IMGpapers 1980–83

Newspapers of the International Marxist Group and its forerunners, 1980–83

MISTAKES ON WAR DRIVE BUT LPYS to build CND

· Socialist Challenge No. 242, 21 April 1982 · p. 14 of the scan · 908 words

The scan: sc-no242.pdf (PDF, Marxists Internet Archive, opens at this page)

Uncorrected machine reading. This text was read by machine (Apple Vision OCR) from a scan of a newspaper page, and the page was cut into articles by machine, at the headlines found by their type size. Nothing has been corrected: expect misread words, text from a neighbouring article, and titles that are the machine reading of the headline, some of them only fragments. Quote from the scan, not from this page.
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page 14 of the scan

from noon Rally * Music * Forums* Stalls Theatre* Children's Events 'I URGE ALL OF YOU to march on 8 May to demand that withdraws - the door to peace will only open when the Irish people as whole decide the future free terference. March to hunger strikers are not forgotten, march to demand that Britain gets out of Ireland.' That was the message of Owen Carron MP urging support for the 8 May demonstration, has the support of five MPs, Plaid 22 April 1982 Cymru, Britain Party branches.

of outside inshow the the Irish people.

which already THE LABOUR PARTY Young Socialists at its Easter conference called on its build the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. This welcome move was however marred by a number of wrong conclusions on the nature of the war drive and how to stop it.

The discussion docuoutlining the rise of the disarmament novement. ano con. trasts the huge amounts being SOCHIL nucica. weapons to the tremendous poverty in large parts •' une worlo Then follows the anti-militarist approach capitalist war, as outlined by le greal Ilernatona socialist Karl Liebknecht.

He resolutelv opposed the carnage of the First World War, and une capitalist several trades and many trade union and Labour The march was called to commemorate the death of Bobby Sands MP last year, as well as to demand Britain out of Ireland and self-determination for The march will assemble at 1pm at Speaker's Corner, London and will match to a rally at County Hall.

Speakers will include Owen Carron MP, Joan Maynard MP and Dafydd branches to system which had caused it, in its scramble for new markets in the world But then asks wnerner suca an aboroac! needs to be modified by Lne • militarısm ot the so-called socialist countries'. PHIl PENN Explaining that the countries castern Europe are workers' states, capitalism has been overthrown, but where political powe photo usurpec by parasitic caste or bureaucrats then comes out with the assertion that the Soviet Union is no longer weaker Because it has parity with the West nuclear weapons and superiority in conventional weapons, the "military defence Soviet Union" as a slogan no longer has any meaning' Thus 'our only amendment to Liebknecht's formula workers' struggle against capitalist would add, "and against the Stalinist bureaucracy of the East, for democratic socialist societies, East and went This is a break with the Marxist traditions which the Militant, the dominant the LPYS. claims to represent. It is number of counts.

It is wrong to claim that parity exists in lne field of nuclear weapons. With its vast technological superiority, has always succeeded keeping ahead in the nuclear arms race.

ing strike' missiles, which would allow them to start The Soviet Union is years "limited nuclear war. away developing such weapons.

In the long term these weapons would be used to launch an imperialist offensive against the workers' states in an al tempt to win them back for capitalism.

The document savs nothing on what our attitude should be to the fact that capitalism has been abolished these coun Li co. Despite the existence Stalinist bureaucracies, the nationalised, economies of these countries represent a huge gain for the international work happens. class. Nothing has that could possibly change tha approach, even their crushing of Solidarnosc in The defence of the workers' states against imperialism also means defending the right to have nuclear weapons.

Militant argues that only socialism can disarm the imperialists of their nuclear weapons, and criticises the CND leader ship apolitical While such criticisms are to a degree valid the document doesn't tell the whole story.

mass disarmament movement can play decisive role in stopping imperialism from actually using these weapons, even if it won't succeed in disarming them internationally. 'Every LPYS member will be on 6 June demonstration' Further contradictions arise around NATO. While opposing this alliance, the document claims that to for withdrawal NATO while leaving the anne•orces in me nanas of the military top brass will only spread illusions.

the same time the cancellation of Trident and Cruise missiles, and for unilateral nuclear supported unconditionalNo contradictions here? No! Their argument ignores the fact that witheave NATO, at a time when is effectively holding in Western Europe, would be a massive blow to the imperialist war drive.

Far from counterpos the building of the (ND Io a based' movement, socialists must throw themselves into the fight for unilateral nuclear disarmament and for Britain out of NATO Alread CND together with the other • disarmEurope has rocked NATO to Is foundations. It responsible for the rising opposition in Britain to imperialist the vertOn against the revolutions in Central America and ine Caribbean. Such imperialist consciouslics. is indispensable for real struggle for socialism in Britain Nevertheless, the gives YS activists the green light to involve themselves in this growing movement anti-Reagan The first CND demo SICI on 6 June. Revolution sup porters in the LPYS will b fighting to put the word of one member of the YS National Committee into practice: 'We will do all in our power to make sure that every LPYS member is on that demonstration. REVOLUTION LABOUR YOT pamphlet just out 20p a copy plus 15p p&p available Revolution PO Box 50 London NI 2XP.

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WOMEN'S FESTIVAL Saturday 5June Battersea Park, London

Refreshments * Creche available* WOMEN'S RIGHTSTOJOBS & EQUALITY

LABDUR Britain out of Ireland march wins support

ARUL CIALIS BO

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