Part 4 - DW062 001 029 004

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4 CWM AND RCLB DETERMINED TO UNITE On the afternoon of 29th April, a public meet- ing took place in London, organized jointly by the Communist Workers' Move- ment and the Revolution- ary Communist League of Britain on the struggle to unite the Marxist-Leninist movement here. The meeting was opened with two revol- utionary songs performed by the "New Era Singers" Speeches were then made by Comrade Chris Burford, Chairman of the Central Committee of the RCLB and Comrade Ian Williams, Sec- retary of the National Committee of the Commun- ist Workers' Movement. Front Nazis but also from corporatist policies being followed by the "Labour" government. Both speakers used the occasion to publicly ann- ounce the determination of the two organizations to achieve unity. This ann- ouncement was greeted with applause. The speeches were foll- owed by a lively discussion with the participation of mambers and supporters of the CWM and RCLB, as well as members of the Workers' Party of Scotland (Marxist- Leninist), Nottingham Comm- unist Group, and other groups and individuals. a thunderous and prolonged standing ovation. A reso- lution was passed unanimous- ly by the meeting, condemn- ing the hostility of the West German bourgeoisie to the Zimbabwean people as shown by their refusal to admit ZANU representatives to West Germany and the seizure of funds intended for ZANU (See "New Age" No. 3.). A collection to help raise money for a land- rover for ZANU netted over £172 at the meeting. The meeting closed with the singing of the Internationale; this was followed in the evening by a social. MORE BRITISH JUSTICE On April 10th, the trial started in Sheffield of five people, four white and one black. The background to this case says a lot about what British justice really means. The defendants were all arrest- ed last year on July 4th in Burngreave, an area of Sheff- ield with poor housing, high unemployment and no clubs or facilities for young people. The police went round, picking up young blacks while "pursuing their enquiries" into a robbery from a car. In all, ten were taken to Atter- cliffe police station, of whom only two were charged, along with two other people, six weeks later. The prosec- ution used "confessions" signed under duress and thr- eats of violence to get these for young blacks found guilty and sent down for three years; throughout their time in the cop shop they had been refused access to solicitors. The four white people be- came involved when the police were making their original pick-ups. They protested when they saw plain clothes police- men beating a black youth, Anthony Armstrong, with trun- cheons (he was never charged with robbery). All five were arrested and charged with various offences, including criminal damage (to a police shirt), assault on a police- man in the execution of his duty, and, in Armstrong's case, with possession of an offensive weapon (a billiard cue). The five pleaded not guil- ty to all charges. Local people are sick of the treatment they get from the police-black people espec- ially have suffered a lot of police harassment over the years. During the arrests men- tioned above, the police show- ed their racist attitudes in the abuse they used towards the black youths. The four whites were threatened, ass- aulted and called "do-gooders," "agitators," and "social Work- ers"! The defendants have rec- eived a lot of local support, and a defence committee was set up to support them, c/o 23, Catherine Rd., Sheffield S4 7HH. WANE WIRRAL TRADES COUNCIL LEYLAND FIX TRA TRAD UNITED WE STAND NEEDS BUI IT ON JIM LEYLAND Trade Unionists march in Liverpool on May Day. CWM and RCLB members marched together, there as elsewhere. In the future, with their own party, workers will push revolutionary politics to the fore on May Day, and push aside the Labour Party and CPGB hacks who presently dominate May Day marches. Comrade Burford prais- ed the heroic struggles being waged by the British working class as exemplif- ied by the recent firemen's strike, but pointed out that these were without central leadership because the working class lacked its revolutionary commun- ist party. Therefore our central task is to build that party in order to provide a fighting head- quarters for the working class. Comrade Williams said that it was necessary to take a sober view of the situation because our forces are still weak and divåded and generally iso- lated from the working class. He stressed that while there was genuine cause for optimism we should not rest on our laurels: the danger of fascism is growing, not only from the National A message of solidarity was brought to the meeting by a representative of the Confederation of Iranian Students (CIS) who thanked the CWM and RCLB for their messages of solidarity to the last Congress of CIS and expressed the sincere hope that the British rev- olutionaries would be able to overcome their differ- ences and unite in a single organization. His message was greeted with loud app- lause. The meeting also heard a speaker from the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU-Patriotic Front), who spoke on the present situation in his country and pointed out that it was in the Lenin- ist tradition for workers in the imperialist count- ries to support the nat- ional liberation movements. At the end of his speech, the ZANU Comrade was given On May Day, the CWM and RCLB jointly particip- atedin the May Day marches in London and other cities. The joint public meet- ing of the CWM and RCLB as well as the other joint work of the two organiza- tions marks the important advances that have been made in the unity discuss- ions between the two org- anizations. Unity of the CWM and RCLB will take the Marxist-Leninist movement in Britain to a new stage. MARXIST-LENINISTS, UNITE! LETTER to the EDITOR Dear Editor, I'm a single parent struggling to bring up two small children on S.S. I would dearly love to go out to work. Life is not much fun living four floors (Continued opposite)

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