Perspectives for Theirish Out Ireland Movemen

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also to obscure the real motiva. tion of these messures have led to the imprisonment in the North of some Loyalist as well as Republican forces.

But the main thrust of the state offensive remains to crush the national struggle on both sides of the present border, recognising the blow a successful struggle. would inflict on imperialism in Britain and internationally.

Imperialist dictator No section of the lrish working class can bo protected by such imperialist-dictated lagislation. It is simply a part of the apparatus usad to perpatuate their exploitation, and strengthen the hand of the state against both nationalist and socialist opposition forces. Together with the. call for the immediate withdrawl of British troops, we must demand the disbanding of the sectarian RUC and of the repressive police-military apparatus in the legislation, North and South.

This means demanding an end to the Emergency Powers Act, the Offences Against The State Act, the Special Criminal Courts, all anti-union legislation and the whole battery of restric. tions on the press and broadcasting.

Every one of thase pieces of repressive machinery is aimed to weaken and contain the national struggle and socialist militants.

For the same reason we must demand the release of all political prisoners, North and South and support those campaigns directed towards this objective.

Incompatible

We must show that these democratic demands are incompatible with continued imperialist rule and with the interests of the capitalist regime in the south, and spell out that the fight for the most elementary democratic rights must lead into the fight for an all-Ireland workers' and farmers' government.

Sectarian attacks on Catholic areas cannot be resolved by appeals to the British troops or the Westminster government. Nor can they be satisfactorily handled by the existing armed organisations-based as they are on the petty bourgeois nationalist movement.

We must maintain our stand on the need for the working class to take the lead in all aspects of the national struggle, including the defence working class communities at present carried out by the Republican forces.

This means fighting PHOTO: Mark Rusher. IFL establishment of genuine workers' defence organisations.

We must insist that, while those that attack the Catholic ghettoes in the North act directly as agents of British imperialist domination of the whole of Ireland, at the same time those petty bourgeois nationalists that seek to pursue the national struggle by unprovoked attacks on Protestant workers-whatever their motivas -objectively serve only the cause of sectarian division. strengthening the hand of the Loyalist thugs and their imperialist masters.

Strategic objective

For this reason, despite the initial problems that such a policy creates, we must uphold the strategic objective of jointly mobilising anti-imperialist forces drawn from both Catholic and Protestant workers in workers' defence organisations designed to combat pro-imperialist Loya. list gunmen as weil as British and Irish state forces.

Only through the develop. ment of such independent class organisations can sectarian assassinations and attacks be effectively outlawed and the task of defending the Catholic community taken from the present exclusive grip of the republican forces into the hands of the working class.

For a Workers and Farmers Government The formulation of our demand for a workers' and farmers government and the elaboration of our programme must make it absolutely clear that what is proposed is not to subordinate the interests of the Protestant minority to the prejudices and superstitions of a Catholic majority. . We must spell out the call for equality both between religious populations and between the sexes.

In particular our propaganda and agitation must centre strongly on the way in which medieval Church prejudices perpetuate the enslavement of women, denying them the elementary democratic rights of divorce, abortion and contraception.

The rigid enforcement of the values of the bourgeois family both North and South also means intense repression of gay rights.

In clearly demanding the abolition of such reactionary legislation and an end to all forms of sexual discrimination, we must add those other aemanas inal puirt suwarus tro JAmA idla bhnd maimo doansi de tha liberation of the woman from the homo-the state provision of free abortion and contraception on demand, free nursery facilities, socialised catering etc.linking them to the call for a job-creating programme of public works.

The fight for equal rights must be combined with the fight for an and to all religious aducation in schools-contrasting the extensive religious indoctrination of Irish youth with the completely inadequate PRISONERS AID COMMITTEE END SILENCE DEIRISH POWS Hr ACH PAC march demanding political status status.

This issue points the finger directly at the role of the Labour leaders-Teft' and right alike-in the barbaric repression of the Irish workers movement.

It was the Labour government that first stripped republican prisoners of political status two years ago, as part of a long. term attempt to isolate anti-imperialist forces by creating the impression that they are common criminals.

And, particularly under butcher Roy Mason, the Labour government has been responsible for a massively increased terror operation againsi the republican movement-involvin SAS murder squads and a dramatic increase in army killings.

It is vital that in every way possible our members and supporters fight to raise this issue in the labour movement ind combat the lies and prop ganda spread about by th bloodstained Labour leaders.

The mobilisations called for by the various campaigns in