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The Socialist Labour League's press: The Newsletter, Workers Press, Labour Review and Fourth International, 1952–1973. A searchable archive of the scans

ULSTER-No-go areas next target Paras ready to pounce

By Ian Yeats

Workers Press no. 829, 31 July 1972 · scan page 12

Topics: Ireland

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The political and military preparations culminating in Ulster supremo William Whitelaw's Dublin ultimatum that all barricades - Protestant and Catholic-must come down are as comOver past weeks, as Protestant no-go areas have appeared and Ulster Defence Association (UDA) units have drilled openly in the streets, Catholics and Protestants have made the final moves out of each others' areas and to inflict members ic no-go a matter THE BRITISH army intends the seige a bloody massacre on IRA ghettos. While the IRA has made it plain it will make and civilians in the Catho no concessions to the Tories, the leaders of the areas of Londonderry within Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)

Meanwhile the UDA and the Vanguard movement have insisted that their barricades would be taken down if the army dealt with Catholic no-go areas.

In anticipation, the Protestant organizations have called on their members to dismantle their barricades so as to leave the army a clear path to the IRA-controlled districts. They have also postponed their rent and rates strike.

Having done everything possible to isolate the IRA, new facts revealed yesterday suggest that the army may have deliberately connived at Belfast's Bloody Friday, in which 13 died and over 100 were wounded, as a means of whipping up outLATESNEWIS WEATHER EASTERN districts of Britain will be cloudy at first with some rain in places, but brighter, drier weather with sunny spells will spread from the west.

Western Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and western counties of England will have sunny spells and showers.

Temperatures will be near or a little below normal.

Outlook for Tuesday and Wednesday: Some rain or showers at times, but also sunny spells. Temperatures near normal. NEWS DESK 01-720 2000 CIRCULATION 01-622 7029 Published by Workers 186a High SW4 7UG. rinted by Plough Press Ltd. (TU), 180b Clapham High Street, London.

SW4 7UG. mentality returned have been coaxed into condemning them.

Their wish is about to be granted. rage at Provo-planned explosions.

The daily log kept by the Public Protection Agency - set up by Whitelaw to handle complaints about sectarian intimidation-shows that the IRA gave over an hour's warning of some of the bomb blasts.

There were 22 explosions that afternoon and the PPA and the Samaritans Organization logged a total of 21 advance warnings.

These were immediately passed on to the security forces. According to the army they received none at all and only eight during the bombing spell itself.

If IRA claims are correct, the holocaust which took place at Cavehill shopping centre and Oxford Street bus station could have been avoided.

Public telephone services sto the security forces were overloaded that afternoon and evidence points to frantic IRA calls direct to the security forces once they realized no steps were being taken to clear civilians away from the bomb-blast areas.

While the army denies they were tipped off, the police simply say it would have been impossible to check all the bomb warnings, including hoaxes, which at the moment average 30 to 40 a day.

Since Bloody Friday-July 21 - army forays against gunmen have been markedly few and subdued, throwing into high relief IRA attacks.

Yesterday all-night riots by 'rival mobs of hooligans' in Lurgen, Co. Armagh, were left largely to take their own co urse, although barricades went bombs were thrown and a factory set on fire.

But the army • has not been idle. Last week 133 people were arrested. Troops and police found 7,500 rounds of ammunition, 1,165lb of explosives, 22 rifles, 20 pistols, one anti-tank gun, one sub-machine gun and five shotguns.

With the army portrayed in as favourable light as possible, with the 'law-abiding' SDLP politicians cut off from the IRA, with a stringent crack-down on arms supplies and with extremist Protestant organizations calmed by the prospect of imminent action against the IRA, the Tory army is ready to pounce.

Four thousand extra troops have been moved into the province from Britain and Germany, including two paratroop regiments-the paras were responsible for Derry's Bloody Sunday six months ago in which 13 people died.

The troops were accompanied by about a dozen converted Centurion tanks which will be used to force a path through Catholic barricades.

The vehicles have a gun for their protection and are heavily armoured to withstand attack from high-velocity weapons.

Tory survival rests on their ability to bring the phenomenon of dual power-as much in evidence in working-class rejection of the Industrial Relations Act and its court as in the no-go areas of Ulster-to an abrupt end.

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