The PLO (Hamas included) exists to contain the Palestinian masses and
prevent them from joining with its Jewish counterpart to create a
Palestinian federation of workers' communes in the struggle to abolish
capital. As with Sinn Fein/IRA in Ireland its aim is not the national
self-determination of the Palestinian masses but the promotion of their
continued subjection.
The Provos, Sinn Fein\IRA, were set up during the earlier stages of the
troubles in the North of Ireland. They were set up as a counterweight to the
more progressive left oriented groups that had been growing in
popularity --Sinn Fein (Gardiner Street) later to be called the Workers
Party and other elements such as the Communist Party and People's Democracy.
They were secretly funded and supported by the government of the Irish
Republic --and probably the British and US governments.
The fear among the bourgeoisie in Ireland, Britain and the US is that the
growing insurrection of the Catholic masses against the sectarian statelet
in the north of Ireland might lead to the growth of politically radical
elements with the possibility of a challenge by the Irish working class to
capitalism in Ireland. Consequently the bourgeoisie supported and funded the
socially and politically conservative Provo IRA. The ensuing growth in
influence of the Provos among the Catholic masses in the north of Ireland
meant the struggle there was being increasingly contained and deflected from
a more radical path. The growing radicalisation, it was feared by
capitalism, might even lead to growing unity among the working class of
Ireland culminating in the overthrowal of capitalism. This context forms the
basis for the split within the Irish republican movement, as it was called,
leading to what became known as the Officials and the Provos.
There were bitter feuds between these two elements entailing murder. The
infamous Arms Trial involving government and military personnel forms part
of this move by capitalism to defeat the insurrection by the Catholic masses
. The arms trial, it is believed, was based on the issue of the Irish
government importing arms into Ireland for use in the north of Ireland.
There are many other matters which may have been related to this entire
issue such as the murder of Garda Fallon by a group of bank robbers who were
said to be members of Saor Eire. The murder of Peter Graham who had
associations, it is believed, with Saor Eire. Peter Graham was a relatively
prominent young Trotskyist figure. He was, it would appear, a member of the
sister organisation of the SWP(USA). He had been found shot dead in a flat
in Harcourt street. Curiously the perpetrators of both murders were never
arrested. Saor Eire had connections with the Citizens Committee which, it
would appear, was a committee set up as a cover for covert government
involvement in the north of Ireland. Not everybody actively involved with
the Committee understood this at the time. However there would have been
some who did. Maureen Keegan, a member of the League for a Workers Republic
who had apparently been in Paris in '68 and had French was a link between
trotskyism and Saor Eire. There was a split in the League. The group, as I
understand it, that Maureen Keegan sided with was the one that lined up with
the USFI. They called themselves the Revolutionary Marxist Group and formed
part of the USFI. What role the USFI played in all this remains a mystery to
outsiders. Tariq Ali and Gerry Lawless did, as I understand it, attend the
funeral of Maureen Keegan which was held in Dublin.
This entire period needs to be written from this standpoint by communists.
It is a neglected history that requires to be written since there are
lessons to be learned from it. A son of Garda Fallon wants his father's case
reopened. He has made some interesting public comments on the matter of his
father's murder. There are some people from the radical left who have
knowledge of these matters. For a variety of reasons they have chosen to
remain silent.
Karl Carlile
Communism Web Site:
http://homepage.eircom.net/~beprepared/
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