has become known as the 'Shankill Butchers' - was jailed after being convicted on kidnapping, the sectarian attacks ofthis loyalist gang were Picked up at random in a black taxi driven by Moore - a member of the gang - they were taken to Protestant areas, tortured and finally butchered to death with an axe or by having their throats cut. UDR All the brutal aspects of these murders were brought out at the trial. What did not receive such prominence was the fact that Gerald Mollwaine, leader of the 'gang', was amember of the British army-controlled UDR (Ulster Defence Regiment).
The UDR was formed in 1970 as a replacement for the B-Specials. Like the B-Specials it has gained a widespread reputation for its violent anti-Catholic bigotry. Unlike the B-Specials, however, it is part of - and under the control of-the British army.
Involvement by British-controlled UDR individuals in such sectarian violence is not new. As last month's Irish Tires put it: "Scores of UDR members and ex-members have appeared in court on serious charges and have been found guilty of sectarian killings".
Law and Order The fact that such individuals are members (or ex-members) of the UDR gives the lie to the British government claim that the army in Northern Ireland is there as a 'neutral force' restoring 'law and order'.
The only order the army is there to restore is one based upon the bigotry and privileges of the Orange State which has discriminated against the Catholic minority for over 50 years. They have tried to restore this 'order' by a systematic campaign of harassment, torture and victimisation of the Catholic community.
If figures such as Mollwaine decide to take the law into their own hands - organising private 'gangs' for the assassination of individual Catholics - it is not an accident. They are merely carrying to a logical and savage conclusion the role the British army is being called on to play.
Responsibility The fact that it is the British army which is the key force oppressing the Catholic minority in Northern Ireland places a heavy responsibility on the shoulders of British socialists. What we do - or not do - to champion the right of the Irish people to self-determination will seriously contribute to the outcome of the struggle.
Building a mass campaign calling for the immediate withdrawal of British troops would have a major impact. It would give renewed courage to the oppressed minority (who have been through a demoralising period), undermine the morale of the British army and isolate the loyalist murder squads by removing their main support.
Such a campaign should set itself the task of forcing the government to withdraw the troops (as did the assault and gun charges. The 19 victims of innocent Catholics. mass anti-Vietnam war movement in the USA), or of bringing it down. Failure It is a major condemnation of the British left that, ten years after the entry of troops onto the streets of Derry or Belfast, there still exists no mass campaign calling for their immediate withdrawal.
The failure of the left to unite in building such a movement is not only an example of their failure to give concrete aid to an oppressed nation fighting for its rights. It is also a failure to understand that this struggle has a direct effect upon the British class struggle too.
It should not have to be pointed out that the repressive laws used against the minority are passed and enacted by Westminster. They are, therefore, a direct threat to the civil liberties of the British people, as Roy Jenkin's 1976 AntiTerrorism Act proves.
A campaign in defence of the right of the Irish people to self-determination would also strike a blow for the defence of democratic rights in Britain too.
UTOM One of the major causes for the lack of a mass-action orientated campaign has undoubtedly been the sectarian in-fighting of the left. Movement after movement has been started-up - the ISC (Irish Solidarity Campaign), AIL (Anti-Internm -ent League), TOM (Troops Out Movement) - only to disintergrate through internal wranglings over slogans and tactical issues.
One of the most important recent steps forward has been the launching of UTOM (United Troops Out Movement) which has been ableto launch some modest, but serious, actions. The LSA wholeheartedly supports UTOM and believes its main thrust should be towards building a mass-action campaign around the slogan "Troops Out of Ireland Now'.
We would lend our voice to that of UTOM in calling on all forces of the left, supporting its platform, to identify with the campaign.