With the same contempt for the labour movement that Brian Ris has shown for the intelligence of Home Secretary Merlyn Rees staged a special show for Phil Agee in London last week.
The occasion was the ex-CIA appearance before the so-called *Advisory Panel' set up by the Home Office to consider Agee's deportation for *endangering National security and similar vague ane aosure charges.
Agee might well have refused to attend the hearings.
PrOF Rees refused to specify details of what Agee was supposed to have done. He appointed as advisors three men who WCIC DOVIOUSLY puppets of the intelligence community. And a procedure for the hearings was set out which allowed no lawyers, no examination winesses, no ume to prepare the case — in short, no chance of a fair acience But Agee had to prove hearings a farce in order to blow apart the last vestiges of Rees's credibility. "I could have just left the country of my own free will he told a press conference, realised that that might be just what Rees wanted me to do.' VETTED Agee's statement to the Panel was a chronicle of several years CIA's intervention in "trouble spots' on behalf of its masters, American imperialism. It is precisely because Agee is not just a paramperialist sparen anti-imperialist, that become so much of a threat to the people who want to get rid of him.
inconca basis or the ce portation was admitted We are following the procedure aid down at executive fi.e. governmental) level', he was said to have told Agee. It is a political decision.* And Rees himself, challenged by ex-ministers Judith Hart and Alex Lyon to change the procedure, admitted that he was in charge of the whole charade.
Rees has been able to afford such candour because he is being given a very easy ride by the press and TV coverage of the hearings. The BBC withdrew its radio car on the first day because its reports and interviews had to be "vetted" aavance ol broadcasting Daily Mail wrote a story about Agee's tape-recorder breaking down. And the Guardian's John Lotoce exposed the wel-known fact that Mark Hosenball, one ournals racing debora had declined the Defence Hosenball's newspaper, the Evening Standard, sent a reporter to nearly every press confercuce our Hardly prinica a singie WOTO EXPOSES But the media's fawning silence will not prevent Rees Labour Government payus a heavy price for their attack on Agee. In a matter of a few weeks nearly fifty Constituency Labour Parties, the executives of nearly all major unions, and over 40 MPs have attacked the deportations.
More importantly, recognition is growing that Kees is engaged in an important political offensive against the left as a whole It is clear that Agee does not pose much ol a threat day-to-cay operations of the CIA or British Intelligence as an individual. But focussing attention enionhe global not secret spies but problems of both American and British imperialism "Agee-ism' unicatens to be a spanner in the works in such troublesome places as nodesla, soutn Alrica, italy, Spain, Portugal, the Caribbean... the list is endless.
The Agee-Hosenball Defence Committee has highlighted these broader aspects of the campaign in @SCHICS or CiA brelngs subjects like Jamaica, and the CIA in Europe. pamphlet exposes the global US intelligence Scounches or tne vear with ene publication of the so-called KIQ memorandum issued to Us bassies and intelligence bodies. Copies of these, and information about the campaign, may be obtained from Agee-Hosenball Camweeks of but oppression.
mobilising for these events.
comrades comrades will go towards ensuring numbers attending but, a woman's right to choose.
building Rally for Alexandra allocated a woman comrade to work full-time.
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First Payment Due WHEN WE launched the Fund Drive in December, we said that part of the £15,000 would go towards strengthening our work on women's With the NAC Tribunal on 29 January and the Rally for Women's Rights on 26 February, the IMG is playing a big role in organising and have been active mobilising committee for the NAC Tribunal from the beginning, and the hard work of these that the Tribunal will be a success not merely in the more importantly, in the political impact this will have in the fight for comrades are also centrally involved in help we have To aid our work within the labour movement and women's organisations, the IMG is producing several pamphlets around different aspI donate £ ...... (cheques/POs payable to "The Week'] to the £15,000 Fund Drive Please tick box if you do not want your name to be mentioned in the paper.
The Fund Drive runs only until the end of May 1977. If you would like to regularise your commitment beyond this period, please fill in the Bankers Dear Sirs, Please make payment to the debit of the account specified as per the details Name RED WEEKLY 15 05 70 Last Payment Due This order cancels all previous orders to the same payee and will continue until written notice to the contrary is received by you. ects of women's oppression. developing Socialist Woman as a journal that can begin to make a greater contribution to the debates in the women's movement.
1976 saw a small step forward in the fight for women's rights. cuts in the social services generally threaten to undermine all the gains that have been won.
We take the struggle oppression seriously. ources and have comrades working full-time on this issue. But this is still not enough. are many vital tasks still to be carried out, but due to lack of resources and finances we are unable to develop this work fully.
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PHILLIP AGEE at the press conference after the first day of his appeal. Agee has no illusions in the 'impartial £15,000 must be raised by May '77 THE CHOICE IS YOURS