DURING the Malvinas The nationalist movement has been fighting tor freedom bowen uccaues. ionalist forces liberated half their country in 1921 creating Eire and have been struggling to achieve the re-unification of Ireland ever since.
As part of this struggle the IRA has stated many times considers military targets in Britain to be at risk. Thatcher such gave no the SHUTUCI several hundred Argentinians the General Belgrano which was sunk the war zone around the Malvinas.
But is the political value such bombings do they help the cause of Irish freedom from Britain? In a recent article in Republican News the Irish newspaper which supports the IKA Peter Dowling looks at the lessons republicans could learn the Malvinas War. Notion He that the show of South Atlantic must lay to rest any notion that the British can be driven out of by military might alone. No war of national liberation can ever be won without cance of forces political balance in Ireland and Britain.
There important military differences between the two wars - that Argentinians were beaten in a conventional war within 13 weeks. but war, the Thatcher government claimed that the use of violence was justified in the defense of democracy and defense against invasion by a foreign power -over the recent the IRA are unbeaten after 13 years.
The main difference, Dowling says, is the pot can context.
example, stops the Army driving up Falls Rd in and blowing to smithereens the Republican Press Centre? Restraints the nationalist areas Belfast what the Israelis have done to Beirut!
The says, because the IRA could stop them because of the tradition ef "liberalism', but because of the political state violence his considered That counter productive.
reler vowillig goes uni to say that because the Task Force was launched in a wave of 'popular support' the large losses could be brushed aside. The only real question was whether the Argentine Air Force could inflict sufficient casualties to split public opinion and bring about premature ceasefire.
Whereas in the South Atlantic £1,500 was spent and at least 250 lives lost, it ualllag' the credibility of the Tories in carrying trough inch objective to the end. But in forces have incurred much smaller losses and financial cost people as 11011 worth Hove much and must longer stay Dowling concludes that IRA tactics must take of pollica. restraint of the British and turn the physical impact of their military campaign to political ends.
He looks at Vietnam, saying that once a certain military competence of the Vietnamese had been attained, the conflict changhearts and minds the HOL of Vietnam, but decisively Mincila. Stephen McConomy - killed by a plastic bullet by the The United States was public opinion had turned against the war.
Socialist Challenge and its sister paper in Ireland Socialist Republic have argued for just such political approach to the building of imperialist movement In Ireland and Britain.
British army - one of many By subordinating the political struggle to the military the IRA has ex. cluded thousands workers and youth in both countries from helping to get Britain out.
The biggest impact it Britain, and around the was achieved by the political campaign around the strikers and the election of Bobby Sands to the partlamcil not by the IRA's military successes.
Such political campaign makes it more dit ficult for Thatcher and the movement leaders in Britain to whip up chauvinist reaction. Bombs in Britain will not answer the Southern Irish government which backs the British and jails Gerr Tuite; bombs will not ex plain to the British or Iris workers now lo oppos Prior's plans which sup Preland; they wil we port Unionist not lea the thousands of who opposed the Malvina war as part of the strugg against wholehearted! the cause of Irish freedo: in the same way.
Socialist Challenge 30 July 1962 page?
By Tessa van Gelderen
----- pull-quotes -----
war highlights its hypocrisy Irish Republican Army bombings in London.
something the Irish have been saying for years. The government's stance during the Malvinas