An Reabhloid: Vol. 4 no. 1, Aug/Sept 1989

j AN REABHLOID

JOURNAL OF PEOPLES DEMOCRACY

[THE REVOLUTION] Price : 60p VOLUME 4: NUMBER! AUG/SEPT 1989 OUTSIDE BEEN 80p

CONTENTS

PEOPLES DEMOCRACY CALLS FOR A CONFERENCE OF REPUBLICANS

AND SOCIALISTS PAGE 1

26 COUNTY VOTERS REJECT AUSTERITY PAGE 4

LOCAL GOVERNMENT RESULTS IN THE NORTH PAGE 8

RAINBOW POLITICS IN MUNSTER PAGE 9

FIGHTING EXTRADITION — THE RYAN CAMPAIGN PAGE 10

CAPITALIST OFFENSIVE IN EUROPE PAGE 12

SECTARIANISM AND AUSTERITY IN THE NORTH PAGE 14

ANTI-IMPERIALIST FEMINISTS MEET PAGE 17

BRITISH WITCHUNT IN WEST BELFAST PAGE 18

CHINA — STATEMENT FROM THE FOURTH INTERNATIONAL PAGE 20

We would like to thank all our readers for their support and inquiries during the absence of An Reabhloid. We halted publication in order to develop an internal discussion, and we hope to feed the results into the new Journal, which we plan to produce on a bi—monihly basis.

AN REABHLOID //4e Aevo/uton/is the political journal of Peoples Democracy. Normally, unsigned articles will indicate a formal statement of the views of the organisation. Signed articles do not necessarily refiect the views of Peoples Democracy. We welcome submissions on the issues raised in the journal from outside our organisation.

— = 8 Ea — r i

BUILD A CONFERENCE OF

SOCIALISTS AND

REPUBLICANS

The election results in the 26 ommties are not a flash in the pan. They show a real erisis of capitalist rule and a real falure of the anti-imperialist movement to address & growing radicalisation of the working class. Peoples Democracy is responding by ealling for an open confernce of Socialists and Republicans to set about the boilding of a united resistance. Below we explain why: The present governmental crisis in the 26 counties represents an historic opportunity for the anti-imperialist movement in Ireland. In part this is because of the obvious aspects of the crisis - the incoming government will carry out a renewed asuterity offensive through a weak administration riven by faction fights and squabbles. Working elass resistance, having manifested itself in the vote, will express itself ina continued fight against the cuts.

But. there are deeper reasons for seeking to realise the new opportunities that present tnemselves. In practice there is only one program put forward by capitalist parties — a program of austerity and collahoration with imperialism. The last administration had the support of all the capitalist parties in steamrollering through the cuts. Now, in the face of working class resistance, that capitalist unity has fragmented. The real Victims are Fianna Fail. For generations they have held the support of the majority of workers in the 26 counties by posing as the defenders of the national revolution. Now their support for big business and imperialism and their attacks on the working class have lost them that support. Much more significant than the overall fall in the Fianna Fail vote was the movement of votes. The tally shows a massive movement of working class votes away from Fianna Fail and their seats being saved time and again by the transfer of Fine Gael and Progressive Democrat votes. Now a Fianna Fail governent is to be preserved by the most reactionary of the capitalist parties which was itself decisively rejected at the polls.

The yoters” radicalisation and their search for a fightback led to an increased vote for the Irish Labour Party and the Workers Party. We weloome this vote as the first step in an overall fightback, but we must take into account the incapacity of both these organisations to lead a fight against austerity. Neither has an economic perspective that differs radically from their capitalist opponents. They argue about the way in which cuts are implemented - not about the need for cuts or for Irish workers to pay the debt to the imperialist banks. In fact the De Rossa leadership of the Workers Party, already far to the rignt in its support for Umionism and partition, now openly promotes “free market” solutions to the economic crisis!

But itis not in the realm of ideas that the wealmess of these organisations is met clearly seen, but in the concrete facts of the day-to-day struggle. While the parties publicly denounce the effects of the cuts, they absolutely refuse to denounce the collaboration of the trade union bureaucracy in the so-called “Programme of National

PAGE 1

Recovery” which is the very framework within which the cuts are made. This bureaucracy marches in step with the bosses° Government, sabotaging and witchunting those working class forces trying to fight back. Any party which refuses to challenge these misleaders of the trade union movement is incapable of leading the resistance to The danger of this failure of Jleadership becomes more acute when we see the marginalisation of Sinn Fein in the elections. This crisis of the anti-immerialist movement is made more apparent in light of the fact that real radicalisation has taken place but has passed Sinn Fein by. This is not restricted to the vote for Labour or the Workers Farty. A whole series of campaigns - on Water Tax, the rod licence, Hospital closures and eduction cuts - have taken place, often with republican participation, but without republican leadership. Most telling of all was the campaign of Paddy Ryan against Extradition. Both the defence campaign and the electoral campaign scored significant successes at a time when Sinn Fein’s om campaign was running into the sand. The Ryan campaign made gains because it had a relatively open democractic structure and came cut in opposition to Fianna Fail.

There is no doubt but that Sinn Fein completely misread the elkectoral suppeert for Fianna Fail amongst working people. At precisely the time that working class voters Were deserting Fianna Fail and looking for an alternative, the leadership of Sinn Fein were publicly speculating on support for a Fianna Fail Government if “the price is right. In this situation any prospect which Sinn Fein had of presenting itself as a radical alternative evaporated.

Peoples Democracy has consistently argued that the anti-imperialist movement can never make these sort of deals with Fianna Fail or any other capitalist party. The independence of the movement is a fundimental principle which is breached only at the price of dragging the movement. into the morass of cormiption which passes for politics in the “Free State” In our view the Republican leadership of the anti-inmperialist mvement is presently trying to have it both ways and this strategy had failed and has been seen to fail.

Now it really is time to choose between principled reliance on the power of working class struggles by working people or the Eitchen seale strategy which tries to halance revolutionary force against political pragmatism ( or opportunism to give it its real name). It is this balancing act and refusal to take a position that prevented the “66 committee from being more than a vehicle for comemmoration. The same attitude has hampered the development of the FADA movement in the South and stands between succcess and fsilure for many campaigns which today represent an active fightback by the working class. This pragmatism not only poisons discussion, it also stands as a bulwark against the united action on which different political positions could be tested.

The elections show the beginning of a realignment of Irish polities. They show a radicalisation of the working class and they show an incapacity on the part of the republican movement - as Gerry Adams has already analysed - to take the leadership of that radicalisation and even a failure of their attempts to develop new political Strategies. The struggle as a whole can no longer wait - it must begin to move forward and fight for the leadership of the struggle in the South. It is against this background that Feoples Democracy are calling for a conference of Republicans and Socialists for May 1990. Building such a conference will be a difficult task for all anti-imperialists at a time when the imperialist offensive is intensifying. But it is a crucial task which shouid be taken up by all anti-imperialist organisations if the 20th anniversary of the denlovment of British troops is to be used to launch 4 real renewal of the strugele.

PAGE 2

That's why today we are calling o all individual militants - inside and outside the political parties - to agitate and build for an open conference, We look to individuals, groups, parties and campaigns to publicise the conference. to plan and build it and te organise throughout Ireland to make it a suceess and give it the authority to move the stniggle forward.

At this early stage we do not wish to set limits on the direction of the conference, but neither will we attend with empty hands. In the view of Peoples Democracy the conterence should: *Qppose austerity and imperialist control] of the economy *Stand for and end to collahoration and Britain aut of Ireland *Fight for a secular society and the rights of women Oppose the “Social peace” of the trade union buresucracy and fight for democracy in the workers movement. More important than the range of slogans will be the kind of movement we set up.

