JIM GIBNEY, is a member of the James Connolly branch of Sinn Fein, the political party that shares the views of the outlawed Provisional IRA. He was interviewed in Belfast on 25 August by JAMIE DOUGHNEY, who is a frequent contributor to the Australian socialist weekly Direct Action.
How does the Republican movement view the stage the struggle in Ireland has reached today?
That's not an casy question to answer, because there are a number of factors which contribute to it. I think that what can be said is that the freedom struggle is probably at the strongest stage it's ever been at over the last ten or twelve ycars.
While the carly 1970s saw an upsurge in armed struggle and mass struggle, what we're seeing today is an upsurge in mass struggle.
This isn't superseding armed struggle, but is actually complementing it.
This mass struggle is having a considerable impact on the political establishment in the South of this country, the Northern political establishment on the nationalist side, namely the SDLP (Social Democratic and Labour Party.
Also some scetions of the ruling class in Britheir presence in this country.
The single most important factor causing the developments OVer the number of months has been the hunger strike in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh. To date we have had ten men die on hunger strike, and another six presently on hunger strike, with others to join them. And there is the possibility of further deaths.
what the British are doing in Ireland. And it is exposing the contradictions which are inherent in Irish society, North and South, on the national question and on partition.
It's those contradictions that are being exposed that we would say are the signposts of progress.
We would say that developments since l March this year, when the hunger strikers started, have been rapid and dramatic.
Since the Bobby Sands election in Fermanagh/South Tyrone, the hunger strike issue has changed one government in the South. Probably that is the first time that something like that has ever happened in the history of the rente have atro had the so called middle have also ground cut away from the Social Democratic Forces in the North by the hunger strikers deaths. And we have had the recent by-election succese of owen Carron. who stood on an H-Block ticket supporting the prisoners* five demands.
In political terms, if you like, the veil of secrecy that the British government had built up around her presence in Treland over the last five years has been torn apart.
The dirty little war it has been engaged in there has been exposed to the world by the bravery and the heroism of the prisoners in the H-Blocks.
So, from that point of view, we would say that the struggle for an independent republic is progressing at a satistactory rate.
But obviously the deaths of the prisoners on hunger strike, and the human misery for their relatives, is something which we don t need to develop the struggle.
The dynamism of the struggle at the movement is a spin-off of the prisoners' determination. Bur we would be quite happy if the British government would just resolve the issue. and resolve it in the morning Because don't need the deaths of prisoners on hunger strike to advance our cause for freedom. We'd much prefer that we were doing it with our own resources on the outside.
and not cause the type of human misery that the hunger strike has.
Socialist Challenge James Prior (above) will face mounting protests supporting the prisoners like the one below What has been the effect on the community of the prisoners' deaths? Is that starting to take its toll?
I think that one has to be perfectly honest and say that the deaths of the prisoners has had a depressing effect on the nationalist community in the North.
The reason why is that the nationalist commany nas a close arms wan we prisoners They feel for the prisoners as if one of their family has died, and died an agonizing death.
So it does sap their will, if you like. This is what the British government is banking on.
But something the British overlook is that while it saps the will temporarily, it ultimately hardens people's determination to continue to support the struggle for freedom in the coun try.
It convinces them of the Republican logic that peace in Ireland will only come about when the dismantled I would say, and there's no doubt about it, that the deaths of the prisoners are depressing the nationalist community in the North in one sense.
But in another sense it's strengthening their resolve and commitment to continue the struggle for freedom and support the republican HEIOIVLTUICEES It hasn't lessened the number of people on the streets protesting. And the nationalist people, beleaguered as they may be due to military repression, are sophisticated cnough politically to sce that the hunger strike is the cutting edge in the situation and is having more of a political impact than one would have expected.
What do you see is the next stage of the struggle, particularly in regard to the election in the South here?
Just to paraphrase the Sinn Fein vice-president APPORT THE FIVE DEMANDS IOTS and to clections. are removed and partition is discussing VOUS -SPE Evolved in for some years. and future elections label us WItn fascists.
