Socialist Action No. 79, 23 November 1984
The scan: 079-nov-23-1984-SA-UK.pdf (PDF, Marxists Internet Archive)
Uncorrected machine reading of the whole issue. This text was read by machine (Apple Vision OCR) from the scan and has not been corrected or cut into articles. Each page gives the headlines first, then the columns in order, so one article runs on into the next. Expect misread words. Use it to find things; quote from the scan.
Page 1 scan of this page
with the
ACTION SociAlist
Stand
miners.
DIG DEEP MINERS OR THE
COAL E VICTORY
No. 79 23 November 1984
weeks. the
And Because
first time.
capacity.
plies.
hour on Photo: MARK SALMON
CND CONFERENCE SPECIAL
• Joy Hurcombe on what's at
stake for CND in 1985 back page:
What's happening at
Greenham?
EIGHT MONTHS of pounding by the police, the courts, the social security and the media has made the first small dent in the miners' strike over the last two
Now the government are trying to exploit it to the full.
The endless television headlines about the 'move back to work' have as their goal to demoralise the miners and Dreak wp sondarily. but wel all is also to systematically hide the real facts of the strike. Even if the NCB figures on 10,000 miners going back to work over the last two weeks were true, which they aren't, that would still only be seven percent of the miners on strike.
Well over 90 per cent of those who started the strike in March are still out after the longest mass industrial struggle in British history.
The figures for the core areas show the picture. Ninety percent are on strike in Scotland, 93 per cent in
North East, 97 per cent in Yorkshire, and 99.6 percent in South Wales. No coal of any significance whatever is being produced in the 'back to work' areas.
that last point is vital. this strike is going to be decided by brutal power. For in the power supply industry the Tory press is systematically concealing the real situation - the fact that the national grid is begining to be affected for the
• The CEGB is desperate for fresh coal supplies in Yorkshire which accounts for 20per percent of its total
•wo weeks ago West hurrock the largest coal fired station in the Thames region, was closed down after workers refused to accept fresh sup-
• In South Wales British Steel's Llanwern plant was shut down for an
7 November of power shortages. • North Thames power was so low on 5 November that there was a 'yellow alert' - one step from the full
panic of a red alert.
• The POEU reports that
standby generators have been
Mineworkers' Defence Committee Speakers ARTHUR SCARGILL BETTY HEATHFIELD TONY BENN and others SUNDAY DECEMBER 2nd CAMDEN TOWN HALL, LONDON NW1 (opposite St Pancras Station) 11.30-4.30
pages 6 and 7:
• Gunter
Minnerup on
European defence brought into service to compensate for power losses over the last two weeks
The media claims that this strike is about to break are complete lies. The problem which confronts the strike is the total contrast between the massive and direct assistance being given to Thatcher by the courts, the police, the CBI, and the media and the total lack of support being given to the miners by the leaders of the TUC and Labour Party.
While Owen is praising Thatcher Willis insults the miners, and Tuffin and Lyons move to knife the miners by calling on the TUC to back out of congress commitments. An appeal by the TUC to miners not to return to work would by itself have virtually halted the 'back to work' drift in its tracks.
Above all the NUM, and those carrying on solidarity, must be able to feel and see the massive support for the miners which exists in the move ment. The movement has to speak out quite regardless of whether Kinnock and Willis do - and the impression must be ended that they speak for the Labour Party and the trade unions as a whole.
It is the solidarity action on the railways and in the power stations which shows the way forward. The TUC should issue a fresh declaration of support and call for no return to work - and if they won't do it then the left trade union leaders backing the miners should do so.
The appearance of Labour not backing the miners given by Kinnock has to decisively rebutted. The best and most effective way to do that would be for the NEC to call a na tional Labour Party solidarity demonstration for the miners - this would be the largest march London has seen for decades. National and regional days or acuon are also urgently needed.
These are hard weeks for the
But the 'Christmas bonus' pressure over, and becomes clear the strike nas not cracked, the initiative will begin to slip back into the hands of the NUM Thatcher still has a long hard winter SOLIDARITY CONFERENCE
Page 2 scan of this page
TUC: action not words
2
ACTION SoCiAlist
Gerry Adams
and the
British left
AT THIS year's Sinn Fein Ard Fheis Gerry Adams made a very remarkable presidential address. It summarised the entire last years of work by Sinn Fein. It is reported on page eight of this week's Socialist Action. But the speech was an event worth taking note of for the entire left in Britain itself.
The theme of the speech was the radical, and in the case of Sinn Fein, revolutionary struggle for democracy. That theme went through the address right from the title An Phoblacht, or Gerry Adams, chose to give the speech - 'We have the
His starting point was the right of the Irish people to independence and sell-determination. But to develop that theme Gerry Adams went far beyond purely political democracy. For Ireland economy. For Ireland to be free it was necessary for Irish women to be liberated. For Ireland to be free it was necessary that democratic rights ex-
In fact, if one wanted to be theoretical, it was a rather good recapitulation of how the first Marxist actually came to be one. Karl Marx, it
'Marxist' - or even a socialist. He started as a democrat who found, logically, that the consistent extension of democracy is incompatible
democracy you have to eliminate expioitation, oppression in the family, dictatorship at work.
In short any thorough democracy, a struggle that does not stop half way, will blow up capitalist society itself.
for Irish independence. Or, to put it in the words used by Sandino of Nicaragua, only the workers and farmers will go 'all the way'. And precisely by going 'all the way' capitalist society itself comes under attack which is exactly why the capitalist class itself long ago gave up any thorough going fight for
Any thorough going fight for democracy in our society therefore inevitably becomes inextricable intertwined with a struggle that goes far
Gerry Adams, in Ireland, is not a socialisi
lespite the fact that he is a nationalist. He is a socialist because he is a thorough going fighter for the national rights of Ireland.
And what does all this have to do with the British left? It is not a matter simply of solidarity
- vital as that is. The point is Gerry Adams is actually tapping the same vein as the most popular
and advanced mass
labour movement itself.
If one were to summarise the real cutting edge of the Benn or Ken Livingstone it would be in their Stens central there is democratistion o. Benn's central theme parliament, the Labour Party, every sphere of politics. Ken Livingstone's cen-
concept in London, the huge popularity of the GLC, is the 'state as resource — a state that expands the sphere of democracy, by providing a material base for it, and not restricts demöcracy.
Arthur Scargill's best speeches and acts are also those, as at the Labour Party conference, where he acts as a tribune of the entire history of the labour movement and its fight for the right to exist.
It also happens, not by accident, that the most authentically tionary tradition in British and Irish society is that of indepete de, the Chatties gle for independence, fragettes.
Gerry Adams' speech was not just a question of solidarity. It was an object lesson for the entire left within what is now (unfortunately) the British state.
Socialist Action 23 November 1984
it was necessary to control its own
going struggle for
and small farmers, will fight consistently
in the fight for democracy currents in the British
popularity of someone like Tony
democratisation government and
La state that mass radical and revolu- the Irish strug the Suf-
THE NOOSE DANGLED in front of TUC leader Norman Willis at the miners' rally in Aberavon, expressed the hatred felt worker towards the labour establishment.
Willis's speech was a deliberate provocation. His aim was to attack and demoralise the miners in the middle of the most difficult fortnight of the whole dispute.
In his speech he spent
sentence on police on miners'
He used the violence on the picket lines as an excuse for the TUC's pathetic the court and police attacks on
ment of further coactical
SNOONL histeau nie col plained: 'Delivering effeclive
211ll have suffered eight mon-
His most militant comment was that there needed to be 'a surge back to
knowledge that the NCB
negotiations until the NUM agrees, advance, to shift its posi-
Speed
The speed with which the right wing moved in to attack the NUM after the
makes it cleal that
Willis went to South Wales
as the their messenger. The TUC right, supported by
Kinnock, are attempting
South
children
The
WCEC
started condemn
violence miners'
greeted jeers and
shouts of 'scab' and
the hall. con-
sciously
or une Dress
he'd
him ovation.
zave
A PIECE OF
Reagan's back in the White House -but I don't care!
Thatcher's in Downing St.So what?!
Willis goes ape
class conscious to back out of the commitments given con-
Kinnock's statement of support for Willis. and Hattersley's call on the NUM consult the membership, were
By Pat Hickey
deliberate at the
force the work moves. Tuffin
and Managers
has
policy Brighton.
the
demn prominent
TUC
make
TUC and antiNUM all-
finished — and went on
attack the so-called
violence of the. miners.
rupted, Emlyn Williams
tried to maintain order.
prevented the chair from
'If I couldn't take it, I
woudn't be here'.
By Nigel Bevan and
Mark Thomas, Penrhiwceiber
Willis
their and
no way, cir-
can
surfacing after eight
gle.
THE AGTION
The possibility of nuclear war looms larger on the horizon but I'm really not concerned
GM COOKSON
Photo:
The wing are
in the back. This means
despite the
reauers
congress to be
Arthur Scargill's
ment lo despite
leadership. The united
the
to act -
sucn as una
mean the
ment. the
TUC. Shouts of 'we
want action not words'
means we want results.
Some actions form the
decisions of TUC
in support of
the NUM are long
awaited in the coalfields.
By contrast, and ig
A BUSES CERT
GM
Photo:
Peter Heathfield speaking at South Wales rally
see
leadership of the labour movement - both the Labour Party and the TUC.
Leaders like Willis are threat to the whole movement. They regard class struggle The something to be avoided
Willis is typical of the breed. He has never led organised or participated in a struggle in his life. He started career as T.G.W.U. messenger boy good training for his present job became a research officer, assistant Jack Jones (where he didn't learn much then to Len Murray (where he learnt a lot) and now he's 'leader' Britain's million trade unionists.
Scargill
The with Scargill's could hardly be He started a ar working miner the Miners WEI. through the strikes 1969, mass '74 and the
right wing.
The labour movement needs the kind of class struggle leadership that the miners have got. Such a leadershin will only be won through the most bitter will not be quick. nored by the press, was the enormous solidarity meeting. When Arthur Scargill started to speak, you could have heard a pin drop in the hall.
If anyone shares the prejudices whipped up
- PORT
-MEANS g
Misery, anguish, deprivation and woe as far as the eye can
-and further!
