Rout for puppet armies in Indo-China

throughout the I POLICE THE position of America's puppet regimes in Indo-China is crumbling fast under the impact of the liberation forces dry-season offensive.

The sudden withdrawal of S Vietnamese troops from Cambodia's eastern provinces has thrown the Phnom Penh government into turmoil.

The Cambodians not told in advance that the Saigon troops pulling out.

In any case their efforts to eradicate National Liberation Front base areas in Cambodia had proved unsuccessful, and they made little contact with liberation forces known to be in the area.

In Laos, too, the NLF is winning major victories over the now thoroughly demoralized government forces.

Arrests in Yugoslavia ELEVEN people have been arrested in Zagreb on suspicion of hostile activity, Belgrade Radio reported yesterday.

The flats of some 50 other people had been searched on suspicion that they had engaged in counter-revolutionary activity.

The 11 arrested include Marko Veselika and Sime Djodan, university teachers, Vlado Gotovac, former editor of the Croatian nationalist weekly 'Hrvatski Tjednik' and some members of the Mother Croatia cultural club.

Observers in Belgrade believe the group involved may be the so-called revolutionary committee of 50 to which President Tito referred last month as the main force behind the attempted counterrevolution in Croatia.

Meanwhile in the central Yugoslav town of Mostar, an

JOHN SPENCER

Gen Vang Pao's Meo guerrilla army, isolated at its base in Long Cheng on the Bolovens plateau, expects final assault by the besieging liberation forces at any time.

The base is virtually indefensible. Its ammunition dump is destroyed and air communication has been almost entirely cut off.

Laotian army defences are in ruins as a result of the NLF's rapid advance.

North of the Plain of Jars, Laotian troops have been driven out of Phou Cum, leaving only one outpost in the country's north-eastern region.

South-west of the Plain the town of Sam Thong was also abandoned in haste on Tuesday as the NLF advanced. And in the southern 'panhandle' of Laos, Bang Nhik, another important strategic point, has also been evacuated.

The Americans' main fear, however, is that the liberation armies will launch their biggest offensives in S Vietnam over the Lunar New Year (Tet).

Fighting near Saigon has already been reported and US sources describe the current dry-season offensive as the most intensive ever.

It seems clear that the Vietnamese communists, fearing a deal over their country between president Nixon and Mao Tse-tung when they meet in Peking next month, are preparing a heavy military blow against the Americans to coincide with the Peking talks. More engineers back our jobs campaign ENGINEERS in Leicester are the latest workers to support the Young Socialists' Right-toWork march and campaign which culminates with a rally at London's Wembley Pool on March 12.

The city's No. 17 Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers branch say they "fully back' the campaign for the right to work, which is being taken away by the 'vicious' Tory government.

The CAV shop stewards' committee, Fazakerley, Liverpool also supports the Right### Nixon £1,250 Fund now at £337.86 AS MORE and more trade unionists give their support to the miners, one issue clearly stands out — mass action by the working class today would force this government to resign.

mained in the forefront of the struggle against the Tories. Because of this our support is growing throughout the mining districts and amongst all those joining the fight. This is the time to press ahead.

Make a big effort for January's Fund. Add an extra amount if you can. Post every donation immediately to:

January Appeal Fund, 186a Clapkam High St, London, SW4.

THE PAPER of the Soviet Writers' Union, 'Literaturnaya Gazeta' has attacked the latest book by Alexander Solzhenitsyn 'August 1914', saying it has proved 'extremely helpful anti-Soviet elements of every description'.

The 'Gazeta', firmly controlled by the ultra-Stalinist leadership of the Writers' Union, has frequently attacked Solzhenitsyn in the past. to-work marches and will donate £20. This decision followed a meeting at which a member of the YS national campaign committee explained the nature of the campaign. TOTTENHAM No 7 AUEW branch has voted to support the Right-to-Work campaign and promised a substantial donation to the campaign fund.

Their resolution of support is being put before the Haringey Trades Council and the Enfield AUEW district committee.

SOCIALISTS