British Army – Out!
Capitalists – Out!
Document
D
The Derry
murders of 30th January have caused agitation in the Republic of
Ireland. This is nothing new. What is new is that this agitation
is at last taking a working-class form.
The Revolutionary Marxist Group welcomes this. It does not waste
time regretting that workers are leaving factories for non--economic
motives. It leaves such despair to the Social Democrats and to the
sectarians. On the contrary it has always insisted that if the Irish
Worker – North and South – is to achieve economic and
social freedom in the immediate future, this will grow over from
the struggle for the political freedom and unity of this nation.
At the same time, it has stressed constantly that the national struggle
will only be brought to success if it is fought within the struggle
for the Workers' Republic and, eventually, for the classless, stateless
society.
The latest crime of the British Army cannot be isolated. It comes
immediately after An Taoiseach has justified his reputation as ‘Union
Jack, the Bosses’ Hack’ by signing the Treaty of Rome.
Under Capitalism any Irish Government would have had to do the same.
Irish capitalism is based on gombeenism, and hothouse and mushroom
industry. It cannot break with the British market even when reminded
that its own market is valuable to Britain. It has to accept any
terms that Britain is willing to sign to enter Europe. Its Government
has to remain passive when those whom it claims as its subjects are
massacred by a foreign army on territory it claims as its own.
So, as in Tone's time, so today! – the cause of the Irish nation
depends on those of no property. Any such will help the national
cause only if they ignore the demands of the boss-class that they
sacrifice their own interests to the good of all classes in the country.
The Irish boss-class is a 5th Column in the national struggle. The
Irish worker will help his country by helping himself.
Now – after all too long a wait! – the pre-revolutionary
situation in Northern Ireland is causing spontaneous anti-capitalist
activity from the workers in the Republic. Workers are striking in
British-owned factory after British-owned factory. This tendency
will solve nothing unless it is deepened and expanded. Let the workers
return to their factories and take them for their own co-operatives,
their own Soviets. Many good Republicans did this in the War of Independence
(If they don't take them over now, they'll be forced into redundancy
later), now let the job be finished! Let the workers elsewhere down
tools in a general strike in solidarity with this action! At the
same time, let a Citizens' Army be set up to protect this action
and the action of the workers in the north-east. And this activity
must be secular. Both wings of the Republican Movement and the ICTU
as leaders of the economic and national struggles must make firm
statements in favour of secular education, and against the sectarian-ism
of many laws – north and south. This will help to reduce the
hostility of the Ulster Protestant minority whose fears of ‘Rome
Rule’ are all too understandable when one looks at the diseased
society that 50 years of partition has created in the twenty-six
counties. Finally, let the workers of Ireland look to the workers
of the world – not excluding those of Britain, of whom 20,000
marched last October in support of Ireland's freedom. Eventually
our struggle is theirs!
Take over British Factories.
Strike to hold them for the Workers.
Fight to Protect them for the Workers.
End Sectarian Laws – North and South.
Work with our Overseas Comrades for a Classless, Stateless Society.
31/1/72.