But I don't give a monkey's!'
wing of bureaucracy has the 15 to working But that minority
in its ranks women youth and : conscious of the
Fight
The can begin HUW. building the of
Any the
congress met by a for a
The labou
building
the and repudiating Kinnock's
elections. must be Labour
The labour movement has to fight for a Labour Partv and Labour government, as loyal to our class Thatcher is to hers. A TUC as loyal to the
NUM as the CBI is to the • NCB. by the press about the miners' pickets, we leave
with the words of you Mick McGahey: "Tell me of a Welsh miner that has gone onto a picket line
with a helmet, a shield, a
La dog or a truncheon,
horse.'
GORMAC
+77-11-84 Why this air of philosophic detachment?
Tomorrow I
commit suicide
and the universe
disappears...
Page 3 scan of this page
MacKinnock
News
- NEIL KINNOCK got bloody nose indeed from the rank and file of the labour movement for his refusal to speak at the five
national rallies organised by the
NUM.
The media made a rather feeble attempt to portray that reaction as a simple 'hard left' conspiracy. Socialist Action's front
page of two weeks ago, labelling
Kinnock as a scab for his refusal
to speak at the NUM's rallies, was featured in the Sunday and on the ITN's lunchtime news last Wednesday.
Socialist Action was invited to appear on the same ITV news programme - to discuss the resolution
passed in Kinnock's branch of Eal-
ing/Southall Labour Party demanding his expulsion from the party. declined. Firstly because we don't favour Kinnock's expulsion at al (ex. pulsions are the tool of the right and not the left); secondly, had nothing to do with the resolution in Ealing; and thirdly because the whole thing was a frame-up tempt to portray the real anger which exists against Kinnock as coming only from a paper whose full views shared today by an absolutely tiny minority inside the Labour Party, but which in this case simply accurately articulated deeply-held views of wide sections of the movement.
By John Ross
Despite these rather feeble media attempts to divert attention from the real question the truth concerning the
anger in the labour movement over Neil Kinnock's actions dia come out. Last rndav Kinnock was forced to meet members of miners' lodges from his Isiwyn constituency after Oakdale lodge explained there 'widespread resentment' position on the strike.
We know that the Socialist Action proclaiming Kinnock a 'Scab' was one of the most popular issues - in the labour movement and
• we nave ever produced. The outburst of anger hatred against Kinnock for his stand was no 'conspiracy' but mediate, spontanicous, held reaction by a major section of the labour movement
Because of this response Neil Kinnock was temporarily forced to try to present "softer' image miners' strike at the end of the week. He announced he would be speaking at a rally in Gwent organised by the South Wales NUM. This was in addition to the 30 November Labour Party rally for the miners already decided Retreat
Kinnock stated he meeting the South Wales NUM ecutive and would 'observe' a picket line. He also, at least temporarily, retreated on his demand for a ballot, stating that: 'When you are committed to a battle you don't stop and
aboul what would nave nappened in the first five minutes
How nice if Neil Kinnock had decided on all these things eight monthe ago - and had joined a picket line, and not just 'observed' it.
After these declarations delegations from the four lodges in Kinnock's constituency unanimous vote supporting him as Labour leader and next minister. This however reveals the depth of the shockwave
Ainnock s actions ratner neatly • it is an extraordinary thing to vote on merely one year after a Labour leader is elected!
Despite any immediate moves there should be no illusions as to what is going on. Firstly we can be sure that at the rallies Neil Kinnock will do his usual 'violence' act for the press. Secondly the scale of the 30 November rally shows the lack of real support to the strike. and Arthur Scargill on the same platform would fill the largest hall in Britain. Instead the rally is to be limited
a very
Times, . We
because we
are was
over his
issue of
and
all 111and deeply-
the Ull
bhoto. JOHN HARRIS
would be
exthe be strong
carried Nifty tactics
prime
actual v More important than
tactical moves are
tactical Kinnock, aided by Was prepared to
do anything.
Neil Kinnock
Party
to 1,400, will be ticket-only, and will be held not in one of the areas facing a 'back to work' threat but at Stoke-onTrent - right in the middle of scab country and where the right wing will
Many nifty Neil Kinnock's original decision and the overall direction of events that are taking place. The last two weeks were the hardest for the NUM in the entire strike. Neil
Norman Willis, knife the miners wnen they needed support most. • 11 Kinnock is prepared to do that in the middle of the biggest trade union battle since 1926, then he is prepared to
Exactly the same course is being seen on policy and organisation in the
Labour's new economic policies, authored by the
Where is
Ramsay
leading us?
team around Roy Hattersley and endorsed by Neil Kinnock, explicitly abandoned any pledge to full employment. Apparently a Labour governis now going to state it will preside over two million unemployed — and far more in practice. In addition an incomes policy will be introduced which should be worth millions of votes to Thatcher not to mention its economic effects of attacking the working class and labour movement.
Suicide
It is impossible in fact to imagine a
mass unemployment, combined with an incomes policy, for shattering the labour movement and tor electora.
On defence, the new policy docuGunter Minnerup discusses in this week's centre pages — is based on fitting Britain into the
Neil Kinnock on the left and Ramsay MacDonald on the right... or is it the other way round?
framework of a revamped NATO. A Britain specialising in weapons, and (heaven help us!) with a 'strong navy', will fit within a continuing nuclear alliance based on the atomic arsenals of the United States and rrance Mockery
These policies mockerv of unlateralism ventional weapons spending involved would furthermore economic policies government other stronger objections to them.
On organisation democracy, the old right wing and its methods are being reinstated by KinIn the name realism' the supporters of the people who led Labour to disaster in 1970 and 1979 are being rehabilitated.
Neil Kinnock and Roy Hattersley
Socialist Action 23 November 1984
chair.
John
conference
capping.
Neil ticula
Enemy
The wing Mitterrand
Kinnock's.
Labour opponent.
to blocking
tain,
conventional Alliance
are compicle
wreck the 1920s who of any Labour in addition
and party
of 'electoral
Whether
3
have spent their time recently nipping into almost every NEC committee
One our sundou
Expulsions are also continuing
of Militant supporters.
Meanwhile the results of the shadow cabinet elections are too well known to need commenting on and
Cunningham, spokesperson on local government, was permitted, without any rebuke from Neil Kinnock, to openly violate
allack any Labour council planning to violate ine law in the fight against rate-
The pattern behind all this is clear
- if anyone had any doubts before
Kinnock abandoned anything but a purely verbal pretence of balancing between left and right in the party. He rests his position more and more firmly, and exclusively, on an alliance with the centre and right of the trade union leadership, in par-
David Basnett, and on the right wing of the PLP.
Who Neil Kinnock's parliamentary supporters regard as the enemy in the party was made abundantly clear in those shadow cabinet elections
Tribune group of MPs voted solidly with the right in the elections and against Tony Benn and the left Smashing the 'Bennite' left in the party, to make Labour 'acceptable the bourgeoisie again, is the core of Kinnock's and the right wing's policy
There should also be no illusions as to the consequences of all this. In addition to the current sabotage, government led by Neil Kinnock on its present policies would be a disaster for the labour movement. Its right
policies would utterly demoralise the working class and prepare the way for political force: and changes to the right even of Tha:cher. Anyone who doubts that shotic look across the channel at what l happening to the French left under
- the French politiciat whose politics most clearly resemble
Catastrophe
Furthermore on its present line, it should be stated openly, , Labour is most unlikely to be led to any victor by Kinnock at all. The June 1983 election was not a fluke. It expressed a real relation of forces — although one which is much less unfavourable than
Calas room. campaigr made it seem. For Labour to win the next election there has to be a real move in the relation of forces favour of the working class. Simply relying on Thatcher or Owen to mess it up is hopeless — there is no tactic in politics more bankrupt than relying on the weakness or stupidity of you
But Kinnock is precisely orienting
the miners' strike, the the defence of local
— that coulo decisively shift the relation of forces in Labour's favour. If he were to suc. ceed in this, which is by no means cer-
then there would not be a Labour government at all.
And if Kinnock does not win the next election on his present 'go it alone' course then every 'closet coalitionist' in the Labour Party - from Eric Hammond, through Frank Field, to Gavin Laird — is going to come out in the open with their proposal for a grand 'anti-Thatcher bloc' with the
Whether by that time Kinnock will have become a puppet of forces even to his right time will tell.
wonderill analogy There was a Labour leader in the
conducted a witch hunt against the Communist Party - long before it became a Stalinist party. He then aided the bourgeoisie to defeat the general strike of 1926. He finished up joining a coalition government.
Common decency prevents from recalling the fellow's name but it might be a good idea if Neil Kinnock started reading a few history books.
would deflect him from his course we doubt very much
Page 4 scan of this page
Behind the NCB's lies:
4 Socialist Action
A tiny
percentage in
South Yorks
THE NATIONAL Coal Boards' back to work campaign has failed so far in Yorkshire. With only one per cent of the miners crossing picket lines no coal will be cut. And it will be difficult to move coal from Yorkshire pitheads.
Yorkshire are with more than 100 miners working. But Manton and Shireoaks are both physically in the county of Nottinghamshire, which the police have made a no-go area for Yorkshire miners.
My pit has one of the largest number of scabs in the area. But with less than hardly the collapse of the strike that the press would have believe. Most pits have just a handful of scabs.
Most of the scabs that are working are part of the industrial staff. These e'ectricians fitters and
al c the lower management levels in the pit. On top of this the four who went back came out on strike again before the end of the tort i
effort has been spared by police scabs to work. They осcupy Thurcroft village satrolling. Convoys of
Scabs are collected om their houses and any attempt even to speak to a scab could result in a three, month jail sentence.
Then the police try and
take sure the scabs do not -sen see the 150 pickets as
are driven through
he gate in their armoured sus. Anybody who goes to zork in needs his head examined!
I ne Solle people in Yorkshire has nothing to do with 'Silver Birch' or working miners' committees. Neither is it to 10 with hardship, although this has had its effect and greater financial
percentage of the 26,000 miners in this area.
Mass picketing has
been successfully carried
out Abercwmboi, St
John's, Maestag and
WomAgainst Pit Closures
have been actively involv-
ed in this picketing.
Women from Суп-
heidre the
pithead baths for over 16
hours and prevented scabs
from going underground
and from washing up after
their shift!
