Precarious halt to Zionist bombing

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Small farmers

And instead of orations droning on for hours, in speeches signifying nothing but the speakers' own unabashed servility, this year the bureaucrats had to think of their audience. The 'extreme liberal' of the bureaucracy, Mieczyslaw Bakowski, brought the Congress to its feet in genuine enthusiasm as he called on Polish Communists 'to cease being afraid of the small farmers of who want to be masters of their own land, and of workers' self-management' . They should, he said, no longer be in awe 'of all those who say that without them everything will fall apart' Even the Russian CP delegate, Grishin, throwWith the Israelis straining at the leash, the US has forced a precarious ceasefire, ending for a short period at least the Zionist blitzkrieg on Palestinian camps and guerilla positions in Lebanon.

Hundreds have been killed and hundreds more injured by Israeli raids, shelling, and bombing. The worst atrocities were in Beirut, where hundreds were killed and injured in a raid that could not possibly make any distinction between civilian and military targets.

The bombing raids were part of a long series of attacks. Even official Israeli pronouncements now call them not 'reprisals', but pre-emptive strikes. Of course, the Israeli attacks met with resistance and also counter-s "ks, which were then us as excuses to step up the .ssault even further.

In addition to the raids, the Zionists have reinforced their troop commitments in southern Lebanon, where they operate both on their own and in conjunction with the right-wing rebel army of Major Haddad.

While israel has not actually extended its borders, it has extended the area it controls directly - an area which it is also gradually integrating economically and administratively. For instance, Israeli General Avigdor Ben-Gal told a radio interviewer that no amount of long-range pounding, whether by the air force or by the artillery, would defeat and dislodge the PLO positions 1 trom southern Lebanon. "You've got to be in there", he said.

This latest escalation does not mark a decisive shift in Israeli policy. But it has exposed the real face of Zionism to hundreds of millions. In the United States, it is reported, support for Israel has plummetted.

Echoing this feeling, the western press, almost always in support of Zionist actions, is now white-faced with fear at the reckless warmongering of Israel.

The imperialist powers and the Soviet Union fear that the latest round of raids has brought a major war in the Middle East much nearer, and both are extrting maximum pressure on their clients and allies to prevent this.

The US insistence on a cease-fire has another reason too: the prospect of a 'comprehensive peace plan' under US control -the subject of the Camp David talks - was almost obliterated by the Beirut bombing.

But Israel has scored signal success with the bombing raids. Not over the Palestinians, Syria.

The tension that provoked Reagan to dispatch his aide Philip Habib to the Middle East arose, after all, not over Israeli raids, but over Syria's threat to use SAM missiles against Israeli raiding planes and thus surely unleash a war between Syria and Israel.

But Syria has backed down. It has not used the missiles, indeed it has not been actively engaged against the Israelis at all.

Syria's military, passivity is complemented by Saudi Arabia's diplomatic activity. Again, the Palestinians find themselves without the hoped-for protection of the self-proclaimed pan-Arabists of the surrounding states. his will not go unnoticed by the Arab masses.

Real danger

The real danger, as far as imperialism and the bureaucrats of the Stalinist states are concerned. is therefore not so much war as a general destabilisation.

I'he fact that, for the moment, the US is holding the Zionist dogs of war in check in no sense means area. Its own plan is for the Palestinians to be wiped out by the Lebanese Right. with or without the Syrians.

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The Campaign for Labour Party Democracy and other campaigns have been invited to contribute regular columns to Socialist Organiser. This week, NIGEL WILLIAMSON of the CLPD Executive explains the CLPD's recommended amendments on this year's Labour Party conference agenda.

Triumph at Blackpool - but it must be consolidated this !

lili Steve Macarthur AT THE Islington South Labour Party GMC meeting in June the constituency's GLC councillor and ILEA deputy chief, Frances Morrell, confirmed the news that Labour' plan to cut the cost of school meals would fall foul of the District Auditor.

