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Anarchist Fortnightly with Legal Notice Of.Censorship -- Which They Obeyed

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Anarchist Fortnightly with Legal Notice Of.Censorship -- Which They Obeyed press black-out was literal; the coup SIXTEEN was heralded by a close-down in the PAGES power stations which effectively pre­ FREEDOM vented production of newspapers until such timo that they could be served anarchist fortnightly with legal notice of.censorship -- which they obeyed. , Vol. 36 Nos. 26-27 5 JULY 197 5 TEN PENCE Idi Amin of Uganda, one-time British soldier, is a different kettle of fish. He POWER OF LIFE 0 DEATH has established his power over his own people with the help o f the British , he \VE HAVE SEEN in the past weeks and freedom of the press .are suspended succeeded Milton Obote in a coup d’etat; demonstrations of the power of rulers, and demonstrators have been clubbed another rival in rulership, 'King supposedly unchecked by democratic and arrested. The excuse given for Freddie1 of Buganda died in exile in procedures and virtually immature in this high-handed totalitarian lapse is Wandsworth, London, supposedly a vic­ their methods of crushing opposition that there was a plot against Mrs. tim of alcoholism but suspected of being , and governing by whims or decrees. Gandhi. a murder victim. Amin’s eccentricities Most Western developed countries take and excesses have long been notorious; pride in being Tnot as other countries True. She was found guilty of politi­ he expelled the Ugandan Asians to the are’ especially when, as in the present cal corruption (it was only a minor embarrassment of the British govern- instances, the offending countries are charge but when one gets to the position Continued on Page 2 ex-colonial territories. This adds a of Mxa. G. corruption gets other names soupcon of pride to the enjoyment of and the purely sordid rupee stuff of condemnation. minor politicians is not in her class). The conviction carried with it political Indira Gandhi of India and Idi Amin of suspension; so naturally she appealed. Uganda have by their abhorrent dictate Thread of conspiracy number two : ori&l assumptions incurred the displea­ Mrs. G•18 Congress party, which could sure of Western democracies (muted do no wrong, lost a bye-el ection. slightly In the case of Indira of India by Looks like a real plot. Behind the cor­ a more sophisticated justification on ruption charge, which had been going her part). through the courts for years, was a campaign by Jayaprakash Narayan As anarchists we cannot share in this whose tendency was towards anarchism colour-matching of paler shades of and a decentralist village-based society. black. In weeks which have seen reve­ He has now been imprisoned along with lations of American governmental sec­ some members of Congress Party, ret embroilment in assassination (not­ . army officers and leaders of one of the ably in Africa) and the coincidental Indian Communist parties (they are 4 slaughter of the alleged ’hit-man1 in blessed with two). One can bet it’ s the another project, we can only nod. In pro-Moscow C. P. which is supporting the weeks which saw a technologically Mrs. Gandhi but with the press black- supreme oil-state execute a royal ass­ ' out it is difficult to get even such truth assin* ~ by public beheading and than as the press allows. Incidentally, the drive the remains away in an ambulance we stand appalled. It would be hard to find a state in which human freedom was not invaded, human life was not Six Weeks’ Notice te Quit taken, human dignity was not insulted inflation, if unemployment and drastic in the sacred name of the State and, NOW THAT the Government has got the cynically enough, in the alleged cause political and economic issue of t}ie . 6uts in' social services are to be avoid­ ed. The railwaymen's settlement has of freedom, life and dignity. Common Market out of the way, they are beginning to come to grips with the heralded the end of the voluntary social Mr8 . Gandhi (daughter of Pandit cold economic facts of the state of Bri­ contract and it is very likely that the Nehru) has given a vivid illustration of tish capitalism. We are back, once government will act without the consent, political audacity in her clamping down again, to a Dunkirk situation as far as consensus and persuasion of the trade on the opposition. Up to now about 900 our economic survival is concerned. uni cars. people (officially) or 3,500 (unofficially) As with Dunkirk, a rescue operation have been imprisoned. Habeus corpus. has to be mounted and time is fast With the pound falling against other running out. currencies and share prices dropping the pressures are mounting on the gov­ iAmin In fact, we have, according to Mr. ernment to introduce a severe package Wilson, the Prime Minister, six weeks of tax increases and cuts in public ex­ to work out an agreement between penditure now. There 1b also the added employers, the trade unions and the crisis of how long the Arab oil states government. But as with all such will keep their money here if its value agreements, figures are already being is continually falling. 