Trade unionists have
joined our picket lines
The bus workers branch of
the TGWU have given the
miners theil unequivocal
support. Of the 28 coaches
booked by the NCB not
one has carried
back to work. The buses
were not driven out
23 November 1984 There are only two only pits in the Board's
support is needed more than ever.
November and inere nave nol yel occi major cuts. On top of this people have just SCOu whole barrage of so-called public the media. A few people begin to think that we might not win.
By Dave Parry,
Thurcroft NUM (personal capacity).
So it is very damaging to morale when you get
Willis shooting his mouth off in Wales and
Kinnock just refuses even to get on me lence leve. mind coming down on our side. LIC line against this campaign is now the key task
The five rallies were Row we need to organise for
public meetings in villages
and we need to increase the
level of picketing, especial-
ly mass pickets.
Only the government
knows exactly
coal stocks are but most
people do not realise how
near we could be to
seriously effecting the
power stations and the
economy in general.
Solidarity, both finan-
cial and in the form of in-
dustrial action, is still the
road to victory.
A flop in South Wales
THE NATIONAL Coal Board's plan to starve the miners back to work has flopped in South Wales. Even if the NCB figures of 77 are true, this is a tiny
depot or drivers refused to
cross picket lines.
Bus workers unders-
tana unal ll une mines alc
closed their jobs will be on
tract work for the buses is
provided the Coal
Board in South Wales.
By Nigel Bevan
and Mark Thomas
Where strike breakers
have entered collieries the
withdrawn safety cover,
implementing
and ensuring the
rapid closure of the pit for
fear of flooding. Scabs
have been sent letters by
the union explaining that
they will be expelled from
Scabs stopped at Cwm colliery
North-West power
stations
By Dick Withecombe ALL BUT one of the coal-fired power stations in the North West are now implementing the TUC decisions on the handling of scab coal. Fidler's Ferry, the largest power station in the north is now very low on stocks.
The TGWU region number 6 have established the NUM for their anti-union action.
But the most important reason ot all toI the failure of this back to work movement in South Wales is political: South Wales has lost more col lieries over the last ten years Illall other coalfield.
Strikes
There nave beer numerous strikes against pit closures. 1981 threatened to become a national strike and forced Thatcher make a Uturn on nit closures. A few months later it became clear that hatcher's promises were paper thin.
year then the South Wales coalfield has been forced to take ac-
tion against pit closures.
"boycott committee which meets weekly with the NUM. This monitors and plans actions against the movement of coal and coal fuel substitutes.
The North West TUC are due to call a meeting oi their executive, the NUM power and transport unions to further this ac-
° The NUM plans a mass
picket at Agecrott power station and at Ellesmere Port around the oil depots.
But balloting nationally did not produce •a sufficient majority for a tional strike. The NCB consequently succeeded in closing an average of five pits each year.
Picket
South Wales miners at
the beginning of this strike
knew that it was make or
break for us. Thatcher will
never starve or bribe the
South Wales miners back
to work. We have far too
much to lose if we ever go
back on her terms.
the Cynon Valley
there is already 26 per cent
unemployment and 90 per
cent of teenagers leaving
school will not find work
or at least a year Sixty
per cent will still be out o
work three • later.
Thatcher has given us no
choice but to fight.
The back to work movement has been portrayed by the press as a reaction of ordinary miners the strike. In fact it is a carefully organised, and well-financed, campaign by the government, Tory Party and extreme right wing legal groups. John Marshall looks at the links of the movement to the Tory Party.
The first key link in the 'back to work movement is Thatcher and the Tory government itself. senior journalist involved in the scab miners' organisation is David Hart — who has both close links with Margaret and, according to Hobart House executives, close links to lan MacGregor. These links were exposed in last week's issue of the Miner.
The Sunday Times reported that Hart is part
a group 'advising Mrs
Thatcher on matters of
SLaLC
Hart freelance journalist with oW! Compally who normally
avoids making
DUCH Ull his Thatcher/
Coal Board connections
which could cause embar-
rassment. He is especially
keen on playing down his
MacGregor contacts.
But at Hobart House
there is no such reticence
and executives there say he
has been instrumental in
influencing MacGregor's
thinking particularly in
boosting the importance
of the working miners,
reports the Financial
Times
Yet another Conser-
vative Party connection is
David
Negus, the solicitor to the
National Working Miners'
Committee. Dunng the
Cover: Pa Coc.
Who's behind the
'back to work
movement'?
ference he was a prominent speaker for the Socie
Conservative Lawyers
A further strand in the Tory web comes shape of a Mr Tim Bell, Mr 'Bell is a director of Saatchi and Saatchi, the advertising company which played a major role in persuading the electorate to vote Mrs Thatcher mto power
Like Mr Hart, Mr Bell has regular contact and =21T professionai
News
Picket at Lewis Merthyr pit fluence over lan MacGregor.
The 'back to work movement' taneous outburst 01
It is a carefully mulicts organised and financed campaign by the Tory Party and its allies. • Further details of Tory and right wing links to the
can be found The Miner
November and The Enemy
Within published in the Kent coalfield.
Page 5 scan of this page
Solidarity conference
In the Unions
takes off
REQUESTS for delegates credentials are pouring into the Mineworkers Defence Committee to attend the soldarity conference taking place in Camden Conference centre on 2 December. The provocative attack made by the TUC general secretary, Norman Willis, on the South Wales miners underlines how vital the tasks of the solidarity movement are.
The attack, and Neil Kinnock and John Cunningham's backing Ior lL has provided an opening for the right to nush the TUC to 'review' their position of support LHe miners.
Those who have stood by the NUM in their eight month long battle have to take the message of the five NUM rallies calling for more support to heart and begin Diall the counter-attack. Solidarity must be stepped up.
The Mineworkers Defence Committee CUll ference is one forum which to do this. Speakers
HEREWECK
A BENEFIT FOR WOMEN IN MINING cOMMUNITiES
ACLUDING PEGGY SEEGER CAROL CAMES
ROSY 4188 MIRIAM KARIN
PRUNELLA SCALES
JULIET STEVENSON
THE
WNE SAND UMITEHEA!
PAUKINE BLACK
SUNDAY ET NOVEMEN +2
PICCADILLY THEATREN
NOME
BATE FRI TOWN
HALL MARE ST. 58:
now confirmed include Arthur Scargill, Betty Heathfield, Kay Sutcliffe, Lesley Boulton, Joe Mohammed. black miner. Among those invited dire Rav Buckton (ASLEF), Jimmy Knapp (NUR) anu Roy Butlin from Coalville NUR.
By Valerie Coultas
The first meeting to plan the conference took place last Wednesday.
Quite a large number of comrades from the Socialist Workers Party were in attendance, along JAVE LAPOTARLE HARRIET WALTER MAGGIE STEED MITZI WILDEBEEST CHARLOTTE CORNNELL
WATERS BENRRUEY NOVEMBER. 7:30PM
HACK NEY LABOUR HOMEN PRESENT a Homen only benefit for women in mining communities
Togen
BINAS SONGS AGAINST
STATUE QUO
GLADYS Me
DARD OF
HACKNEY -NANNE
E=.50 ,4100
right to re-enter the United States. with NUM members and 1colcocullallve. Irom solidarity committees. Everyone agreed that we needed
working conference.
Food and finance
vital to sustain the miners
donation inter and ange
donations should brought to this meeting. But most important of all is to ensure that this conference expresses the view LuaL Neil Kinnock LEFT-WINGERS and women's rights cam-
major advances In the Welsh Labour Party the weekend.
Tight organisation centred around the hard-Left magazine South Wales Labour Briefing resulted in delegates to the Labour Women Wales conference three times revolting against the official line
Voting coups on policy mouons were ronowea by the election of a hard-Left
ning next vcar ference. And everv ICILwinger being promoted for the women's committee for Wales was elected.
ference - held in Cardiff I ne women's CUll on Saturday 10 November
- has previously reflected the conservative attitude of the party in Wales.
Anne Delaney, delegate of the engineering said, We have managed AUEW (TASS) SalO the breakthrough. Two of
HOO tions were passed. And the one which was lost failed by only a small margin'
The women activists won a large majority for the demand that the Welsh women's conference be allowed to send five motions to the Weish party's main annual conference in the spring.
The night-deminates
Wales Decause iner said it would lead to women losing in return some of their rights at ine main conference.
Steve Shukla, with translator Sylvie Charbin, speaking before wives of striking maritime workers in Quebec, Canada. Shukla, touring US and Canada to win support for British miners, was stopped by US customs agents and denied the
Norman Willis do not speak on behalf of the Labour movement when they condemn the miners.
The ranks of the lab-
leaders must combine to lorce a public demonstration of support through the call for a national Labour Party demonstration. The mas. pickets at power stations must be increased and the
Welsh Labour Party
women swing left
A demand that women members on the national executive committee elected by women's conference rather than by the party in
general was also passed
Jn ine thir the conference platform could muster only a small majority for its opposition to a women's rights demand that every shortlist for both parliamentary and local government elections must include women, should one apply.
Delegates have few doubts that this demand
women next year. feminism and socialism are inseperable, said Gill Jenkins of Cardiff.
Militant
The women's rights activists pinpoint their opposition as coming from two sections of the party - the Right and Militant
con-
erence bulletin contain long attack on Militant' views. But most unions are also criticised for lack of support for women's rights.
Anne Delaney said, 'We have got to get across that we are not anti-men: it is a matter of extending
conierence voted to support total op position to Tory policies 'even if it means breaking
fight to halt the movement
coal must be stepped up. The conference has to be broad-based to achieve these goals.
• Hurry get your delegates credentials from 31, Cranwich Road N16 or phone 01-981 3289 New leaflets available from Wednesday's planning
•County Hall, 6pm. Ask for room bookea by John McDonnell.
Stevi Jackson, of Cardiff, one of the organisers of South Wales Labour Brietino group. told the conference, "The question is, do we implement Tory Policy or Labour policy?' Kinnock
The conference passed unanimously motion deploring 'the inflammatory statement of Leon Brittan (Home Secretary) wheaten! picketing miners with life imprison. Michil and his reference to jackboots, which is far more applicable to the role
the police this dispute.'