Peoples Democracy will argue for a \Wnited Front structure - an open democratic framework which allows representation from organisations, campaigns, groups and individuals who support its program and are willing to unite in action to advance its aims. This open democratic structure must include the right to express views on the armed struggle. The political struggle we are propesing will not take place in a vacuum, and for the movement to have its owm ‘section 31° would be a recipe for disaster. There is 4 growing protest and resistance in the 26 counties which can only fully develop and be successful if it is linked to the struggle in the 6 counties and if anti-imperialists fight for the leadership. We should begin by uniting our own movement.

BUILD THE CONFERENCE!

BUILD THE STRUGGLE!

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PAGE 3

GENERAL ELECTION

Many commentators labelled the general election in the South ‘the unnecessary election.’ At first glance this seems true. The last government had in practice the biggest majority ever. The ‘Tallaght strategy” pronounced by Fine Gael leader Alan Dukes meant that in Practice the Fianna Fail program was backed by the entire capitalist class.

to launch a against the working extradition and even, alternative programme, polls. It enabled Haughey full-scale austerity offensive class, to in the absence of an to gain What need for an election?

implement in the opinion Yet behind the scenes resentment was growing and Fianna Fail, with its populist base, was most at Fisk and most aware of hoped, through a overall majority for further cuts. He the discontent. Haughey snap election, to win an left it too late and the election became the mechanism for the class. initial The following pattern 15 clear: ( Acrisis for Fianna Fail. [t won 44.12 of the vote - the same as in the last election twt lost 4 seats, Even sore isportant was the change in the character of its vote. There was a distinct shift away by working class voters and a number of Fianna Fail Ths were saved by Fine Gael and Progressive Desocrat transfers. Wow they have been faced into a coalition with their bitter enemies in the Progressive flemocrats and faced with implementing further cuts which will further erode their hase in the working class.

t An overall crisis for the capitalist parties. This is best illustrated by the fate of the Progressive Deaocrats. They split from Fianna Fail to develop a hard-line Thatcherite ideology coabined with support for the British occupation in the North. This is essentially the programme that all the capitalist parties supported in the last Dail, and the result for the Progressive Desocrats was that their vote chal lenge fran the working plunged from 11.8) to 5.5% and their share of Dail Seats from 14 to 4. tA shift to the left. The Labour and Workers parties gained seats The Greens came irom nowhere {o win a sutstantial vote and a seat and in Arscomson an independent mas able to take a seat fros Fianna Fail on the single issue of the closure of a local hospital. i The sarginalisation of Sinn Fein, The party took 1.72 of the poll, and no seats. This compares with 1.992 in the 1987 election, itself a bad result and was even sore striking, given that there was a large protest vote that the republican sovesent was not able to relate to.

CRISIS IN FIAMMA FAIL

The present coalition with the Progressive

PAGE 4

VOTERS REJECT AUSTERITY

Democrats is rich with irony. The Progressive Democrats were only formed 4 years ago as a solit from Fianna Fail. Relations between the two groups inside Fianna Fail and a5 separate parties have a lot to do with the evolution of Fianna Fail and its crisis today.

Fianna Fail owes its position as the natural party of government and the bourgeois party with aass working-class support to its role as “the Republican party’ - pledged to develop an independent {irish capitalisa and oppose the British occupation in the Worth. In reality it has never effectively opposed the occupation and the mild experiaent in capitalist independence was over by the early “hts. The Anglo-Irish Free Trade agreement and entry to the EEC underlined the role of the party a5 junior partner to umperialisa, The uprising of Northern nationalists threw Fianna Fail into a tailspin, one wing, led first by Jack Lynch and then by present Progressive Democrat leader Des O'Malley, wanted full-scale and open collaboration to crush the revolt. Haughey established covert intevention to keep the green card at the service of his party and in the hope of preventing a radicalisation of the Northern struggle. The battle in Fianna Fail ted to the arms trial but Haughey was the eventual victor, nine years later, Alongside the political argueent went an economic one. QO Halley stood for “financial rectitude’ - code for cuts and attacks on the trade unions, while Haughey was willing to maintain the ald pogulist tactic of making minor concessions to the trade unions in order to win their support and their guarantee to police the working class.

Time was running out for both, Successive governments Quilt up a massive foreign debt with pro-imperialist policies which, 11 anything, further de-stabilised the Irish economy, The sheer size of the crisis forced Fiamma Fail to obey the call of their

capitalist masters that the working class should pay. Also the H-Block crisis showed Fianna Fail that the Horthern struggle had a dynasic that could extend into the South and sade all-out collaboration through the Hillsborough agreement the policy of all the capitalist parties. The results were seen in the last Dail. The aost right-wing governeent for decades carried gut a ruthless attack on Health Services, cut back public expenditure and instiutionalised extradition of political offenders to Britain and the 6 county enclave.

Now, faced with a working-class backlash at the polls, Fianna Fail and their rivals in the Progressive Democrats have been forced into coalition around a programe that spells out gore cuts and attacks on living standards.

The strains on Fianna Fail had led the Progressive Democrats to split to its right.

Today the party faces collapse as its working class hase shifts to the left.

RIGHT-#ING TURMOIL

The problem for Irish capitalise is that it has mo realistic alternative to Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, the party of big business and the ranchers, has never had any hope of forming a sajority government. Traditionally it has relied on coalition with Labour, Between 1970 and 1987 the Labour Party was FG's permanent coalition partner, As a result Labour consistently lost support and the growing depth of the economic crisis sade it harder to find sops to the unions to justify the coalition. By 1987 Labour had gone so low in the polls and Fine Gael had swung so far to the right that Labour jumped from the sinking government ship. It barely survived the Febuary 1987 election, gaining only 4.4% of The ups and downs of politics—Des O'Malley wasn't smiling after his party's electoral savaging the vote ~ its lowest share since 1933 and second lowest ever since the civil war.

The then leader of Fine Gael, Fitzgerald, tried to make a virtue of necessity by dressing reaction in the clothes of reform.

He launched his ‘constitutional crusade’ which tried to win popular support for austerity and for partition on the grounds of reforming and sodernising Irish society. Unfortunately the issue he selected - reform of the divorce laws - was one that the party most closely tied to the Catholic Church would always find difficult to deliver. The rise of clerical reaction around SRUC, ‘pro-life’ and anti-divorce groups sent all the major parties scurrying for cover. fy conceding on practically all the objections raised by the Church against divorce Fine Gael aided the failure of the divorce referendum and finally put paid to the refore atrategy. paid to the “retora’ strategy. The ball then passed to O'Malley and the Progressive flesocrats. They promised to “break the sould’ of Irish politics. 8y drawing on the sass working class oppesifon to the burden of PAYE tax they hoped to exploit the vacuum created by the trade unions funking of this issue and thereby create an electoral base in the working class. The Progressive Deaocrats had no intention of making the rich and the multinational companies pay for the crisis. In fact workers were to be exploited even more heavily by cuts in health and public services. When the working class experienced this programe under the last Bai] the Progressive Democrats were finished. It did not help that big business, that had heavily subsidised the Progressive Denocrats, transferred funds to Fianna Fail when they began to implement the program of austerity, The last Dail wasa capitalist dreams come true. The unity of the capitalist offensive,

PAGE 5

the weakness of working class leadership, desoralised and paralysed the resistance. The election broke this logjam and immediately ended the unity of the capitalist parties.

Fine Gael and the Progressive Desocrats promised to invest “40 aillion in a health service that they had helped cut to the bone, while leaving the way open to further austerity by promising savings through the sacking of administrators. The voters mere not impressed. Fianna Fail claimed that the 2 years of austerity were part of a hitherto unheard of “grand strategy’. Mow that the cuts had “restored order’ to the national finances we were entering a new phase af developeent.

