preferred to go abroad and not submit to the fascist regime enforced upon the country. In the course of 11 years 300 journalists went abroad, preferring to die far away from their homes then to give the right of free expression. up 1 Deplorable Conditions of Journalists in Franco Spain 145 This is the situation of republican journalists in present- day Spain. What does Franco and his regime understand to be the tasks of the Press? The Franco regime has transformed the Spanish Press, in conformity with the laws of nazism, into an instrument of its Fascist Dictatorship. The right to criticise, free opinion and even common sense are brutally suppressed. A Press as all liberal and democratic people, all professional organizations understand it, does not exist in Spain. The same lack of freedom which exists in Spain in the political, social, religious, economic and trade union field can be observed in the field of the Press. Newspapers, printing offices and press agencies which existed before the civil war are now organized like the whole regime: they are now forming one single organization with one technique, with one instruction from above, turning all that in a professional sense remained from the Spanish Press into a bureaucratic annex of the whole State apparatus. A new generation of journalists, or properly said, of officials, grew up, trained in denunciation and meanness, in hatred of the freedom and rights of the people, out of contact with their nation. In fact the right to choose the journalistic profession has disappeared in Spain with Franco's advent to power. Special. conditions are set for acquiring the right to become a journalist, conditions which have nothing in common with the noble calling of a journalist, with culture, moral qualities, the art of writing, in short with all that which we know to be the indispensable quality of one who wants to be journalist. Immediately after its advent to power the Franco regime established an official school for journalists. Only those who went through that school are allowed to fill the editorial offices. Only those possessing a certificate confirming that they finished this school may work as journalists. But not everybody is eligible for that school. One must, first of all, be a member of the Falange, prove loyalty to the regime, must have participated in the civil war on the side of Franco as volunteer or army officer, be the son of a fallen Franco journalist or a student of a police school. The curriculum is almost entirely concerned with political or religious matters. Professional and technical skill is not being taught at all, sinceaccording to official statements- it is" time enough to learn all this in the editorial offices." In spite of the fact that all present- day Spanish journalists were educated in that excellent school, in spite of the fact that they are actually 146 Deplorable Conditions of Journalists in Franco Spain officials who have proved their loyalty to the regime, censorship still exists in Spain for any kind of publication including prospectuses of industrial. propaganda. The Press and Propaganda Department exercises the same function as did similar establishments under the ill- famed Hitler and Mussolini regimes.. The major part of writers and contributors of the main newspapers and periodicals receive beforehand the subject they are to write about and instructions on how to write. Not to submit blindly means to draw on oneself the displeasure of the regime resulting in the loss of permission to be a journalist or, in the best case, in a public admonition. One quick look at the first pages of a dozen Spanish newspapers makes one realize that they all say one and the same thing with slight nuances. in expression. These are the facts with which I tried to demonstrate the true conditions. of the Spanish Press, the conditions of the Spanish republican Press and the complete dependence of those journalists who succeeded them in. present- day Spain. The list of those Spanish journalists who perished for different reasons and the list, though incomplete, of those living in exile, gives an idea of the position of professional journalism at the end of the civil war. Two ' hundred of those who escaped alive from Franco's clutches had to change their profession and work where they could. The overwhelming majority earn something only occasionally. Three hundred journalists were compelled to leave Spain and to live: in different parts of Europe, Africa and America. To this must be added the horrifying list of those who were shot, hanged or torn to pieces in the streets, those who died in prison or in exile from starvation and homesickness and you will obtain a telling picture of what Franco Spain has done to the Spanish Press, to Spanish journalism. After this short review I should like to ask for moral and material. solidarity of this Congress with our republican journalists living in Spain. I move that our voice be raised in protest against the further existence of the Franco regime; that constantly, every day, the protest of the Spanish people against its tyrant be hammered into public opinion; that everything be done in order that all nations become aware of the scorn and hatred the Spanish people bear toward those governments which support that. very same regime which they had declared to be fascist by" its origin and its nature". Together with your moral solidarity I ask for your material solidarity. A People's Press or a Business Press 147 Many journalists in present- day Spain experience, together with lack of freedom and justice, also lack of a piece of bread. Your fellow journalists now in Spain will be grateful and recognize in such a gesture your solidarity not only with them but with our entire martyred country. GEORGE S. WHEELER( USA) A PEOPLE'S PRESS OR A BUSINESS PRESS For nearly three years now we have been very fortunate in living and working in the beautiful city of Prague. I have been fortunate for several reasons. First, as a journalist I had the pleasure of reporting the steady and rapid progress of the Czech and Slovak people in overcoming all difficulties; in raising the standard of living and general welfare of their working people; in the peaceful transformation of the country towards socialism; and the calm and firm determination which made Czechoslovakia a bastion in the struggle for peace. As an economist, as well as a journalist, I could see that the changes that were taking place were fundamental and that they meant a great and permanent improvement in all phases of the life of the people, cultural and moral, as well as physical. In another way my experience has been unusual and lucky. Across my desk has flowed almost a flood of material from the press of both East and West. I have been in a unique situation not only to learn of the economic and cultural developments in Eastern and Western countries, but to compare the reporting of these events in the Press. I have compared the popular Press with statistical reports and other publications, and this is what I found. In the publications of the Soviet Union and the People's Democracies, I have found a preoccupation with internal problems of construction and the general welfare of the working people. First place in interest goes to the struggle for higher and better forms of production, for increasing the volume of consumer goods, for greater welfare and security, for higher cultural levels and to the struggle against reaction and oppression. There is never any racism, never any warmongering. There is always sympathy for colonial and other peoples struggling for national freedom, and for their right as free men to a better way of life. Never, however, have I found a single example in the people's press urging foreign intervention in this struggle to impose change from the outside. Always it is argued that each nation must liberate itself. The Chinese Press and journalists appear to me to deserve special commendation because they have reported their tremendous gains in a factual manner, yet one which is vivid and free from repetitions, phrases and slogans, which are the easy way to write, but which lull the ordinary reader to sleep. The Press of China today is obviously a great force, improving the educational and cultural level of the people, explaining the meaning 148 A People's Press or a Business Press and purpose of economic and political changes, and uniting that great country in its tremendous strides of progress. Similarly I have found the Press of the Soviet Union and the People's Democracies firmly on the side of peace and progress. When I ask myself why this is always so, I find the answer to be that the Press is a people's Press. It faithfully reflects the need of the people for peace. Each year, even each month, of peace brings great and amazing gains to the people of these countries. This is the fundamental reason why the people's Press is always on the side of peace. The contrast with the Press of the United States and other Western countries is clear. My sample is a wide one, including both progressive papers and conservative ones such as the Wall Street Journal and the London Economist, as well as many official reports and periodicals. What is this Press like? First I want to say that there is still a progressive Press in America. It is