Less than 6000 on "Peace march

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The reactionary nature of the Northern Ireland "peace The organisers of the 5 ,900strong march were given unfettered access to Trafalgar Square - a right which has been systematically denied to those fighting British rule in Ireland.

Moreover, hundreds of police were in attendance, both to shepherd the flocks of nuns and priests assembled there, and . to intimidate and harass the 1,000 militants who were protesting at the "peace people's" policies.

"TRAGEDY"

The speeches from the platform hold also suitably premate o holding forth on the violence in Northern Ireland and lamenting the "tragedy" that had befallen the "province"

Not one reference of course was made to the material basis of that violence - the existence of the Northern Ireland state, and the presence there of 15,000 British soldiers.

But despite the massive support given to the "peace people" by the State, the Churches, the media and the British Communist Party - less than 6,000 people turned out to support the rally.

A limited step towards a fight for a principled lead on the struggle for Irish liberation was taken at the Student Conference on Ireland held recently at Kent University.

The conference which was attended by over 100 delegates and observers, atfirmed that the fight tor principled positions on lreland would have to be conducted within the NUS, and directed against the existing Broad Lett The conference failed to clarify on what programmatic basis this fight would be conducted - and this is a central weakness.

But the general orientation is correct, and represents a possible basis for the elaboration of a coherent struggle to get the troops out of ireland.

After the release of several hundred prisoners over the last three weeks there remain, he claims, only 18 still in jail. These include the i Communist Party General Secretary Luis Corvalan, whom Pinochet demagogically offers to release in exchange for Vladimir Bukovsky, the Soviet dissident.

The claim of course is utterly fraudulent. Some of those released in the last month have already been rearrested.

In any case the official figure is arrived at by excluding about 1,100 prisoners who have gone through some kind of "trial" and conviction.

Also left out are those who since the coup of 1973 have (in the official Jargon). "disappeared" which in most cases means that they have been murdered by the DINA, the secret police.

The Chilean dictatorship has discovered that, when it comes to asking for money from the United States or international agencies, political prisoners are more of a probiem than dead ones. Release can be made the condition of a loan; resurrection cannot.

MURDEROUS

tion of oppo thents ore, have posappeared' in detention has risen from 5% in January to well over appearances" are now believed to number about 2,000.

The same murderous technique 1s being used by the Argentinian military dictatorship whose head, friendly call on General Pinochet in Santiago.

Videla's police have never issued lists of those it has arrested.

PCT Viro Procidontinl annAiAnta in influenced by the dumping of the "unidentifiable" bodies of "disappeared"" detainees at the scene of the battles.

This probably accounts for a good number of the 50 or so "subversives" killed two weeks ago in La Plata after a bomb had injured eleven policemen.

The American Embassy in Buenos Aires has produced a report on civil rights in Argentina which the State Department refuses to release, even to members of the US Congress who commissioned it under the Arms Trade Control Act. Leaks say it is "dynamite" since it shows the role of senior army generals in organising the ultra-right death sauads.

FAILED

The events of the last month have shown that, despite all the bloody repression, the Videla dictatorship has failed to crush the fighting ability of the working class.

A major strike of electric power workers in Buenos Aires lasted a month at which point the regime moved to draft the strikers into the army. Even then a go-slow continued, bringing frequent power cuts to Argentina's main urban and maustrial centre.

In addition, work at the ports has been cut by nearly a half as a result of a go-slow by dockers.

It is the responsibility of the Union in Britain to effect immediate and concrete solidarity with this action by blacking work on all ships from or to Argentina.

*Black all trade with the Chilean *Force the Labour government to impose a total economic and arms boycott!

*Send arms to the workers

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people" was again clearly demonstrated last Saturday.