Orange reaction arms

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THE RUC swooped last weekend in the Catholic areas of Belfast, taking some 30 people off to the notorious Castlereagh interrogation centre.

14 were brought into court on Monday 30th and charged with murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, and membership of the Provisional IRA.

But these victims will not be cnough to satisfy the Protestant bigots' clamour for 'increased security' Ivan Foster, leader of the Paisleyite third force' claims 20,000 mcn under arms. He says, and this there is no reason to doubt, that many policemen and part-time UDR soldiers are third force men. ÷ Strong Loyalist Feeling was shown at a recent meeting of the Northern Ireland Police Federation, which defeated a motion of no confidence in chief constable Jack Hermon by only one vote. -The Pan-Unionist Forum on Saturday 28th, attended by representatives of five Unionist Parties, the Independent Orange Order, and the Apprentice Boys, called for a restoration of the separate (Protestant-dominated) Northern Ireland Parliament. It was boycotted by the para-military UDA (which calls for an independent Northern Ireland) and the Orange Order.

But Labour frontbencher Don Concannon, speaking on Friday 27th, declared: Experience has demonstrated the inherent instability of the Northern Ireland state... The inescapable lesson of the last 12 years is surely that force will not eradicate the problems of Northern Ireland. Only removal of the physical and psychological border will do that' "Mr Concannon also said" , reports the Guardian, "that Unionists in the province should realise that no British government would ever countenance the return of Stormont".

Class Given Concannon's record - it was he who rushed to Bobby Sands' deathbed to tell him that Labour would never support this cause - this declaration is more likely to reflect a new mood of firmness in the British ruling class than any concession by Concannon to opinion in the working-class movement.

And indeed the Tories are still pressing ahead with their plans for an Anglo-Irish Council and for a Northern Ireland economic forum. (The Unionist parties seem willing to participate in the forum, while opposing the links the Tories want to set up between it and the Anglo irish Council).

The situation remains set for conflict - with the Catholic community in grave danger of bloody attacks from the Protestant bigots and/or the British Army.

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Socialist Organiser no.64 December 1981 Page vew scheme to screv December 2 19 1 17 3 22 23 31 20 21 29 21 28 ANTI-FASCIST Stop the fascists! Counter demonstration against planned fascist mobilisation, Saturday December 5, 10am at Kingsbury station (Jubiler Line, London Underground) Alexis Carras