small, comparatively, and engaged in a constant and sharpening struggle for existence. This is not only an economic struggle, but now also one with the Truman administration. An example of this governmental attack is the citing in August of Philip Bart, manager of the Daily Worker, for so- called" contempt of Congress"-which is simply an easy way to imprison him in violation of the Bill of Rights. Other important progressive papers are those of the unions expelled by the CIO, which have taken a consistent stand for peace and the welfare of their members. I mention with pride the paper for which I work, the National Guardian. It has never wavered in its fight for peace and against racism and other fascist tendencies. It has remained on the side of the working people even though the members of the staff often work without pay to keep the paper going. This progressive Press has an influence for peace and progress much greater than its circulation, because trade union and other union and other leaders depend on it. A significant thing about these progressive papers is that none is operated as a business for profit. There are a few exceptions of commercial papers which are against racial discrimination, or are progressive on some other domestic issues, but waver on foreign policy, which in the end cannot be separated from domestic policy. The great bulk of the circulation of newspapers and periodicals in the United States, probably 99 per cent of the total, is published by business enterprises with the main purpose of making a profit. In reading this business press we find that since 1945 there has been alternating fear of inflation and depression. As recently as June 21, 1950, just before the Korean war, the Wall Street Journal warned that American business had been feeding on a wild expansion of credit and was in danger of collapse. The fear of depression has been a major factor in shaping American policy, since the official policy for meeting the threat of depression has been to prepare for war. Each downturn in business was met by increased expenditure for the cold war and for armaments. Business needed trouble abroad. This was admitted by President Truman in his Midyear Economic Report of July, 1948, when he said that" if international tension lessens... inflationary pressures would be sharply reduced" and business would be put to a test" to avoid serious cutbacks in employment and production". In plain words, Truman argued that American business needs international trouble to keep war expenditures and war production on high levels. But the American people generally want peace, and to get approval for increased armaments the Press has carried out regular campaigns to frighten the people into thinking A People's Press or a Business Press 149 that they and their allies were in great danger of being attacked by the Soviet Union. The business Press has systematically conditioned the American people to accept war. It serves a daily fare of crime and violence, which accustoms the public to the brutality of war. It has specialized in distorting conditions in the Soviet Union and the People's Democracies, leading the average American towards the biggest lie of all, that fascism and communism are the same. It urges the people to be ready to crush the" reds" as the fascists were. The newspapers play up the" spy plots" which the FBI stages, headlining the charges and burying the answers. They lead in the attacks on trade unions and on the Communist Party. No one who refuses to participate in the" red baiting" is safe from attack in the public press. The newspapers have a neat way of avoiding legal responsibility for slanders. If a congressman makes the charge on the floor of Congress he is immune from court action. The newspapers are then free to quote him and the injured person can sue no one for libel. Permit me to illustrate how this works by my own case. On September 2nd of this year, the New York Times printed the statement made in Congress by Representative Dondero that" General Clay had as an assistant George Shaw Wheeler, the American traitor, communist and renegade who shocked all America when he denounced the land of his birth and asked communist- controlled Czechoslovakia for asylum." I don't object at all being called a communist by such as Dondero. It puts me in very good company. Nearly every person everywhere who fights for peace and on the side of the working is a" red" to reactionaries such as Dondero. If I had not been denounced by them I would be worried that I was not doing my share for peace. But I do resent being called a renegade and traitor. Of course, I did not denounce the land of my birth, but only the policies that are ruining it. I agree with Albert Kahn who could not be here because the US State Department was afraid to let him come, when he said in his latest book, High Treason, that the real traitors are those who turn against the common people. Once the newspapers print such charges against a person he can no longer get a job in government or as teacher, and is usually blacklisted from jobs in industry. Facing unemployment is a hard test and some fail it. May I give as one example Lee Pressman, former General Council of the CIO. He was attacked as a" red" and lost his job. When he asked Phil Murray, President of the CIO, for employment he was told to" clear himself" by telling the Un- American Activities Committee all he know about" communists in the government". Pressman then denounced three of his former colleagues and oldest friends, including John Abt, General Council of the Progressive Party, exposing them to persecution and imprisonment. It is a sorry and disheartening sight to see a once respected labor leader crawling on his belly for a job. I am happy to say that there are only a few American progressives who do crawl. But the press plays each such case with headlines and many ordinary people are now intimidated and afraid to work with any progressive organization. Again let us look to see if there are economic motives for this support of criminal ends. We find that there are. The American press is a business with the main aim of making profit. The income of the press depends largely on advertising, again usually from other large corporations. The amount a newspaper can charge for advertising depends upon its circulation and people buy more papers in periods of tension and war than when calm and peace prevail. 150 A People's Press or a Business Press Another motive of the business press in promoting international hatred is that, just like other private enterprises, they fear the remarkable spread of socialist ideas. They fear that the adoption of a people's Press in more and more countries will eventually endanger their own business. They write much of the" American way of life" and of projects to raise the standard of living in colonial areas. Yet they obviously have no confidence that the standard of living of colonial or European people will be raised- if for no other reason than that their own journalists and official reports show a decline in the standard of living. For example, the US Military Government figures show that in 1947 the average diet of the South Korean people had decline to only 1468 calories per day. According to the UN Scientific and Cultural Commission they were the" hungriest people in the world." Surely even the most stupid publisher must know that the starving and brutally suppressed South Korean people would not be enthusiastic about the MacArthur- Dulles- Synghman Rhee way of life. Yet the business Press in the United States almost unanimously supports the American intervention which hopes to preserve these cruel conditions. It makes no protest against the cowardly and criminal bombing of the civilian population and the wanton destruction of food, homes and hospitals, even in areas which the Americans assert they are fighting to liberate. There can be no justification for such planned destruction of civilian population. I see no moral difference between these acts of the American militarists and the acts of the nazis in destroying peoples in extermination camps. All those members of the press who support such acts or do not protest against them share in the guilt. Not all those who cry" Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven, nor are all those who protest that they are for peace, actually for peace. When President Truman said of the American soldiers in Korea" they are fighting for the proposition that peace shall be the law of the earth" he intended to distract the attention of the public from the real aims of Wall Street as revealed by MacArthur. He wanted to create confusion in the public mind and to silence opposition. But ignorance and confusion cannot serve as excuses for silence. There are tests which I urge the people in the West to apply in judging the actions of their Governments as reported in the Press. They are: 1. Does Wall Street, as represented by such men as Dulles, MacArthur, Baruch and Harriman, support the action or policy? If so, it is opposed to the interests of working people everywhere, because these people have never yet acted in the common interest. 2. If such big publishers as Henry Luce, DeWitt Wallace, Hearst, McCormick and Howard favour it, be against it. These publishers have an unbroken record of supporting reaction at home and abroad. 