Peoples Demogracy for Unity and Mass Action!

THROUGH THE course of the a group within PD left to form the (now defunct) Red Republican Party.

Noel Little, brutally assassinated with Ronnie Bunting in 1980 by the UDA, was one of those who left PD at that time.

Those who stayed with PD contended that military action should be subservient to the needs of mobilising the masses politically to defeat imperialism. Armed groups, whatever their bravery or audacity, cannot substitute for involving the masses to sue socialist internationalism in a defeat their oppressors. Military real and concrete way. On both these action is not ruled out, far from it, issues they differed from the League but is seen as a tactic of the struggle, for a Workers Republic. Between not as an eternal principle. This posi- 1971 and 1978 the MSR built branches tion is still valid today and was vindi- in Dublin, Limerick and Belfast, and cated by the H Block/Armagh cam- were involved in the south around paign. issues such as police brutality, opposition to National Wage Agreements PD was not alone in suffering a split and all austerity measures in the trade during this period. All the major left union movement, in building a strong and republican forces suffered from opposition to the SFWP in USI, the splits at this period. The CPI, Official National Students organisation, and in Republicans, IRSP and the Labour building a mass womens movement Party all suffered one or more splits (Irish Women United) and a mass or engaged in undemocratic expul- campaign for free legal contraception, sions in this period of questioning In all of these issues they adopted the and retreat for the struggle. PD was method of involving the broadest unique in one major respect in that number of people and organisations in 1977 it fused with the Movement in support of the demands of the for a Socialist Republic which had oppressed. Both North and South this branches in Dublin, Belfast and united work brought together in Limerick. joint activity the comrades of MSR The MSR emerged in 1971 froma and PD and in the early days of the struggle within the Young Socialists H Block campaign we had a common on the importance of the national perspective of broadening the camquestion, and of belonging to the paign, basing it on mass mobilisation, Fourth International in order to pur- and exposing the collaboration of By Brendan Kelly strategy therefore is no longer the plans. such unity by the major anti-imperialist organisations. This was done through The brave struggle of the H Block La series of initiatives, the most imporprisoners had only begun when the tant of which were the Coalisland SWP, the American supporters of the Anti-Repression Conference, the Fourth International, organised a tour Burntollet Commemoration March in in order to raise consciousness and January 1979, and Bernadette funds for the Irish struggle. The McAliskey’s candidacy in the Eurospeakers were, Bernadette McAliskey, pean Parliament elections in June Anne Speed (MSR) and Fergus O’Hare, 1979. In each of these initiatives the (PD). During the tour and afterwards need for united defence of the political plans were made to unite the antiprisoners was made the central imperialist and working class militants priority. The eventual formation of as broadly as possible in defence of the H Block/Armagh Committee their struggles. PD and MSR began brought the first stage of this task to to discuss a principled fusion around fruition. the central issues of the Irish revolution: Since that period the work of PD in calling for the using of elections as a -1. An end to repression north & south ‘means of mobilising against imperialism 2. Complete British withdrawal from and presenting an alternative to the the North, and the establishment of a native collaborators has become fairly 32 county socialist republic well known to socialist republicans. 3. For a working class fightback against The one thread of continuity that has all cuts in living standards, and for the run through all our work over the last nationalisation of industry , financial 14 years has been the need for prininstitutions, building land and large cipled unity against imperialism. The farms sponsoring and organising of 4. To support the rights of all oppressed Bernadette’s candidature in Dublin groups in society and in particular to North Central was the latest addition actively fight for the rights of women to that continuity. (eg contraception, divorce, married Our organisation is an open, democratic, women’s right to work etc). anti-imperialist and internationalist 5. For a real internationalism. In this organisation, which is always looking context the importance of the Fourth for new forces to help shift the International as the only truly crushing weight of foreign intervention Marxist party was recognised and the in Ireland’s affairs. If you agree with new party pledged itself to defend the us then you should join and find out revolutions of other countries. Per- whether being in PD is an effective haps more important than any other way of helping to lead the Irish working _of these particular points, was the class to unity and victory.

of the anti-imperialist movement. The was caused mainly by the H Block Sinn Fein vote and the Bernadette vote; it fell over a budget which was a McAliskey campaign sponsored by PD deliberate and vicious attack on confirmed that the anti-imperialist workers, The beginning and the end of movement has a small but credible footthe 22nd Dail tells all we need to know i hold in the South. The anti-imperialist about the major issues in Irish politics; candidates polled between 5-7% an unfinished national revolution and wherever they stood. This was a result an underdeveloped economy blocked similar to that of Sinn Fein—the Workers by semi-colonial stagnation. Party. None of the major parties have any But there is no room for complacency. policies which can overcome these The momentum of the H Block problems. Fianna Fail and the Coali- campaign was not maintained. This tion have the same basic strategy: has certain implications. The hunger defence of Partition through increased strike movement found its greatest collaboration with Britain and economic support amongst the workers and the “development” within the framework poor. Yet at a time when these people of accepting imperialist domination. were looking for someone to defend In a situation of international politi- them they did not seriously believe cal tension and economic crisis this that the anti-imperialist movement policy can be summed up in two words: could play such 2 role. repression and austerity. That is what There are a number of lessons in all a growing number of Irish people are this. Firstly, the economic and social beginning to see. And the more they implications of imperialist dominasee it the less they like it. The result tion have to be systematically inteis popular distrust of the major parties. grated into the overall programme of This fact was born out by the results anti-imperialism. Anti-imperialists