The conference called for full support of a rally by miners' wives in Cardiff
December Labour leader Mr Neil Kinnock was accused of 'scabbing' on the miners strike for refusing to speak at the of-
Vera of Cardiff urged the conference, 'write your strongest letters of com plaints to the national ex-
the Parliamentary Labour Party. Neil Kinnock has been scabbing strike
mine:s.
This article is a shortened version of one written The Western Mail.
Socialist Action
Urgent: funds
needed at
Dawdon pit
on strike.
sustain the miners and their families.
Dawdon pit has not so tar been 'twinned' with any labour movement organisation. It is sand wiched between the larger Easington Colliery and other pits such as Vane Tempest and Monkwearmouth, and the lodge officials feel that it has been forgotten by the solidarity movement.
The Welfare Committee can Only manage to provide two meals a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Singe miners WIll are nọt receiving social securitv have fend for themselves the rest of the week, and the lodge officials are spending a lot of their time visiting single miners to ensure they are alright.
Alan also explained that 30 per cent of children at the local school did not turn up for the first day of term because they had no ade@mate footwear. Many of teasingle miners have
nad their electricity croif for the last 3 weeks
: When Alan visited one miner last week, he found him cooking chips for his two children over an open fire in his hearth One miner has been fined f90
WOMEN
SPEAKERS: ANN Terry Thomas
David Bookbinder Neil Daries Esa Daries Anita Gale
United We Will Win
23 November 1984 5
Miners'
Strike
FOOTBALL FANS will have heard of Terry Fenwick, the Queens Park Rangers and England foorball player. His father Alan works at Dawdon pit, in Seaham, Co. Durham, where over 1700 miners are
Alan is a member of the Pit Welfare Committee, set up at the start of the dispute. He spoke last week to a meeting of Langbaurgh Trades Council, ir Cleveland, about the desperate need for funds to
for stealing f3 worth 01 coal. A local security firm has their dogs on miners and children found taking coal from the heaps in the pit.
By Dave Carter
It is often said tha Thatcher trying 'starve the miners back to work' in the forgotte: pits like Dawdon, which is solidly behind the strike this is literally what wil happen unless the labour movement responds mediately Alan Fenwick and his colleagues see the next twi weeks make
with Coal Board's Xmas incentive bribe be ing used to tempt miners back to work They are relving on us to deliver the support so often promis-
• Rush all donations 10 Dawdon Advice & Distress Centre, Mount Stewart Street, , Dawdon, Seaham, Co. Durham Cheques should be made payable to 'Dawdor Advice & Distress Fund'.
- Saturday Dec. 8th.
Is Your Day
Why?
Mass Rally of Women
in Support of the Miners
Cardiff - 12 noon Assemble Law Courts Short March to Rally in Sophia Cardens
SCARGILL
Vice-Preside
Page 6 scan of this page
NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT
THE MAIN ISSUE facing this week's annual conference of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament is what attitude it takes to non-nuclear defence. This debate, bubbling up in peace movement circles for a year or more, has surfaced still more clearly with the publication of Labour's defence policy statement at the beginning of the summer.
Many unilateralists in the party, and in the peace movement, have been deeply confused by this document. On paper it seems to uphold Labour's unilateralist policies but, simulataneously, in fact it pledges Labour to maintaining or increasing conventional arms spending and commits the party more firmly than ever to NATO membership.
These apparent contradictions led Tony Benn, in a recent interview for Socialist Action, to describe the document as 'a curate's egg': good in some parts, bad in others. Tony Benn was wrong.
The 'contradictions' of the document disappear when it is seen in its true light — as part of the plans of the West European powers and the United States for revamping and strengthening NATO.
GUNTER MINNERUP looks at the recent revival of the West Enropean Union and how it will contribute to modernising NATO. JOY HURCOMBE looks at the key issues facing this year's CND conference.
THE WEST EUROPEAN Union (WEU was set up in 1954-55, from the Treaty of Brussels. Its membership is the West European NATO countries - excluding the less reliable ones, namely Turkey and Norway.
Originally it pretended to be a sabstitute for the West European
Defence Community which floundered on
assembly veto in the early 1950s. It was designed to promote increas-
ingly greater integration of military
and defence policies of the West
European NATO member coun-
tries, and at the same time to allay
the French fear that had led to the
rejection of the WEDC.
Initially the WEU, played an imporcant role. For instance, the referendum
#hich returned the Saarland to West
Germany auspices of the WEU. But very soon, was organised
with the important
political and technological decisions
being made by NATO, the WEU fell in-
to disuse.
It simply maintained an office and a
small staff, and gave the occasional
junket parlamehtallails
member governments. But in terms of
serious political relevance it was rather
ignored until fairly recently,
was revived on the initiative of the
French and Germans. This met with in-
titial resistance from the British - who
only jumped onto the band wagon
when the Americans gave them the all
Sear
The WEU was formally relaunched
6 Socialist Action
ficial agenda given for the
Fficial agenda given for
disation between member countries.
pense they sutter
sional counter attacks, the French, in that field.
thing that's been
Greece,
East. That remains to be seen.
(WEDC), WEU ministers the French yearly, just before
pro-Atlanticist participants the • would under the
strategic,
without Americans -
of the
excludes the United States.
when it
It's very
Wichit.
23 November 1984
defence"
at the end of October, and a manifesto
ofWEU meetings is issues such as arms standar-
European greater coordination of arms technology, arms development programmes, and procurement.
These are issues the West Euro- serous peans have bleated about for a long long time - citing the horrendous ex-
as a result of the American arms-technology monopoly and the fragmented nature of the occa-
particularly by
Disarmament policies are another
thrown in lo the WEU. That may be taken simply as a sop to the peace movement, but I think what's really hidden behind that is the potential development of an alternative Have West European line on detente with the
One of the things decided is that the
should meet halfNATO meetings.
That can mean one of two things: either some sort of faction to speak with a joint European voice in occasionally confronting the Americans, or exactly the opposite - namely that the most
meeting will sort out all the problems the Americans would otherwise have to deal with before the NATO meeting.
There are other interesting aspects to the WEU revival. For instance the October meeting emphasised the role time
play suale technology, and in discussing initiatives outside Europe — a rapid deployment force and intervention capability in the third world. And all this was discussed
participation of the CUSL the WEU is the only organisation mandated by its own treaty to deal with defence matters which
The question is what possibilities are apparent in these developments?
important that peace
movement keeps a close eye on all this.
On the other hand, I think there is a
great deal of exaggeration about the
Euro-bomb as things stand at the mo-
The role of the WEU is a question
PROTEST ANT
CAMPAIGN FOR
Unilateralisn
& "European
of finding a balance between the increasing confrontation, competition and disharmony between the United States and Europe — and still keeping one's feet on the ground, making it absolutely clear what is the real relationship of forces.
American hegemony is a very, very
force. A fully-fledged pean force completely independent and equidistant from the Soviet Union and the United States, with its own integrated nuclear and conventional force, at the moment is simply not on. There's are plenty of countervailing factors that militate against this — not least the enormous expense.
If Western Europe was to throw out the Americans and set up its own credible nuclear deterrent and the conventional forces that go along with it, and
own technology at the same level as the Americans — that would ruin the West European economy.
'Free world'
The Americans used to say they were financing the West European welfare state by agreeing to pay for the bulk of the defence expenditure, letting the Europeans off the hook relatively low level of defence commitment. Of course that would end with a break up of the Atlantic alliance. At the
economic crisIs, Europe would be forced severely adapt its economic structures.
Not only would there be the financial cost, but also an enormous political
of detaching from the United States. America's political reputation
been severely erroded developments since the 1960s, but this has to be balanced by the continued strength and importance of ideological commitment to "the free world'.
So there are many reasons to rule out dramatic developments towards a
uncoupling of Western Europe from the United States. The immediate result is something which is perhaps best described by what Genscher now the president of the council of
ministers of the WEU and the West German minister of foreign affairs — has said: "This union for our common defence must be revived to focus an increased European awareness of common security interests and European contributions within framework.
Europe should increasingly speak with one voice within the alliance. should identify its common security interests. On the matter Euro- defence, too, Europe ranks and pool its resources. It must emerge from its role as a lodger in the shelter of American strength, and do more to guarantee its through its own efforts.'
By Gunter Minnerup
This fairly well describes the actual agenda: a kind of two-pillar NATO, a NATO which reflects more adequately arms in its decision-making structure and internal arrangement the changes in the relationship of forces between the two parts of NATO, since the alliance was set up in the late pressure of the peace movement and the political pressures of the more rampant Europe, such a 'rebalancing' might well include a partial substitution IN C American role developments like the French force de with a frappe, 01 by a military build up. because we are in the realm of speculaWest tion. We can only describe tendencies and extrapolate them on the basis of what does leak into the public domain. Hamon, who was the minister of information In the before Mitterrand, reveals the development of French security policy,
with the WEU, and speculates about
certain European divisions of labour in
the military field force de frappe. He has actually written a book about it. He claims the "sanc-
tuary, which was originally France is
now being liberated from its enclaved
status and taken into the whole of
Western Europe,
creating a nuclear umbrella over Italy,
West Germany, etc.
European states
NATO high technology,
European arises in his view.
common should COsi
with lie
own security
years to come.
4US.
wilh wilal lit Western
of the
aspects of the
Europe by
general European the Labour
difficult to project all this
commitment article by Leo nock, French governmen
like the French
other words
He assigns other roles to other
- I01 example he favours specialisation in West German
conventional forces army-land forces So a natural 'division of labour' almost
There is a tendency, a dialectic, between cooperation with the Americans and remaining within the NATO context, and at the same time of conflict
Americans. is really a gradual redefinition of the relationships within the Alliance which could lead to all sorts of developments in the
That leads to an important political point for us here. How does the Labour Party defence policy document fit in with these developments?
Contradiction
The defence document argues for greater European independence but no third bloc. By and large this is in tune
SPD are saying, and reconcilable with what the French are saying because the French emphasise they don't want to break with NATO Labour's defence document fits in well with certain statements of the other European socialist parties - although
leadership is very luke warm about the WEU
There is of course an important pro blem with this Labour Party policy, namely the contradiction between the commitment to unilateralism and the
continued NATO membership. Being realists, Neil Kin-
Denis Healey, and Roy alal tersley have to consider this possibility: what happens if Labour does win the next election? What do they do then?
