Free Derry corner blocks of flats occupied Catholics. You can't walk down the Road for more than minutes without passing soldiers armed and ready to fire.
I came out of the house we were staying in one night and collided with one of the troops walking backwards It's an amazing situation just walk out of your door and you step into a gun. The nature of the more through is intimidatory the estates cowboys from a film shoot-out.
This constant intimidation has mobilised the entire Catholic population against the presence of the troops Anyone who says that there is support for the troops in the Cathol community is wrong. The only area of debate is whether they should be withdrawn immediately or phased out over a period of time.
Is opposition to the troops translated into active support for Sinn Fein?
There can be no doubt that Sinn Fein has won the allegiance of the Catholic Belfast.
Fein will be the largest voice of the Catholic community in Belfast after he general election luring ou visit there was no by doubting the enthusiam as we walked around the streets. a lew tor us.
Fein; Danny Adams.
The people we talked to were quite clear that what broke the hold of the SDLP in that area was their position the hunger Sands.
I think the SDLP is probably they finished as the major electoral voice like of the Catholic thern Ireland. But it wasn't just that the SDLP took a mistaken position on the hunger strike.
People have around for almost a decade and Gerry Fitt for a decade before that nothing has happened except it's got worse.
On top of that you've had the emergence of a younger, leadership within Sinn Fein with a much clearer conception of socialist policies. Ihat must be much more at. tractive to ordinary Catholics.
Sinn Fein are doing what I think is correct not issuing pure tracts, but going onto the estates and the areas of bad housing; taking up the issues around Carple and craving police people drawing lesson from it That's the most valuable way of Sinr building support for socialist policies:
taking up issues which face people on a car 'early' the withdrawal.
forced And it wasn't just It was for the leaders of Sinn Morrison and Gerry testants Catholics unions.
Bobby about they Southern unions.
Aspect presiding seen the SDLP Surely the they're withdrawal from dynamic issue working of ideologically military the I think a da! sass and drawing the jam on Ireland in British politics?
Our problem here is that there is a majority people for getting out The logjam is in the politica is the result of Unionists work to ensure their own veto.
The Labour Party is moving ver! early into the proposal for talks in The insertion of the word the draft manifesto document reflects up the parliamentary party for We may be nearer than people accept to getting the Labour Party committed to a withdrawal from Ireland On most of the issues we face, the pressure is built up in the constituencies, ihen the unions and then it is on the parliamentary leadership. This is one area where the major problem is the unions We may find that we can persuade the parliamentary edeersio we can persuade the TUC This may reflect the fact that most of the trade unionists in Northern Ireland ure Pro British nemployed or in Southern Treland either When the Labour Pary talks talking to the trade unions. should also be talking to the The pressure on the parliamentar! leaders is a consequence of the pro-government over another five years of war and bloodshed.
record of the leaders shouldn't convince us that thinking of an earl!
They're talking about accelerating the process of consultation arounc the British seems likely in the manifesto is a statement that no grouping • NOTE can have a veto over the withdrawa process. That's the key There's a degree of war weariness exhaustion gradua realisation that we're not going to see solution. There's ove: whelming public support for a Britis: withdrawal admittedly on the basis:: a 'get the troops home' position so l'm much more optimist re lot OLICI because I do think there's sense of despair among Lat:-. • VE and not just them e that we're go: 0ee: =