STUDENTS MARCH protest against murder

Belfast students on Wednesday Sth November to protest at the murder of Hugh Coney, the Long Kesh internee.

organised by a general meeting of Q.U.B. students under the auspices of the Labour Club. About three hundred students took:part and the march, though it was not allowed to proceed to the city hall, was very successful. It showec tnat not all -students are totally apathetic.

The British Army blocked off Bedford Street close to the City Hall and a sit-down protest was held. A member of the Labour Club; the President of Queen’s S.R.C. addressed the meeting. Brid Ruddy spoke as a member of the students P.H.R.C. and of Peoples Democracy. She Clubs pointed out the similarities of the sit-down with the original one held ‘by P.D. in Linenhall Street six years ago. She said that the only change was that there was now more repression than ever, more internees and more political prisoners than ever before in the history of the Six County State.

Calling for an end to internment was not enough. People could easily be legally imprisoned on trumped up charges under any of the repressive measures used by the State. Though the shooting of Hugh Coney was a very tragic event it was only a symptom of the total repression suffered by the anti-Unionist people under the jackboot of British Imperialism. There would be many more assassinations, both legal (carried out by the British Army.and other-‘security’ forces) and “illegal” (carried out Be Loyalists with the full backing understand that these assassinavions will continue and escalate while the British Army is in Ireland, for their intention was to intimidate the anti-unionist people into acceptance of Loyalist majority rule after the Convention. This new Protestant Ascendancy would carry out more repression than ever before and the British were arming the RUC reserve and trying to re-introduce the RUC into all areas in order to bring back a more powerful and fascist version of the B-Specials. It was useless to demand the resignation (or trial) of Merlyn Rees, he was a mere figurehead for his masters and would carry out their repressive policies to the full. Any other M.P. even the erstwhile Labour ‘leftie’ Stanley Orme would do exactly the same.

Finally Brid Ruddy congratulated the students for taking to the streets again at last to identify with the anti-imperialist struggle. She expressed the hope that they would keep up the pressure against repression and for real freedom.

Sectarianism of C.P. and Republican Several points are worth noting about the march. Firstly the students P.H.R.C. had to pressurise the Labour Club (controlled by Officials and Communist Party) at the General Meeting, to allow them to speak at the march. Secondly P.D. members opposed the proposal for a silent march, demanding that people be allowed to shout political slogans to protest about a political act, the shooting of an unarmed internee. This prosposal was narrowly defeated.

On the way to the City Hall youths from Sandy Row area (Loyalist area), attacked the march at Shaftsbury Square with bricks and bottles and loyalist workers in Great Victoria Street leaned out windows to shout abuse and fire missiles as well.

At the meeting itself students gave an enthusiastic response to the PHRC speakers demand for the hdrawal of British Troops and for efence for anti-Unionist areas. le of hundred students i the march were militan d supported more revolutionary politics than those that were put forward by the Labour Club. This is a good sign for student politics in the future and is a good basis on which revolutionary socialists can work in the Universities.

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of Hugh Coney Report of meeting held by Queen’s University