Socialist Challenge No. 166, 3 October 1980
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Page 1 scan of this page
Challenge
SOCIALISM!
No.166 2 October 1980 INSIDE
* * * Tony Benn on America
page 5
* * * Iran/Iraq
war
pages 2-3
* * * Labour and the bomb
page 4
5 WONT
FREEOTMATCHER
TRIDENT R I CROWSEI
Conspiracy
against Nicaragua
page 12
Right to Work march
page 15
Inside Long
Kesh page 13
*
Leicester: racism and
the crisis
pages 8-9
20p
party unity
Monday.
The attack of hysteria being suffered by the Gang of Three is a direct consequence of the surge inside the party for more democracy and socialist policies.
British capitalism is in its WHOSE 1930s. The Tories in their own way have a radical programme for dealing with this crisis unemployment, social welfare cuts.
These add up to a drastic decline in the standard of living of the hope working Tories measures to boost profits and get our or une crisIs The only alternative to this
is a socialist programme - of nationalisation, investment, and workers' contrọl. These
Socialist
Labour right threatens
What is
Shirley
Williams
running
'LEFT FASCISM' - that's how Shirley Williams, hero of the Labour right, described the fight for democracy and left policies last
In a ranting speech at the so-called Campaign for Labour Democracy meeting at the Labour Party conference, Williams declared war on the left.
right-wing's
thinkers
serious crisis since the Dreams lower wages,
the goods class. The changes; through these services living improve. and '60s. planning of measures would
away from?
provide a basis for overcoming the crisis in the interests o working people, not profits.
Shirley Williams and her co-
Owen and Rodgers want none of that. They cling to the belief that it is possible to continue with the policies of 'welfare capitalism'.
This is the idea that capitalism can go on providing
without that by tinkering about with a few industries and
standards will Such a view could pass for realism' in the 1950s
Today it is a pure day dream - and the ranks of the Labour Party know it full well. That's
why they're stepping up the fight for left policies democracy within the party so that its representatives can be held accountable. Fury
It would be a mistake to believe that the fury of the Gang of Three and their threats to leave the party mean that the left has won the fight.
So long as the fight for inparty democracy won, the spectacle of a new Labour government. led Healey and defying conference UCES ULES. remains possibility:
Defeating the right means organising to fight against the right both in the Labour Party and the trade unions. It was Engineering Union Terry Duffy and the leader of the electricians, Frank Chap. ple, who shared the Gang of Three's platform in Blackpool on Monday.
* Organising against the right — see pages 6 and 16
and is not
real
leader
MARCH
AGAINST
MISSILE MADNESS Sunday 26 Oct Assemble 11am Hyde Park Rally 2.30pm Trafalgar Square
Organised by CND
Page 2 scan of this page
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Why we
Iranian
revolution
'MAD mullahs', 'madman Khomeini' - that's the impression of Iran given in the bourgeois press.
Many people who were happy to see the departure of the Shah have been disappointed and disillusioned with the Khomeini tyrannical Shah seems to have given way to obscurantist autocracy.
So why do we say Hands off Iran' and defend the Iranian revolution? Is there really choose between Iran and iraq?
The Khomeini regime in Iran is not the product of a palace coup, but of a massive mobilisation of the Iranian people. revolutionary upsurge finished off the Shah most remarkable of all time. Such was the strength of the Shah's army, with its nuce amounts of weaponry, that he was thought to be virtually impregnable from popular ing. His secret police force, SAVAK, was one of the most efficient, and certainly he most ruthless in the ponents of the Shah were hunted down across the world by SAVAK.
The Shah fell, despite the strength of his repressive forces, because millions of people came out onto the streets and were prepared to defy anything that the Shah could throw at them. The Iranian
heals on eddie people, the
hearts minds weapons, are what counts
The victory of the revolution struck a
strategic perialism. Their local policeman, Shah, and his regime American interests Western Asia and the Middle East were threatened. represented an immense victory for tse revolution's Iranian masses themselves. In order to really themselves perialism it is necessary for the workers and peasants to go much further in an anti-capitalist direction than has so far been achieved. But in travelling that road the first step was to get rid of the Shah.
The removal of the Shah has thrown the future of the country into the melting pot. The mullahs, led by Khomeini, want a fundamentalist 'Islamic' regime. such a regime has no real social programme for dealing with the increasing economic and social chaos.
The pro-Western bourgeoisie realises that no direct rapprochement with the West is possible, but want to gradually push the clerics aside, bourgeois state and alliance with the West.
Since the fall of the Shah there have been many steps forward by the masses themse ves. some of the oil refineries, the have formed shoras, delegates' committees, to push forward their demands. Often they have won increases in pay and other gains. In some of the rural areas, peasants have seized the land. steps, Torward thinkable under the Shah.
At the time leaders have tried to push forward reactionary social measures. But their powel is by no means assured. systematic répression which would rob the masses of all their gains.
Only a workers' republic in Iran can finally tne vestiges of the hold of imperialism. But a victory by fraq and its imperialist backers would only set back the revolutionary process.
That's why we call for defence of Iran in the present war.
International,
regime. The
clerical
years.
anything to
many
was one of the out with
American-made the right
upris-
world. Op- Arabia,
Libya distancing Palestine Organisation.
people,
the region had fallen.
the whole of weakened.
massive
victory the
Western
from im-
order to start the West.
But rebuild the cement a tacit
factories, even
workers
Iraqi borders.
These would have been un-
the religious
There no
masses from last
INVASION
By Phil Hearse THE attack on Iran by Iraqi forces stitutes a counter-revolutionary invasion which should be opposed by all socialists.
That's the only conclusion that can be drawn from looking at the development of the political situation in the Gulf area over the last couple of
The evolution of the Iraqi Baathist regine is typical of
bourgeois or petty-bourgeois nationalist regimes all over the world. Starting
'leftist', imperialist image the regime
prug. cssively moved to
The new president, Sad dam Hussein, has cemented a new alliance with the ultra-reactionary regimes in Saudi
Kuwait and Jordan an
shearing the regime's previous alliance with radical Arab nationalist regimes in
and Algeria, and States. itself from the Liberation
Imperialism
Politics abhors a vacuum.
Since the fall of the Shah, imperialism's grip in the Gulf
has been severely fective The Shah and his American-equipped dam forces functioned as the gendarme of the Gulf. They were
guarantors of prostability in the
It was the Shah who sent his forces into Oman to fight Iran. against the revolution there.
So long as the Shah was power the Gulf was safe for
But with the fall of the Cairo Shah's regime the hold of im- tional perialism in the region was By Brian Grogan THE UNILATERAL attack and invasion by Iraq on Iran represents a new danger for the future of the Iranian revolution. We call for the defence of Iran and the immediate withdrawal of
troops behind the
Defence of Iran involves the socialists to fight alongside the Khomeini regime against any attempt by Iraq, or the Iranian counter-revolution to overthrow it. themselves to settle accounts with Khomeini and the Bani-sadr regime.
But this defence of the Iranian revolution does not mean support to the leaders and institutions of the 'Islamic Republic'. On the contrary, we fight for a socialist alternative perspective as the best way of
We agree with Khomeini on the need for 'an army of 20 million' But this will be
effective in defending fran, byr win nand.
conseverely weakened. The new Iran represented a break with American interests; rather than acting as the catspaw of US imperialism, Iran is locked in conflict with the US over the hostages.
Policeman
It is into this vacuum that Saddam Hussein has now stepped. Apart from forging
alliance with the reac tionary Arab regimes, Hussein has been busy 'normalising' relations with the United
Carter's bellicose advisor, Zbigniew Berenily: We see commented recently: fundamental incompatability of interests between the United States and Iraq'.
Through une weakening of the Iranian regime, and et
control of the northern end of the Gulf, Sad
Hussein hopes to establish himself as imperialism's new policeman for the region, and thus to become a prominent leader of ure Arao wonde meaning of his attack on
Deposed
order 'patriot' the Shah's son in apocal
offered his uncondisupport to fight against the Iraqis, "to the last
Mass mobilisations, not
reliance on Khomeini
mobilising
in the armed forces.
with the pre-war agamst une revolution
duty of
and file committees.
How does
non-Persian?
thusiasm of
drop of blood'. But the real attitude of the hangers-on of the deposed regime is much better summed up by Sadat's Now is the time to bring down Khomeini'.
Plotting
The forces loyal to the exShah's family have been discussing the possibility bringing down Knomein in a counter-revolutionary coup.
Several of the Shah's generals — led by Oveissie and Paliz ban _ together with forme premier Bahktiar, have been camped in Baghdad for some time, plotting the possibility return power.
Whether the Iraqi invasion will give them the opportunily to try to overtnrow Ano meini remains to be seen It seems extremely unlike. ly that the invasion of Iran was inched as a result direct collusion between Baghdad ana Washington.
The increasing coincidence of interests belween imperialism and the Iraqi regime doesn't make their interests identical.
Oil For most Western coun tries the threat to oil supplies serious, although the United negligible amount of oil from States itself
Iraq and none from Iran.
Moreover, despite Sad dam Hussein's alll establish himself im perialism's gendarme in the Gulf, the whole conflict has a potential dynamic • toward destabilising the region Nonetheless, , there is little doubt about which side imperialism will where Western sympathies lie. the Iranian masses democratically organised militias and the establishment of rank and file committees
Khomeini's present policy of boosting the military hierarchy does nothing to dea
fact that this hierarchy is in terested in fomenting plots and coups
Such a state of affairs can only aid Iraq What's needed is a real purge of reac tionary officers through rank and file itiative, and the putting of the rest of the officer corps under the control of the rank
Khomeini propose mobilise the half of the population which i
granting self determination would generate mass en
the oppressed nationalities behind the fight to expel Iraq, as well ar maximising the mobilisation of the traq masses against the Baathist reactionaries
The task of defending the gains of an , deepening the Iranian revolution go han
Page 3 scan of this page
REVOLUTIONARY
US build-up - nothing
to do with peace-
keeping
IRAQ'S invasion of Iran comes in the wake of a massive military build-up in the region by imperialism. stand poised to take advantage of any pretext to intervene and throw back the corces of the Iranian revolution.
This build-up began almost a year ago, following
hinchical
hostages for Tine the Shah. One of its first expressions
Dilusli llavic.
Todav the British navv is again playing its part. On
the missile destroyer Coven-
liary tanker, was on its way to join a possible keeping force off
of Hormuz. plans involve the establishment wepioyment rorce using series of military bases
Keny Bahrain.
and back up the major strategic
Egypt and Arabia.
American military the bandi deteneo tores cordenar Egypt is a more recent ally, but in February a Pentagon
bulla-up
forcibly
US forces
negotiating team agreed to provide 40 F-16 jet fighters and 250 M-60A3 part of credits expected to reach $4 billiol vver luc next rive vears
Carter has also agreed in principle to with F-15 fighters, the mos advanced Jel LUC Carners.
DeConadons began earlier this year for
jets need. 214ST helicopters in Egyptian factories
Force Hostages
where wound refuge before his rey inally
Darl
was THON Egypt that Carter's abortive mission to
aircraft involved in this adventure refuelled Luchway Oman. There is no problem he mal! siren o forces al c commanded ti ¡cual duusu ordcess.
But the crux: this
is tne Diego Garcia, which was re.
in return Gulf
Mauritius in the 1960s The 1,200 inhabitants were
evacuatec with little or no publicity to make
a huge military base.
Brigades
runway has
12,000 feet to 12ke 0-52 bombas, a it exo Iran.
llaval SuDDOrL lave COn structea. I ne latest addition to the armoury Diego Garcia are five rehabilitatec transport ships carrying the 1971.
trucks and ammunition which a marin amphibious brigade woulc
This Rapid Deployment
nothing with 'freedom of shipping in te resan Gulf and En en
of Hormuz'. demant org para noes to bis
put tion the Soviet Union in 1975 Numerous
discuss ons detente and rejected by the
The US military buildup in the region has one purpose only: to reimpose the Shah.
Wata was the , Iranian February 1979 and prevent Surthetrevolu nonary upneavals.