This is moonshine. Since the early 19705 the 2h county state has slid sore and sore into debt. Since the early 1780s all bourgeois governments have pushed through a very tough austerity policy, ‘with the alleged aim of cutting the debt. In fact the debt has continued to grow, and under Fianna Fail has gone to over 150% of gross national product.

The men coalition will continue with an escalating auterity policy which will bring it into further conflict with the working class.

Se the future holds more austerity, but the contradiction between the demands of capital and the need to retain a popular base peans continuing division within the capitalist sarties and savage infighting within the new coalition. The trend to fe left will continue a5 long 2s the reformist parties avoid a deal or coalition with the capitalist parties,

LEFT SWING

The parties of the reformist left are winning votes on the basis of working class protest,

Haughey; far froe happy aboot his future. but they are incapable of leading that protest to a conclusion. They treat the 24 counties a5 an independent capitalist state and have no alternative to a policy of debt repayeent to the imperialist banks. They are restricted to Complaints about the debt falling on the working class and calls for the rich to pay their share. The failure to confront imperialisa acts as 2 sheet-anchor, pulling thea to the right on a whole series of other iS5ue5, In the last Dail the concrete test of their willingness to fight came through the ‘back door’ of the Trade Unaon bureaucracy. While they protested the cuts on the floor of the Dail their partners in the Trade Union leadership signed a “Programme for National Recovery’ supporting the austerity drive, As the gore ideological party the Workers Party are gore constrained by these factors.

They are defined by their pro-mionist positions on the North and history of right shifts on the econoay - first developing a strategy of growth through aulti-national investment ~ i.e, precisely the policy of the capitalist parties ~ and more recently theough acceptance of ‘market forces’ to generate growth, The Labour Party's links with the trade union movement give it deeper roots and a greater stability than the Worker's party but unlike that party they are held directly accountable for the actions of the trade union bureaucracy and the operation of the ‘programe of national recovery’. The action of the Transport union leadership in sacking two WP TD's who were union officials confires this link and acts to give the Workers party a sore radical ieage - one they have done nothing to OPServe, Despite its appalling record on the National question the Labour party's search for radicalism has Jed it to toy with the green card. Labour personalities have begun to take positions on extradition, section 31 and frawe-up victims such as the Hirminghan 4, The process was taken further recently when Emmet Stagg announced that the Labour Party now supported British withdrawal. The Horkers Party leader fe Rossa denounced Stagg as ‘fascist’ for his speech.

Before the election a Workers Party drive for ‘left unity’ struck a responsive chord but rivalry over seats and their atteepts to exclude the orth from the agenda led to the initiative backfiring. [t does not help that their own hase is not fire around their pro-isperialist position - where Workers Party candidates were eliminated there was a2 substantial transfer to Sinn Fein.

Both parties have sade decisive gains, although in the general election the tendency was for the Workers party to gain seats at the expense of Labour. They took [1.42 of the yote in Dubtin compared to a labour vote af 9.5%. Two of there three gains were fora the labour party, while all five of Labours gains were from the right. However the European vote in Dublin had a combined ‘left’ vote of 45.61. De Rossa topped the poll with 75,420 votes while Labour totalled 31,431. In practice the future growth of both parties will depend to the extent to which the working class mobilises. [n the absence of wobilisation they can continue to grow on a diet of rhetoric and bluster. Any mobilisation on the streets or inthe factories will immediately present difficulties for both parties.

SINN FEIN'S FATLURE

Sinn Fein however played aleanst no role in this election. Their vote was bad in both the Several and European elections. A radicalisation has begun, and the Republicans are on the sidelines, There were plenty of warnings for Sinn Fein after the 1987 elections. At that time we wrote: “the campaign exposed weaknesses in Sinn Fein's electoral strategy. The Republicans

PAGE 6

have a perspective of building up a base through steady work on local community issues, and eventually becoming a creditle national alternative a5 a result of the accumlated gains of this work. The outoowe of these elections should dispel these illusions.” (John Meehan in International Viewpoint, 23rd Karch 1987} We were too optimistic. Sinn Fein ran exactly the same campaign this tine, only on a smaller national scale, with fewer members and jess enthusiass, To blawe the resuit on censorship, as ‘An Phoblacht’ did, as to ignore the results for other candidates wha faced minimal or largely hostile coverage.

The absence of real analysis carries the danger that anti-imperialist militants will become cynical and demoralised - less able to break out of their isolation and link up with the wider wobilisation. One tactor in the republican isolation is the military campaign and the present tendency towards a widening of targets and spectacular aistakes. In the period before the elections the boab attacks on the Belfast-Dublin rail line had negative consequences within the working class and allowed the Workers Party to go on the attack in the trade union movement.

The policies of concentrating on military struggle and political action through community work are both a result of a basic political failure by the republican sovesent.

Twenty years of stuggle in the North, the mass all-[reland radicalisation of the H#lock campaign and a left leadership have all been insufficient to move thea from a traditional programme oof Petty-hourgeois nationalise.

They constantly balance between the politics of right and left, now and again falling into the aras of the bourgeoisie.

The class struggle today demands a challenge

to the capitalist parties and support for the working class, Sinn Fein has failed recently in both these areas. The extradition campaign needed a broad oper eobilisation which conciously challenged Fianna Fail, Sinn Fein built a lobbying Organisation that did not manage to represent all those opposing extradition, The campaign claised major successes within Fianna Fail and revolt at local Jevel, When this failed to materialise the blame fell on the the apathy of the masses, yet in practice a forthright attack on Fianna Fail in Munster by Paddy Ryan build a broad campaign and a mass challange.

The Sinn Fein record in the workers movesent is even worse, They have consistently failed to target the ‘Programe for National Recovery’ and the collaboration of the Trade Union bureaucracy in the cuts. They refused to defend John Mitchell, who was witch-hunted out of [CT and then from the secretaryship of his own union (IDA) because of his criticise of the sectarian history of sany Trade Unions in the Merth and activity on issues like extradition. The reason that Sinn Fein gave: “political differences’ with Mitchell show an irresponsible sectarianisea and capitulation to the witchunt. Sinn Fein have yet to publicise their ‘political differences’ with trade union leader Phil Flynn. A former vice-president of Sinn Fein, he is the architect of the deal with Haughey and a leading figure in the witchunt against Mitchell.

The “Prograsme of National Recovery’ sas at th centre of this election. The collaboration of Trade Union leaderships delegitimised and obscured the resentment of the working class. This Jed to Hayghey’s aiscalculation - a belief in his unassailable popularity - and the calling of the election.

Haughey's losses benefited the very people =ho had been ina ‘back door’ coalition with hom through this programme. A campaign over the past two years against the collaboration of the trade union leadership could have harnessed auch of that support for anti-imperialist candidates.

The issue will not go away. The bureaucracy has totally betrayed the interests of working people. Any gobilisation will find itself locked in head-on sStuggle with thea.

Republican defence of the bureaucracy will exclude thea from the leadership of working-class radicalisation.

Sinn Fein are aware of the weakness of their position and the last Ard Fheis aimed to open out the sovement and make new alliances.

Unfortunately the crisis is so deep that even the vehicles for discussion and action - like the recently-foreed FAD and the ‘48 committees in the Morth - were not able to bring discussions to a conclusion or agree even oo minigal §=«united § «action beyond comsesoration marches. The crisis for the capitalists is unaistakeble, The crisis for the workers movesent is one of- leadership, A new leadership will be foreed in struggle, but it will be very guch weaker if it is not able to draw on the hastory and experience of the anti-imperialist movesent or if it does not fron the beginning come to teres with the reality of imperialist domination of our country. Thats why Peoples Democracy has responded to the elections by calling for a conference of Socialists and Republicans and why we urge that militants work with us to organise and tuild it ah Ss rc

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LOCAL GOVERNMENT

On the whole the North's results on May local 18th produced

RESULTS

government election the most convinaing Picture of the present balance of forces in the North, Although there was some erosion particularly in support, support remained solid. rural The decline in their rural support meant that Unionists gained a in Sinn Fein’s areas, their core marginal majority in Fermanagh council while in Newry and Moure and Down councils the SDLP gained an absolute majority of the seats. In Enniskillen it is likely that the Poppy Day bombing was a factor, but generally the question of the IRA’s military campaign did not lead to any significant change in the vote, despite the Warrenpoint ‘mistake © shortly before the election. There is evidence that different views of the military campaign inside the Republican movesent were iooking to the results for evidence of reaction from their supporters.

