Contempt for justice in ABC case
Socialist Press1978 1978-05-24Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 1 →
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100 302 government's commitment to the "sovereignty' of Mobutu's dictatorship.
Owen mixes this apology for tyranny with pleasantly liberal statements on the presence of Cuban and Soviet troops in Africa:
"We have to recognise that they have a right to be in Africa, just as we do". The so-called "right of imperialism to oppress colonial and semi-colonial peoples must be contested by all sections of the working class internationally, and those treacherous labour leaders who give it their support must be removed.
Exploitation The barbaric exploitation of oppressed nationalities also helps to strengthen the imperialist bourgeoisie in its drive to exploit its own working class.
Just as we demand the immediate withdrawal of all British imperialist troops from Northern Ireland, so we call for international action by workers to end every brutal act of imperialist aggression, and to force the withdrawal of all imperialist forces from Zaire.
There was no court ruling that the press should withhold the name of secrets case witness "Colonel , Lord Widgery ruled last week.
But nevertheless he fined Peace News, The Leveller and the NUJ paper The Journalist £500, £500 and £200 respectively for 'contempt'.
Widgery declared that despite the absence of an instruction, revealing the identity of "Colonel B"-discovered from information given in open court-amounted to "the deliberate flouting of the court's intention"
This ruling extends the powers of court and is another inroad into the rights of the press. And it is a clear indication of the type of 'justice' that can be expected by Crispin Aubrey, John Berry, and Duncan Campbell, at whose trial "Colonel B" is a principal witness.
The ABC Defence Committee is holding a march to the Cheltenham headquarters of the top-secret Signals Intelligence network (SIGINT) this coming Saturday, as part of the fight to publicise the case and force the dropping of the Official Secrets Act charges which could put all three in jail for fourteen years.
The campaign must be supported by the whole trade union and labour movement, and the ABC Campaign must press ahead and call a labour movement delegate conference prior to the trial in September.