International
Saddam Hussein: wants to become
imperialism's new gendarme in the
Iraq's alliance with
the Shah
IRAQ's turn towards the West dates from 1975, when a new treaty was signed with the Shah of
The Shah agreed to stop all aid to the Kurdish rebels in Iraq in return for the division of the Shatt alArab waterway and renunciation of Arab sovereignty over three islands in the Gulf seized by the Shah in
• This agreement had far-reaching consequences. Iraq also agreed to halt its 'subversive' propaganda in the Gulf emirates and the Arab minorities in Iran, to cut the flow of arms to South Yemen and thence to the Dhofar rebels fighting against the Sultan of Oman, and to stop aiding the rebels in Baluchistan.
At the same economy to foreign capital.
The net result was a growing pattern of collabora-
between the Iraqi regime Iranian oppositionists who refuge in Iraq were handed over to the Shah's executioners. Finally, as the revolt in Iran assumed mass proportions October 1978, Ayatollah Khomeini as a token of goodwill to the
Its present actions are thus part of a logical sequence of events.
the ture the time Iraq began to open up its
and the Shah. had sought
Iraq expelled the
Iraqis aim to become
'new centre of
gravity'
By Tom Marlowe PRESIDENT Saddam Hussein of Iraq has a high opinion of himself.
In a two-page advertisment, placed by the Iraqi government in the Observer in July, he was described as having 'obviously inherited the two fountains of Eastern wisdom: the shrewd experience of his rural folk and the ancient experience of his nation'.
This self-promotion concluded: 'Iraq was more than once the springboard for new civilisation in the Middle East and the question is now pertinently asked, with a leade like this man, the wealth of
resources, forceful people like the Iraqis, will she repeat her former glories?'
West
The Iraqi invasion of Iran is, at its most simple, an attempt by Hussein to recap-
these 'former glories The Iraqi president is out to make a name for himself.
His aim is to ensure that, as the advertisement in the Observer becenes the 'Baghdad gravity in the area centre of new
Ever since the fall of the Shah, possibility that he can dominate the Middle East and Gulf areas.
To do this he has dropped some of the socialistic and
OTTe allegedly far-left regime he has stepped up repression internally to tr and secure his
and be har away from his former ally the Soviet Union and closer to the West.
Fervour
His Iranian adventure is part of this same process: to present his regime.
Guardian recently put it, 'If not as America's gendarme in guarantee of stability in the Gulf, least as vital oil-rich region'.
This is why Hussein's invasion of Iran has been hailed by, among others, the royalist regimes in Jordan, Morocco,
Cairo SAUDI EGYPT Riyadh a ARABIA
SUDAN Djibouti Me Chafenget-2 Octob
and Saudi Arabia, all of whom are much more under the US imperialism than Hussein is prepared to admit he is.
Hussein has been moving closer these right-wing Gulf regimes. It is not simply a case or tne Iraol presiden
himself as the new Middle East leader; there i also common interest safeguarding the from the type of revolutionary fervour which swept Iran.
That is why, , for instance, Hussein recently signed an agreement with Saudi Arabi: pledging to exchange information on 'subversives'.
According to Amnesty In ternational Iraq executed 257 SUCI 'subversives' between January 1978 and December Bigotry
The victims included police and army officers, but also Kurdish guerrillas and at least one prominent trade unionist Badan Fadil Araibi, who was executed last August.
Hussein is reported to have personally attended some of these executions
As well as these killings Iraq recently expelled proximately 35,000 of its own citizens, , many of whom were Shi'ite Moslems, members of the same sect as Ayatollah Khomeini
choosing discriminate against the Shi'ites, Hussein's motive did
stem fron bigotry. Again, his fear was that the Shi'ites would be too open tr the type of sentiments whict
Business
His own regime has tend
ca lo move in tne OpposIti
direction members of the recently elected Iraqi na-
tonal assembly were, accor ding to The Times, 'rathe business, the high court, and representative the security forces'
That is a long way from the socialism claimed by Saddam Hussein. He has said 'Whoever tries to climb over our tence, we shall climb ove his roof.
Last week, while fencing in his own peo. ple, he chose to climb on Iran's roof.
USSR
IRAN
INDIA -SALALAN
Page 4 scan of this page
same ayan dant 2, 4, 6, 8 - We don't
THATCHER'S mania for warmongering including the spending of billions Trident stationing Cruise missiles across the country - has met with little support in the labour movement. The
on disarmament going to this year's Labour Party conference are evidence of that.
Since the first atomic bombs were dropped on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Labour leaders have thrown themselves behind each move to step up the nuclear arms race. Cle-
Attlee, Labour prime minister from 1945
was one of the first to welcome the use of the bomb against Japan.
'Square Leg'
on in Europe, in Britain the government has been carrying out civil defence and internal security manoeuvres to test the state's preparations for war. These manoeuvres have been code named 'Square Leg'.
The ruling Labour group on Lothian Regional Counci caused a stir recently by refusing to go along with these manoeuvres.
Immediately three leading
Tories rushed to the Court of Session to get an interim interdict (the COLONE equivalent of an injunction) forbidding local government officials from obeying the Labour council's instructions. So much for democracy in local government!
But the stand of the Lothian Council was warmly welcomed at a recent meeting of Lothian Against the War
Missiles campaign
launched in Newcastle
By Pete Tattersall
in Newcastle was
ed by 500 people.
had to use an overflow room upstairs!
have was 300 people and £80.
on 26 October. seicighat Chiatione 12 Detobar 1900" Page 4*
It was during the 1950s that the debate over disarmamenl Labour only a minority
mament, icaders (even the "left') formed a block against any immediate practical steps.
The differences were between this block and those rank and file Labour Party members who favoured British disarmament.
Aneurin Bevan. gener the Tribune Group 'lefts', only disagreed with party defence was a sham — ing class survive a nuclear war.
Operation Square Leg, he said, was designed to test out the where establishment would go in the
Tom Fenton, chairperson of Lothian Region Party, took up when he said that the real pur pose of the exercise was to accustom British people to the possibility of war.
LAWD is a new organisation but has more than 50 active members. was agreed to make the sole basis of support opposition weapons other like opposition to could be raised as the movement gathered support. meeting decided to organise transport to both the Glasgow demonstration on 25 October and the London demonstration the following day.
THE BASIS for a campaign against the missiles
established by two meetings - a meeting with EP Thompson a month ago which attracted over 700 people, and a rally on 13 September in Eldon Square attend-
In order to bring together the opposition to the missiles a meeting was held on 17 September. Despite the fact that the meeting was advertised by word of mouth only, about 300 people turned up - we had to move to a pub with a larger room, but even then we
The organisers of the meeting explaied that there was no structure, no officials, not even an agreed name for the movement on Tyneside. What we did
The meeting eventually split up into seven groups, according to the districts in which people lived. Arrangements were made for locality meetings and for mobilising to attend the CND national demonstration
Newcastle Socialist Challenge meeting
The War Drive and the fight against the Missiles Sunday 5 October 8pm Barbarellas (upstairs) Cloth
Market.
• Speaker. Sieve Potter (IMG, National" Secretary)
Labour and the bomb
merely suspended.
conference calling for
water British nuclear
disarmament. He led
whole section of the left in-
La coalton with Gait-
skell and the 'multi-
lateralists' — who argued
that British disarmament
had to wait until there was
a full negotiated disarma-
ment between NATO and
the Warsaw Pact. Then, as • WOK would not
the
By Geoff Bell IN a noisy colourful this theme demonstration,
2,000 people marched against missiles on Sunday in Blackpool.
The was calling for support nuclear for the plethora demands NATO resolutions to
Party conference
The tacking the
Cruise and missiles in Britain.
CND Glasgow Over a dozen Labour Party banners were carried on the march and constituencies as far Glasgow were represent-
organised by Against the Missiles, was also supported tingents from CND, END, the Communist Party and big the IMG. Youth But the highlight of the march was number of youth who took part, many of them under the 'Youth ABERDEEN CND
public meeting. supporters that a large proportion oi tre audience
Deodnesday 1 September
organised Against the meeting.
To their surprise 70 peo. ple meeting they discussed the turned
meaning of the drive, and
Home News
now, multilateralism simply meant 'do nothing'. 1960 those who 'unilateralism' were backed by powerful trade union forces - the and General Union, the Tailors & Garment Workers, the Fire Brigades Union, and the construction union, the AUBTW, together with most of the constituency Labour parties. With support of this kind it was relatively easy to make unilateralism into official party policy. ine right wing were horrorstruck. the
demonstration
of
Labour
atsiting of
Trident DISARM
NOW!
ENSURE
LOUR
UTURE
away as
demonstration, Manchester
by con-
Missiles'
Tried the slogan: '1, 2, the large won't die
want to radiate.
Against the I MIS
Aberdeen youth organise
against missiles
recently veekly ivuth Against the
Revolution The next
realised which Aberdee Against were young TOr • IS
next I being Aberdeen CND 'Youth winere Missiles Missiles will be having their own stall.
area interested can along the Wednesday evening 730e meetnes American at the Music Hall, or write to
:30-on The c/o.
Viaduct, Aberdeen.
Aneurin Bevan:
The called opposition to NATO 'an amo. tional spasm
Gaitskell announced that he would 'fight, fight and fight again' to get the policy changed. A massive
want to radiate
ON
PART
YOUNG SOCIALIS banner. was this contingent which car-
most popular we in Thatcher's war, 5, 6, 7, 8 - we don't
chant was taken
among
youth signing big activity Youth Missiles the Peace organised by ОсYouth Against
none in ine doerseer YAM come open against Salford
There
as a party and the length Rosemount this missiles'.
campaign Was launched of the Campaign for Democratic Socialism. Large subsidies WE
WONT
DIE FOR
FREEDTHATENER,
TRIDENTR
CRUISE
up by the whole march and at times even drowned out
bingo callers on Blackpool's promenade.
Speakers
Two members of Youth Against the Missiles were
the speakers on Blackpool sands at the end of the march. One of them, Gillian Whitworth, warned that it is the future of the
that летеле orders her Cruise missiles'. away when she this fe Beginning
speakers phasised that the demon
was only the beginning of the campaign
the missiles.
MP Stan Orme the demanded that 'the Labour Party go out on the streets
campaign and breadth of country against the
from British business and the CIA were made available to overturn the 1960 conference decision. By 1961 they were successful.
With leaders like these it is not surprising that when a motion in favour of abandoning all of Britain's nuclear annour was adopted by the 1973 party comerence l was cynically ignored by the Labour government.
Today the fight is on in the Labour Party. The immediate demand is a commitment to cancel Cruise and Trident and backing for a campaign to this end but Labour's past shows it would be foolish to expect enthusiastic support from those who lead the party now.
WE
WONTE
DIE FOR
TeN MATCH
Colin Barnett of North West TUC called for ference to organise such a labour movement con. campaign theme echoed in the remarks Dick Withe combe Manchester Against the Missiles.
Conference
By the time the con ference had opened the next day, a host of spon. sors had agreed to support
anti-missile con-
rence These included
Frank Allaun, Stan Orme, Bob Hughes, Eric Heffer, Joan Maynard, Ken Easton, Dennis Skin-
Race, Stuart Holland, Alf Dubs.
The campaign against
missies received tur ther encouragement when the National Executive of the Labour Party agreed to recommend support forg resolutions calling for s unilateral dísarmament
Page 5 scan of this page
US Labour Party
What were your impres-
sions of the Únited States after your recent visit? 'he at Williams
College was about the future of
caolarsm. incle was a pane. with the president of Dupont, the chairman of the American Stock Exchange, the president Ford, and the former chief economic adviser to President Nixon.
On the previous evening I gave a lecture on the future of democratic socialism. I took the opportunity of giving this lecture to about five hundred students, and then taking part in the panel.
What was so interesting and in a way amazing to me that it was exactly like talking The respense on the power of The response on the power corporate capitalism, Street, and the risk of war was
way as if I was talking to the Labour Club at one of the London polytechnics or something of that kind.
On the panel, all the American businessmen saying that the government should get off their backs, and productivity was low, and all the stutt that we've heard here for 20 years. The argument but forward. which was that we don't accept capitalism as it's structured in the West, produced a very positive response
There's another conference in December which I'm going to, called "The conference on Euro-Socialism and America', where they have invited a lot of trade union people and so on. This will also be a big event. My impression is that in the United States now there siderable interest and curiosity
what we are saying in the Labour Party in Britain.
Do you think there is a serious prospect establishing American labour party?
You have to be careful about expectations KnO. think what is happening, the tactics of this may well be right, to try form socialist tendency, a genuine socialist tendency, within the Democratic Party. There's big debate going on as weener socialists should link themselves with Barry Commoner's ecological group whether they should try to form it arouna ine boclanst workers Party or whatever.
