Undefeated A Struggle Czechoslovakia. with that. by the tremendous example of Che Guevara and by the events in Paris in May. What was our relevance and im- portance to the struggle that began in In 1968, as the culmination of a series of developments. a civil rights movement was born, It was made up of differing clements. Some of them were simply disgruntled middle class catholics or nationalists; lawyers. doctors, civil servants. who were ag- grioved at the fact that they could not advance in their professions. It was a genuine grievance. But they were im- cautious and immensely conserva- five. Into that came our tiny Jeftist movement but it had a tremendous Just to give an example of the in- merchange ofideas: the first civil rights demonstration in the north of Ireland took place on a Saturday evening in August 196K from Coalisland to Dun- gannon. in County Tyrone. Our group. of young socialists in Belfast went to that demonstration strwight from Bel- fast where we had been holding a mensely bourgcois, immensely catalytic cifcct. Ireland? SOCIALIST OUTLOOK no 9 October 1988 It may come as a surprise to struggle in France in May 1968, the Prague Spring, or any of the youth uprisings in that vear of student and youth left, in- vital role in the beginning of the Young Socialists Alliance in Belfast and a small group around Fannon but by intemational struggles: by our some people to see the Irish Al that time there was a tiny mar- xist perhaps "prole-marxist', move- We were Influenced by a Small Group, based in London. Our political background and culture was formed interest in solidarity with the struggle struggle bracketed with the other popular mass student and revolutions. And yet the radical Queneed by marxism, played a ment in the mont of Ireland. A small group of young socialists in the trotskvist group, the Irish Workers not by traditional Inish nationalism of black people in the United States; by the anti-Vietnam War movement: McCann in the Derry abour Party: struggle in Ireland.
So there was also the same sort of tive influence of the French Com- munis Party and the radical influence Fsaid that just to restate the begur- nings of the movement and the fact that socialist internationalism was a real thing then. It had real importance. In was due, through und through. to vocialist internationalism that our approach - but that you had to con- munist Party leadership with the stagist theory and the radical left as wenr on in France with the Conserva- struggle going on between the Com front the reality of the state head on. of the May student movement. lance, decided that we woulf go Derry on New Year's Eve 1969, the march that became 'The Burntollet A gain there was a clear internation: dent for that. The march was con- the hose reforms were meaningless and batte stop then would he to lose the momentum and the impetus of the whole movement. So we in the People's Democracy, of which the hard core was the Young Socialist Ai- abcad with 4 march from Belfast to altimension, an international preco- Selma-Montgomery march in - modelled z sciously march' Ш Now that march would not have Socialists and the Derry Labour Party. because the march was banned by the Stormont govenument and the Civil Rights Association - the umbrella body led by the respectahle leadership - was prepared to call it off until we But the demonstration that really marked the beginning of the civil rights movement was in Derry on Oc- tobor 5th - which was batonned off the strects; was on the clevision sorcens: and created a wave of indig- nation and anger right throughout heen held without the Young P P Ireland and Britain too. background was formed nationalism and culture traditional political not by but by "Our Irish
the present day situation in the Noth where the news ahour the place is students and young people cxisted taton with the state which did prove what had been to us a fairly abstract They proved in practice that the hecause they demonstrated that once a movement developed which was capable of challenging seriously the sectarian injustices within the Six Counties - then that movement would It is very important in dealing with dominated by violence), to bear thai history in mind. The ongin of the small group of marxist-influenced and that we adopted the tactics that we did. And those tactics led to a confron- Six-County starclet was irreformable. be resisted by force. fonnola. spreading solidarity both thrughout dredge to the surface all the racist America and forced the passing of the Voting Rights Act of the United tion would have a similar cffect. And cause it dredged to the surface all the bigoted, seclarian scum in the Six Counties - but it didn't lead to the passing of a Voting Rights Act. It just led to more repression. But nonethe- Iss it had a tremendous effect in ment we drew a lot of our tactics and Alabama mn 1965 — which weal nght across the racist state of Alabama: scum of the southern states of States. We hoped that our demonstra- indeed it did have a similar effect, be- Even within the civil rights move Ireland and internationally It was the Young Socialists who. carry us off but to haron us off and Derry, late, from Belfast, the leaders of the demonstration which had heen blocked in the streets were telling the protestors to go home, they had made tional non-violence. rushed up to the police and made clear that we would only leave the streets when we were carried off. They proceeded not just to wash us off with water cannon. And said: we'll go ahead without you and we'll have the demonstration", and they were forced to call it back on Even then when we arrived in in Belfast and the Derry Labour party octeving at that stage a contronta their protests. again. international struggles"
break the nationalist population at thar into the north of Ireland. That's what There were mistakes made on our side. I think one of the biggest mis- takes made in the last 20 years in the north of Ireland was the unprepared- ness of the leadership of the lett an che violent movement for civil rights crushed by violence when in 1969 the B Specials and armed loyalist gangs were sent in to attack the catholic ghettoes of Belfast in a reprisal for the fact that the nationalists in Derry had beaten the RUC out of theirarea The state was using reprisais to try and time. That is what introduced violence violence was that 4 completcly non- (militant, but non violent was led to the IRA campaign. There were theoretical considera- tions involved too. The leadership of tion of the cive rights movement in the Civil Rights Association in the sociation to the Southem Christian Leadership Conference - the conser- vative leadership Ted by Luther King who. in retrospect I would consider a But we compared oursches with the Student Non-Violent Co-orümating Committee - the voung radical sec- America which pushed the struggle movement in America. We compared ourscives with the state of the black civil rights the leadership of the Civil Rights As more radical figure than I did then. on when the older conservative ele north of Ireland was an alliance be ments were prepared to rein it hack. parallels from comparing dents worc angry andthey decided. in- stead of going home, to march back to. the University. And they held a mass. sclves an ongoing popular assembly. and they look the title: Poople s that had the required effect, that did Another elèment of the internation- Democracy (which was the move- ly identified began with students from Queen's University who were outraged at the events in Derry and decided to hold a march to the centre of Belfast. They were blocked by the RUC and the student union leadership accepted this. But the mass of the stu- They decided to constitute them- People's ment with which 1 became particular- elcotrify the political situation. thc democratic meeting. dimension: al
time - both our segment of the left of the civil rights movement and the then leftist Jcadership of the republican movement - to detend the nationalist shetoes against this type of anack. We dish't foresee it coming, we weren't ready to defend them. That led to a demand by the people Tor physical defence which was met hy a split in the republican movement. And hecause it was a leftist leader- ship of the republican movement which had pushed that movement in the direction of political action and grapple with the probiem of physical delence in August 69 - it meant that the other SOCIALIST OUTLOOK no 9 October 1988 then failed to Tween the conservative catholie cle- ments and the Communist Party. "perating on the stages theory" and helieving that the correct tactics and strategy in Northern Ireland were to slowiy and gradually democratise the Six Counties and then build a move- ment towards a uniled Ireland. Wc didn't believe that that was possible. partly because of what linle marxist and