Europe! Still dominating the airwaves

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1 Printed & Published by the Communist Party of Ireland Vol. 29 No 13 (Print Day Wednesday) 1 (I Euro) Europe! Still dominating the airwaves ARTICLE 50 has been triggered; the British are leaving the European Union. You would think that the representatives of the people would collectively sit down, examine the politics and economics of the situation and start work to mitigate the worst effects that the Tory opportunists would visit upon us. That of course would be wishful thinking. Instead, those who are still traumatised by the decision engage in a constant barrage of abuse to those who voted to leave. Comments such as well I hope they re happy now whatever that means. Wild claims are being made about what is going to happen with the border or the economy. Let s take the issue of the border, is it going to be hard or soft. The Irish government don t want to see the introduction of border check-points, neither do the British or indeed the Stormont parties. So if there is a hard border it will be down to the European Union. What does that say about democracy? At least the issue of the border s existence is now on the table with liberal unionist commentators such as Alex Kane pointing south at the socially liberal state that Ireland now is. By Paddy Green How many Stormont elections would it have taken to achieve that kind of shift, you d think they would thank us. Instead we get a list of the economic calamities that are about to come our way, increased racism, higher prices, precarious work, no employment rights, cuts to benefits, low wages, decimated public services, privatisation etc. etc. I would like to know where these people have been living, this is a reality for the vast majority of the population whether we are in the EU or not. Show me the processes that the EU had in mind to deal with these social and economic issues that we face now, today! They don t exist. Their only answer is growth under capitalism, as Thatcher said there is no alternative. The Tory s have been attacking us since their election but they ve only been doing what they exist to do. The truth of the matter is the EU has facilitated all of the above and indeed enshrined austerity through repeated treaty after treaty. The European fiscal compact treaty bars a country from borrowing anything more than 3% of its GDP. In the unlikely event that a newly elected progressive government in Ireland wanted to borrow money to make a Keynesian intervention in the economy it wouldn t be allowed to under the rules of the EU. Only the private sector can borrow for investment which is the reason for the rush to privatise everything. Again what does that say about democracy? Social democracy has outlawed its own economic philosophy. Every time we discuss these matters with people in other political groups and explain our position the conversation goes something like, We agree with you, but the qualification of course never adequately deals with the democratic deficit at the very heart of the European project and the increasing acquiescence with US imperialism. Their attitude to the plight of tens of thousands of refugees who will inevitably enter the Mediterranean Sea to escape the imperialist adventures in North Africa and the Middle East is appalling. Communists have never shied away from the struggles that are faced by our class. These problems exist inside or out of the EU. Europhiles must stop defending something that doesn t exist. The EU is not Disneyland, it remains what it has always been a facilitator for the interests of capital, sovereignty and democracy only get in the way.

2 Page 2 Unity Editorial Unity is published each week by the Communist Party of Ireland. PO Box 85, Belfast BT1 1SR. Stark contrasts IT would be difficult not to see the stark contrast in two meetings held in Belfast in the last week or so on the issue of Brexit. The general secretary of the Communist Party of Britain spoke at a meeting hosted by the CPI on Friday 24th March in which he outlined the real nature of the European Union and the need to make sure that we have a people s Brexit and not one based on the interests of business and the City of London. He made the point that both the official Leave campaign and the Remain campaign were led by equally reactionary forces but the left wing case for leaving the European Union was rarely heard. An obvious point of concern was that the majority of trade unions were in the Remain camp, many with the belief that somehow the EU can be reformed when in reality that is an impossible task. On the following Wednesday the Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions held a forum under the title Workers must not pay the price of Brexit. A number of people were invited to speak on the effects of Brexit on employment rights, the economy, human rights and the Good Friday Agreement. All gave presentations from an anti-brexit pro-eu stance. Another speaker from the European TUC saw fit to dismiss the Laval and Viking judgments by the ECJ as disappointing, an understatement if ever there was one. Questions about Ruffert and Luxembourg were ignored by the panel and a question to the political parties on how they could reform the EU was equally ignored. Apart from interventions by the CPI and PBP there was very little participation from the mainly full time union officials present. It has to be said that the press statement issued after did not reflect the nature of the event The contrast of attitudes to the EU expressed at both meetings couldn't have been much starker. Saturday 29 April Belfast Annual May Day rally and march Assemble at Art College Gardens for speeches at 11:30 am. and march at 12:00 (noon) Belfast Branch meeting Wednesday 12th April 5. 30pm CPI Premises

