Local Government Elections: We Are Standing!

The meaning of the title, "Prisonersof Partition", the recently published pamphlet of Peoples Democracy, is sharply illustrated in the following paragraph:

"The prisoners are therefore "prisoners of partition" in several distinct senses. They arein jail because of the mass political convulsion that has challenged imperialist rule in lreland over not before!!, to 1976. The intensity of repression doesnot explain the decline. Quite the contrary, as the pamphiet argues —''The movement was able to grow and move forward even under the hammerblows of internment and Bloody Sunday. The full force of Loy— alist terror was felt after the decline of the mass movement, PD's decision to contest the May Local Government electionsin the North and to stand candidates in the areas where F itt andDeviin are standing is an important method of fighting back against the attacks by imperialism.

We will be fighting for the defence of the prisoners andpolitical status, against the Britishpresence and against the cutbacks andthe economic oppression of Irish workers. Theunity behind Bobby Sands in Fermanagh/ South Tyrone shows the way toward abroadelectoral alliance of all candidates actively supporting the prisoners. Aunited front of all groups and individuals fighting the election onan anti-imperialist and socialist programme would be an even bigger step for ward, CHALL ENGE SILENCE The mostimportantissueis, of course, the fate of the prisoners. The January H-Block/Armagh conference agreed that we would challenge the major Nationalist parties whose silence has helped to confuse the mass of the people in the lasthunger strike. The immediate way for this tobe done is for candidates actively supporting the prisoners to standin the elections.

We must face up tothe reality of the situation facing the campaign. The new hunger strikehasnot immediately remobilised the campaign. Many people who sympathize with the prisoners, andeven many who were active inthe last campaign, are confused and demoralised by the manoeuvres of the main Nationalist parties and the campaign has yet to challenge them successfully and draw these forces intoactivity. We must be wary of a strategy that leaves the prisoners totally responsible for their own defence and whichin practice wouldlead to the campaign being built on the deaths of prisoners.

Anelectoral alliance of candidIn both parts of Irelandelections will soon be taking place. The Northern local government elections are due for May 21 and Charlie Haughey couldcall arn election inthe 26 counties any time between now and June 1982.

PD is standing candidates in the Northern local government elect— ions. Wearealso convinced that itisnecessary toorganizea : socialist/anti-imperialist cam— paign by standing candidates for the 26 Countieselection. Inthe firstofatwopart series, weexplain the dangers and oppor tun— ties which arise in this situation, andhow Marxists approach the problems involved.

In ireland, incommon with most developed capitalist countries like the USA, West Germany, Japan, andBritain, elections take place at regular intervals andall that changes are the faces. Capitalists call this democracy and warn that people who want to builda socialist system are against freedomandliberty. In particular, they try to frighten usby warning of the restrictions on free debate and expression of opinion which exist in the Soviet Union and other non-capitalist states. Socialist Republic does not support abuses like these; as our regular readers will know, we fully support the struggle of the Polish workers against their Stalinist government, and the slanders and threats made against them by Moscow.

CAPITALIST HYPOCRISY But the capitalists whoclaimto be democratic demonstratea considerable amount of hypocrisy. Initshistory, capitalism