THE 'constitutional conference' on Zimbabwe is now under way. But the dice are heavily loaded in favour of the white settlers and their favourite pawn, Bishop Abel Muzorewa. For their close friends are now in power in this country.
There can be little doubt that the Tory leaders are strongly attached to their 'kith and kin' in 'ZimbabweRhodesia'. Thatcher's first inclination was go. for Smith/Muzorewa and the rapid lifting of sanctions.
The war IS going however, that there is little chance of the regime surviving in its present form. Hence Thatcher's about-turn at Lusaka and the holding of the present conference.
But while the means of achieving it have changed, the aim remains the same: to protect British capital and British profits at the expense of the people of Zimbabwe. And it is an aim in which many Tories have a direct as Counter-Information shows.* 114 Tory MPs sanctions after the Commons debate in November 1978. Eight of them are now in the government, and one, Nicholas Ridley, is a Minister of State at the Foreign Office.
Many MPs against sanctions nave a personal financial interest lifting of sallcuols directors (and companies subsidiaries Zimbabwe: Sir Frederic Bennett and Tom Normanton are both directors of Commercial Union Assurance which recognition of there; firm badly, Anglo-American apparent maustrial giant Is facilitated the sancions.
report by Services several voted to lift Zinc, who Several other direct in the Zimbabwe: lucrative of account by Lonrho. has property and insurance interests while John Osborn's famis subsidiaries both Limbabwe and South Africa.
Julian Amery, that most vociferous supporter of the Smith regime, is a director of two companies in the empire. South African associate of this mining and Freight Services Limited, one of the companies that busting of the oil The Foreign Secretary himself, Lord Carrington, is an ex-director of the most important companies in Zimbabwe: Rio-Tinto Barclays Bank, CadburySchweppes, the Australia-New Lealand Bank and the British Metal Corporation, and he retains substantial shareholdings and connections in these firms. Ministerial appointment prevents him from continuing these directorships for the moment.
MPs are *consultants' to companies with interests in it was of these advisory posts that got ex-Tory MP Duncan Sandys so much unwelcome publicity back in 1971; in his case the best part of £300,000 was paid into a tax-free Cayman Island Bishop Muzorewa, John Farr, Tory landowner, holds 12,000 acres spread over Northamptonshire, Ireland and Zimbabwe, while family firm, Richard Limited, in which he is a shareholder, has a Rhodesian subsidiary building a police station with heliport and cells in central Salisbury.
If sanctions are lifted all these peopie stanu to make a lot or money. Dividends paid over the years have been blocked Sanctions lifting will release them in addition to boosting the value of shares and future dividends.
*Sell-out in Zimbabwe. 85p plus p&p CIS, 9 Poland Street, London W1.
clasps the hand of a major shareholder in Zimbabwe's most important companies, Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington MP Albert Costain's Costain Rhodesia. CAPITAL MPs who voted to lift sanctions Daniel Awdry MPs who abstained on s Anthony Royle TABLE TWO perating in Zimbabwe's with interests in fi MPs who voted to lift sanction Eldon Griffiths Commercial Union Company Grindlays Bank Deep Levels Ons, which ha
OUR POLICIES Capitalsmss in cris, Ibe leaders of the Lahour Party and the trade unions ober solutions mai are in the interests not of the workers bur or ine capialist class.
Socialise Challenge believes that contronting revolutionary socialists are:
• To build broad-based class struggle tendencies in apposition daw coaborationism in the labour movernent. These should anaratier. grouping together militants holding a wide range of political views.
•o begin to fiohl for the creation of and democratic revolutionary socialist organisation which can, through an application of united front lactics, begin to be seen as an alternative by thousands workers engaged in struggles.
