Armagh Campaign Broadens

of Armagh. women prisoners, The Armagh Prisoners! Solidarity Committee (APSC) and the National H-Block Committee recently met in Dundalk to elect an eleven person sible way. committee in order to broaden the existing Armagh campalgn. The meeting attracted over 100 people, most of whom had not been previously active in raising the Issue Proposals were put forward by both Sinn Fein and the APSC. These dealt with how to raise Armagh at all H-Block public meetings, and the specific problems of women prisoners, Issues such as sexual abuse and intimidation and the lack of medical and childcare facilities, should be automatically mentioned in all publicity concerning the O'Riain, It was decided that the primary task of this eleven person committee was to support the demands of the women prisoners and win large numbers of women to support them In every pos-= Many people at the meeting were concerned that no members of the exlis—ting Dublin APSC were elected, It was decided before the meeting closed that Ruth Talllon of the Dublin committee was to be co-opted on to the committee. Further cooptions will hopefully result In peo people from Limerick Cork and Galway joining the new committee, The 12 elected in Dundalk were; Rita O'Hara, Slobhan Molloy, Elleen MacMullan, Marie MacMahon, Martha MacClelland, Rose MacAllister, Mairead Logue, Liz Lagrua, Margaretta D'Arcy, Ruth Talllon, Mick FELICE COHEN

9 Republic! we predicted that even | | green paper proposals, Atkins B @ would desperately push ahead with AS f 3. A vague commitment that 'appropee : ee riate arrangements be made to take Not dispensable = account of the interests of the For months now, there has been a of prisoners to associate freely political status, which is the central will become possible. serles of meetings between Humph—- there was to be no movement, requirement for the prisoners, rey Atkins and Cardinal O Fialch The fact that the SDLP and Haughey accompanied by Bishop Daly of Derry, ALL DEMANDS FOR POLITICAL The other point that must be made is are still involved in these discus— The subject of the meeting, we have STATUS that OIF laich and Daly have no man- sions around these proposals show been told Is the situation In the date to negotiate on behalf of the pris— | that there is nothing they would not H-Blocks and Armagh, But very What attitude should we take to the oners. No one can object to them agree to to restore stability here. little else Is known about these Atkins-O!Fialch talks? There can making representations on behalf of the meetings which have been held In be no doubt but that the prisoners prisoners but obviously the only people] A bit more pressure from the secret, as both sides have remained would welcome greater visiting who can negotiate on the issue of the British and they will cave in like very tight-lipped about areas of agree- rights and more frequent letters. Two WH-Blocks and Armagh are the pris- wet spaghetti and welcome Stormont ment or disagreement. of the prisoners! five basic demands oners themselves. with open arms.

Some Indication as to what Is happen- Is there any doubtthat the prisoners* The National Snash H-Block Commit- Its time anti-imperialists turned the Ing was given however, by Atkins in struggle would continue even If such tee would do well to reiterate this searchlight on this blatant an Interview with Downtown Radio In demands were granted, The prison- point publicly. It would also do well collaboration. We must demand an early August. Here he indicated ers! five demands cannot be bartered to demand that the Cardinal and the immediate end to the talks and unite that the British government might be over, They stand together and only blshop give a full account of to defend the prisoners and prevent prepared to make some concession the unconditional granting of all five their talks with Atkins. Secret dip- repression by the RUC and the UDR on such Issues as visiting rights and demands would represent a genuine lomacy has always led to the betrayal against the anti-unlonist population. receipt of letters, But on the more victory. Only when the flve demands of the Irish people in the past} The majority of the members, from & prudence, allowed the event to pass 9 i of betrayals.~ from the betrayal of MNSWER: Faulkner —- he is No tonger in a pos!

the internees to today's blatant dis-— A 7c missal of the H-Block prisoners. 0 con anyone. He is aiso one of the few opportun-— tried to sell out and time and time without even any offer of reform by no talks until this repression is He seems to have forgotten but the again, they have been prevented by the British. Its up to the anti- stopped, Irish working class hasn't — and the mass power of anti-unionists imperialist movement to shift the it's not likely to let the SOLP, from succeeding. Yet again, they focus back to the plight of the pris- After Bloody Sunday, Hume called stand in its way for another ten are involved in talks —- this time oners and to demand that there be for 'a United Ireland or Nothing!. years, 21st August this year marked the tenth year of the SDLP's existence.

motives of either modesty or in decent obscurity. SDLP leader John Hume was not so circumspect. In a major speech, he dramatically illustrated once again the capacity What in Hume's view was the high point of the past ten years? The nogo areas? The fall of Stormont? These aren't even mentioned. For the SDLP, they fade into insignificance compared to their experience of power in the 1974 '!power sharing! executive. The dizzy joys of position excuse, in their eyes, the propping up of Faulkner, their backing for the RUC and UDR and the savage attacks which they led on the rents and rates strikers.

