by Julie Scott

Journalist Gwynne Dyer says Canadian of- ficials treat suggestions made in his. recent films as the “diplomatic equivalent of AIDS.”

But in a cross-country tour Dyer and film producer Tina Viljoen note that audiences are heeding their controversial call for a neutral Canada.

The

Dyer- Viljoen team will make Carleton Univer- sity their next stop on Tuesday Mar. 17 when they show their latest film Harder Than it Looks, and debate it with a representative from Ex- ternal Affairs.

Department of Na- tional Defence (DND) officials and politicians first flung criticism at Dyer and Viljoen fol- lowing their film series The Defence of Canada, aired last March on CBC. Rather than playing the pawn in the superpower game, the films suggested Canada could lessen the chances of nuclear war by quitting its en- tangling alliances.

the participants.

University residences.

allocated.

THE CANADIAN NATIONAL MODEL UNITED NATIONS

(as : 4 y i S4

for young people across Canada at the International Civil Aviation Organization Headquarters

IN MONTREAL — MAY 18-23, 1987

Over five hundred young people from across Canada will attend the model UN. The simulations include the General Assembly Plenary and two committees, the Security Council and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Background materials to aid the delegates in their preparation for the conference, and mission briefings from various members of the diplomatic corps from the United Nations Headquarters in New York and from Canada will be available to

Invited guests include UN. Under Secretaries-General and several Ambassadors at the UN as well as representatives of federal and provincial governments.

e Partial travel subsidies available. © “ Delegate accommodation will be available at the McGill

Contact:

Melanie Alton Youth Projects Assistant to the Executive Director United Nations Association in Canada 63 Sparks, Suite 808 Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5A6 (613) 232-7281

Dyer promotes neutrality

Joe Clark, Minister of External Affairs, and defence minister Perrin Beatty have said Dyer’s stand is unrealistic.

In an October speech Beatty

suggested that leav- ing NATO would turn Canada into an “in- ternational freeloader,” incapable. of defending its own territory.

Dyer said he was shocked at the response to the film — not at how officials at DND and External Affairs re- acted, but at the re- sponse of the Canadian people. “I was expect- ing letters stating ob- jection but I didn’t get many. What we were saying was not too far ahead of what Canadi- ans are thinking.”

In a gallup poll after the Canada series two out of three Canadians said they favored stick- ing with Canadian al- liances: “This was an extraor- dinary response,” said Dyer. “We expected a greater number, some- thing like four out of five.”

Journalist Dyer says Canada should quit NATO.

Canadians are be- ginning to understand the nature of alliances, he — said. “Remov- ing ourselves from this game is not a horrible prospect for most peo- ple.”

David Code of DND’s infor- mation office said call- ing Canada a pawn is an “insulting sugges- tion. We have sought the protection of our sovreignty in an asso- ciation of like minded countries because it is in our interest.” He said “A lot of the Cana- dian public rejects Mr.

Dyer’s views,” but he admitted he has had “very little expression from the general pub- lic.”

Canada’s performance at the United Nations indicates Canada is not. a decisive factor in the Western alliance. Out of 22 American ‘no’ votes on 1986 UN dis- armament resolutions, Canada cast nine ‘no’ votes, 10 abstentions, and voted ‘yes’ for three. Canada _ usu- ally abstains or votes with the U.S. on nu- clear questions.

The latest Dyer-Viljoen film goes one step further than the Canada series and outlines the possibility of alternative defensive arrangements. The op- position has been quick to respond.

General George Bell, president of the Canadian Insti- tute of Strategic Stud- ies at York University, spoke at the Confer- ence of Defence Asso- ciations (CDA) annual seminar in January. “This is a slick, un- apologetic, unbalanced, advocacy film,” he said. But

Dyer responded, “un- balanced is what you call other people’s ar- guments...His

argument is just as much advocacy as ours but he’s drawing con- clusions from differ- ent premises.” Bell’s premises, said Dyer,

are that “the Russians are evil and alliances have prevented nuclear war since 1945,” and therefore NATO and NORAD are desirable.

Despite Bell’s oppo- sition, Dyer said not all of DND rejects the film. The military in the field “know there is more than one way to skin the cat. A lot of servicemen don’t agree with our conclu- sions but they are not outraged by the sugges-

tions.”

Bell disagreed, say- ing public opinion is di- vided. “Only the radi- cal fringes of the peace movement see neutral- ity as a possibility. I don’t think that when the majority thinks it (neutrality) through it would choose this op- tion.”

The CDA = should: mobilize to counter Dyer’s film, said Bell. Made up of 12 mem- ber associations repre- senting the Canadian forces and business, the CDA is a lobby group for national defence. Bell also suggested the CDA request a Com- mons committee review and hold hearings on the film.

Bill Yost, re- tired brigadier-general and director of CDA operations, said the National Film Board went overboard with the most recent Dyer- Viljoen film. “As op-. posed to giving equal

space to air the bene- fits of Canadian policy, (the film) misleads peo- ple by only represent- ing Gwynne Dyer.” CDA members will likely respond to the viewing of the film at Carleton, said Yost.

Dyer main- tained the films raises the neutrality question at a time when the Canadian public is re- ceptive and this threat- ens Canadian officials. Clearly DND and Ex- ternal Affairs think their “ox is be- ing goared,” said Dyer. “There is the feeling out there that our ideas would do defence policy a lot of good.”=

Thursday, March 26 1987 =

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