In London last week BERNADETTE McALISKEY (DEVLIN) talked to Red Weekly about the recent split in the Irish Republican Socialist Party, and the tasks facing British socialists in relation to Ireland Workers Union (AMWU) in Brisbane, Queensland.
tion of the Fourth International).
the Labour Party's election campaign. What was the reaction of the workers when Whitlam was sacked? •nere was immeciate ancer Inroucnout the working class, followed by scattered work stoppages on the same day. On the following day there were general stoppages throughout all industries: metal workers, storemen. packers and so on. In one case in Brisbane, on a building job, the workers stopped work and marched from their job site to the Trades Hall, and on their way into town mev called out all une ouner building sites who marched with them.
there was a call tor a general strike throughout the working class as a whole. The workers who marched to the Trades ano Labour council in brisoane Torced them into holding a rally on the first atternoon ot the sacking or vnitiam. This was the most militant rally ever held in Brisbane.
In other states as well as Queensland there were immediate marches on Liberal Party offices, and spontaneous demonstrations outsice, Demonsurd fions broke out evervwnere - oeople took to the streets under banners which demanded 'smash the Fraser Government'and called for a General Strike.
However, although the response was immediate - oecause tney saw une need to defend the Labour Government as a class reflex - they were simultaneously critical of the policies of the Australian Labour Party (ALP), with its wage indexation scneme lanoter name for wage freeze) and its unemployment policies which have led to closures in the shipyards, car industry, building trades, etc.
• What do you think a General Strike would have achieved? A General Strike was necessary to bring down the Liberal Government. But the aIms OT THe STriKe woue cuicKLy nave gone beyond that because of the critical attitude that nas developed in tne work ing class towards the Labour Government. a member of the Communist League (sympathising organisaRed Weekly asked him about the reaction inside the working class to the ousting of the Whitlam Government and the subsequent development of Any Labour Government returned in that situation would have found itself under much more immediate and oreanised pressure to act in the interests of the working class. • What was the Labour Party's response to calls for a General Strike? they successtully moved to stop it. Bob Hawke, who is president of both the Australian Counci ot race unions and the ALP, put out a call for no anarchy; for a responsible reaction; for a fight through the ballot box. They were afraid that they wouldn't be able to contain the strike. nev askeo tor no suriKe action but one day's pay for the Labour Government instead.
The ALP described the industry-wide stoppages which did take place as anarcny, and said that wis type or action would only strengthen the hand of the Liberals. The truth, however, is that the Labour Party realised only too well that their policies of wage cutting - an absolutely interal part of their policies to fight inflation at the expense of the working class - couldn t nave survived such action.
I Was this response also true of 'left' Labour leaders like Jim Cairns? The left wing of the Labour Party have almost been wiped out. They have been pushed off the Labour Party platform, almost without a fight. The only comments trom Jim cairus nave DecE on the loans affair which brought about the present crisis - apart from tnat ne has made no other statements. • What effect do you think the right-wing policies of the ALP will have on the outcome of the election?
I'm certain that they will lose the election as a result of it. What was necessary at the time was to keep up the enthus asm or une workers ov avine no ledocl ship, and suppressing te senractivity or the workers, the ALP has served to sow even more disillusionment amongst them. Austrdian pouce puttie tre soot into anary comonsuators ouside une sovernor Q. How do you see the present situation in Ireland?
A The reality of the present situation is bleak. The working class is in retreat - no amount of self-delusion changes that fact. That is not to say that it can't be altered. But it certainly can't be altered if we continue to pretend that it's not happening. eaucracy has successfully negotiated another national wage agreement. There is absolutely no leadership for trade union militants, and there is a growing frustration and demoralisation among the more politically conscious and militant sections of the southern working class.
ically nothing standing between the Protestant working class and a definite trend towards an increasingly reactionary and at some levels classically fascist position. And you have growing confusion, fear and demoralisation in the Catholic working class because of the posturings of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, the inability of the Provisionals to make any political gains out of their military campaign over the last seven years, and the prospect of a major Loyalist offensive against the Catholics.
That paints a fairly pessimistic picture - but on the other hand, you also have a situation where although the convinced revolutionary socialists may be few in number, there is a vast wealth of experience from the overall crisis situation and from the learning through past mistakes.
effort on the part of socialists to work together in principled discussion towards the development of a revolutionary programme for Ireland, which would also enable them in the short term to initiate immediately at least the groundwork for revolutionary activity with regards to building a united front against the Loyalist offensive -even a very small socialist organisation could have a considerable impact. It could begin to make major gains in restoring the politica confidence of Catholic workers, in highlighting and focusing on the contradictions within the Protestant working class, and in challeng at this time.