Such an organisation should be based on the understanding that:
The struggle for socialism tale me workers against the bosses with that of other oppressed lavers of sociely - women, black people, gays struggling their liberation. This socialism can only be achiered by creating new organs of power and defeating with all necessary means the power of the will infinitely more democratic I than what exists in Britain today. with full rights for all political parties and currents that de vee take up arms against the socialist state. The Stalinist models 'socialism' in the LSSK and Fastern Europe have discredited socialism in the eyes of millions of warhers throughout the We are opposed to them and will offer fall support to ail those üighting for vocialise democracy The interestsat workers and on a world scale. C'apitalism has created a workd marhet. is tras created world politics. I hus we light for working class units on an scale. This unit! will in the long run he decisive in defeating both the imperialis regimes in the West and the brutal dilatorshios they Africa In Britain it implies demanding the immediate withdrawal of British troops from Ireland and letting the Irish people determine The Communis parties in ¡urops art in crisis. Neither the Eurocommunist meaningtul strategy The verthrow di hr toilalist sate. des resolationary socialist parties (inditions than preventing torer demandes. But sach an!: truilt telli remo bearab ad second internaldeneres not as a lorary butied sitad necessits. This nreads the righe do organise factions and tendencies.
" on agree with these principles and 16 be involved ilivities be Morialist dhallenge apporfers in your area, Will on the interestedd shore itorsation about activities in im • I would like additional liter sure inni routese Sep 1o conser costs. feete a not applicated Name....
Address..
and in bocialis d hallenge. 328 % Socialist Challenge 13 September 1979 Page I THE KILLING of Mountbatten and 18 British soldiers by the IRA in one day has sparked off the biggest debate for ten years in British society about For all the screams of outrage in the British media, that debate has not been reduced to simply how many members of the IRA should be hung, drawn and quartered: In part this is because the debate on Britain's presence in Ireland was already underway. It began with Amnesty International's report on British torture, was fuelled by the Daily of Mirror's that Britain intention to leave accelerated with the intervention of American politicians.
Support for such a withdrawal has also been expressed by a number of Liberal politicians. The August demonstration important turning point in this respect, mobilising more people to demand that Britain leave Ireland than at any time since y!z All this adds up to a considerable crisis for British primarily go to the Provisionals. Their ability to resist rule is discussion on that rule has not been reduced to a whisper.
Many, however, have wished to hush up debate on the irish national question, andamone the chas been the British Communist attitude is typified Myant, assistant editor of the Morning Star, at the Communist University in July. Explaining why the CP did not sponsor the 12 August demo, Myant said that the demand for British withdrawal is not the key and central demand which should be raised within the labour movement'.
SELF DETERMINATION FOR THE IRISH PEOPLE!
Even after the killings of the 18 soldiers and Mountbatten the Morning Star continued to insist that the call for 'democratic reforms' in the North of Ireland was the priority. Ths analysis has now lost all touch with reality. reformism as a cure-all is like using a nut to crack a sledgehammer.
The views of 'left leaders' is not the only reason why little has been built on Ireland in this country. Real difficulties have existed for those committed to building an anti-war movement, not least the economistic and chauvinist traditions of the British working class.
But it is self-evident that today there are new opportunities for building something substantial on Ireland in Britain. opportunities? This is a question which is attracting a good deal of discussion at the moment, both in the Irish Republican press and in the British left.
First, a note of caution. It would be wrong to assume that withdrawal is around the corner Just because a significant section of British bourgeois and world imperialist opinion is now expressing its worries about British policy in Ireland. being canvassed is that new political structures, involving both the North and South of Ireland, should be considered by Britain. The fear is that unless Britain acts soon the interests of imperialism could be permanently damaged. This is the prime motivation for the Americans' intervention instance that of New York Governor Hugh Carey, who has recently tried to organise a joint American, Southern Irish summit on the North Writing the Guardian, Socialist Challenge, 328/9 Upper Street. London N1 2XQ.
should declare and was further London Credit that adviser, has ensured that the comment by Chris the To pose democratic Hou we take these T What is — TOI Carey's principle •Kevin Cahill, talked of his fears that British intransigence is 'leaving the field wide open to intemperate and evil forces', and of Britain having 'played into the hands of the hardliners'. A similar opinion was expressed editorially in the Guardian when that newspaper urged support for the Carey initiative: Such opinions see a political restructuring military withdrawal, not as a defeat for imperialism but as a means of avoiding defeat.