This was not in evidence, but the question will not go away, and is likely to be discussed now in pore direct teres, outside the question of gains and losses in votes.

One thing whach was quite clearly evident was the way in which the present campaign isolates and marginalises Sinn Fein outside its traditional vote. There mas a consistent pattern of Sinn Fein doing well in first counts and then losing as the votes for every other party turned to an anti Sinn Fein vote. If anything, erosion of the republican vote care froe the even more pro-ailitarist Republican Sinn Fein, who ran an abstentionist campaign, sade sore effective by the totally opportunistic way in which Sinn Fein representatives presented their decision to sign an ‘anti-violence’ oath.

They were right to stand, but wrong to divorce this from the need for defence against electoral, legal and gedia curbs and the need to challenge the SDLP and Dublin Governgent on the issue. In West Belfast the Sinn Fein vote increased by approximately 32 against the overall trend. The party polled a total of 67000 votes( 11.2%) compared with 75600 (11.8%) in the 1985 Local Governeent elections. This compares with SDLP results this time of LATS (21.70) and in E985 LLAQQOUL7.Bi).

No clearer test of the strategy of Sinn Fein - SDLP talks or the various ‘unity’ drives which failed to challenge SDLP collaboration could be found. So the SDLP made gains against a background of increasing repression, the absence of any nass struggle and an arred campaign which is seen as increasingly reckless. However these gains are not the decisive step forward that has been trumpbeted in the pedia. On the Unionist side the DUP vote took a sharp drop of Sk to IGK while that of the OP cliebed from 27.42 to 30.4%. The OUP total vote resained virtually static coapared to "85, the DUP vote went down from “likewise, The 135000 to 114500. British supremo King and the media have again hailed this as a swing to moderation’ and oa shift away = from confrontation over the Hillsborough agreement. In fact it represents a criticise of Paisley from the Loyalist far right as he distanced hieselt trom “Ulster Resistance’ following arrests in Paris linked to a missile deal with their blood brothers in the Apartheid South African government.

For Socialists and Republicans the elections confire that fA2 wave =o of = political radicalisation that followed the H-Hlock struggle and was channelled through the electoral rise of Sinn Fein has been halted.

While Republican activists talk of the ‘Long war’ and of marking time on this base it is unlikely that their enestes will do 32 county «strategy of repression is starting to lock into place.

It ts becoming increasingly urgent for the anti-imperialist soverent to break out of its isolation. For socialists that breakout aust occur in the directron of the working class in the South. fn increasingly sterile ‘Long War’ strategy linked to huanliating and demoralising ‘unity drives’ to the SDLP and Fianna Fail can only further damaye the whole sovesent,

PAGE 8

CHASING RAINBOWS

HOW "PEOPLE FIRST"

LOST ITS WAY

in May 1987 the southern state was. forced to nave a reterendum on the implications of the West Furopean integration. Since the first one in 1977 the handwagon had blithely rolled along. The promises of #411 employment, eternal sumshine and cheap wine has never materialised. Nonetheless the Brussels utopia was still able to spew out more illusions of motorways to Lonnemara, the dole in Crete and Cheap Mercedes in HoallyaArll. The Southern bureaucracy - faced with crisis after crisis - was thrilled to be able to present this latest illusion to the increasingly cynical masses. An agricultural economist who Saw sore in common between Ireland and Jamaica than with Belgium challenged this cosy concensus. Raymond Crotty went on to force a vote. Although it was defeated, the referendum on the Single European Act pushed the question of West European capitalist integration to centre stage, for however brief a time, Issues like neutrality, cultural identity, NATO and nuclear power tock centre stage from the sore mundane concerns of the neo-colony based in Dublin. Crotty’s legal adviser was a Cork radical lawyer called Joe Noonan, His remarkable professionalism and coamiteent did much to put consideration of the implications of the SEA beyond the comems of a wmellintentioned fringe. Noonan had been prominently involved on CN (Caspaign for Nuclear Disarmasent) and other alternative social issues. The result was a campaign that saw a 172 No Vote in Munster and the only constituency in the 7h-comties to vote against the SEA in 198?-Cork Worth Central.

The lessons of this intervention case to the fore in the sumeer of 1968 when attention was focussed on the implications of 1972, Various groups and individuals had eserged from earlier campaigns in Munster who were convinced that further progress towards a united capitalist Europe would spel! the end of radicalism, national resistance to imperialism and ecological awareness.

PEOPLE FIRST /WEDTHEAL

fs a result of these concerns, various individuals cage to the conclusion that a nore effective forua for opposition would be provided by the elections to the EEL parliagent in dune 1987. [t was clear that the fifth seat in the funster constituency was up for grabs. A conference mas held in Cork in November 1968 when these various concerns were articulated. It was decided in principle to run a candidate in the forthcoming European elections.

This meeting also decided to link such a candidacy to a wider political ovement which had the concern for not only the environgent but also the question af Irish identity and cultural and economic iepoverisheent. The role of British and Western imperialisa was specifically raised.

Close on 100 activists decided to call the project “People First/Meitheal’. A sovesenthowever ill-defined- was born. While the danger signs were obvious (Sen, John. A, Murphy delivered a scurrilous attack on ‘fellow - travellers and republicans’) the overwhelaing approach was non-sectarian and progressive.

PAGE 9

ur Cork correspondent Alan Bruce, doe Moonan was subsequently selected to run as 06Co the «Cl camdidate «oof )3=—sthe:~=Ss People First/Mertheal. Initially, enthusiasa was high, [t mas clear that the issues of neutrality, nationa! independence and economic sovereignty were vital issues in the Munster constituency. Mass uneaployaent and cutbacks were the only tangible results of EEC seabership for fumster workers, Noonan, sith a properly articulated campaign, had victory within his grasp.

Links were established with the Rainbow Group of the European parliament and with a radical group in Densark.

WHAT WENT WRONG?

Victory was not to be however. On 15th of dune Noonan secured a 15,00 first preference votes, Munster saw the extraordinary return of that defender of unionisa, dJobn Cushnahan, and the excellent Campaign of Fr. Paddy Ryan, So what went wrong for Noonan?

Despite its initial openess, the concept behind the campaign was essentially that of the ‘popular front’ - a unity of right and lett based on “lowest common denosinator’ politics. In these sovesents the politics of the right comes to dominate. 4 classic example was the Crotty campaign in Dublin which was a hostage to the Catholic right.

The effect in the Noonan campaign was less the direct expression of right- wing politics and wore the refusal to define a position or move from what was essentially a sedia campaign to one on the streets and in the factories. People First/Meitheal was riddled with Contradictions, Politically it never came Clean on whether it was a Green caspaign (ironically it would probably have done better if it had) or a broad anti capitalist front. Economically it never espoused a clear anti-capitalist line.

Tattically it refused to confront the evident splits in the main bourgeois parties. Morally it retused to articulate a coherent working-class viewpoint on the nature of the EEC and the possibilities of opposition to it. The refusal to take political positions led to the campaign becoming increasingly dictatorial. fa inner = circle =F non-accountable gurus imposed diluted politics and ruled out broader national questions. Unlike the Fr. Ayan campaign, no public rally or mass meeting was ever held throughout the constivency. [The campaign was based almost exclusively on Cork city for the gore esoteric fringes of West Cork hippydow!. The Fr. Ryan campaign shows a strong anti-imperlalist current asong Munster workers. For its voice to be heard a greater awareness of proletarian danocracy and the dynamics of national resistance needs to be articulated. Is it too puch to hope that next tine the forces within People First/Mertheal will actually consult the working class?

