Workers Socialist League

Socialist Press, Trotskyism Today and the Trotskyist International Liaison Committee, 1975–1984

Defend Piers Corbyn

Socialist Press no. 161, 8 August 1979 · scan pp. 4–5 · about 575 words

Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 4 →

Read from the scan by machine and not corrected: expect misread words, and now and then a caption or a line from a neighbouring story. For anything you quote, read the scan.

Scan page 4

seeds of the present crisis.

The discussion made it clear at once that this contribution and the questions it raised mark an important starting point for further detailed analysis of the development of the crisis.

Assessment

The school then turned its attention to an assessment of the various currents that have emerged from the post-war crisis of the Fourth Internationalbeginning with the Healyite International Committee.

A report based on new work on the origins and early work of the British section of the I€ revealed clearly the contradictions present within the postwar International as a whole, and highlighted the damage and disorientation brought about by the adoption of revisionist positions on Stalinism by the European Secretariat of the Fourth International following Tito's break with Stalin in 1948.

The entry work carried out by the Healy group inside the The failure of the USFI documents to present any analysis of seven of the major political turns and developments to have occurred since their last world congress (Portugal 197476; the defeat of imperialism in Vietnam and Cambodia; the defeat of imperialism in Angola and the role of Cuba in Africa; Videla's military coup in Argentina; the upheavals in Spain; the Soweto events in South Africa; and the threat of fascism in Turkey) was matched however by the failure of leading IMG member Brian Grogan to discuss any of those questions in the 45 minutes of his contribution.

Divert

Instead he attempted to divert the discussion into an exercise of simply "drawing class lines"

According to Grogan, no matter how confused, wrong or inadequate the positions of the USFI in major class struggles, so long as it had not actually crossed class lines then it had to endorsed by international delegations, and points the way firmly forward to the broadening of the fight for the reconstruction of the Fourth International in the months ahead.

OCI leader Lambert Following the eviction of the Huntley St. squatters last August, Piers Corbyn was sentenced on June 13 to 28 days in prison under the Criminal Trespass Law'.

At present he is out on bail pending his appeal which will be heard on Tuesday August 14.

Now a leaflet issued by the Huntley Street Defence Committee has called for a demonstration outside the court on that day (for details see below). •The leaflet points out that this conviction has important implications for any trade unionists, students or community groups involved in occupations.

The 28-day sentence was handed down in response to Corbyn's throwing a bucket of water over the rampaging police thugs who smashed up the Huntley St. squat.

As the leaflet says:

"The 160 men, women and children living in the block in London WC1 were evicted by a force of 650 "The attack was led by 5 JCB bulldozers which broke down the barricades and the SPG police who carried riot shields and drawn truncheons.

«This took place even though on the previous day the squatters had gained agreement that they would all be rehoused."

It is clear that Corbyn is being made an example of in order to deter others who choose the tactic ofoccupation to defend their living standards and conditions.

Socialist Press calls on trade union and Labour Party branches to pass resolutions demanding the dropping of the case against Corbyn and to support the demonstration on August 14.

*Demonstration starts at 10 a.m. outside Knightsbridge Crown Court, 1 Hans Crescent, Knightsbridge, (beside Harrods).

← Contents of Socialist Press no. 161, 8 August 1979