Initially CND posed the issue in terms of betrayal: will they betray us or will they remain true to party policy? That is not the problem. Strengthening the West European role opens a road whereby a Labour government could without betraying unilateralism, still re
NATO context. The conventional military and navy role could be left to Britain and the question of the nuclear role left open.
I think there is a distinct possibility,
Page 7 scan of this page
Which way forward for CND?
Photo: JOHN SMITH (IFL)
even though Labour's leaders are now ery luke warm about the WEU, that key will have to grasp that straw in the
when they're tied up with this whole problem of how to reconcile the
NATO membersup with a commitment to unilateralism, which will be difficult for a Labour government to get out of.
Such a policy ties in with the heavy emphasis that can be observed recently in the rhetoric of the Labour Party leadership, around the need cooperate with other European socialist parties and governments. theme pops us everywhere: at the level bI economic poncy, some kina or buroreflation and Euro-Keynesianism. I'm sure it will pop up on the question of military strategy, some kind of 'Eurostrategy'. The SPD and the French are open to this.
At the German SPD congress following their dismissal from power, they adopted the line of greater independence for Western Europe, rejection of cruise and Pershing, of Airland Battle strategy, and strengthening the European role within NATO. This was coupled to rhetoric about persuading Europe to pull its weight in favour of detente and non-nuclear policies at least to reduce its reliance on nuclear weapons. Mary Kaldor of the Alternative Detence Commission puts an almost identical policy in Britain.
Detente
All these moves has been received with deep suspicion by the peace movement. Mike Gapes in the END journal argues such policies aren't a very good idea because they would destabilise the world and make more complicated. He claims it's much oculci lo slay within NATO and argue the policy of detente developing the Helsinki process, as he calls it — rather than starting third bloc adventures.
Now that's not the kind of argument 1 would put forward: throwing out the baby with the bath water. The argument is not against destabilisation. As socialists and unilateralists we must be prepared to destabilise the status quo. That's what we are in business for.
The problem is that the 'Eurodefence' argument is put within the came framework as NATO - that of a military alliance against the Soviet
CONFERENCE
Union, anti-communist orientation, particular capitalist society. sian threat, of the need ourselves against the Reds both under the beds and beyond the Iron Curtain, is the ideological bedrock of all this.
It is impossible to tackle this whole issue of unilateralism, of nuclear disarmament and NATO, unless face this question of the so-called Russian threat. You cannot develop a coherent strategy unless you have a convincing answer level of arms technology and military alliancęs in the diplomatic sense — bu on the level of substance, namely who do wel defend ourselves against and with whom? Who are our enemies and who are our allies?
This means taking up the role of the Americans, taking up the role of the West Europeans, and taking up the role of the Soviet Union in its real political substance - ana not lust in terms ol abstract schemes of opting out of the arms race. Unless we do this, we will never around the hampered us in the last tion.
We need not just a unilateralist policy, but a unilateralist policy which
embedded in a socialist policy; and not just a unilateralist policy embedded in a socialist foreign policy, but one embedded in a socialist economic strategy — because NATO, the Western alliance, the free world, al c complex social-economic political-military phenomena. We can't break with one aspect without being forced to look at other aspects as well.
This is the tundamental problem to with Labour's defence policy and the Labour left hasn't come up with a soluThis tion yet. For instance, put a position that a Labour government which oniv took a small ster towards rejecting LUTe drive against the Soviet Union, would precisely mean massive destabilisation.
Reaction
callllul socialist British government - be it on the level of economic policy, be it on the level of foreign policy, be it on the level of strategic military policy without taking into account the likely reaction from the United States and not or only from the US but also of course
French or the West Germans going to
government committed to a
How do we avoid the big black hole, left open in Blackpool? We have to face it and convince the electorate in order to gain a majority for radical socialist
around this is. to actually put forward, in an offensive sense, the view that the only credible security policy, the only credible foreign policy, ble economic policy for a socialist Bri tain is one which allignes itself not with
West Germany under Kohl,
but adopis a comes from understanding the Soviet Union and the Eastern bioc. Unless we grasp that nettle we will never be able to give convincingeanswers to these kinds
This is an edited version of a paper prepared for a Labour CND dayschool on NATO, Saturday 1984.
SPECIAL
military The bogey of a Rus-
to defend
you
— not simply on the
delegates to CND's annual conference. the campaign in the years to come.
This year non-nuclear defence will
issues that be the centre of a
general elec- troversy over which way forward
for CND.
ty have spent much time and energy getforeign
and turned its attention to finding 'credible' alsumation that public ouies, mustbe
paigners start from the status quo?
Tony Benn has CND and chair Labour CND
American war
with a shopping basket full of non.
weapons, or even old-fashioned conscription. But where does it all get us?
Did the Greenham women
done the most to build and inspire our campaign against nuclear weapons -start from accommodating public opio-
in the most determined way to change
the case that a majority of public opinion is opposed to the new missiles.
Goals
give all this up and turn from disarmament towards defence. CND is a single-issue campaign. That means that its supporters agree on one thing and on‹ thing only: the burning need to get rid of nuclear weapons.
Our who are pacifists, who believe all war is believe that the justice of a war is determined by which enemy we're fighting.
This year presented a ment to the campaign which says: 'Our over-riding goal is to convince the majority of the public by the next general election the nuclear disarmament by the adoption policy which does not rely on nuclear weapons.? 10 November
Able, and on what grounds? The October
THERE ARE big decisions facing
presented to it.
The outcome will direct dial use corticil -
political conmembership.
non-nuclear delence Of course they didn't. They set out it. And just look at the results! It's still
safeguard them.
But when
Now CND leaders are asking us to
CND to nuclear
contains people
socialists, who
James Hinton has around.
Forward Planning state-
case for Britain, and of a credible defence built in past years
nected Who's going to decide what's credi- ference agenda is
MATIONAL UNION
OF MINE ORKERS
KORTH VESTERN AREN
PRIDE UF GOLBORNE BRANCH national council meeting had this paper
wasn't even allowed to vote. Instead we were told
- or something like it! — would go straight to conference. It was a hot potato at the council meeting and it will be at conference too.
Labour's defence policy LUW been quite widely publicised. It advocates non-nuclear defence context of a 'firm' commitment to stay in NATO, and at the expense of the ped party's policy to cut arms spending.
Much has been made of the doc-
CND council went as far as welcoming it. Not a word was said about the conflict between unilateralism and NATO
For two years now Labour CND has been accused of being sectarian and pushing Labour's policies inside CND. Now the boot's on the other foot: it's the leadership of the movement who are going over to Labour's version of
A version thai doesn't rock the NATO boat at all, that assumes Americans are our friends and Russians our enemies. And as long as you accept the rationale for dividing the world into two armed camos. ac cepting the need for nuclear weapons is only a small step away.
'Multilateralists'
Labour CND decided neither to support nor endorse Labour's policy. We are campaigning in the party for CND's unilateralist policies, and we're not convinced this defence policy will
course, we welcome a public commitment to nuclear disarmament.
'multilateralists' like Peter Shore and Denis Healey are bursting with support for the same detence document (precisely because it does commit the party to NATO) there's
A resolution from Deptford calls on
take no position on nondefence. Labour CND sup. ports this resolution. Along with many other groups we submitted an amendment to strengthen it. Without a byyour-leave, it's been lett off the agenda. Instead the Christian CND amendment aims to change the resolution
This amendment must be defeated, and the other amendments debated this weekend. We must continue as a single-issue campaign whose first priority is refusing the new generation missiles by continuing the mass action CND has
Another deliberate and con-
Commission from the con-
campaigning for Britain's withdrama!
from NATO. Earlier this year, the con.
committee bitrarily ruled out of order a composite resolution from more than 20 groups which contained the demand that CND should step up its educational campaign on NATO and highlight the ques tion during action at the bases.
These groups pointed out that CND has failed to fulfill such commitments in the past. Their resolution was drop
because 'reiterated existing nolicy', Amendments to the Airland Battle resolution from those same groups have likewise been quietly ditch-
Of course, this begins to raise th whole issue of democracy in the cam paign. Who's really in charge: us or a selected few? The resolution calling for a biennial conference (and similar constitutional amendments) are very wor. rying. The idea of a biennial conference CONSOl individual Why does it have more weight than a composite from 20 groups?
If anyone's in doubt what's at stake in this conference, an incident at the last national council gives reason for grave concern. On the recommenda tion of the leadership, council decided to hold a mass lobby of the Warsan Pact embassies on 8 December, instead of marking the fifth anniversary of the
Emergency resolutions calling on CND
has wrong. Nowhere is this clearer than the the year CND has failed to give real support to the women at the Greenham camp who faced increased police har. rassment, intimidation and violence.
torn apart. And CND has done nothing about it. If we are going to keep the campaign on course, the first thing to do is assert the centrality of Greenham
must be put back on the agenda. Then women can begin to plan the ongoing
But conference must do something
women have called a women-only ac tion at the camp on 9 December - the traditional way to mark the anniversar of cruise. Conference must support the emergency resolution and demand tha CND puts Greenham ai ibe top of t
Socialist Action 23 November 1984
Page 8 scan of this page
Sinn Fein Ard Fheis 1984
Gerry Adams on the Brighton Bombing
8
AnioN STUDENTS
ALL OUT TO
STOP THE
CUTS!
By Karen Talbot, NUS Executive (Personal Capacity).
THE 21 NOVEMBER 'National Shutdown' will see a huge and militant response from students. has finally had enough of being 'patient' and containing student protest to 'lobbying'. The time for action has come. time too! the abolition or the minimum anard de205 and The latest cuts to student grants, introduction of £520 tuition fees for students whose parents income is f20,000 are only the continuation of attacks on students' rights to education that have been going on for years. private education than ever before. dol, or cannot, pay laelr comabanon the £520 fees that have to be paid in advance — education will be denied to those unable to pay.
The call to hold nationally co-ordinated shutdowns and occupations is long overdue. to hold a National demonstration and rally on November 28, (for details see Diary below), should be built for on a massive scale. But these activities and mobilsations have to be seen as the start or a campaign of mass action to stop all Tory attacks
rallel Education autonomy.