3. Does it involve the maintenance of colonialism? If so oppose it. Attempts to preserve colonial privileges and exploitation are a major cause of wars today. Colonialism and the wars it produces are unjustified and doomed to failure. Oppose them. 4. Does it divide labour or weaken the trade unions? If so, denounce it. If it sets worker against worker, it will benefit only employers. 5. Does it involve racism? If so it is a sure sign of the taint of fascism. Racism at all times and everywhere is wrong. Fight it. 6. Finally, where does the incident or military action occur, and whose military forces are on foreign soil? Reverse the action geographically and test your reaction. For example: Would it seem reasonable if China claimed that Cuba was essential to her national defence? Demand that troops on foreign soil be recalled. Journalists in particular have an obligation to apply these or similar tests in their Soviet Journalists Declare War on War 151 work. I realize that if they do, many of them will be fired by their employers. This is not an easy choice to make. I know from my own experience, when such a decision meant being hounded from the government service. But I felt that it is better to insist on the truth and refuse to be a warmonger than to become a war criminal. Not everyone has my happy opportunity of working and studying in the interest of peace in such a country as Czechoslovakia, after making this decision. I doubly admire those who are collecting Stockholm Appeal signatures and working for peace under bitterly hard conditions in the United States and other capitalist countries, and feel doubly impelled to work as hard as I can to add my bit. Long live peace! May the journalist's first task be to preserve it. T. CHERDANTSEV( USSR) SOVIET JOURNALISTS DECLARE WAR ON WAR The question we are discussing today is one of the most important current political problems. The powerful movement of the Partisans of Peace daily grows and strengthens. More than 300 million people from all corners of the earth put their signatures to the Stockholm Appeal. They have various political and religious convictions, national and party affiliations, but they are united by one thing- the desire to save peace, not to allow the imperialists of the world to kindle a new conflict. New sections of the population are being involved in the peace movement, especially the youth, women and the peasantry. While continuing the campaign to ban the atom bomb, the Partisans of Peace have decisively expressed themselves in favor of the reduction of all armaments, the control over this reduction, the prohibition of any aggression which results in the outbreak of war wherever it may be. At the same time the struggle against propaganda for a new war is going forward, a fight to restrain the preachers of a mass destruction of humanity. The foremost journalists of all countries are in the front ranks of the fighters for peace. They tirelessly expose the maneouvres of the enemies of peace, pillory the warmongers. 152 Soviet Journalists Declare War on War Churchill and Paul Reynaud, Moore- Brabazon and Bradley brazenly call for the unleashing of war, the annihilation of millions of children, women and the aged with atom bombs. The noble task of the world's journalists is to brand them before world public opinion, condemn, their misanthropic acts. We are for freedom of speech and freedom of the Press. But when freedom of speech and freedom of the Press is transformed into freedom of falsehood and slander, into a weapon of propaganda for a new war, the means of inciting an atom psychosis, then we say: snatch it from their hands! Do not give them the opportunity to misuse this freedom in a way contrary to the interests of the people who passionately desire a lasting peace. Churchill and Paul Reynaud are well known criminals. They have been sufficiently unmasked before public opinion. But there are many big and small figures who sing in tune with them. Violent opponents of peace, they hide behind the broad backs of their masters and from that vantage point pour slander and filth over our great peace movement. I have in mind such people as Drew Pearson who has already been exposed, or his fellow countryman Walsh who recently made the following statement: " We will use the atom bomb and reach the heart of the enemy. Don't let him think that it is a matter of one atom bomb. It will be a flood." Our task, the task of workers of the democratic Press, is to pull these big and little scribblers out of their cosy corners and place them before the court of public opinion. It is necessary to organize a broad counter- propaganda against the propagandists of a new war. Not one statement by warmongers should remain without reply from workers of the Press. Soviet journalists actively participate in the movement of the Partisans of Peace, not restricting themselves to the signing of the Stockholm Appeal. They have become ardent agitators and organizers of this movement. Ilya Ehrenburg, Constantine Simonov, Alexei Surkov, David Zaslavsky who is present at our Congress, Boris Polevoi and many others, constantly expose the warmongers in their articles, address meetings and conferences, calling for the strengthening of the peace front. The theme of the struggle for peace is the central theme of the Soviet Press today. Take up any paper. In every issue on a prominent place you will find some material or other which tells of the fight of the Soviet people for peace. Among these are many articles by ordinary Soviet people. Joining their voices to the powerful peace tocsin, they strengthen their words by deeds, by Stakhanovite work, recognizing perfectly that the strengthening of our great country is the first and most important guarantee of the inviolability of peace. " I took part in the Great Patriotic War," writes Grablin, a carpenter from the Soviet Journalists Declare War on War 153 Kirov factory in Leningrad, in Pravda," I helped to defend Sevastopol, fought at Kursk, and helped to liberate Budapest. We did not fight for peace in order that blood would flow on the battlefields again. When I signed the Stockholm Appeal I joined a Stakhanovite peace shift. I fulfill my quota by 400 percent." In another letter, also appearing in Pravda, a boatswain on the Volga steamer Sartachev, writes," I want the banks of my Volga always to be peaceful, my own on which I've sailed for 40 years. I want the banks of the Danube, Rhine, Seine, Thames, Nile, Mississippi and all the rivers of the world to be just as peaceful. Therefore I put my signature on the Stockholm Appeal." The letter of the 70- year- old Soviet mother, Daria Nikitichna Nemova, rings as an angry warning to the warmonger speculators. She has 18 sons and grandsons. " I did not raise my children to perish in the war the imperialists are preparing. There will be no place of refuge in the world for that government which is the first to use the atom bomb." In publishing such articles of ordinary Soviet people, the Soviet Press extends and deepens the basis of the movement of the Partisans of Peace, acts as coordinator and organizer of events. At the same time Soviet journalists expose warmongers in Europe and over the ocean. In the Soviet Union, as well as in many other democratic lands, we have no such people. If by chance one such would be found, then without doubt he would not only be exposed but simply put in the insane asylum as a person who evidently is not normal. The Soviet Union is occupied with immense creative work. This summer we began the construction of two gigantic hydroelectric stations on the Volga- the Kuibyshev and Stalingrad stations. These hydroelectric stations will surpass the Dnieper station- the largest in Europe- by a great deal and will be among the largest in the world. This autumn we are beginning construction on the huge irrigation canal in the Kara- Kum desert, which will reclaim millions of hectares of land now suffering from lack of moisture. These immense construction projects of our time testify better than anything else to the peaceful efforts of our people, aspiring to make our life more bountiful and beautiful. It is another matter in the U.S., England, France. There the lion's share of the budget goes to war expenditures, billions are spent on cannons and bombing planes at a time when the people lack necessities. It is natural that in those countries there are plenty of cannibals thirsting for human blood. It is a matter of honour and conscience for the progressive Press of the world and for every journalist to expose these criminals. The Press is a sharp and mighty 154 On the Material and Legal Position of Journalists weapon. Its well- aimed shots are merciless and we must therefore not underestimate our strength. The torch- bearers of a new war are coming into action. They have already turned to direct aggression in Korea. We must stop them at any cost. There is no doubt that the IOJ and all its members will apply their efforts to avert a new war. We want the banks of the Danube, Volga, Thames and all the rivers of the world to be peaceful. And we will succeed. Close our ranks, friends! Peace be to peace! War on war! MIKHAIL STREPUKHOV( USSR) ON THE MATERIAL AND LEGAL POSITION OF JOURNALISTS The question of the