Labour's policy in Ireland.
No more Loyalist internces remain, of course. The last two, the killers of Senator Paddy Wilson, have now been released. The Loyalist sectarian violence continues to escalate. Last weekend the latest sectarian pub attack claimed a further five lives and 30 injuries. This time the attack was carried out in the Short Strand district of Belfast, a snail Catholic enclave, hemmed in on all sides by Loyalists. The pub is immediately opposite an army observation post. No one was caught.
Two Catholic priests, after investipating several sectarian assassinations, had this to say: "It can he asserted that the British Government and the British Arny-RUC look upon sectar As the date for the Constitutional Convention on 1 May approaches, tensions in the Six Counties are mounting. In a statement almost unprecedented from a leader of the British armed forces on active duty, the army commander in Northern Ireland last week delivered a sharp attack on Echoing the most reactionary paramilitary organisations, General Sir Frank King lambasted Merlyn Rees for being too soft on the Provisionals and the minority. If only the British anmy could be let loose, things would soon be put in order! He said: "We were making such good progress, my own view is that the campaign would have been over in two months.
It was for this reason that King criticised Rees's policy of releasing inler. nees. Last week Rees released the magnificent total of five internees leaving only four hundred still to go, as well as over 2,000 political prisoners.
ian assassinations as a useful political weapon to crush the legitimate aspirations of the Catbobc community and their complaints abour internment. brutality and torture by the army and the RUC BEGINNING OF END The situation in the Six Counties is, then, a far crv from that demanded by the Provisonas loadership when Ley agreed to the truce with Reca just over a 100 days ugo Not even the most optimistic leaders of the Provisionals could find any evidence that the so-called concessions by Rees have taken them even one inch along the road that they had demanded.
While the Provisionals have no worked out policy for the present situation in the North of Ireland, they and the Irish Republican against truce breakers.' sections of the reformist Social Democratic & Laboar Parly (SDLP) are under pressure not to participate in the farce, Jin Sullivan, unless chere was a guarantee of ministries powa-sharing' • precondition for partici was defeated by an ever more rignt wing British-backed Alliance Party, and Brian As this last group not merely fully FREE THE 141 Froe the Prosst A special and the general question of press trendom, to coincide with the Cardiff ADM of the Also: John Hyatt (NUJ member and one of the 141, speakers from local groups of Marchioness of Bute (Upper Room), Fred Army GOC Sir Frank King It is because of this that the Provisionals have revised their pobey of a blanket ceasefire. They bave now moved to a policy of defence. The action ofIRA units will be related to the level of violent and hostile activity by Crown and sectanan forces. If there is no such activity. there will be no operations other SDLP rarers Paday O Hallen and Paddy Devlin get down to business with Merlyn Rees, Labour Minister for 'Repression" in Northern Ireland supports the union of the North of lie Jand with Britain, but is made up af sup Orange state, it is very casy to judge in what direction the nolarmism of the SOLP & inevishly continns to co Ther are not putting up any strupple whatower for their own paper proposal of an al In Lie end the proposal for a joint campaign with the Alliance and tie UPNI was abandoned- not because it was wong, but because the SD loaders the Cathalic population The SULP now.
WORKING WOMEN'S CHARTER Camp aign - London Delegate Conference, 17/18 May at City University, St John's Steer, all women's groups, trade union branches Trades Councils, etc in GLC ares actively campaigning for the demands of the Charter or interested in joining the Campaign. Ciosing date for credentials, 19 Ap riL Further information and application forms for credentials from Www.
49 Lowther Hill, SE23.
FOR CHEAP, relis We IBM Typesetting with tar surn around phone an o Martin on 01-837 9587 ING GAY GROUP: contact L Milis, 153 Woadhouse Lane, Leeds. end of the ceasefire. For withoul doubt, as the statement by General King indicates, the British Army will continue to violate the truce. The sectarian assassins, too, will contime to operate unchecked hy the security forces. And this situation will be accelerated when the UCC take a majority of the Convention SELF-DEFENCE This situation is potentially posi tive for the minority. It is clear for everyone to sec that violence is en densic in the Six County statelet, that the British Army is totaly conmitted to the side of the Loyalists It is also clear that the Provisionals are by no means the case of the violence but are a 'legitimate" res ponse of the self-defence reflexes of the minority.
This sentinent could be developed by the Provisionals to stimulate the minority into organising for its own self-defence. The consciousness of the minority could be developed to reject totally the Convention and the SDLP for participating in it.
The re-opening of the bombing campaing would only destroy all this. It would allow the imperialist forces ro he regrouped and give the extreme Loyalists the focus they need to call off their internecine warfare and rekindle the doubts of the minonly as to the source of the violencr in the Six Counties But whatever the Provos decisien one thing is clear as the Sorth uf Ireland teeters on the briak of civil war, the solidurity lasks of British revolutionaries become doubly urgent. The Troops Out Movement Conference on 24 May must be the bipest cathering so far of British warking class representatives to demand batish withdrawal from Brian Grogan however, has no realistic policy whatever except to hope and pray that the British will produce a miracle.
Already a spokesman for the SDCP has been forced to admit that "power sharing is not on, and the only question as when they will be forced to withdraw season the SDIP are participating in the clections is because they want to licht for power sharing! Such is the farcical position any group based on the opprcssed Cathclic minority tds itole in dit decideds to parlicipate in the Convention DEFEND THE 14. Fublic meeting in defence of the 14 pacifists charged with to Draftection Act speakers troute Joan. Maynard MP. Maureen Colquhoun ADEW), Bill Hetherington (defendant). Saturday 3 May at 2 pm in NUFTO Hail, Jockey's Fields, Holbom, WCT.
COMMON MARKET-No, Socialist Europe-Yes't Preston ING Red Circis, Thun 17 april at Windsor Castle: 8 om.
PUBLIC MEETING: 'Fight Property Speculation organised by Talmers Villege Action Group. Tuesday 22 April Euston Rped.