To survive, the national union has to integrate and build all the struggles of all sections of the student movement. This means paying much more attention to the struggles of the FE have been systematically stripped of their rights to & grant to support them through their education. It means supporting those unions facing legal attacks over ultra-vires payments to the Miners. supporting fascist Harrington from PNL.
This December's National Conference should not be forgetful of the fact that the current course of action being advocated by the NUS Executive has come about because of the Tories' intran sigence and contempt for students' demands and rights. The fact that NUS's 'key demand' is to get college Principles and Directors to repudiate the Chancellors cuts, is evidence, of the overall direction that NOLS wants to take this campaign.
However. tile kind to do anything other than build the oced. Mass action of the kind being organised will caucale students, brouga men struggies, as to Une type of activities and leadership they fend the education system. As be at the forefront of these mobilisations. Precisely in order to be in the best position struggle against the
VUS leadership with them NOW STOP and 28! INDS
IFF
UDENT
MIONS ACTIVISTS DIARY.
Demonstration, November, NUS
Vueen Festival Hall), London, 3.30pm.
Every Hollo way load, PL. sit, 8.abam onwards. Friday,
Socialist Action Student Forum; struggle for socialism, Marun collins, Lou, basl
Building room E 195, starts 2.00 pm. Wednesday 21 November.
Refuse Cruise December 12,
Square, called by Student CND.
NOW!
Socialist Action 23 November 1984 The NOLS dominated NUS Exec
And not before However,
If parents do
The plan
and HHUH It means attempting to get rid of the if any were needed,
it would be leftism of the most infan-
need to de-
to lead the backtracking of the current it is necessary to stand and fight THE CUTS! ALL OUT NOVEMBER 21
SONS National Rally and Elizabeth Hall, (next to
racist Harrington,
"Ireland and the
6.00pm Trafalgar Book coaches
DEFYING THE critics and sceptics who were all too ready to quote the Brighton bombings as an indicator that the disappointing EEC election results were to lead to the victory of the bullet over the ballot, and a retreat from the leftward advance of Sinn Fein, this years' Sinn Fein 'Ard Fheis' marked further gains for the anti-imperialist movement in Ireland.
Adams MP, conference was not a jamboree for the party faithful rallying around traditional slogans, but an opportunity for discussions and learning.
Policy discussions on both economic policies and women s oppression
deep into the divide between socialist and republican traditions. This largelv retects experience gained through the numerous Sinn Fein advice centres where the majority of problems raised could only begin to be tackled by adopting an active campaigning approach to encourage and direct the self-organisation of the oppressed.
ne of the development of Sinn Fein can be guaged bv looking at its economic policy At
1983 Fheis, delegates were locked in debate over whether the Liduc unions should be recognised 'mass organisations of the working class, whether this was important to discuss or in•eca members should be iden-
with Luca Sinoly right wing leaders. Jobs
This year the leadership came forward with resolutions for Sinn Fein members organise within and alongside the unions to resist state atLacks and defend living standards. They called for Job creation based on the setting up of state run companies which maximum use of natural resources and recommended state takeover of key productive industries which are threatened with closure. Additional ammendments updated sinn Fein's social and economic programme avocat
bringing all industries under public control, opposing personal ownership
of workers.
vover lo relur lo la tional support for 'decentralised state' were strongly rejected. de-
the Southern government's so-called na tional plan for the economy,
make working people pa TOT CISS Fheis returned to the campaign for the 35 hour week overturning the out-ofRECENTLY we suffered London's media response to the IRA's attempted execution of the British cabinet in Brighton.
The London government's response to that Irish action, was, dare I say it, much quicker and probably much more considered than its long-awaited repsonse to the Dublin Forum is likely to be.
The key note address by president Gerry clearly indicated that the role of the
hand rejection of the previous vcar
The rapid political development of Sinn Fein has meant so many programmade resolutons co ng onto the agenda that
WIll agriculture, housing, weltare, travelling people, drugs, and education were unable to be thoroughly discussed. This has led to a re-evaluation of the traditional structures of debate. Women
This „ove
debated and voted on by the individual branches and then by a two day conference. Perhaps a foretaste came on the women's oppression discussion where motions were brought together and introduced in the form of a revised policy document which was then open to
The redraft strengthened traditional policies Or sexism and stereotyping on equal work and equal pay. It adopted a new sec-
violence against
LOLOR women which openly tackled "taboo' subjects domestic violence, incest and rape which was seen as
'an act of violence, , hatred and aomination rather than its legal
Hallyw definition.
The new document reaffirms Sinn Fein's view on the right of divorce and
committed the organisation to campaign TOI
'yes' vote in the proposed referendum on the issue in the South.
The Ard Fheis clarified
that contraception should
be a right of law, and that it should be free, safe and readily available to all
through GPs and family planning clinics.
Three vcal. of conference liscussior on abortion has moved policy from being "totally oppos-
abortion' (1982);
'opposed abortion' (1983); and 1984 'opposed to abortion as a means of
birth control'
Despite the defeat of thinks of that operation, and we can be assured tha Margeret Thatcher got lit-
Alia tionalist Ireland, or indeed from an increasingly disaffected working class in her own country, it is obviously totally hypocritical for
British describe Brighton bombing as an attack on democracy.
The quality democracy in Britain is, of
La matter tor the
British people. It is their Regardless of what one ... business, not ours. But the
resolutions supporting 'a woman's right to abortion under certain medical cirumstances', the ongoing educational campaign by the women's department of Sinn Fein looks like confirming the views of the traditionalists that
'only a matter of time.. Democracy
The Presidential ad dress brought all policies together with organisational proposals, reality and flexibility: Using the analogy that in it day the pike was an extremely good weapon but had eventually jected in favour of the Armalite, he supported winding up of British Sinn Fein an organisation long since marginalised in British connection, the nartition of this countrv. and the resultant suffering and grief from democratic. On the contrary, it undemocrațic unwanted, illegal and immoral.
casualties and DORI Angr fatalities in Ireland or Bri tain as a result of the war are sad symptoms of our British problem and Brighton bombing was an inevitable British presence in this Country a On belt d photo blow against democracy it was a blow for democrący..
the struggle to build an effective solidarity movement in Britain. Also pro. posed was the launch of a new self governing yout department of Sinn Fein
The speech as a whole (which has been published in Republican News November 8th) is remarkable for its attention to the theme of political democ racy running through sub ject matter from the international fight against imperialism through questions of sexuality and morality and ending in scathing attack the nypocrisy expressed in the
of constitutional nationalists with the Thatcher government under the name of democracy.
He contrasted their talk of democracy their common acceptance
We will continue to campaign for the restora-
International
TES
Gerry Adams speaking to the Ard Fheis
of the right of the Dublin government to speak fo Norther nationalists without one vote being cast for them and their mutual accept the results of the ballot box when voters choos revolutionaries to repre sent them
Sinn Fein is a small minority in the South. The obstacles to growth
anti-imperialist workers' party there are immense. But one thing is certain - that the deter-
develop programme cultivaly based on the struggles 01
the oppressed, combined with a political offensive
tre neme politicical democracy on its ballet, Is sure to place Sinn Fein in the leadership of such a struggle
It is a struggle that we in Britain have a vital interest in seeing won. tion ot rish democrac and to articulate the desire of our people for freedom and independence, regardless of Dublin smears or British violence.
Ireland geographically, historicalv • anc culturally is one We as one
Pree, a hd in heat freed be
and in that freedom the divided sections of our people will find the will to
regardless religious affiliations, establishing society which meets the needs of all out people."."....
Page 9 scan of this page
Imperialism's famine in Ethiopia
International
EUROPEAN ATTENTION has been focused recently on Ethiopia for the first time in many years. The appalling drought brought a whole spate of articles in the press.
Quick to apportion blame, few of them have attempted to analyse the developments within the country over the past few decades, and how this has contributed to the present situation.
HIGHFIELD looks at the situation in Ethiopia.
ETHIOPIA, WITH A tion of about 35 million, bordered by Sudan to the west, the Red Sea to the east, to the south-east, the south. In the north Eritrea, presently part Ethiopia but fighting a 23 year war of independence. 'vince is also at war for the same reason.
Ethiopia is the third poorest country in the world, with an income last year of only $111 per head. In 1930 Haile Selassie was crowned emperor, and ruled until his overthrow in 1974.
Little changed during that long period, even with the Italian occupation of 1935-41. which was deteated by the Ethiopian resistance movement and the British (Selassie himself ran to exile in London).
Despite British encouragement, Selassie did little Ethiopia - - a country dominated by pre-capitalist forms of and a feudal monarchy which gave him absolute power. Nevertheless, his power in the provinces was weak. and different ethnic groups tionalities were always treated. The Christians were domi-
alla the minority language was imposed on others, even though Muslim groups made up 35-40 per cent of the population.
the 1970s, the transition to capitalism was still scarcely apparent, and overseas trade was virtually nonexistent. Sixty per cent of Ethiopia's tiny export earnings for 1965-75 came trom one product: cortee. Ihere were only 50,000 cars and trucks in the whole country, when three-quarters of all farms were more than a halfday's walk from the nearest road.
Subsistence
The vast majority of the rural population lived in subsistence conditions, with primitive health care and 80 per cent plus illiteracy. The peasan-
- over 90 per cent of the population - had to pay rent or tribute to the local nobility and church. Outside their local communities, these people were not a cohesive body. Different language, religion, tribe or clan were all-important.
Selassie thus failed to build a nation-state which could towards capitalism with bourgeoisie and, inevitably, a major working class.
The exception to this situation was Eritrea. A long-time Italian colony, Eritrea had been developing capitalist agriculture and commoally produc tion since the 1880s. significant urban working class. Haile Selassie ruthlessly suppressed opposition within Eritrea despite tervention aimed at securing a tederal settlement between the government and the Eritrean people.
Within Ethiopia itself land was confiscated to pay for favours, the Oromo people of the south (about 40 per cent of the population) had their language banned and were forced to pay between 50 and 75 per cent of their crops in dues — a far higher.".
has
political
PAUL popula-
Somalia and Kenya to
lies of
Figray protrans orl
agriculture
and naunevenly
the north.
Amharic
Led forces
dis Abbaba. widespread position from Tigreans, tionalities.
