Bribery O Conscription
Unfree Citizen1974Economy, the EEC and EuropeLoyalism and unionismEconomy, the EEC and EuropeLoyalism and unionism
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speedy retreat across the Irish sea, leaving the anti-Unionist populatior. to the tender mercies of the new “B-men”’.
lrish Army would sit back If such a thing happened, neither the Irish Army nor the Unitéd Nations would be able to prevent the development of a civil war situation "nor would they afford any protection to the anti-Unionist ghetto areas.
Given all these factors, the 26 Co. government believes that the best thing to do is to keep their mouths shut and maintain what O’Brien likes to call a “low profile’. The spurious reasoning behind this is that if the 26 Cos. government maintains such a _ ‘low profile’ then it will deflate the’ thinking that nothing can be done about it. According to O’Brien the best thing is to sit down, keep quiet and keep your fingers crossed!
Since his recent rise to power in the 26 Cos. first as a prominent Labour Party spokesman then as chief ‘guru’ of the Coalition government. Conor Cruise O’Brien has been more than consistent in his pro-imperialist line and furthermore in his stated aim to neutralise and eliminate support for the struggle in the North in the 26 Cos.
His whole position is that of an “‘agent provocateur” with the purpose of dropping propoganda bombshells to demoralise potential support for that struggle. By playing on the natural fears of the p2ople about large-scale strife and bloodshed and dispelling any confidence in the army”. With millions of pounds having been spent on developing the 26 Co. ‘Army’ and with a huge rise in unemployment now taking place the Defence Minister Patrick Sarsfield Donegan, made the amazing statement last weekend that ‘there is no need for any able-bodied young man to be unemployed — he can get a good job in the It seems that Donegan and the coalition are going to tackle the unemployment crisis, and the political unrest all over the country — with enticing many of the unemployed into the army ~ and using the army to silence the protests of the rese.
How long now before we'll have the army used as police against strikes and unemployed — or how long before we have some class of conscription?