Given the context
American society, I think the right thing to do at this stage is to form a labour representation committee and a socialist fraction within the Democratic Party. I believe these are the tactics that Michael Harrington's group and others are pursuing.
'They've caught the ageing process of capitalism'
It's very early days. It's a bit like Keir Hardie going to the Dundee Congress of the TUC in 1888, when he was denounced for his pains. But I would have thought that was the stage ot develonment in America
If you try and do it outside, scoalale 1101 the COOLIE structures, I've no doubt what-
that you could have a bright flame of socialism burning: the question is how many people would be influenced by t? But I can't pretend to have followed this very carefully.
Don't you think that would be in conflict with the interests of Jimmy Carter? Oh yes, there's no question of this. літу. 1VI COOLIES
was
States Wall
Williams solute
WCC con-
CAPTER TRY
of AMERICAN HOOKERS SUPPORT
and
to
of
an extreme fiscally conservative element within the Democratic Party. This is widely recognised, if you read some of the literature.
But at the same time I think that there is a merit in starting some king which, it it can have on fluence, will go well beyond the range at this stage ot a socialst party outside the existing structure. lhat is a tactical decision: it's not for me to decide.
What rôle do you think the trade unions can play in the formation of such a party? It would be extremely important in worid labour movement politics if American workers formed a labour It would be, and I think the plan in the Deto dan Party within the where there have been links with the trade movement. The unions have a fairly this socialist tradition within them,
going back to the But.it's weak, and its leadership recent eirs under evene in recent years under Meany
TONY BENN spent three days in the United
last month at the College, in Massachusetts, where he gave a lecture and took part in a panel discussion.
Pat Kane and Hugh Richards asked him about the state of America, his views on the possibility of forming a labour party there, and the new anti-war movement.
desperately conservative.
But at the same time it's bringing the socialists and the progressive trade union people together under the auspices of Harrington and wno are preparea to give it a party push.
This seems to me to offer the best hope. At this stage you want to encourage its growth everywhere in the United States — you don't want to fix it rigidly in one place see where it grows most strongly.
In the end, of course, there was labour representanon or an ex plicit character with a socialist the Will di would be enormously
In this country I'm pretty from clear, operate through the Lobs to operate through . union Party. If you're saying about the strong Democratic Party ing something that has far less Wobblies. inherent validity.
You are in favour of the principle of establishing a fabour
Labour Party.
Early days for a
invitation of Williamstown,
CARTER
LETS AMERICAN
WORKERS
DOWN
party?
development. the others,
I think they
Wing process of capitalism
- so that we can lege is that they
American economist, move towards
US, signifi- which would agree to
as you would appreciate convocation
At the Labour that American you're say-
Wing happen reading
Benn on America
TOYOTA
Of course, but I still think you have to look at their stage of the formation
What is so in- party? for years they have been talking about the 'British disease', now
appreciate that they've caught it themselves What they've caught is the age.
One of the things I founc interesting about going to the seminar at this particular col-
had an identical seminar in 1932 and the par- 1880s, ticipants were Jacob Winer the always
William tradition Z Foster, secretary of the Com- trade unions Thomas Could you imagine n and Norman After single American college today have the Party, present secretary of the Com- else. munist Party to speak at their
moment there is great curiosity about socialism in the US, just as there is in Bri. There
claims to be socialists are so frightened by what they are see. was there.
that they are and. are listen to an alternative analysis. can get bold That sabout all you can say Tew
tion
the the
AMERICAN
tion What rôle do you see the American unions playing in
of a labour
It should be a very big rôle, but of course they are weak, , and they have had in the past a col-
among some of the leadership which
diverted them examining the real nature of the States problems facing them — exact. ly the same as the trade union
fluence movement had in Britain in the
and indeed there has been a collaborative within the British
all, there are six million trade unionists who are not yet affiliated to the Labour
apart from anything
What were your impress- strong ions of the anti-war ment in the United States?
was demonstration against Cruise missiles taking place in Massachusetts. while I
I would guess from reading such left-wing papers as one
rew ander between, that es mene
Socialist Chelonae.: 2 October 199
actly the same arguments that are taking place here are taking place there, but in more of a minority position.
course it is a bigger
thing in America, which is the dominant capitalist country in the world, to come to
with demands for transforma
there. It's very much
behind our own development
What was interesting was resoonse what said which was an uncompromising speech of the kind that I might
being said dustrialists, bankers, and
cronomists when lnere was a big student audience present. Did you get any feeling of
inability of America
the inability America to intervene in Nicaragua or El Salvador?
I believe that the frustration of American power is one of the dangerous factors in the American situation, rather like the anticolonia stern ent
anti-colonial movement leading to the Suez operation.
But it's a great mistake to think that capitalism is about to collapse. One of the difficulties for the left is supposing that the first time capitalism runs into difficulties, either at home or abroad, that the whole thing is about to be toppled. I don't believe that
On the other hand, one has to be clear that it's much less impregnable than it thinks it is; that the way which change it is by opening up issue after issue after issue, and ther gradually changing people's perceptions
Potentially capitalism very strong but when it really comes under challenge it moves sharply to the right to defend itself. On the other hand it isn't so powerful that we should be pessimistic about the possibility of transforming it. It clearly is vulnerable and at the same time has considerable capacity fo the detence of its own interests.
"The frustration of American power is one of the dangerous factors in the American situation'
One of the tragedies of th Cold War and the polarisation involved is that the military ar really in a very dominant posi
in both East and West Whether Brezhnev wanted go into Afghanistan I wouldn' be absolutely sure; whether the military said if you let this one go down you'll really be in dif
. I should think it was touch and go whether they intervened in Poland on exactly
same basis, and Czechoslovakia, and similarly
Similarly the United
would assume the military have an enormous in-
over the decision-making of the president.
Decolonising is a problem because once start de colonising where do you stop? To what extent : you then taken unawares? This is th Russian problem as well. If th Polish events get out of control, what happens if it takes place in East Germany!
This is the moment when
systems are very vulnerable to the sudden cascade of the Prague Spring or whatever. And then they are drive in desperation to a sudden counter-stroke that can put the whole thing back again.
There is an audience to hea another analysis at this stage of, and they are! that is the most important thi in Amenca
Page 6 scan of this page
The left's hollow
the fightfor
socialist
policies
By Paul Smith
ON 1 November the Labour Co-ordinating
Committee is holding a conference to discuss organising in unions. First priority in the statement put out by the LCC is given to the Tory attack on the trade union movement.
says: "The entire strength of our movement
unions and party must unite to fight the Tory strategy and ensure the election of a Labour government committed to socialist This
up the LCC proach, and it's a good idea!
Power
But the only guarantee of pressure on the Labour Party to adopt specific socialist policies is
successful fight against the Tories. And it is
which have the power to stop Tories dead in their tracks.
It's in the direction encouraging mass action against the Tories that we need to turn the attention of this important LCC conference.
Missile
The anti-Tory struggle
gathering strength.
action campaign against Thatcher's missile madness is underway, and there is growing support for a conference the trade unions and the Labour Party to discuss industrial ( action against Cruise.
The dockers scored a straight victory against redundancies, and more recently the workers at a Manchester engineering factory, Gardners, have taken industrial. action against proposed job cuts.
Agenda:
Work. Speakers include Bernard Connolly,
Roger Griffiths, and Stuart Holland.
clude Eddie Loyden and Audrey Wise.
4.00pm, How do we organise in the
movement? Speakers include Tony Banks,
Peter Hain, and Anne Cesek.
enclosing €t 25 per person.
Stepping up
Support for such as these is the best way to win the fight for socialist policies Labour Party. In words the Labour ordinating the should not only
socialist policies - against Cruise, on unemployment, supporting women's right to work - but it needs to fight to apply them, and now, in the struggle against Thatcher.
Incomes Both the Trades Union Congress and the Labour Party conference passed many about the policy of a future Labour cluding, in the case of the TUC, a commitment to a five-year incomes real With such a commitment, Callaghan, Evans, and Dufty oppose the struggle now. LCC policies challenge those the right wing.
But to be the against the right wing the workers the policies have to be carried out in practice. An encouraging move in direction the end of the LCC state. ment: "In practice we wish to discuss if there is a role for a Labour Party rank and file trade union tion.'
A
Role There is! organisation Were on mass action against the Tories, drawing those Defend Unions, the Liaison Com. mittee for the Defence of the Trade Unions, those throughout labour movement already convinced of that perspective, than there certainly would be a role for it to play.
LCC Rank and File
Trade Unionists
Conference
Leeds University Saturday
1 November 10.30am
11.00am, Unemployment and the Right to
2.00pm, Demands and Policies. Speakers in-
For credentials write to CC, 9 PolandS!, London Whores
•2 Detober 1980 Page B**
battles
the other CoCommittee
adopt
There Marchers against the have resolutions
policy!
anti-Tory
the
effective
leadership,
that THE towards
words at this week's Labour Party ference were on Monday organisa-
They were spoken at fringe organised right-wing this for Labour Victory.
based timents of a They
together ex-Foreign
Our friend and helper mercifully dead Shah. Said Owen:. and this conference is going to the be extremely resolutions be passed democrațic socialist party.
'It's time
promise ended fight began. There will be people are paper tigers, will accept it. We will not.
There comes a time when you have to take a stand.
Owen was reacting to the many resolutions which had been passed by conference, or looked like being passed late in the week.
Motions
crensee nationalisation, substantial cut in arms expenanure troduction of a abolition education, withdrawal BEC and nuclear disarmament among them
Frenzy
That a Labour Party conference could some cases overwhelmingly, such motions Owen, , one of the leaders of ¿ the Labour right, into a state , of trenzy;
Labour Party-
victories
ANGRIEST
conheard night. his co-right meeting
by the Rodgers
Campaign
conterence for 30 years. the senDavid Owen, Leave
Secretary, OT the rogance that Everybody knows
bad, with which should
by wonder
the com-
and TEne Labour conferences. The say that we such remarks
, that we
dangerously dict.
True, motions for carried. leader calling for in-
vocated table for the immediate
government.
wealth tax
of private
from withdrawal from the unilateral and are tionalisation.
Many inroads into for the NEC But
endorse, in
almost sent made
Ken. Livingstope,
Why
die for
Thatcher?
STOP
THE
MIS
missiles lobby the party executive last Sunday
By Geoff Bell in Blackpool single
winger Rodgers, was equally bitter.
complained that added up to the worst Labour events in Blackpool this week make
democratic
'otherwise,'
With a contemptuous ar-
has come to characterise the Labour right well he observed: 'I've been to 20 always reluctant to come and conterences, datory happy to leave. I sometimes
whether the three-year rule ought to apply to
obvious in suggests that events in Blackpool represent an unqualified victory for the Labour left. That would be a
mistaken ver-
Cosy
the most socialist vears have been The undisputed When Tony Benn, went even further of the Labour CIL he than the motions when he ad-
• a one-month timeLabour The
This would include abolition of the House of Lords,
EEC, OI na atmosphere And on top of Hiccul this the right failed to make victory
the leftish majority during the elections
perspective which all this should be seen dodged
up in remarks ference in from the rostrum by a member block vote of the Greater London CounAt the same Cly meeting I transport, which again pror on a number of crucial istres - During the debate
ES
Labour Party
conference
duced radical motions, Livingstone said:
'There's not going to be a VULC these policies here today. It's the sort of motion that the party has supported for years. The question is: What are we going to do about it?'
Livingstone
the point that the internal reforms were needed to give the left resolutions full effectiveness,
The said, 'we're just talking today'
When Livingstone spoke, ty.' and when Socialist Challenge
seemed unlikely that all the reforms would be passed. Only man-
re-selection of MPs had a better than even chance.
The consequence of the failure on the other two issues — the method of selecting the party leader and control of
the manifesto - means tha whatever motions are carried they will be little more than pious statements of principle
Jim Callaghan spoke on Tuesday morning,
admitted much. *Policies can't be laid down in advance,' he said.
meaning of such remarks is that whatever left victories are won at Blackpool they remain victories in sentiment only. The cosy militant
of the fringe will not ensure the of the left in the Labour Party, even less the
left Labour
question noticeably last ycal s cull Brighton the undemocratic nature of the
caught up with the, left at Blackpool. vote ensured defeat of the left
Missil
•noto: News Line
such as the carrying of the three-year rule, which means that Issues discussed at this year's conference cannot return to conference for three years
Consequently, Tony Benn Joan Maynard, and few others have begun offer tentative criticisms of the block VULC the trade union bureaucrats who wield them "I would like to see said Joan Maynard, 'the trade union Hovelicill the fight for reforms in the parOpinion
The conclusion of such opinions is that the Labour left needs to organise forces, organise and intervene against the right in the trade unions and promote every action in the trade unions on any issue which is relevant in the fight against the Tory government.
