The language of Irish politics has always seemed strange to the British, and has always been distorted by hysterical press and political relations. August 1970 saw a new development. Exploding cars.
At the beginning of the month the air at the Unionist forced Chiche Protestant a government in the province that did what Britain willed and was capable of showing something of a facade to the outside Westminster would take over the door it exploded and they were killed. The Unionist Government immediately published a statement condemning the IRA and the death of the two policemen rallied the Unionist. Was it an IRA plot? It was certainly not the work of the United Irishmen or "red" IRA, as it is against their The IRA denied strict traditionalist who would follow the oid IRA ways of claiming attacks that are their own; in all probability it was not them. It could have been another physical force republican group Clann Na H-earinn (The group of Ireland). It could also have been the UVF the illegal Protestant force who have now established a tradition of explosive provocations, blowing up pipe unes, electricity sub stations etc, as ways Her of the loyalists. have to have been blow up their own work of the intended for The strength and vitality of the Heidelberg SDS stands in contrast with the rest of the German student movement. In the main, the reason for this is the way the militant students in the town have their links with the people, in particular they fought an exemplary campaign against the local transport authorities and prevented tram fares from being put up. As well they have established a local paper that is well distributed to the factories in the area. Finally, despite the amnesty lifting the political trials against SDS cadres they have not renounced the traditional offensive anu-imperials. actions that first gave the SDS its mass character.
The banning of the Heidelberg SDS as well as bringing attention to the repressive laws of Western Germany also spotlights the exemplary, though not perfect, tactics of the local SDS.
The demonstration in Heidelburg protesting against the banning by the local grand coalition government of Social and Christian democrats' of the SDS. The Leading banner reads "Social Democrats British Troops who were entering the area at the time.
Soon after the explosion in the first car, British police raided the Tooting flat and trumpeted out their discovery of a bomb factory in London. The press were alerted beforehand photographers were on hand, and a full scale scare campaign was launched.
It suits British interests to strike such "blows' at the IRA in London. It satisfies the Protestants in the North of Ireland, helps to justify the action of British troops there, makes the Lynch government in Southern Ireland happy, makes Catholics in the North uneasy.
At the same time our information is that only a small number of detonators and kiddys chemicals were in the flat. Enough to convince a few of the more wild Trish militants that they are directly involved in politics perhaps! But no serious high explo sives were to be found. The police announced that after the Tooting arrests the IRA, (now renowned for their efficiency according to the reports in the same papers that had only a year ago dismissed the IRA as a chronic failure) were regrouping and there would follow a campaign of terror in London.
Sure enough a car exploded in the middle of Oxford Street. The papers immediately announced that this was the IRA plot. Now the official explanation has backtracked from the IRA version, and the Sunday Mirror regailed its readers with one of those general scare stories that the papers love so much. They even produced an expert who waxed scientific on the psychology of the mad bomber of London.
None the less the harm has been done, the British press, orchestrated by police and Government have established the terrifying spectre of an IRA campaign of terror. Lets hope that none of the Irish militants themselves are taken in by it.
Redevelopment Scheme. This is the first