6et to be imposed on the people. The Treasury, that permanent non-elected It is not the task of an anarchist journ­ body of officials, has handed down its al to offer solutions to the problems decisions to the government ministers which are of the system's own making. on what our living standards should be From this writer’s experience the peo­ in the coming months and years. Their ple of this country have always been answer to Inflation is a £6 limit on all told that they must either "tighten their wage increases, which they say is a belts", "work harder", "export or die", 12% increase compared with the pres­ or that4t will be "blood, sweat and ent rate of 30%. The City says a £4 tears". The good life has always been limit. in the future, either for our children or our children’s children, but never here The trade unions for their part have and now. We in fact believe that the chums accepted that wage increases have to Continued on Page 2 tMV'THuA, F'lOVAj ; Call below that of the current rate of • * ... ••• O' 2 Power of Life aod DeathContlnuod from P j * • ment and the malicious joy of native at any time. IN BRIEF African shopkeepers. Like the Rever­ TWO BEAGLES reputedly used by ICI end Paisley and with the same hollow * * * in experiments to discover the effects ring he protests his loyalty to the Brit­ Historically, India and Uganda are at of smoking wore rescue-kidnapped by ish crown and his affection for the an earlier stage of development than animal-lovers who thought that exposure Queen. Britain and the Western powers and of dogs to cancer risks was cruel and hence their political philosophies are superfluous. ICI later claimed that the His odious dictatorship has been nearer those of Hobbes and Machiavelli dogs taken were in fact ’controls', wh moldy ignored except as a source of than those of the older, more complic­ which was later denied by on Animal mockery (Punch for a time ran a parody ated states whose covering-up of simi­ Rescue Home which temporarily took series on him) and his actions were lar situations is mote skilful and soph­ them in. It was pointed out that even if mainly internal affairs which as every isticated. The power of life and death they were ' controls1 they would have politician knows'is every country's own over its subjects (and anyone who falls been slaughtered on termination of the business. Now, in his posturings he is into its power) is a common preroga­ experiment in order to cross-check thought to have gone too far, He has con­ tive of all states. It is only when it is effects of smoking. ICI is reportedly demned to death a British writer * who exercised in its naked obscenity that trying to discover a harmless tobacco- • was imprudent enough to keep with him there is universal protest. But murder substitute. A student is on remand the manuscript of a book attacking Amin in moderation - or in war, and lack of charged with stealing the beagles. as a ’village tyrant1. This was treason, freedom for those who abuse it is nev­ vii 1111» i » 111 111»t»t»»i»111 1111111• punishable by death. Obviously the er criticised by other states. DESPITE INJUNCTIONS and contempt- more totalitarian the state, the more of-court imprisonments for Bill Dwyer • easily the charges of treason and espi­ Whilst the state has the power of life and Sid Rawle for publicising a hypothe­ onage can be levelled and punished. and death over the citizen, it is too tical Festival, it is assumed as a pos­ Amin must be feeling insecure, and like rarely emphasised that the citizen has sibility that a legal feast williake place a child playing with a captive animal he • the power of life and death over the on the same day and on the other side finds solace in the exhibition of power state. When will Amin and the world of the road from Windsor Great Park. and the appeals of his enemies of the powers recognise this? Windsor residents have obtained an moment. But land-locked Uganda in injunction against the Festival and are a fluid African situation is not a first- Jack Robinson. publicising it on Radio Luxemburg and class power despite Amin's exhibition­ Capital Radio by urging people not to go. ism , and Kenya and the O. A.
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