Forum Offers No Solution!

La PLES DEMOCRACY: delighted with the evidence of the tuppence halfpenny academics and politicians who take on the role as apologists for the Northern Loyalists. Haughey, Fitzgerald, Spring ct al have no interest in seriously pushing forward towards a United lreland.

One reason for this is that the Dublin politicians know the truth - a United Ireland in which the capitalist class North and South held power under licence of the British ruling class won't work. Removing the berder but leaving the same class that has made bankrupt economies in both the 6 and 26 counties would change nothing.

“But if that class was’ removed from power - if powcr was in the hands of the working people, if Ircland was to have real national independence then that would be a different story. Haughey and Fitzgerald know this too and that is why along withthe Forum and talk about the problems of a new Ireland we still have the old policies that both Stormont and unions, on the womens SHOW TRIALS DUNLOP LEBANON CUTBACKS political development, Working people have every interest in building a New Ireland -united and independent.

We will have to organise ourselves to fight for it.

DUBLIN CASTLE SHOULD BE PART OF spage 8 Peoples Democracy was born 15 years ago this month. On the centre pages we print two articles: the first by Michael Farrell looks at the setting-up of the organisation while the second by John McAnulty traces PD’s from the militant wing of the civil rights movement to the irish Section of the Fourth International.

aca ee ee ‘STOP THE SHOW TRIALS’

SOCIALIST REPUBLIC fully supports the ‘Stop the Show Trials’ campaign launched at the Dungannon Conference. The ‘paid informer’ is one of the most dangerous attacks made by British imperialism on the nationalist movement in the last 15 years, It seeks to throw the resistance to British rule into chaos by mistrust and demoralisation throughout the movement. It has already scored some success.

The ‘money for perjury’ tactic has the full backing of the British Cabinet.

Ireland Secretary, Jim Prior, has made it clear that the British Tories are expecting to reap bumper dividends. The ‘show trials’ that have been organised along with tactics like the ‘shoot to kill’ policy are designed to intimidate and terrorise the anti-unionist people of the six-counties into retreating from the support they have given fo the nationalist movement.

The British will not abandon this tactic without a mighty struggle. Already they have been promised the full support of the Coalition government in the 26-counties. The ‘Stop the Show Trials’ campaign will have to win the support of all those who have no interest in propping up ‘British Justice’.

The campaign must rest its hopes on the mass action of the working people of Ireland. They have no sympathy for ‘the informer’. To bring the working people of Ireland into the campaign demands that it is organised in an open and democratic way. The task for the anti-imperialist movement is to fashion new doors through which working people can come into the struggle not rebuild old barriers to exclude them.

The Dungannon Conference failed in this Peoples Democracy organised a seminar in Dublin on the 18th and 19th of September on the theme "Socialists, Republicans and the New Ireland". Among the speakers were Matt Merrigan, Southern Region Secretary of the ATGWU, Joe Duffy, President of USI, SR: Have you noticed a change in_ the Irish solidarity movement in Britain over the last couple of years?

SB:Yes. Before the hunger strike the solidarity movement was to a considerable extent confined to small fringe far left groups. There was one group in the Labour Party who did some good work but their impact was minimal, The groups outside the Labour Party were sowing suspicion, Northern Bernadette MacAliskey, Michael Farrell and Greater London Councillor Steve Bundred who spoke at the seminar on the _ solidarity movement in_ Britain. While he was here he gave the following interview to Socialist Republic.

bogged down by their attitude to the armed struggle. The hunger strike marked a new stage and gave new impetus to thinking on Ireland inside the Labour Party and within British politics as a whole. The hunger strike marked a_ decisive period. It gave a new lease of life to the Labour Committee on Ireland. The events which have happened since:the Sinn Fein Assembly election OP RS. Se ied Over three hundred delegates packed St. Patricks Hall in Dungannon on Sunday, October Ist to combat the rise of the ‘paid informer’. This was the first major gathering of the anti-imperialist movement since the end of the hunger strike and represented a step forward in the building of a united movement against offensive in the North.

The conference agreed to set up a campaign under the banner ‘STOP THE SHOW TRIALS’

and to try and bring into the campaign all those forces opposed to the ‘paid Perjury’ which passes for justice’ in the Diplock courts. One of the central demands of the new campaign will be for the release of all those imprisoned on the evidence of the hired perjurers.

CAMPAIGN STRATEGY In discussing the strategy for building the campaign the Conference grasped some of the lessons of the hunger _ strike. The Conference rejected attempts to limit the campaign to pressure group activities such as publicity and lobbying, in favour of a mass action perspective Nor was there much support for the ritual sloganising of the sectarians around calls for a general strike. There was a general acceptance that a lot of effort, a lot of explanation of the issues involved and a good deal of organisation was required to build a real campaign which could attract the range of forces necessary to halt the show trials.

