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Stepping up State Oppression

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Stepping up State Oppression SS STRU&&LE Paper of the Revolutionary Communist League of Britain. Incorporating NEW AGE IPAPER OF COMMUNIST VORKERS 1 MOVEMENT) Volume 5. No. 8 August 1981. ISE UP In the last two to three months the cities of Britain have been rocked by a wave of street fighting. Many urban areas are boarded up; police are seen everywhere; and still the movement continues. The question being asked is "why?" I~ is not a difficult question to ans­ wer. The people involved answer it in their different ways, but al­ ways it boils down to oppression frustration, anger, bitterness and a resolve not to sit back and take it - a preparedness to fight back, and to fight back outside of the BRITISH YOUTH LEARNS well-tried, tested and exposed chan­ THE LESSONS OF nels of Parliament and the legal FIGHTING ON THE STREETS OF BRIXTON. BELFAST. system. The immediate causes vary. In Brixton the provocative 'Operation STEPPINGUP STATE OPPRESSION Swamp', where police stopped and The response of the state in B~i­ One family, including a 3 year old questioned hundreds of local people, tain to the wave of violent protest girl, were driving out of the area and particularly national minority has been to step up their own legal and had a shot fired straight people on the streets, in a supposed violence. Many papers have descri­ through the windscreen. Phil Robins crack-down on "general crime", built bed recent events as "more remini­ a football player with Southport up the people's anger against the scent of Belfast than Britain". FC who lived in the street, was try­ insulting behaviour and arrogant They are right. The just struggle ing to clear the crowds when he was bullying of the 'forces of law and against British imperialism and the shot in the chest, and _again in the order'. The racism of the state partition of Ireland is having its back as he spun round. At the time forces has been clear. Many black impact on the oppressed and deprived of going to press, newspaper reports people have reported see ing police people in Britain, and particularly and eye-witness accounts from Liver­ wearing National Front stickers. the national minority people. It pool hospitals, indicate that many The week of 'Operation Swamp' ended is also true that the British state ,Jeople have been treated for inju­ with an incident on the Friday night has long seen Ireland as a testing ries similar to bullet wounds. Na­ when a black youth who had been ground to prepare against street turally there is going to be a very stabbed was put in a police car and protests and revolutionary strug­ 'independent' inquiry. It will be kept there and questioned. He was gles in Britain. headed by Mr Kenneth Oxford - Chief only taken to hospital after other Constable of Merseyside! black youths attacked the car, got There is not a revolutionary situ­ him out and took him to hospital ation here, but there is indeed a In Brixton, while the Scarman in­ in a taxi. spontaneous movement that breaks quiry (trying to work out a report with 'normal pol~tical channels'. which will sound liberal and conces­ SOUTHALL It is hardly surprising then to see sionary on social conditions, but In Southall, hundreds of skinheads a wave of Chief Constables trotting support new equipment and condemn who went into the area supposedly off to visit the semi-fasicst RUC people's resistance) is sitting, to attend a concert, attacked local chiefs in northern Ireland and the police carried out a revenge raid Asians in the street. They were brutal colonialist Hong Kong riot on the local community. Using the driven out of Southall by the mass ~ olice. The police are getting ar­ excuse of 'information received resistance of Asians who took to moured cars (painted blue, of course about petrol bomb factories' , po­ the streets and showed them that - after all, we don't want to change lice raided black houses and shops they would fight back collectively the nice, if somewhat tarnished, at 3 o'clock in the morning. The and militantly to defend themselves. image of the British Bobby), water 'raids' were similar to those aga­ ~annon, special helmets and other inst nationalist communities in nor­ The events of Brixton and Southall "riot gear". The use of plastic thern Ireland. Partition walls were following those of. St. Paul's in bullets, as in Ireland, is being broken down, doors kicked in, banni­ Bristol last year, have had a pro­ discussed. Liverpool, just over ster rails torn out, TVs, stereo found effect throughout Britain. the water from Ireland, was used equipment and musical intruments The nattonal minority people have to test 'public opinion' to the use sm:1shed. Who can consider that a. shown that they will hit back at of CS gas. The "ferret" guns used search? It w~s sheer intimidation. their oppression, at state racism, are special shot guns which fire Nqne of the conveniently-invented and at fascist hooligans; and their gas cylinders at the same speed as 'bomb factories' were found, of resistance has struck a chord with 3. normal bullet, and are designed course. Cont'd on Page 7 to penetrate barricades and walls. 