THE ARREST last week of three supporters of the Agee-Hosenball Detence Campaign marks a new stage in the harassment of left-wing COHEORISS In the confrontation between the Intensence services and InOSe people investigating their illegal macrychuon maomestic pouties, ne holds, it seems, are barred.
Both the timing and the circumstances of the arrests suggest that an element of panic has set in along the darker corridors of Whitehall. Crispin Aubrey, John Berry and Duncan Campbell were picked up only days after Merlyn Rees was nowied down in Parnament as he announced that the deportations of Philip Agee and Mark Hosenball were to proceed. But they came before an emergency debate on the case on tuesday which inreatened to reveal new information about the rcasons iorine deportanons In this situation a "secrets" scandal would be very helpful to Merlyn Rees. Being sub judice, the circumstances of the charges could not be discussed, but the implication voiced in last week's Sunday Express that 'there is more to this than we are likely to know' added weignt to keess asserton mat know more but can't tell you".
The behaviour of the Special Branch in refusing access to the Enree men ov lawyers or lammy 1o! two days. of unnamed "police spokesmen' who hinted to journalists about "serious offences also served to distract attention from the facts which must now be publicised. * The meeting at which the three were arrested could only have been discovered by illegal surveillance, either phone-tapping or mail-interception.
The three have been charged UnGer a secon Secrets Act which Merlyn Rees himself promised in Novembe would bescrapped as unworkable. * The Agee-Hosenball Defence Committee has suffered a series of burglaries, thefts, stolen accounts and address books which can be attributed to coincidence difficulty. * Most important of all, there have recently been a number of revelations about right-wing pressure groups, ront publisning opera tions and what may be called "tecnnical intormanon gatering which have, if circumstantially, The harassment, and now arrests, when nave rollowed in une wake or the deportations makes it clear that the CiA and British Intelligence have a lot to hide which has little to do with 'national security'. So what happens now?
The defence of Aubrey, Berryand Campbell, in addition now to Agee and Hosenball now assumes great urgency. But the complicity of the Labour Government in this intimadation • is use or the cal Secrets Act, its flouting of the wisies ormirs. urade umonists and Labour Party membersalike — is an obstacle which should be attacked in Constituency Labour Parties, union branches and in the activities of the Defence Committee outlined below.
In the longer term, the lessons of 'attention to unstable countries show that investigations and campaigns of this nature should not be the responsibility of individuals alone.
A abour movemen incury inte the deportations and arrests, orgwith the backing of the TUC, would most cliccuvery cooramaic a speci fic defence of democratic rights against the intervention of state witch-hunting antics.
Executive meets, having 'enquiry' into so-called 'entryism' target. THREE REASONS with the Trots' coincided with the negotiations over the IM Floan.
and who see no fight coming from Tribune.
one great political asset of the Labour Party working class support.
couleTow overintoan orcanisco oopositiOn The right wing mean • know ecce or ine aleces existence o would defend its right to organise in the Labour Party CAMPAIGN PLATFORM adopting the latter's phraseology 'peacefully' full:
whether socialist democratically, wereply. Yes!
position - to Marx and Engels, to Lenin or Trotsky?
introduce an Enabling. Act (as proposed in 1937 by and taking monopolies...' [ouremphasis].
es stance Engels, Lenin and Trotsky would certainly not!
NOT TROTSKYIST The right-wing leaders of the Labour Party continue in their This week Party's National launched the committee of Red Weekly has consistently campaigned against th witch-hunt in principled manner. But we have also argued that the left has not adequately tackled the offensive of the right wing. Last week we looked at the response of Tribune This week we turn our attention to Militant, the witch-hunt's The attack on Militant has been launched for three mair reasons. First, the right-wing Labour leaders want to use the witch-huntas a bargaining counter in their negotiations with the foreign bankers: come to our aid, don't impose toc difficult conditions on the loan, or the Trotskyists will gain they he same time, the right wing wants to show that, a loyal servants of international capitalism, they will "dea This was why the start of the witch-hun Second, the Government wants to isolate the far left and ensure that it does not act as a tocus for traditional Labou left supporters who want to fight the Government's policie:
Third, the right wing know full well that whatever the witch-hunting rhetoric, their policies are stripping away th The witch-hunt is above all designed to minimise the impact of Labour's forthcoming electoral defeat within the party. The right wing fear that the process of reflection and debate within the party itself after the fall of the Government business. Only by mounting a counter-offensive can the Militant effectivel launch its own defence. Every retreat simply plays into the hands of the right wing. Despite this, Militant has sought to defend itself in the supposed haven of respectability'.
It is quite legitimate for Militant supporters to deny any one kevo unonar Socialist League. Red Weekly also knows nothing of it existence. But it is legitimate to do this oniv it at the sam time we state that if such an organisation did exist then w Supporters of Militant have had one benefit from the witch-hunt. They have been interviewed by the press, they have been on TV. They have been given a platform from which to campaign in front of millions for the case for an end to bans and proscriptions. But they have limited themselve:
Like Red Weekly, Militant has also been forced to answe the charge of Shirley Williams that Trotskyism hold: democracy in contempt because it believes that there is no parliamentary democratic road to socialism. But unlike Red Weekly, Militant has attempted to avoid the intended isolation from the traditional left wing of the Labour Party by Nick Bradley, supporter of and supported by Militant or Labour's NEC, wrote a letter to the Guardian. He had ne hesitation in replying to Williams that in Britain socialist transformation would come 'democratically' and Last week's copy of the Militant backs Bradley's line to the *To her demand for unequivocal answers from us or objectives can be achieved And where does Militant go to seek backing for thei *But only if the Labour leaders mount a massive campaig to expose the rackets of the capitalists, to show how they are leading Britain to poverty and dictatorship, to rally the mas of the population in their support. Only if they are ready to Clemen Attlee), abolishing the House of Lords and the Monarchy powers nationalise Militant combines this parliamentary perspective with mobilising the power of 11 million trade unionists and thei families'. This would ensure, we are told, that the handfu of millionaires who run society today could never put u Clement Attlee would no doubt have been very proud o the comrades of the Militant editorial board. Marx anc In their desire to be respectable Trotskyists, the Militant has ceased to be Trotskvist altogether. It nas made the classic confusion between being the best fighters for democratic rights on the one hand, and believing that the struggle for socialism and for the extension of democratic rights can be waged through Parliamentary democracy or the other. And in making this political accommodation to