Tony Benn said on Sun. day night that this week would be 'of supreme impor-
anat the Labe or the
That is true Some of questions which constitute that importance remain unresolved Nevertheless watershed was reached at Blackpool this week.
The heady optimism on the left evident at Brighton last year was absent. It is obvious that it will take more than oratory and radical resolutions to win a future Labour government socialism.
With the prospect of Healey the •Labour leader, the fight will not only have to go on - it will have to be intensified and be organised on every level in the labour movement. licking swounds, bumhe ler The right. wing may E needs a whole new armoury to make those wounds fatal an
Page 7 scan of this page
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Page 8 scan of this page
LEICESTER: RACIS
Black youth lead the fight
Test
for the
Labour
Party
JIM Marshall is the
Labour MP for Leicester South,
which includes the
Highfields area. In
the 1979 general election all three Labour MPs in Leicester retained their seats. Jim Marshall also increased his majority substantially.
This increase was in large part due the
vote the Highfields area. Not sur-
Conser vative Party is now runn. ing around looking for Asian candidates
the 1981 local government elections.
Leicester South Con-
Party officially opposes all immigration and has passed a number of
against racism and the National Front. vince the incidents July and August, West Indian youth have been attending ward meetings to
Now the good resolutions have to be turned
support, especially in building for
demonstrations callапу. •ude new conce defence committee.
Jim Marshall spoke at the Indian indebendence Day celebration Leicester on 17 August.
policy is 'the worst of all possible worlds', plained.
The harassment aliens and Commonwealth citizens
at the port-ofand commos are seried here. Now we hoar that the Home Office is col-
offencos committed by these people.
After the meeting he raferred to the behaviour of the police Highfields, blaming them for the growing disillusionment of
He also blamed unomployment for causing these problems, describing It as 'one of the malignancies that could disrupt good race relations. 1000000
Photo: Alex Boyle (Socialist Challenge)
Socialist Challenge 2 October 1860
Walkers Crisps.
Despite
But Leicester is hardly solidly
Party. dustries.
dustry.
Group. munity pay for the growing crisis.
Their radicalisation is
ways in the different communities.
The West Indian population relatively
always organisational or political cohesiveness.
it has naved little part in Labour Party or trade union organisation. This is TOROCCO among West Indian youth, who were the first to face
ment and police harassment, the response has
The most conscious
Pağe 8
THE East Midlands city of Leicester has traditionally been known as the 'city of a thousand trades' because of its prosperity and the diversity of its industry: Thriving hosiery and knitwear, boot and shoe, and light engineering industries were more recently supplemented by newer factories, such as
This diversity of industries offered a large range of skilled and unskilled jobs, rarely affected by recessions and slumps. This prosperity, combined with the small size of the factories, has led to a fairly unorganised and weak trade union movement
this, all three Leicester constituencies returned Labour MPs in the last election.
recently it boasted one of the largest branches of the National Front. The splits inside the NF have reduced its level of activity, and the local branch is now split between the NF and the New Democratic
The availability of jobs in Leicester has attracted a large number of West Indian and Asian workers to the city, who are mainly settled in the Highfields and Belgrave areas of the city. These workers are mainly concentrated in unskilled jobs, with Asians especially working in the hosiery and knitwear in-
For the first time Leicester is now experiencing increasing unemployment problems as the recession hits particularly at the hosiery and knitwear in-
This dossier on the situation has been prepared by the Leicester branch of the International Marxist THE large immigrant community in Leicester has a tradition of self-organisation, but it is the black youth who are leading the fight against the increased racist attacks, against the new aggressive approach of the police, and against attempts to make the black com-
West Indian youth tend to voivod self-help projects of a cultural and ecreational nature press and fight for an iden. tity and solidarity among themselves.
The Asian community But desnite a great number of ethnic and religious divisions, it had, and still has, a tradition of community and political The strong ethnic and religious groups tand to be inward 6outrolled by the olders of the community.
While the Indian Workers Associations ally
Labour. Until themselves with the Labour Party, and give it electoral support, Iner tend to pay much closer at-
and follow themselves the poutica differences and events in the sub-continent itselt
It is the community which has had to bear the brunt of the state racism embodied in TEne Immigration Acts, which have affected most members of the community in one way or another.
Lobby
traditional The response ot the
organisations has consisted of lobbying ana appiyung pressure politicians and so on, in an
win improve
The Asian youth, whc now face the
Taul
radicalising They tend to ignore the traditiona organisations
Instead they have chosen develop their
organisations with clearer politics, can be seen the
Youth Movements that have appeared.
The increasing willingness of both the West Indian and Asian youth to
militant action was таке perhaps best seen in the numbers of black youth on
and-Netona demonstration in Leicester on 21 | April 1979
communiner clearly understand, however, that the National Front not the main danger, directing their fire against the activities of the ponce and tne working o the Immigration Acts
The tension with the police reached a now hiah. point during July and August this year with
Highfields area. Shadows
On the night of 28 July, a car belonging to a couple of plain clothes police was vandalised ricted to youth objected them sitting listening in a
pub night after night.
series incidents West Indian youth and the police. Finally police with riot shields ended up chas ing shadows through the
Peters estate in the early gos oute more
Seven West youth were arrested, and
with assault.
A few days later the
THE CRISIS
Police turn dogs on anti-nazi demonstrators in Leicester, April 21 1979 •once series oma steeri the area and arrested one West Indian youth who was moving stereo equipment - they claimed it was stolen.
since inen the person involved produced receipts for all the equip ment and the police have
These small incidents reveal The beginning of new trend in the approac
to the black community. inev are con fident they can handle the black youth as they like and get away with it.
Scum
We have to shake that confidence showing that they can not get away with treating black youth like the scum of the earth.
We
Tne itiatives taken by the black youth organisations; SUDOOLI them deman ding black self-defence, support all their independant orcausations. them against police tacks. oppose the migration them in fighting for the right to work
YOUR TOWN
Racism, industrial
decline, mass unemploy-
went. now the labour
movements organisine
or failing to. These coula
be themes for an article
about your area
If. you would like to
swore on arce oleuse
contact Socialist
Challenge.
The
don't
of bla
THE Leicester Asi known as the St Organisations, set of Asian youth gro communities. As S youth for the ant year.
Later it change Youth Movement, should be to unify reflect the ethnic hopes to bring out
We interviewec Youth Movement t by facing black youth
What do you make o cent events in Leices We have to start perspective that 'black longer regarded as des the British state Thes are just a dress-rehears forced repatriation by government.
This makes our at- rather difficult. The Br im- as an enemy is mu powerful and dangerou National Front.
What difficulties do
organising the youth?
Firstly we have the t problem of hostility Asians and West India is also hostility betwee groups Asians overall community
This is being overc certain extent. Some , dians, and, Aşians, mair are beginning to realise 'are divided among ours
Page 9 scan of this page
k people'
outh Movement was originally ng Committee of Asian b act as an umbrella for a number i formed around different ethnic YO it brought out about 400 Asian tional Front demonstration last
is name to the Leicester Asian cting a feeling that its main task Asian youth rather than simply sions within the community. conthly paper from November. member of the Leicester Asian id out how they see the problems the town.
re- it makes it easier for the state to
smash us. But among the older i the generation especially с по le by A similar problem is that the tacks political organisations of
en- people are
general radicalisation. organisations, have lane cothidence of back have the confidence peophe mood of most blacks as a result evolving cynicism with life in Britain face latalistic attitude sian mean Inal mey oeneve i Is rutie
to organise.
What do you think working within the existing labour movement, predominantly white?
Obviously the vast majority of black people are within trade unions and vote Labour. But what we tend not to do is play a leadership role within
1 AND
isting organisations
ave the confidence
Youth majority of older problems speaking English.
the labour question of racism.
Imperial mainly employs It
supporting it. and white
present.
this should movement? black lagging behind the The exwhatever
black
towards - a the che restity tem. which tends to reality complicated than this.
about to combat within the labour movement which is the working: organised Workers. frustrated and some
these organisations, which is pro... the racism among white people..
provements. bably a result of the fact that a What
Asians have your view?
With younger Asians the problem is slightly different. Most of them have seen the inactivity of
movement on ine
Indeed, during the dispute at
Typewriters, Asians, it was felt that the official trade union be attacked. movement rather than actively opposing racism was passively Then
The whole concept of black
workers joining of together to fight racism is still a Community rather unrealistic proposition at Rapidly
So do you think black people
write off the labour youth, ugliest No, not at all. What I do say is that some revolutionaries make absurd claims about the intrinsic anti-racism of white workers -as if there is some magical power which will make white workers and the labour movement help build black workers against their common enemy, the bourgeoisie or trapped in the
much more
problem is that the revolutionary left is too weak. and too divided. RADDLE (an
reactionary ideas
Some organisations run away from this problem by glorifying
class. Black the police, realising this, become raise of them, organise perhaps sub-consciously, seem to present we blame the revolutionary left for
on a march.
THE Highfields area of Leicester is one of those typical old inner city housing areas. Once fashionable in the late 19th century, it has declined over the years until it is now one of the main areas for cheap houses and flats. Recently it became a housing action area and various housing co-operatives and the council are making im-
In the early 1970s the council built the St Peters estate in the area. As can be seen from the photograph it is a prime example of municipal planning at its worst.
For decades it has mainly housed the immigrant
A
are the main political tasks facing black people, in Apart from the general idea of
Biencial tith, thee are pro-
The first problem is overcoming the divisions between the Asians and West Indians, , which make it so much easier for us to
we have the problem that certain organisations and individuals have fallen into the trap mmunity Relations Councils parasites on becomes to live off the statepose sole So they get alienated from the who experience racism at police unemployment, and so on. The us to bull al organisation whose resources are independent of the CRC.
I find the idea that we should use the CRC as an easy way to an organisation quite ludicrous. That way you only ge web set up by the state to buy off militants.
One response to this is that the Asian Youth Movement and organisation of West Indian youth) have decided to initiate a black defence committee which will try to put out counter-propaganda to that of organise meetings money for fines, and demonstration. At could get about 500 Asian and West Indian youth out
communities - after Jews came the Poles, and today it mainly houses West Indians and Asians. The majority, however, are Asians, both from the sub-continent and from East Africa.
On the whole race relations have been good. The National Front in Leicester has mainly been involved in electoral activities, and the police have adopted a low profile 'community' approach. But black youth have never escaped harassment - and recent events show that the attitude of the police is changing.
noto. Alex Doyle soclalist hallenge,
noto. Alex Doyle (socalist Glallenge)
Socialist Challenge 2 October 1980 Pago 9
Page 10 scan of this page
10 Oct: make the Tories
Victories in jobs fight
By Jude Woodward
That's what Sheffield
decided.
policies.
There's no doubt
On Friday ill October The
Friday October.
Sheffield jobless will be linkyouth from around the coun with unemployed
try who will have marched
from South Wales to strike a
blow against the Tories.
Miners
And that's not all.
Miners' Union South
Wales has agreed to sponsor
the day of protest. At a mass
meeting involving several
pits, they also decided
Or cause cozened
miners from South Wales to
Brighton.
Workers from Birming-
ham's Rover and Longbridge
BL plants, who are on short-
time wolking, will also
coming to Brighton by coach.
From across une country
steelworkers, Transport
Union members, carworkers,
civil servants, fire fighters will
all be going to the protest out-
By Paul Smith THE proportion of Britain's working population now unemployed is 7.4 per cent. Since 1979 unemployment has increased fastest Wales and the West Midlands.
During the past 12 months the number of jobless has increased by 59 per cent in the West Midlands, compared with the national average of
per cent. Employers, and commentators agree that manufacturing bearing the brunt of recession.
sections workforce most hit by redun-
immigrants and wollen.
report covering unemployment in West Europe issued by the uro pean Trade Union Research Council at the beginning. September showed that women workers often did not appear unemployment figures. Where they did, they were proportionally much
hit than their male counterparts:
Misery
The report also pointed out that 'probably more than 2m immigrant workers have been out of the European economy over the last two years.