The same concern is not present in the general feeling in Britain of war-weariness' detectable in opinion polls, 'phone-ins', and letters newspapers But more often sentiments behind 'war-weariness' are confused and apolitical. An example is the following letter, signed by 'a soldier's mum' and printed in the Daily Mirror: Fetch our lads home, for their sake and for the peace of mind of their parents, wives, children and sweethearts. Let the stupid Irish bigots blow themselves to pieces.
The person who wrote that letter is unlikely to be willing to go into the streets to demand that Britain gets out of Ireland; and this is a general problem when it comes to transforming "war-weariness' into effective political action. Ways of relating to such 'wear-weariness' can and should be explored, but it would be wrong to imagine that a general lack of support for what Britain is doing in Ireland means that a mass anti-war, Anti-Nazi League movement on Ireland is around the corner.
Most of all, it would be wrong to assume that Thatcher is preparing to withdraw because of increasing disquiet about British policy.
A further observation can be made. For those whose 'war-weariness' would drive them to become involved in an anti-war movement it matters little if aemand is for hiltone withdrawal; all they want to see is an end to it all, as soon as possible. A. watering down of "troops out now' will not suddenly ensure a quantitative growth in the numbers prepared to take action on Ireland. This was clear from the 12 August demonstration, when five times as many walked behind the 'troops out now banner as marched behind the vaguer 'withdrawal' banner.
SELF DETERMINATION FOR THE IRISH PEOPLE!
This is not a criticism of the basis of the 12 August protest. The demand on which the march Editorial: 01-359 8180/9. Distribution/ Advertising: 01-359 8371.
was called withdraw La massive ot bourgeois quarters which than not the building an anti-war for the Irish people' to broaden itself: to Irish armed struggle phased Bigger getting out now, grasped resources behind UTOM.
supported AS showed, they single anti-war movement present themselves.
- that Britain declares its intention to • did allow wider discussion, wider sponsorship, and a greater variety of participating organisations. But what the demand did not do was to change a small demonstration into a massive one; and there is no sign that in the near future such a tactic can change a small anti-war movement into The truth is that there is no evidence to suggest that 'troops out now' is a barrier when it comes to building a movement to get Britain out of Ireland. On the other hand, 'troops out now is liable to become more and more important as cas trom for 'political solution increase. Any political solution other than that of immediate British withdrawal could open up the 32 counties to a political restructuring which could put off genuine Irish national liberation for years. The planned, phased removal of the British Army is no guarantee of Irish independence and unity.
SELF DETERMINATION FOR THE IRISH PEOPLE!
For these reasons we re-state our commitment to movement the twin demands: "troops out now' and 'self-determination This is not to say that the existing organisation which bases itself on these demands - the United Troops Out Movement — must stay as it is. But rather than water down its demands, UTOM needs ways of relating to to establish a national head quarters, and, if possible, take on full-time staff. The structures and organisation of the National Abortion Campaign are a useful model. It is also worth emphasising that UTOM is not in business to act as a recruiting ground for left-wing organisations or to act as a public relations office for the opportunities are opening up today UTOM has found an increasing response for local labour movement conferences. These conferences have established that there is an audience - a growing one — in the trade unions and the Labour Party for a serious discussion on Britain's presence in Ireland. These initiatives have to be built on -discussion turned into support for the troops and that support turned into The openings for mass work have to be So we declare once more our determination to build the United Troops Out Movement and we declare once more that those who accept the UTOM demands should be in that movement and help to broaden it out. Especially we appeal to the Socialist Workers Party to throw its full and considerable Actions for troops withdrawal which stop short of an 'out now' perspective should continue to be the August demonstration can swell the ranks of those supporting the right of the Irish people to decide their own affairs. But the aim must be to build a - a movement pledged to Troops Out Now. Right now that means building the UTOM and grasping the new opportunities that TROOPS OUT OF IRELAND NOW!
SELF DETERMINATION FOR THE IRISH PEOPLE!
Socialist Challenge
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Socialist Challenge TROOPS OUT OF IRELAND NOW!
Socialist Challenge TROOPS OUT OF IRELAND NOW! SELF DETERMINATION FOR THE IRISH PEOPLE!
Socialist Challenge TROOPS OUT OF IRELAND NOW! H
Socialist Challenge TROOPS OUT OF IRELANDNOW: