The Aldershot bombing has, predictably, been the cue for a massive propaganda offensive by the venal British press; it has equally predictably been the cause of a great deal of confusion on the British "left, which had settled down comfortably to wailing about the Derry massacre, without trying to understand the political context in which it occurred. The Red Mole has always resisted getting involved in the politics of the last atrocity, and while making the maximum propaganda against the brutality of British Imperialism has stressed the fact that all the violence in Ireland stems from imperialist oppression, and that the oppressed minority. through its armed vanguard the IRA, will be forced to reply to oppression in equally, if not more violent terms.
Aldershot was a legitimate military target despite the tragedy of civilian deaths, which have been exploited to the full. The latest United Irishman makes some interesting points about the British Army statements:"Most interesting in thelight of later developments was the fact that although the bomb went off at three minutes to one, according to on the spot witnesses, British propaganda altered the time to 12.40 when there would be few officers there. *... similar disappearances of Paratroop officers occurred in South Yemen.... Even where the NLF and FLOSY claimed certain casualties, the British were able to deny them, to the obvious propaganda advantage of the British. *..a high proportion of the officers in that regiment have no family ties of any kind. Their deaths would be mi insed by no one. What the British had got away with in Aden they ake hoped so get away with in the Aldeniet care. This view is backed by the views of people in Aldershot, who maintain that there were at least thirty officers in the building when the explosion occurred. Since 280 Ibs of gelignite were used it is obvious that few people in the bui uld es cape unscathed. Yet the only ties admitted were seventeen officens What happened to the other thirteen? But publication of this information wouldn't help Britain's propaganda case.
The Officials" Statement stressed that the bombing was not the prelude to a general offensive in Britain, although the British press refrained from reporting this. But despite the fact that it was a "one-off" operation, the Aldershot attack does emphasise a new factor in the situation in Ireland-the current military offensive of the Official IRA.
AN ESCALATING CAMPAIGN Until the beginning of this year the main core of the military struggle had been carried on by the Provisionals being cast in the traditional Republican mould, they have seen themselves very much as an army, fighting another army. This dictated sniping at soldiers, and attacking military installations, and while they did give their campaign a political edge, by attempting to bomb life in Belfast to a standstill, this has not been achieved and has more and more taken the form of random actions.
The Officials, on the other hand have developed an escalating campaign. Their actions have included the burning of the homes of leading reactionaries in the North, (during one of these operations Senator Barnhill was shot); and they have blown up the Town Halls in Strabane and Newry, where Stormont had taken over following the boycott of the councils by the overwhelmingly catholic councillors. The shooting of John Taylor is another aspect of this campaign. As distinct from the Provos, they have chosen political rather than military targets.
Had Aldershot been a success (leaving aside the question of whether or not Officers were killed for the moment), there can be little doubt that the Norther minority, and the rest of the Irish people would have been heartened. As it is the action spells out clearly to the British Army, the consequences of a future massacre like that at Derry. Had the IRA simply ignored the massacre it would have encouraged the attempts of British imperialism to frighten the mass movement off the streets. The new campaign also multiplies the contradictions for Stormont and Westminster; they had been making a lot of noise about the lower level of the Provisionals campaign, although they were stretched taut in dealing with it. The Officials will make their military and propaganda situation more difficult.
REPRESSION The response of the ruling classes in Britain and the Twenty Six counties has been essentially political. The detention of a number of leaders of the Officials in Dublin was aimed primarily at the movement's important political figures. The holding of Derry Kelleher for 48 hours is the most blatant proof of this: Kelleher, who is a vice-President of the Official Sinn Fein, peers at the world from behind thick glasses, and is neither young enough, nor in an appropriate physical condition, to be credible as an urban guerrilla. He is,however, a leading opponent of Lynch's BEC policy.