There is, of course, no way of measuring the human misery behind the statistics
In Britain there have been many false starts in the battle over jobs. Thatcher, argues that lack of hard work causes
Socialist Challenge
A THOUSAND POUNDS for the jobs fight!
city council has
The council is giving anything up to that figure to pay the fares of any Sheffield jobless who want to go to Brighton on 10 October to tell Thatcher what they think about her government's unemployment
that side the Tory Party
ference.
The The official backing for
the protest from
opens the way to approaching shop stewards and rank and file members locally to raise In tell and organise transport Brighton.
There will be contingents The from Scotland and from the
North of Ireland, from LiverDOOR from South Wales and gham, ana from many otner areas. Thousands take unionists WOK
short-time and jobless be in Brighton to give expres. sion to the growing mood of anger against policies.
De Fed up
Thousands will be there because they are fed up. up with policies that slash away LEMPLOY
197% 7-4%
2 110221782
in
N.IRELAND 3 1533105.
NORTH WEST
4 1927(652
10-3% 71% 03
the
the D0z50
the past year
convincing for the 60 women who are about to be sacked at Allard's, near Hull. up their holidays to keep production going Transport Union Moss Evans calls for import controls in the gew booklet Contro IVOW. British markets saturated with cheap foreign goods, thereföre British com have to set no profits and have workers
2 October 1980 Page 10
the executive
branches
to
Newcastle,
Birmtrade on will jobs while protecting Fed up with living standards and have no effect inflation.
cops the right to harass Imprison workers who struggle against these make them pay for the crisis.
But they won't just be fed economic up, they'll be determined.
Determined that Thatcher 1602422
EAST AI 58240%
UTI EAST 2.97K4%
..with unemploy-
ment soaring 41% in
runs Courtaulds
They 10,000 jobs summer months, making
22,000 in the last 18 months.
But in the last financial year,
leader Courtaulds maac
protits compared with f64m TGWU in the orevious vear Imports Courtaulds
are does not blame cheap imports for • the current closures. They admit they are caused by 'a brogramme. redundancies, plus increased
Home News
- tremble
protits.
• policies that cut
the trade unlon!
Hed up movement
laws that will give divisive and
class programme. efforts to 10 October
firm resistance;
September
Led up profits.
The LOL COLCUl markets, will make allances trade unions in measures that markets ITOIS. example
desire to save jobs Profit
more profit. comes a poor second.
with management.
178 jobs established a for every
not capitalism's crisis
its effects.
Strong
has axed
king a potal or
total tonal stewards leading a
£68.1m pay and no
of workers management healthy organisation. стор Both
modernisation
sibility
will not succeed in breaking up the organised strength o class
labour through her anti-working
The picket and lobby on
will show Thatcher that she is going to meet
that policies like those of this government Will provoke increasing conproduction from those who are still at work, means jack-
employers are inprotecting their sometimes they To with the order to get protect Inost like import conBut as the Courtaulds the call employers are not driven by a
- they are Labour driven by a thirst for profits. Socialist
porters, mobilising
Less workers doing the councils same amount of work means
Saving jobs rates,
But there are examples of victories after fights to save jobs not achieved by increased exploitation or by alliances Socialist
putting
The first is the docks. The
saved in Liverpool vital principle trade unionist work or full pay. The dockers
responsible for and they TGWU refused to accept the brunt of UCATE
In British Oxygen, the na-
committee is fight for the 35-hour week with no loss of
cuts In number of jobs. Both groups
have strong and 4l1el file
the dockers British Oxygen workers start sibility for kie is too
crisis. vital lessons for the jobs fight.
file
frontation with the working
movement, until ine Tories are finally kicked out.
So the protestors will have a thing of two to say
leaders, too. If the union leaders who are anxious to chat to Thatcher think they can back down in the face of
Tories' offensive, the thousands in Brighton will be there to remind them that if
Cuts conference
support builds up
By John East
THE CONFERENCE called for 1 November to discuss how to defeat the Tories' attack on local government has wide support over the last three weeks.
date, 44 organisations delegates, including 19 constituency Labour parties, 8 Labour groups, two national trade unions, as well as district committees and local branches.
Lambeth, where the for the conference originated, left wingers in the
Party, including Challenge sup are active on th and have won the committee to the demand tha Labour
should refuse to make cuts or raise rents or sapport tell as de demanding
sector workers taking action to defend services.
Delegates who support
Challenge will be amendments calling 103, for industrial action to back
Organisations so far delegated to the
conference:
Bishop Aukland CLP
Lincoln City Council Labour Group 1 South CLF
DouL DIStrIC lets Highways Shor da Committoo to Parks Shop Sanita NALGO Co-Op Education Ctroe
Chatmatore CLP on borougn council
Brom Libi let Counc
they don't give a lead then we
will find others who will.
Moss Evans has supported
the day of protest in
Brighton, but he didn't place
himself at the head of a mili-
tant fight against Edwardes
lory plans for the run dowr
of BL. He had better do mor in tuture lalking to the
Tories won't stop workers
fighting against job loss, and
cuts in real wages.
The 8. Wing movement
against the Tories needs policies that can answer That-
cher's offensive. That's why Socialist porters on the protest will be Challenge
calling on the trade union and Labour Party leaderships to back a struggle for a reduction in the working week. 35 hours
Shorter hours, with reduction in pay, mean more jobs for everyone. We need a campaign of action for the. 35-hour week, already passed by the TUC, and full support trom the lUC to all struggle against redundancy.
The next step after 10 October the Labour Coordinating Committee's trade union conference November, where rank and
members of the trade amons an labour farty wil have a chance to get together and discuss the way to take forward a struggle against the force them to lead a real figh on jobs.
The protest in Brighton on 10 October is a big opportunity to show the Tories that we mean business , As one Right
Work marcher has put it: 'If Thatcher doesn't watch out she'll find herself pushed off Brighton pier.
been gaining
sending
councils take these measures, as well as demands over staffing levels and overtime working
All Labour Party members and public sector workers should raise the possibility of delegating their CLP or union
There will be a meeting fo Socialist Chase geon 25c delegates
SUNDON
tober to discuss how to win support for the conference.
All information about the conference from: Conference Planning Committee, Room
Lambeth Town Hall, London SW2.
Labor as CL ory
Lewisham
Side CL
don boroug or surron LaDor
London Poly NALGO
F: Selhurst brenc isher Controls Jt Shop Steward!
rks County Counc Label nd District Council Labou
arborough CLP
, North LP ndon 6 branct
PG 158
Crayford CLP cority Conveners (BOC), ontrai CLP Dulwich CLP
Page 11 scan of this page
JAILHOUSE ROCK
FOR BE
remarkable offer wa're putting your way.
buy one for a friend.
buy them a subscription.
tionary who would Socialist Challenge
and 10 Socialist Challenges are on their way.
Beginners by Tariq Ali and Phil Evans,
forever - so take out your subscription now. By Geoff Bell McVICAR deserves a few comments in socialist newpaper because it is something of an exception for the British film industry -it's about working class people.
Not very pleasant representative working people, they're where nevertheless, dressed up in the snape or cast London gangs• ters, prison warders, was easy to tell and
rooked cor
Ill these folk are meant to be
Cabs occause say 'fuck' and 'shit' all the time.
The film tells the story of a few months in the life of John McVicar who was described
wanted Britain 1970 when
scaped from prison. Really it's little more than a tough adventure film. Vicious
This annoyed many of the
professional reviewers
McVicar. Most complained that the film offered no explanation of his subsequent transformation how foul-mouthed, vicious tough depicted in the-movie ended
as the closing credits tell
Trotsky
NN
An offer you can't refuse!
BUY Socialist Challenge for a friend! That's the
Some readers have been so impressed with our fantastically cheap 10 issues for f1 offer that not only have they got subs for themselves, they've decided to
Why don't you do the same? Do you know someone who's just getting interested in socialism? Then
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Don't forget our offer of a free copy of Trotsky for
with a year's subscription to the paper. These offers will not last
the audience, with 'a first NO LOWES degree sociology: He is now a journalist and broadcaster.' a Only one short the film, when McVicar seen reading a Penguin paperback, gives any hint of academic aspirations. For the rest he is just a mug meone who's spent most of his life in nick'
It is not all that surprising that McVicar 'came good' the end. For what class does show is that it is not the easiest thing in the survive in the type of environmen what case up n "What else McVicar asks his wife on one occasion. No answer is forththey coming.
Liberal
Not that the film is one of those worthy liberal attempts he to explain how background makes criminals. The Intent. seems, is simply to tell it as it really was.
This means the prison inBUSI warders, then against each other. criminals doing likewise.
There is no hint of a sense fraternitiNo the simon! fraternity. class sciousness is possible here: it atter atl, the proletariat at its most lumpen.
NO CRUISE, no spending the CND
and is printing 100,000 more.
that the build-up for provides build the
forums and
war.
chester recently
tle and other Every IMG
supporters meetings there.
10
Glasgow
Led from CND. 29 WC1. ALL IMG
discuss this work on details ring 01-359 8371 scene in the film
world to
do'?,
bad easy
the The real scheming presumably happy and.the with this characterisation. He
was technical film and has been promoting it.
Col Daltrey of The Who, who has Playing him
been quoted as saying that he wanted' to 'make the movie
Nukes/Under Review
A priority for all
our supporters
Trident, cut arms - these are the slogans of demonstration being organised for 26 October in London
The demonstration will undoubtedly be one of the largest for years. Already national CND has distributed 100,000 leaflets
All Socialist Challenge supporters and IMG branches must seize the opportunity
this demonstration local campaign against the missiles. But they should also be using the opportunity to hold their own
discussions to explain the origins of the US war driva, and how it is imperialism which produces the threat of
Socialist Challenge supporters in Man-
organised a series of meetings in all the localities, using the film The War Game to start discussions. Similar meetings have been organised by Socialist Challenge supporters in Reading, Newcas.
towns recently. branch and Socialist Challenge supporters group should do the same before 26 October. It is also very important that Revolution Youth and IMG
the colleges organise
We want all our English and Welsh supporters to be on the 26 October demonstra. tion, and our Scottish supporters to be at
demonstration day before. Mobilising material can be obtain-
St. James St., London branches must send a representative to the national fraction to
12 October - for McVicar enough prevented MieVicar 11ke adviser to ine
is Roger
philosophical
RALLY AGAINST THE MISSILES!
Thursday 23 October, 7.30pm
Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London WC1. Adm. 75p (50p unwaged)
Organised by International Marxist Group, British section of the Fourth International because only his rock talent tion.
him from ending wardens unreformed
And for those who want a message, that will do. At least the makers of McVicar stop to do, short of patronising the peo'ble they depict with some fan-
interpreta
vited. Tues 4.5.30pm perspecti And at least the prison the LOUD are shown to have as little morality as those they repress.
If you have nothing better
McVicar is worth, a look in. It is, be warned, ex tremely macho but then, so Is the works it showser
SC Events
ACKNEY SC forum: "What strategy f
It?' Speakers: Mi vied. Tues 70ct, 1.0pm, B
MANCHESTER SC public, 10pm. in
Tomato d, Mr Bond
SC Sales
CARDIFF: SC sales Newport Town Centr
• more into about local ac BUND PE SCavalable from Dundee City
Thursda Friday Saturda IMG/RY
Notices
STUDENT FRACTION for all RY and IMG
Moral ation cod. er organisation WALSO FRACTION, Sun 16 Nov, 12-5pm. National Centre.
NATIONAL CRUISE MISSILES
FRACTIOI EVERY branch should send a representative to this vital fraction. There will be discussior of CND, an asses futur
committee should be pooled fare m, Sunday 12 October. Ring 01-359 8371 for venue or see special mailing with the papers. What's Left
RATES for ads to appear in What's Left
5p per word or f4 per col. inch
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to Box: , Sisterwrite Books, 190 Up
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one Mary 01-348 5710 mmodation i
Chartist
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Dreaming of V
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Page 12 scan of this page
By Martin Meteyard
against the revolution in Nicaragua
has begun in Britain. And it has
bedfellows, ranging from the TÚC
general council to millionaire James
The TUC first. Two paragraphs in the
general council's rebort to
congress were
(point 305).
the huge social gains notched up since
the overthrow of Somoza in July 1979?
Not on your life.
