Date: Fri, 13 Jun 1997 16:19:34 +1000 (EST)
From: Gary MacLennan <g.maclennan-AT-qut.edu.au>
Subject: Re: M-I: Re: Karl/Gary and the Election in Ireland



>MATT KELLY.


It is wonderful to get a thread going on Ireland and to have contributions
from there.  Thanks to Matt and Karl for commenting on my post.

Now firstly Karl thinks I harbor illusions about Sinn Fein- not true.  But
he makes the equally impossible error of equating them with the SDLP,
Unionists, British etc.  Karl, if he will forgive me for saying so, works
in the night where all things are the same.  There are significant
differences between the various p0olitical forces and these need to be
analysed.  It is not enough to dismiss them all as Karl does.

Now Matt does refer to what is the crucial point the military defeat of the
IRA.  I myself accept that thoroughly their informer network and electronic
surveillance the Brits have succeeded in making urban guerrilla warfare
extremely difficult if not impossible.

But the dialectic is remorseless, their military successes have paved the
way for a political revival of Sinn Fein.  I insist that this is a
significant happening and reject Karl's dismissal of the increased vote for
Sinn Fein North and South.  Why did the Nationalist population in the North
move from the moderate and approved party -SDLP to Sinn Fein.  there was a
concerted effort to prevent just such a shift but despite being warned
about supporting murderers, the people voted for Sinn Fein.  I suspect that
what is occurring here is a radicalization and a rejection of the
mainstream parties.  This process is world wide and is given a particular
Irish inflection by the existence of Sinn Fein and the fact of a military
challenge to the force of British Imperialism.

I will return to this topic when I post my review of Adams' book.

regards

Gary


BTW Karl was offended by some remarks I made about him.  I apologize of
course but would like to point out that that was in another list and beside
the wench is dead.




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