Lynch chose the period immediately after the Aldershot incident to swoop, while the mass of the Irish people were stunned at the civilian deaths and the killing of a catholic chaplain. But he is in a weak position, for although he has resurrected those parts of the Offences Against the State Act which give the Gardai the power to arrest and hold individuals for 48 hours, he cannot revive the internment camps, or the military tribunals without processing this through the Dail. This could become a focus for mass opposition. If the Offiicals carry on with the military campaign, and score some successes, any negative effects of Aldershot will be overcome and they will be able to mobilise the Irish people in their defence. In Britain there has been a series of Special Branch raids on the homes and offices of Irish militants and organisations. Since the Branch boys know perfectly well who will be likely to get involved in such action and who will not, it is clear that this is political intimidation. The Press of course has been beside itself. The Sunday Telegraph claimed that the ISC, the IMG and the Fourth International were "Backers of Terror". But probably the most serious attack has been aimed at Clann na hEireann, the political organisation of the Officials in England, Scotland and Wales. The Daily Express hysterically denounced them for collecting funds for the IRA, this led to questions in the House, and a move by some Tory MPs to ban "The IRA" in Britain. The Red Mole solidarises with Clann in face of the witch-hunt, and is pleased to note that the publicity has helped Clann's recruitment.
CONTRADICTIONS Aldershot however, shows up some important contradictions in the Officials' policy. Firstly their repeated condemnations of Provisional actions, while being careful in selecting those which could be interpreted as being sectarian, nevertheless have tended to make generalised criticisms of the military struggle of the Provisionals which seem to counterpose a nonviolent response to the situation. An example of this is in the interview given to Seven Days Provisionals for escalating the struggle after internment:- "But the Provisionals escalated the struggle and that gave Faulkner the excuse he needed to continue internment." Such statements had brought the Officials many a false friend recently, who praised their "responsibility", and denounced the Provisionals as "terrorists." It is as well to lose such supporters, but by giving them a basis in the first place the Officials did not help to clarify the politics of the situation. And if they are serious about carrying through such a campaign it is as well to prepare the Irish people for it in advance; they have done the reverse.
Photos by George Snow It is as well also not to have organisations which are well-known to be heavily under Official influence, such as the NICRA, denouncing the bombing (see Morning Star, 23rd February). These contradictions, which can all be explained in terms of "tactics", in reality flow from the basic contradiction within Official policy, their attitude towards Stormont. Still insisting, after internment, after Derry, that Stormont can be reformed, they are propelled into reformist and gradualist politics. At the present conjuncture the mass demonstrations do have a revolutionary potential, since they increase the contradictions of the Unionists and British imperialism; but not being placed in the context of a policy which tries to smash Stormont their line of development is extremely limited.
But the Officials are still Republicans, they still come from the physical force tradition. It is impossible for them to stand idly by while the British Army tries to crush the minority in the North; retaliatory action was necessary,and has been taken. This, however, merely opens up more contradictions, for such a campaign will have very serious consequences for Stormont. If it is carried on for an extended period it could well lead to the collapse of Stormont, and if the alternative is not to be direct rule it is necessary to prepare the groundwork for a peoples alternative now. It will be inevitable too that such a basic contradiction will lead to disagreements within the Officials; one section will try to resolve the contradiction by bringing the military policy into line with the reformist political policy, and another will try to change the political line. This is not the best internal situation with which to sustain a military campaign. Nevertheless we pledge our continued solidarity with the struggle now going on, and will renew our attempts to build a principled solidarity movement in Britain, one which does not hesitate to say:VICTORY TO THE IRA!
Bob Purdie The Red Mole 13 March 1972 Page 9
THE ROLE OF THE LIBERALS: Part Two of an important article which explains Again, this is particularly so, as regards racist education, for the contradictions this produces potently strike at the liberal intellectuals' assumptions about objective' knowledge and objective' education. Finally, the interest of intellectuals in justifying the system is not merely an abstract phenomenon. It is the result of the intellectuals need to justify their own with token reforms and to win over the intellectuals.
However, what is different about the nineteenth century Royal Commission reports and the State's attitude towards racism today is precisely the period of capitalism we are now living in. Thus the nineteenth century was a period of capitalist expansion. Today is a period of capitalist decline and crisis. Half