Workers Solidarity Movement

ON APRIL 25TH 1974 a radical faction within the Portuguese Armed Forces, the MFA, revolted against the government. Until that day Portugal had been under a fascist dictatorship for over half a century. Whether the MFA was left or right wing inclined was unclear at the time. The military revolt created a space where people could effect change in their lives and the opportunity was grasped eagerly.Left-wing activists began returning from exile, and new political parties sprouted up. The parties all used the situation to gain political power in the government. Ordinary folk, in contrast, used the situation to improve social conditions in their communities and workplaces through new autonomous organisations. It was here that the true revolution was fought and is of most interest to anarchists.

OVER THE SUMMER there were developments in the long struggle over women's rights to control their own bodies. Most of them have not been good. In the North a group known as Precious Life succeeded, following a campaign of intimidation, in closing down the Ulster Pregnancy Advisory Association. The association had been in existence for 20 years. They took the decision to close their doors following picketing of the homes of their councillors, who were all volunteers. Their head office was broken into and a fire was started.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees is spending about 11 cents a day per refugee in Africa. Some refugee camps hold as many as 500,000 people and have just one doctor for every 100,000. Up to 6,000 people there die each day from cholera and other public health diseases.1

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In the ten years from 1987 to 1997 (the first decade of 'social partnership') the share of 26 county earnings going to wages, pensions and social welfare declined by 10%; from 69% to 59%. The share going to profits, rents and dividends rose by 10%; from 31% to 41%.2

Irish syndicalism - WE HAVE LEARNED with regret that the Irish section of the International Workers Association, Organise!, has decided to dissolve itself. Although we had political differences with this anarcho-syndicalist group - in particular with their approach of trying to build new revolutionary unions - we welcomed their existence as offering another option to those interested in anarchism in Ireland.

LAST SUMMER, the Irish News ran an article titled 'SDLP slams Britains record in East Timor'. (August 6th). SDLP assembly member Carmel Hanna rightly criticised the British government for continuing arms sales to Indonesia. She even went so far as to describe Britain's role in relation to East Timor as "sordid" because of this.

Quite right, but...

The issues of the Irish anarchist paper Workers Solidarity published in 1999.  These are issues 56 to 58 and were the last in the A3 8 page format.

The Sunday Tribune of 7th March 1999 reproduced a photograph taken in the grounds of Dublin Castle in June 1990. Beaming at the camera, without an apparent care in the world, are the then 12 Prime ministers of the European Union, along with their foreign ministers. They had indeed plenty of reason to feel satisfaction with their weekend's work in Dublin - their idea of closer European political union was being discussed and we were all about to be embarked on the road to European Monetary Union and the wonders of the Euro.

"Only the truth is revolutionary". Whoever first coined this phrase displayed a deep insight into the true nature of politics and political ideas. What passes for political debate in the mainstream media seldom moves beyond the soundbite and the clever turn of phrase. Only a handful of journalists or commentators ever appear to delve beneath the surface and to question what we are all expected to take for granted - Noam Chomsky, Robert Fisk, John Pilger...

The WSM were greatly saddened to hear of the death of Dutch anarchist Karl Max Kreuger from The Hague. Karl used to sell Workers Solidarity in Holland and many of us also remember him from the annual Anarchist Book Fair in London. We send our sincerest sympathy to his family, friends and comrades.

The Meaning of Anarchism by Capt. Jack White (Organise!-IWA, Belfast) £1.00* - Veteran of the 1913 lockout, the Irish Citizen Army, the Irish International Brigade

THE VICTORS write history. A similar truth is derived; that those who have threatened the rule of capitalism or the livelihoods of those at its head have been ill-served by their historical representation. Several pivotal figure in the history of working class self- realisation have been omitted altogether from the dominant texts of our society, thus being rarely mentioned outside of academic debate.