The absence
population from
tion
power.
armed forces,
develop mittee: the Derg.
native programme was confused,
Uprising.)
the Derg had It possessed a Military
(PMAC), was
UN in-
Ethiopian
and of a return to civilian rule. Despite federation of
plan People's "" ty (EPRP) demanded
proportion than Christian peasants in
It may be surprising then that the 1974 revolution occured from within the country and not from outside. The reasons are complex. Very important was the dissension from the arm-
slowly expanding state structure, significant proportion of whom were highly educated and — crucially centrally organised in the capital, Ad- the
Of course. there waN but uncoordinated opthe Eritreans, Oromo and other na-
of an Ethiopian try. capitalist class of any size, and the fact that such a minute proportion of
direct v benefitted Selassie's regime, meant there was little resistance when a combina-
of the provincial nobility, the middle ranks of the armed forces, the 1977. tiny urban layer, and students seized
In 1974, a new body took power - the coordinating committee of the
the police and
ly by the Amharinya word for com-
The Derg's official but certainly not socialist. (Given that not one single work by Marx, Lenin, or Trotsky had ever been translated into Amharic, this is perhaps scarcely sur-
What was surprising though, after sel un a Provisiona Administrative Council the shooting of its spokesperson General Aman Andom the by a military faction within the Derg, opposed to his attempts to achieve a negotiated settlement in Eritrea. Soon more executions without trial occurrea signaling lne end or the last nope
repression, the ConEthiopian Labour Unions (CELU) and the illegal Ethio-
acuu nary Paran elected
assembly and a peoples' democratic republic. To this end, the CELU held a general strike offensive in autumn 1975. The refusal of the Derg to agree to these demands led to a civil war.
The EPRP liquidated hundreds of PMAC supporters, and the responded by launching a 'red terror campaign in 1977. Tens of thousands were snol witnoul Iral.
All this occurred in a period when
Derg had allegedly embraced socialism. Colonel Mengiste was then at its head, and has remained there ever since. No elections have ever taken place, but the military junta maintains a fragile hold on the coun-
The response of world powers to these developments was complex flaucure by the wall Somalia over Ogaden, a desert region in the south of Ethiopia bordering Somalia, which the latter invaded in
The United States provided large scale support to the Somalis looking to overthrow the Derg and in-
La mole openly pro-capitalist regime.
They were backed in this by the conservative Arab states, who feared the spread of anti Muslim governments and saw the Sudan as the possible next victim. The old proIsrael Selassie regime was preferable.
After years of courting Selassie
the USSR hedged, mistrusting the er ratic nature of the Derg The turning point was November 1977, when the Somalis expelled all Soviet and Cuban advisers from their country. USSR had never backed their claim to
Ogaden.
Had it not been for the support of several thousand Cuban troops, plus massive Soviet military aid, the Derg could well have fallen. At the same time, the Eritreans had been making major advances in the north. qualms the Cubans had about Ethiopian repression were eventually overcome, Castro referred to Mengistu as a 'revolutionary leader' by 1978.
Since that Libya has
become a big supplier of arms, to further Qadaffi's battle against the conservative Arab states.
the Derg has introduced to Ethiopia is now fully supported by the USSR. A Derg 'workers th, at celebrations which cost the equivalent of several billion pounds Ordinary workers and peasants won't be getting much for this squandering of funds though workers' party democracy whatsoever, and is strictly a 'cadre' maintain the backing of the expanding bureaucracy.
reform, developing state with cash crops for export. drastically reduced the amount food for internal Hence the appearance of Ethiopian melons in Britain last month.
tion sectors have been extremely slow, as has development of industry or even an adequate transport structure for the country. External economic or project aid either from the Eastern bloc or the West has been pathetic.
The Morning November editorial guerilla activity in the northern provinces in many responsible for the acuteness of the famine problem This is a gross distortion. The truth is that the Derg spends one third of its entire budget on defence The termed war the fragile economy.
Tens of thousands of have been conscripted into the army, leaving entire areas short of people to plant seeds and harvest crops. Further, large amounts of food are re quisitioned for the armed forces from areas that need it themselves.
peasantry in all areas. It maintains huge cumbersome whose lifestyle is comparable to that also .. of Western diplomats; with immense
Socialist Action 23 November 1984 privileges.
the its backers.
implementing cultural redistribution,
the Derg.
Thatcher, closer The model of 'socialism' which prays that
helped party was set up last Inol
amined
gigantic The has no internal
organisation designed to score
On the crucial question of land
all resources have gone to farms producing This has
consumption.
Advances in the health and educa-
article
directly Star its says that 'the ther, ways directly
• regions.
knowing better - fantastically distorting
peasants bodies
The Derg has totally alienated the
were to
9 The Derg stubbornly refuses even to consider the demand ot the Eritreans Tigreans, alone the opposition movements in
south, of which the Oromo Liberation Front is the largest
The drought has obviously mad the current crisis far worse, but after the imperialists, the chief responsibility for the famine in the country lies with the Ethiopian government and
Much of the suffering would have been avoidable if the Derg had pur sued even a remotely socialist path
meaningful agrireform based on land and recognising the rights of the various nationalities and ethnic groups. It is this refusal which has led the Tigrean People's Libera tion Front to nine years of war with
Alternative
Needless to say, the British government has pursued a typically devious path over the past few years
before prescul wave publicity, Malcolm Rifkind, Ministe: of State for the Foreign Office, wen to Ethiopia and had extensive discus sions with Mengistu. It seems tha Thatcher was reconciling herself to stable Ethiopian regime — even if it i allegedly anti-capitalist and afford une soviet umon major suralegic po. facilities in the Red Sea
The alternative (which the Wes has given support to in theory but no in practice) is more unpalatable i
prospect that is, of revolutionar socialist regimes in Eritrea and Tigra! province, with complete control ove those areas, plus a socialist advance it the rest of Ethiopia as the oppositio movements gain ground
This is tricky ground indeed. Th stakes are very high. Just across the Red Sea lies Saudi Arabia, which ner
the Soviet Cubans will leave. Saudi Arabia also
Farm the Eritrean People Liberation Front (EPLF), but this is complicated issue which must be e
anothe Lil. It does no follow from this though as th Morning Star claims — that the EPLI itself is reactionary.
In the meantime, the West seeks t
propaganda points ove drought relief aid. This will lose valu as the USSR steps up its own aid pro gramme in a big way. The Britis! public has shown itself to be far mor generous than Thatcher. It is a grea pity therefore, , thanks to Fleet Stres and the Morning Star, they are no being given the true story of politica events in Ethiopia.
One final point. It is incorrect t argue (as Jude Woodward did in he
Socialist Action) socialists should be demanding conditional aid be sent to the Ethio pian government without also deman ding that the British government deal
with the Eritreans Tigreans — who control around 8. per cent of their respective areas. Fur
War on Want, the Eritrea Reflief Association and Christian Ai are the only British aid agencies deal ing on such a basis. All the rest hav been sending aid to Addis Abbab
full well that it has bee diverted to the Ethiopian army.
War on Want and the Eritrea
Relief Association are also the on
concerned with long ter
development aid projects, rather tha
short term food distribution
It is a colossal tragedy that
many have died in the three year o
famine and in the wars. It would be a
equal tragedy if socialists in Britai
be denied the facts
systematically miseducated
West, but also by th • USSR, Cuba; and the Morning Stai
Page 10 scan of this page
HE INNER LONDON Education Authority, at a ecial meeting on 20 November, looked set to pass
udget which represented in essence a 'no cuts no o loss' stance against the Tory threats from ratepping.
The aited increases of £3 million, and cuts and savings I about £3 million. This decision is a victery for lose who campaigned in the trade unions and in the abour Party for the Labour group on ILEA to take ach a stand.
The ILEA leadership
out consultation acument which spelt out
implications for ser-
ces of the £75 million in is which the Tories were emanding. imlemented, these cuts pould mean 7,000 redun-
macles among le work-
the consultaon period, ILEA receivI nearly 2000 responses, a arted the Tory proposals. which supDe overwhelming majori-
called on the authority
stand firm.
The campaign which chieved this was not the POR WELL over
ponth now, the 18,000
embers of St Helens NALGO branch have cen on strike against
Labour-controlled
sancil. The council
• tried to restructure
services without greement with the
tions.
The unions fear that St icens council Is not incrested in discussing how
plans will affect trade mon members.
The council computer Perelopment section for rample were compulsory ransfered, and office equipment and furniture
oved overnight by
contractor, without any union agree-
Socialist Action 23 November 1984
ILEA resists
rate capping
budget of nearly £1 billion will contain
result of clear leadership from The itself. It was the campaign by unionists, especially ILEA Teachers Association, and activists in the Labour Party, which took the debate into schools, union branches, wards and constituencies.
By Bernard Regan, NUT executive (personal capacity)
The strength of this campaign was reflected in the strike action on November.
St Helens strike
rangeme new workingh-
rangements members refused to move and were suspended. by Mark Hackett
After branch meeting, and a ten to one vote for action, VATE came out on strike. Other NUPE and NATHE, refused to NALGO CIOSS DICKC lines. NUPE struck for NALGO are still on strike.
The council's attitude led council's should not act. They have attemp ted to portray NALGO's action as 'master-minded by a clique of town hall officials who all earn £17,000 a year', and whose aim to thwart the council's
STOP THE CUTS. SAVE
Francis Morrell and Ruth Gee, leader and deputy leader of ILEA, opposed this action. Increasingly Over une past 2 months they have sought to distance themselves tron the unions and sought to concentrate activity on producing adverisements and influencing Tory wets. Westminster city council LOO legal action challenge ILEA's campaign spending, the Labour group put an immediate stoo to a series of local shop stewards conferences aimed at uniting the work force.
Meanwhile, the Socialist Teachers Alliance within the Inner London Teachers' Association nave pusned trough a call for workplace based
Democracy for London, ILEA, and London Bridge to hammer out a strategy based on commitment to united action in defence of jobs and services. 'socialist policies' and election pledges.
Ken Ince, a former officer of NALGO admitted
NALGO meeting he was Freemason. The council now claim that the Freemasons are OT. chestrating the union's campaign, despite the fact that NALGO camnaigned to expose the role of Freemasons in the town halls.
The council's failure to win the support and cooperation of its workforce in honouring pledges improve vices 1s disastrous. No
council can hope to defeat the government's attacks on jobs and services by attacking, weakening and
dividing its own
workforce.
