Campaign for Democracy in Ulster

The Campaign for Democracy in Ulster held its first conference at the Irish Club on Sunday, 28 January. Although originally called as a London Conference, representation from many parts of England, Scotland and Wales and from Ulster itself gave it a national character. Principal speakers were Chris Norwood, M.P., who took the chair at the morning session, Gerry Fitt, M.P., Paul Rose, M.P., and Charles van Gelderen. Dr. David Pitt took the chair at the afternoon session and effectively linked the struggle for full citizenship for immirrants to Britain with the fight for democratic rights in Ulster. Several speakers, both from the platform and the floor compared conditions in this corner of the United Kingdom with South Africa, In both countries arrest without warrant; imprisonment without charge, denial of the risht of recourse to habeus corpus; punishment by flogring; prevention of access of relatives or legal advisors to a person imprisoned without trial; censorship of the press, etc., are part of the law of the land. While there is no legal segregation in Ulster as there is in South Africa, in practice the Catholic population is discriminated against in jobs, housing and the social services, Twelve M.P.s from Ulster sit at Westminster and take part “in debates on all issues. Yet, when the situation in Ulster is raised with the British Government the reply always was that the matter came within the jurisdiction of the Stormont regime, Gerry Fitt referred to the irony of the situation that they could ask questions in the House about Manchester, Birmingham or anywhere in Britain but cuestions about his own constituency, Belfast West, were out of order. Both Gerry Fitt and Charles van Gelderen pointed out that while the Campaign for Democracy in Ireland had an impressive number of M.P.s among its sponsors (100), they were doing very little in practical terms to advance the cause. Gerry Fitt intended to abstain on the vote on appropriations for Ulster and challenged his fellow M.P.s on the Labour benches to support him. Charles van Gelderen also drew a parallel with the struggle of the Afro— Americans and that of the minority in Ulster: the black Americans hed found that constitutional methods were not getting them any place fast. It was the duty of the British labour movement to support the people of Ulster in any action they took — constitutional or otherwise, in their fight for justice and democratic rights, Information about the Campaign for Democracy in Ulster can be pot from the Secretary: Pat Byrne, 79, Thrale Road, London S.W. 16.