native to the labour movement. We are mobilising to try to force the broader movement into a position where it has to defend its members rights and come into confrontation with the state.
The difficulty is that because the trade union movement has been a safety valve for capitalism in the South and because it appears unable to defend workers' rights large numbers workers only join because of their job and not to defend working class interests. That's what is happening England as well. You see a whole drift of support away from the trade union movement, and of course, once that support begins to drift capitalist attacks begin. That's what has happened in England and that's also what is happening in the South.
How do you see creating a political alternative to the politics of the Labour Party in the South?
Sections of the Labour Party will have to be replaced by Sinn Fein. Other sections that have a contribution to make. animal and trade union members are politically involved in the class struggle. Shop Now what's happened here is that ponucal acuivity Has been virtuany pro hibited in the trade unions of union leaders argue that the political struggle is reserved for the political wing because it does not occur on the shop floor.
What we are advocating is that the trade union movement is not allowed to become an oractor or doservers or by-standers. The trade union movement has a major role to reconquest of ireland. role to play in the defence of working class rights. It has a major role to play in the struggle against repression. have to do this not because Sinn Fein is sayıng you've got to do it, but because their responsibility members The trade unions are part of the clapping about it, they can do about it.
'republican, tion', and sections of the working class can be convinced by that that the conspiracy is not against the leadership but against the membership of the union.
remarkable situations recently like the play in the of Phil Flynn, seetary of the white collar union al of Sinn It has a major Presci spite of a campaign organised by the They Minister of Labour and Special Branch against him as a 'member of the IRA'.
A campaign in which the government their stated it would no longer negotiate with the union if Phil were elected. In spite of all their efforts Phil Flynn won the election virtually unooposed, organisation - I mean the bureaucrats - may not be raising their hands and but there's nothing In the South you have the cry of conspiratorial infiltraNonethless there have been some former Vice general Fail and Fine Gael: 'The Abortion amendment campaign and its conspiracy against women last year in the South was instigated by sections of the Labour Party leadership along with Fianna WOMEN AGAINST VILENCE ACANT LE
Socialist Action 21 December 1984 THE MASS MEDIA, especially the BBC, are using the Gorbachev visit to suggest two ideas: first, that he is coming to London because the Thatcher government has some sort of sosphisticated positive line of East-West arms negotiations, or at least a less crude approach than that of Reagan; second, that if the most senior Soviet leader to travel to the West for years chooses London it is because Thatcher has made the British state a great independent force within NATO.
Both these ideas are nonsense.
As to the projected arms control negotiations Washington and Moscow, Thatcher's real aims are being carefully hidden from popular view because they would make her look ridiculous and would strengthen . the peace movement. For the truth is that Britain takes a harder line against any control deal than other NATO government, including Washington — it is linking itself with the hardest liners in the Pentagon in its attitude to the 7-8 January Geneva talks between Schultz and Gromyko.
This is evident even in the coded language of the Foreign Office. When Howe says an arms control deal with the Soviets is a long way off, this means he hopes it is. When he says there should be wide-ranging talks with the Russians not limited to arms questions, he means there shouldn't be any serious talking on arms control.
The uncoded, open voice of Thatany wing the through swallowing albeit peacefully — the GDR into the constitutional tramework of the rROl both to please Washington and trump the growing left wing neutralist nationalism Germany. Foreign minister Genscher thought that could satisfy Washington with this ideology while offering Moscow substantial practical benefits, making continued good relations worthwhile to the USSR.
When Kohl visited Moscow before the arrival of Pershing missiles in West Germany this approach seemed to work - he was able to make a public speech there talking about German reunification without provoking the least uproar from the Soviet side. But once Kohl's attempt to freeze further deployments was squashed by Washington early this year, Moscow changed Lulic publically humiliated Genscher in Moscow and blocked Honnecker's visit to the FRO this autumn.
Washington's people in Bonn then stepped up the pressure on the government for a more strident right nanonalsill. the wretched visit to Poland should include memorial for the Germans who died in the course of crushing the Poles during the last war and then to call off his Polish visit the day before it was due to take place. Germany Fifteen years of West Germany's