Diuucivi Blocs with Tories

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PHOTO: John Sturrock, Report The Arab "rejectionist' summit which ended in Tripoli on Monday 5 December concluded in some disarray, with a walk-out of the Iraqi delegation.

Iraq has always taken the most verbally bombastic stance against the Zionists, but the intensity of their rhetoric has often been in inverse proportion to their wilingness to take action.

Correct

On this occasion, however, though the Iraqis themselves did not take up any more than a verbal fight against the Zionists and their friends, they were correct to say that the others at the summit had not taken up any fight at all.

The statement signed by the Libyans, S. Yemenis, Algerians, Syrians and the PLO agreed to "freeze"rather than end-relations with Egypt, and to remove the headquarters of the Arab League from Cairo.

Boycott

There was also a call for an economic boycott, but apparently only on firms actually trading with Israel.

The only stipulation of the Tripoli agreement that was not purely rhetorical was for economic and military support for the Syrians. • But in view of the Syrians murderous attacks on the Palestinians in the past this can hardly be seen as a step forward either.

One other important aspect of the Tripoli conference was the rejection of all the various sections of the alestinians of "recognition. conciliation or negotiation" with the Zionists.

This appears to be a different line for Arafat and the other non-rejectionists of the PLO. Before Sadat's bellycrawling "initiative" these people seemed to be moving themselves towards a Geneva conference and other negotiations with the Zionists.

However in the complex shifting sands of Arab bourgeois diplomacy Arafat and The Federation of Conservative Students, (FCS) are now so confident in the right wing policies of the Broad Left that they were walking around the NUS conference with stickers bearing a picture of NUS President Sue Slipman and the words "I'm a Tory too!" . Sue Slipman is an executive member of the Communist Party.

Last Friday in Blackpool, Arafat-a new line adopted? latest stand and move in the other direction.

A socialist programme is essential to mobilise. the Palestinians and Arab masses against the Zionists and against their own reactionary bourgeois leaders.

The next turn on the diplomatic roundabout could find the PLO, (along, perhaps, with the Iraqis)

joining Sadat on the road to treachery and compromise on the national rights of the dispossessed Palestinians. Broad Left Execul ive memTory stidents in a bers of the NUS S joined rapturous and sustained standing ovation for the coalition minister who has presided mantra im over the most vicious culs u education since the war.

This response to a speech in which Shirley Williams had justified her massive cutbacks in education provision at all levels set the tone for a conference in which the now close-knit Broad Left/FCS alliance successfully moved NUS policy decisively to the right.

As Williams spoke, conference delegate from Belfast College of Business Studies was being held by the Special Branch in Blackpool under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

Blame

Broad Left executive members refused to support a call to picket the police station where Emmanuel Hands was being held and the following day Deputy President Pete Ashby blamed those students who had done so for the fact that Hands was still in detention.

The acute crisis in which the NUS finds itself was highlighted last week when PHOTO: Chris Davies, Report unions.

Slipman's opening speech was almost totally concerned with attacking the left.

*There are those who wish to see students unions operating as political parties, imposing a narrow ideology on our members", , said Stalinist Slipman.

Policy defeat

A major conference success of the Broad Left in cementing their alliance with the right wing was the defeat of the union's policy of *no platform for fascists" maintained since 1974 when it was supported by the The "free speech for fascists" motion in the racism debate was jointly written by Tory and Broad Left unions.

The lack of any campaign at all on the central question of grants and cuts this year was crystallised in a policy which might have been witten by Education Minister Williams herself.

Thrown Mass action against the cuts was thrown out in favour of lobbies, submissions and working parties and the thrust of the campaign is to be directed towards anomalies such as discretionary awards and the means test.

This has been the tactic the Tories have been advocating for some time as a means of diverting a mass mobilisation of the stronger sections of students.

At the same time the Broad Left have sought to divert the whole campaign to a debate about the need to "democratise" education.

'Racists'

The close connection with Williams was also highlighted by the Education Minister's reference to the 'racists' in students unions who have moved to ban certain activities of the Zionists.

This was closely connected with the Broad Leit/lory move to change the union's constitution to allow the suspension of unions who act against the Zionists.

The wholesale crisis which has now developed in the NUS provoking in itself major splits in the Broad Left, particularly over the 'no platform" question opens up the opportunity for the intervention revolutionary leadership on the basis of a programme to defend education and allother students' interests.

This must centre on the demand for a sliding scale of public expenditure, with committees of representatives of students unions and other unions in higher educationi assessing level inflation.