File spoon-archives/marxism-international.archive/marxism-international_1998/marxism-international.9803, message 160


Date: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 15:06:04 +1000
From: Gary MacLennan <g.maclennan-AT-qut.edu.au>
Subject: Re: M-I: Ireland


At 10:57 AM 3/12/98 +0000, you wrote:
>I sometimes polemicise against the militarist supporters of the INLA on
>another discussion group. Their problem is that they learned the wrong
>lesson from the growth and current hegemony of Sinn Fein. 
>Heartfield exaggerates the changes brought about by the British in the
>North, sure there have been changes. The RUC is less blatant a
>sectarian force. Some moves not just cosmetic have been made to combat
>discrimination.But the essence of Orangism is sectarian and
>discriminatory and even if there was no national struggle it would
>remain.While the struggle for unity and independence is still the main
>line of attack on Imperialism there are also parallels with the civil
>rights struggle in America. There as in the North it is OK to call  the
>British to account on issues such as the parades. It is nonsense to say
>the parades commission has republican approval or even SDLP approval.
>Saying the residents campaign is sectarian because it does not directly
>attack the British is equivalent to saying the civil rights movement by
>opposing the KKK and not the federal government was racist.  The
>Residents ass. did more to expose the nature of Orangism than 25 years
>of military activity.
>I am sure the British and the Irish Gov. would love to reform the
>orange state. But having ruled Ireland in a certain way it is not that
>easy to build a new edifice .There is a certain autonomy to the
>loyalist groups and the RUC etc.
>The RMG, the FI section, merged with PD and Farrell on the basis of
>Mass Action Versus Militarism when PD broke with the ultralefts of the
>Red Republican party.
>My own analysis is to a large degree based on that of Gerry Foley of
>Socialist Action formerly of the old SWP of the USA.
>The challenge for socialists is to build an opposition North and South
>to tje current Imperialist consensus.The problems of Ireland have not
>gone away. Hopefully Sinn Fein will not be sucked into the popular
>front trap making the task all the harder. The Continuity militarists
>offer nothing. If the Sands group avoid militarism there may be some
>possibilities with them .
>Myown opinion living in Dublin is that that nationalism and
>consequently sympathy for tyhe northern minority has strenghtened. The
>small but significant gains by Sinn Fein was not due solely to anti
>drugs campaigning
>Jim Monaghan
>
>I need to reply in some depth to James Heartfiel but I am terribly busy.
I was pleased then to se this from Jim.  I agree with most of it.
Certainly Heartfield's remarks about the Orange state and my fixation on it
are way off the mark.  He misses the point entirely that the Orange State
is the most important  mechanism by which British Imperialism operates in
Ireland.  There are others of course but the Orange State is vital.  Smash
it and you smash British Imperialism in my opinion.  Certainly you would
deliver it a death blow.

Now again let me try and be clear as possible.  It is part of British
propaganda to suggest that the Northern State is legitimate and that
attacks on it are sectarian.  So James Heartfield is falling into the camp
of pro-imperialism here.  

In this instance I should record the resemblance between attacking Israel
and being accused of being an anti-Semite.  This is what that  Maoist
renegade, Paul Cockshott, actually had the nerve to accuse me of on the
Lenin list.  Thankfully the moderators there can spot a rightist when they
see one and they chucked him out.

regards

Gary




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