The Irish Republican Socialist Movement have accused the Official IRA of being responsible for the death of leading IRSP member Hugh Ferguson.
Since Ferguson's death on 21 February there have been numerous allegations of shootings, beating-up, kidnappings and killings of both Official and IRSP members.
Sean Garland, reputed to be second-in-command of the Official Army Council, has been seriously wounded Garland was shot in Dublin on Saturday 1 March. Other casualties include Ronnie Bunting. a prominent IRSP supporter in Belfast, and Sean Fox, a leading Official DETERIORATION Since Ferguson's death there has been a rapid doterioration in the conflict Oficial IRA. If a halt is not called quickly then this interocine warfare will have senous conscounces not last for the two groups involved but for the whole Irish anti-imperialist strugple The IRSP is mainly made up of for mer members of the Officials who under the leadership of Scamus Costello wete either expelied or left the Officials over differences on the national question (sco Red Weekly 16 Januiry I9T51 LaME December they set up their own organise lion, which the Official at first dismissed as an ultra left arous alet was "insignificant'.
One leader of the Officials produced the concal contanation that" International Socialists have now set up their own party and are no longer at tempting to use Sinn Fein for their own disruptive ends: (Hibernia, 10 January 1975)
The Officials indulged in an orgy of press statements denying that the IRSP had taken away or won any senif can support from the Officials, Then the ary the Helfast executive of the IRSP put out a statement alleging that lour of their members had been kidnapped, held and slightly wounded.
The response of the Official IRA was can son recoyag cose allegations and condemning such political thuggery they said: "Over the past few against ex-members of the Ollicial Official Sinn Fain Organiser Sean Garland, seriously wounded in Dublin Republican Movement who had been found guilty of various acts of embezzle ment of movement rands and nisap propriation of IRA wcapons, and other criminal actions. Officials. The idea that the politics of the IRSP had led them to engage in soctarian violence is without foundation This is not some simple conflict between the two organisations over finance, territory or weapons The Army Council of the Official IRA appears to have taken a decision to smash the new organisation. Many independent reports allege that the Official Icadership has toid its rank and NU CONE MUST DOT MAKE ME SUE mistake with the IRSP as it made with the Provisionals by allowing them to within the Officials of late give credibility to such a view. The hard stalinist wing is strengtlening its position, and this has many of the overtones of the Communist Party's approach in the 1930s. Onu young "Turk" In the Officials, obviously modelling himself on the hard-Line CP backs of the pee-1956 days, said: The Offcial Repuhlican Movement is not yet manpithic, in ideology or in practice Yet it has made at the last Ard Fheis in particular (when Costello and his supporters were kicked out immense strides in that direction". Jrish Times, 28 December 1974)
of the Officials is seen in the Jazuary Due Pne are Jennian o1ncя organ of the Officials which carried an This is a scurious accusation by the troops A number of politica, evelopments Another indication of the stalinisation Bamadette MeAliskey, leader of the frish article justifying the suppression of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution by Soviet ARROGANCE The present attitade of the Official leadership to the feud is one of appressive arrogance. They have refused to try and discuss through intermediaries, and are contemptuous of any efforts made to dilluse the tensions. This is in contrast with their position in early 1971, when they wore in a similar conflict with the гоумолая два вкол: алаш republican shoot republican?
At that time they correctly said that such divisions presented British imperialism and its agents provocateurs with a golden opportunity, and used the example of how the conflict between the rival national liberation movements (FLN and FLOSY) in Aden had heen used by the British, If that was true then what has changed now? Maybe the Officials feel the odds are now in their lavour this time.
In contrast the IRSP have unequivoca lly condemned the violence, and say this is no way of solving political differences in the working class movement They have repeatedly sald that they are pre pared to use intermediaries to end the tensions and conflict. They have also called for open political debate.
DISASTROUS
It is impossible to say, however, whether all the runk and file of the IRSP have resisted the Official's provocations. If they have resorted to retaliation, such a course would be disastrous.
The Revolutionary Marxist GroupIrish soction of the Fourth International have urged a campaign in defence of the deht to organise which would be far more effective than retaliation. Such a campaign, coupled with the demands of conduct and for a commission to oversec its implementation, could grin a response even within the ranks of the SUNDAY 6 APRIL 1 p.m. Clerkenwell Green