Strengths and Weaknesses HBlock Armagh CONFERENCE

conference faced great problems and great opportunities Many striking victories have been won.The prisoners indicated confidence in the campaign and determination to continue the hunger strike in a message read out during opening of conference.The attendance of 1,000 delegates was evidence of national representation.At the first conference only 20 action groups were represented, this time 400 were registered.

As against that ,there was a grim background of dead hunger strikers [0 in all, intransigence from the British government and a chorus of slander from the Dublin Government, the conventional political parties and the Churches. It was possible that frustration would divide and break up the campaign or alternatively that previous gains could be built on.

Peoples Democracy put forward a strategy based on the fundamental achievement of the campaign-the broad sympathy of the Irish prople for the prisoners.We sought to highlight ways the campaign could move into a higher stage of unceasing mass action against the British.

LEADERSHIP OF THE CAMPAIGN.

One lesson of the campaign is that a small narowly based leadership elected directly from the conference cannot properly organise and co-ordinate all the work of the campaign.We need now a broad national delegate structurethat will represent all the forces active in the campaign; the action groups, political parties, trade union and factory committees,sporting and cultural groups and representatives womens groups, student and youth groups groups.

Such a structure is the only democratic way to represent the broad movement that exists around the prisoners and organise it effectively.It has also the advantage for affording direc rep resentation to the political parties active in the campaign.This formal structure allows the political parties to clearly put their policies on the table for debate in the campaign.It would end the present confused situation where the Republican movement resents the effective leadership of the camapaign but frequently abstains in the main political discussions. ACTION AGAINST COLLABORATOR. The main task of a new leadership would be to tight against the attacks and slanders of the Irish Government and major political parties. The campaign has demonstrated that Britain is to blame,but these forces tried to intimidate the prisoners.We called on them to stop collaboration with Britain and instead they attempted to divide and isolate. the campaign Now we must directly challenge these quislings and build mass demonstrations against Gardai and Irish Army collaboration on the border.We must actively oppose Fitzgerald’s intentions to sit down in cosy talks with Margaret Thatcher while prisoners die in the WORKERS ACTION.

The campaign has demonstrated the mass supportor the prisoners demands. Now it must transform that support into direct action against British interests. To do this, it must rely on the force represented by the working class. Delegations of workers along with relatives can build an effective organised blacking of British goods.

WOK C an be backed up by The September 6th H.Block/Armagh organise directly inside the campaign to bring the struggle in support of the prisoners right into the workplaces and the unions.

ELECTIONS.

The use of elections has led to some major victories of this campaign.

But it also has led to confusion among militants of the campaign. This is especially so with the question of using elections victories to advance the campaign asa whole We believe that future elections must be fought by non-prisone’ candidates who will use their position to build a movement for the prisoners of T.D.’s and councillors inside the campaign and be in the forefront of the mass campaign itself.

a further difficulty lies with the fact that elections raise many other questions alongside the H.Block issue questions like unemployment and the general question of the British presence that the candidate must , deal with.

The campaign should encourage the political parties to come together and establish an United Front based on an united anti-imperialist programme which would serve as the basis for an electoral intervention.

DEFENCE OF THE CAMPAIGN.

If the campaign is to succeed it must not only bring the mass of the people on to the streets, but it must be able to keep them on the streets and afford them a minimum level of security. In the North the unrestricted use of plastic bullets and the banning and physical attacks on H.Block demonstrations has meant a serious rever- : sal for the campaign.

We must build national and international pressure to reverse this trend and highlight the inaction of groups like he SDLP on this u ssue.

up to this present time, its activity has at least the effect of raising the of this for them. The campaign has raised the stakes. For the first time in many years there is an international questioning of Britain’s role in Ireland and widespread activity in support of the prisoners.

conference and organising it in a worldwide political offensive against Britain.

A crucéalissue arose at the beginning ot the conference.A series of resolutforces to.be represented or to have aign were presented. They were to ly defeated.

urgently need can not be built with such restrictions. The problem for ‘the campaign is not the number of small parties who support it, but its close identification with the Provos by the media and the enemies of the prisoners. It is deeply disturbing that leading Sinn Fein members like Daithi O’Connaill and Paddy Bolger ° voted for the ‘anti-political’ motion. This suggests they are more concerned with ensuring the dominance of Sinn fein through numerical weight rather than ensuring the broadening of the campaign if this is not so, we would like to know how | you can invite people to join a camp| aign and then deny then political rights?

' However An Phoblacht has criticised the anti-political motions and it is to be hoped that their approach will be shared by growing numbers of Republicans.

A similar problem arose in the discussion over campaign structure. PD’s f+ resolution in favour of a delegate | leadership based around the committee elected at Conference was defeated. Conference instead passed an amendment from DaithiO’Conaill for an expanded committeedirectly elected trom conference. There will also be a middle . tier involving delegates from various sectors of the an ‘advisory body’ without any guaranteed integration into the decision making of the leadership.

CONCLUSION.

The opponents of the prisoners have Instead of a factionalism there was a massive turn-out and a series of new action proposals.

and indicate that new initiatives are possible for the campaign. But a great deal of work will have to . tanks of the campaign.There is a great responsibility on the new leadership new stage of the campaign.We need a formal commitment to a broader and more democratic campaign from the Republican movement.

The Hunger Strike continues. The 5 of y work.

to win the demands of the prisoners intransigence of Britain and the costs oners.

We can best use this support by bringing all the forces together in a single CONFERENCE AND DEMOCRACY