almost unbearable. In two of them I was unable to speak for the fear of vomiting.
Blanket 'The prisoners' cells without beds, chairs, or tables They sleep on matresses on the floor and in some cases I have noticed that these were quite wet. They have no covering except a towel or blanket, books, reauing material except the Bible, TV or radio, no hobbies or han, dicrafts, no exercise or recreation They are locked in their threat or inducement.
The effect of these various procedures has been a much higher rate of conviction than is normal, and a much higher reliance on 'confessions' 94 per cent of all charges brought before the special 'Diplock Courts' result in conviction, and 90 per cent of convictions are based on confessions.
Different Thus from the moment they are picked up to the moment they are convicted these are leated enurely from 'ordinary criminals' As was stated by the 1978 Amnesty International report into police brutality in the North of Ireland, such procedures have 'eroded the rights of suspects held in connection with terrorist offences'.
Amnesty® also severely means by which many confessions' sion was that 'maltreatment of suspected terrorists by the RUC has taken place with wear the obligatory uniform.
chooses intero chas hee were taken away by the it could be argued that nobody vestigate it.
Official figures show that differently criticised the of the alleged "were obtained. Its conclucriminals was shone up his back passage a bes were a pen, plus gloved and al c if 12 winders who panted Anyone who fell was kicked and dragged by the hair, establishment of a public inquiry to inAlthough such a public inquiry was rejected by the then Labour government an internal inquiry was held, albeit in secret and with a very restricted brief. Again the report of this inquiry (the Bennett Report) indicted the police.
Evidence Its general conclusion sustained during the period of detention in the police office were inflicted by someother than the prisoner(s).' There has of course been evidence that ordinary criminal suspects in Britain can be subject to such 'maltreatment'. But on nothing like the same scale as reported by Bennett and Amnesty.
The fact is that from 1976 onwards the only time the 'terrorist suspects in Northern Ireland were treated as when they were finally thrown into prison.
up and exciting.
This Failure was: Injuries Led.
favour 'normal' feminist ideas.
The paign. IN January 1978 approximately a thousand women flocked to a socialist feminist conference. With the setting newsletter, Scarlet Woman, and local groups, many left the conference feeling they were part of something new weekend socialist feminists will have their first opportunity since then to meet together nationally Everyone who attends this conference to be held in London on the theme women and imperialism, will be able to assess the impact of socialist feminism in the past two years.
Untortunately. while concrete actions of international solidarity from a thriving and growing movement point to success, abstract and theoretical discussions about anti-imperialism indicate an insularity.
Groups that closely identified with the socialist feminist current, such as Women Against Racism and Fascism have collapsScarlet Woman is suffering from lack of funds and involvement. The conference has been continually postponed Yet it is not the case that the ideas of women's liberation are less popular.
The massive shift in public opinion in of a woman's right to whether or not to have a child, evident during the anti-Corrie campaign, is just one indication of the widespread acceptance of apparent failure OT feminism to key into such an acceptance was illustrated during the anti-Corrie campalan was own in all spheres of society.
Priorities
of ment to action brought results, the medical profession, institutions, If socialist have tended popular impact of the raising movement.
choose forward socialist *The Tel 01-388 0182.
Socialist Challenge 23, October 1980 While many socialist feminists others wore critical the canunions; the left groups were too dominant; it was not 'feminist' because it wasn't women only; it was too 'parliamentarian'.
focused as it was against a parliamentary attack on women's fertility rights, that it galvanised women, and even men, The National Abortion Campaign has always argued that choice over childbirth should lie with women alone. At the same time there was an openness and a commit against which particularly within the unions and the Labour Party, but also in the educational , and the media. feminism has taken its distance from the National Abortion Campaign, and local groups and newsletters to avoid assessing the move ment, many tended instead to concentrate consciousness' within the The conference this weekend needs to critically re-examine such priorities and to look instead to the successes that have been achieved by broad-based, open campaigns such as NAC and Women's Aid.
If the conference could begin to make this kind of assessment of the popular impact of feminism, it would be a big step conference is on Sat and Sun 25 and 26 Oct at Sir Williams Collins school, Charrington St, London NW1. Starts 9am
Challenge it's a fraud SOLIDARITY WITH THE Socialist fight: •LIC THE Labour right have declared war on the deci sions of the Blackpool conference on party democracy.
meaning of Jim Callaghan's decision to resign the leadership of the party at this time. As the main architect of the anti-working class Dolicies of the las covetinen has once again offered his services His early resignation can have only one effect position Denis right, in candidate of the right clection. Healey