Terrorism: a wrong idea
in a patriots struggle

In Northern Ireland a struggle against
sectarianism and the violence it creates
is gaining momentum through the work
of the trade union congress and non-
sectarian political groups opposed to
terrorism as a form of struggle.

The article below was chosen by. the
Tribune from one of many recently pub-
lished on the question in Irish journals.
First published in the Irish Democrat,
the monthly organ of the Connolly As-
sociation, it appears here slightly
abridged. :

Memories are stirred by recent events.
First a boy and girl kidnap a middle-aged
Dutchman and say they will not let him
go until the government releases two
prisoners. And then bombs containing
Irish-made explosives are defused in
West London. And others go off killing
and maiming defenceless civilians.

We know none of the people responsi-
ee. WEE WOMEN pov

Belfast shoppers passing through one of many security points.

ble. We know of them only through what
has been published.

But we'll bet we know what they are.
They.do not think of themselves as mur-
derers as they speed on their grim mis-
sions. They are high-minded dedicated
patriots in the grip of an idea.

And it is a wrong idea.

The supreme fact is that of English
intransigence. England‘is determined not
to get out of the six counties. It is the one
thing they still refuse to contemplate.

Does anybody seriously believe that
the English establishment is spending
millions of pounds, and going to endless
trouble, just to redeem a pledge that a
million protestant Irish people will not
have to live with three and a half million
catholic Irish people? Would they act to
their own detriment year after year for
the sake of an ancient promise and Mr.
Enoch Powell?

It’s too silly for words. This Irish ques-
tion is not a domestic but an international

2

one. It ranks with the crazy bankrupting
expenditure of £4-billion on arms. The
suave hatchetmen of the Foreign Office
know. all about this. This is part of the
system for the protection of European
capitalism.’ With the European
Economic Community as a base, NATO
as. an umbrella and shameless oppor-
tunists in office, Western Europe is safe
for all the multi-nationals.

It is only when the immense world im-
portance of Ireland is seen that realiza-
tion of what we are up against becomes
clear.

If it were only alocal matter it might be
possible to change the government’s
mind by a few well-timed threats, and
even a bit of modest tough stuff.

But England’s Irish policy goes right to
the heart-of western strategy. The sort of
defeat required to wreck the bi-partisan
policy is altogether greater than that
inflicted by the trade union movement
over mining wages and the Industrial Re-
lations Act. It means upsetting the arc of
the tabernacle — ‘‘Western’’ world
strategy, which demands that Ireland
shall be available for the western alliance
whether she wishes it or not.

The Unionist minority in the six coun-
ties is only an excuse. If there were no
Orangemen, they would have to be
invented.

As aconsequence, any policy directed
primarily against the protestants of the
six counties is wide of the mark, shooting
at the wrong target.

And since Irish policy emanates from
the deep anti-socialist soul of the English
establishment, it can only be changed
when there is a parliament prepared to
insist upon it, and.a public opinion willing
to back up parliament in doing so.

It follows that our time scale cannot be
a short one. We hope that the young
people who are now entering political life
will be able to enjoy the benefits of a
United Ireland. But let them not dismiss
the possibility that they will spend all

Nigeria has ‘revolutionary stand’

their lives fighting for it, and never see it.

The sort of change required to get Engr

land off Irish soil is too great to be amet”
able to individual action. You can't
change government policies by this
method.
, But the tragedy is that it is possible to
draw wrong conclusions from failure.
The taking of individual action is a falla-
cy. But what conclusion does its prac-
titioner come to when he gets no result?
He may well conclude that his bomb was
not big enough, did not kill enough
people or make a loud enough bang, of
that he did not display the necessary de-
gree of ruthlessness.
’ One of the ingredients of terri sism iS
the sense of individual powerlessness.
Yet the only way the individual cat
overcome his limitations is by combina-
tion with other individuals.

Therefore all Republicans, whichevet
section they belong to, should set theif
faces against mutual violence and set
their faces against mutual recrimination.

