community driven to discrimination in employment, took to the streets to demand equal rights.
In doing so, they were met with the same brutal repression that rebels in Liverpool, London, Manchester were met with last week.
No one would uprisings had identical causes but one thing remains common to them both: the brutal response of the ruling class.
Groups of police officers are now being trained in the use of plastic bullets, CS gas, and water cannons. They are to be equipped specially protected vehicles, that of a militarised police force such as the Royal VIstel operates in the northern six counties of The techniques of repression, for the first time in 'mainland' Britain, have been well perfected in the British Dall plastic bullet — one of the most valuable weapons ever produced' according to the British military — was first introduced in the North of Ireland in August 1972.
Several people have died having been shot at point blank range with this weapon. Many more have been maimed and seriously injured.
The water cannon, used frequently in former British colonies was first used in Derry in October 1968. Nearly one year later, civil rights demonstrators in Derry were choked and sickened by CS gas To: TOM, PO Box 353, London NW5 4NH Name.
Address.
• Tel. no..
Organisation (if applicable)
North anger movement. housing and ference Birmingham and suggest that these the anti-riot gear and stabulary befitting Constabulary used been suppressed.
of Ireland The tunity. the slip below: 1 am interested in joining the TOM mass delegation to West Belfast on 8/9 August. Please send me further information.
The Irish' experience provides important lessons for the British labour These expressed in Tony Benn's speech at last weekends' Labour Co-ordinating Committee Con, where he attacked repression in Ireland and said: 'We must not allow the government to try this policy again here.
It would be dangerous, he continued, to respond to riots by turning the police into 'temporary armies of occupation'.
The British Army, which went on the streets of Derry and Belfast in 1969, was meant to be only 'temporary'. Instead, it has ended up perfecting the technology of repression and passing the lessons on sectarian Royal Ulster conLast week police chiefs from Britain went to visit the RUC to study their methods of dealing with popular revolt. But what these British cops didn't seem to notice was that the Irish revolt has not So perhaps blacks, youth and labour movement l ganisauons i cas country could in turn learn something from those who have resisted repression in the North of Ireland. Fortunately the Troops Out Movement is providing such an opporIt is organising a mass delegation to Belfast on the weekend 8/9 August. It will mark the 12th anniversary of British troops in Ireland and the 10th anniversary of internment - which has now been replaced by the notorious H Blocks.
For further details of the TOM delegation phone 01-267 2004 or fill in
MANY heads rolled week's Polish Communist Party congress. First to go was former party leader Edward Gierek. was expelled from the party for his part in the corruption mismanagement which brought country to the economic chaos.
Next to be cleared out were many old Central Committee members. Onlv 18 of the 146 members of the old CC elected by secret ballot to the enlarged 200-strong body. Thirty-three of the 49 regional party secretaries got the chop, incluaing tose trom Poznan, Krakow and Katowice.
Hardline Many former top leaders were given the thumbs down. Head of State Henryk Jablonski, General Moczar and Tadeusz Grabski, Moscow-backed 'hard men', failed to be elected to the new CC. Even Mieczyslaw Jagielski who signed last at and brink were Warsaw, Gdansk, congress in that the party the Solidarity lost his CC place.
It wasn't only 'hardliners' who were edged out of leading positions. Tadeusz Fiszbach, noted as a leading 'retormer also failed to be elected to the CC.
Forty members of the new independent trade union movement solidariti were elected to the party Central Committee. One of them. Loria Grzyb. a party member for thirty years is the first woman ever to be elected to the party The emergency party congress with its election bv secret ballot representea a major break with the usual 'democratic' Hastenti Europe. The fact members were able to old leaders shows the strength of the movement for workers democracy in Poland since last summer.
But these dramatic changes in personnel at the top don't represent a real revolution. Any doubts were soon settled by the Soviet press who cautiously welcomed the outcome of the congress.
And Polish workers brought down to earth Minister Jaruzelski calmly announced at the end of the congress that they would have to pay for the economic crisis by price rises of Such an attack on standards is bound to deepen the growing unrest. (LOT) workers are due to take further av valatus on this score Debate were soon when Prime to 110 per cent of the former view gles. workers' living Polish airline strike action. They are campaigning for the right to nominate their own boss and to veto appointments made by the party These twin themes of defending living standards and fighting for workers' control will dominate the coming months now that the party congress I OUL OILK way. The party leadership will increas ingly try to saddle Solidarity with responsibility for solving the economic crisis.
As the union movement prepares for its own congress in August, the debate is shaping up between those who accept the need for a joint government/Solidarity partnership to solve the economic crisis and those who favour the workers charting an independent course. Acceptance could lead to the •emorausanor or me workers loss of the gains of the past year's strugAnd whatever new faces are at the top of the Polish CP, they would like nothing better than to wear down the new union movement and get rid of it altogether. SHOW you SOLIDARNOSC T-shirt. Small, large and medium sizes. Just f2.99 (incl p&p) from SCD T-shirts, PO Box 50, London N1 2XP. Cheques to 'The Week'.
----- pull-quotes -----
Poods tutes and oil! Airline