3 Unity Page 3 Workers interests and Brexit WORKERS must not pay the price of Brexit was the title of an ICTU event held in Girdwood Community Hub last week. The impact that Brexit will have on the economy, human rights, employment rights, the Belfast Agreement and so on was under the spotlight. A press statement issued by the ICTU after the event said: The conference brought together worker representatives of the 24 affiliated trade unions which organise and represent over 200,000 workers across Northern Ireland. Though technically true there were about 60 people present, mostly trade union officials not rank and file representatives. The statement continued: We have now reached the point where we believe it is essential that the trade union movement, the community and voluntary sector and business come together and seek to develop an agreed policy platform that puts the interest of workers, communities and business centre stage. We must use our collective influence in relation to Brexit negotiations as they affect Northern Ireland. The CPI points out that the interest of the business sector is quite often dialectally opposite to the workers. Even small indigenous businesses like bakeries have closed down due to big capitalist organisations. And big business operate zero hours contacts, brought in by the EU. Chairperson, Maria Morgan welcomed the left to this workers debate and introduced the ICTU Assistant General Secretary Owen Reidy to set the scene with his introductory remarks. by Lynda Walker He noted that we did not want to go over the arguments for the referendum and he also said that we want what is best for the working people of this country. These are comments that we as communist can agree with. A number of expert speakers followed. One such was Daniel Holder, for the Committee for the Administration of Justice (CAJ), who gave a rambling description about the impact of Brexit on Human Rights and the GFA. Though he said that he was not scaremongering he went onto paint a bleak picture regarding the hard border. Lynda Walker of the CPI pointed to some human rights violations that exists at the present time they include: The boarding of public transport by emigration official demanding to see photographic ID. The need to defend and prevent the privatisation of the health service, she pointed out that one million pounds has been spent on private and voluntary ambulance services in Belfast in the past year. Homelessness is a human rights issue. Privatisation is being driven by the EU and she emphasised the need to give solidarity to the Right2Water Campaign in the Republic: calling for the support for the protest will take place on the 8th April in Dublin. She said all right minded people accept that discrimination took place under the Unionist regime, that it was an infringement upon the human rights of people and that 50 years after the formation of the NI Civil Rights Association and 50 years after the introduction of the 1967 Abortion Act in Britain, women here MAY DAY EVENT Thurs 27 April-7.00pm On the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of Jarama Dr Daniel Kowalsky: History and Memory of the the International Brigades Organised by the International Brigade Commemoration Committee Venue: First Presbyterian Church: Rosemary Street, Belfast still do not have a right to choose, what has the EU done about that? And what is being said here today about that? she asked. The CAJ submission to the Department of Justice in their consultation on the Criminal Law on Abortion in December 2014, the CAJ pointed out that in 2009 the UN International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights Committee called upon the UK to amend the abortion law in Northern Ireland. To ensure by legislative and other measures that women in Northern Ireland are entitled to safe and legal abortion on equal basis with women living in other parts of the United Kingdom and made specific reference to these three areas: This has not happened yet. She told the meeting that the PSNI chose the 8 th of March, International Women s Day to raid activists property for abortion pills. Such women could be facing criminal charges and a criminal record. With the exception of the CPI, political parties did not attend the morning to listen to the expert views but they came in the afternoon to tell trade unionist where they stand on Brexit. Gerry Carroll, People Before Profit, was the only one to address the question of the EU from a left wing working class standpoint.

