First Published: People’s Canada Daily News, Vol 7, No. 47, February 24, 1977
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Malcolm and Paul Saba
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On February 23,1977, while Pierre Elliot Trudeau was kow-towing to the U.S.imperialists in Washington and pledging complete loyalty to their cause of aggression and war, his plain-clothes goons ransacked the offices of the Kitchener-Waterloo Branch of Norman Bethune Institute and the homes of several of the comrades working there. This is a cowardly and fascist attack which led to the arrest of Comrade Hardial Bains on trumped-up charges, and to the arrest of fifteen other comrades including Comrade Fred Mason from the U.S., who was declared to be unlawfully in Canada. Comrade Fred Mason was originally deported for supporting the struggle of the Cambodian people against U.S. imperialist aggression in May of 1970.
The U.S. imperialists are organizing to launch new wars of aggression like the one carried out against the people of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, and are contending for world hegemony with the Soviet social-imperialists. In their global mission against the revolutionary proletariat and people of the world, they use the reactionary bourgeoisie of each country as their base to launch the aggression. For the U.S. imperialists to launch these wars of aggression abroad, they must first suppress the people at home. The U.S. imperialists arrogantly lay claim to Canada as part of their aggressive plans and they have repeatedly carried out activities against the progressive people of Canada. The U.S. imperialists are extremely afraid of the proletariat rising up in Canada and they are extremely afraid of the existence of the Marxist-Leninist revolutionary party of the Canadian proletariat, CPC(M-L). So, for Mr. Trudeau to completely assure the U.S. imperialists that he is fine hundred percent on their side, he had to show his reactionary fangs in deeds. Herein lies the reason why the offices of the Norman Bethune Institute were attacked again, and why Comrade Bains and other members and supporters of the Party were arrested on the trumped-up charges.
Simultaneously with the reactionary attack on the NBI offices, attacks were also organized on the private residences of various comrades, including a residence in Mississauga. The attack began around 8:20 AM at NBI and continued throughout the day, leading to the handcuffing of the comrade in charge at NBI (who was forced to stand in handcuffs for hours) and the arrest of all the comrades working there at the time as well as all those who arrived later. Three women comrades were arrested in one of the residences. The ruffians organized by the state did not show any arrest warrants nor did they disclose their identity except by showing a search warrant issued in K-W authorizing these gangsters to seize any material relating to “immigration” and the kind of business being carried out on the premises. These agents of the state stole a large amount of research material and Party documents under the pretext of looking for material concerning “illegal” immigrants, etc. All the comrades were taken to the regional jail and kept there in individual cells from around 11:30 AM to 10:00 PM. They were not permitted to call their lawyers and were not given any reasons for their detention, By the time Comrade Bains was hauled in front of these gangsters at 9:30 PM, one chuckled to another: “I guess, now we can show him the arrest warrant”. Of all the sixteen persons arrested at NBI and at the private residences, only Comrade Hardial Bains, Comrade Doug Wahlsten and Comrade Fred Mason were charged, the first two with “aiding” an unlawful immigrant, and Fred Mason with being “unlawfully in Canada”. All the others were given notices to appear in court when further charges may be laid.
The reactionary state has launched one campaign after another over the years to frame Comrade Hardial Bains and deport him for his political views. During recent history alone, the state imported an FBI agent, Joe Burton, to concoct a framed-up case against Comrade Hardial Bains in February 1975. The effort was so clumsy that it backfired. The FBI agent told such lies that nobody believed him. One of his lies was that Comrade Bains took money from the North Korean embassy in Paris. Neither has Comrade Bains ever visited France or Paris, nor do the North Koreans have an embassy there. Soon after this infamous incident in which the Solicitor-General arrogantly admitted that his department was working for the FBI and was aware of the activities of Joe Burton, the state organized four MP’s from BC to launch a campaign for the deportation of Comrade Bains in March of 1975. This time Comrade Bains was accused of advocating the formation of “vigilante group” against racist attacks. Hundreds of people of the East Indian community rose up in support of Comrade Bains, and this attempt by the state also ended in dismal failure. Meanwhile, the state organized social-fascists inside the East Indian community and hired other reactionaries as well as so-called “genuine Marxist-Leninists” from outside, who carried the reactionary propaganda that Comrade Bains is not only not progressive but that he is a fascist. In this, they recruited an organization called October League in the U.S., an individual named Jack Scott in Canada, the “Communist” League in Canada and other such individuals and organizations. Inside the East Indian community, the attack was mainly carried out by an organization of East Indians calling itself the “Indian Peoples’ Association in North America”. The state also recruited the services of the Indian High Commissioner in March of 1975 who sanctified the attacks on Comrade Bains. But all this came to nothing. Their attempt to frame Comrade Bains failed miserably.
This is their third attempt in recent history to frame Comrade Bains. It shows the total bankruptcy of the Canadian state and its utter impotency that is has stooped so low as to attempt to frame Comrade Bains in order smash CPC{M-L). This, of course, is nothing new as far as state attacks on the Party are concerned. Over the years, over 2,000 arrests of our comrades have taken place. Over 25 comrades have been deported on trumped-up charges. Several bookstores have been ransacked and set on fire. In recent years, the headquarters of NBI in Montreal as well as the headquarters of CPC(M-L) have been repeatedly attacked. Besides these attacks, many comrades of CPC(M-L} have been denied citizenship, and the state has even gone to the extent of denying immigrant status even to the wives of various comrades.
All these attacks of the reactionary bourgeoisie in Canada are geared to serve the interests of the U.S. imperialists and the Soviet social-imperialists and the reactionaries of all countries. They are geared to suppress the rising movement of the Canadian proletariat against the shifting of the burden of the economic crisis onto the shoulders of the working people and against the two superpowers and the reactionary bourgeoisie of the country. They constitute desperate moves on the part of the bourgeoisie. This most recent reactionary attack of the state is also bound to end in failure. Our Party has become stronger in the midst of revolutionary struggles. No trials and tribulations, no difficulties, no amount of state attacks have disheartened or weakened the Party. This particular attack isbeing received by the Party and progressive and democratic people with the contempt it deserves. We are not cowed down by it. We shall remain undaunted in our mission to overthrow the base of reaction, the reactionary bourgeoisie and its state. The proletariat of this country will never permit the reactionary bourgeoisie and its state to carry on for too long. We are certainly going to win.
PCDN vigorously denounces the cowardly and fascist attack on Comrade Hardial Bains and the Party. We call upon all progressive and democratic people to double and triple their efforts to organize mass revolutionary struggles against the attacks of the state. We can win only by fighting. We are the vast majority, while the reactionary bourgeoisie is a tiny minority. We must rely on our own efforts and win victory!
PCDN calls upon all progressive and democratic people to support the revolutionary struggle of our Party against the attacks of the state. Oppose the frame-up of Comrade Bains and other comrades. Vigorously participate in the resistance movement against the attacks of the state.
DOWN WITH THE COWARDLY AND FASCIST ATTACK ON COMRADE HARDIAL BAINS AND THE PARTY!
DOWN WITH THE FRAME-UP OF COMRADE BAINS!
DOWN WITH THE U.S. IMPERIALISTS AND THE REACTIONARY BOURGEOISIE OF CANADA!
LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTIONARY MASS STRUGGLE OF THE PEOPLE AGAINST THE ATTACKS OF THE STATE!
ADVANCE THE RESISTANCE MOVEMENT AGAINST THE ATTACKS OF THE STATE!