material and legal position of journalists, which has been put before the Congress for discussion, is of especially great and current importance. This question assumed such pressing importance because of the fact that recently in the capitalist countries, especially in the USA, the last remnants of freedom of speech and Press are being shamelessly banned. Each day we hear more reports of the shameless oppression of journalists in the capitalist and colonial countries. The progressive Press is fined, some editions banned, editors and democratic journalists are arrested and imprisoned. What is the crime committed by the progressive editors and journalists? Why are our colleagues oppressed? Their crime is that they energetically oppose preparations for a new war, the activities of the imperialist beasts in Korea and Vietnam, capitalistic oppression in the colonial countries. Their sole crime is that they tell the truth to their people, urge them to struggle for peace and defend their democratic achievements. As the Secretary General informed us, the well- known African journalist, Doudou Gueye, was recently sentenced to imprisonment and assessed On the Material and Legal Position of Journalists 155 a fine of 300,000 French francs for the simple reason that he wrote of the true conditions in French Africa and told of the bestial atrocities of the French colonial forces against the peaceful population. da ti In France itself there have been cases of brutal oppression against the representatives of the progressive press. A short while ago a few charges made were against the youth newspaper, l'Avant- Garde, and its editors. What were the reasons for this prosecution? The crime of this paper and its editors lay only in the fact that the columns of the newspaper carried the statement that the French people would never war against the Soviet people and that this newspaper condemned the" dirty war" in Vietnam. The progressive Press of Argentine, Italy, Western Germany, Belgium and other capitalist countries is also oppressed. We do not see in our midst the progressive American journalist and publicist, Albert Kahn. The American Government and State Department would not grant Kahn a passport and he was unable to attend our Congress. With indignation against the bosses of the capitalist Press, we listened to the telegram telling of the 700 Japanese newspapermen who had been dismissed because of their progressive opinions and who were thus driven into a terrible situation. The numerous facts of the repression against the progressive press and its representatives are proof that the struggle for progress and peaceful development of humanity is the greatest crime in the capitalist countries. Capitalist administrations fear truth as they fear fire, fear the exposing of their shady and dirty work and therefore they regard the progressive press as their worst enemy. Imperialists realize the strength and authority of the progressive Press among the workers and so, threatening and crushing democratic liberties in their countries, they first of all persecute the progressive papers. Where then can be found this freedom of speech and Press of which the American and other imperialist troubadours trumpet so loudly? From many international tribunals we have often heard the voices of America's representatives and those of other capitalist countries on the flourishing democracy in these countries, of freedom of speech and Press. If all of the aforementioned is considered as freedom of Press in America, then what can we call tyranny against liberties and mad reaction? Does not this only too clearly show Hitlerite practices against all liberty- lovers and progressives? While persecuting all progress, while crushing the remnants of democratic liberties in their own countries, the capitalist magnates and their numerous 156 On the Material and Legal Position of Journalists lackeys slander the Press of the Soviet Union and the People's Democracies, accusing them of lacking criticism and freedom of thought. But this is an old fable which life itself has refuted. In the Soviet Union full freedom of Press has been realized, and the Soviet journalists have extensive rights and opportunities to discuss and appraise in the Press all the phases of political, economic and cultural life. The Soviet journalists are not threatened by any repression or material difficulties when they practice criticism in the Press. On the contrary, they receive wide moral support of the Soviet people, because with their advice and analytical commentaries they help the common cause of building socialism. Our government bodies thoughtfully and responsively take note of the critical articles in the Press. They encourage criticism in every way, for this criticism is, the chief instrument for finding and remedying shortcomings, the powerful lever of elevating labour and accelerating its progress. This, precisely, is freedom of Press in practice, freedom of speech in actuality. The Soviet Government, in giving great attention to the development of the Press in our country, creates the necessary conditions for journalists' work. The Soviet journalists' wages are on a firmly established basis, depending on their position, plus an author's fee for published articles, essays, etc. The higher the journalist's qualifications, the higher his income. The Soviet Government and the trade unions of the publishing and printing trades devote great attention to the question of journalists" vacations. Our union has its own rest homes which are located in the most picturesque parts of our country: the rest home on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, the rest home on the Riga seashore, the rest home on the Black Sea and the one which is being built near Moscow. Several of the largest newspapers of Moscow, the Federated Republics, and regions, own their own rest homes and sanatoriums. Pravda publishing firm and editorial offices have their own sanatorium in Sochi and a rest. home in the outskirts of Moscow. On the shores of the Black Sea near Sochi is located a splendidly equipped sanatorium owned by the newspaper Izvestia. In addition to these, the journalists use rest homes and sanatoriums that belong to the National Trade Union Center, which has a wide network of rest homes and sanatoriums all over the Soviet Union. On the Material and Legal Position of Journalists .157 The State provides large sums for the social insurance of the journalists, increasing yearly in step with the growth of our national economy. Under the benefits of social insurance, journalists can spend their holidays in rest homes or take treatments in sanatoriums. Under the same benefits, the journalists' children can spend their summer holidays in Pioneer camps, children's sanatoriums and rest homes. Our trade unions will spend on the holidays of journalists and their families 15 million rubles this year. The Soviet Government places great importance on the training of journalist cadres. In 15 of our country's largest universities there are journalist faculties. In addition to this, there is a large network of special schools where journalists are trained and retrained. The training and retraining of journalists is done at the expense of the State. The students of universities and special schools receive a State stipend. Where, among the capitalist countries are the Press and its workers cared for in such a way? What else can the gentleman over the ocean boast of, except the falsely- reported nonexistant freedom of speech- these gentlemen who have reduced the position of the journalists of the capitalist Press to that of slaves and who cruelly persecute the workers of the progressive Press? The position of the progressive Press in many of the capitalist countries obliges us to raise our voices in more decisive protest against the persecution of our colleagues. The administrative bodies of the IOJ, which we will select in this Congress, and the National Organizations of Journalists must still more energetically struggle against the persecution by reactionary governments and newspaper monopolies of the progressive journalists, against the suppression of the journalists' freedom of thought and against the attack on their rights and living conditions. The imperialist governments attempt to suppress all freedom of speech and thought in their own countries. We must oppose these attempts with our own will and determination to defend our democratic rights. Our organization is now much stronger than ever before, we are supported by the entire progressive humanity, and we will be able to defend the progressive journalists. 