The TUC general
ferent priorities. Instead
bound to focus attention on allegations
'that the Nicaraguan government was
using intimidation to eliminate all na-
tional trade union organisations except
the CST which the government itself had
established'.
IT'S A LIE.
So much is the Nicaraguan govern-
ment trying to 'eliminate
union organisations that on 21 April it announced that five trade
tions would be represented on the new
Council of State.
representatives from these federations,
only three were allotted to the CST
which in any case was not established by
the government but arose out of the
Sandinista sprang up during the revolution.
Literacy
Of the other five,
CGT-i, which is leo by
Moscow
CAUS federation;
Confederation of Trade Union Unification (CUS) even thouch have received aid from the CIA-linked
American Institute for
Development; and one to the Confederation of Nicaraguan
which controlled communist Christian rent. Now that's some intimidation!
What was at the root of the TUC's worries? Well, apparently
written 'proposing should support a literacy campaign being conducted in Nicaragua which was supported by Want in Britain'.
Teach workers to outrageous idea. Bound to lead to trouBy John Marston POLAND'S new free trade union movement last week presented its statutes for official registration. wards three thousand people joined strike leader Walesa for a victory march through the streets of Warsaw.
A historic moment, think. But all but one of Poland's daily papers failed to mention the event
The continued suppression of news about the free trade unions is just one of several ways in which the regime is trying to regain the ground it lost during the August wave.
Another is its hold over the official trade union structures. In a move of breathtaking cynicism, the official union federation renamed itself independent self-managed trade union'! response the free trade unions have taken the name (Solidarity).
But that's not the end of the problem. Unions are wholesale from the official federation to Solidarnosc as a manoeuvre to uncermine its etter tiented: These one activitst mentco: run by the same people as before — it's a matter of new labels for old bottles.'
This theme was taken up last
0,000 workers in the Warsaw arca
Spallet Cheer 2990ber 199-2099.22
Is year s to Nicaragua Did they pledge support
felt duty other trade
Out of a total of eight
workers committees which
ARCE
two went to the the main proparty; one to the Stalinist-led
CST, one to the
its leaders
Free Labour
Workers (CTN), the by antiDemocratic cur-
two unions that the TUC
the CST and by War on
read? What an After-
Lech strike
has now and In
Solidarnosc
official union transferring
simple
com-
assemblies'
deck in a statement by leaders of us the strike leaders are aware that thi
Unmasked
against |
Sandinista leader BAYARDO
Able later on. And so these worthies concluded that 'they should not associate themselves with war on and agreed that should not be commended to unions'. themselves The ans this no. The head think of the TUC's international department is one Michael Walsh. His last job was in Foreign Office. And when allegations against the CST had to be checked out, he told Anna Coote of the Now Statesman that he'd gone straight to the top: to the British government. Thatcher Another who is close to the British government James publisher of the weekly Now! magazine. Only last month he was able to entice the leader herself to speak
Polish regime set on undermining
democracy
RADA ZAKŁA STOC Gdansk workers in front of crossed-out sign for
'We have noted recently that the old made umon comes are scummy o unions and describing themselves as under orders from higher authority and not through voting by general One
Kuron,
This emphasis on the importance of workers democracy suggests that is their best weapon fol frustrating
International
The conspiracy
annual
prise.
Standards
the magazine ticular.
column by
characterised political prisoners, mass execution.
IT'S A LIE.
Want or the the campaign that figure came
other 5,500, And prisoners'
these Somozan
Wing the civil war. 'political
Ireland, of course.
Somozist rabble
Goldsmith,
the terroristic
at the Now!
WA union's advisers in the Social Self-Defence Committee (KOR).
KOR's leaders, was accused last week of
calling for the burning of Communist Party headquarters and the hanging of In fact
te had merely warned in a TV inte
Nicaragua
dinner. Thatcher told assembled guests that she was delighted to come 'because it enables me to identify myself with innovation and enter-
'Innovation' is a good way to describe
journalistic standards - and of Goldsmith in parFor in the same issue as report of this beanfeast was a revealing
the publisher himself. After trying to play down the torture of Claire Wilson and José Miguel Benado in Chile. he went on to claim that Nicaragua was
"Twelve thousand 600 disappearances,
Just two weeks later, in its issue of 26 September, Now! itself put the number of political prisoners at only 6,500 - and
from the US State Department! So what happened to the
Goldsmith? who are these 'political anyway? Well, Now! has to admit that they are 'most of them former National Guardsmen or officials of the
government' And what they do? Just murder 30,000 people dur-
That's all. So they're prisoners' unlike blanketmen in the H Blocks of Northern
Many people might think that these
are lucky to alive. But a little fact which Now! forgets to mention is that one of the first things
Nicaraguan government did was to abolish the death penalty.
What is more, it has maintained this
returned from Poland)
Thur 2 Oct EALING/SOUTHALL.
Richard Rozanski and Oliver Mac Donald. uclass.
Fri 3 Oct Bonald. Phone Harriet on 3356Donald.
LIVERPOOL
fiths. Bluecoat School Lane, Liverpool 1 (behind Littlewoods), 7.30pm.
Weds 8 Oct HEMPSTEAD Oliver MacDonald. Phone Mick on 4lus / lor celalts.
Thur 9 Oct BIRMINGHAM MacDonald and Steve Committee Room 1, Digbeth Civic
view in July that mass anger could take used force against the strikers.
Solidarnosc was quick to answer this attack, declaring: the slandering of sons working with the independent and self-managed unions as an action directed against these unions Jacek and a violation cords approved by the workers of Poland as a whole.
But the government's most recent sally has found a weak flank.
Last Friday the CP paper Trybuna"
GOLDSMITH
the cold-blooded
Council Gruscue Bayardo Arce defence of
This Tory cronies Now! smear and
the put working people
people of Nicaragua.
Dissociate
every union executive they dissociate
London N1. did Tory message the
be still published weekly
Box 50, London N1 2XP.
Forums on Poland
Socialist Challenge forums on Poland featuring Griffiths and Richard
(editor of Labour Focus on Eastern Europe).
Weds 15 Oct With BRENT. from the 5019
details.
Oliver COVENTRY
With Steve Grifcnameers.
Thur 16 Oct With
Union Socialist Society.
With Oliver Griffiths. Weds 22 Oct YORK.
Ludu form it the governmen lightmindedly
possibility evading 'We regard
of the Gdansk ac
economic
Now! publisher JAMES
stand against popular pressure after the
torture and by Somozists of an assistant in the literacy
State president explained that the best the revolution was 'undeniable generous character'.
And that's just why Goldsmith and
slander revolution. For decades they have been able to rely on the image of Stalinism to
socialism. Now examples like Nicaragua are making their task very much harder.
That the TUC should be part of this campaign is a scandal. They speak in our name, and will be heard as such by the
Resolutions should be forwarded to
demanding that themselves from general council's report and campaign for aid to the Nicaraguan revolution. This should go alongside affiliation to the Nicaraguan Solidarity Campaign, which can be contacted at 20 Compton Terrace,
Only in this way can we silence the
lie machine and spread the of the Nicaragure outro
that working people, once in power, can build a new society which involves and benefits the vast majority of the human *For the truth about Nicaragua, read the ex. tensive and carefully documented reports
Intercontinental Press/Inprecor. Annual subscription £18 ol sample copy 50p (inc. postage) from: IP/I, PO
Rozanski (recently Oliver MacDonald
Debate with speaker:
International Marxist Group and the Communist Partv.
Phone Tessa on 359 8371 (day) for
fiths. Phone 461138 for details. With oleve WOLVERHAMPTON With Richard Rozanski and Olive
WOLVERHAMPTON. with Richard Rozanski. Poly Students Organised by the
With Richard Rozanski Phone Tony on 413258 for details
Walesa of invoking the strike action and the complexity of Poland's economic problems.
This new attack confirms that the strike leaders cannot carry on claiming that their movement is not political for very much longer. Their èvery demand raises the question of who determines and controls the plan. International solidarity can give the new workers movement in Poland the confidence to take up this challenge.
Page 13 scan of this page
At times you felt
Movement. ches and other
prisoner.
war - by pulling the troops out.
AT CHRISTMAS I never got any Christmas cards. The two fellows door got a Christmas card. And that night, before 12 o'clock, said: 'Swing your towel. We would put a not on the end of the towel and swing it out of the door, and he has his arm out and he would catch it, and then he'd rap wall: 'Got it.' Then he'd rap my wall: 'Put your arm out.' And I caught it.
The Christmas card that they got, they cut the top of it
Just said 'Christmas Greetings'. small envelope which they'd made themselves. The stamp was arew will a wee picke ur pencil, with a robin redbreast on it. And when I took it out, inside it they had drawn, with a wee piece of pencil lead, Christmas scene, just like a wee Christmas card, and they had written on it in Irish, "To Joe, from the blanket men in H3.
I couldn't get it out — it was
sorrowful, not being able to get it out, because it was a wee token of them inside.
Sometimes I feel like it has affected me. I'm awful edgy,
and I tend now - my wile notices it more than anything
when 1 m talking anything I tend to explain it in detail. And I have a habit of
sayıng, vou listening?'
And how I've developed that is, you're talking through a wall,
or through a door, and you're always assuring yourself that
When you're talking like that, you're trying to
somebody a mental picture. I
can talk to you here now and !
can maybe lift my hands, and you can interpret it better. But
was shouting
through the door, it's hard for you to get a mental picture. So therefore
everything perfect.
like crying
It is now just over nine months since Joseph Maguire was released from H Block, yet he can't stop thinking about the time he spent there. This is the last part of the account that he gave to three members of the Troops Out
Joseph Maguire spent a total of three and a half years on the blanket at Crumlin Road Prison in Belfast and in the H Blocks at Long Kesh, subject to incessant body sear-
degrading because he demanded the status of political
He thinks it's about time people in Britain exercised their power to bring an end to the
For instance, for entertainment, men would think for a next COUDIC they'd read. One man, Bobby or davs on a Sands. had read Trinitv on remand, and it took him three he nights to think it, together in his head. And he told Trinity out the door.
I've heard about two hundred the books, but I've never read them'
This was about 11.30 night it started. Everyone was lying on top of their mattress.
Bobby had a blanket on standing at the door, shouting out ine door. If you shout loud enough. the whole wing can hear you. So he shouting, telling the story of Trinity, every detail. He starts describing the weather, the description of the people who are involved, their names.
And his book eight nights, for two every night, and he finished up every night at an exciting part.
And for two hours after he had finished, that was the talk, talking about the book, what he had already told.
about give describe JOSEPH MAGUIRE
treatment
book
to get
I've heard about 200 books but I've never read them. And we had lectures - Irish history from as far back as the clans right up to the present day. lasted weeks. And then we had European history, ferent histories of other coun-
at get any news, straight after everyone would be at the doors.
All would in turn shout out what news they had heard. This is the stands way we get it together.
wnen i was in the Blocks. area, know what they're doing now.
There's maybe something, or they're just sitting and lasted for among themselves.
hours out the out the doors.
be standing Just looking al lne sky, becaust you can see nothing else but the sky,
International.
Inside a woman prisoner's cell. Picture smuggled out of Armagh jail.
the stars and the moon.
can't see the moon, and dif- bright star -
When we get a visit, and we that's
that night would shout, the rosary he can't see
the ones who had visits We'll see ll in
weeks when round there.
I can't stop thinking about it's the birds.
La debate
everybody's talking shouting windows or shouting eating the maggots.
And some nights they'll all
at the windows, spotted it looked
because there's just wire
be quiet.
Once you rap the message. and said,
the line, And everybody nobody
ding looking at it
greenfinches, magpies,
walked
The third and concluding part of
Joseph Maguire's
account of life in H-Block. and timbers, and you can just look up. At night it's the sky,
seagull
And maybe the fellows on backwards, the other side of the wing, who
For a big - somebody on the It side that can see it would shout, 'You want to see the full moon
out tonight!' And he LUW. 'Ah shut up, you're wrecking me!' because
the full moon. another we get moved
And then during the day,
The birds like maggots, and there's plenty of maggots in your cell. You wake up in the morning and you lift your mattress, and there's hundreds of them under you for heat. At times there's been wee birds in our cell, in the corner 80
five
I remember the day a robin redbreast landed in the yard on
And the fellow that down and shoved his mate and woke him up, and said, 'Shush' for him to
'Robin in the yard,' he said. So he rapped the wall.
wall, it's a And the other fellow on the other side just got down
'What?' and listened.
