[On Tuesday 13th Reagan authorised US commanders in…]

Scan page 8

On Tuesday 13th Reagan authorised US commanders in Lebanon to order air strikes without consulting likely - a hardening of the reaction.' WITH the change in the weather, out-door fund-raising has become less pleasant - but, it seems, nothing will daunt SO Monday's carrier pigeon brought us the following report:

'Despite driving rain and howling winds, 11 comrades still managed to make a profit from the SO stalls (Newspapers, books, ear-rings, bread, barbecue & soup) at Sheffield's AntiThanks to the comrades involved: Ellen Taylor, Lesley Potts, Myra Rennie, Gordon Cross, Pete Myatt, Cath Rangeley Rob Jawber, Mick Sidaway, Brian Wood, John and Matthew Whitt Meanwhile, Pete Firmin (46) has given us a report on his progress collecting sponsorship: 'Tramping the streets of Neasden is adding years to my life. But the is are mounting up, and I'm driven on by the thought of all the other SO groups collectAnd Patrick Spilling adds: 'A 3-miles sponsored swim for SO jis just what we need in Brighton. This is an event which can appeal to the whole of the Party. Pete Firmin (51) has really thought of something.. With all this excitement, I can hardly Remember: 50% of sponsor money your group collects will be ¡credited to your group; and 50% to Pete's group.

Thanks this week to: Pete Cashman, £7.50; Lol Duffy, £3.25; Angi Driver, i20; Jeff Evans, £1; WIll Adams, £1; Glasgow supporters, 25; steve Hall, i1.50; Brent supporters, £13.80 £29.75; Haringey, £8; $/E London, £13; Leeds, £12.50; Sheffield, £45.70; Hounslow, £12.25; Bristol, 80p; IE London, £9.90; Islington supporters, £11.50 and from the bike -ride, £2.80 (MARTIN) and ET9 (Linda); Chelmsford, £10; Southwark, £6.50; Stoke, $23.40; Leicester, £15.75; Jo Thwaites, £10; Tony Twine, £3.50; Les Hearn, £50. Totals:

Sponsor forms from, and donations to. 214, Sickert Court. London N1 2SY.

ublished by the Socialist Organiser Alliance, 28, Middle Lane, London N8. Printed by East End Offset (TU). egistered as a newspaper at the Post Office. Signed articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the SOA. WITH Druze and other militias threatening to cut off roads to Beirut, the governments in Jerusalem and Washington are searching frantically for a way of saving the reactionary set-up they have imposed on Lebanon and on the Palestinians.

Just over two years ago, Israel invaded Lebanon. The invasion had two certain immediate aims (and several more tentative and. more ambitious options depending on the balance of forces): to destroy the PLO - thereby crushing the national aspirations not only of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon but also of the Palestinians on the West Bank; and, secondly, to deny Syria the possibility of establishing its authority in Lebanon.

These aims co-incided entirely with US interests, though Reagan was under pressure - above all from Saudi Arabia - to dissociate the US government from Israel's actions.

To achieve these aims the Zionist-imperialist 'solution' involved the establishment of a regime in Lebanon which would be pro-imperialist, hostile to Syria and implacably tinian presence. The regime of Amin Gemayel fits the By the time this issue of Socialist Organiser appears, anion officials may-finally have succeeded in forcing the 1.000 strikers at the Highland Fabricators Oil Rig Construction Yard at Nigg (in the Cromarty Firth) to end their strike.

The dispute began on August 11, when the workforce struck in opposition to a series of manage. ment attacks on working conditions at the yard. A week later, all 2,000 strikers were sacked by management, though 1,600 selected workers were offered their jobs back in they accepted the new working conditions.

But management's divisive tactics failed to break the unity of the strikers. And the few scabs attempting to enter the yard have been prevented from doing so by mass pickets, in open defiance of Tebbit's anti-picketing laws.

Andrew bill perfectly.

But in one crucial respect the Phalangist regime has not lived up to the hopes of Washington and Jerusalem: it has not been able to end the civil war in its own favour without imperialist and Zionist intervention.

This inability was glaringly exposed once the Israelis themselves in a state of political chaos - withdrew to the Awali River.

Jerusalem is now being forced to consider returning to its old positions (and going even further), a move that would provoke fury inside Israel just now.

Meanwhile Washington is having to consider further beefing up its military commitment and officially authorising offensive action on the side of the Phalangists.

Again, this commitment is likely to provoke a big response from a US public wary of being drawn now into two more Vietnams - one in Central America and now another in the Middle East.

Having suffered a series of humiliating defeats, management resorted to the ultimate weapon: negotiations with union full-timers, who, throughout the dispute, have refused to make the dispute official.

But with only one vote against, a mass meeting of the strikers threw out a 'return-towork formula' put together by a joint meeting of management, union officials, and the 2 SDP MPs representing the area from which the yard draws its workShop stewards followed up this victory by travelling down to the TUC, in an attempt to win support from full-timers of the unions involved in the dispute (AUEW, : EEPTU, IGMBATU). But, despite the danger of similar methods being employed at other yards if management at Nigg are victorious, the shop stewards came away from the TUC empty-handed.

Washington The failure of the Israelis land in a different way of the Syrians) to control the situation in Lebanon and the ignominious withdrawal of US forces from their intervention in Lebanon in 1958 should provide Reagan with enough lessons to show him the futility of intervention.