158 TRAN LAM( Vietnam) THE REVOLUTIONARY PRESS OF VIETNAM The Press of Vietnam is still young, but from the very beginning, it set itself resolutely on the path of truth, at the service of liberty and peace. It is the spokesman for the whole Vietnamese people, united as one man in the National Front, in which it is one of the most ardent workers. It is the Press of an independent people, at present engaged in fighting the aggression of French colonialists and the intervention of the American imperialists. It is the Press of a country of people's democracy, which belongs firmly to the camp of and of world democracy. The political conditions of our people have given to us, the journalists of Vietnam, liberty and strength: liberty to speak the truth; strength because we are directly joined to the union of 20 million of our compatriots, and because our aim is the aim of our people. peace We are continuing the great tradition of the free and illegal Press of Vietnam before the revolution of August, 1945. During the long years of struggle of our people for national independence, that revolutionary Press has been the moral and ideological arm of our people, for the overthrow of the oppressors, and for their own liberation. It developed particularly during the struggle against the fascists. At that time we had more than 40 illegal papers, although their founders were subject to a thousand dangers, though they were constantly hunted, deported, massacred. In spite of this, they continued to fulfill their duty as educators, organizers and guides of the people in the struggle against the French colonialists, and against their masters, the Japanese fascists. The daily, Cuu Quoc( National Salvation), founded in 1941, contributed a great deal to the development of the anti- fascist movement, directed by the Viet Minh national front, of which it is the central organ. We cannot speak of this period of the Press without recalling the death of Hoang van Thu, one of the principal editors of the paper of the Communist Party of Indo China, Go Giai Phong( Liberating Flag), well- known journalist and, at the same time, one of the great directors of the liberation movement of our people. He was shot by the Vichy French on May 24, 1944, for having called upon the French patriots of Indo China to unite with the people of Vietnam to struggle against Japanese fascism. Like Hong van Thu, the journalists of Vietnam are ready to sacrifice everything for their Press, because they see in it the flag of liberation of the country, an effective arm of the people in the struggle for a better future. Twenty days after the proclamation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the French reactionaries, with the direct assistance of English imperialism, attacked Saigon, on September 23, 1945. For five years, the journalists of Vietnam have been mobilizing all their skills to write in the service of their people in the struggle to safeguard national independence, which is an integral part of the great fight of the people of the world for democracy and peace. They consider themselves as soldiers in an attack on an enemy post, or like workers in factories making arms for victory, or like the peasants in the process of producing rice for the people. Their work is not without danger. One of our colleagues, Trang Dang, a young journalist and prominent writer, a reporter for the Journalists of Vietnam and their Struggle for National Independence and Peace 159 paper The Soldier Defender of the Country, fell a year ago in the fight against the Koumintang, which violated our borders. It is enough to glance at the Vietnamese Press to realize that it reflects the opinion and the struggle of all strata of society. In addition to the numerous regional journals, we mention among the principal papers the daily, Cuu Quoc, central organ of the National Front; the Marxist review, La Verité( Truth); the review, Travail( Work), of the federation of trade unions; Force Jeune( Young Strenght) of the youth federation; Femmes Vietnamese( Vietnamese Women), of the women's organization; Tout un Peuple Combat L'Agresseur( An Entire People Fights the Aggressor), of the Lien Viet organization; Le Paysan( The Peasant) of the Organization of Peasants for National Salvation; Le Soldat Defenseur de la Patrie( The Soldier Defender of the Country), of the Army; Joie de Vivre ( Joy of Life), review of the" new life". The total circulation of our Press is ten times greater than that of the official Press at the time of the colonialists. Furthermore, through lecture circles, the newspaper has really penetrated to the masses and thus contributes to forging consciousness and national unity. It is the duty of the journalists of the people of Vietnam to fight side by side with their colleagues of all countries in the ranks of the powerful world movement of the fighters for peace. The democratic Press is one of the most effective arms in the struggle for peace, and a powerful international organization of journalists is an active builder of the people's victory over the barbaric imperialist partisans of atomic war. In the name of the journalists of Vietnam, we express our ardent desire to be admitted into the great army of progressive journalists of the world, and to make our contribution to the consolidation and enlargement of the only organization of journalists in the struggle for liberty and peace. We are very happy that the Congress has unanimously ratified our request for admission to the IOJ. Once more we thank you, and offer you our sincerest wishes for the success of the Congress. NGUYEN- ANH- HONG( Vietnam) JOURNALISTS OF VIETNAM AND THEIR STRUGGLE FOR NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE AND PEACE On the 23d of October, the people of Vietnam will enter into the sixth year of their resistance. For five years the Vietnamese journalists have fought at the side of the national liberation army for the defense of their country and in behalf of peace. The role of the Press as a moral aid is particularly important for a people who are determined to defeat at any cost an enemy who was at first clearly more powerful from the point of view of materiel. We were truly more weak than the enemy from the standpoint of arms, 160 Journalists of Vietnam and their Struggle for National Independence and Peace equipment and military equipment at the very beginning of the resistance, September 23, 1945. Only the force of our will was great. The whole people as one man followed the lead of President Ho Chi Minh who said: " We would rather sacrifice everything than be again enslaved." Applying the experiences of struggle from Vietnam history as well as revolutionary experiences of the peoples of the world, President Ho Chi Minh is directing this long- drawn- out resistance of the Vietnamese people. Mr. Truong Chinh, in a series of famous articles appearing in 1947 under the title of" The resistance will surely be victorious", conveyed precisely the political thought of President Ho Chi Minh. He writes," The people of Vietnam cannot lose their country. The liberation movement in Vietnam is part of the rising world movement of a new democracy. Vietnam's enemy, French colonialism, is part of the dying imperialism, already condemned by history. At the beginning of the war, the Vietnam army was not as strong as that of the enemy and that is why we have had to fight so long. We must increase our forces while fighting, exhaust little by little the enemy's forces, in order to be able to annihilate them completely one day. We must fight together with all the people, at every military, political, economic and cultural point, so that everywhere the enemy advances he will be crushed against our unshakable resistance forces, so that he will be choked, encircled and find it impossible to live on our territory". Together with Truong Chinh, the Vietnam journalists for five years have constantly shown the people the path of long resistance, the way leading to an independent Vietnam in a peaceful world. They have shown the way and called on the Vietnamese people to follow it. In addition to the resolute will to preserve independence and the limitless confidence in the final victory, the Vietnamese Press also reflects the unity of the people. And its contribution toward creating this unity is one of the greatest tasks and one of the greatest accomplishments of our Press. French colonial rulers and their hired Press always sought to divide the Vietnamese people. It was always the policy of" divide and rule". Successes gained in five years of struggle have shown that the strength of a united people is much greater than that of bombs and cannons. Thanks to the experience we have undergone, we feel more deeply the truth expressed by Ehrenburg, the great Soviet writer and journalist and at the same time eminent fighter for peace:" Something more powerful than the atom bomb is the brotherhood of peoples." It is our duty as journalists of a country which is struggling for its independence to show the people that aggressive colonialism and warmonger imperialism is one and the same thing. Our enemy is not only French colonialism, because at the side of that enemy stands another, American imperialism. For a long time the Wall Street lackeys of the pen, the Walter Lippmanns and their accomplices with anti- communist arguments, have betrayed the American greed for Indochina" that key to the Asiatic Southeast", according to the formula so dear to MacArthur. The yellow sheets put out by the traitor- journalists in the zone temporarily occupied by our enemy, ready to lick the boots of their masters, put their efforts into singing the praises of American power and atom bomb democracy- a song orchestrated in Paris and in Washington. If the Yankee imperialists have not yet sent their troops to Indo China, it is because there is a French expeditionary force already there to serve as cannon fodder in their interests. We are able to say that almost all the arms used by the French