• Simon Deville Lanuary 20 marks J the 23rd anniver warring Tactions. sary of the "Bloody Sunday" massacre, where British troops shot and killed 14 peo- currentiV ple on a peaceful civil rights demo in Derry.
CIVICA Every year since, there have been demonstra. tions both in Britain and in Ireland, to commemorate the massacre and to demand a withdrawal rule. of British troops from Ireland.
In 1921, British Imperialism imposed partition, CArT creating Northern Statelet based upon sectarian privilege, as a way to divide and rule the country they could no lege is enshrined. longer hold onto by sheer force alone.
Despite the cease-fire, this years demonstration is just as relevant as ever, troops still remain in the north of Ireland, and catholics and nation. alists still face massive discrimination. ern statelet does.
The conflict in the North of Ireland is usually portrayed as a religious conflict between 2 With this analysis, we should all welcome the 'peace process' that is unfolding as the first step towards overcoming te regious Such views, however, Get Active! completely obscure the real nature of the conflict, one of a long history Demonstrate of resistance to colonial for British withdrawal The Downing Street declaration offers noth- from Ireland, ing other than to reas Saturday 28th ThA British January, Governments commitAssemble 12 ment to a divided Ireland with a Northern statelet noon, Platt in which sectarian priviFields, Platt Whether or not resis- Lane, Tance to thic cartarian Manchester. division takes the form of For further armed struggle, It is certain that resistance to details contact both British Imperialism Troops Out and to sectarian nrivi. lege will continue as long Movement as the sectarian North- 0171 - 609 1743.
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> Elkie Dee Cil lie or es are is under attack in other •parts of Europe. Charles Pasqua, the extremely right-wing French Prime Minister, Is busy giving the French police more powers to harass people and attack demonstrations. "Security' laws are proposed which focus particularly on attacking the right to protest. They: • legalize camera surveillance of public places, • make It illegal to carry anything which can be used as a weapon or missile on a demonstra tion, • allow police to search any vehicle in the area around a demo taking place. Demonstrators convicted of breaking the law will be banned from taking part in demonstra prisoned for 2 years. come under attack. tions for the next 5 years. If someone defies this, he/she may be fined over £20,000 or imPowers of Interpretation and Implementation of all these laws are, of course, in the hands of the pollce. Someone can be convicted without proof, simply on the word of a cop. This will make it harder to protest against other laws introduced by Pasqua's government, such as the anti-immigration laws. The French police are not known for being nice people and it's very likely that they will make the most of this opportunity, that this legisla tion will quickly be implemented quite savagely. Young socialists there are arguing the need to unite against Pasqua, that anybody there may