01-359 8180/9. Distribution/ Advertising 01-359 8371. Socialist Challenge, 328/9 Upper Street, London N1. Editorial JOHN is 16 years old. He is also black.
With the current "debate' on *law and order', we thought it only fitting that John should have the first word this week. I'm going to tell you about when I was smoking with a few guys, at a house in Kilburn, and we got busted by the police and how they beat us up in the cells.
It was Saturday at about 11.30 at night. There were five of us round at smoking in the There door. This guy Emmanuel got up to answer the door and he had a spliff in his hand.
As he opened the door, six or seven policemen came in. One of them said: We've got you, you black cunts.
RAN They JUSE through the hall into the room. They picked us all up and took us outside into wagon, there were three cars with it.
We were in there for about five minutes and they back and said: We're going to really do you.
They had this little box, 'cos they'd just searched the house down, you know. No warrant or nothing.
of papers and tobacco. They said:
*This is our evidence against We were driving for about twenty minutes till we got to the police station.
opened the door and took us and dragged us straight in. We never general round or nothing.
RIGHTS this great big hall, and took names They didn't tell us what they were arresting us for, or about any rights we had.
cells. It was in a little tiny room with a little bed in the corner.
Then, 'cos I was tired, I rested and was looking up at the ceiling.
policeman came in over towards me with a pillow hurt you this way."
I immediately starts to come down.
has the revolutionary socialists are: • To build UnIS HOUSC back garden. was a knock on the Tan straight this meat CalC cannabis, had •LWU rizla 'The They had no time to look They took us straight into addresses and ages.
They took us off to separate Then this door opened and a and bent in his hand, and said: "It won't me up.
guessed what he was going to do, so as he was leaning over the bed to me I punched him on his face and I ine bauc messed up his nose and blood He called his friends. They came into the cell. About seven of them. They put me into the middle and just started to kick class-collaborationism in the labour movement. These should be non-exclusive broad-based class struggle tendencies in in character grouping together militants holding a wide range of political views * To begin to fight for the creation of a unified and democratic revolutionary socialist organisation which can, through an application of united front tactics begin to be seen as an alternative by thousands of workers engaged in struggles.
Such an organisation should be based on the understanding that:
The struggle for socialism seeks to unite the fight of the workers agains! the bosses with that of other oppressed layers of society black people, gays — struggling for their liberation. This socialism car only he achieved by creating hew organs of power and defeating with all ecessary means the power of the capitalist state. ROP HE ARGE
COlE
Court."
rastamar *KID others all got their dreadlocks cut off too. They told one of them they were cutting his locks 'cos they were an offensive weapon!
Then two policemen came and they took me into this room started the heavy questioning. asked them:
What am I here for?
They said: Well, first of all Our socialism will be infinitels more democratic than what exist in The interests of workers and capitalists are irreconcilable on a world America, Africa and Asia In Britain it implies demanding the immediate withdrawal of British troop from Ireland and letting the Irish people determine their own future.
The Communist Parties in Europe are *Euro-communist nor the pro-Moscow wings have strategy for the overthrow of the capitalist state. New revolutionars socialist parties are more necessars than ever before. Conditions todas are more favourable than over the preceding three decades. But such parties car only be built by rejecting sectarianism and seeing internal democrats not as a luxury but as a vital necessity. This means the right to organise factions and resisting arrest assaulting a police officer, and breaking the peace.
After all that, they said: •We're going to set bail now. nen you nave to appear in Willesden High So very fortunately, "cos 1 got a friend who just come down, a middle class guy The came and he paid our bail for us. E70 each We just walked out, didn't know where the fuck we were. But I wasn't going to have it. 'cos I never did nothing wrong. and they were going to do me for all these things and they'd said I'd get eighteen months — at least eighteen months.
So I started to go round all teachers school for reterences and that MEDICAL Also, before I'd got arrested I had a medical, cos I fell down the stairs at home, and he said I was Al perfect, fit as a horse.
The day after I got out, the Monday, I went to the doctor again, to have a check-up He told me I got bruised ribs and bruised back, he saw my neac ANGELA was cut and my hand was cut I've got certificates for both of those visits.
Before I'd left the police had given me a number in case wanted to contact the police phone it was a duff number, station, but when not a police station.
After that they'd given a letter to one of the other guys they were dropping charges against me.
did to me would come out.
others are still on charges, but none of them were beaten up now organising demonstration against police harassment. We'll be marching to Paddington police station.
SUPPORT We've got the support of the students school, the teachers union, and Paddington anti-racist campaign already, and we'll be asking the Anti Nazi League to back us.
But I'm not going to take on the police directly, 'cos if I make a complaint and get lots Of publicity and all, then maybe I'll beat them this time, but they'll be after me then and sooner or later they'll get me for something.
Like look at this guy Liddle Towers -everyone thinks the police killed him, but no-one can do anything ocialist state. The Stalinist model Neither th
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Capitalism is in crisis. The leaders of the Labour Party and the trades unions offer solutions that are in the interests, not of the workers, but of the capitalist Socialis Challenge believes that the two vial tasks
"socialism' in the USSR and tastern Europe have discredited socialism in the eyes of the millions of workers throughout the world. We are opposed to them and will offer full support to all those fighting for socialist democraes.
scale. Capitalism has not only created a world market, it has created scale. This unity will in the long run be decisive in defeating both th imperialist regimes in the West and the brutal dictatorships thes sustain in Lati
suppose that was because They were sated cout. tee