colonializers during the last five years in Vietnam have been an American brand. And no one is Journalists of Vietnam and their Struggle for National Independence and Peace 161 surprised that the director of the comedy appointment of the mannikin, Bao Dai, is American imperialism. From the beginning of the year, after its shameful defeat in China, American imperialism has been directly intervening in Indo China, thus trying to get control of the Indo China peninsula to prevent the advance of the democratic movement toward the Asiatic southeast, to destroy the powerful national liberation movement of those peoples. At the present time, American imperialists are sending arms directly to Vietnam to avoid the delay to transports caused by French worker and longshore strikes. In the attempt to repress national liberation movements in the Asiatic southeast, President Truman granted the puppet Bao Dai aid amounting to more than 23 and a half million dollars in arms and ammunition. American political and military advisers have been established for six months at Saigon to give their orders directly to their valets: the French colonializers and the mannikin Bao Dai, and in order to direct the French Expeditionary Forces as cannon fodder, according to their plan of aggression. The French colonial forces, carrying on the foul war in Vietnam, are only the hunting dogs of Wall Street, and their expeditionary forces an instrument of American imperialist aggression. Recently the reactionary government of France admitted the truth about the war in Vietnam, in the words of Pleven:" France has been fighting for five years in the front lines of democracy( here is to be understood the democracy of the dollar and atom bomb) because it is at grips with the armies of Ho Chi Minh." The American imperialists, however, cannot carry on an aggressive war everywhere by means of military advisers. They will not always find servants like the present government of France which has shamefully and cheaply sold the blood of French youth. In Korea, Americans have sent their own troops. For three months already, American soldiers, tanks and planes have been daily massacring the Korean population. The imperialists have lowered their mask and appear in their true form as aggressors. In spite of all their lackeys of the pen can say, the question of Korea has clearly revealed their aggressive plots and has shown that they are even more barbarous than fascists have been hitherto. Side by side with the heroic Korean people and the great people of a victorious China, we are struggling for national independence and to preserve the peace in the Far East. Repeating the works of the representative of the French government at UN, the fascist journalist Edouard Helsy wrote in Aurore:" We are waging in Vietnam the same battle as the Americans are in Korea. Vietnam and Korea are merely two flanks of the same front." The front of which he speaks is one we know well; it is the battlefront of aggression in Asia, forerunner of world aggression. American imperialists and their valets are about to attack Vietnam in order to transform it into a war bastion in their plan of attack on People's China and the Soviet Union. We are sure that we are not alone in our struggle against the aggression of the French colonializers and the intervention of the American imperialists. In the first place we have at our borders the people of Cambodia and of Laos, closely united with our people in a common and indivisible struggle, against a common enemy. The liberation movement in Cambodia and Laos, with the intensification of resistance in Vietnam and the successes in the world peace camp are growing mightily. And in this movement the Cambodian and Laotian Press is itself developing promisingly. Close to us are the peoples of Malaya, Indonesia, the Philippines, Burma, Siam, and India, who are beginning to rouse to strug 162 Journalists of Vietnam and their Struggle for National Independence and Peace gle for their independence and to foil the plots of imperialism's Pacific Pact. Fighting against the same enemies we are, the struggle of the peoples of all the colonial countries is shaking the colonial structure, one of the principle supports of warmongering imperialism. Vietnamese journalists are united with their colleagues from all countries who have not ceased to struggle for the people's cause, in spite of a thousand persecutions. We are glad to express here our fraternal solidarity with the comrade from Dakar, Doudou Gueye who, condemned to 26 months of prison, was not able to come to our congress. At the first of the year, following the People's China, the Soviet Union and the People's Democracies recognized our government led by our dear president, Ho Chi Minh. This fact again confirms the truth, that there exists a close brotherhood between the Vietnamese people and the great people of the Soviet Union, between Vietnam and the heroic people of China, the People's Democracies. With this diplomatic victory, the greatest event in the history of our country, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam has become part of the bloc of democratic countries, 800 million strong, extending from the countries of Central Europe to the countries of southest Asia, and whose powerful development is the surest guaranty of the world's peace and of humanity's future. Together with the journalists of these friendly countries, we are putting all our efforts into developing fraternal ties and into defending what we have won. The people of France are also on our side. From the very beginning of the war, the Vietnamese people have been fully aware that the reactionary colonial aggressors are also the enemy of the French people, that people which fought the Revolution of 1789 and in the resistance against fascist Germany. All our people down to the little children understand this fact. Our Press exalts an ardent patriotism but does not incite the people to a narrow chauvinism. Our governmental policy on the question of French war prisoners has recently shown clearly the brotherly attitude of our people toward the French people. We admire and thank the French people who have fought bitterly for five years to bring to an end the dirty war in Vietnam. The success of this struggle has brought great difficulties to our enemies and great encouragement to our people. Our whole heart lies with Raymond Diel, Henri Martin, the fighters for peace of Roannes, the dock workers of Havre, the worthy sons and daughters of France who are our brothers and sisters. Here we salute fraternally the progressive journalists of France who have the courage to tell the truth about the war in Vietnam and thus have enlightened French public opinion on the question. While the servitors of the Bank of Indo China and of Wall Street, sitting calmly in the Paris cafés, try to invent a thousand lies about our resistance movement, Mr. Leo Figuières, editor of l'Avant- Garde, came clear to our country to seek the truth. His reports in l'Humanité have aroused French and world public opinion and enraged the French reactionaries( and their lackeys of the pen). Vietnamese journalists congratulate him and thank him as they thank all the progressive journalists of the world for their support in our struggle. In the struggle of the journalists for peace, the question of coordination of the struggles of journalists in countries invaded by imperialism and journalists in capitalist countries, coordination effected by the IOJ, is in our opinion a concrete and important means of defending peace. We express our solidarity with the progressive journalists of the United States and we are sure that they will do all they can to enlighten American opinion on the criminal guilt of the American imperialists in the aggression particularly in Korea and Vietnam. Journalists of Vietnam and their Struggle for National Independence and Peace 163 We wish here to denounce, before you the progressive journalists of all countries, the worst atrocities committed in our country by the expeditionary forces on the order of their barbarous leaders: villages burnt, market- places bombed, harvests destroyed, our sisters violated, our mothers and children massacred, Vietnamese war prisoners tortured in a Hitlerite way in their concentration camp, while their prisoners of war receive from us the good treatment inspired by our people's spirit of humanity. For ten years, undergoing two successive wars, our people have been thirsting for peace throughout the world. They fully adhere to the mighty movement of the partisans of peace and at this time our Press is playing an effective role in the campaign for signing the Stockholm Appeal and does its part in the resistance movement. Our journalist organization is a member of the national peace committee. In spite of very difficulty conditions in regard to communication, the gathering of signatures in our country has brought magnificent results, according to the first reports. The majority of workers and students have signed, the majority of the population in partisan areas have signed. Our soldiers sign between battles. They are convinced that each signature put to the Appeal has the effect of a bullet in the heart of the enemy of peace. In the framework of the powerful peace movement, the Vietnamese people