The political status demonstrations. which began an eventful week in the Six Counties were organised to coincide with the fifth anniversary of internment.
Officially internment was ended last December, and the British adminisiragon exoected me Droves mis year to be small and ineffective. But the size and scope of the demonstrations, which spanned some five days and JOHN MAGEE reports from Belfast took place throughout the Six Counties and inside the prisons, showed that large sections or the neovocar populalior were not to be deterred by proim penals proparanaa It was with this background that a human tragedy was turned to the vile use of the British Government on emptied 60 rounds into a car travelling along Finaghy Road North in the Andersonstown area of Belfast. The in the vicinity. They deliberately shot the car-driver dead in the full awareness that the car was bound to go out of And so it did, crushing a woman and her three children against the railings of a local primary school. Joanne and Andrew Maguire were killed in stantly, John Maguire was fatally inlured. ano me cnucrens momer ann Maguire was seriously injured.
The accidental death of the three Maguire children provoked an immed iate revulsion throughout the nationalist population at the effects of the anti-imperialist struggle. The distress of the Maguire family and the shock of the It is such people who are behind the latest peace movement. Their message is collaborate with the Brit. to defeat the IRA and there will be peace'. This is a downright lie. British imperialism has always been the aggressor in Ireland. It gives not one damn fol the Maguire family so tragically affected bv the forceful British rule of the Six Counties. It cares only for maintaining and defending its interests: the exploitation or the working class The defeat of the IRA would lead to increased repression against the nationalcall tor Deace are ov no means mn favour of Britain or the return of the RUC. However they are tired of a struggle whose tactics strictly limit their involvement and leave them pre to the sick sentimentality of the bishops and the RUC i more women ane men are noc to be captured by hypocritical peace groups then me nevuencan movement and anti-imperialist organisations must begin to outline a strategy for victory based on mass participation of the nationalist working class, and abandon the scrategy waw renes on a smal "army" of the people which is forever prone to isolation from the people.