There was u dramatic confrontation outside Dublin's Mansion House last Sunday when the 800 delegates and visitors to the Provisional Sinn Fein Ard Fheis (conference) poured into the street to cover the getaway of Daithi O Conaill.
In a spontaneous expression of resentment at Free State collaboration with British imperialism, they overturned a Special Bratch car, and encircled a force of Gardai (policel who stood helpless as they chanted, 'Gardai- RUC. and sang, Take it Down From the Mast, Irish Traitors'.
MAIN DEMANDS O Conaill, currently at the top of the British and Free State wanted list, was prected with wild enthusiasm at the Conference an he read out a statement from the leadership of the Republican Movement. The statement warned that: "We wish to state explicitly to the Dublin politicians that the Republican policy of non-military action in the South does not guarantee them immunity irom the logical consequenoes of handing over any Irish Republicans to the forces of the British Crown' Special Branen car overturned demands of, the Provisionals: for a British commitment to a phased withdrawal from Ireland, for the release of all internees, and for an amnesty for all those who have been imprisoned. It also slated the Free State and SDLP politicians for prostrating their bodies across the palh of inevitable (British) withdrawal', and told the Republicans that victory was within their grasp.
LABOUR BETRAYAL Similar enthusiasm greeted the address by the re elected President of Sinn Fein, Ruairi O Bradaigh, who emphasised that the British povertinent wanted to settie the Irish question before the next general election. This, he said, pave the possibility of a victory, if the Republicans carried on with the strugale, but it abo Faced Sint Fein with some very urgent problems and tasks.
In particular. O Bradaigh attacked the Irish Labour Party for betraying the social and economic aspiracions of its supporters, Despite the claims of the coalition govemment, he said, there was no evidence that they would alter a situation in wluch Sto of the population in the 26 Counties wwned 715 of the wealth. Both O Cocaill and D Badaich blamud
This interview with a comrade of the Revolutionary Communist Group in Lebanon was conducted several days after the As we go to press, the fourth Arab-Israeli war seems to be hanging in the balance, after a joint Russian-American proposal for an 'in place' ceasefire, There is no doubt that both Washington and Moscow viewed with apprehension the development of the military situation in the last week: an outright Israeli victory, which began to seem a distinet possibility, would have disastrous consequences in the Arab world from the point of view of both US and Soviet policy, leading to sabotage of oil installations and generalised instability. Any ceasefire will probably be followed by intensive negotiations, culminating in a settlement along the lines of Security by the Arah states in exchange for Israeli withdrawal from the territories conquered in the war of 1967, But such a diplomatic settlement, which will be presented as a triumph for the spirit of detente, will solve none of the problems at the root of the conflict between Zionism and the Arab First we must be clear that the official war aims of Egypt and Syria-the liberation of the occupied territories-are entirely legitimate. The responsibility for the appalling blood-letting in the Middle East must be placed squarely where it belongs: at the door of the Zionist regime. The right of the Egyptian and Syrian armies to reverse the outcome of Israel's aggressive, colonialist 1967 campaign, which resulted in the eviction tion of entire towns and villages, is in no way negated by the petit-bourgeois and even openly reactionary churacter of the Arab regimes.
Now, one thing is evident: the failure of the Israeli army to dislodge the Egyptian forces from the East Bank of the Sucz Canal, and the new-found fighting ability of the Arab armies have severely punctured the parallel myths of Israeli military invincibility and Arab cowardice and stupidity. "The rules of Council Resolution 242, which stipulates recognition of Israel of tens of thousands of Palestinians and the wholesale destructhe game", arrogantly invoked by the Israeli Chief of Staff, who predicted another massive Arab defeat ('we will break their bones'), have decisively changed since the days of the lightning israeli blitzkrieg. Israci's reliance on the deterrent of overwhelming military terror has been shown to be both costly and ultimately illusory -for who can guaraatee that the Arabs will not do even better in the future?
Whatever the immediate repercissions of the wur in Israeland a strengthening of the extreme not-an-inch' faction of Zionism is not excluded -the long-term effect may well be to stimulate a reappraisul of traditional Israeli thinking in relation to the Arab world. Now, more than ever, Zionism can be seen to offer neither peace nor security to the Israeli masses At the same time, however, the peace settlement now in the pipeline will leave intact the colonial structures of the Israeli State, the racist and discriminatory legislation on which it is based, and the structural ties with imperialism without which it could not survive; Israel will continue to function as a local caretaker of American interests in the Middle East; and, not least important, the Palestinian people, the direct victims of Zionist colonisation, will not recover their national rights The rights of the Palestinians are certainly of no concern to Sadat and Assad, but whether they will be able to sell the diplomatic settlement to the Arab masses is another question. There are already signs that the Arab regimes will seek to