Boyeat! the Propaganda Pall

The British Government continues to upholae the system that allows tae Unionists to dictate the future of the mincrity in the six counties. The Eorder Poll's result is obvious, there could be no other cutcome in a state thats very existance is a gerrymander. But the Poll will previde an important propaganda source for Unionists. They want to wave the result like a flag tc show how "demeeratic" the six county Statelet is. But the will of the people of the Irish Nation must take precedence over that of an artificially created majority. Self dctermination for the pecple of Ireland a5 awhole is the only real democracy, but it is a @ mocracy imperialism rejects. This is why the Foll must be boycotted, anti-unionists must refuse to take part in on which they are confident of public supportthey were told, plebiscites might mean the Eorder Fell centradicthat there can be no change in In 1949, the Ireland Act, recognising theet@vice te reassure their Unionist supporters, imp..rialism's divisive games.

It is = favourite trick of bourgeois "“Gemocratic™ Governments to put big issues to the vote and prenounce the conclusion democratic. Thus, in the Republic, Lynch knew moat of the +lectorate supported LEC entry and a referendum was held, In Britein, however, most peaple opposed the LEC and no such vote was organised. Polls, the Government stated, were not in the British "tradition of democracy", they were not Constitutional. Sonehow they have managed to tear themselves away from such principles to "benefit" their Irish colony.

The helding-of ts feriier British pelicy. The 192 Treaty put forward the ides of a cemmission te determine “in accordance with the wishes of the inkebitants...the boundaries between Nerthern Ireland ard the rest cof Ireland". The Government appointed Chairman of the. Cottmission decided that in law this did not title the Commission to held a poll. Had h. decided otherwise, consid rable areas of territory might have bken transferred Scuth.

republican status of the South was under consideration at Westminster. It contained a sub-section declaring that the North would not cease te be part of the U.K. "witheut the consent of the Parliament of Northern Irelancu", Some h.t.s reasoned that with gerrymandering , the existence of the Senate, which only reflected the composition of the lower house after a period of time, and the fact that the Crewn , the British Home Sceretary in other words, could veto any parliamentary decision, that a vote by the people for a change and the ability of ParlFf bat 12 4 latent to carry this out were very different, Therefore they argued that the Treaty should be amended sc that it should read that the people rather than the Parliament had the power to make the decision.

‘Their views were attacked, All discussions should be between the Parliaments, the dismembering of the U.K, Lord horrison, Leader of the House of Com:ons, said, "this is not a simple issue thet can be put to the people which can be answered by yes or no", His arguments convinced the House. Only 26 u.E.s supported the amendment, all Conservatives and Unionists supported Morrison.

Today they have found it convenient to do an about turn. Whitelaw has atoted that the purpose of the Poll "is to provide the constit— utional position of Northern Ireland as part of the U.K. unless by the will of the majority ++. of the people of Northern Ireland, ™ 4 yes or no vete is ealled for, Bourgeois standards of law and order and of democracy change with the recuirements of the ruling class, Twent ears o -Oll was geemed unconsti etone for then it would have threatened the position of the imperialists. Today the Foll is a useful The British are risking nothing with this poll. It is net a referendum, where decisions are sent from Parliament to the pecple for ratification, nor a plbiscite, whereby the decision of the people is final.

ft is merely a poll, n= one is bound by it.

The Border Poll is a hideous pretence , put forward by the imperialists as if it would effect cur lives. The British Government has the power to decidé on U.K. territory and if alone, ind it will be the British Governemtn that decides when it has had enough, when it will be time for imperialism to relinguish power cver the six counties.

SELF LETERMINATION FOR THs IRISH NaTION!

nm place in the Sinn Fein Ard Fheis, under the pressure of £ LOUGH BUOKoLAVICLF LOUGHBUL Kos AVICE PLOUGH BOUASEKVICEELOUCHBOOKSERVICE For all your socialist literature - Plough Book Service, enin, Connolly, Trotsky, wandel, Cannon, Novack, etc, ete. A Chara, Fi regularly read the "Irish Trotskyist" and I was "All dressed up and nowhere to go..." (I.7, Ko.4). ant. evolution has tal, fore militant cum This current , even not eryetellised, dominated the Ard Fheis not by its victory in the votes but by its systematic oppos-— ition to the reformist Wing.

Your critiscism about the sticky conception of work with the U.D.A. or any other fascist orgenisation is correct, but you don*t mention that on the vote dealing with this matter, the Ard Fheis was split down the middle (137 votes against 137!) showing a huge confusion in terms of the all-Ard Fheis delegation, but also the birth of an Opposition to the traditional Ard Comhairle line!

The same thing can be said sbout the denunciation of the Communist Party of Ireland as reformist, of the two satges theory, and that if Official propaganda slanders the Provisional Alliance , sev ral Cumainn heve proposed to cease these attacks, stress— ing thet the real enemy is British Imp: rialism, Apart from that, the fact that the bookStall was dominated by Trotskyist literoture, &. Mandel, J. Novack... , and that a member of the French "Communist League (Fourth International) was applauded when coming into the Ard Fheis, ar: revealing the turn of a conSistent fringe towards Revolutionary Socialism.

Finally, all "were dressed up" and “some had somewicre to go" but to succeed they need a compass, whet you Trotskyists call a Centralis.d Combat Party!

fraternaliy, J. NcA (Ardoyne). - hayner Lysarht 18p THELARL UMFRLE - Bop Furdie 30p AN IMTauULUCTICN TU wiAbaiol bu uulOs ; - irnest mandel 555 warx, L rather surprised by the article As far as I'm concerned, an importthe ainn, of the more politically conscious rand and file, Lynch's Mandate; from front page/ The Brovisionels first hesitated, then decided to boycott. They reacted as if |they were ashamed of their policies and jwere not prep ed to put their beliefs before the el.ctorate, fearing failure at the polls. | The Officials, in marked contrast to | their policies in the North, reacted with confidence against the manoeuvres of the capitalists. They have mounted | & Sigeable clection campaign putting forwar’ their policies.

repression, the Revolutionary Marxist | Group has been Supporting ang taking an | active part in the Official's election catpaign, ; Strat gies, dtIsH TRITSLYIST Ro. 6 e7th February, 1973.

Frinted and published by the:

KHelfast branch of the Revolutionary warxist Group.

—— 72, Castle Street, Eelfast.

eERD FUR FREE CATALOCUE.

/'4

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Because of this, and because a vote to the Republican Movement is a vote against

| to boyeett, to not expest Lumch's position] to the working class to nat Lt way owards workadae class altbrnatives, is to invite defeat by the capitalist-s’