In Hume's speech, a condemnation of Britain's failure to support power sharing is linked with a continuing belief in imperialism's abllity to reform the North — a glaring example of the illogic of reformism, Perhaps Hume's wildest claim is that the SDLP has prevented the re-establishment of Loyalist rule. In fact, their whole strategy has been to negotiate the re-stabilisation of partition and they have therefore paved the way for every attempt Time and time again, the SDLP have concern just such points. But neither of that organisation for accomodation, ; to restore Stormortt. And they have = es : uO built this strategy on a whole series Ruiz: Spot the odd quit 7 It\Z = a ee > te who failed to join the SOLP if only, plans and warned local politicians SE finance powers a si 2. No Irish dimension minority!, SOCIALIST REPUBLIC PAGE 7 in the August edition of 'Socialist given the universal rejection of plans for devolution. This prediction has now been confirmed by Atkins himself. In a major speech on August 14th, he listed British And went on to warn unionists if they did not at least verbally swal= low point 3., that the British would press ahead anyway. '!The government is committed to this legislation!

ee and will be extremely disappointed if it were not brought in in the coming session!, Socialist Republic also predicted a steady increase im repression. Atkins confirmed this with a speech on August 13th when he congratulated the RUC on their defence of the Apprentice Boys! march and announced that the RUC and UDR would take over riot control duty. If the anti-unionists are crushed then any scheme, no matter how unstable,

SOCIALIST REPUBLIC THE PEOPLES DEMOCRACY bases itself on the following points:

We agree that the central :political question for the Irish people is the political, economic and military domination of Ireland by imperialism and tha€t the central task for the Irish revolution is the solution of the national question through the ending of partition and achievement of political and economic independence.

We are united in our rejection of the claim that any lasting solution to the oppression of the Irish people can be found within a 6 county framework, and in our rejection of any "right!" of the Loyalist minority to continue partition, As Marxists we believe that the capltalist state must be smashed and replaced by a workers! state and that only the organised worOn August the 13th Jack Hermon, Chief constable of the RUC, made a major speech on the role of the RUC, He said that 'wrongdoing! by members of the force would be exposed and dealth with - there was 'Ino hiding place! in the RUC for lawbreakers, By itself, this might have caused no more than a certain wry amusement amongst the victims of the orange gangsters. But the effusive responses from the SOLP and Sinn Fein - the Workers! Party (SFWP) make the issue something less than a joke.

B SPECIALS - RUC?

A glance at the history of the past twelve years shows just how ludicroud Harmon's statement was, The British police investigating the killing of Sean Devenney in Derry at the beginning of the Civil Rights struggle testified to a 'conspiracy’ of silence! within the RUC. The king class can provide the motive force for doing this.

We believe that a crucial area of capitalist oppression is women, and this is especially so in Ireland, given the history of clerical power here. Women are oppressed as a sex and even a successful revolution will not automatically guarantee the elimination of this oppression. For this reason, we unconditionally support the right of women to organise independently to fight for their emancipation, As Marxists, we believe that the working class has the ability to successfully challenge and defeat imperialism, It produces the wealth of society without being able to control or distribute it. It is potentially stronger than any other class because of its ability to organise on amass base, combining its economic strength and its strength of numbers, ual membership of the Fl.

forces in the North Local Forces:

Total imperialist We accept that workers have the right to defend themselves against imperialism, However, wedo not accept the ideology of militarism - the belief that armed groups can July: substitute themselves for the mas- Taggart ses and win freedom for them, Brady We believe in the building of an August: organised and experienced |eadership, in a Marxist party based on the Leninist theory of party organisation: the central feature Taggart of which is democratic centralism.

The organisation is internationalist. It commits itself to holding an organised discussion with repres-— entatives of the Fourth Inter= national on the question of affiliation to the Fl. Members of the organisation may hold individe Guilty One TABLE: The imperialist British Army 11, 900 RUC 7, 000 RUC reserve 5, 000 UDR 7,500 Total 19, 500 forces 31, 400 In the July issue, we launched an appeal for a support Fund for Socialist Republic. With a target of £50 per issue, the fund has been slow to get off the ground. Holidays and theSummer lull are the cause.

There are big issues to be covered, H-Block Campaign, N. Wage Agreement, Contraception and Abortion campaigns, You want to read about them, we want to write about them. Send all you can to: Paper Fund, 38 Clanawley Road, Killester, Dublin 5.

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; >| that he would go ahead even without (Bas, ( He listed the following proposals:

. ) their consent, S) 1. Stormont without security or