ALAA BRUCE.

EXTRADITION VICTORY IN

MUNSTER

The first concrete evidence that extradition was a4 major issue of concern to the Irish people came to light when Fr. Paddy Ryan addressed =a public meeting of S00 in (Co. Tipperary following fis return from Belgum. To the establishment, who had hoped that this Expression of opposition to collaboration was based on Pareochialism and on the fart that a priest was involved, his Euro —- election vote came as a shock.

As the word came through that the anti-extraditicon vote had topped 30,000 in Pimster the oolitical ‘experts’ and Party leaders live oo TV could not disguise their alarm. Certainly the Fr. Ryan campaign could no of a hindrerence than a help, longer be dismissed as a localised reaction to a native son, The extradition issue had been taken into every corner of Munster including the 3rd and 4th largest cities in the 32 counties. In the Southill area of Limerick City one ballot box gave Fr. Ryan more votes than any other Euro candidate, Neither could the vote be discombed a5 ‘one for the collar’ a5 the major parties had ensured through an intensive pre-election Campaign that the ‘Priest’ tag became sore The capitalist parties had to face the fact that extradition was a major issue mong the | electorate. Even John Cushnahan, former Alliance Leader and success ful Euro-candidate for Fine Gael, openly admitted that a couple of thousand Fine Bae! | supporters had voted Fr. Ryan No.1 and then reverted to their own party. Subsequently | those ‘Ryan transfers’ helped to elect | Cushnahan. Limerick obsever- Peoples femocracy Cllr. Joe Harrington.

PAGE 10

CONTRADICT LONS

The campaign had two contradictory aspects which both explain the large vote and also explain the failure to have the candidate elected. On the one hand, the united sovesent created armund the election Campaign showed just what the unity of anti-imperialists can achieve. In this respect Fr. Ryan played an important role in quickly establishing himsel} as a candidate to be trusted and one who was sensitive to, the various political tendentes that aade up the campaign. This united positive campaign secured a vote beyond its own expectations.

On the other hand a drawback of the campaign was a certain lack of democracy. fo mechanisa owas established to allow the campaign activists to have an input into strategy and tactics. On the practical level the wide = experience = which anti-imperialists have gained in contesting Clectioss over recent years was not tentralised and opportunites for an even gore effective campaign were lost.

At the political level the same applied with the election posters, leaflets, adverts and sanifesto being dram up by a saall core group oor by individuals, Luckily this caused fo Serious divisions in the campaign but, with decisions being handed dow froa above, the possibility was always there.

The closest things came to a revoll was when election workers in some areas refused to handle posters with the slogan; “Defend Irish Values - Vote Fr. Ryan". This was seen as code introducing the politics of clerical righbwingers into the campaign.

Later the sanifesto explained the slogan in teres of “erusion of our orinciples as a Caring peoples" and went on to condesn the “creeping acceptance of economic solutions such as Beef and Butter somtains while people elsewhere were starving”.

BOOST

Fr. Ryan's vote has given a auch needed boost to the anti- extradition campaign in Munster and indeed in all Ireland.

Substantial backing for the campaign case from Dublin and from Belfast where Fr. Des Wilson and others were a constant source of support. Sinn Fein, which had advanced plans to stand candidates in Munster, withdrew in favour of Ryan and diverted the resources it had earmarked for its om Campaign to the new sovesent, Seaeus Healy and his supporters in South Tipperary played a leading role in getting the campaign off the ground. The election campaign allowed the anti extradition @ovesent to be taken to new areas in an organised fashion for the first time, This included Gerry Collins on constituency of Limerick West where Aileen Dillon and Jim McNamee together with some very committed Sinn Fein eesbers and athers to put extradition to the top of the agenda and achieved excellent results.

The basis for a united militant ongoing anti-extradition Campaign at local and national level clearly exists. Over the sumeer period the Munster activists will be seeting to plan future activity in the light of the election results.

JOE HARRINGTON

International

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PAGE 11

CAPITALIST OFFENSIVE IN

EUROPE

The one thing that didn’t become an European elections was Europe itsel+. Traditionally these elections have been used in Ireland to measure the strength of oppposition to partition and the balance of forces between various parties. They also offer a chance to register a protest vote and Build campaigns. The capitalist parties have used them to reward the faithful with rich Guro-salaries and a5 a retirement ground.

issue in the All this is not too surprising. The European Parliament is 4a largely impotent talking-shop, and all attempts to popularise Europe and build a pan-European Patriotism ( in reality a European failed utterly. issues for Irish workers.

chauvinism) have Yet Europe and 1992 are important They herald a new attack on the rights of workers throughout Furope.

The elections were an attempt to give legitimacy to this new offensive. The results show that to a large extent this atteapt failed. The conservative architects of Europe suffered setbacks. The socialist parties gained - but ost of their leadeships offer no resistance to the bosses’ Europe. The result was.a crisis of leadership, with a proportion of the vote going to the extrese right, to the Greens and to far left parties

CAPITALIST NEEDS

The project of the Single European Act (SEA) and the 1992 deadline is to answer the needs of the biggest European corporations. They need to face up to competition from the i and Japan and the crisis following the 1787 stock market crash. The answer they have put forward is an econoeic restructuring around a single sarket. For the working class this means; redundancies, wages freezes, deskilling of jobs, privatisation - with attacks on the social needs of workers and on public sector workers and a constant drive to lower wages and conditions. Europe today is riven by national and regional inequalities. The new offensive will make that worse. The Europe of today holds 44 willion poor and [6 aillion uneaployed. The bosses plan to increase these numbers. Aesources will flow froa the poor to the rich and Ireland will become ever more arginalised, its population acting as a reserve army of labour for European capital.

EURI-PATRIOTISH

The bosses tried to sweeten the pill with a glossy campaign aised at developing a European patriotise - made uglier in many Countries by a growing discrimination against immigrant workers - and by compensatory financial mechanisas aimed at defusing protest. In the elections they were set by cymicisa and hostility.

The problem for the bosses is that the workers have heard it all before. Economic rationalisation and “Free Market’ policies have been in place in ast national economies for over a decade. All the policies to develop European sechanises have been in response to the inertia of the national econpaies in Europe. After each crisis the inertia returns anew, with the

PAGE 12

rights of working people further eroded.

Also in practice the big companises follow their own interests. Sometimes this is a single European market, but often the solution is alliances or mergers with Japanese or US capital. In fact, the bourgeoisie does not believe its om speeches on the virtues of economic liberalism. [he bosses know very well that inernational relations do not boil dom sieply to market relations. They need a COMO Currency, a diplomacy, an arry, a state. Without such instruments, Europe can only become a huge free-trade zone open to pressure froa all directions.

Against this background the mainstream conservative parties, seen as the architects of today's Europe, suffered most in the elections, and there was a distinct swing to social = democratic forces, aost marked in Britain, But Social Democracy is increasingly presenting itself as the most coherent and determined chaapion of Europe. fhe social democratic leaderships have presided over the failure of reformisa in their om Countries and turned away from leading fightbacks by the working class. Now they hope a capitalise organised on a Europe-wide basis tan provide an economic expansion and

that they can avoid conflict by looking for European codes on unesployaent, workers Fights, social conditions and so on. But their total and unquestioning submission to the capitalist logic of the SEA leads thes to accept and organise the social attacks implied in the 1992 project.

