Provos make 'start anew' plea to Protestants

DUBLIN AN OLIVE branch was held terday bye revision se terday Provisional Fein president Rory O'Brady in a speech to the movement's biggest Ard Fheis since 1925.

One thousand provisionals from Ulster and the Republic, meeting under close Special Branch surveillance, at the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union headquarters at Liberty Hall, Dublin, heard O'Brady say:

'We do not wish to submerge the Unionists of the North in an all-Ireland state.

'We offer them very real powers in majority control of a greater Ulster through the Dail Uladh plan (Ulster parliament).

'Incorporation of nine counties will give a healthier balance of population in the North-something the six-county state has always lacked.' Addressing himself directly to Ulster Protestants, O'Brady said: 'We would never ask you to join the 26-county state-we are trying to escape from it ourselves.

The recently-released Provisionals' policy document •Eire Nua' looks forward to a 32county Ireland governed by four regional parliaments involving the scrapping partition trements and the severing of all links with Britain.

The keynote of this year's Ard Fheis was the urgency of following up. what Sinn Fein leaders claimed as their victory in bringing down the 'puppet regime' at Stormont- -with massive recruitment into the Republican moveAlthough it was not stated in SO many words, Provisional leaders are anxious to heal sectarian divisions in the North and win support from all sections for their regional government plans.

During the private conference session on Saturday there were fierce clashes "over the historically-contentious issue of the oath of allegiance and a split was narrowly avoided by a compromise resolution of unique significance.

After 50 years Provisional Sinn Fein members may now retain their membership and swear alleglance to the partition government at Westminster provided only that they repudiate the oath in writing to their local branches.

For over half a century the oath had to be repudiated publicly thus severely limiting recruitment.

O'Brady and Provisionals chief of staff Sean MacStiofain laid heavy emphasis on the need for new political organization and initiatives alongside their military activities.

The Sinn Fein president called for more work in the trade union movement and said that all local elections in the Republic would be vigorously contested.

Said O'Brady: 'The aim must be to achieve the leadership of the people. Building regional government structures and involvement in local issues together with support for the North provides the means.' On Saturday about 50 students from Trinity College, Dublin who picketed the conference with banners demanding 'peace' were given a hot reception by the Provisionals and at one stage had to be protected by police. TENANTS meeting at Paisley, near Glasgow, yesterday enthusiastically endorsed a call for the trade union leaders to end their collaboration with the Tories and fight to remove them from office.

They agreed to lobby Labour councillors before next month's council meeting to. demand that they rescind their decision to implement the Tories' Housing Finance Act.

Willie Docherty, chairman of the Paisley Tenants' Action Committee, said that the Industrial Relations Act, the Common Market and the Housing Finance Act were not separate issues. By acting in support of the tenants, trade unionists could develop the strength to fight them.