f haniles are going from bad to worse. This weekend the- Observer
reported that riots have been raging in Bahrain. “The angry young men of Muharraq have been on strike for nearly three weeks. © Armed with stones and Pepsi-Cola bottles, they have braved riot guns and instantvomit gas to stage the first major disturbance in the Persian Gulf since Suez,”
How can Labour permit these things? Who are we fighting, and what are we fighting for, when we wound, maim, and bully in this vile and senseless way?
While the young people of Bahrain are persecuted by British helicopters “looking for . . . the flying shapes of schoolboy demonstrators,” who benefits? This question must be addressed to the oil companies, to the tin and rubber exploiters who operate in Malaysia, to the City, and to our American ‘allies,’ who are making the pace in disgraceful, conscienceless butchery in Vietnam. They are fighting a holy war against the poor, for the preservation of the rich.
To the British people, to the pensioners, to the young service men who are hired to kill and be killed, and to the working-class taxpayers who pay for it all, it is all loss. Loss of money, loss of self-respect, loss of conscience, loss of hope. In this Context, Overseas, of gruesome betrayal of every moral precept of socialism, no advance is possible at home. Britain is rotten ripe for socialism, but any socialist move here is forestalled and overburdened by the grotesque weight of evil and costly international commitments and pledges which are implied in our present foreign and imperial policy.
To hell with imperialism, British or American! — Socialists must begin to raise their voices. One way of doing this would be to transform the coming Easter March into a huge rally against imperialism, for a break with the American Alliance, and for alignment with the hungry peoples of the world against their tormentors.
We appeal to all who read The Week to join us this Easter, in a new demonstration of independence, of human brotherhood. All the hopes of our working people depend on our ability to compel Mr. Wilson to retreat from imperialism. Our socialist future can only be won in this crucial battle. Everyone should be on the road, to say so, this coming Easter Saturday.
“I'm sure he’s willing to talk if only you’d let him win a little”.