The letter you carried last week on the Provisional TRA's bombing campaign was one of the most coherent defences of their position i have seen. Hut it also highlighted Cheit crucial political weakness - their elitism.
Peter Arnlis's letter expounded the traditional Republican notion that it will be a amall group of armed conspirators. that will make the revolution on behalf of the mass. 'Implicit in the aims, meth ods and outcome of Paovisionalisen is the existence of a revolutionary nucleus. The Jesulers are the only people capobie of cre ering a 33-couny Socialse Republic (my emphasis).
But the task of leadership is not to substitute one's own actions for those of ution. Ires to develop the self actinty ol concens, and lead this incorably towards one conclusion: the seizure of power and socialism This the Provisionals cannot do alich explains why the Cathotic masses still look towards the reformist SDIP For political solutions despite the Provisionals many successes against the British Army in defence of the shettos.
In the defence of the ghettos, both be fore and after the ceasefire, the Provisionals failed to devolop naar self-defenue of the population. Favourable opportunities to develop mass self-defence - opened up by the Provisionals bombing campnign which tied down the armed forces in the cily centres, and allowed the emergence of the no-go areas — were lost.
In the end the hombing campaign became an end in itself - a blind alley. Thar's why the ceasefire was a step forward for the Provisionals - in the sense that it op have learned very lide from the mistakes of the past period. The whole manoeuvre of Rees in agreeing to the ceasefire was to get die RUC back into the ghettos. The Provis jonals have responded to this not by prepar ing the whole population for an onslaught through the formation of mass solf-defence squads, but through the setting up of Provisional 'incident centres dough which they "police" the ceasefire.
We criticised dis because it led to the real danger of the Provisionals themselves demobilising the ghettos. No resumption of the bombing campaign would get the Provisionals and die Catholic population as a whole out of this trap.
of Provisional Sinn Fein in the North, has proposed community policing which would have a defence function. He has also hinted tent such patrols would not be simply made up of Republicuns If adopted this, untike a resumption of the bombing campaign would point a way forward for the mass of the mincrity hat to be successful it you demand a break trom une catst political ideas underlying 'Provisionalism".