In essence, we have exhausted every excuse available to the revolutionaries for not building the revolutionary party, the failure of the IRS constitutes the dissipation of the last excuse, and there is nothing left to be done but to get on with the work of building that Irish revolutionary party.
Q. What lessons have you per sonally drawn from the failure of the IRSP?
A. There are a number of reasons why it failed. I think the first mistake - which was essentially forced hopefully develop.
In the South, the trade union burIn the North there is now practilies.
Given a concerted and determined - for example Belfast. ing establishment policy in the South structure and ideology.
anism? was that the IRSP was prematurely declared as an organisation. That was forced on us by the murderous attack of the Officials, and you had the position where the IRSP was born without having a principled agreement on a basis from which a revoluționary programme could The problem was the fear by many sincere members of the IRSP of shedding the Republican tradition - of being a bad Republican. But people had to face the facts: Republicanism is not a socialist ideology, but developed independently and in isolation from working class organisations; they are not one and the same thing. When they realised that in order to move forward they were going to have to reappraise critically the whole of the Republican tradition and shed many long held beliefs - well, a lot of them just felt it was turning traitor on the dead, They just couldn't face up to the fact that there were WELFARE APPEAL FROM BERNADETTE McALISKEY The collapse of the IRSP in Derry has - meant that to members of the party trom that area who are now in jail have been left without financial support. The absence of an alternative organisation denres us the ooportunit or securino on going financial support for their famAt the moment, the eleven former executive members who left the IRSP are taking personal responsibility To the welfare of the prisoners' dependants, i.e. we are paying them out of our day own pockets. The problem is tempor ary, but until it is resolved we urgently need help in providina financial aid to the families of the 15 Derry prisoners. Anyone who is prepared to help should forward their donations to: Jim McCorry, 139 Stewartstown Park, Andersonstown, any limitations in what those people had fought for, and so they moved back into an increasing isolated Republican position.
I accept it was my failure that despite the fact that factions were declared illegal, an unconstitutional faction did exist around the leadership. We should have said - to hell with the constitution, let's form a faction and get down to discussing the major issues, and if we have to pull out or are edged dut, let it be on the basis of a clear political programme. What actually happened was that without any such discussion we were finally engineered out of the party anyway for reasons of Q. What do you see as the negative aspects of RepublicA. Well, for one thing it's elitist -the Republicans have the idea not that the working dlace will affect the national liberation and the revolution, but that the Republicans will do it and the working class will support them.
Republicanism is also a conspiracy - with a secret conspirat orial armed wing. While that may have had its place in the development of the national struggle -before the urbanisation of great sections of the Irish working class - you can no longer approach the question and attempt to build a mass organisation of workers on a conspiratorial basis; it is completely alien to the organising of the working class.
I think that is one of the major stumbling blocks which Republicans have got to get away from - the idea that we build the political organisation and then the leadership will fish in that organisation for people who are capable of carrying guns, so that even within the organisation our comrades will not know which of us is carrying the gun. This breeds dishonesty, deception and distrust inside the revolutionary organisation; there can't be a full discussion of issues, because you don't know from what basis other comrades are talking. It separates the role of armed struggle from the role of political struggle.
So you get a situation where the militarists tend to drift into an armed wing which grows apart. while the working class is nowhere. left completely behind. There is no attempt to accustom the working class generally to the use of arms, You can see it in the North to- the Provisionals say, 'we are the defenders of the people'; the Officials say, 'no, we are'; but neither of them wants to move to a position where the people, armed on their own behalf, will defend the people. It has always got to be somebody who is going to do it for them.
Q. How do you think socialists in this country can aid the Irish struggle?
A. Socialists in this country must realise that this is not just a general question of socialist consciousness. It is actually crucial to the development of socialism in Britain that the Irish question is raised by the British left and raised by British workers.
You have a position where the British working class at the moment are clamouring for legislation which is ostensibly to keep the warring Irish in their place, but will actually be brought to bear on the heads of the working class themselves within a very short time. They are asking the police, asking the army, asking the state to take away rights that they spent a hundred years fighting for, simply because they don't see that in actual fact the whole Irish question is central to their own development.
ON 7 Red Weekly 18 December 1975-
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Labour was TERRY FARR is an active militant in the Australian Metal