[The following statement by the National Committee of the Revolutionary Marxist Group (RMG — Irish section of the Fourth International) was published in issue No. 5 of the Plough, the organ of the RMG.]
The national committee of the Revolutionary Marxist Group rejects totally the proposals made by Desmond Boal, towards the amalgamation of the 6 and 26 county states. We reaffirm our demand for a 32 county socialist workers republic, as the only solution to the struggle for national unification which will solve the needs of the working class.
We consider that the enthusiastic and uncritical support given the Boal initiative by both wings of the Republican move ment represents a retrograde move on the part of both organisations.
This is the natural development of the strategies of both bodies. On the one hand we have Gardiner Place [the Official republicans] with its perspective of social struggles separated by the border, and necessitating a reliance on, and tail-ending of, the Protestant Labour Aristocracy. On the other hand there is Kevin St. (Provisional republicans) with its con- May 6, 1974
ception of an "Eire Nua," which tries to offer something to all classes in Irish society, which sees British Imperialism as a purely military problem, and which cannot deal with the more subtle, but none the less real, Imperialist influence in Irish life.
The fact is that Boal's proposal must be seen in relation to others that have appeared and will appear from the Loyalist camp in the current period. It is a further expression of the disintegration of the Unionists' Monolith. Boal's proposal differs from Taylor's only in its intelligent evaluation of the essential refusal of the bourgeoisie of the Republic to interest itself in or seriously defend the Nationalist minority in the northeast. His proposal is to rely on Leinster House rather than Westminster as a defender of the "Protestant (read Orange) Way of Life." This will give the shadow of victory beyond their wildest dreams to the bourgeois nationalists, while leaving the substance firmly in the hands of the Northern ruling caste. Both interests will then be able to col laborate happily in keeping down disorders north and south.
One of the biggest weaknesses in the anti-imperialist movement has been its lack of unity even on the most limited of
This weakness, while being issues.
such, a campaign against repression in defence of those who have been victimised is basically a defensive one. However, it is only on the basis of such a defensive campaign that an offensive can be embarked upon in the future. It must integrate a wide spectrum of republican, socialist, labour and people's organisations on a common limited programmatic basis. Any attempt to avoid this necessity by substituting other "stunts" or political manoeuvres can only be detrimental to the movement as a whole.
Can such a united front work? On the basis of a principled front on limited issues unity can be attained by organisations mobilising around these issues and acting responsibly to maintain such unity. There is no real alternative to such action. Attempts to enter the bourgeois political arena by basing oneself on purely conjunctural issues (e.g., Boal plan), or to engage in isolated military adventures in the south, can only lead to a complete disorientation - precisely because such actions are not related to the mass movement they will confuse it and lead to the isolation of the anti-imperialist organisations.
The collaboration between British imperialism and its allies in Ireland must be undermined. The combativity and confidence of the nationalist population must be built around mobilisations against repression on a thirty-two county basis. Re publicans and socialists must utilize all areas of possible radicalisation (e.g., the economic struggle, harassment in border areas, etc.) in order to put the question of repression in the forefront of all struggles.