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EVERYTHING is now settled in the South Atlantic, say the media. The war is over, the democracy is being restored in Argentina. Let us now think of the good things in life: the future king, smashing up the railworkers, and look. ing forward to a Tory election victory.
The election might be sooner than Michael Foot expects. for Thatcher must be very great; Foot has handed her public support on plate; he finish his destruction job by launching Labour's biggest witch-hunt since the 1950s.
Will the new prince become a king? Will Thatcher win the elections? That depends on whether we settle accounts with Foot. But two things are sure: democracy has not been restored in Argentina, and the war is not over.
democratic Argentinian government do about the war? According to our tionary, democracy means the rule of the people. What do the people want? Satisfaction of their just claim to the territory Islands!
Argentina if the new government drops this just claim? Only the most vicious and repressive silence the Argentinian people now that it has been given a voice.
at present too divided and weak to impose a repressive solution: not because of the war, but because of the bankruptcy of the capitalist system they defend. The conclusion is simple. A lasting settlement cannot be Argentinian people's claim is rejected.
surely, into war with the Latin American people. She will be driven to strengthen alliances rulers Pinochet. She will be driven to further aggression; she will line up more solidly revolution.
begun.
islands are British, and Cup, The temptation now seems determined to Ask a simple question: what would a dicand resources of the Malvinas How can there be a democracy in government could Fortunately the Argentine rulers are produced if the Thatcher is dragging us, slowly but like Chile's world crusade against Only a battle is over: the war has just Pay the Health workers ARTHUR SCARGILL was greeted with loud cheers when he committed the miners union nationally to action to defend the threatened closure of the Snowdown colliery in Kent, Yorkshire miners' gala in Doncaster last Saturday.
all out strike action of miners had forced the government to withdraw a 'hit list' of mines that it wished to close.
commitment to keep the pits open Scargill said and Snowdown was in the frontline. He appealed selected as a target, I ask you to take industrial action to save the pits, to save jobs and to save the industry'.
great importance as it is likely to be the flashpoint between the miners and the Tories.
background to the threats.
THE SNOWDOWN colliery in Kent is potentially an extremely productive pit. Below the present workings there is an eight foot seam covering a very La cd least 75 million tonnes of reserves. yet the lories are intent on closing it down.
'Snowdown is a prime how much store can be put by of Tory Ministers, • Jack Collins explained. 'Even after we forced the climb down in rebruary the 'hit list' of threatened pits was Snowdown amongst them - local management continued to insist on unacceptable conditions before they would agree to our proposals to seams' Local officials demanded the reduction ol me worktorce trouen redundancies and transfers other pits. 'We are not preparca lo agice oll ally redundancies. If they Wanted eauv reurement, great so long as they look on new young mices and paid decent pension.
The Kent area agreed to some transfers but were highly suspicious numbers demanded by the Board and their stonewalling.
In June 1981, the local NCB officials formally agreed to the NUM proposals for making the pits viable. But nothing happened. 'They kept stalling all the while complaining, that Snowdown losing money. Of course it was! There was no planning or new investment goIng On.
Meanwhile, the Board was backtracking even on forr.al agreements. Their recruit youngsters yescinded and they framed year was their investigations into the potential of the new seams in such a way that they NUM workable proposals would DIOVC 'un- LUC *Then at the end of the negotiations they demanded that we agree to the at the In February 1981, the spontaneous The government had reneged on its 'If one pit is The threat to Snowdown takes on Brian Grogan spoke to Jack present closure reduction of the workforce as a supposedly temDul al y ¡casul c They were talking about cutting 500 from only 800 in toto We weren't falling for that old trick: make vague promises, get rid of most of the men, then move in for the kill when we would be in no position to resist. In the face of this, we decided to act', he continued. 'We decided work on 2 June. We used • 1011 STARLA Clues IN 1 fight against closure LATIONAL Jack Collins, general secretary, Kent NUM demonstrations. On June day of action we will send a delegation to Join the healthworkers demonstration in Lewisham in He didn't think that the chauvinism generated the FalklandUvC Malvinas war would undermine the fight Tories 'Now the shoolllg ovel workers can see that its our living standards that are al stake The government would be extremely unwise to fight us head-on'.
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The war has just begun
Collins, area secretary of the Kent Na- tional Union of Mineworkers about the
LARY UNDANCY
Kent miners successfully lobby their national leadership for full backing in their WORKERS KENT
KENT MINIR SAY RECRUITMENT NOT REDUNDANCH