The guntuon or the cole of tne hode unors ut sortern me and s reany comung to te tore snese dayt. All the steci workers in Harland & Wolffs are on erike for a pey increase. Mortar borribs have been red from the shipyards into Cathalic areas. And aer Easter, supporters of the Militant st the LPYS spaference at Skegness passed a resolution calling for a trade union peace-keeping forge tor the six counties This got wide coverage in the British and Irish papers. What attitude are socialists in Ericain going to Take sowarde the trade unions in northerm Ireland? The LeY5 resolution is just the old irrant three cord CAA e mCnT COBIe OresSE uD in Toe unIoR verbiage. t at tuey showed e tael cordon deoste with the IMG in March, Militant do believe there is a progresive role for British imperialism in Ireland singe they refuse to call for the uncandiional withdrawal of the British army. The main issue in reland is net "peace' (whal a miserable lot of pacifists the Muitent brei. The maan sue 15 complete ano coral victory Toc toe war aansc botin impenasam, ano ine postruction or British Imperialism in all its forms:
Militant are being deceitful agair, They won't support 1el1-determination and secession for the trish peopie.
EDITORIAL COMMENT:
We havo oublishod tha abova latsar bechice we faAl that the viewe it express are both important and generally sound. It is indesd regrettabia that such harsh words should have to be sie about a politica! grouping that can lay claim to Trotskyist origins. But Chare is no purpose in lotting santimantality cloud the truth: the criticisms which these comrades mak e 01 Miltvt are, for the most port, paintully self-evident.
The record of the British revolutionary left with re pard to the national struggle in Ireland (ather today or in the pasti is hardly one of vigerous struggle and UI OTERUD ODIELY. IH KNMT I nO HxOHIOntO thie, but cartainty tak es ite capitulation furthor than any other group, with the ax ception anly of soma Maoist sects, and to a lassar extent, the Communist Party. So far Militant hove not openty adopted the -Two Nations" theory of the Irish Communiet Organ tation. But Miltant has systematically distorted the nature of the struggle in Ireland and providod a left Red Weekly 19 May 1973 Page 6 i.e. imperialist-minded, chauvinistic. British loyalists. The skillsd trades at Harland & Wolffs are 100% unionised, and 100% Protestant, Why? Beceuse Torne T resaSO BMIS EESTTST conony, snap-bunoi t one of tne most crat intensive industries in the British economy, and calt unions are organisatons of the labour aristocracy who detend thair position by keeping other worcers In the sis counties, where the whole economy bractica lly revolves around Harland & Voltis, 1he eraft prejudices of che Protestant skilled worker in one of the 'black traces" tike boiler making are inseparably NIXO UUI nEVOR AH TREC rsh labouror Pure trade unionism is futly compatible with imperiatist, even fascist politics in Harland & Wailfs.
Lanin capino targ epa now te curture cr 1ne wu-ancia countries nas been, and sill is, cae resull of their being able to live at the experan of a thousand million oppressed people... The whole thing boil down to nothing but bribery.... It is these thousards of TIMOrE In SuOeroreTIS TaT TOrM COe CLOnOmC DusI cf opportunem in the work ro elis mavement" opcen at me perano corgruss of me bonimter 1920)
Orange bigotry among tre Protestant trade unionists Is oniy the most digesting exancle of row the Brisish orpitaiists havo buen jole to geefupt Jaro FLACHT CETHEUWI WICKerS bITM Sans trOmm ETCHIISHISITI How can the Militant pretend they don't know thar rish workot are lorcen to emmiurale fram the sir counties by the tens of thousanus, tens of thousands are urempyco, ano tue rest are tramiy employeo in meniat, castat labouring jobs - jobs that can hardly ever be unionised in a stable way. What daes a 'trade union-organised peace keeping toren' mean to these Irish workers? LAW, Vanguard, Orangesm and Protestant supremacy Even Paddy Dovlin MP who doesn't claim to be a Marxist is more honest ond more of a heig than Witavt. Vinen thew were passino teolutions st apology for imperialist Protestant workers in its sup port ot partition For the Militant the natio nal strunclo in Iroland & imolavant, a diversion from the "raal' atruggla of the work ing class Concretely, the can be soan by thei views on the Cwil Rights Movement and Partition According to roeren she con renss campagn de rupted an alloged movement in the Secties among Protestant and Catholic work ers towards cless unity. Thus thay contradict the theory of parmanont rorolu tion by holding that a struggie ovar demo cratic de mands has a diversicnary role. Similarly, Ike the ICO, they regard the opposition of Protestant workars to the anding of partition ae correct and progressive, This tash to come to grios with the negl problem: the lack of consclousness on the part of Orange unionist workers that British imperialism oppresses the whois ст геоло, оот тло сатлоно and rrotestant working class.