AN PHOBLACHT be Marxist.
have been Photo: AN PHOBLACHT see the established. gie.
Gerry Adams, who was speaking the other in night to a journalist for the Irish Times; he said we are overhauling our political organisation North and South with a view to contesting clecWe had been considering, over the last number of years, contesting elections at the local government level and national level.
The hunger strike itself — the electoral gains made through the hunger strike — has encouraged us to look at this much more seriously we can speed the internal reorganisation required to win when we do go I think that what you can take for granted figure very definitely, is that election strategy will become as important to the Republican movement in the coming months and years as the armed struggle has been over the last ten years.
Does this foreshadow a much more ag gressive political campaign in the South to take on the traditional parties there?
Yes. What can be accepted from what we are at the moment is that we wil challenge the partitionist parties that have grown up in the twenty-six counties. The political establishment in the South is -EL.
ripe for change and we helieve that there is enough political disenchantment among thi working class and the small-farming communi You mentioned that the movement is struggling for a socialist republic. How do that side of the struggle. the socialist aspect, emerging in the future?
This is an ongoing process that we've been inOur various opponents have attempted to - different tags: the late political 1969-carly 1970s period we were dubbed as a fascist organisation, 'green nationalists'; in the again. munists; later on we were again dubbed as But, we see ourselves as socialists in the tradition of the republican socialist mentor, it you like James Connolly.
We, very definitely, are interested in the socialist reconstruction of this country. We are very definitely interested in establishing a socicty which caters for the needs of the working class and the small-farming community.
And we are diametrically opposed to capitalism and the type of society capitalism has built up over the last 20 years.
So, in that sense, we are very detinitely out for revolutionary change in society and we see this as an ongoing thing We don't fall into any of the political categories: namely, we don't claim ourselves to However, it would be very stupid and naive to say that Marxism hasn't had an influence on the thinking of contemporary republicans, wh to prison. read Marx.
Obvious v he has had an influence. In tac he has had an influence on every revolutionary organisation in the twentieth century. So it would be absurd for us to say he hasn't influenced our organisation.
But I do make the point that we are a socialist organisation in the tradition of James Connolly. We intend continuing the struggle to socialist republic that after How important do you see the interna tional movement of solidarity with the Irish struggle?
International solidarity is crucial to the success of this struggle. Because, if anything has shown the need for international support, it has been the hunger strike over the last number of monNow we have seen that the British govern ment is frantically trying to reverse the gains that haye been made internationally They're sending out one diplomatic mission after another diplomatic mission after another to try to counter the international offensive of solidarity groups in support of the Irish strugSo we consider international solidarity a VERY VErY HEIDEONE We welcome the solidarity we have receive Australia, and in America and Europe Those are the three principal areas - and, of course, in Britain where solidarity has been growing as parts of the political establishment become disenchanted with their war in Ireland.
Earlier you mentioned developments in the British Labour Party. How important do you see developments there?
Well, we're very encouraged by the advent of Tony Benn, who we see as a very important CENCEL scenions of te ponca establishment in Britain who are disenchanted with the British war in Ircland.
We are encouraged - and again this is another side effect of the hunger strike - by the fact that there are something like fifty or sixty motions on Ireland to the annual conTerene are convinced that are convinced that the only way pro gress will be made in Britain is through an understanding among the rank and file of the rulers are doing in this country in their name, Therefore we see them as an important clement to aim our publicity and our programme We have been consistently doing that over the last number of years, by sending delegations to meet influential members of the British Labour Party on a local, constituency level.
Because we think that while we may make progress occasionally with people like Tony Benn, it is essential that the British Labour Party grass roots at the constituency level understand what's going on. We are encouraged tha things will begin to move there.
I think that as the capitalist recession deepens under Thatcher, it becomes all the casier for us.
becomes more radical in its approach tO itS Ow problems in Britain. CASICT therefore, to encourage it to look at Ireland
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Now the hunger strike itself has crystalised for many people in this country and abroad just