are gathering all their forces to destroy the French colonial rulers, to shatter all the aggressive manoeuvres of the American imperialists, to contribute to the defense of peace and democracy. In face of a threat of world war, in the front lines of the anti- imperialist front in southest Asia, the people of Vietnam are fully aware of their task. Today, after successes in the world camp of peace and democracy, especially after the huge victory of the Chinese people, after the greater and greater victories gained in our struggle over the past years, our people are about to mobilize to drive the enemy quickly out of our country. The Vietnam journalists, closely united with their people, are mobilizing their forces to appeal to the people to give all in passing over to a general counteroffensive. Here before you, dear comrades and colleagues, fighters for peace, we wish to express the will of all of us:" Everything for victory of peace." We are sure that after this Congress, if we put forth more effort to enlighten world public opinion against the imperialist war propaganda, to mobilize the men of good will of the whole world, we can effectively contribute to the huge peace movement. The light of truth will vanquish the dark forces of the reactionary barbarians and the union of hundreds of men and women of all countries and their will for peace will stay the hands of the war mongers. 164 RESOLUTIONS OF THE CONGRESS a) Resolution concerning the report of the Secretary General of the International Organization of Journalists at the Third Congress. The Third Congress of the International Organization of Journalists approves the political and organizational work of the Secretary General for the period elapsed between the Second and Third Congress of the IOJ. The Congress fully endorses the active participation of the General Secretariat, the Executive Committee and of the national organizations of Journalists in the great movement of the Partisans of Peace, in the project of mobilizing Press workers for the mass collection of signatures to the Stockholm Appeal, in the struggle against the criminal aggression of American imperialists in Korea. The Congress fully endorses the consistent struggle of the Executive Committee and its Secretary General for unity of progressive journalists in their International Organization. The Congress brands with shame the reactionary agents of journalist organizations of the USA, England and other capitalist countries, who treacherously concealed from the members of their national organizations the resolutions of the Second Congress of the IOJ and the subsequent sessions of the Executive Committee which called on all national organizations to carry on a decisive struggle against reactionary journalists who are war propagandists. These resolutions demanded that warmongers be excluded from the IOJ ranks. During two years which elapsed after the Prague Congress they constantly sabotaged the carrying out of their organizational obligations resulting from the IOJ Constitution and, when exposed through the consistent work of the IOJ Executive, they proceeded to an open schism. The Congress declares that in spite of the schismatic policy of the Anglo- American agents of Wall Street and thanks to the entry into its ranks of new organizations from Asia, Africa and Europe, the forces of the IOJ have significantly grown and strengthened. At present the IOJ comprises journalists of 30 countries, The Congress is firmly convinced that honest journalists of the USA, England and other capitalist countries will find their way into the International Organization of Journalists and will unite their forces with those Resolutions of the Congress 165 of all progressive journalists of the world in the common struggle for peace, freedom and independence of peoples, for liberation of the Press from the fetters of capitalist monopoly and for better working and living conditions of journalists. The Congress approves the decisive action of the Executive Committee and the Secretary General of the IOJ against the trampling on freedom of speech in capitalist countries and against the cruel oppression of progressive journalists. The Congress charges the newly elected Executive Committee and General Secretariat to strengthen this struggle, proffering brotherly aid to the undaunted fighters for the people's interests, for peace and freedom, strengthening the international solidarity of all honest journalists in the world. The Congress considers that the serious problems which confront the IOJ demand further strengthening of the constant liaison between the IOJ Executive and its national organizations. The Congress charges the newly elected Presidium of the Executive Committee to offer daily aid to its Secretary General. The governing bodies of IOJ are called on to enter more fully into the work of the national organizations, giving them the necessary help and organizing the exchange of experiences in regard to their activities. The Executive of the IOJ is called on to create closer relations, for firmer cooperation of all progressive journalists in the world. b) Resolution concerning the Union of Journalists of Yugoslavia. The Union of Journalists of Yugoslavia has shown by its activity that it does not stand on the side of peace and democracy, that on the contrary, it embodies the policy of the imperialist warmongers. The Press of Yugoslavia daily carries on a base campaign of lies and slander against the Soviet Union, the People's Democracies and against the progressive forces of the whole world, as well as against progressive journalists. Today, when progressive forces support the Stockholm Appeal and struggle with all their strength to maintain peace, the Union of Journalists of Yugoslavia took a negative position in regard to the Stockholm Appeal. The Union of Journalists of Yugoslavia revealed its true face when it approved the attack of the USA on the liberty and independence of the Korean people and justified the policy of the USA. The Union of Journalists of Yugoslavia expresses in every way its 166 Resolutions of the Congress unfriendly relation to the IOJ Secretariat in Prague. It addressed to all journalist unions an open letter full of every kind of slander and attack on the IOJ. The Union of Journalists of Yugoslavia showed through its activity that it is nothing but the intellectual terrorist organization of the fascist Tito Government, the servant of American imperialists. This behaviour does not correspond to the basic principles of the IOJ, but instead is a violation of these basic principles. The Third Congress of the International Organization of Journalists hereby expells the Union of Journalists of Yugoslavia from the ranks of the International Organization of Journalists. c) Resolution on aid to persecuted journalists. ( presented by the French delegate) The Third Congress of the 107, after paying tribute to the still- fresh graves of journalists who have died as martyrs in the cause of progress, justice and peace, having established that the persecutions, arrests and imprisonments of honest journalists, who refuse to accept the law of the lie or the gag, are increasing throughout the capitalist, colonial and semi- colonial countries, affirming its unswerving loyalty to the constitution of the IOJ, adopted unanimously by the Executive Committee at Budapest in 1948, believing that the struggle against repression is linked to the general struggle for the defence of peace, and that it cannot be defeated except by the greatest possible participation of fighters for peace, raises a solemn protest against the persecutions whose victims are the honest journalists, who are shocked at the idea of an insane murder, and who are therefore declared guilty of the crime of truth, demands that all journalists who love peace and truth denounce mercilessly the miserable handful of lackeys of the pen who dishonour our profession by becoming purveyors of prisons, in order to secure the rear of the imperialist warmongers, directs the Executive of the IOJ to study the creation of an international fund for the aid of persecuted journalists, pledges itself to do everything to liberate its imprisoned colleagues, pride of progressive, peace- loving journalists, journalists who preserve the honour of their profession, and have the force of truth on their side. Resolutions of the Congress 167 d) Resolution on the withdrawal of consultative status of 107. ( Proposal of the French delegate.) The Third Congress of the 107 meeting at Helsinki and including delegates from 30 countries, has been informed of the correspondence which has taken place between the General Secretariat and the Committee of the Council for the non- gvernmental organizations admitted to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, and of the decision of July 20th, 1950, by which the 107 has been deprived of its status as a consultative organization. The Congress fully approves the attitude of the General Secretariat of the 107 and the terms of its reply. The Congress stresses that the IOJ has never acted otherwise than in conformity with the decisions of its Congresses, in other words, in favour of the freedom of the Press and of a better understanding among peoples, against aggression, splitting campaigns, and the danger of