The ILEA had sought le zal advice and had been told that a cut in school meals would be illegal. If i was implemented GLO annailiare wunnla fong enr. etarges and disqualifica4w ti Frances asked the GMC fo: its support for a vote azainst the cut because she had her family and home to stink of.

Would, she asked, the GMC want her to make such a sacrifice and further Fould members of the G.MC be prepared to endure such a loss themselves?

The delegates decided thai they would not and passed a motion calling for THE large number of resolutions submitted to this year's Labour Party Annual Conference on disarmament, freland and economic policy are to be welcomed.

It illustrates the concern of both constituency activists and trade union members to arm the Party with a coherent alternative with which to fight the Tory government.

Nevertheless, without the mechanisms to ensure the implementation of these policies, Conference resolutions remain a futile and meaningless exercise.

For in the past it was not the lack of appropriate Conference policies which presented the problem.

CLPD fringe meeting Kather it was the utter disdain with which Labour's elected representatives, unresponsive and unaccountable to the rank and file, treated those policies.

Therefore it is source of concern that only a small number of resolutions on the major democratic reforms still necessary to democratise the Party have been submitted to this year's Conference.

Many Labour Party members teel, in fact, that the democratic reforms already won have ensured the accountability of Lahour's 's elected representatives. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Not only have we witnessed frenzied attempts to undermine the new electoral college (which happily now look certain to tail), but, despite everything, mandatory reselection has still not yet been won.

Those who have opposed it from the outset now seek to prevent selection conferences from taking place by the "shortlist of one' subterfuge. This means that branches are being disenfranchised through the arbitrary elimination of their nommees.

As a result, CLPs are prevented from making a genuine choice, MPs are not truly accountable and the PLP fails to reflect the views of the rank and file, as expressed through Conterence.

Shortlists of one cannot, therefore be allowed where there is more than one validly nominated candidate, and we suggest that the following amendment on 'shortlists of one' to Conference Resolution 34:

''To this end, Conference welcomes the NEC decision to confirm that Parliamentary shortlists of one when there is more than one nominee are not normal practice. However, Conference considers it essential for this ruling to be incorporated into the Constitution, to prevent any further misuse of shortlisting to bypass the selection conference. Conference therefore directs the Conference Arrangements Committee/ Standing Orders Committee to waive the 1968 Conference decision on constitutional amendments submitted on this subject, so that these can be debated and voted on this year"

But even given properly contested selection body and its Standing Orders are incorporated into the Party Constitution. Therefore, it instructs the National Executive Committee to bring before next year's Conference the constitutional amendments necessary to effect this, and to allow a full debate this year on the eight constitutional amendments on the Parliamentary Labour Party which were referred to the National Executive Committee by the 1980 Annual Conference"

Finally. the Parliamentary leadership must not be allowed to veto crucial Conference policies from the manifesto as they did in 1979.

Then years of consultation, working parties and study groups were either ignored or torn up as the manifesto was rushed through in a matter of days, in precisely the fashion it was always hoped to Therefore, on the manifesto we suggest the following amendment to resolution 15, submitted by Woolwich East CLP:

"and instructs the Conterence Arrangements Committee/Standing Orders Committee to waive the 1968 Conference decision on constitutional amendments and place on the agenda of this year's Conference any constitutional amendments on this subject submitted this year"

It is crucial that all three of these Constitutional issues are properly debated at Conference this year.

Amendments on all three are necessary to be able to exert sufficient pressure to ensure that these issues are debated Finally, the problem in getting issues debated in the past has often been the obstructive role played by the Conference Arrangements Committee.

This year the rank and file will have their own voice on this powerful body in the form of one constituency delegate who will be elected by other CLP delegates alone.

We believe that our assistant secretary, Pete Willsman, is the ideal candidate. Pete will be a delegate from Woolwich East CLP and we urge other CLPs to nominate him to the CAC.

His written consent. which is necessary 10 make l any nomination valid, can be obtained by writing to him at 322 Plumstead High Street

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that the US is playing the role of peace-maker in the