Fight anti Irish laws
Socialist Press1978 1978-02-08Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 5 →
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The decisi Acton by magistrates to recommend Martin Williams, an unemployed Irish worker, for deportation after being convicted of ordering a meal he could not pay for, has sparked an angry response.
Irish workers resident in Britain leafletted the court hearing denouncing the way the law discriminates against Irish people, hanging the continued threat of deportation over their heads.
This is not only true of the obviously anti-Irish "Prevention of Terrorism" Act, aimed at intimidating and suppressing Irish militants, but can be activated by even the most trivial criminal court conviction.
Such treatment is clearly discriminatory. And Tory spokesman on Ireland Airey Neave has launched a campaign to increase this discrimination against Irish workers if Irish Prime Minister Lynch does not stop his opportunist talk of a united Ireland.
Neave has called for a retaliatory crackdown on social security entitlements, passports and democratic rights for Irish people resident in Britain.
ASSANA An ad hoc grouping of Irish people has been formed to fight these moves-but on a completely inadequate basis.
It attacks "unions and left groups" for being "too busy pursuing productivity deals and revolution" to take much notice of the problems of Irish people.
And it issues a "call' to "all loyal Irishmen to join with them in the formation of The Irish Men and Women's Alliance of Britain"
While the sentiments and frustration that motivate this call are understandable, it represents a retreat from 1 the fight that must be taken up to mobilise the whole British labour movement in defence of Irish workers in Britain and against all the discriminatory laws and regulations which are vigourously upheld by the Lib-Lab Coalition This fight must include the struggle for the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act and also the Immigration The challenge laid down by this group of Irish workers must be taken up, and the signatories of the 'call' must take responsibility for carrying a serious campaign on the issue into the Labour Party and the trade union movement.
REME published by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) which describes in detail