IN THE last two to three years the extreme Loyalists in Glasgow and the West Scotland have become increasingly organised.
Linked to their counterarts in the north of Ireland Hese Lovause Have yel meet the sort of mass resistance fascists faced in the rest of Britain during the Anti Nazi League campaign in the run yet support for eire support for extreme growing alarming rate in Glasgow, and nave publicly made organisational links with the fascist groups in England, the danger of their politics is that they are using one issue to bring to the surtace ill-concealed divisions in society. The meeting is broken betore it gets started. with the doors being smashed down by Loyalists.
• 16 August 1980: Scottish Loyalists hold demonstration to memorate the death of Lord Mountbatten. Around 400 turn up to watch the laving of a wreath. They face no opDUsILIUlI These examples illustrate that the Loyalists are trying to build support in Glasgow and in so doing are attempting to gall some sort or respectablllty.
Meanwhile, the solidarity movement and the labour Glasgow loyalists harass troops out demonstration up and the West of Scotland The maioritv of such immigrants came from the north urcialu. and there are no accurate statistics their com- reasonable to signiticant minority were Protestant; famine sufficiently pallisai. vent some of those driven to the verge of starvation being non-Catholic.
This Protestant minority brought a militant Orangeism which iney transplanted Io the growing industrial towns and mining villages in West Irish Scotland.
industries although assume that a being the local Glasgow and Lanarkshire Not propaganda used against tne militant organisations June Tole tal was breakers, and although in better times Irish labour was abas coal. Their divisions were already there.
Reports of fights, riots, the level and demonstrations involving the Catholic Irish are frequent histories of War At the same time the kind and bigotry Catholics in Ireland was being fostered by lacology Protestant in Scotland. LICH Association in Scotland as their ear vas 1835. and religion and Loyalists local politics came together in that mix upon which sectariar of ventured onto the streets in a treme Loyalism, continues to grow, as it did even before the upsurge in Ireland in 1969.
material privileges are not obvious; there is not of discrimination which exists in the north of For an explanation it i important to stress the role of way that Loyalists in the Six Coun Wildl United Ireland will mean - a loss of privilege and power in Glasgow fear a lessening 'social superiority will mean.
If there was not a war in Ireland this sociological situation might be studied as part university anthropological course. But there is a war in Ireland, and Scottish soldiers are on the streets of anc And everyone takes sides. Ominous It is also ominous that the level of organisation of the Loyalists 1s tar those who support the Irish struggle for freedom, and that the level of support for the Loyalists is increasing.
Around 30,000 people usually demonstrate Glasgow the Orange demonstration on July bul simply marening once d year longer all the Lovalists do Attacks Al 1 made on pro-Irish marchers and bombs have been planted by Loyalists in Glasgow pubs frequented by proRepublicans.
The attitude of organised labour Is lo turn two blina eyes and label everyone who tries to bring up the question of Ireland as an extremist.