six counties. The most realistic way to do tlus is to reinstate loyalists in control.
The loyalists have made clear their intention to back up demands for a return to the old ascendancy structure with the industrial force available to them through their pos Ition as a labour aristocracy, if it should prove necessary. As in the UWC strike earlier this year, the British Government could not opp ose them.
Al the same time, the massive Joyalist victory in the last Westminster election shows the protestant ascendancy elements are completely dominant in loyalist politics. Clearly. the tensions within the unionist camp are not between working All this points to a restotation ol protestant supremacy in the coming period, And given thar this can only be met with resistance on the anti-unionist side, the outcome would be civil war.
In practice, there is quite a serdous danger of the loyalists shortcircuiting this process by staging a coup, possibly with British connivance. The nature of such a regime has been described by Rees, At the Labour Party Conference he stated he would not like to be responsible for the lives of catholics in Belfast after a withdrawal of British troops. Yet he plans to hand over security In the North to the sectarian Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC).
Shirley Williams has asked if other countries would stand aside if there was a massacre of their coreligionists in the North, While we can'l visualise some sort of 17th century religious war, these statements show that British politicians realise the likely outcome of the restoration of protestant ascendancy If restoration is met with mass antiunionist resistance, we can expect large scale massacres. If resistance is limited to political opposition, then extermination of political eroups. But either way we will not submit to reaction without a fleht. What are the implications of this for the South?
Members of the 26 Counties Government such as Conor Cruise O'Brien and Garret have acknowledged the likelihood of civil war. The Government is worried that in this event, and giren a major upsurge of sympathy among the people of the 26 Coun ties, there would be a serious pro spect of mutiny by sections of the southern armed forces, The Government could be topp led. Their present position of outright collaboration with British imperialisin and appeasement of the - including Cosgrave's meeting with representatives of the Ulster Defence Association [sectarian protestant armed group] stage manag ers of the assassinations untenable. The Government consto come to an agreement with the What is the British Army up to at Again, the formal position diffsituation? the British Army is a peace keeping sick joke. Their real role is indicated by internment figures -500 catholics as opposed to 23 loyalists, In a inst sectarian assassins, 16 republicans and two loyalists were detained, werwhelmingly carried out by loy alists. This makes a mockery of the Since Sunningdale |the agreement that established "power sharing'| col lapsed, the role of the British Army preparation for the setting up of a combatting assassinations they have been arresting leading figures in the Republican movertent, people who have absolutely no connection with concerned with removing all leaderThey have made lille effort to brothers shot down from a passing car at the foot of an army observ reaction.
aLen. асу catholic middle class into appeals for surrender hy anti-imperialist forces to imperinlism, in the hope of saving their own skins Based.
How do you see the Provisionals and the Officials facing up to the The Officials at their Ard Fheis (conference| totally abandoned anti imperialist strugrle. This was marked expressly by the decision to take seats on local authoritics in the North, breaking their pledge not to take seats until internment ended. and took them to a reformist stance of parliamentary aclion in a situation when such tactics are irrelevant, ind when it is doubtful if there will even be a parliament.
The organisation persista in deluding themselves that the loyalist para-military groups are progressive, and that there i common ground with them, in the face of the constant and vehement denials by the Joyalists themselves -and objective reality. All these factors have led to demoralisation within the membership, and tragmentation There is no doubt that, in the past, the Officials have contained ganuine Republican militants But these have now become disillusioned the British Government. Material with the politics of the organisution, aid for the anti-imperialist forces Fragmentation may lead some o1 these elements to set up organisations of an almost purely military nature, while others may be expected to gravitate politically towards Marxist organisations Elements of the Provisional IRA leadership also appear to be walting to achieve some sort of deal or all- TOW lance with loyalist para-mihtary state based on imperialist domination but with its own local base, the protestant ascendancy.
They offer a purely mechanical solulion of forging agreements with loyalists. Elements of the leadership do not realise the imminence of a civil war situation and the need for an absolutely turm commutment tha there should be no compromise with The nationalist population of the North sees the situation on the ground and cannot understanu why the Provisionais are talking to those behind the assassination camp We feel it is essential at this time that all anti-imperialist military and political organisations come together to propare for the defence of the minority against pogroms and the possibility of a coup The need for this is accepted in the anti-unionist population What do you see as the main tasks facing the revolutionary left in Ire land in the coming period?
Groups on the revolutionary left -and in particular Peoples Democr have been the only organisatlons to understand Britain's strategs for the coming period, and the dan ger of a loyalist take-over. Given the lack of leadership coming from the Republican Movement, the importance and urgency of the primary task of developing the strongest postole Marxist party within the coming period, is incre Our aims must be to agitate north and south on the danger of a loyalist take-over in the six coun ties, and to increase our political work in the south, This is crucial to ensure that with confrontation in the north the resulting southern upsurge cannot be contained by petit-bourgeois elements, sach as is represented by the right wing of Fianna Fail [main capitalist party in Ircland -the Goveroment until 1973], but is given a revolutionary conteut. Our major task is to prepare the delence nationalist nopulation of the north and to seek united action by all abti-imperialist movements to this And for the left outside Ireland?
1 would like to stress the urg ency of the situation, and that sol idarity and aid is reaired now We can be belped by international demonstrations against British imperialism and in solidarity with the struggle for Irish sell-determination These must expose the strategy of in Ireland is also needed.
These should be started now We do not want to be anoth Chile. Solidarity and aid with the Chilean revolutionaries only gained momentum after the military coup But we need support and solidarity to help us prepare against pur right wine coup