PROTEST

The large vote for Green parties is an indication of the radicalisatim of many voters. The Greens are against the SEA, denouncing the threat the free market presents to the environment and the logic of the European ares policy. The weakness in their position lies in their refusal to take a Clearly anti-capitalist position and turn towards the working class, Why separate an ecological commiteent from class commiteent, When the profit sotive is at the root of the evils they are denouncing?

The traditional policy of the Communist parties has been to link with the sost reactionary forces of the right against the FEC in the nase of national unity, fm example of this sort of campaign was the Erotty candidacy in Dublin.

In teras of revolutionary potential, the real focus of opposition to the EEC lay with the Sinn Fein campaign. Yet they had even less ispact in the European elections than in the local governeant elections in the North and in the General election in the South. On top of the overall probless of their election intervention came the issue of Europe and the failure of the Sinn Fein leadership to sake this an issue which sotivated their organisation and supporters and. was Seen aS a dynamic part of the struggle.

INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE

in order for this to be possible it is no longer enough simply to stand by the demands of national self - determination. Self —teterminatio. «is the «basis for a non-exploitive relationship asong nations tut, faced sith an international offensive by imperialisa we need a internationalist response that is capable of uniting struggles in many countries.

The basis of such a prespective was outlined by the Fourth international in its sanifesto for the European Elections: "We are for a Europe without frontiers, that develops comradeship between workers, brings dow artificial barriers between the peoples and frees oppressed nationalities from the straightjacket of the old state. We are for a Europe that opens up new and broad horizons for the development of material wealth, of technological resources and of How Europe’s major parties fared Seats % husan capacities, which are today fragmented and confined in narrow nation states. we are for a Europe rid of all] inequality between gen and worsen. We are for a Europe that upgrades social gains (in wages, jobs and social protection) to the gost advanced and proantes equal rights to jobs, health and education - the mast basic of fuaan rights. We are for a Europe oriented tomards the future, capable of overcoming regional inequalities, of foreseeing the damage caused by the race for profit and unbridled pillaging of natural resources.

We are for a Europe of peace and disarmament, which uses the resources today squandered om military budgets to satisfy real needs, to carry out research and to protect the environment. We are, finally, for a Europe that overcomes - rather than deepens and consolidates - the split that has divided it for aleost 5) years between an laperialist “West’ and a bureaucratic and Stalinist ‘East’ *, fs the class struggle in freland develops and seets the new international offensive of imperialism, 50 the ideas contained in the call “For a United Socialist States of Europe! will become gore central to revolutionary militants.

JEN NORTH.

Labour Conservative 32 (45) 35 (29) CemiAliance 0 (0) 6/19) Greens 0 (o) 4 (0) @ [4 i | itmty 27 (28) 40 (35) cD 27 (26 ~~ Gc 22 (27) 23133) CT Las J ae ol Sociatists” 14 (12) 18:18) Soc Dem 5 (7) 710) Lib'Rep 4 (5) 4 (6 Communists 4 (3) 6 (5) 4 a 6 7 Others 9 (5) 26(21) CO» Christian Cemocram, Soc Oam = Social Democrats, Prog Gem = Progresunes Democrai, Uivran = Libera! & Republican, EP = Extnete Pagee * Cartee Aight (Franca) includes, for 1980, beri ihe Giacard.and Vel liste,“ Sociafate {Raby} chien Social Gemocrate emats 2 (2), 6 (07%) Aasuite 2s aupected yextentay afersoon eth Tmmat counting SompeniEe

PAGE 13

THE DEAD END OF

In August and September

LOYALTY

1000, mostly Protestant, workers will be thrown on the unemployment scrapheap: 700 will be laid off from Short Bros.

from Harland and Wolff shipbuilders.

and over 300 Both companies are owned by the British government and both are about to be privatised. The announcesent of the latest redundancies tame in the week just before both companies broke up for the two week ‘twelfth’ holidays. Aweek later sany of the sane workers were passing resolutions at the end of the traditaonal Orange parades professing loyalty to the Queen and country which had just kicked thea in the teeth. Not for the first time and certainiy not for the last loyalty mas show more and more to be an aabiquous asset for Protestant workers.

Tt wasn't always luke this. The Belfast shipbuilding industry used to be the biggest in the world - employing over 30,00) workers. Shorts alone employed over 70,000 during the early 4's. Tt mas industries like these, tied to the imperial market, that forsed the economic basis for partition. Now both employ only aroumd 10,000.

Moreover such has been the decline of industry in the Worth of Ireland that they still fora a central part of the econosy - 100 of all sanutacturing jobs and half of those in the engineering industry. These are the jobs now threatened by the privatisation program. [f both companies were to fold the knock-m effect on the rest of the econoay would be dramatic. Harland and Wolff alnoe does business with 680 other Companies in the Morth and it has been estimated that a further 3000 jobs would be lost if the two fires were to close.

THATCHERISH

It as quite clear that this is a risk that the British governaent is quite presared to take. far from proving that a British withdrawal is on the way it proves exactly Ehe opposite. So confident is Thatcher of her position that the econoay in the Worth 1s to be treated in exactly the same way as that in Britain ~ even though the results could be disastrous. The position of Shorts in the Northern econoay is equivilent to a company in Britain employing 280,000 people - British Airways, Gas, Coal, Rolls Royce and daquar all rolled into one. The long decline of the Shipyard and Shorts seans that their importance as a bastion of Loyalty to Britain is now such less.

This decline is ultimately due to the long tere recession in the world capitalist economy, especially in shipbuilding but, massive subsidies notwithstanding, it has been aggravated by deliberate Governsent neglect, particularly glaring in the case of Shorts. The company has been saddled with massive interest payments, the bulk of which originated in 1964 when the governsent of the day renequed on an order. Investment has been woeful. [t averages “7,500 per eaployee, compared to an industry average of “10-15,000.

UNTONS

The trade union caspaign, faced with an uphill task, has pointed to this history of neglect, but it is clear that the bureaucrats who lead the union movement have already given up the struggle. The fight Page 14 against privatisation has given way in Shorts to demands over how it should be implemented and in Harland and Woléfs the workers have been sucked into particapation in a ‘Management /Esployee Buyout’ schese in partnership with a Norwegian shipping capitalist called Qlsen. It is already clear that while workers will be expected to put up “2 million of their ow money they are going to have absolutely no say in the running of the company. Under threat of dismissal they were asked to sign an ‘agreement’ which would mean a significant deterioration in their working conditions.

Paying tor your ow slavery seeas to be the new deal being offered by trade union leaders in the North!

LESSONS

The saga of the Morth’s shipbuilding and fircraft industry has many lessons for socialists: ~[t shows the decline of the Irish Unionist Capitalist class, again reinforced recently by the takeover of the local unionist paner “The Newsletter’ by an outside company.

“It illustrates the declining economic base for partition. Hore clearly than ever before it highlights the dead end which loyalty to dritain offers to Protestant workers. Host oof all however it reveals the continuing tragedy of the yawning gap which still resains between those fighting for a United Ireland and Socialisn and a Protestant working class facing its om attacks from imperialism while still remaining bound to it.

JOE CARTER.

THE SOCIALIST VIEW

[he #irst-thing that socialists should be Clear about is that they are opposed to the redundancies at Harland and Wolff and Shorts. They are Opposed to the worsing Of worker's conditions and opposed to privatisation. This is an elementary duty of socialists, but it needs to be said lest Some succumb to the sectarian attitude that ‘Loyalists® are now getting a dose of their own medicine. Sectarianicm 1s a cancer which has injured Nationalist workers most of all. We can not advance by promoting it.

