Palestine: another Conference policy bites
- PART unionists holding the balance of power. He promised that he would withhold his vote from any Labour government cooperation with the Unionists.
Martin Collins, Editor of the magazine New Labour and Ireland, said since Kinnock is working for good ligures in the opinion polls, he would earn electoral popularity by advocating withdrawal from Ireland as the majority (58%) of the British electorate want it. If the Labour government Is to fight unemployment there is 80% of that among the people of Balymurphy in West Belfast under British Rule.
Collins also used this meeting to launch his newly published book Ireland Affer the dust
IT was no surprise that the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict was
once again swept under the
carpet at this year's Labour
Conference, and the Party kept
an embarrassing silence. MAIRE O'SHEA IS :INNOCENT/
Brifain: another good guide for wide-
ranging debate, he said
The Labour
unites party members to campaign for an LCI end to bloodshed and barriers to progress
towards a socialist Ireland. This is a vital
part of the struggle for socialism in Britain.
1 country
never itself be free or socialist.
The LCi calls for unconditional British
military and political withdrawal trom
Ireland and self-determination for the Irish
people as a whole. In the interim we call
for an end to abuses of human rights and
for the Party to act on its positions of op
position to the use of piastic bullets, non
Jury Diplock courts, the PTA and the use of
East has been imperialist struggle in the world today Drop the charges! Demonstrate: Birmingham Nov 9 11 am, Sparkhill Park. Rally 2pm, Digbeth Hall.
counter silence Committee on Ireland over Britain. that oppresses another can tivists Ireland and Britain. WCIN 3XX. condemning While throughout the year the Middle opening momentous shaken by question. events — perhaps the most important anti- Conference for the third year running fail- predated declaration; been • • Socialist Viewpoint, No 8, November 1986. Page 8
paid informers (supergrasses).
The ICI organises press conferences to
Tand censorship and organises conferences and campaigns all
Labour Women for Ireland particularly campaigns against the degrading and sexist strip searching of women in Armagh jail and promotes contact between women ac-
against British Imperialism in
Join the LCI: we ignore Ireland at our Perite to LC1. BM Box 5355, London
ed to put it on its agenda for debate.
An emergency resolution by the FBU Israel's raid on the PLO
headquarters in Tunis (which took place
on the second day of the Conference) was
manoeuvred off the agenda for fear of
Ta debate on the Palestinian This evasion is not new: the leadership
has consistently proved its determination
not only to dodge any debate on the ques-
tion but also to bury once and for all any
past conference resolution.
Most significantly. The Conference
resolution passed in 1982, recognising the
PLO as the sole legitimate representative
of the Palestinian people and pledging
Party support for Palestinian sell deter-
mination has scarcely seen the light of
day 1982 it was widely recognised as an
important breakthrough. Previously, the
Labour Party has been an unstinting sup-
porter of Zionism and the state of Israel.
The 1917 War Aims Memorandum by
Arthur Henderson and Sydney Webb
Othe Tory/Liberal Balfour the 1945 Labour Party
Manifesto outbid even the Zionists in its
call for the Arabs to be expelled in order
to make way for Zionist settlements.
Since then, support for Zionism has the strongest in Labour's top
echelons - Foot, Bevan, Wilson, Healey,
Callaghan — who have clung to the myth
that Israel's founders "espoused the ideals
of socialism, justice and community.
It was not until the invasion of Lebanon
in 1982 that the tide began turning in
favour of the Palestinians. Then the hor-
rors of Israel's genocide in Lebanon trig
gered a wave of sympathy for the Palesti-
nians, and the Conference that year car-
ried a motion - initiated by the Labour
Movement Campaign for Palestine — sup-
porting the right of Palestinians to sell