war. The Congress confirms that this activity has never differed and will never differ from the principles on which the UNO itself is founded. It protests against a decision which there has been no attempt to justify with concrete grievances. In the conviction that this is only a temporary episode in the worldwide attack which has been launched against the principles of peace and liberty by the forces who consider the application of these principles to be a hindrance to the psychological preparation for a third world war, the Congress affirms its belief that a constant and friendly collaboration between the IOJ and other international organizations, and especially with the UNO is more necessary than ever, and it will act accordingly. The Congress calls on the member organizations to try to ensure that their national delegations in the UNO make representations on the subject of the decision taken against the 107 and demand its abrogation. e) Letter to Mr. Trygve Lie, Secretary General of the UNO: The Third Congress of the International Organization of Journalists, meeting in Helsinki, strongly protests the bombardment of the civil population of Korea by American planes, and demands immediate measures by the Security Council to bring a stop to these inhuman bombardments. Further, the Congress insists that the Security Council, legally composed, take steps to bring about a prompt and peaceful solution to the Korean question. The democratic journalists call upon you, Mr. Trygve Lie, to settle the question of Korea in a just way, as the cause of peace demands, and as all progressive humanity wishes. *** f) The Congress requests the Secretary General of the IOJ to draw up the necessary information on the economic and legal status of journalists, so that it will be possible to make concrete decisions on this subject at the next meeting of the Executive of the IOJ. *** g) To improve the financial situation of the IOJ, the Congress instructs the Executive Committee to reconsider the question of increasing the dues, and to re- determine the assessments of the different organizations. *** 168 The New Constitution of IOJ h) The Congress instructs the General Secretariat of the organization to arrange discussions and conferences between the different national organizations of journalists with reports on the political and economic situation and condition of the Press in the different countries. *** j) The Congress is of the opinion that a necessary condition for maintaining constant contact between the Executive of the IOJ and the various national organizations is the regular publication of the Information Bulletin of the Executive Committee, which should contain information on the activity of the Executive and of the General Secretariat, including the necessary directives for the national organizations. *** k) The Third Congress of the International Organization of Journalists, meeting in Helsinki, expresses its hearty gratitude to the General Union of Finnish Journalists, to the democratic organizations and to the public officials of Finland, who received the delegates to the Congress with generous hospitality, and provided excellent conditions for the work of the Congress. THE NEW CONSTITUTION OF IOJ The International Organization of Journalists was formed during the Second World War as a union of progressive and anti- fascist journalists. The main aim of the IOJ is the struggle for peace all over the world, for a better future for humanity. To attain this end, the IOJ cooperates with other international organizations which fight for peace.( Permanent Committee of the World Congress of Partisans of Peace, World Federation of Trade Unions, World Federation of Democratic Women, World Federation of Democratic Youth, International Union of Students and others.) I. Aim and tasks of the 107: 1. The maintenance of peace and the broadening of friendship among the peoples, as well as international understanding through free, accurate, honest informing of public opinion. The struggle against the spreading The New Constitution of IOJ 169 of war psychosis and war propaganda, against fascist propaganda of any sort, against nationalist or racial hatred and against the creation of international tension by means of falsehoods and calumnies. 2. The protection of freedom of the Press and of journalists against the influence of monopolies and financial groups. The defence of the right of each journalist to write according to his conscience and conviction. The protection of the rights of colonial peoples and of national minorities to publish in their native language. Support to journalists who have been persecuted for having taken up their pens in defence of peace, progress, justice, the liberty and independence of their country. 3. The protection of all journalists' rights. The struggle for bettering material conditions of their existence. The gathering and dissemination of all information concerning the living conditions of journalists in all countries( collective agreements, salaries, right to organize). Support for the union movement in the struggle for journalists' union demands. 4. The protection of the people's rights to receive free and honest information, the struggle against falsehood, calumnies and systematic misinformation by the Press, as well as against every form of journalistic activity in the service of individuals or particular groups of society whose interests are contrary to those of the working masses. II. Members of the IOJ 1. The IOJ is composed of: a) National unions of journalists. b) National groups of the IOJ. c) Individual members. 2. In countries which are represented in the IOJ by national unions affiliated with the IOJ, no IOJ group can be formed and no individual adherence can be accepted to membership in the IOJ. 3. IOJ national groups are in contact with the IOJ by means of their secretary. 4. Membership in an IOJ national group or as individual member of the IOJ does not preclude affiliation in other journalist organizations. 5. Admission of a new member of the IOJ is effected through the Executive Committee, subject to the final ratification of the Congress. 170 The New Constitution of IOJ III. Govering Bodies of the IOJ. 1. The highest organ of the IOJ is the Congress which meets every two years. Between sessions of the Congress, the Executive Committee acts as the supreme organ of the IOJ. 2. The Congress is composed of delegations of the national organizations, national groups and individual members. The basis of representation to the Congress is established by the Executive Committee which also prepares the Congress agenda. The representatives of national groups have the right to vote if their group has more than 20 members. Groups with less than 20 members, and individual members have consultative voice at the Congress. Decisions of the Congress are made by simple majority vote. 3. In case of necessity the Executive Committee can convoke an extraordinary Congress. 4. The Executive Committee is composed of representatives of the national organizations and of each national group. The Executive Committee is called in session at least once a year. The decisions of the Executive Committee are made by a simple majority vote of the organizations and national groups represented. The representatives of national groups can vote if their groups have more than 20 members. 5. Between sessions of the Executive Committee, current business of the IOJ is carried on by the Bureau which is composed of the President, six vice- presidents and the Secretary General, all elected by the Congress. 6. Relations within the IOJ between organizations, groups and individual members are undertaken by the General Secretariat, directed by the Secretary General. 7. The General Secretariat edits the IOJ journal in French, Russian, German and English. It keeps the national organizations and groups systematically informed of all its activity. 8. The Presidium, the vice- presidents and the Secretary General are responsible to the Congress and the Executive Committee for their activity. IV. Headquarters of the 10J: The headquarters of the IOJ, that is of the Secretary General of the Congress, is determined by the Congress. The New Constitution of IOJ 171 V. Dues and Administration Group and organization members, as well as individual members, pay dues according to a rate set by the Executive Committee. The General Secretariat is charged with the financial administration. VI. Disciplinary Measures 1. Any member( a national organization, a national group, or individual member) of the IOJ who spreads war propaganda, disseminates national or racial hatred, provokes international tension, spreads false or distorted information, can be expelled from the IOJ by the Congress or by the Executive Committee subject to final ratification by the Congress. 2. Any member( a national organization, a national group, or individual member) who is otherwise guilty of violating IOJ principles, or who fails to carry out his duties as member of the IOJ, is subject to disciplinary measures by the Congress or by the Executive Committee, in the form of admonition or public censure. VII. Amendment of Statutes Statutes of the IOJ may be amended by the Congress. ORBIS 3- ZÁVOD JIŘÍHO DIMITROVA V PRAZE 29. Feb. 1970 SBB N12 171870972010 DSB- 8. Juni 1965