What Strategy for Revolution

REPLY TO CIARAN DOWD ZN g It seems to me that your assertion denys the history of your own moveMent. If there is any point where the present armed struggle can be said to have begun it is with the 'Battle of the Falls! in 1970 -- when the British army attempted the smashing of the defensive capacity of the Northern ghettoes. Our own experjence as a movement contradicts you. A member of our movement got six years in 1977 for possession of weapons and narrowly escaped a much longer sentence on an 'intent! charge -- this despite the fact that he based his case on the right to self-defence and that the judge accepted many of The irish Times monthly surveys of public opinion show a good rating for Fianna Fail's policy on the North. This isnot surprising since on no other problem have Haughey & Co, played such an intensive double game. But there is one issue HAUGHEY'S STRATEGY Haughey has good reason to follow his strategy. He knows that the Antl-imperialist movement Is weak at the level of national politics -ae Se his arguments, the British to ban marches on political grounds rather than technical.

I will accept that our own concept of As we have never accepted the right mass self-defence is under-developed of the RUC to ban or re-route marches and appears as theoretical and 1 don't see the basis of your criticism. abstract. This is because we area We would extend this concept of small organisation and have enly be- political defence in the following way: gun the work of implementing it in the response to assassination campractice, Also, as with many other paigns should be a united campaign aspects of our work, it requires an for the disbandment of the UDR and acceptance and an activity by other the immediate removal of the RUC sections of the anti-imperialist from the ghettoes, coupled with a movement to be fully implemented, propaganda campaign detalling For example, our 'sickly legalism!! British collaboration with the Loyalin urging the filing of marches is in ists. This sort of mass pressure our view part of the political defence could force the Brits to 'turn off! their of the right to demonstrate and forces Loyalist auxilliaries. which is likely to blow the whistle that we don't have a huge party on them -- that is the issue of H machine and mass electoral backing. Black, If he can succeed In keeping the debate on the North abstract -Haughey has won public credibility power-sharing, Irish dimension, by placing responsibility for the etc, -- then we won't have the Northern crisis on Britain. Yet strength to make our relevance while appearing to put pressure on felt, But If a practical Issue like Thatcher he has in fact given her a H Block becomes a central topic, free hand to ride rough-shod over then soclall sts and Republicans can the Catholic minority. When Miriam easily show their relevance. The Daly, a member of the National H que silon of H Block has a simple Block Committee, was murdered by "yes! or "no! answer. Elther you Loyalists, Haughey was silent. But, are prepared to let the prisoners next day when an RUC man was shot suffer or you are not; either you he was quick to condemn the act or you sit back, There are no »Natrocity", two ways about it, and Haughey's duplicity would be at an end.

EVASION OF A CONFLICT RELIANCE ON REPRESSION This is only the tip of Haughey's hypocrisy, not to say cynicism. All In the second place the plans which around the country Fianna Fall Haughey has for the North are councillors have been giving support based on accepting the to the H Block prisoners! demands, continued Imperialist domination of A few TDs, a Euro MP and even Ireland, This domination has Minister for Agriculture, Ray always relied on repression. The McSherry have indicated support. fast thing Haughey wants Is attention On Dublin Corporation ten Flanna drawn to this, The H Block Fail councillors voted to support the struggle threatens to do just that. prisoners! demands on humanitarian it 1s essential for the collaborators grounds, But the government itself therefore to keep the issue quaranhas remained totally silent. Obvi- tined and out of public sight. ously Haughey's strategy is to consolidate Fianna Fail's militant For Haughey to continue successimage at grassroots level while fully riding the tide of national dodging a governmental clash with sentiment he must steer clear of the British and the Fine Gael- practical Issues such as H Block, Labour opposition. And so long as he manaqes to do that is unable to deal with Loyalist assassination, Brit and RUC penetration of the ghettoes and increasing repression is unlikely to defeat the imperialist forces, © Five years ago the Republican strategy seemed to be based ona short-term defeat of the British forces. Now it seems to be a long war of attrition without specific short or medium-term aims, Finally, 1 object both to your decrying of the value of propaganda and to your dismissal of our organisation as a propagandist one. _ Very large numbers of people today support the ideas of republicanism and socialism. These ideas did not drop from the sky. Where did your own positions come from? Did their formation not involve the reading of propaganda and debate and discussion about Marxist theory? We in PD are proud of our work as propagandists, but our reputation rests not only on this but first and foremost on the agitational work we have carried out over the past twelve years and our place In every major united front organisation of that period.

| regret that | am not able to change my view of the Republican movement. lf | felt that your movement went beyond the programme of revolutionary democracy and based Itself on a programme of working class social revolution then | and the other members of PD would be member s of It. If you feel you can demonstrate this feel free to use again the columns of the Sociallst_ Republics this It will be difficult to enlfst — widespread public» support which alone can force the British to retreat, It Is important therefore that the National H Block campalgn take the fight to Haughey.

FORCE A REAL FIGHT Already a letter has been sent to Flanna Fail requesting that it clarify its views on the conditions of the political prisoners, The National Committee received no reply. Those councillors and TDs who previously expressed support must be asked why this Is the case. They must be asked to demand clarification from Haughey. Does Fianna Fall as a party support the demands of the prisoners? or are these secondary party functlénarles being used to give a false impression while Haughey makes a deal with Britain to sell-out the prisoner s?

It Is Iniportant to clarify this matter, A lot of people belleve that Flanna Fal! does support the prisoners and that Haughey will eventually do something on their behalf. Only when they see that they have been misied will they begin to act by themselves; only then will they actively support the H Block campaign.

BRENDAN KELLY