K.G.B. RUNS RUSSIA

"A Soviet nuclear scientist granted asylum in Canada in 1967 broke a three-year silence yesterday with a lengthy public letter addressed to Russia's leaders"… The Australian," 28th August 1970.

Mr. Dotsenko is the scientist and he went on to say that the K.G.B. the Russian secret police, controlled nearly all parts of Soviet life, and that about ONE in THREE Russians was associated with the organization. This is of some significance as a most astute and penetrating document of political insight, which came to light, it is said from Russia, around the turn of the century, laid it down that ONE THIRD of the population of a country can be relied upon to spy and inform upon the other TWO THIRDS. It is interesting to have this confirmed.

RUSSIA MOVES MARINES TO RED SEA BASE

"Russia was establishing a military garrison in the Indian Ocean . . . a large number of naval infantry - the Russian marines - were expected to land at the former British crown colony of Socotra at the mouth of the Red Sea." - London Sunday Telegraph as reported in "The Age", Melbourne, 1st September 1970.

The defence correspondent of the London "Sunday Telegraph" maintained that Soviet leaders had attained an objective beyond the wildest dreams of the Czars: a military presence on the ground far beyond the frontiers of Russia. The same correspondent on August 2nd reported that Russia is stockpiling arms "every month" in Socotra and Aden, and has laid down heavy mooring buoys for large ships off the Seychelles. It could hardly be said that these effects are the result of the Wilson Administration's East of Suez policy; but it can be said that that policy was in accord with Russian objectives in the area. And it can also be said that Mr. Heath's Administration has no hope at all of retrieving the situation unless America is to guarantee nuclear protection for the several years which would be required to secure the maintenance of a fleet in the Indian Ocean which, as Sir John Glubb points out, is essential for the survival of Britain "as a whole". i.e. as a national entity.

SURVIVAL OF BRITAIN

In a letter to the "London Observer", published on 2nd August, the British authority on the Middle East, and also probably the world's authority on that part of the world, Sir John Glubb, put forward both realistic and frightening assertions, as pertaining to the Western world. He said: -

"I feel personally that the distinction between peace and war is out of date, as witness Russia's recent assumption of a dominating position in the Middle East by the use of armed forces, but without firing a shot. The art of using diplomacy and armed strength together as a single integrated system is one requiring great skill and a high standard of technical proficiency. "
" Only a British fleet in those waters can protect the commerce on which Britain lives."
" It is essential for our survival to maintain a fleet in the Indian Ocean."
" Mauritius, the ideal naval base for the Indian Ocean and for 200 years a British colony, has just concluded an agreement with the Soviets."
" This situation is a matter of life and death for Britain and should not become a tool of party politics."

There are still politicians in Australia who maintain that the Russian build-up in the Indian Ocean poses no threat to the West, and to Australia. There has even been a former Australian Minister for External Affairs, who even went so far as to welcome the Russian presence. The mind just boggles at the invincible stupidity of these men. May the Lord protect us from them!

A.L.P. STAGING A COMEBACK

"It isn't Labor Party policies, which at crucial times have kept it out of office in Canberra. Rather it has been public suspicion of how its machine men operate, suspicions which have been confirmed every time there has been a clash between the machine and the political leaders" from "The Australian", Editorial, September 1st.

We must agree that there is more than a grain of truth in this comment. Mr. Whitlam has little chance of storming the Treasury Benches until such time as he makes considerable electoral gains in Victoria. The campaign now under way to "reform" the Victorian A.L.P. Executive looks like being successful. Whether or not the die-hards of the Left in the Victorian Executive will go so far as to produce another "split" in the A.L.P. structure is problematical; but it would seem most unlikely now, as they don't appear to have the numbers.

The 1955 split, out of which grew the D.L.P. was a convulsive experience for Australian Labor, which the majority of A.L.P. supporters would not wish to see, repeated. As "The Australian" editorial points out, the approaching Senate elections will be a pointer as to the way things are going, both for the A.L.P. and also the Government. If the Gorton Government isn't right on its toes now, then it will most probably be on its beam-end in two years time. It hasn't escaped our notice that Dr. Jim Cairns has been, what we might describe, suspiciously silent over Mr. Whitlam's political surgery.

LAW AND ORDER ISSUE TO GROW

"The leader of the Opposition, Mr. Whitlam, yesterday repudiated left-wing groups who attempted to organize violent demonstrations." - The Australian, 1st September 1970.