Unfortunately none of the resolutions which would give concrete expression to this general perspective were discussed, being referred instead to the committee elected at the end of the conference.

These resolutions: pointed to the need for inforniation to be distributed for the building of local area committees, of the campaign being taken into the trade unions and workplaces and the need to success, Ken Livingstones visit, | Gerry Adams success in West Belfast and his visit to London - all these events have a cumulative effect.

Now there is much more work being done, particularly in the Trade Unions. Trade Union work has been difficult because of the Loyalist membership of some of the Unions. However there have been fringe meetings on Ireland at major Trade Union conferences this year.

Although a large number of constituency parties have a troops out position, no major Trade Union has that position.

Work needs to be done.

The most pressing problem for the working class is unemployment.

SR: How important is the question of Ireland for the Labour left, for those around Ken Livingstone and Tony Benn?

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Britains latest That there was no time to discuss these resolutions, really the vital nuts and bolts of any campaign, resulted from the need to give time to debating some central differences among campaign supporters - on questions of critical importance to the success of the campaign against the show trials.

Most important was the debate on the structure of the new campaign. While there was a large measure of agreement that what we needed was a broad, united campaign of mass action the conference refused to adopt a structure for the campaign which would have allowed this. A resolution from Bernadette McAliskey which Peoples Democracy supported, to allow the affiliation of political, trade union and other groups with representation on the committee was defeated. The Conference here took its lead from Sinn Fein which must raise quest-_ ions about the seriousness of Sinn Feins commitment to united action. The fact that the Sinn Fein position was only carried on a recount vote by the narrow margin of 6 votes emphasises the importance of this issue for the future of the campaign. SB:Changing the position of the British Labour Party is a_ central demand. But the party is moving to the right and we will be on the defensive, so I dont see any immediate prospects of a_ shift.

SR: What will happen at the Labour Party conference. Would Gerry Adams presence to speak at a fringe meeting be important?

SB: Gerry Adams electoral success and all these things have a cumulative effect. At the public meeting at which Gerry Adams spoke in London, earlier this year, there were S00 people unable to get in. Lhope there will be further meetings and contacts between British people and people in the six counties. The London meeting marked a decisive advance. However at this stage whether Gerry Adams speaks at the Labour Party confTreland: ee ee One immediate result of this decision was the announcement by _ the IRSP that while it would continue to support the campaign it was refusing nomination to the committee. A second result was the composition of the committee elected which by no stretch of the imagination could be considered to be broad-based. Clearly when it came to the election Sinn Fein in great part voted as a bloc. erence is not of great importance.

SR: What sort of discussion will there be on Ireland at the conference?

SB: There are many motions on the agenda on Ireland. Whether they will be voted on remains to be seen. Tony Benn is a delegate from Kensington Labour Party. That constituency party has a troops out motion. Tony Benn met Gerry Adams and was very impressed with him. It will be very important if he speaks out on Ireland as he is seen to be the leader of the British left. He would be- seen publicly in a very emotive forum - it would be his first speech to the Labour Party since losing his seat - to come out for troops out of Ireland. Tony Benn has changed his view on Ireland since the hunger strike, Sinn I2 issues £4.50p I2 issues £6.50p ewhere:

NAME. ccccescseesseresseerese AddreSSecccosceaccevesescins COUNTTYcccccccssessecesrescoee John McAnulty Hard as it may be for Sinn Fein to accept, the success of this struggle. lies in our ability to draw new forces into the campaign and into its leadership. Sinn Fein and the campaign as a_ whole needs to reconsider this decision.

This is made even more necessary by the attacks on the new campaign coming from Father Faul and the SDLP. Faul didn’t even wait for the Dungannon Conference to launch allegiations about Sinn Fein taking over the Relatives for Justice organisation and setting up a ‘Provo front’. The campaign is in real danger of falling into the trap set by right-wing clerics and the SDLP. Only the broadest and most democratic of campaigns can overcome this.

The Dungannon Conference drew support mainly from the six counties. This is acceptable for an initial conference but there should be no delay in driving the campaign into the South. If we learned anything from the hunger strike it was surely that we needed the active support of working pehple throughout the country if the attacks of British imperialism : be. Feins election success and his two meetings with Gerry Adams. He has said publicly that he regrets his former views in favour of the British Labour Party organising in the six counties. If he speaks it will give encouragement to those already working on Ireland and will encourage those who are starting to question British policy on Ireland.

SR: How much attention is paid by the British left to events in the 26 counties?

SB: Not a lot. Events would be viewed with profound dismay. The Amendment result would be viewed with alarm. It will be seen as an unwillingness on the part of 26 county people to break with the clerical nature of the state. The Labour left would be ve critical of Sinn Feins position on the Amendment.

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ssion, attacks on was cratic rights, on trade

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gg Fy Sev TRIALS!