gate Conference on 11-12 October to make a serious turn away from the petty squabbling that has wracked it for the last year. To make this turn, it would have been necessary for the 91 delegates to be presented with a political perspective by the outgoing leadership.
tives turned out to be extremely shallow. Failure to analyse seriously the actual situation in the north of Ireland allowed the issues to be blurred by those who for some time have been predieting an imminent handover to the Loyalists and civil war.
Indeed, it was left primarily to supporters of the International Marxist Group to explain the crucial importance of a mass movement on the question of troops, how it is objectively necessary and possible, and how it is the best way the British working class can aid the struggle of the oppressed masses in the north of Ireland.
The struggle in Ireland is clearly at a critical stage. The rejection of the Craig proposals for an 'emergency coalition, along with the rising tide of Loyalist terror, highlights this.
The response of the Labour Government has been to continue to repress, disorganise and disarm the minority.
The future course of the struggle whether back to complete Orange retrenchment or forward to a free Ireland-hinges more than ever on the role of the British Army. Our ability to build a mass troops out movement in this country for immediate and unconditional withdrawal It was necessary to fight at this conference for a concrete programme of action as the framework for building a mass movement. The first step in such a programme would have been a thorough and prepared discussion around the winter demonstration. This was the position of the IMG in two discussion papers submitted beforehand and in a statement given out at the conference.
The type of action envisaged for the winter takes a lot of building.
Such demonstrations are the best wav of welding together diffuse: sentiments concerning withdrawal Unfortunately, however, the discussion on political perspecinto a powerful movement with which British workers can easily identify. This sort of action could not only severely limit the options open to the Government, but it would be a source of inspiration for the anti-Unionists and a demoralising blowto the Loyalist population.
Howing from the inadequate per spectives discussion was the inability of the Delegate Conference to restructure tne TOM along the lines that will be necessary if it is to play a major part in building a mass movement.
DISCIPLINE
Tight, rigid structures and heavy discipline can only disorganise the moveinent and leave it prey to sectarian groups of all kinds. The broadest possible united front is needed, involving all those individuals, groups and organisations prepared to support and struggle for the demands of the TOM. By necessity this movement must be as open as possible Only a completely open and democratic structure can encourage and develop large-scale participation of serious individuals who are mainly concerned win bullaine the move ment.
In such a broad open movement there would undoubtedly be political disputes and differences. But these differences need never threaten to split the movement, as some of the recent disputes have done. It was a scandal that when some delegates, including supporters of the Some weeks ago in this column, we reported how Joe Magee-an 18-year-old Catholic youth from Belfast's New Lodge district-had been subjected to such severe beatings and threats at Castlereagh Police Station that he was driven to attempting suicide.
Castlereagh is only one of the RUC's 'interrogation' centres in Belfast. Two others exist at Springfield Road and Musgrave Street police stations, and many young lads like Joe Magee have been put through similar treatment at these centres in the past month. Most of the victims have not been members of any Republican organisation.
This recent wave of torture has aroused tremendous anger amongst the anti-Unionist minority. In a statement issued on Monday 13 October, the Provisionals' Belfast Brigade noted that harassment of the nationalist population had reached a new peak, and that they would have no option but to take retaliatory action despite the truce. The Belfast Brigade declared: It rests with the British Government. If their Crown Forces continue to act as they are at present, then they are obviously doing so with the sanction of their superiors, and we will interpret it as such."
Two days later this warning was illustrated when a bomb exploded at Castlereagh, completely wrecking the interrogation centre. In a statement claiming responsibility, the Provisionals reiterated that they would 'not tolerate the torture of innocent civilians.
The border village of Crossmaglen in South Armagh was saturated with British soldiers over the weekend of 11-12 October. Troops conducted a thorough search and arrested 35 people, including two 80-year-old men.
However, all those arrested were later released, and the entire British Army exercise was revealed as a glorious flop. So much so, that journalists reported that an IRA road-block was operating three miles up the road from the village. by an Army officer who told a reporter the previous day that the gloves were coming off.
