“The UDA has expelled 'hundreds' of its members in…”
The headline could not be read by machine (it read “Respectable 7 Ppont”); the title shown is the article’s opening words. Read the scan for the printed headline.
Free Ireland1973Loyalism and unionismNo public scan is online for this item; the text below was read from a privately held copy.
Machine-read text, not corrected. Cut from the scan by machine, by the size of the headline type. Where columns were set close together, lines of a neighbouring article can run in, and a headline can be missed so that two articles share a page. For anything you quote, read the scan.
Scan page 7
The UDA has expelled 'hundreds' of its members in a major shake-up aimed at giving the Protestant para-military organisation a respectable front in advance of the local government and the new Northern Ireland Assembly elections in May and June.
UDA members who are being expelled have been accused of ‘directing operations involving hold-ups of shops, house—breaking and vehicle hi-jacking and using the name of the organisation in free-lance criminal activities’.
The UVF has played a major role -in this 'clean up'. The accused _ UDA members have been beaten up and exiled from their own areas. One leading UDA member in the Inner Council has been beaten up and accused of ‘criminal activities’ and barred from his home in the Shankill Road. hi-jacked in the Shankill Road area of West Belfast within a year.
There have been numerous robberies in Protestant areas - many of them unreported due to threats. Faced with growing disillusionment with the UDA, Charles Harding-Smith the Chairman who took over from Tommy Herron after his release from prison has ordered a 'clean-up' from top to bottom.
This attempt to put on a 'respectable’ face is a sign of the growing splits within the Protestant extremist camp. The White Paper has thrown them into confusion and they are no longer sure of their support, they must get rid of ‘unsavoury' elements within the UDA.
However, this clean-up is also an indication of the power struggle within the UDA and this is probably ¢ the real reason why certain previous prominent members have been forced to flee to England. An example of one such case was Dave Fogel.
If recent reports are any guide, a lot more will follow his example. Anniversary of the death of John MacLean, the courageous and beloved revolutionary, who was at the centre of the struggles on "Red Clydeside", during and after the First World War. He died in 1923, his health broken by his experiences in prison and his intense political work. However, unless some steps are taken, this Anniversary will go almost unmarked. MacLean's contribution to the working class movement, and the political ideas for which he stood have been almost forgotten, he is at best remembered as an ikon, who epitomised the spirit of the Clyde, but whose role and ideas are neither discussed nor understood.
And yet MacLean has increasing relevance. A discussion of his contribution raises a number of vital questions. What can be learned from MacLean's fight for an anti-imperialist, stance, by the Labour movement during the World War? What was the influence of MacLean as a theoretician and Marxist teacher compared ‘to that of the shop stewards in the shipyards and factories, and how did he influence them? What can we learn from MacLean about the relationship between revolutionary ABERDEEN PORTSMOUTH BRADFORD READING BRISTOL SLOUGH CAMBRIDGE STOKE COLCHESTER SOUTHAMPTON COVENTRY SUSSEX UNIV.
DUNDEE WARWICK UNIV.
EDINBURGH YORK FIFE GLASGOW GUI LDFORD London HAYES WEST LONDON HEMEL- EAST LONDON HEMSTEAD FINSBURY + KINGSTON HOLLOWAY LIVERPOOL NEWCASTLE — KILBURN NEWPORT ~ KINGS CROSS NORTHAMPTON SOUTH LONDON For full adresses and °* _ further details, write to The Anti-Internment League, 88 Roslyn Road, London N 15 :
= * ww The following notes from some
----- pull-quotes -----
LEEDS KENS I NGTON+ PADD | NGTON