This is precisaly the type of viee assigned to Trotsky by Stalinism: tha idea that the bourgeais damoeratie mede mortar bombs trom tha shipyards into the He attacked Andrew Barr, a CP reactionary who is charman af the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Uniors, Barr had the gali to denu than had been mortar bomb attacks tram tha ward! Devlin told him: 1 view your organisation's activities in recent years and its anti-Catholic tendencies with deep distrust.... There is nat ane single incident recorded throuphour the last three yeurs of the conteoerabon or s memos trade unon 8cling agarnst the bigets avolved in the expulsion of Catholic wor keis from their jobs." Urish Press, 26 April Paddy: Deria of tie SOLP revolution could be 'skipped ovar', and its problems Tooten doou, sut waas dd Frete y accussiy seye He argued that the problems and tasks of the nationat and democratic revolution romaloed 'burning questions of the day'. but that the capitalist class was unable to carry out a sariaus strupgle for their solution, and thorefore the working class must take up and leed the stroggle to resolve these problems.
Thus, in the light of the theory of permanent revolution, the national question and national struggle in Iraland remain absolutely decisive questions for the Trisn wonk ing classi precsry DocUse EEs onIT toI clas which is capable of carrying on an uncomprom ising struggla against imperialism and for the solution of the national question.
The Militant condemn thase who pursue the nationa! stugge ss roding to socin sos nd Spitta the working closd. But in the framework of permanent revolution how should the question of uniting the two sactions of the clasi be resored? The Mirtor seo the struggla over aconomic and social issues as Torce. What in there to choose between Andrew Barr and the Militant? The Militant have more in common with Barr and Vic Festher than with Lenin, they provine a "ett' cover tor imperialism Lenin wes attacking the Murtantr of his day when he said, the Jingoist and chauvinist-mindod labour aristocrate of Britain and Amnerica present a very great darger to socialism.... The parties of the Second BEETSUIDIHI INVR BROERE TOMINRS0T D ULOn ary action, but they have given no sign of gentine roeplutionary work or of sesistance to the exploited sid cependert retions in thoir rewit ausinst thi oppressor natiors. (Report of the Commission on the Naom and Coore Cuneo, zo July 1820 We say to the Militant, what have you donp concretely to assat the Irish siruggle over the past couple of yearsi There's an old Belfast working class saying: 'Talk's cheap, but if takes money so buy drink. You ve not susperted frish demonstrations, vou ve not attended benefit nights for dependenti, All you oo is artack the Provisionel IR A. Ht'sell very well boesting about collecting E70 for Mek icon politicaf prisoners. But what have you ever done for trish political prisoners. the prisoners of your o wn capitalists? Anather Belfast working class saying "Put up or sh ur up!' Lenin knew these Mogtant harges inside out, The Russian Social-Democrac who rapognises the seltostermanation of natior more or less._ without bote ing to nent tor tre troccar or sucession o nations appressed by tsar sm, is in fact an imperialist and a lockey of tsarism. (The Discussion on SaifDetermination Summed Up, July 19161 Well, Messrs. Taffe, Hadden, Grant and Co. - that's YOL - Impenats ono creys pr conim! e no the coming AlL conference on the British labour moverent and the British army in Ireland will spend a lat of rime discussing the relation between British imperialism, the labour aristocracy, and this sort of opportunism.
R. Ascal, T. Haig.
hawing an independent dynamic from that of the national strugale. Through struggle on these issues the two sections of the work ing class can be united. Buit this forgets that these issues in the six county situation arn mediated through the national question The present truggle of the Catholics, by changing the balance of fores betwean the oppressd minority, British imperialism and the Protestant working class creates a situation whereby the protestant worklng pitas can no langor bo ointacio trom tnoer economic and social probleme in the traditional manner li.e by oppressing the Catholicsi. Thus an historical choice now faces the Protestant working class: eithar to engage in a suicidal UDI initiated Civil War or to realise that thair intersts lis in loining with tha Cath olics in their struggle against the British imperialism. This is the arue content of the theory of permanent revolution as applied to freind. It is abo the position which has boen consistontly put forward, apolied anc developed by the International Manist Group with regard to the Irish national struggle.