The Troops Out Movement confetence last Saturday (5 May), marked an impressive new departure in British politics.
The Collegiate Theatre was packed with over 600 people, Fourteen trades councils were officially rep resented, along with 29 trade union branches, and 47 students unions and socialist societies. Another eighty delegates attended from left-wing womens", and claimants' organisaINFORMATION The speakers crammed an impressive amount of information into the time available. Jonathan Rosenhead, Jack Dromey and Fred Halliday revealed an expert knowledge of the techniques of military and legal repression, and Eamonn McCann and John MeGuffin spoke with a direct knowledge of the struggle in Ireland.
Bridie Dodds, from Andersonstown in Belfast, received a warm reception for her matter-of-fact description of life under the heel of the British Army. When asked If she encouraged her children to stone the troops she replied: "No I don't encourage them -I don't have to".
A high point was the speech by Mike Cooley, former President of AUEW/TASS. He speit out clearly the responsibilities of the British working class to the national ruggle in Ireland, and pointed out that porkers, in the demands for immediate ithdrawal of the troops and self-determination for the Irish people, Gery Lawless described the political ituabon in Ireland, and replied to onathan Rosenhead and Fred Halliday, asked whether they supported dom bombings-had dissociated WHO: CHRIS DAVIES must unite!' themselves from the IRA military Lawless explained the deliherate confasion concoaled in the question, and threw back the challenge: What random bombings? Where, and by whom?' In response to Fred Halliday's notion that self-determination ought to apply to "Narthern Ireland', and not to Ireland as a whole, Lawless explained why the principle had no meaning unless it was applied to the entire people of Ireland.
ACTIONS
Posably one of the most valuable aspects of the conference was that it confronted such "liberal" confusion, and answered it in the context of a discussion on howthe repression in Ireland could be defeated before it is used more extensively LYLE DETE One important step taken by the conference was to set up a working party to disucas the establistment of a Workers Commission of Enquiry, into the Lennon and Littlejohn affairs.
Several actions are to be organised by the Troops Out Movement following the conlerence:
A Rally in central London on 12 July A mass demonstration in October A petition to be presented at the Lahour Party Conference in October. (Copies were distributed at the conference and are available from: TOM, 28 Lanumas Park Road, Ealing, London WS.)
A weekend school on Ireland for 29 and 30 June.
Local campaigns and public meetings around such questions as Army recruitment, and the demands for withdrawal of the troops and self-determination for the Irish people.
The organisation of visits to Belfast and Detry TOM The platform (I to r): Fred Halliday, Jack Dromey, chairman Paddy O'Connor, Eamonn McCann, Alan Sinclair