This being said it must be understood that this is only the ABC of socialism and Connolly long ago berated ; “our socialist f#riends...who have never got beyond the ABC of the question”. The fight at Shorts and the Shipyard is not an/cannot be a siaple ‘class struggle’ with the workers on one side and the bosses and state on the other. Socialist who see the issue in these teres and secretly hope that sosehow Protestant workers can come to socialise through this econoic struggle are kidding themselves. It is quite possible for many Protestant workers to be militant om Pconowic §=— questions «and throughly sectarian as well. They see thesselves as not just defending jobs for the working class but also the privildges of their om section of that class. This is not just some sectarian idea in their heads. It is the actual reality. The ‘Yard’ and Shorts are bastions of reactionary Loyalist privilige. Socialists who refuse to confront this do a disservice to everyone, This is true not least for Protestant workers themselves. Ignoring the sectarian dimension is tantamount to condoning it and means that there is no realistic possibility of sobilising nationalist workers in the fight. Why should they if the jobs being fought for are not theirs also? The basic trade union policy of opposing voluntary redumany 15 understood because jobs are seen as belonging to the working class a5 a whole and not the property of an individual worker to sell, [t is even more clearly understood that the jobs in the two fires are not the propery of the whole class.

A basic point that socialists have to make is that they should. The nueber of Catholic workers in the firms aust be increased until it reflects the balance in the overall population and trade unionists should be in the forefront of the fight to enforce this.

OBJECT ONS

A standard objection is that this seans sacking Protestants to employ Catholics, Thats simply a lie. Recruiteent for new jobs and normal stat? turnover should be utilised positively to achieve equality.

Anyone objecting to this is only paying lip service to equality - all other proposals are Sleply window-dressing which don't have

PAGE 15

ahope in hell of changing the sectarian balance. ‘Equality of opportunity’ seasures don’t lead to equality of results - and it's results that count. A second objection is the old chestnut that by raising questions of the religion ot the workforce we are being sectarian. This nonsense implies that 1 we don't talk about a problem it will go away. Sectarian discrimination exists and these who refuse to confront it are in tact capitulating to Loyalisa and abandoning the fight for socialise before they have even begun. The history of socialism in the North is littered with the fulks of so-called Soclalistswho first condoned and then went on to defend the sectarian set-up.

WORKERS UNITY

This is the socialist approach, It seeks unity of the working class on the basis of equality - not inequality and oppression.

Karl Mars explained in the ‘Communist Manifesto that the key distinguishing feature of communists was that they stood for the interest of the whole working class and not just sections of it defined by nationality, race, sex or religion. The fight for jobs at Shorts and the Shipyard can only become a fight of the whole working class if the jobs really do belong to the whole class - Catholic and Protestant.

To sany people this view sees utopian. — Protestant workers are hardly likely to spontaniously support sucha policy. The trade union leaderships are even less Likely to campaign for it. Catholic workers are by and large o the sargins of the industrial workforce and the trade union sovewent. Yet the present policy has led to many Northern Catholic workers as seeing the trade unions

as politically irrelevant. Tt has eeasculated the union movesent in the whole of [reland. ‘Worker's Unity’ has ment capitulation. to Loyalise, at best lip service on questions of repression and discrimination and at worst a cory collaboration with state forces.

The right-wing veto has gone wel! beyond the national question to engender a right-wing consensus anfcollaboration on social and econowic questions. it has helped underpin reaction in the ranks of British trade unionists and prevented discussion of the British occupation of Ireland.

The struggle for 2 true workers unity falls to socialists milling to work inside and Outside the unions to pose an alternative to the present reactimary policies based on the needs of the class as a whole.

ALTERNATIVE

Dur probleas do not end there, for what is our alternative? Opposition to privatisation isplies support for continued British governeent ownership and reinforces the tendency of Protestant waorkers to look to Britain for support. Are socialists to support British omership and control of resources which should belong to the Irish people? fur alternative is that these industries should be controlled by their workers in the framework of a 32 county national plan draw up by the trade unions and communities and presented a5 a workers alternative to the austerity measures of the British and Irish governments, the EEC and the International Honetary fund. these are the ideas that Peoples Democracy is fighting for. We realise that they are ideas that will appeal firstly to those North and South who agree with the republicans in seeing isperialist dosination as the root cause of the impoverisheent and repression of the [rish people, The road to winning the support of Protestant workers for a revolutionary programme say lead throwgh Ballygun and Limerick.

Gut above all they are ideas whose time has come. Full employment for Protestant workers (at rock -Dottom wages) rested on a systea oof British domination that partitioned the island, led to constant discrimination and ass unemployment asong Worthern Catholics, the empoverishment of the Southern economy and ensured that the inevitable uprisings on both sides of the border would be met by state repression and has now led to twenty years of continuous war, The economic base that led to the syebiosis between Loyalisa and imperialisa 1s fow in decay. laperialism can no longer deliver full emgloyeent for Protestant workers and the politics of loyalism offer no solution. [ts up to us to put the only real solutions - based on the power ot a unified working class.

IDE CARTER.

THE FLAG FLIES AT SHORTS

PAGE 16

NEW DEBATE BY FEMINISTS

A group of anti-imperialist teminists from Dublin and Belfast came together recently for a discussion and exchange of ideas. Several WOMEN travelled +¢rom Dublin to the Selfast meeting in July, which was held in the Falls Womens centre.

The meeting was the first of its kind for several years — women from North and South meeting to discuss the question of erganising as anti—imperialist feminists.

The impetus tor the exchange came form the Dublin group. They have been meeting regquiarly since October 1988 and have organised themselves as a Women Against imperialism group and have produced a short leaflet outlining their aims and what they stand tor. It was to further explore these aims and draw from the experience of Belfast women who have been in the forefront of the struggle which led to the Belfast meeting. The morning session of the meeting took reports from North and South. Particular emphasis was given to developments in the language and cultural movements and to the necessity of relating to these movements.

the afternoon Session saw Further discussion on the future plans and aspirations of the two groups.

COMPARING EXPERIENCES

[he Belfast women have formed a fightback group and are working towards building a national womens conference to be held in Belfast this October around the theme “Building on our Differences’. All aspects of the struggle against women's Oppression would be examined.

The Dublin group had set out to organise themselves as a group and bring the analysis both anti—imperialist meetings develop that analysis. of anti-imperialist feminism to the wreomens movement and the movement. . Public were planned tO examine and

ISSUES FOR DISCUSSION

It was agreed by the meeting that tasks were important, but a number of women present argued in favour of anti-imperialist women clarifying their outlook a5 a priority. The question of MLlitarism and the difficulty woen had in cricially discussing the armed struggle were reterred to. Republicanism was suggested as a discussion topic fora further meeting, a5 were the questions of economic imperialism and socialism. The latter topic was regarded as important Given the recent election results and the large protest ‘socialist’ vote in the 274 counties. both The meeting ended with agreement to hold a further joint discussion in Dublin in September. In the meantime the respective groups will meet and try to define an agenda for the tasks Facing anti-imperialist feminists today.

ANNE CONWAY.

PAGE 17

WEST BELFAST WITCHUNT

There are plenty of examples around the world of an Oppressed population being forced to rise without weapons or with pitifully few weapons and being met by terror. Palastine repression and witchunt; the in which 500 people, many of them young children, have been Filled by intifada in Israeli forces: more recently the barbaric supression of Chinese students and workers, fol lwed the terror = lies, misinformation and show trials.

At hose few events have desonstrated sore clearly Britain's role in lreland than the trials following the killing of two plainciothes soldiers at the Belfast funeral of Caolwhin Mac Bradaigh - himself a victia of the Milltown massacre.

Britain causes the violence. British repression unleashed a chain of blood. They were responsible for all the deaths, including the deaths of their om soldiers, and they have responded with a savage witchunt against the people of West Belfast which adds a new link to the chain of violence and repression. Gibralter relatives call for an inquiry.