Remember there is one enemy alone;
British imperialism (not the British
people) ...

But an absolute necessity if the repub-
lican movement is to recover its forme!
strength and influence is that all shoot
ing, bombing and kidnapping should
forthwith stop, whether in Ireland or 10
Britain.

Mass arrests in

In the first days of Angolan in-
dependence late last year, one of
the first African states to show its
solidarity with the young gov-
ermment of Agostinho Neto was
Nigeria. Early in 1976, at an
emergency meeting of the Or-
ganization of African Unity called
to discuss the Angolan conflict, it
was Nigeria which introduced a
motion calling for recognition of
the government of the MPLA and
for its admission into the OAU.

Thus, as a leader in the struggle
for the total liberation of Africa,
Nigeria received the support re-
cently of the Afro-Asian People’s
Solidarity Organization
(AAPSO).

In a press statement the
AAPSO in Nigeria gave congratu-
lations to the Nigerian Federal
Military Government on its posi-
tion:
“Taking this stand, we come
face to face with the enemies of

African freedom and total libera-
tion, led by the United States. We
now have come to make a choice
between foreign forces that help
to build and make a nation politi-
cally and economically indepen-
dent and those other foreign
forces that want to keep a new
nation under their continued
tutelage. —

“The cry is now to send all
foreign forces and military ad-
visors out of Angola. We are
happy that the FMG (Nigerian)
administration can differentiate
between enemies and friends of
Africa’s national liberation
movement.

... “The important lesson of
this patriotic stand is that the
USA and the NATO powers will
start to scheme for the overthrow
of this progressive regime in
Nigeria. Examples like the coup
d’état against Nkrumah, the AIl-
lende government, are pointers of

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—APRIL 30, 1976—Page 6

USA attitude toward progressive
regimes.

“Nigeria and her patriotic lead-
ers must therefore be on the alert.
Now is the time to cement the
unity of our patriotic army leaders
with the general trend of anti-
imperialist fighters in our country.
Now is the time to consolidate the
unity of all patriotic forces in our
country against forces of neo-
colonialism and imperialism.
Charity in our approach to this
problem is absolutely necessary
for the victory of our just cause.

“The AAPSO gives the Fed-
eral Military Government full
support for the national and inter-
national stand taken until now.
We call for a united front of pat-
Tiotic army leaders, workers
peasants, students, progressive
intellectuals and businessmen for
the consolidation of our just cause
to make Nigeria and all Africa
politically and economically
independent.”

Paraguay protested

MOSCOW — Speaking on be-
half of millions of women in the
USSR, the Soviet Women’s
Committee last week protested
the mass arrests of democrats in
Paraguay. In a statement issued
here, the Committee said:

“*Unable to.stop the Paraguay-
an people’s struggle for indepen-
dence, freedom, democracy and
social progress, Stroessner’s dic-
tatorial regime has for more thana
year now been resorting to
massive reprisals. .

“It has been reported that An-
tonio Maydana, Chairman of the
Communist Party of Paraguay,
and Communist Party leaders,
Julio Rojas and Alfredo Alcorta,
sentenced to a total.of 18 years
imprisonment, have been on a
four-week hunger strike in protest
against the inhuman treatment of

political prisoners and against the
repressions against the country §
democrats and patriots.

‘“‘Other political prisoners ~
both men and women — have als®
gone on a hunger strike as a sig#
of solidarity with them. The com
dition of the Paraguayan patriof
is grave. ;

“Soviet women express theif
anger at the inhuman treatment of
political prisoners by the cout”
try’s reactionary forces and dé
mand an end be put to the r&
pressions against the patriots and
democrats of Paraguay. .

“They express their prof und
concem for the lives of the polit
cal prisoners and for the destiny
of their wives and children
demand that Antonio Maydan@
Julio Rojas, Alfredo Alcorta and
other political prisoners ir.
guay be immediately released.