work." served no purpose at all. • LOTTA CONTINUA (Adriano Sofri): "In no way is this dis appointing result a body blow. Certainly the defeat rankles.
But the electoral terrain is not our specific terrain of action. We are not an electoralist lobby but a struggle organisation.' Another LC comrade underlined the importance of the campaign irrespective of the results: seven inousand meetings, three thousand red markets - which in Naples above all were a concrete means of demonstrating our methods of political • PDUP (Lucio Magri): We have held onto our vote of 15 June 1975 (in the regional elections), and that s good, ve nave a quorum in Milan, that's good. We will be in Parliament.
But that's not enough. It's not enough to say that in a climate of growing fear, a mechanism is being developed which can guard against the crisis. We must ask why, after ten years, all the forces of the New Left, including the organisations which have developed out of them, which have made a certain political and cultural impact in the country, have not succeeded in linking up with broader sections of the masses?
Why the alliance between us and Lotta Continua seems to have mark on the 20 June elections.... and the vaculations in is campaigi.
effect real changes... • REVOLUTIONARY COMMUNIST GROUPS (GCR), Italian section of the Fourth International: The polarisation betweer antagonistic social forces which has increasingly characterised the political struggle in Italy over the last few years has left its *The advance of the left, which reflects the militancy and the offensive of the working class and the broad masses, has been marked above all by a new jump in the vote of the CP, which has asserted itself as the sole alternative pole to the bourgeoisie, and primarily to the Christian Democrats. As for the Socialist Party, it has paid the price for its long years in the government *Proletarian Democracy has succeeded in attracting large layers around its central proposal of a left government, but has not succeeded in appearing as a credible force which could The situation therefore remains unstable and full of con flict. The working class must renew its struggles in defence of jobs and living standards, and continue to advance the perspec tive of a left government formed by the CP and SP.:
'Captain Burt was a maniac. I was more afraid of him than I was of the IRA!' The words are those of Christopher Johm Hendley, a former private in the Parachute Regiment wno was stacioned in the nationalist Ardoyne area of Bellast in the spring ol 19td. ne was describing to the Belfast Court of Appeal an incident which took place on 17 April 1973, when soldiers in an observation post opened fire on a group of unarmed men - killing one JOHN MAGEE reports from Belfast man, Brian Smith, and wounding two others.
As a result of this incident a 32-yearold Catholic, Edward MeClafferty, was aleo tor erar vears on a urearm. charge after soldiers claimed that he was one of at least three who were armed Only when Hendley went to the Daily Miror eamertos vear ano revenied that there had been a frame-up was Nornern relano secretary enva Rees forced to order the hearing of an appeai oy mculanerty. Red Weekly 1 July 1976 one of a four-man patrol under the up positions in an observation post in Captain Burt pointed out a group of men in the street and stated that they were either in the IRA or acted as look-outs for them. "This is too good a chance to miss', Burt told the patrol.
Hendley continued: Burt then detailed off each member of the group who we were to fire at. He gave the order to fire shots at Meehan and Fennell. We fired for about 5-10 seconds and afterwards all the men had scattered and I saw ratuck rennen me man aney wa opposite."
Following the shooting the patrol returned to its base. There Hendley and a Private Trittin were taken into a back room by Captain Burt and a Lance-Corporal Fletcher, and told that they would have to have la story that fitted'. To justify what had happened, they must say that they saw MeClafferty draw a pistol or revolver from the pocket of a blue anorak, and that the order to fire Hendley told the court that he was command of Captain Burt which took his trouser-leg.
Etna Drive, Ardoyne, in the early hours of 17 April 1973. During the morning weapons."
and I fired about seven MANIAC the incident."
sull denes had been given when Smith was seen withdrawing an Armalite rifle trom While they were in the room they heard that one man had been killed and two others injured. According to Hendley, Burt commented: It's a pity we didn't get more of the bastards to which Fletcher replied: Well, it would have looked pretty suspicious with all those dead bodies and no Hendley told the court: I saw no weapons, and no-one in the patrol said tney nao seen any wedoons. une scor about the weapons was a fabrication, and was made up by te tour soliers alter Edward McClafferty is now out on bail awaiting a new trial. Captain Burt ano-ance-coroora metemer concinu to enjoy their freedom. Brian Smith is But Burt and company need have nue tear tnat wey will De brougat to book for his murder. In the last seven years no British soldier has ever been penalised for murdering Irish civilians The murderers of Brian Smith can rest assured that their army careers and civilian future will not be adversely affected - just as the murderers of Brendan Maguire and John Loughran (gunned down by British troops on the Antrim Road, Belfast in February 1973), of Daniel Rooney and Patrick MeVeigh (killed by the SAS), of Patrick MeElhone (murdered in front of his ageing parents), have received nothing but the gratitude of the British capitalist class.
Shortly before its collapse, the Daily Sketch pontificated in an editorial: "The average British soldier is a great defender of civilisation against chaos, of order against the apostles of violence. He is the most patient, decent, military man in the world (17 July 1970). In the Belfast court last week, ex-Private Hendley described the average British soldier, Captain Burt, as a "fucking maniac'.
That's as may be, but one thing is certain. The average British soldier is a mercenary thug who when ordered to murder by his officers will merrily do so. The Christopher Hendleys of the British Army stand apart from these butchers,