Since 1968 Britain has made five major attempts to impose its own solution on the Irish people. First came the piecemeal reforms under O'Neill, while at the same time the Ulster police forces continued their harassment of the nationalist minority. When this piece of trickery failed, the British Army was sent in. But the power of the gun proved no greater than the power of persuasion, and so Britain considerably stepped up its terror methods internment, large scale use of torture, constant mass intimidation, etc. This also failed to destroy the resistance, leading to the suspension of Stormont and the introduction of Direct Rule in March 1972. Finally we have the White Paper, an claborate piece of legislation setting out yet more plans for dealing with Britain's "Irish Problem'. ly said that if Britain wants to impose its solution uny remaining qualms about civil rights and juridical processes have to be dumped. So the new Bill will provide for: 1. Continuing internment - but under a different name since those involved will reach the camps via a 'special court', 2. End of trial by jury 3. New bail restrictions so that it can only be granted by a High Court judge 4. In arms and explosives cases the onus of proof to be shifted to the defendant, who will now be presumed guilty unless it can be proven otherwise.
So the concentration camps, a bit of an embarrassment within "the territory of the United Kingdom' are given a legal window-dressing. The camps, the special courts, the plain clothes assassination squads and the British Army - all these remain. This is the 'solution' of the White Paper.
Loyalist Terror nationalist population, and by holding out a vague prospect of protestant domination in any new power structure, Whitelaw hopes to isolate Craig and the extremists who feed on the fear of a British sell-out" to the South. These elements are an obstacle to the long term plans of British imperialism in Ireland.
But that does not mean that they do not have certain uses at the moment. For so long as the main task is to repress and defeat the nationalist minority, then the loyalist murder squads are a useful instrument, along with the activity of British Army plainclothes assassination squads. Britain's role is one of repression, not arbitration between two communities. The are therefore unlikely to be in a majority in the new assembly, where the Craigites and the nationalists will vote down the White Paper. Very clearly then the White Paper is failing. If it does fail it seems likely that the next step for Britain would be all-out repression of the nationalist minority. The British have so far felt restrained only by the possible effect that such a move might have on the Irish working class in the South, and on the small but potentialiy important anti-war movement in Britain itself.
Illusions At every step the British ruling class has had to camouflage the real nature of its role in Ireland, above all the real role being played by the Army. This was particularly clear after the massacre on Bloody Sunday. The nakedness of the repression was revealed and provoked an immediate reaction from the workers and students in the South and in Britain. Large demonstrations, occupations and protests took place. The suspension of Stormont, the so-called 'pacification attempt, and now the White Paper have temporarily blunted the growth and impact of the anti-war movement, and have helped maintain confusion about the "neutrality" of the British intervention. But this situation will change. The failure of the White Paper will lead to increasing represion in Ireland. Already, the Army seems to be shooting suspocted IRA men on sight rather than arresting them. And in Britain, the ruling class is increasing its harassment of Republican supporters, left wing groups and, in parallel. working class militants. men. As Wing Commander H.R. Allen said recently in the Sunday Times: 'No government can rule without an ultimate deterrent to civil disobedience, Ireland is a key struggle which can bring this point home to British workers to prepare them in advance. And they must prepate. The use of repression in Notthern Ireland is not an isolated phenomenon but a growing threat in Botain which the left and the working class organisations can ignore only at great peril to themselves. Repression must be fought at the beginning, it must be resisted at every point! Revolutionaries must take initiatives immediately to unite all possible forces in action on this question - to bring together all organisations and tendencies of the working class movement