from Bob Purdie
unemployment has been to One result of its economic depression and high make Scotland a prime recruiting ground for H.M. Forces. In fact a large proportion of the troops in Aden at present are Scots and many Scots workers who have been in the Armed Forces have served in Aden. This has had a negative influence on the thinking of many such workers, placed in a situation where they are the object of the attacks of the Adeni Liberation Movement and confused by the propaganda of the British Press and the Army itself, they are unable to understand the true reasons for the struggle of the Adeni people and respond with bitter racialist attitudes which influence other workers and lend support to the imperialist policies of Wilson and Brown, The recent escalation of the conflict and the killing of British soldiers in Crater has led to an outburst of jingoist propaganda in the "popular" press. This spurred supporters of V.S.C. in Glasgow to think seriously about the problem and to take action to combat the reactionary press campaign. ‘A poster parade and leaflet distribution were organised as the best forms of action which could be mounted quickly and effectively. Invitations were sent to various groups on the Left, but unfortunately the response was not great - in fact some sections expressed the view that it would be a waste of time. In the event, eight people with posters which said "Bring back the troops now" and linked up the Wage Freese with support for the feudal Sheikhs, walked through the main streets of Glasgow last Saturday afternoon (1st July) and distributed leaflets explaining the true nature of the struggle in Aden and finishing up with the slogans "No British Vietnam in Aden!", "No Support for the Fedual Sheikhs and Oil Millionaires!" and "Bring the Troops Home now!" All of the participants felt qualms about the smallness of their numbers and the likely response but, in fact, far from derision or hostility they were greeted first by puzzlement and then by a large measure of support + it was evident that the slogans were getting across. The experience of this action has been very valuable, both in gauging the response to antiimperialist slogans and the value of even small groups of people taking . public action to combat reactionary propaganda, The growth of V.5.C. has been accompanied by a growing realisation of how the issue of Vietnam is linked with the wider problems of domination of the under-developed world by the big monopolies, The action of the Glasgow comrades shows that a more generalised anti-imperialist movement is necessary and can be developed. Incidentally, the demonstration had quite an international character; three Scots, two English, one Irish, one German and one Indian participated.