There is no doubt that the issue of law and order, as in the United States, will become a hot political issue. Mr. Whitlam has got himself on record as condemning violence during political demonstrations. He also claimed that the Gorton Government hoped to win the approaching Senate elections on this issue. Whether or not this is true, we don't know, but we wouldn't be surprised. It needs a hot issue to lift it out of its malaise. The cynical comment by the correspondent of the above-quoted article is pretty near the mark. It is . . . "he is probably taking out insurance against possible violence during the Moratorium demonstrations on September 18th."

UNIVERSITY REVOLUTIONARIES COUNTER-ATTACK

"Seven students banned from Monash University (Victoria) are seeking a one-day student strike to support moves to have them re-instated"- "The Age", Melbourne, 1st September.

The students would appear to be taking their cue from the S.E.C. workers in Gippsland, who have been plaguing Melbourne and Victoria, with a series of one-day strikes. The banned students were officially warned in a letter to them by the Vice-Chancellor that they would be trespassing if they entered the campus. This latest move by the banned students is an outright challenge to the Monash University administration. If they are allowed to carry this challenge off the position of the Monash administration will be untenable.

If these revolutionaries are allowed to whip up support for themselves amongst the hotheads of the student body the task of the administration will become even more difficult than it is now. The administration must stand rock-firm on its decision. If these students are trespassing they can be dealt with by law. If they repeatedly trespass, they can be jailed. If hotheads at Monash get out of hand in support of the revolutionaries, then THEY can be suspended. The University HAS the authority, it must USE it. It's gloves off now!

UNIVERSITY AUTHORITY THREATENED

"Student violence…in Australian Universities was a threat to the autonomy of these institutions, the Federal Minister for Education and Science, Mr. Bowen, said yesterday. " - The Australian. 25th August 1970.

No one in this country wants to see (except the revolutionaries) a state of affairs as in some American Universities, where the police are stationed on a permanent basis. It WILL come to this if the mounting campaign of disorder and violence in Australian Universities is allowed to continue. There can be no appeasement at all with revolutionaries! They don't WANT order and discipline; their motives are political and subversive. They must be met with the full force of legal authority, and extirpated. A little more backbone is what is required by University authorities. There are encouraging signs of late that this is happening.

AUSTRALIA NEEDS ECONOMIC SANCTIONS FOR PROSPERITY

"Income tax cuts for many, widened tax relief for the disabled and moves to bring down the price of new and second-hand cars were the main items in the 1970 Budget to give pleasure to Rhodesians. " - Rhodesian Commentary, Aug. 1970.

It is ironic that Australia, a favoured nation in world trading terms, with no restrictions, embargoes, or sanctions inhibiting trade, should in comparison to Rhodesia be imposing greater economic burdens upon her people. Whilst operating on the same rules of finance and budgeting, Rhodesians are lifting economic burdens while the Australian Government increases the burden. After five years of economic sanctions applied by the rest of the world, the Rhodesian economy is returning to the individual Rhodesian greater returns in prosperity and security. We suggest Mr. Gorton should immediately send a deputation of Australian parliamentarians to Rhodesia to learn how similar benefits can be passed on to Australians.

RHODESIA SURPRISES THE WORLD

"Two recent developments confirm what is already pretty widely known in this part of the world - that Rhodesia is over the hump in her sanctions-busting operations and can look forward to a future of economic prosperity. The two developments are:
(1) The news late last week that French Renault cars are now being assembled in Rhodesia.
(2) The disclosure that Rhodesian chrome is being sold in large quantities to communist China, the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia. - Peter Younghusband in a report in The Age, August 26th.

Hoisted on our own petard with a vengeance! When the West joined with the Soviet and Red China in condemning tiny Rhodesia as the enemy of civilisation and a threat to world peace, the communists joined with the rest of the world, so far as was known and thought, in imposing a total trade embargo on Rhodesia. The United States relied on Rhodesia for her main source of supply of Chrome, but after the embargo dutifully cut off trade with Rhodesia and obtained her supplies from the Soviet at double the price. Recently, within the last few months the U.S. Government State Department filed charges against an American firm found to be dodging the sanctions and importing Rhodesian chrome. There must be some red faces in Washington, Canberra, London and other world capitals as they now discover they have been all taken for a ride by the cynical Communists who have absolutely no morality when it comes to scoring a point at the expense of an opponent.

No doubt U.S. has been buying Rhodesian Chrome from the Soviet, giving the Communists 100% profit at the same time. To be consistent, the U.S.A. Britain, Australia and the rest of the Western world should now either drop all sanctions against Rhodesia, and recognise her political sovereignty; or alternatively, the West should apply the same policy of sanctions against the Soviet and the Communist bloc. There are no prizes for those who guess what will be done.

THE MENACE OF CENTRALISATION