After Brighton

we WHATEVER the Tory papers say, the so-called left of the trade union movement comes out of Brighton in a weaker and more isolated position than at any time since the Heath government was elected.

The latest pundit to join the chorus is Eric Jacobs, the upper-class industrial correspondent of "The Sunday, Times'.

Jacobs throws his weight behind the amazing theory that the 'left' emerged as vigorous as ever at the 104th Congress. As usual, there is one striking omission from Tacobs' account-a complete absence of fact to support his conclusions!

He could for example, have the position in May this yearpoint of opposition against any tion with the Industrial Relations Then a motion tabled by the engineers (AUEW) on the General Council won a majority in terms of membership affiliated unions.

Unions with a combined membership of 3.2 million voted for a re-call to conference and re-affirm the policy of boycotting the court. The right attracted million votes. The majority would have been even greater if unions like the cine technicians (ACTT) and the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) had been present.

But by Brighton, the left's share of The AUEW and he Transportabl General Congress support had slumped the AUEW and the Transport and General hang over EEC 10 CONTINUING divisions within the Common Market are plainly visible as foreign ministers from the six members and four applicant countries gather in Rome for a two-day meeting starting today.

French President Georges Pompidou met the German Chancellor Willy Brandt in Munich on Saturday, but failed to reach agreement on a number of outstanding issues to be discussed at the EEC summit on October 19.

Pompidou said after meeting Brandt that he hoped the Rome meeting would be able to work out 'a package of positive proposals' to form a basis for the forthcoming summit.

German spokesman Conrad Ahlers said there was • cause for greater optimism lat the summit would take plac on time as a result of the Franco-German meeting.

Pompidou has previously threatened to force the postponement or cancellation of the summit unless Britain returns sterling to a fixed parity.

The pound 'float' has seriously disrupted plans for eventual European monetary union and gives British big business some advantage against its European competitors. Stalinists fuel witch-hunt of Arab guerrillas THE SOVIET Union and the East European Stalinist states have unanimously condemned the action of the Black September organization which staged the attack on the Israeli Olympic team at Munich.

Prague Radio, for example, said the 'Olympic Games, this symbol of peaceful coexistence and competition, has been the scene of a criminal murder of Israeli sportsmen by the Palestinian guerrillas of the Black September group'.

Sofia Radio claimed on behalf of the Bulgarian team that 'this grave incident is a gross violation of the Olympic traditions, the ideals and principles of peace tracting support only from a minority of smaller organizations.

Notably the National Union of Mineworkers and NUPE had swung to the right and the Boilermakers' Society had shifted off the fence into the arms of general secretary Victor Feather and the The one feeble 'achievement' was the removal of Dyers' and Bleachers' leader Jack Peel. Unfortunately Peel's fall from grace will make not a scrap of difference -the unknown who replaces him, Joe examined King, is perhaps even more right wing. -the high But the bare facts give only a glimpse co-opera- of the fundamental shift of forces Brighton Court. represented. A year ago at the 103rd Congress at Blackpool the union leaders at least paid lip-service to non-co-operation with the Act. Of course the speeches were a charade-a whole section of the movement fully intended to register and still more were preparing to go before the court if necessary. The point was that these leaders were as yet still unable to boast openly of their intentions.

But things did not go entirely to plan. The government used the penal clauses with a rapidity that bewildered the bureaucrats. Equally bewildering was the immediate response of the working class. Unions who wanted to sneak their way into the court's favour were stopped. The climax came in May, soon after the TUC had abandoned opposition to the court-then, Zionists step up terror raids REGULAR and Palestinian commandos conferenct on Friday: in Syria and the Lebanon 'Israel's main objective now on is the fight a were on the alert yester- on terrorism. The question of day expecting new and must take second place.' Everything points to the brutal Israeli reprisal preparation of a massive punitive raids on refugee camps expedition directed in the Arab states. against the Lebanon.

mous force of Israeli massed against the The massacre Palestinian refugees Syrian in unprecedented since northern frontiers, in and Lebanese camps was a ber organization's operation at when the bodies of the Israeli the Munich Olympics, in which 11 Israeli team members and premier Yigal Allon recalled the five commandos were gunned guerrilla actions of past years in La tone highly reminiscent of down by crack Bavarian marksprevious Zionist preparations for attacks on the Palestinians.

The Israelis claim camps are 'training bases' for Pales- for action to stamp out the 'nests' tinian guerrillas.

Israeli spokesmen have made it clear that further action against the Palestinians is being lomatic campaign to clear the prepared. Abba Eban, the Israeli Foreign Minister, told a press neighbor rs.

and • understanding among the youth and peoples throughout the world'.

Hungarian commentators went even further. Budapest Radio said: 'Although the Arab world is obliged to show sympathy towards the Palestinians, such acts of terror prompt even Arab countries to ponder.

'They cannot afford to let a few fanatical terrorists by their acts cause world indignation to frustrate the strivings for a settlement' The Yugoslavs demanded that 'the world undertake general action to eliminate violence and terror directed against any country and any people, to cut their Were a call movement condemned this surrender and to mobilize the strength of the novement demanded an immediate Congress. to bring the government down.

