These promises should cut even less ice now than when they were first made a few months ago. coming as they do after the continuous repression of popust demonsatons ama sukes and me totally empty 'reform' programme put forward by the trime minister. Only a few days ago, Areilza's fellow minister rana a so a subDoscu nocral was explaining that democracy Spanishstyle would not apply to 'Communists, terrorists and separatists", and that there would be no further amnesty for political prisoners beyond the miserable The Spanish metro strike-'liberals' sent in soldiers to strike-break sop thrown out by King Juan Carlos after after his coronation.
While Areilza tries to dish out soft words for consumption abroad, his police are dishing out something much less palatable to Spanish workers. Just last week, police in the southern town of Elda shot dead a striking worker _ and then tried to justify it by claiming that he was really just a drug-peddler anyway!
But the working class has not taken this lying down. In Elda 10,000 gathered for the funeral of this militant, and his murder aso SDarkCu or Drotes acmonstrations in the nearby city of Alicante and strikes throughout the area. In Barcelona, striking building workers have responded to the ferocity of the police by throwing up barricades and fighting back vigorously. STRIKE in the industrial town of Sabadell, just outside Barcelona. Two weeks ago the police anackea a local demonstranor of teachers, parent and schoolchildren; another demonstration called in protest was in turn attacked and several arrests made. The 50,000 workers of Sabadell then responded by a general strike, which ended only after the Government agreed to release the 11 arrested during the demonstration.
This determination of the Spanish working class to end the Francoist dic FOREIGN MINISTER AREILZA tatorship for good has resulted in another massive strike wave sweeping the country. Teachers, building workers, lorry drivers, steel workers and miners are among the more than a quarter of a mon workers CurrenLy on SuIKe The Government has prepared a plan to use the army to break une lorr drivers' strike, a plan which has already been put into action in the town of Badajoz. But an important new development has been the involvement of workers trom tne mutant basque country. which if it spreads could face the dictatorship with the sort of decisive showdown that it has so far tried to avoid.
Areilza comes to Britain to curry favour with the Labour Government over Spain's application to join the Common Market. So far opposition to his visit has been taken up by only small forces within the "Committee to Stop the Areilza Visit. The fighting words of Michael Foot and Jack Jones at the recent Conference in Solidarity with the Spanish Working Class' have come to nought with their first practical test.
Party, which specifically declined to take part in the Committee or its activities, and is, as a result, doing nothing.
We must ask Michael Foot, Jack WEEKLY Leaders of the United Ulster Unionist Coalition huddled in Lisburn Orange Hall last Thursday to draw up a plan of action in the wake of the collapse of the Constitutional Convention. After holding hundreds of meetings in the committee rooms at Stormont, t) e Loyalists abandoned these for the 'hot seat' of Orangeism in Lisburn because of what a spokes man called 'the nature of the business we are discussing'.
This was only one of a series of meetings which the Loyalists have planned to ensure a united response on their part to the next move of the Labour Government. Last Saturday, they went on to meet UUUC MPs at Westminster. The UUUC are totally opposed to ary British plan for the continuation of direct rule, and Enoch Powell, Loyalist MP for South Down, was sharply criticised for hinting otherwise The UUUC leaders understand that at present it is impossible for the Labour Government to retreat publicly on its commitment to power-sharing, and so direct rule is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. make it very difficult for Britain to operate this policy for any length of time. But they are determined to
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The British capitalist press has been helping to polish up the liberal' image of the Spanish Foreign Minister, Areilza, in preparation for his visit this week. Both the Times and the Express have carried long interviews in which he made the usual vague promises about political reforms to come.