THE FACTS

The facts are as follows: The British tried to. claw back a criminalisation policy defeated at great cost an the hunger strikes by unleashing sass intimidation and violence against republican funerals. Margaret Thatcher authorised the assassination of 3 IRA reapers in Gibralter and the RUC kidnapped the bodies as they crossed the border to prevent desonstrations of support.

fichael Stone, a Loyalist who saw himself as an auxilliary seaber of the inperialist forces, carried their policy to its logical conclusion by launching an arved attack on

PAGE 18

the funerals of the Gibralter 3. He was captured at the cost of 3 lives simply through the raw unarmed courage of West Belfast youth, When 2 glainclothes soldiers, in circumstances which have never been explained by the British, drove into the mourners and opened fire the same raw courage overcase and disarmed them and they were subsequently shot, The British have broken new ground in their drive for vengeance, On ist June Alex Murphy and Henry Maguire were found quilty of the murder of the soldiers. Chief Justice Hutton sentenced them to life leprisonment and recommended that they serve 2) years. [his was on the evidence of videotape - not one videotape - but a whole series of tapes spliced and joined to make a script for the prosecution, Jo help things along a little the tapes were computer enhanced. The court saw not what the tapes recorded but artificial pictures formed by conputer software. Even then what the tapes showed was that the tea defendents had NOT killed the soldiers - the surder verdict

involved a similiar doctrine to the doctrine of ‘comson purpose’ evolved by South African courts to pack Black desonstrators into One sonth later came annther turn of the screw - Judge McCallum sentenced Sean Lennon to 15 years and David McConnell to 9 years for “falsely imprisoning’ the two soldiers, The charges were based on the same sort of evidence and referred to the immediate struggle around the car when people were struggling desperately to defend theeselves.

dudge HcCallum referred to the right to self defence - he ruled it out. So its now official - its illegal for Morthern Nationalists to defend themselves. Sean Lennon's father was found not guilty - he is 43 and walks with the aid of 2 stick.

Yet gore was to come. A few days later Brendan Hoyne was arrested and charged with Easing gréeviows bodily hare to one of the soldiers. He is the Jlst person to be charged, 16 months after the attack, The ROC at the funeral of Volunteer Marley. State violence set the Scene for the Milltown massacre.

RC have indicated that they plan to sake

CONTRAST

All this is in sharp contrast to the trial of Milltom killer Michael Stone. Stone kept faith with his ipperialist sasters and presented no detence. He was presented a5 a lone gadean and no other arrests were made.

Tt was never explained how he obtained modem weaponry which had just been seuggled into Ireland, fow he claimed to have access to RUC intelligence files, how fe could launch his attack directly under the quns of British soldiers. or why a wan of heavily and only returned to rescue Stone after he had been captured. Mothing was ever said of Stome’s links with the UDA, which remains a legal organisation. There 15 also a sharp contrast mith the

PAGE 19

punishment seted out to the teo Grish soldiers who have ever faced the courts for killing civilians. The killer of Kidso Reilly served [8 eonths. The killer af Aiden McAnespie was fined ‘an undisclosed am.

SILENCE

The nighteare of terror that the British are Casting over West Belfast is accompanied by a deafening silence. [t is the silence of the Nationalist politicians who support the Anglo-[rish agreewent and claim to have ended “the natioanlist nightmare’.

The witchunt won't go away. We have to fight back, to organise, and to challenge and break the silence of the Nationalist collaborators.

FRANK ROSSA,

CHINA

HIS) movement was the product both of the dacades long crisis of the bureaucratic regime and of the economic and social measures ambarked on at the end of the 1970s. It was characterized from the start by democratic and egalitarian demands that struck at the very roots of the bureaucratic regime.

From the outset it created new instruments that, in the best revolutionary tradition, met the movement's need for organization and assured the emergence of young leaders and the exarcise of control over these leaders by the masses. From the first days, the working class took part in tha mobilizations and began to establish nuclsi of unions, independent of the old, ossified structures. Along with students, workers played an active role in the most significant and moving episode of the revolutionary days — the iraternization between the masses and young soldiers that pravented the application of martial law for ten days.

“Market socialism” and bloody repression In this crisis, the bureaucracy has tevealed more than ever its intrinsic weakness: the narrowness of its social base; its isolation from those masses that it falsely claims to represant; its inability, as soon as the masses go into action, to get its mechanisms of domination and manipulation to function; its awn divisions over how to deal with an ever worsening crisis and the challenge to its own power. it was for such reasons that, after some weeks of hesitation and prevarication, the bureaucratic leaders decided that thay had no choice but to unleash repression on a large scale, throwing overboard any concern for their “liberal” of “reformer” image. They have thus demonstrated that “market socialism” is no quarantee of democracy. The only way that they could crush such a massive movement was by using the army, putting in the front line those sectors over which they had the tightest control. tt was the army that crushed the movement in Beijing, and it is the army, along with the police, the secrat services, and all sorts of provocateurs and informers, that is carrying out the massive arrests that ara now taking place.The Chinese army, which was barn out of the flames of a popular and anti-imperialist war, has now perpetratad a massacre of those very popular masses who — daspite all the contradictions — identified with it for dac- The bureaucratic counter-revolution THE EVENTS of April-June 1989 in China will go down in history as a milestone in the struggle of the masses against the domination of the bureaucratic caste. A huge movement of students, workers. intellectuals and othe: sectors of the working population swept Beying and other big cities, virtually paralyzing the country. Statement of the United Secretariat Bureau of the Fourth international adeas. These events, therefore, mark the culminating point of the historic degeneration of the army.

in order to justify their crimes, the sinister figuras — in the first place that old super-bureaucrat Dang Xiaoping — who have been appearing on the Chinese television have resorted to the old Stalinist refrain. it was, they say, necessary to defand the "socialist" state against countertevolutionaries who wanted to restora capitalism. it is impossible to imagine a more blatant lie! Aside from the occasional formulation or symbol, the basic demands of the movement were for elementary democratic rights and against the oppression by the bureaucratic caste.

A party that has no Internal democracy The movement damanded an end to privileges and corruption and to the growing social inequalities. People nostalgic for capitalism do not struggle for these kinds of objectives nor adopt such forms of mass self-organization to obtain their ands! Nor do they raise their voices together to sing the International, It is the bureaucrats of the ruling caste who are responsible for the Chinese tragedy. Forty years after the revolution, no democratic institutions have been established. The fate of the coun-

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try depends on decisions by the leaders of a party that has no internal democracy whatsoever. it is thesa decisions that have led the Chinese economy from one crisis to another. The crisis, furthermore, far from easing, is getting worse. ft is the bureaucrats who explained that the solution lay in introducing a market economy, who have made concession after unprecedented concession to the multinationals of the capitalist countries and who have encouraged the development of a national private sector, in industry and commerce as well as in agriculture.

A revolutionary leadership is essential They are the ones who have dealt hard blows to the standard of living of the majority of workers and peasants and provoked the appearance for the first time since 1949 of the blight of unemployment. Thay are the ones who have conducted and are conducting a policy of compromise with US imparialism at the expense of revolutionary struggles, especially in Asia, and who have sung the praises of the West European bourgeoisies, including its most reactionary representatives, The Fourth International, which has always vigorously denounced every crime committed by the bureaucratic caste, stands unreservedly on tha sida of the students, the workers, the peasants and intellectuals of China. ft is on the side of all thosa who have given such a striking example of revolutionary initiative and combativity.

These militants, drawing the lessons of their dramatic experience, will make their contribution to the development of the revolutionary leadership whose necessity has been demonstrated yet again by the events in China.

Such a leadership is essential if the question of the replacement of the bureaucratic regime by revolutionary democratic institutions, designed to guarantee the self-organization of the masses and democratic planning of the economy, is to be posed concretely in the crises that Chinese society will inevitably experience in the future, For a united mobilization worldwide against the repression! Support the struggles of the students, workers, intellectuals and peasants of China! Down with the bureaucratic dictatorship! * June 710, 7989