The British Army has taken a harder battering round Crossmaglen than in any other area of the North. As one inhabitant commented, the lesson the troops must learn is that their only chance of survival is to keep a consistently low profile.
IMG, attempted to move proposals for such a structure, the leadership team of the TOM threatened in advance to resign if any proposal involving the national affiliation of political organisations were passed.
With the Conference thus stampeed, and with the support of some libertarians and Maoists, a new step forward for the TOM was thus short-circuited.
WINTER DEMO The IMG will continue to struggle for its ideas within the TOM. Concretely this means fighting to build the Ad Hoc Conmittee called to build the winter demonstration.
The Ad Hoc Committee has now splitting the party. certain to expel them.
The secret had been given away to stick it back together again. will meet with success.
decided to postpone the demonstration until the anniversary of Bloody Sunday, on 1 February next year. This gives plenty of time to struggle for trade union and Labour Party branch affiliations to the Ad Hoc Committee. IMG members will also be pushing within the TOM branches for a far bigger commitment to building the Committee than has so far been displayed.
Meetings will have to be organised in all the colleges and universities with members of the Ad Hoc Committee explaining the importance of the demonstration and the fundamental importance of building a mass Troops Out Movement in Britain. This kind of preparation, along with the various fund-raising activities that will have to be carThe split in Loyalist ranks over Craig's scheme for a 'voluntary' coalition government widened this week with the suşpension from the United Ulster Unionist Council of Craig and three other Vanguard members of the Convention. This followed a meeting of Vanguard's Central Council on 11 October where the party's other rine Convention members-including the Chairman and Deputy Leader-resigned after a substantial vote of confidence in Craig. The dissidents have taken their supporters out of Vanguard with them, effectively While these developments have strengthened Craig's position within Vanguard, they have paradoxically weakened his influence in the UUUC. His place as a deputy leader of the Loyalist Coalition has been taken by Ernest Baird, formerly Deputy Leader of Vanguard. Craig himself did not attend the UUUC meeting, and his suspension represented a compromise between ¡larry West's Official Unionists-who wished to take no action in his absence and lan Paisley's Democratie Unionist Party-which wanted the Craig quartet expelled immediately. However, a further meeting is almost Despite the verbiage in the British and Irish capitalist press, this split in the Loyalist ranks does not mean that Craig has become a 'moderate'. One of his principal supporters now is Glen Barr, who is chairman of the Loyalist para-militaries as well as being a Vanguard Convention member. Craig and Barr are for the restoration of the Protestant ascendancy every bit as much as Lan Paisley they simply disagree on how to get it.
Loyalism has never really recovered from the col lapse of the old Stormont Parliament-brought down by the resistance struggle of the nationalist community As far as the Loyalists are concerned, this resulted from the 'appeasement' policies of the British Government and the 'liberal" Unionists like O'Neill, Chichester-Clark and Faulkner. With the fall of Stormont, the previously solid Unionist monolith was shattered, and despite the efforts of the UUUC to ape former glories, it has failed The primary reason for this failure has been the lack of success in repressing the anti-Unionist community. Paisley desperately hopes that this can still be done by wielding the naked Loyalist bludgeon; Craig, on the other hand, would like to see the bludgeon wielded partly by the SDLP. The fight now being waged by the people of South Armagh holds out hope that neither Tried out, points the way for activists to build the TOM. To this end we will be publishing regular information about the Ad Hoc Committee as it develops, so that Red Weekly readers can get involved in its activities at every level.
BWNIC 14 TRIAL The Defend the 14+ Campaign is hoping to coordinate days oi mass picketing out side the Old Bailey, particularly to show support for the 14 when the defence case opens. It vour organisation, college o group can undertake to mount a picket on any particular day, or you want information about what is being organised, please telephone 01-8379794, or write to Box 69, c/o 197 Kings Cross Road, London W.C1.
social democracy , red weekly 23 october 1975