1 Editoria ---RCLB HOLDS SECOND CONGRESS For a couple of years past, the struggles of the of key policy decisions which will have a great bear­ working class in Britain against the imperialist rul­ ing on how effectively it can work in the new condit­ ing class were at a low ebb. The possibilities of ions of the class and national struggles in Britain. wr.inging concessions from British imperialism by The Congress re-affirmed the strong stance of the means of the forms of struggle mainly· used during League against opportunism. The importance of this the 30 years of relative stability in the capitalist has been underlined by the Labour Party 1 s condemn­ system had been almost exhausted; in conditions of ation of the youth who rose up against the police mass unemployment, after all, the effectiveness of and by its long-standing hostility to the struggle strike action is very much reduced. The biggest ob­ of the Irish people. It is constantly shown by the stacle to an effective fightback has been the deep way revolutionary and progressive people run into influence of opportunism, particularly in the form the obstacle of opportunism when they seek to win of social democracy, which has served to stifle and support for the struggles of the national minorities divert working class struggles. and the Irish people, and when they fight in the un­ Historically, when the working class has been ions for them to stand up for their members 1 basic unable to fight successful economic struggles, it interests. has turned to political action, and the belief in THE NATIONAL QUESTION the necessity of the proletariat taking power has spread out from the few who had kept the ideas of The Congress recognised that the socialist revo­ socialism alive to much larger sections of the working lution in Britain could only be carried through by people. an alliance between the working class and the national minorities. It upheld the orientation of building YOUTH HIT BACK communist cells in industry as a firm base in the· The turn to political action is under way. Work­ working class for the communist party the League is ing class youth, with black youth to the fore, have working to rebuild, and affirmed the vanguard role taken to the streets and hit back against years of of the proletariat in the revolution in Britain, while police harassment. In one city after another, respect recognising that, at the present time, the national for the 'law and order' of the ruling class has been minority people are in the vanguard of the struggle battered by the militant youth.Despite the abuse of against the British state. the press, wider and wider sections of the working The Congress finally made a complete break with class will draw lessons from them, fight harder the old, objectively social-chauvinist line of the against the capitalist offensive and refuse to be League on Ireland, and pledged the RCLB's uncondition­ dragooned into order either by opportunist leaders al support to the armed struggle of the Irish people or the state. and to their Republican leadership in the fight ag­ When events such as those which have occurred ainst British imperialism. recently on Britain's streets took place in other countries, it used to be said, "It wouldn't happen PARTY BUILDING here!" It has, and the face of politics in Britain There are still many problems which the League will never be the same again. has to grapple with, but the decisions taken by its It was in circumstances when these momentous ev­ Second C;-ngress will help ensure that the work it ents were taking place in Britain and the struggle does in the coming months strengthens its ties with of the Irish people had seen a massive upsurge that the most advanced elements in the struggle against the Second Congress of the Revolutionary Communist the imperialist ruling class and its state and enables "League of Britain (RCLB) took place. It made a number it to carry its party-building work forward. The Editor- CS, stand there waiting in a queue at Station was planned for today, 18th firom OUr New Era Books, 203 Scarborough St from 6 pm of the eve­ July. Last week, however, \1/hi telaw Seven Sisters Rd. ning before and wait till 10 am the imposed his latest ban on marches Postbag London N.4 ~ next morning to be selected, if in London so we were forced to lucky, for a job with no security resort to bussing supporters to the Why have the major unions not re­ - only getting the money for a drink picket.
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