Monday, August 5, 1996
Northern Ireland must be released from its religious,
capitalistic oppression By James Harris and Laura Garza
Events in the past weeks in the six counties of Northern Ireland
demonstrate why the withdrawal of British troops from the North,
the disbanding of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), the
unification of Ireland and self-determination for the Irish people
must be carried out immediately.
The violence against working people and freedom fighters in the
North is the result of 27 years of direct British military
occupation in the six counties of Northern Ireland and decades of
partition and oppression by British imperialism.
While painting itself as peace broker in hopes of gaining a
greater foothold for U.S. capital in Ireland, the Clinton
administration has stepped up the jailing and deportation of
freedom fighters such as Jimmy Smyth, who escaped with 37 others
from the notorious H-Block wing of Maze prison near Belfast in
1983. We call on every candidate in the U.S. elections to condemn
these moves.
Our campaign salutes the protests in Ireland which condemn the
rightist marches by the pro-British Orange Order through
Nationalist communities, the complicity of the RUC in the
anti-Catholic violence and the refusal of London to allow Irish
freedom fighters in Sinn Fein, which is currently involved in
multi-party talks under way on the future of the six counties.
The resistance to these assaults and the refusal to bend the
knee to the British masters  whose declining empire can
hardly hold together the United Kingdom  deserves the support
of fighters everywhere.
We join with demonstrations and actions here in the United
States. We urge workers, youth and democratic-minded people to
organize speak-outs, picket lines, and other activities to press
these demands as widely as possible. The labor movement must join
these protests, since doing so will weaken the common enemy of the
Irish freedom struggle and the working class: U.S. and British
imperialism.
Ireland must be free. This is the unconditional stand of tens of
thousands who have taken to the streets, joined protest actions and
given their lives in the struggle to rid the country of the British
occupation. The oppression of Ireland was central to the rise of
Britain as an imperialist power. British capitalists have reaped
untold profits off their rule over the country. They have used
anti-Irish sentiments to divide and weaken the working class in
Britain.
The British oppressors have created a monster in Northern
Ireland. In order to maintain their rule over the past decades they
have put in place a range of repressive forces such as the RUC, the
Orange Order and rightist gangs, who are all part of a whole social
setup designed to perpetuate and reinforce discrimination against
Catholics.
The privileges handed out to Protestants have created a social
caste that includes layers of working people who see that their
interests lie not with other workers who are Catholic, but with
their masters in London. Violence by Protestant forces will
continue, which is why denying them any official backing by the RUC
and British troops is so crucial to Irish patriots’ ability to
countermobilize against them.
Self-determination for Ireland can be advanced by building
solidarity with the struggle around the world. Though they try to
keep the face of strong powers, the imperialists can be pushed back
by a determined fight. British troops out of Ireland! Disband the
RUC! End Washington’s harassment and deportation of Irish freedom
fighters! For a united and free Ireland!
James Harris and Laura Garza are the Socialist Worker’s Party
candidates for U.S. president and vice president.