JUDS!!
'LABOUR IN toward, or acquiesce in illegality as a policy in local government,' Dr John parliamentary press gallery last Wednesday. Two months after Labour Party conference had declared its support for defying the law to defend jobs and services in local preparing to ditch the struggle.
Cunningham's ment comes just when Labour councils are preparing the fight-back against rate-capping. On 7 November 100,000 local government workers London struck against the Tory proposals. LaDOUl groups are preparing to set aencil bagels, vl lo no rate.
ILEA is set to confront the Tory proposals for £75 milion cuts.
Labour cannot afford Sampson Bond, as head of its race relations unit —
ment.
liaison committee's black caucus, elected representatives of community groups. The caucus' position was simply that Bond was not
he right person for the jot
he did no possess the necessary qualifications or
For reasons best known to Derek Hatton heading the selection panel, Bond's appointment was bludgeoned through.
The views of black Calcut members on that panel were ignored But subsequent lobbying and negotiations caused Derek Hatton reverse the original deciSIons and promise readvertise the post
This was thrown out at the District Labour Party meeting, where Hatton come Hoe pressure from the caucus Since then leaflets believed
GLC: We will fight
parliament cannot hint at, incline Cunningham told
government, the leadership
legality.
By Pat Hickey Speaking the November rally, Ken Livingstone spelt out Ine GLC's approach. 'I give a COTOMULOCT budget drawn up by the presented to conc GLC Labour will be a budget which takes account of the growth of the last four years, is completely devoid
Liverpool Labour council has recently appointed
and created a dangerous division between itself and Merseyside's black community and labour move-
The appointment was made in flagrant disregard for the opinions of the council's race relations
which consists of
to be from the Militant black section have implied the caucus behaved like thugs.
Liverpool's black community is incensed. On 17 October a black caucus support group was set up.
By Tim Rigby
Caucus member David Okuetena told Merseyside Labour Briefing: «We feel that an injustice has been done, that local people have been victimised and that an appointment has been made which flagrantly ignores the feelings and opinions ot the black caucus representatives who were present at that selection panel. That is the
ISAVE THE GLO
SMOCRA
LONDON
DEFEND THE ILEA
of any cut-back in any ser vice or stalling, allow a continued expansion of the programme we have carried forward
'That is the budget we will pụt to council respective of what the government says our ratecapped budget should be. In line with the rest of the London labour boroughs we shall not make a rate, we shall not levy a precept under the rate-capped
plaine cat the d he
explainet that
00 I money coming in to meet all its outgoings. The GL will therefore 'prioritise the payment of wages and the provision of services. And I'm afraid we shall have to say to the banks,
Militant vs Black Community
issue we want to address ourselves to.
'I feel that the role of the support group is give the black caucus support at this particular time when it has come under attack from the Labour leadership.
Steve French said: "Although Labour Party are looking at things more positively, they still not coming out and doing it. All they keep on about is the threat of a white backlash.
Struggle
"This is just a myth. It
covers the fact that they
need to start redressing the
imbalance black
employment, black hous-
ing, and black education.
Now there talk
within the black communidependent black
political
organisation in Liverpool.
Not only this issue
seriously threatening
alienate black people
News
Photo: STEFANO CAGNONI (Pornot)
who we owe f2.5 billion have to wait until after the LU. I'm sorry you'll struggle is over. That will not only present City of London but also the government with the sort of challenge they have not this century? SCCU in local
The line for Labour councils should be the one spelt out by Livingstone:
'We aren't giving up,
WC aren't walking away, we aren't letting the trade unions just carry on that struggle and the members slope off in a series of by-elections dramatic gestures. We night with you
We have the chance to defeat this government, to break its will, and to bring it down. from the party, but it has Caused a mave rae Merseyside labour move-
NALGO has decided on non-cooperation when
Bond I takes up his post, and has been backed by
the joint shop stewards' committee and the trades council. Riverside and Mosley Hill constituencies have called for the post to be readvertised.
If the Labour leader-
ship is unwilling to act on this demand of the black community, supported by ine labour movement,
what hope for continuing united support in its own
campaign against the government?
This point is tragically underlined by the results in the council by-election in ¡ Arundel ward last week.
From being a marginal,
and despite the fact the
Liberals fielded two op-
posing candidates, Labour
lost by huki votes
abstentions undoubtedly
played a major part.
Page 11 scan of this page
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Page 12 scan of this page
Black
trade
union
SOUTH AFRICA continued to be shaken last week by its growing black revolt. 165 people had been killed in the protests since the introduction of the new apartheid constitution three months ago.
The weekend to the protests against the South African government's repression by various white opposiion groups. gressive Federal Party. But the most significant move has been the actions taken by the black trade unions.
South Africa's black rade unions have tripled size in only four years going from 220,000 nembers 1980 6 0.000 members at the and of 1983.
Blacks the single largest group within the unions with 43 per cent for coloureds and Asians.
By 1983 15 per cent of ine working population * ere unionised - 2 0010ag compared to 1970
The black unions had earlier held back from the wave of protests sweeping the black townships
participation of hundreds of thousands of SUCCES LIC SCROOK boycott. But on Monday and Tuesday allu November the industrial heart of South Africa was brought to a halt by a two
with the Doot Offine Pablished by Cardinal Enterprises, PO Box 50, London N1. Printed By Laneridge Ltd. (TU), London E2.
SoCiAList
ACTION
power
By Monday officially
press attempted to give publicity over the
— notably by Helen Suzman of the Pro-
day black general strike.
Official South African
sources, whose aim would be to underestimate the effectiveness of the strike, reported 90 per cent of the workers staying away from work In the black townships south of Johannesberg, 85 per cent away nesberg, and 66 per cent on strike in Soweto.
By Dick Carter
It is this political strike which has ignited both the new wave of police repression and the sudden well publicised 'concern' white 'liberals'.
Police and army units raided Tembesia, township north east
SUBSCRIBE
Johannesberg, last Tuesday: This followed earlier, still larger, raid on Sebokeng, 40 miles south
Johannesberg, two earlier. Black trade union leaders were arrested immediately following success of the political
Progress
South Africa has recently been making pro-
its northern
borders. A treaty was imposed on the Mozambique government. Heavy pres-
being applied
SUIC the Angolan government through South African backing Lne • UNITA guerrilla movement, and through the demand tol withdrawal of Cuban LOOD protectilig the country.
These Welc strengthening the hand of South African prime minister Botha in his drive for international respectability'. But now South Africa is facing a massive new crisis inside its own borders.
Ana Inal is one or ine most important develop
the today.
Special free book offer!
Take our a years inland subscription and we will send vou free one of these books:
Thatcher and Friends by John Ross
For Over our Dead Bodies — Women Against the Bomb
Introductory offer for new readers: Eight issues for just £2!
the rest scattered around green and indigo gates.
police come and take them down.
face constant
abuse is not only verbal — violent attacks had been made on four wimmin just before my arrival last week. one nao been i jured to the point where it was difficult for her stand up on her own.
There also the physical violence of the local vigilante groups to endure. This has involved BOLI unreported by petrol the press,
take a dilferent altitude if they think miners
using them and beatings.
WELL, THE cash has
started coming in for
the building and
development fund but
it's still only a trickle.
Remember
raise £4,000 in the next
few days we can save
$2,000 on the price of
the latest and most up-
to-date typesetting
machine in its range.
That's the kind of
economics we just can't
afford to ignore. So you
readers get out and beg,
borrow ... we leave the
suggestion unwrit-
ten!
But that £4000 is just
We are not
doomca. to
unresisting..
THERE ARE now about 30 wimmin living at the camp: ten on the main gate, ten on the blue gate, and
The wimmin face the brutality of the bailiffs every day, and have lost all but one bender. They are forced to sleep in this one bender or the ambulance because it is pointless to re-erect benders when the
In December, it will be one year since the 16 cruise missiles were sited at the airbase. Ine wimmin in tend to have a protest on Sunday 9 December. This supported by Swansea Wont oppose the nuclear threat).
From Ruth Kilgallon, at the Greenham camp
The campfire meeting will decide the exact form it will take, but they are asking wimmin bring with them as much food as possible, to give it to une miners and the unemployed.
Keep the cash rolling in
the beginning. We need money for moving and building our printshop and offices in the way Lil We Walll. That boils down to hefty donations.
If you can't afford a lump-sum pay us in easy payments Socialist Action credit scheme. You do that bi
spreading our bankers
bankers' order. Simply tell what you will pay and the rate per month.
Locally could raise cash by raffling off small item at each readers' group — reader: could take i turn to donate a prize. Socials,
passive spadelors
View from Greenham
The wimmin have sug gestea inat local wimml. groups and CND groups should adopt a gate wimmin to come down on a rola basis to stay at the camp or do a nightwatch ana to take accon wiel the cruise convoys come out.
One of the wimmin at the Rebecca
camp Johnson, is standing for CND council at its upcoming conference. The CND conference standing orders committee wiped the debate on its own women's conterence off the agenda. It was
eleventh priority when only ten
could be debated.
So we're likely to see a large Greenham CUL tingent protesting at this
CND conference.
What an insult to all those wimmin the peace movement that have led
especially around Christ-
mas and the New Year,
are sure-fire ways of rais-
must be a fer
and lulate YULI
readers' group still puff-
ine away at those obnox-
give Why
sponsor them to?
These are just a few
ways we get the
money we need. If you
can think of others drop
us a line and we will pass
them on to other readers
The be ithing ture
won't
donations. As you can
bloody 100
mean to buy a paper and
goes in for nicking one!
the campaign against cruise and suffered the hardship of a three year long peace camp at Greenham!
Despite all the hardship wimmin are SUll resolved to remain at the camp. They understand and support wimmin's in volvement in the miners' strike. In fact they almost are more COntered the miners should win than aboul wel own callp. you go and visit the miners, tell them we support them all the way' was the message they lett me with
The Greenham wimmin understand that their fate is intimately linked up with the miners' battle against pit closures. Every struggle will advance if the HELES win Wimmin Against Pit Closures anc wimmin's peace banners can come December in this year's
← Socialist Action No. 78, 16 November 1984Socialist Action No. 80, 30 November 1984 →