India, it appears, "famine". has only . an absolute meaning -= at least as; viewed. through, the. eyes of a. eovernment bureaucrat. Sas Bd : coe ;
. ‘Those: who are experiencing “great distress" because ‘of ‘the Lightness of their diet are to be assembled in "rescue camps" and given emergency rations. oes ol,
Besides the 12, 000, 000 in- ‘Upreat. distress," another. coe 100, 200, OOO are suffering ‘from. "undernouxishment ," according to the same official source. |The: spokesman failed to indicate.how |. the line between Noreat distress" and "undernourishment" is deter—mined. ‘In any case, there appear to be no plans. to assemble: the LOO, 000, 000 -persons: into :"rescue: camps" where emergency rations . can be handed out. 2. . Se ~
‘It is reported that ‘the. U.S. government has agreed to release some-of' its ‘mountainous reserves of surplus. food for use in India. The shipments, however ;. may well turn out to be too. ., little and too late. So, ee
After all, Johnson's main concern at. the moment is not the plight of India's teeming: millions, who are’ all safely enclosed in the "free world"; he is "agonizing" over how to get $12,300,- 000 ,00U from Congress:to. step up. the:-mass slaughter. .of Asians in and "around ‘Vietnam who-have somehow got the strange idea. that. maybe.-communism is preferable to capitalism..... .°
. DEATH SENTENCES FOR 14 CP LEADERS _iN_ TRAN
~ the ‘daily Teheran newspapers published. a ‘short notice | January 24 announcing that a military court had sentenced fourteen” leaders of. the Tudeh (Communist ) party although they were not
present at. ‘tne | trial. °.. .
‘Fortunately for. the defendants, all of them are abroad ‘and. have been since 1949. [In that year they escaped from prison where they had been thr own because of their political views.
The “fourteen leaders. are. living in exile in the Soviet - Union, East Germany , France and:. Algeria. ;
The. trial procedure as well as ‘the aentences confirmed once again that the shah's pretense: at being-liberal in-his’ Qe tical views has no connection with the reality in Iran.