They say that every picture tells a story and that certainly appies to the above study, The gentleman in question was one of almost a thousand who marched on 20 May from Cirp Aam Common to Brixton Prison to demand the release of the Belfast Ten.
If his face doesn't quite fit as an activist, rhen his behaviour on the demonstration was even atranger, He was overheard to remark that protestor shouid get brices ready to throw when they reached the prison.
Upon arrival there he took up a position where he could pay close attention to the speakers, oberve the participants, and more sinister, make a succession of signs to an unseen colleague with a rolled up copy of the Sunday Times He was one of the most vigorour in applauding the various speakers, sving his most emphatic gestures ofapplause for when it war announced That there were Special Branch agents provocateurs amongst the crowd. Then when the buckets came round for a Belfast Ten Defence Committee collection, he donated a pound male.
Afterwards, he followed the dipersing crowd back to Brixton tube station, but turned off along Brighton Terrace. He then disappeared into a large Victorian building with a wooden plaque outside describing it as the "Metropolitan Police Central Store.
So, whatever your name, we hope you enjoyed your Sunday afternoon out, but don't push your luck. Oh, and thanks for the pound. On Friday, 13 April, police around the country swooped on over 100 homes in one of the largest ever operations of its kind. Using the London car bombings in early March as a pretext, the raids were part of a new offensive against supporters of the Irish struggle in Britain. In Coventry six men, including a Roman Catholic priest, were arrested and charged with "conspiracy to cause explosions'.
In The seven weeks since their arrest these men have not been forgotten, A defence committee set up in the days following the raids has been active in mounting pickets of the court when they have appeared, producing regular bulletins publicising the case, and gonerally campaigning to mobilise support for them. In the course of Thirdly, the way in which the raids took place and have continued has the obvious purpose of harassing and intimidating those who might be sympathetic to the irish struggle. In general the raids have been almost completely random, with some people being visted two or three times. The questions asked show that the police have no idea what they are supposed to be looking for. It is not a question of trying to find more evidence, büt of trying to intimidate people who have been active in the Defence Committee, or collecting money for the prisoners tamilies, etc.
NOT NEUTRAL The Defence Committee has been working on the basis, amply verified by the above goingon, that the courts and police must be treated as weapons of the ruling class, not as neutral upholders of the law. The defence of the prisoners does not simply happen inside the court, The arrests are an attempt to smash political opposition to the policies of the government. The beet way to fight this and to get the prisoners off is to show the Tories that They will not succeed in intimidating the movement as a whole by the arrest of a few individuals; that in fact they are only creating more problems for themselves, The weekly pickets outside the court have been an extremely important way of showing this in practice, of demonstrating the level of support which has been built up in response to the arrests. Of course the usual cries have come from sections of the left that we can't defend these men because they may be guilty, and that would mean that we would be supporting terrorists." In other words, we accept the law as laid down by the ruling class? For the Defence Committee, however, the issue is not whether the men are 'guilty" or 'innocent,' but the fact that to gain their release would he an enormous step forward in defeating the current wave of repression.
As yet there is no indication as to when the trial will start, but the Defence Committee will be calling for a major demonstration outside the court on the day it opens. It is hoped that all groups and organisations will support this show of force, which can act an a real focus in the fight back against the repression. Further details will be published in Red Weekly as soon as they are known.
The Defence Committee can be contacted at: 27 Paynes Lane, Hillfields, Corentry (020358991). Of the three sides now participating in the talk