-2- colonialists - including those of the USA, Japan and Britain - the/ancient Land of Morning Calm was expunged from the map of the globe and its people were degraded into men and women without rights either at home and/abroad. It was at this critical historical crossroads that the great President - almost from his earliest years - took on his shoulders the destiny/of the country and the people and through his leadership of the 20 year long leadership of the revolutionary armed struggle restored the homeland. After this he successfully led the Fatherland Liberation War to victory and on the ruins left behind by the/war he has led the building of what can truly be termed a socialist paradise, the like of which has not existed before, a shining example to the oppressed people of every colonial and semi-colonial country, every people who have groaned and groan under the iron heels of national oppression and class exploitation of the possibility and necessity of the revolution, of the vitality of the national pride of risen peoples and of

-3- Marxism-Leninism and the Juche idea. Today President Kim Il Sung is still working with the energy, enthusiasm and the creative mind of a person in the prime of his life. On the international front he is working to make the whole world independent, to strengthen the co-operation and friendship between non-aligned Third World and other developing countries, to strengthen the unity and cohesion of the socialist countries and the international communist movement and has developed an absolutely correct guiding path for the vigorous promotion of the world revolutionary process. On the Korean front he is straining every nerve to support the youth and students of south Korea and all the forces in south Korean society who aspire to patriotism, democracy, independence and reunification, whilst simultaneously in the northern part of the republic the work leading /struggle together with dear Comrade Kim Jong Il to model the whole of society on the Juche idea and to /achieve realise the complete victory of socialism. In the DPRK there is a perfect and complete accord between the people and the leader that has not been imposed by any

ка -4- decree or diktat but has evolved and matured on the basis of an unprecedented shared experience of more than 60 years that should be the envy of any people in the world. In the speech he delivered in Pyongyang on the occasion of his 70th birth anniversary, the President himself explained that the relationship between himself and his people was characterised by mutu al trust and love. It was a rare and priveledged glimpse of the sublime characteristics of the President when he said кыахх on that occasion that he wished to live on to serve the people and that it was his revolutionary duty to fight for them to the last. Such a standpoint is so contradictory to the selfish egoism of the bourgeoisie and the other historically antiquated exploiting classes that it is little wonder that they utterly fail to comprehend Korean realities and persist in painting a picture that those of us gathered here know bears no resemblance to the truth. I would like to express my thanks to New Abbey Publications and its chairman, Mr. John Newall, who took the initiative to arrange this festive occasion

-5- to arrange this festive gathering and to the management and staff of the Fung Shing Chinese Restaurant who co-operated magnificently to prepare this splendid banquet. In conclusion, I would like to propose a ta^ toast: to the good health and long life of the great leader, His Excellency President Kim Il, Sung.

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-2- Furthermore, there are similarities in the course of each country's armed struggle. (And possibly direct links too - eg. between Shaheed Uddham Singh & the IRA.) It is a myth to say that armed struggle played no part in the Indian national liberation movement. Rather the merits and demerits between armed and non-armed methods were a matter of constant review and struggle. Shaheed Bhagat Singh. (remember Shiv verma made the bomb that he threw into the National Assembly) shows in his writings how important he considered the Irish struggle to be both as a source of inspiration and a reference point. Indeed, Bhagat Singh and his comrades were precisely part of that generation of Colonial liberation fighters who were inspired and enthused by the Easter Rising in Dublin. Another example is referred to from around the same time is referred to by in the April 28 issue of the CPI(M) paper, People's Democracy: "In the annals of the Indian freedom movement of 1930, the Chittagong (note- now part of uprising was the biggest event Bangladesh - K.B)

S which added a glorious chapter to the history of Indian freedom movement. After the Indian revolt of 1857 it was a unique attempt to challenge the British rule in India with arms... It was planned following the Easter revolution of Ireland... The uprising was organised by the Chittagong Branch of Indian Republican Army. " (Emphasis added - K.B.) The other outstanding example is, of course, the Indian National Army founded by Subhas Chandra Bose. Furthermore, it is worth noting that in the true spirit of Connolly those Indian patriots who gravitated towards armed struggle were precisely those who saw the need to go beyond the winning of formal independence - on to the building of socialism and rule by workers and the peasants. - Whilst India has won its political independence, the freedom struggle continues in Ireland. India was a key founder of the Non-Aligned Movement (founding fathers: Nehru, Nasser, Tito, Nkrumah, Sukarno) and is inseperable from its development into the organisation and force in world politics that a free Ireland would aspire to join. (NB - As against the Free State's policy of wiping out