SWP: their support of Sinn Fein & their left republicanism

Tuesday October 29, 2002 15:26

by Geraldine

It is news to many new members of SWP that their orgnaisation used to support SF and the IRA. And the SWP still have an un-socialist left republican position of the north.

In the early 1980s the SWP supported Sinn Féin and called for a vote for Sinn Féin in elections. The SWP did this on the basis of SF/IRA being a national liberation movement.

The SWPs main criticism of Sinn Fein at the time was that they were going too far down the road of elections, SWP accused SF of being "electoralist".

The SWP failed to see that the IRA and SF were whipping up sectarian hatred and violence. It also exposes SWP's belief that Protestent workers are not as 'revolutionary' as Catholic workers.

Thw SWP also failed to see that the Provisionals were a right wing nationalist split off.

However the main problem is that the SWP have changed their position without acknowledging the wrongs of their past position. I've no problem with an organisation learning from its mistakes and changing its position after proper discussion etc. But the SWP have not done this.

SWP have since embraced "electoralism", and they have ditched their support for Sinn Féin. It should also be noted that only in the past number of weeks has the "What We Stand For" column in the Socialist Worker has changed their left republican position on the north.

SWP still orientate towards Catholics as opposed to Protestents, they call for a "Workers' Republic" (a typical left republican stance)

In their eyes Protestent workers (like Israeli workers) are one bigoted ignorant mass of lumpens that can't be won to socialist ideas.