So it just went right down 'Robin in the yard.' A
knew, but 1981 would shout, and everybody just got up to the windows and they were all stan-
I never knew them before -
wagtails, all the different names. Even we had a seagull that landed in our yard, and it
backwards. That's a hundred! A hundred is an ex
that would myself. we
to they pression - it's a cead, it's a hundred per cent. When this
landed walked here. couldn't walk forwards, that's honest to God.
So I always watched out for it.
was hard when I was there, I never had it easy. From when I've got out, I can see it
worse. It frightens me
Charter 80 action
plan for campaign
By Sarah Roelofs 200 people attended the founding rally of Charter 80 in London September. Gerry Fitzpatrick of the Charter Co-ordinating Committee point action plan which it is hoped will give a major boost to the campaign for the prisoners of Armagh and Long Kesh.
The proposals include: 1) A big drive for spon-
sorship in the labour movement and in all the mass
movements; 2) A nationwide speaking tour in the last week of October and the first two weeks of November. The tour, sponsored Co-ordinating Committee, will be primarily aimed at the campuses, also involve town meetings; 3) A day of action on 10 December, International Human Rights Day; 4) delegation to H-Block and Christmas time; 5) A demonstration on 1 March
political status.
Among the speakers Margaretta D'Arcy of the Armagh Co-ordinating Committee, who has just been released after serving three months in Armagh, and Irish trade union leader Kevin McConnell. messages of support was one from the prisoners in
H-Block giving their full support to Charter 80 and
ur the campaign'it is launching.
Sodiakst Chal
now, looking at them. Looking in and saying, I was living like
The people that call them criminals ahe blind because criminals are individuals, and they do things individually. My personal opinion that a criminal will do anything to get it handy in jail, get the remis sion off and get out. At times you felt like crying - there's men did cry at nights — but I
never ever criminalise
'At times there's been wee birds in our cell, in the corner eating
maggots'
You see, when we were moved. we were all beaten, 46 men. Once we arrived in the cells, they would just shout, 'Is everybody over? And they said, 'Yes', and then we'd have all sung, we'd have sung a song And all those 25 or 30 screws who were only after putting us through the mirror search,
us and degrading us, ocalilig had to listen to us all singing
sang in defiance of their search, of what they were doing
try and get us off the blanket.
Personally have
animosity for people in Britain,
. But I feel that and never had the people in England should wake up to the reality of the whole situation here. I think if
expressed themselves about their government's involvement in Northern Ireland they themselves could bring an end to the troubles. And when you're bringing an end to the troubles, you're bringing an end to injustice
Ireland is Ireland and belongs to us. It's just like me moving into your house with a gun and saying I'm living
You don't want me to
ive there but I'm living there
because I've got a gun and I'n occupying your house. The British army occupying Ireland, it's just the same. The only thing that will ever end it is a total British withdrawal.
on Saturday 27
announced a
for the campaign,
by the Armagh
the SSA, and SWSO
but will
Armagh around
the fifth anniversary of the abolition of
at the rally were
Notable among the
Page 14 scan of this page
ITALIAN BOSSES ON THE RUN
Tories climb
down on Welsh
TV channel
By Stephen Bell, Gordon Gibson and
Barry Wilkins
language suffered
defeat last week.
policy of dividing
coverage between BBC2 and the new IBA
second channel, they have now agreed to
concentrate the coverage on ITV2. This will
allow real programming of the language at
peak viewing time
the language just a little.
By Bob Murphy and
Steve Potter
THE FALL of the Italian
government
weekend and the decision of the giant car firm Fiat to suspend its decision to sack some 15,000 workers at Turin plant is being hailed as a victory by the Italian workers.
The result of its austerity policies failing to gain a
maJorly In the Italian parliament. the backdown by the riat bosses emphasises that the Italian ruling class were not confident that they could be implemented against the new aNC ot workers' struggles in Italy.
The struggle against redundancies reached a high point on Wednesday week, when demonstration of 100,000 workers took to the streets of Turin. In a mass meeting later on at the Mirafiori plant, part of the Fiat complex, workers heard
NO)N uneT union, the FLM, and political tendencies Manchester marches for Gardners THE fight against redundancies at Gardners, the second largest engineering plant in Manchester, is gathering strength. The Salford labour movement is giving strong support for the stand of the Joint Shop Stewards Committee and the Gardnersti mass meeting in their opposition to job loss. A mass meeting on 2 October will decide on action in the face of managoment's continued demand f693) redundancies socialist challe
TORY policy to wipe out the Welsh
an embarrassing
After months of sticking firmly to their
up Welsh language
lifting the siege on last
its
But the last LCR, the Italian section of the Fourth International.
While Communist leaders of the FLM were loudly applauded, speaker to gain applause was the LCR speaker who called for general
HOP STEWAPON
GARDNER&SONS
COMMITTE
no talistore Page 14
This climb down came in the face : of continuing acts
CIVI disobedience Wales. weakness Wales where they only con trol 11 of the 36 consti.
cem of little significance ti The slas SOCHINA CHARGe CONS worth taking look what's happening the Welsh lang
During Welsh has declined from be ing the majority language in the 1901 census to the situation today where it is spoken
Welsh has been the victim need for a
purposes of commerce and ad-
movement fought most
Vigo only ore gas
JNS
throughout the sondarily workers and a 35- hour week. Party Recently support has been
growing among
week. Industrial action by the Fiat workers for this objective strike would have a huge impact -
A knife in black
shoulders
By Philip Lindsay 'A knife is about to be stuck through black shoulderblades.'
That's how black leader and prominent Labour Party member, Rudy Narayan, described the Tory White Paper on Nationality.
He was spe in triaton
meeting in on 10 September, organised
Campaign Against About 100 people •ack ane abour anovemer organisations, attended the meeting
nting Out that this is a highly critical time in the LIC VE Deose
Wirin cler TOI the strongest possible cam-
Is of the White, tyines contact: pave the way for the 'leaders
News
organisations are increas-
ngly raising policies in it
Both the
Council of Labour and th
Velsh TUC have supporte
Iced for a fourth chai with a high proportion WeSt language pro-
grammes.
In the last ten years
surveys of suck anglicise
areas Cardift and
Newport revealed
jority of parents wanting children
Nationalists
Nonetheless
force behind this victory has
been the nationalist move
Plaid Cymru organis
ed 2,000 per ple who refused
pay their television west - MENSA
FABBRICA
FIORI
country
the Fiat
of the Italian
the Italian ly.
Fiat has
for some time.
DaDer and called for a change in its policy I Plummer from the
Plummer Joint 11 Ull Welfare of Immigrants and TOI Mike Rodney of CARL also
greetings were received from Labour MP
Ted Knight. Richardson's message called o all
'geared to cut sics fighting the White Paner'
roposa and supporting
ARL in its activi
CARI groups ar bring set ith anumber of al cas, SUD OUTL Labour ГаТИ trade UNION branches and black organisations. Following on from
emonstratior by CARL LondOn Noveniper Lne possibilities for building mass resistance
new racist attacks are very good
information about CARL ac-
CARL House, don Servel Groye, Logic:
Language Society organised
numerou pickets, televi
sion studio occupations and
declaration dent Gwynfor Evans thatsi aculons Plaid presi
would fast to death for the
fourth
out the
than anything else.
The main response from
the Labour Party leaders Wiles up aped Alar
Williams
Nicholas Edwards Tory
Secretary of State for Wales, blackmail to resign for giving
noises from the direction of
House 8100
similarly disgruntled
It's true that some
aspects of Plaid's
Party, but the best response
to this would have been an
all-out effort to get Labour
Party members to campaign
for Welsh on the fourth
show Cars.
• PRECOTTO stories
propose change this
European
pathetic. dancies
both in Italy itself, where Fiat boss Agnelli is also the head they
employers' working federation, and international-
been making preparations for the sackings
The official figures published last month deep
Birkenhead
debate on
the Irish war
By John Nolan IT WAS a minority at a conference organised by Wirral Council who argued that British troops should stay
Capital
Radio
faces strike on pay
CAPITAL Radio may be 'in tune with London', but it's certainly not in tune with its staff.
They have refused to accept a wage offer of between 14 and 17 per: cent ana have refused to give in
channel This is official
Party gave a press conference condem 101! alling for a fifth channel. fifth channel would and thing as would a sixth but let's start Channel Four!
In future we will have te fight for joint nationalist and Labour act Nelsh defence language. The next step is t
fight extend broadcasting still furthe Ultimately no trus in either the BA 0 be
detenten
Wing people to en sure a service really tailored Welsh non-Welsh speaking alike. some 380,000 unsold In August Fiat was put on a three-day week.
ries bos no one with
how one worker produces just 12 cars in the time it takes a Japanese worker to produce 40. They
three things government assistance; agreements among
car producers fight Japanese exports; and speed-up and redundancy
The response of the Com
has been They propose as a solution the introduction of new technology, a move away from riat's big factories smaller units, and a decrease in the number of cars produc-
Alternative
The CP argue that redun-
and
management; the alternative,
claim, short-time the early retirement, and similar measures
In other words they, toc see Fiat's crisis as being solver at the expense of the workers.
There's no need to delve
the whys and
Ireland until links can be built between Loyalist and Republican workers'.
The majorit) of delegaesar the conference war in Ireland, held on 20 September, regarded the •oresence British troops as a barrier to workinf reland. class unity in the north This held despite a ban by the conjerence TUC on any resolutions being passed. None of the pro-
management's intimidation tactics More than half the staff from all out on strike. and a dail line is being
cricu unc manacemen 1 OIlet bran morean , Capital's chief negotiator, sent an in civiber of state saying cach dividual inform him whether
letter threatened that all those who failed to comply would not have their eventual pay backdated He also claimed that the : shop mended acceptance which
Jimmy
Reilly
JIMMY REILLY loading nationa spokesperson fol Before Ma dan he Sinn Fein, died on September, aged
had bean charged undor the Preventior of Terroriam Act and just racently roleasad from custody. Com Roilly was determined revolu tionar milt.nt who in bo greatly mater Republican the Irist ment and the British labour movement. wherefores of the CP's posi tion, for it was spelt out by one of their leaders recently. 'We don't want to nationalise Fiat', he said, 'we want to help Agnelli solve his problems'!
While the fall of the government and the suspen-
redundancy SIUL notices at Fiat mean that there will be a delay in the coming confrontation between the Italian workers and their rul ing class, the next months will be a period of preparation for both the bosses and workers.
International solidarity will play a major part in helping the Italian working class led the Fiat workers, to win. Links exist at a rank and
neve between the Fiat workers and their SEAT brothers and sisters in Spain.
Delegations of workers from other car combines have already visited the Fiat fac tories to discuss common pro. blems. Top of the agenda was
SUCCES COOTdinated Europear wide campaign to win the 35-hour weel in the industry
Messages of support can be sent to the Fiat workers at FLM, Corso Unione Sovietica, 351 Torino, Italia.
mised TUC and Labour party speakers turned up
• for the conference
It gave unanimous sup. port to Wirral and dozens o other trades councils which nave condemned the TUCS expulsion Tameside Trades Council because nad or tanis ed a discussion on the Delegates considered that the Troops Out Move-
mass movement. its demand into the Party and trade union bran ches.
was s quite untrue ACTT, the cilief unior invo ved called a strike which now has the support NUJ. Many of Capitals ser Equity vICe are Denne catected with air time being padded out with repeats and more needle time.
Helpline, 24-hour telephone advice service, is OUl OI operation, most of its programlike the Sunday after noor yuuuı programme, Hullabaloo.
At present the dispute is deadlocked with nothing but threats from manage ment and sterr from the unions. The strikt
and come up with something better
Page 15 scan of this page
Big reception for jobs marchers
Council workers
fight off
Redundancies
By Alan Walker, Liverpool NALGO (in a personal capacity)
COUNCIL workers in Liverpool recently defeated moves to sack 600 workers in the direct works section.
Liberals and Tories combined to re-allocate f6m from direct works to other areas and to authorise the serving of redundancy notices.
By Graham Atwell
IF it hadn't been for the marchers,
luminous orange jackets I'd never
have found the 1980
Work March
pouring rain and
Talbot last week. But as we set
off through the half derelict Port
Talbot steelworks spirits rose and
the weather responded.