4 Page 4 Unity th anniversary of THE Connolly Association i n B r i t a i n h a d b e e n campaigning for many years for democratic reform in Northern Ireland. Since Partition the antidemocratic situation here was maintained by the active support of the British establishment. Parliamentary Questions about Northern Ireland were not permitted in Westminster. Complaints about the internal problems of Ulster were contained within the NI statelet with the active collaboration of the Mother of Parliaments. James Connolly's prediction in relation to Partition, of a Carnival of Reaction, north and south, involved the activity of the centre of the Empire. Dail Eireann accepted the Whitaker Report in November 1958, the central position of which was opening up the economy of the Irish Republic to transnational (especially British) investment. T h e s e d e v e l o p m e n t s heralded a new era of economic a g r e e m e n t a n d c l o s e r collaboration between the Britain and Irish ruling elite (which after a decade or so led to both jointly applying to join the Common Market.) With the new conditions there was encouragement for more friendly relations between the two parts of Ireland. An Taoiseach Sean Lemass and Northern Ireland Prime Minister Captain Terence Joe Bowers, Executive Member of the Communist Party of Ireland, says: On this the 50th anniversary of the formation of NICRA and at a time when there is another re-alignment of capitalist forces causing tensions within imperialism democracy remains the key. O'Neill participated in a very public mutual charm offensive with visits north and south. This became the focal point of the Paisleyite O Neill must go campaign which exposed the majority in the unionist political class did not support even normal interaction with others on the Island, north or sharp, sharply demonstrated in the formation of the UVF in 1965 by members of the Ulster Unionist Council. Ireland s Path to Socialism In this political environment the Communist Party (NI) as it was then, developed its programme and its Path to Socialism which was adopted by the Party in In the section entitled Political Parties, the Programme examines the policies of all parties in Northern Ireland, Unionist, NI Labour, the Nationalist Party, NI Liberal Party, the Republican Movement and Independents and concludes with regard to NI government: - In no other aspect of public affairs has the authority of the Executive been abused as much as in civil, religious, democratic liberties. - By the denial of democracy the disunity of the working class and labour movement is aggravated and the forces opposing the unionists weakened. It consolidates unionist reaction on t h e c e n t r a l a n d l o c a l governments. - Here is the fundamental ingredient for united struggles against unionist domination of political affairs in N. Ireland. - The organised labour movement is the force to lead the struggle for democracy and the right of the individual to participate with equality in public affairs. - The Communist Party has this struggle s its foremost aim. The Communist Party actively pursued this foremost aim in cooperation with others in the trade union movement. Democratic reform This led to the, newly recognised by Stormont, Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (NIC ICTU) adopting policies for democratic reform and the Stormont Minister of Home Affairs, William Craig receiving a joint delegation of NIC ICTU and the Northern Ireland Labour Party demanding democratic reform and being firmly and comprehensively robust. It might be useful at this stage to outline the anti-democratic nature of NI at this time. - The electorate in local government elections was

5 Unity Page 5 NICRA confined to householders and universal suffrage at 21 which was introduced in Britain in 1945 did not apply in NI. - Gerrymandering operated, ie the manipulation of electoral boundaries to ensure unionist minorities elected majorities in local councils. - The business community had at least two votes in NI parliamentary elections. - University Parliamentary seats existed where QUB elected four MPs with only a few thousands electors. - Blatant open discrimination existed in the allocation of pubic housing; - The Special Powers Act enabled arrest and internment without trial; - There was no universal right of the individual to participate with equality in public affairs, namely but not exclusively excluding republicans from participation in public affairs. William Craig's rejection of the democratic demands promoted by the delegation from the trade unions and the NILP was of course reported to the respective organisations. This became a main issue of debate in the Belfast Trades Council under the leadership of Betty Sinclair which decided to organise wider meetings on the matter. The inaugural meeting of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association organised by the Belfast Trades Council took place in the International Hotel in Belfast's Donegall Square South and the rest, is history so to speak. The unity that was built during that short period of our history achieved significant advance with many democratic reforms: the outlawing of discrimination of employment and housing allocation, the establishment of equal universal suffrage and political rights, the ending of gerrymandering and the ending unionist one party domination of our political, social and economic lives. Much more could have been achieved Unionism has not and cannot recover its formal position but much more could have been achieved. Progressive forces within which the Communist Party played a leading role developed the civil rights struggle. Unfortunately we did not have the organisation and political strength to determine that the predicted actions and violent provocations from the state and their allies would not be responded to by adventurist politics and anti-state violence. The full potential of the united political programme and antisectarian working class unity was not been achieved. On this the 50th anniversary of the formation of NICRA and at a time when there is another re -alignment of capitalist forces causing tensions within imperialism democracy remains the key. Sectarianism is the main obstacle to unity of the working class and the labour movement in an historic period of capitalist crisis, austerity and confusion generated by the apparent complete ruling class hegemony over every aspect of our lives. This hegemony is built on insecure foundations, reflected in their hysteria about the disunity in their EU project. Social democracy has now more clearly identified its politics as the defence of capitalism. All the more important that we work to unite our people in Northern Ireland and beyond on the basis of a programme against austerity, destruction of the NHS, education cuts and the destruction of public services and the welfare state. This is a programme of opposition to the Tory government in London and the European union, the treaties of which there can be no democratic opposition to, according to Jean Claude Juncker.