AROUND THE WORLD United Secretariat of the Fourth International appealing for an international mobil ization against the war on October 20). Growing popular opposition in France to the imperialist aggression is evident in the broadening of the anti-war movement and its increasing fesonance. While the first demonstration against the war in Paris drew only 2000 cople, mainly from the far left groups, a second shortly afterwards was sponsored by the CGT, France's largest trader union federation, and attracted ·5000 people no
The October 20 demonstration is set to be still larger, with a range of sponsors
AROUND Du including the French Communist Party,
THE
WORLD
IRELAND Hunger strike against extradition DESSIE ELLIS, a republican political prisoner held in the formally independent part of Ireland, has declared a hunger strike to death, beginning October 10, to prevent his extradition to Britain on a conspiracy charge. This will be the first all-out action of this type since the hunger strike of republican prisoners in Northern Ireland in 1981 that led to the deaths of 10 of the protesters. Ellis's family and supporters have from the Derry Taxi Association, a cooperative business, endangering its ability to keep up its payments to its creditors. In Belfast, the "security forces" raided the bookstore run by the Republican welfare organization, the Green Cross. The manager of the store complained that it was the second time this year that the store had been raided, and that this time, as before, serious and quite unnecessary
"We have never refused entry to the RUC or British army and if they had called and asked I would the Greens, pacifist movements and democratic Middle Eastern organizations. Demonstrations are also to be organized in at least ten other French towns and cities. The Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire, French section of the Fourth International, together with Lutte Ouvrière, another revolutionary organization, is appealing for a common contingent on the demonstration of all forces demanding the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of imperialist troops from the Gulf region.
Meanwhile, demonstrations are planned throughout the United States on October 20, from San Francisco to New York, around the slogans of opposition to US intervention in the Middle East and immediate withdrawal of US troops. As Bush's economic problems multiply, Americans are increasingly beginning to resent the huge sums being squandered on the Gulf adventure — a recent New York Times/ CBS poll shows support for the sending of US troops to the Gulf at 61%, down from 75% in late September. *
Trotsky commemoration in Beirut explained that under Britain's conspiracy laws, it is virtually impossible to disprove THE Arab Committee for the commemoration of the charge against him, and that the dis- the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Leon Trotcrediting of the convictions of the Guild- sky, in which the Revolutionary Communist ford Four (whom the British finally had to Group, Lebanese section of the Fourth Internarelease after they had spent 15 years in tional, is active, organized a conference-debate in prison) and the Birmingham Six show that West Beirut on September 26 on the theme of "the Irish suspects risk being railroaded by Brit- thought and struggle of Leon Trotsky in the light ish Courts. Further information can be of current developments in the USSR and the obtained from Republican News, 58 Parnell Square, Dublin 1. * More than 200 people met in a conference hall with only 150 seats, to hear left deputy Najah Police raids Wakim and Revolutionary Communist Group supREPUBLICAN OFFICES throughout porter Kamil Dagher, writer and translator into Northern Ireland were raided in early Arabic of the Trotsky biography by Isaac DeutsOctober by British troops and Royal Ulster cher. The speakers underlined the topicality of the Constabulary in a large-scale operation thought of Trotsky and established the necessary dubbed "Operation Whiplash." About 800 distinction between the bankruptcy of the Soviet troops and police were involved. The rea- Union and that of socialism. Kamil Dagher also son given for the raids was that they were gave a balance sheet of the positions of the part of an attempt to stamp out "paramili- Fourth International on the subject of the probtary" racketeering. In its October 11 issue, lems of the Arab region, from the partition of PalRepublican News, the paper of Sinn Féin, estine in 1947 up to the present crisis in the Gulf. noted that many of the premises hit had The conference was chaired by Maan Bachour, a been repeatedly and recently raided, and so progressive Lebanese intellectual well known in the British forces knew that they would the country. It is noteworthy that the audience find no evidence of illegal practices.
In Derry, the second largest city in Northern Ireland, the police took £6,000 raiders took away large and office equipment. denounced the operation as harassment and intimmarked a major escalation in the pressure of the "security forces" on the Sinn Fein and neighborhood organizations the nationalist areas of Northern Ireland. * GULF CRISIS Demonstration A MAJOR demonstration is to take place in Paris on Saturday October 20, as part of a day of against the threat of war in the Gulf (see /V 192 for the declaration of the
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MICHEL AOUN, known to his followers
International Viewpoint #193 • October 29, 1990
"Napolaoun" by the Druze leader Walla AMBASSADE DEE RANCE Jumblatt, finally gave up the fight on October 13 and shamefacedly took refuge in the French embassy. It is those Lebanese Christians who were enticed by the determination he displayed up until then and fought under his command who have to pick up the bill.. SALAH JABER
T HE BILL is a big one. Since