There were more than 200 of us from
all over the country: young,
Skinheads, rastas and
Jones, a young
Maesteg who'd been made redundant only
the week before, told me:
protest at Thatcher's government which is
vandalising Welsh industry and throwing
us on the scrapheap'. ADWEST - police evict strikers from Transport House By Kate Howard AFTER the mass picket ADWEST factory September, 30 strikers went to Transport House to demand that their 19-week-old dispute be made official.
case to Rod Todd, Secretary, and Fred Howell, national officer for power and engineering said he'd known nothing about the dispute (after 19 weeks!).
On Monday • evenine Moss Evans finally fored the strikers... a half hour meeting with him in
Following the May local elections, the
000,000
1380
JEMPLOYED
th Wales to:
Right to
as it gathered in
mist in Port against
forts of
old, mods. As Paul engineering worker from port for
'We're here to The outside the on Monday 22 and supporters
During their stay, the strikers put their
Deputy General
who
Blackpool September! This was re-
then insisted that non
Such attacks had been one verboo Council Shop Stewards and
30,000 workforce, had been exsence since me eec. tion of the. Tory government. response was to call for all-out strike
dancies in any one department, and a one-day strike obby the next City Council
The Liverpool NALGO branch immediately began a Pro randon recting co including refusing to send rcuundancy TOUCES • boycotting private contractors
RIGHT TO WORK MARCH
The reception for the march almost unbelievable. At Bridgend women workers from Miles Laboratory left their factory to greet the march, while delegations of marchers visited seven local pits collecting money and discussing the fight
unemployment. The mayor Khondda joined us to march through the valleys and many bystanders joined in anti-Thatcher chants
Despite lack of enthusiasm for the ef-
the many blisters, the marchers are determined to reach Brighton. 'We'll kick Maggie Thatcher off the end of Brighton Pier', is the most popular chant, and with the sup-
the demonstration in Brighton growing daily it almost seems possible.
South Wales miners are organising special coaches from local pits, the support from the TGWU and ALSEF executives has boosted the campaign.
T&G members leave the building threatening • woula be taken' if they did not.
Minutes later he was •ACK - with a chiet inspector, an inspector, sergeant and six threw. out the 'trespassing Adwest Two members and the sacked AUEW steward Martin Rautman spent the night,,
Home News
High points the dispute were a walk-out b workers in the city lighting department demanding that apprentice sheet metal workers whose training had finished be given permanent JOUS collec. nom s were crosca l protest against scabbing by
On the 2,000 workers attended necune to support lc da
the Council on 23 : July in
By mid-August the jobcutting plan hreds. The Liberals did complete about turn and gave the guarantees the unions wer Alier being
After given a was
lodge of the NUM
tant.
of
unemployed workers.
employed have. that link for ana aesoile
to make thạt known
commended.
wille in the building
union members who tried get in to talk to them the next morning were retus ed admission. and early on Tuesday atternoor Tone remaining workers were thrown out, again by the police
Meanwhile; back in Reading on: Wednesday 24 September Danny: Broderick, the Adwest -convenor arrested on a
bloody nose this time the Liberals will shy away fron
workers une montas ahead. chen Plices othered However their
cutting services increasing alia. the Hius sinister of all rerusne in the as five years 3,000 jobs have been : by this policy Militants Liverpool Woll l on theil aures arter taer recent vic the right to reverse but will be continuing and to get rid I of this Tory government. That volves nanonal perspective: and actions and that's why I'll be urging my branch to send Lamber conterence Local delegates
Government in Crisis'.
ARCH
The lodge secretary of Penrhwceiber explained to a meeting of marchers and miners at the pit head why the 1980 Right to Work march is so impor-
'We need to link up the employed and The unemploved have not got the strength and muscle, the
This march is a symbol of the next fortnight. Some one's got to demonstrate to Thatcher and the Tories what people feel. The only way
is to demonstrate For that the Right to Work march is to be
/elsh miners and Welsh people ha
intention of being taken back to t '30s. The message from this colliery, from a mass meeting, is we won't let ourselves be taken back to those days. Let Maggie know this message as loudly as possible.
previous mass picket for standing alone in the fac.
TOr gateway and insisting on his right picket, was found guilty of obstruction and fined £50 The lessons week's events are clear: police can now arres any dicker an• otan g conviction. And when they're not busy doing that, the Trace union leadership will keep them occupied by getting them to do their dir ty work for them!
But, Danny Broderick stated in the dock: 'Hundreds not thousands, of workers may be prosecuted in the future, but magistrates police can't stop workers fighting tor their rights
in the
Unions
Spreading red among
½m white collars
By Hugh MacGrillen
Managerial Staffs,
members,
from engineering,
other sectors.
Formed only 12 years ago, the union rapidly cashed in the WIlt ingness white-collar workers to organise by a
sharp recruitment tactics, ag gressive workplace bargaining. and manipulation of the media.
During this period the union machine was solidly under the control of the LOTT
Red Collar, organised left current in ASTMS, developed
familiar story of a swing to the right in the union coupled with the failure
the Broad Left organise open and democratic lett-wing op position
As the effects of the TUC/ Labour Party Socia Contract began to bite the Broad Left, instead of
ship and fighting the failures and betrayals, went on le same de way trying to control the official union by elec
manoeuvring and juggling with the constitution, divorced from either political base or programme.
Red Collar has two main tasks
campaigning vatious union structure. But at least as important is to give these policies life by Mo•llsine the rank ang file in the workplaces and branches
As part of this pro. cess, we have had to op.
victimisation of union ac. tivists by our own
Every year the annual conference passes many
• a legacy of Broad Left influence but unless pressure brought to bear • on ThE National Executive Com mittee to do something about them, they just get consigned the chives Forgot
For example, in 1979 conference passed
for cam paign for workplace nurserie: against the NEC's will. But subsequently the NEC foonot about the resolu
To control the leader. ship more effectively, we are fighting to make the union structures more democratic Red Collar is in favour of the election of union to so the and officials
Organising
THE Association of Scientific, Technical and with over 450,000 is the sixth largest union in the country. It has a varied membership drawn chemicals, banking and insurance, the universities, NHS and many
Red Colla UP AGAINST THE TORIES running of the union.
Promoting independent working class organisation and action instead of relying on the union bureaucracy is a
Rod Collar has regular quarterly journal paigns, gives reports on struggles and provides
background analysis
It is an important role ot the down the monopoly of information the
report defeats and sell-outs well as successful strug glos learn from them for the future.
At ita idol
Collar accepted programme which outlines how the interests of the rank and file members can only be defended by refusing accept any responsibility for the capitalist crisis.
Campaign
Whether the threat to jobs originates in a crisis in a specific industry or in the introduction of now technology, the answa has to be a campaign for a shorter working wook. standard living
members, it is support struggles and decampaigning against al cuts. those struggles we need
defend trade rights which are serious ly threatened by the Employment Act; the De fend Our Unions Code of Practice is part of Rec Collar's prooramme
We also have to argue against import controls and the other proposals
the which the union ted.
For further •information about meetings, local. ac tivities etc. please contact Red Collar, c/o 9 Countes
Page 16 scan of this page
DUMP THESE
ELECTRICIANS' leader Frank Chapple: he describes the striking laggers as 'bandits'
During october Onto Sue into or of it only for
Britain:
Abroad: 12 months - • Surface Mail
Multi-reader institutions: Double the above rate
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Address
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Sheridan ONE member of the TUC's General reported to have said: 'Chapple up Moss Evans' nose.'
Of such irritants, we are to mass media, bureaucratic made.
The Electricians' Union leader, removed poses Committee last week by bearer for the right wing, and hence the unseating has hallmarks of dictatorship in the making.
No one who has any love for democracy in the labour movement should shed any tears over Frank Chapple TUC's 12-strong cabinet'.
Abolish
Under his leadership, EETPU has election of full-time officials, who are now appointed by the executive. These officials can stand for election to the executive, and the union's rules these candidates in particular. restricting ly advantageous positions.
Decisions of the union's two-yearly conferences are no longer binding ecutive, which last year overturned a motion unanimously passed by making deals members to obtain private medicine.
Branches left-wing activities, the Right to Work march, can be suspended, as happened il Cardift
But it was not defence of internal union which prompted leadership to dump The General Council is hardly a bastion for upholding the principle of accountability of the labour movement leadership. Dispute
I wo issues have led to the noose tightening TUC's most vociferous rightwing ideologue:
Action, and the Isle of Grain dispute.
The TUC did little to build the 14 May Day When It should campaigning up and down the 'country for a one-day all-out "strike against
to bust
SCABS!
anonymous
is .... noW
Council
really gets
batteve the Haven
purges
from the
Is a Danne
all the
the removal of
from the 'inner
the
abolished the
canvassing
the ex-
the Isle of Grain the conference b
for EETPU
policies,
which support
such as to join Shame'
publicly democrac the TUC Chapple. 1979 Congress
of Grain power
bonus
U1 the co-thinkers in the
the Day of electricians'
of Action. flict with the laggers' have been the General and Workers!
Thatcher's
The picket
line they're
determined
Geoffrey Isle of Grain
Milford
TERRY DUFFY, Engineering Union general secretary: he helped to organise scabbing on
its general secretary was on holiday in Madeira.
But Chapple took advan-
tage of Fleet Street's columns should
the media's 'Day of strike-breaking cam-
paign, and that meant he wa
ingers to the General Cour puttin two at this time? cil, which had taken its cue from a motion passed at the the TUC
cher to talk The 27 laggers at the Isl talks merely station conWine well strike last year to defend their
have been described by Chapple as ban- ment.
Along with his right-wing Fear leadership of the Engineering Union, the
leader has mounted a scabbing operation on the site, and this has brought him into direct con-
union union Municipal rises Both'the EETPU and the AUEW now face expulsion
THE 27 laggers.
ths. The reason
£50 a week.
are members
The Central (
Engineering
from the rank and file.
on the Grain site.
Chapple,
In Milford Haven,
for two Members of union, are excluded.
depended on to win the battle. It was David Basnett, GMWU, who from the TUC over the issue. This should certainly be supported by socialists, but why
La majority of the General Council be concern ed to uphold a fundamental principle of trades unionism
The trade union leadership is in a quandary. While
pleads with Thatto them, such provide an excuse for not building the on thing that can defend workin class interests - mass action
bring down the govern-
Behind this lack of action lies a fear of the alternative to Thatcherism. Since the postwar boom years,
leadership has based rises a refore pae
and reforms eepening Crisis of the lat
Is put paid to such oppor
at the Isle of Grain construction site in Kent have been on strike for 14 mon-
Is that they refuse to accept a wage cut of
The militancy of the laggers, who
of the General and Municipal Workers' Union, ensured that they received high bonus rates on the power station construction site
Electricity Generating Board wanted standard bonuses, to put a stop to on-site bargaining and cut costs.
and electriciar leaders were happy to go along with this, because it put negotiating power into the hands of full-time officials and removed it
These leaders set about defeating the laggers with a vengeance. AUEW general secretary Terry Duffy, John Baldwin of the AUEW's construction section, and electricians' leader Frank Chapple organised the training of scab laggers and installed them
in a letter to Len Murray, lescribed this overturning of a basic tene of trade unionism as 'a matter of principle
the EETPU and the AUEW have signed deals to provide lag-
petrochemical sites. the GMWU, the laggers'
This is the background to the dispute over which the engineering and electricians' unions now face expulsion from the TUC. The expulsion should be carried out, but this doesn't mean that the TUC can be
leader of the agreed that dispute should not be raised at the Trades Union Congress last month, because the debate might have been somewhat unseemly.
To support the laggers, send messages and donations to: Isle of Grain Strike Fund, 112 Whitebarn Lane, Dagenham, Essex.
tunities. their support for the Callaghan wing of the Labour Party shows, the TUC leaders still cling 'respectability' of an incomes policy and open compliance with big. business.
But they sense the dangers. For the first time in post-war years trade union membership is falling financinions bleming sharp financial problems unemployment at 2m and ris ing, the credibility of the TUC is at stake Moss Evans is at pains to say that there is not a purge of the right-wing union bureaucrats. There ought to be but if that is to succeed the TUC man and me inteRPO rank and file in the the right-wing strongholds for the AUDW. and "other
members of these unions to turf out their leaders.
And it needs to adopt the policies which can confront Thatcherism head on.
← Socialist Challenge No. 165, 25 September 1980Socialist Challenge No. 167, 9 October 1980 →