Now a New Offensive

There’s a simple reason why the British government has spent 15 months pressuring Unionists, the SDLP and the Dublin government to talk. Despite many gains for imperialism the Hillsborough agreement has failed to deliver the goods. The scene is being set for the scrapping of the agreement by the British and a substantial move to the right. During it’s history the Hillsborough agreement helped to isolate Sinn Fein and erode its support while also giving cover for further repression. Even though there wasn’t any consistent political opposition the agreement ran up against the objective contradictions of British rule. The new attempt to square the circle will also fail to address the fundamental problem of partition.

The Hillsborough accord was a disaster for the nationalist population of the North and for the Irish people generally. Loyalist and state terror have continued. New links between state forces and the death squads have been exposed. Even the Brits own fake anti-discrimination scheme fell flat on its face. Dublin delivered on extradition, on intelligence links with the RUC and on cover for British repression. The British, true to form, kicked them in the teeth each time they tried to use the much-vaunted “Irish dimension”.

The Catholic Church, with SDLP support, has ef! fectively been given control of the limited funds available for nationalist areas in the North and is using them to set upa system of patronage and black-listing of militants. In the abseace of mass struggle they can be used to convince Irish workers in the 26 counties that change is taking place.

### UNITY OFFENSIVE

A Sinn Fein policy of “unity offensives” against Fianna Fail and the SDLP has helped this process by conf using and demobilising republican supporters and led toa steady drift to the right. Today their policy is marked by a lack of both political and military strategy and a reliance on increasingly adveniurist military action.

The British have not been slow to capitalise on this. An offer of a place at the negotiating table in return for a ceasefire is aimed at exploiting this political weakness and the war - weariness of republican support.

The violent Unionist reaction to the Hillsborough deal forced the Brits (albeit with velvet gloves) to weather the worstof the storm and establish who was boss. Inan earlier settlement, the Sunningdale deal, they had capitulated toa Loyalist rising. Having toa very limited extent restrained Unionism the Brits then had to hold itup. It’s the only mass base for British rule in Ireland and must be preserved.

NEW STORMONT The Unionists have a key role to play. Britain has no solution for the “Irish problem”. It wants to stuff itina box and forget about it. The best box they ever came up with was called Stormont. In a new local administration the Unionists would get the British off the hook and act as gaolers for the national aspiration of Irish people as a whole.

Brooke has a lot to offer the local bourgeoisie. The Unionists have been complaining that the absence of parliamentary salaries is leading to the decay of their political machines. A new administration would mean millions in Parliamentary salaries, contracts and kickbacks. Security would gradually be “Ulsterised” and Britain would be able to show a clean pair of hands and claim benevolent disinterest.

In fact one sideshow running alongside the talks is a statement by Brooke that Britain has no inherent interest in Mumbo-Jumbo for the Natives AN REABHLOID Page 10

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PD is joining a Summer School in Wales with our sister organisation the International Socialist The School will run from Saturday 24th August until Thursday 29th August and the program will remaining in Ireland. Essentially he was claiming that the British presence was simply “the white man’s burden” to defend the democratic right of the Unionists to partition. (This piece of mumbo-jumbo led to howls of delight from the SDLP and a rather silly and pedantic debate with Sinn Fein.] The statement does illuminate the direction of British policy. They are prepared to utter some mumbo-jumbo about their willingness to leave Ireland (as long as they stay). In return they want they Irish constitution amended to recognise and support partition. In the North they want a Unionistadministration willing tomake cosmetic changes that the SDLP could claim as power-sharing and a new formula for “an Irish dimension” creating a new “comicopera” structure that the Unionists would be willing to live with while Dublin claims all sorts of power and influence.

SQUARING THE CIRCLE Britains problem is that after 20 years of war a decaying Group.

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Basic Marxism History of the international socialist movement The national question in Ireland Creche facilities are available For further details contact;

Joe Carter Conway Mill, Falls Rd, Belfast R. Lyseight, 38 Clanawley Rd, Kilester, Dublin ppiver cannot afford to look kindly on a permanent source of instability with a substantial political, economic and military cost. Yet the determination of force a settlement is accompanied by a lack of resources to achieve one.

Their Unionist base is a fragmented : 1adow of its former self. The economic base of an imperial maiket that sustained a relatively autonomous local bourgeoisie and a laBour aristocracy no longer apply. The Irish bourgeoisie, pulled in to cover the cracks, has swollen in number and economic weight, but much of this is hot air, leached from their integration with imperialism and destabilising their own popular base in nationalism.

At the end of the day what will square all these circles is force. Stability for Britain can only come from an historic defeat of the Irish working class. That’s why Brooke’s words of peace in practice mean more violence and repression and why we so urgently need a political leadership which will put on the agenda the only real alternative - a Workers Republic.

JOHN NORTH AN REABHLOID Page 11

VICTORY FOR THE SIX