The right of Ireland to national freedom is merely the basic democratic right of all oppressed peoples to determine their own destiny free from all outside interference and control. It means the right to control their own economy, decide on their own ponucal system and reladons wim ower countries, and the right to develop their own national culture.
This can only be decided by the Irish people as a whole the Northern statelet was from the start a British creation aruncaly imposca on reland preciscly Any working class party worth its salt would have no hesitation in actively championing the right of Ireland to self-determination. It is the first and elementarv test of international labour solidarity and working class independence from the British imperialist system. The Labour Party, however, has chosen instead to serve the interests of the imperialist oppressors. Just as the Government places the burden of the capitalist crisis on the backs of the British workers. so also lt has systematically trampled on Ireland's democratic right to self-determination. TROOPS It is true that some of the reformists, like the supporters of Tribune and the Communist Party on paper give token recognition to Irish self-determination. But none of them have championed this right in practice by demanding the immeniate winers a one troops. no alternatives they advance to the Wilson Government share one basic thing in common - both say tnat brusn imperialism and its army can play or be made to plav a progressive role in ireland.
The Tribunites, for example, argue that the army should stay in ireland to protect the minority and repress the Loyaust extremists. wunne me sovause general strike of 1974 they called for the full might of the army to be used to break Part 2 the strike. The conclusions they drew in the editorial of the 31 May Tribune was that the Government must stick to its guns' and that 'British troops must remain, whatever the cost".
The idea that the army can be a proBicssive force ana that tae trisa people as a wroie are undole to temselves repe! Loyalist reaction is the same as that used by Wilson in 1969 when the troops were first sent in. It is being invoked again today to justify further repression.
urmermore wine mere may be oce Labour Government and the Loyalist coalition, these are basically only disagreements amongst thieves over an agreed perspective of keeping the minority and Ireland as a whole subjected to British rule Experience itselt shows thai imperialist rule occurs the army and the Loyalists are united in one camp The position of Labour MPs like Joan Maynard and Maureen Colquhoun, and of the Communist Party, all of whom cal tor a demaranon ormen are a •Bill of Rights, are also wrong. These positions offer no real challenge to imperialist interests because they leave it up to the British Government to say when and under what conditions it is ready to withdraw from Ireland.
craw rom renne - once lenas crusnea on all decisive quesuons were a unreal to In effect the Labour Government itself DELIOn Tory the minority and stabilised imperialist rule, that is. To put strings or conditions on Irish freedom is not only inexcusable in principle, it also presupposes that the army is in fact playing a useful role on behalf of the Irish people Nothing could be further from the truth. tae army was orgiany sent in. as James Callaghan himself has since admitted, to stabilise imperialist rule ag ainst the upsurge of the oppressed Catholics. In addition, the whole experience of the last six years testifies to the brut alising conditions and dangers for the Catholics as a result of the military occuNot only nas tne army concouted te ure exisung goodbam or.ovu clai strengthens and gives confidence to the Loyalist terror squads. This flows logically from the Wilson Government's committment to the Six County state, and the longer the army remains in Ireland the greater the threat will be of massiv pogroms against the oppressed minority. uns is une rear caneer waich exists It Ireland, compared to which the Whitecros: killings would be chicken-feed.
The proposal for a 'Bill of Rights" legislated by Westminster is equally groescue m is subservichce to inDerals. aims and traditions. The last thing the bureaucrats of the TUC and the Communist Party want to see is the Irish people themselves breaking the shackles of British domination and taking their destin -mto neur ow nands 'BRITISH' Their solution to the problem' is in the same mould as that of every true blue - it is typically 'British'. It will be the British Parliament which enacts this 'Bill of Rights", not the Irish people themselves. And since it is British legisla tion, who better to enforce it than the British army Our answer to these fake working class leaders is the same answer which the socialist movement, inspired by Marx and Lenin, has always given to those who fall in behind the oppressor nation: the Britis! ruling class has no right to enact legislation 'for Ireland and its army has no nant to be nere one mure oncer ee sac or oursee are baracks Despite disagreements over other issues, we hope every worker will join with us in this demand by building and participating on the 1 February demon stration organised by the Bloody Sunday Commemoration Committee as the first step on we road to moomising a tray mass movement for the immediate withdrawal of all British troops from Ireland
10 Portugal/French CP Red Weekly 22 January 1976