But Reagan is not a quick learner. As we go to press it has been disclosed that 2,000 more Marines have been moved from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean off Lebanon. A battleship is also sailing from the Atlantic to the area to join the existing US off-shore presence.

In addition there are 12,000 US Marines in Beirut as part of the multi-national. 'peacekeeping' force.

This force - which includes France, Italy and Britain is clearly lined up with the Phalangist government which they helped set up. All these nations' forces, except Italy's have combat aircraft in the area.

What is threatened now is a big, open, imperialist intervention. What holds it back is the likely reaction at home if these forces are used openly for offensive purposes.

At present Syria is supporUnion officials instructed shop stewards to attend talks in London with themselves on Wednesday (September 13) where they would be instructed to accept the above agreement. AUEW full-timer John Baldwin openly stated that the shop stewards would be under pressure to accept the formula and, to underline this point, that only one hour would be allowed for the meeting.

The Nigg strikers have stood firm in the face of management intimidation, a witch-hunt in the media, and financial hardship due to the DHSS and their own unions refusing to make any payments to them.

If the shop stewards refuse to be browbeaten into returning to work at Wednesday's meeting, full support should be given to their fight, above all by the unions, whose rights the strikers are fighting to defend. ting the Druze and other militias which were part of the Lebanese National Movement. Not many years ago Syrian troops were siding with the Phalangists in order de Infond iln Inhnanan Notinnal to ucitar wit sevanese Nabollat Movement and the Palestinians.

The Syrians then tried to enforce . strict observance of the terms of the Lebanese National Covenant by. which the Christians are guaranteed a six-to-five majority in all spheres of national life (although the Christians are in approximately a six-to-five minority of the population).

The current situation provides Assad with a favourable situation for striking a bargain with US imperialism → something Syria has been trying to do for some time now _ to the cost of the anti-Phalangist forces.

It is impossible to see how the conflict will end.. There may be a new government in Beirut (guaranteed jointly by the US and Syria), a renanad nominatinn nr _ mnat neweu viupanuu UL supporters in their turn to open spaces.

nuclear Festival, Sept. 11.' ing sponsorship too.' keep away.' A RALLY in London last Saturday reached a significant milestone in the fight to break the silence on conditions in Turkey.

The rally, timed to coincide de facto partitioning into areas.

As socialists we should demand an immediate end to all imperialist and Zionist intervention. We are opposed to the system than anatom of annfascinnal representation along the lines of the National Covenant for some modification of it).

Despite the failure of the alliance opposing Gemayel to develop any consistent and unifying democratic perspective and despite the shadow of Syria which hangs over the alliance, we must support the Druze forces and their allies in their struggle to bring down the Phalangist regime.

It is only out of a victory for this alliance that the confessionalist grip can possibly be broken, that the conditions for a continuation of the leftward shift in Lebanese politics of the late sixties and 70s can be achieved and that the Palestinian struggle can be strengthened.

Such gains would mark a set-back for imperialism in the reoinn as well as for Arah Glasgow Edinburgh Liverpool Manchest Rochdale Stockport Wirral Durham Halifax Harrogate Huddersf Hull Leeds Leicester Sheffield York Birmingham Coventry Northamptol Nottingham Stoke Basingstoke Oxford.

Cardiff N/W Londor Hackney Haringey Hounslow Islington S/E London E London Southwark Others £315.60 this week; in September. with the third anniversary of the coup heard Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn report back from a visit to Turkey the previous week, and Anthony Kendall, leader of Hackney Borough Council, introduce publication of a pamphlet sponsored by Hackney, Islington and Haringey councils in conjunction with the Turkey Solidarity Campaign.

There is a consensus of silence about conditions in Turkey.

EEC and NATO governments, and the media they patronise, remain resolutely indifferent to the regime's crimes against democratic and human rights.

The worsening situation in Turkey has brought no change in inis poncy out nas seen a streng stair thening of solidarity activity amongst Turkish exiles and their supporters in many European , countires.

• An important campaign has developed around the mass trial of the former mayor and townspeople of Fatsa, a Black Sea costal town at the centre of the anti-fascist struggle prior to the coup.

Though only one of a number of such trials - others involve trade union, peace campaigners, lawyers, socialist organisations and Kurdish nationals - it has provided a vehicle for drawing together wide support from local councils in most Western European states.

Co-ordinated by the Swissbased CEDRI, it presently includes well over 200 such bodies and has this year organised a series of delegations to observe the trial.

Hackney Labour council leader Anthony Kendall spoke of the importance of the Turkish community in his borough (Turkish is the next most spoken language after English) and how the council's eyes had been opened to governmental and state repression. He saw publication of the pamphlet - on the Fatsa trial - as a practical way of drawing in other councils nationally. It was reported that Sheffield City council have just pledged support.

A meeting of over 100, mainly Turks, heard Jeremy Corbyn recall experiences from his visit, saying it had deepened his conviction that British governmental complicity with the junta had been tolerated for too long by the labour movement and that the Labour Party must place class solidarity central on its agendas.

Also speaking at the meeting was the Kurdish Solidarity Campaign and representatives of DISK, Cahit Baylay of the Bank workers union and Gultekin Bekdemir, General Secretary of the Underground Miners Union.

Group. August & Sept 20.50 26.00 52.50 20.75 10.00 14.50 38.00 12.50 15.75 45.70 10.00 65.00 166.10 10.00 38.90 23.40 1.50 103.24 120.47 24.40 58.00 23.25 54.30 43.00 44.50 76.50 160.49 €564.20 so far