The Transport and General Workers' This was followed by the confrontation delegation made it quite clear that they over the jailing of five dockers and for the first time since 1926 the movement would obey the General Council's edicts was moving towards a General Strike. in the coming year whatever they were. This kind of formula really exposes the This was surely the time the so-called 'left'. Men like Hugh Scanion do not want left could have been victorious. Without question a Congress could have been to defeat the right wing. They erect a organized and won the backing of the ally conspire to create a condition where barrage of verbal opposition but continuoverwhelming majority of unions and they will be prisoners of the right wing and so escape the direct responsibility to lead.

But the left revealed their true colours. In this sense too they are desperately The demands for re-call and opposition afraid of he mass movement, since it to the Act were no more than words— challenges heir left phrases and threatens backed by determined action. On the con- utterly meaningless since they were not them with exposure, as Jack Jones found to his cost during the dock strike. trary, it was Jack Jones, his executive and their Stalinist allies who temporarily broke Deep in this swamp of opportunism is the resistance of the working class by the Communist Party. It now acts as engineering a return to work in the dock dishonest broker between the discredited strike. leaders. And at Brighton the CP's role was and the right-wing began to The tide of militancy was pushed back gather their recognized and rewarded by kind and welcoming words from the anti-communists of the General Council. nerve and composure ready for the big offensive at Brighton. There they routed Now, in the days of immediate reaction, a divided and hopelessly comp romised lett when the right can trumpet their victory wing. The battle fought against in the Tory press, the revolutionary move. Council by Hugh Scanlon and ment must prepare to fight its greatest and in fact, was phoney. most determined battle.

Not once was the General Council in- This should be a war without illusion— dicted for its treachery over the Act, not no leadership is capable of defending the once was there a call to break off relations basic rights and condition of the working with a Tory government that had made its class other than a Marxist leadership. This anti-working class intentions only too clear is the lesson of Brighton.

troops are badly mauled HEAVY ground attacks at many points in South Vietnam herald what could be the start of a new liberation offensive in the weeks preceding the American general election. action by the c This explains the calls for colin for South Vietnamese puppet forces have been badly mauled against so-called terrorism, at a number of points, notably at enthusiastically endorsed by Tien Phuoc town, south of the gainst British Labour leader Harold big US base at Da Nang. The peace Wilson and others of his stamp. Saigon command said government On the continent a major troops had abandoned the town on n Friday, after an witch-hunt against Palestinians is attack by already underway with intensi- 3,000 liberation troops backed by primarily fied security operations in Ger- tanks.

An enor- many, Switzerland, Austria and The attack at Tien huo was troops has Italy. only one of a number of actions country's which inflicted heavy losses on a strength Backed by world imperialism, the puppet forces. of anti-terrorism to inflict further the Zionists are using the slogan from as far north as t Heavy ngnting was he Quang reported blows on the already battered Tri battlefield, through the cenPalestinian resistance, consolidate tral lowlands to the Mekong their hold on the occupied Delta below Saigon. territories and terrorize the Arab The capital itself is surrounded capitalists into further capitula- North North Vietnamese and National tions.

There are already signs that the Lebanese government, at have cut all the main roads to The Israeli press is howling within 35 miles of Saigon. esters let trol Similar tactics, designed to cut the city off from the rice-growing of Palestinian activity, wherever they are, and the Tel Aviv gov- areas where the crop is being ernment is mounting a big dip- fired on two car-loads of Pales- harvested, have already sparked tinians, and Beirut is agitating widespread rioting and looting way for action against its Arab for the Palestinian fighters to by government troops in Phnom surrender their heavy arms. Penh. roots and of restoring the status onb before the six-day war. exponents. This is clear from the Black It adiled: '1972 should be the September statements, broadcast Marxists have always fought starting point of a new approach from a number of Middle East against the methods of individual to the acute problems of the by the international community transmitters. terror, carried out in isolation contemporary world because These denounce in particular individual heroism for the action from the masses and substituting has been demonstrated that vio- the 'capitulation' tendency among of the working class and the lence and terror are threatening the Arab rulers — epitomized oppressed peoples. the very essence of all the noble most blatantly by Jordan's King aspirations of the people of the Hussein, who not only disavowed The Stalinists' denunciation 01 the guerrillas, but denounced terrorism lacks even the slightest The real position of world them to the Israelis in a message shred of principle. Stalinism is well illustrated by of condolences. Their attacks on the Black these words. For them the Pales- The Stalinists have aligned September organization can only tinians are an obstacle to a dirty fuel the witch-hunt against the deal between Israel and the sur- ha mi Palestine resistance and assist rounding Arab states. resolution which completely Zionism in preparations for fresh It is fear of such a deal which ignored the just claims of the brutalities against the disfuels the desperation of the Palestinian people and seeks a possessed men and women they Palestinians and drives them to- settlement simply on the basis have driven from their country.

Monday September 11,