(Bob Purdie has just returned from his visit to Ireland on behalf of The Red Mole. He has interviewed many Irish militants which we will publish in later issues. Here he reports on the situation in the Falls in Belfast.)
Once again the Irish people are seeing the real face of British imperialism. Having crushed the protests about the imprisonment of Bernadette Devlin, the British Army proceeded to attack the Falls Road area of Belfast, ostensibly to look for arms. The real situation is this: the Falls is under military occupation.
Three weeks after the attack Falls is still seething with anger; many of the houses are only now being straightened up after the delicate attentions of the British troops. The Civil Rights Association has produced an impressive series of photographs showing the damage which was done, sinks were ripped from the walls, upholstery torn open, toilets smashed up, religious pictures and statuettes smashed. Quite apart from damage which could have been "legitimately" caused in the process of searching for arms, money was stolen, gas meters broken into, and valuables taken. A thousand copies of the United Irishman and hundreds of copies of the Republican movement's manifesto were arbitrarily burned.
The whole operation shows how interested the British Government is in "civil rights". The presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland is quite illegal; no state of emergency has been declared, and there is no constitutional provision for the kind of activities they are engaged in. Indeed, they are very sensitive on this point; the "curfew" which they imposed was later denied, and people who were arrested for breaking it have since been charged with obstructing the police (no policemen have been in the Falls, except for token gestures, since last August!)
When challenged on the legality of their actions, they immediately go into a panic. In the early hours of Thursday 23rd July, the owner of a car in Ton Street (the heart of rebel Falls) was told that his car was being searched. In a loud voice he asked under what legislation the search was being carried out. The soldiers refused to answer and ordered him out of the car. He insisted that he be told, asking if the search was being done under the Special Powers Act. At this point a considerable crowd of neighbours had gathered; the Army barricaded off both ends of the street, and declared them to be an illegal assembly (which did not impress them too much); they insisted on being told the legal position. An Army Captain was called; he denied that the search was being done under the Special Powers Act; the car owner refused to allow the car to be searched; a Major was called; he too denied that the Act was being used, and retired with the Captain and the Sergeant for consultations; the Captain returned and admitted that the Act was being invoked. The owner allowed his car to be searched. Shortly afterwards the Major returned and denied that the Special Powers Act had been used!
The people of the Falls are very clear about what the Army is there for. It is there to prevent, not religious conflict, but any danger of a repetition of "Free Belfast". There are sandbagged posts at the street corners, armoured cars, and jeeps full of armed soldiers patrolling constantly; foot patrols of six to ten soldiers with rifles and billy-clubs at the ready walk up and down the streets. A new form of intimidation is the constant photographing of people, particularly if they are known Republicans, or are seen in the company of, or near the houses of, Republicans.
The Irish are used to occupation forces, and have their own ways of dealing with them. One unfortunate soldier got lost in the dark one night, following a voice which sounded just like his mate's! The children of Falls are delighted with their new game; they run behind the patrols singing, "If you hate the British Army, clap your hands."
The role of the Army in Falls is completely political. Last summer behind the barricades the people showed that they were capable of running their own community without Stormont, Westminster, British troops or the RUC. The danger that they might decide to do without them again sends cold shivers down the spine of British Imperialism, and its Northern Irish partners. In addition the Falls is th[e] stronghold of the "Red" Republicans, that sectio[n] of the Republican Movement which has declared [for] a Workers' Republic. They have won the confide[nce] of the people by assisting them against racketeeri[ng] landlords, moving them into empty houses and protecting them from eviction. In co-operation w[ith] other organisations, they run an advice centre, wh[ere] free legal advice can be obtained in addition to he[lp] in dealing with the state bureaucracy and physica[l] protection where necessary.
Last year confusion about the real role of the Troops was rife on the British left. The situation today confirms the position of those wh[o] said that they had gone in to get the barricades down and to smash dual power in Derry and Belfa[st] and that any temporary help/protection they gave to the Catholics against an Orange pogrom was with this in mind. Today there can be no confusio[n] about their role, but the crime of the British left i[s] inaction. The crisis in Northern Ireland deepens every day, and every day brings closer the inevitable confrontation between British Imperialism, and the forces of National Liberation in Ireland. What is needed now is to build a mass solidarity movement to aid that struggle.
Bob Purdie
Cartoon at the foot of the page: "Bernadette arrested and taken to Armagh"; "Armagh Prison"; "Free Derry".