How Bernadette and Michael Were Shot Unanswered Doubt

they decided to kill two birds with one stone - have us done in, ond catch the boys who.were doing it,"

The speaker is Michael McAliskey, talking to Geoff Bell of the British newspaper, Socialist Challenge, about the role of the British Army in the attack on himself and Bemadette last Januaty by the UDA. Socialist Challenge is the paper of the British Section of the Fourth Internat ional , the International Marxist Group.

In a gripping account of the shooting, Michael relates how the attack occured; how he attempted a human blockade of the front door against a combination of sledgehammers and bullets; how he feigned death ofter bullets had entered his head, shoulder and stomach; how the Brits left himself and Bernadette lying for 20 minutes without any medical treatment after they had “accidentally" stumbled upon the attock, Michael reveals how the RUC visited the McAliskey household before the attack. They were very specific about a death threat and said that it emanated from Belfast. However, they didn't seem to take it too seriously. As Michael says:

"The police wamed us of the attack about eight weeks ago. They laughed it off, saying "Don't pass ony temarks about these things."

The main theme of this book is the It was the first time the police ever came to tell us about a threat."

The refusal of the RUC to allow Michael and Bernadette to have a gun is all the more criminal in the light of this knowledge. Michael's comments are succinct and to the point:

"Obviously the gunmen who came knew we had no weapons. You don't come battering on a door if you think you'll be met by a gun.

They must have been very sure we had nothing. There's only one way they could have known and that was through the police."

This brings us to the British Army and the basis for Michael's assertion on en en ne nee cece en oo aw ae an oo oe ow ol ot we oe a om _Tomlinson._ CSE Books . SOCIALIST REPUBLIC, the First soldiers on the scene were English not the Scottish regiment based in the crea. Michoel recounts his ens while badly wounded, lying on the floor:

one of those camouflage outfits on These soldiers were dropped into the area the evening before the attack, three quarters of a mile away. They probably then staked out the McAliskey house overnight in the sure knowledge of an attack the next morning. After allowing the UDA to do their dirty work they stepped in as the ‘saviours' of the hour - quietly confident that BerIn this way they hoped to deprive the anti-Imperialist population of one of the most gifted and deterdrive the British out of Ireland for good. Todo that we must first win the demands of the struggling prisoners in the MH Blocks and Armagh. That is the task which Bernadette wus accomplishing when she and Michael were shot down. It is one we must re-dedicate ourselves to. glimpse at one of these Brit specim"His face was blackened and he had him, not the normal soldiers uniform," nadette and Michael would be dead.

mined leaders since James Connolly. The failure of the attack should make us more determined than ever to drive ITGWU Election TYBUN DISTRICT COUNCH ~e ae » = $ =, IRISH TRANSPORT 2 ws UNION ens @) GENERAL Work The conservative nature of the leadership of the Trade Union move -ment is becoming increasingly evident to broader layers of rank and file members. The bureaucracy's role of "policeman" or "watchdog" has been codified in restrictive National Wage Agreements ond clearly illustrated by inability to deliver even the most basic social reforms. or address the fundamental issue of the National Question.

Militoncy and direct action among key sections of workers continues to grow. Their determination has broken through the strangling grip of the labour bureaucrats. And these, rather than be cast aside on the ris ing wave of industrial action, are shifting ground, at social reform and ful! employment. They argue Industrial Expansion is necessary with thousands out of work Multinational investment they believe is the only major option availle-so the current orientation is to -wards more pressure on the IDA. This they pose as the major strategy to Fight unemployment.

Avoiding the issue of agriculture and necessary development of this sector, SFWP insists that small formers are to be sacrificed in order to curb the big ranchers. SFWP is content in throwing the baby out with the bathwoter.

MAKING A BID FOR POWER,