British frigates are once mote roaming the high seas. But gone are the days when defence of the Empire was a glorious affair - today the business of the Senior Service is cod-poaching.
The Labour Party has been busily outdoing the Tories in patriotic calls to defend the fishing fleets from Icelandic "piracy. Once more the call of 'send in the Navy has echoed through the Parliamentary lobbies Social Democracy, of course, is just a bloodthirsty an exponent of imperialisen as are the political parties of the ruling class. Social Democrats justify this fervour by a supposed common interest the workers and capitalists share in defending the booty of imperialism from foreigners. But should the British working class movement follow their social democratie leaders into the thick of the tood war"?
MONOPOLIES The Royal Navy has been dispatched to defend the interests of the big food concerns such as Birds Eys.
Ross, Unilever, and Macishenies.
These monopolies have exploited the fish fields off Iceland without worry:
ing about the lang-term consequences for the fish population. As a result, the fish have been getting smaller and the average catch per hour of fishing has fallen dramatically. Bocause over 80 percent of Iceland's exports consist of fish, the whole future of the Icelandic coonomy has BALKING British frigate encounters foriandic gunboat. been placed in jeopardy, In response Iceland extended its fishing limits to the 50 mile mark last year.
Faced with British intransigence, the Icelanders have adopted the tac of cutting British trawler wires. und at the same time fighting in the international courts. The main fac tor restraining the British ruling class has been the fear that the Icelandic government might boot NATO out of the air base at Keflavik in retaliatoon, But when the Soviet Union recently refused to sell a gunboat to Iceland, despite the fact that the Icelandie Communist Party is in the coalition government, the Heath gov mment felt free to take up a harde stand. The soft line of the Russians based on "peaceful coexistence" with the imperialist powers couraged the British government to send in the Navy.
FALSE POLICY The line of least resistance for the trawlermen is to support their employers in this dispute, believing that this is the best way for British workers to increase their earnings. But this is a false policy.
Despite a rising total catch, British trawler hands remain among the lowest paid workers and suffer from a higher accident rate than in any other industry. The wages system, under which trawlermen receive a low basic wage plus a bonus dependent on the size of the catch, has not helped this situation. The only answer is the abolition of the bonus system and its replacement by a decent basic wage, with a guarantee of five days full pay each week of the year.
This would cut down the amount of overtime worked in the industry, simullaneously taking the pressure off the fish fields and providing sufficient work to make up for the effects of an Icelandic victory. would also solve the growing pro blems of unemployment and underemployment in the industry. But gains such as these cannot be won by forming alliances with the big monopolics and British imperialism Independent action by the workers is the essential first step.
EXISTENCE The line of the left in this situation should be clear. we are for the defeat of Britain. The Icelandic working dass correctly supports the 50 mile limit because the very material existonce of the Icclandie economy is under attack. But this does not mean that the Icelandic capitalists will be any more generous to their workers if Iceland wins. The loo landic fish merchants have to compete on the international market and so they are forced to increase the exploitation of their own workers.
This can only be reveised by Icelandie working class aslacking the capitalist system at home.
Whichever country wins the cod war.
the world's fish resources face serious depletion by the uncontroiled plun dering of capitalist companies interested only in their own profits. The working class has no interest in inheriting a world shose productive capabilities have been run into the ground. The capitalist governments of the world are unable to restrai their own monopolies. Only the IDternational labour movement bas a dear Interest in protecting the world's fisheries: It must fight to impose a series of contruis on the international monopolies who are responsible for the present ctisis.
The deselopment of world capitalist economy has made the nation state an obstacle to the satisfaction of our social needs; it now falls to the working class, on ao international plane, to solve those problems which the capitalist class is unable to deal The five Birmingham building worke who face conspiracy charges after oceupy ing the SOS Tump' agency last February. a well as the three ATV cameramen who filmed them, were remanded on Tuesday on bail of E100 each to appear for committal proceedings at the Magistrater Court next month.
Alan Sapper, head of the cine-technicians union ACTT, was in court for the hearing and commented afterwards that, were fighting the system... It is the forces we have outside the court on the day that will count'. Stepe are already being taken to mobilise in this direction, and last weekend the annual Midlands ragional meeting of UCATT plodged full support for the man. Arrangemants are aho being made for UCATT regional secretary Ken Barlow to address the next full morting of Birmingham Trades Council on the case Sussex University students are preparing a warm welcome for Professor Semuel P. Huntingdon of Harterd Unisersity, a promInent military-servicing socil identist, when he arrives to speak there next Man day.
Huntingdon is perhape best known for his advocacy of Forced Urban Draft, a strategy for use against revolutionery movements enjoying great popular support. In South Vietnam this has involved saturetion bombing of the countryside so force the peiian try into coge-like 'strategic hamlets"
The 50-etrong Sussex Indochina Solidarity Committee has deciled that it is essential to prevent this man from speaking, and is mobilising students on the besis of No Platform for War Criminels"
New charges against the Coventry 6 ware announced by palice in court on Monday: conspiracy to met fire to buildings and conspiracy to cause damage, against all six. One of them was also charged with poss ession of sodium chlorate, nitric add, an alarm clock, batteries, wire, and balloons It seems likely that the date for committal will be Fixed next week.
For further details, speakers, collection sheets, etc. contact the Prisonars. Defence Commitino, c/o 27 Paynes Lane, Hilliakis, A new nationalist group in Wales Welsh Socalist Vanguard held its first public meeting on Saturday, 12 May, with an atiendance of sbout 50 people. The topic discussed was The Liberation Strug gle in Wales Today,' and members of the group made it clear that they see a need to place this in the context of a struggle tor socialism, and to build finks with the other revolutionary movements which ai «Francis exist in Britain.
WSV are altompting to make an anay/sis of the economic situstion in Wales within world perspective, and see the need to place the present rationalisations and cio sures taking place in Wales in the can texT of the crisis of the capitalist system However they se Weish problems ar being perticularly aoute, and plan to inter vRnA. In the working cas concept of selfdecermination of nations. As such they represent an important development i the hitherto confused and fragmentoo Welsh Nationalist movement.
GAY MARXIST New reublutionary Markist paper
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