Left Archive: Socialist Republic, Paper of Peoples’ Democracy, Volume 4, No. 1, Peoples’ Democracy, January 1981

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Many thanks to the persons who scanned and forwarded these documents and others which will be posted up over the next month or so.

This edition – from Peoples’ Democracy (for more documents from same see here in the Archive) – of considerable interest in that it engages in eight pages with a wide variety of issues. The headline is ‘Expose the British Assassins’ and details the attempt on the life of Bernadette and Michael McAliskey.

The article notes:

The assassination attempt on Bernadette and Martin McAliskey has finally brought home the extent of the attacks on the anti-imperialist and minority population in the Six Counties and in particular the H Block/Armagh Committees. There can be no doubt there is plan to eliminate leading militants in the H Block/Armagh Campaign. Their shooting is the latest and most significant incident in the catalogue of horrors perpetrated by the British and their Loyalist allies.

It continues:

There is strong evidence which points to British collusion in the shooting… British troops of the parachute regiment staked out the house for three days. The regiment at presented stationed in the area is the Argyle and Southerland Highlanders. The parachutists are from 50 miles away in Omagh. The Brits allowed the assassins to do their dirty work and only then arrested them. The assassins are UDA members. The RUC is calling them Red Hand Commandos in order to protect the UDA. The RUC and Brits provide intelligence for this Loyalist gang, and obviously know where they are to strike next. They left Bernadette defenceless by refusing to allow to have a revolver. An enquiry would expose elements of British treachery and murderous intent.

An inset article argues that: Haughey and Hume aid British Imperialists: Collaborators will Answer.

This takes both to task and notes:

The British Government and the news media in Ireland have tried to portray the ending of the H Block and Armagh hunger strikes as a defeat for the prisoners and their supporters. Despite the fact that major concession on all five demands were promised, an attempt is being made to confuse the public and withhold the reforms. The British Government has to save face and try to regain the initiative against the anti-imperialist movement.

Other pieces in the paper include an article on ‘Contempt shown to anti-Republicans’ which lists ’Pro-Imperialist “Socialists” focusing on Jim Kemmy in Limerick. It argues that:

As with Kemmy there is little evidence that other Pro-Imperialist “Socialists” owe whatever influence they have in the workers’ movement to their anti-republican rantings. Likewise in the future Pro-Imperialist “Socialists” will have little part to play in the formation of a socialist opposition in the Labour Movement.

There’s also a letter published criticising the Socialist Labour Party which suggests that it has ‘failed the H-Block test’ and the editor of Socialist Republic ‘heartily agrees’. There’s another criticising Sinn Féin – The Workers’ Party and a long piece on ‘Hunger Strikes Lessons’ and ‘Mass Action Method Proven Essential’. A link is made between Armagh women on protest and International Women’s Day. A further link is made ‘Why Feminists Should Confront Imperialism’.

There’s mention of the Agricultural Crises and the potential of a Worker/Small Farmer Alliance. On international affairs it notes ‘Polish Workers Challenge Bureaucracy’ and Free Trade Unions Grow from Strength to Strength. Another piece details how Nicaraguan Capitalists Isolated. A small snippet notes that in USI ‘the election of Brendan Dorris as President and Joe Duffy as Education Officer of the USI, coupled with the defeat of Jimmy Collins (a supporter of SF-WP) is a major defeat for the politics of Sinn Fein – The Workers’ Party who has bureaucratically controlled USI for the past decade’.