It would be good to see an article detailing the FBI's real role of bitterly opposing the civil rights movement at every step. I see this indictment as an attempt by the FBI to refurbish its image by turning on some of its old buddies (no honor among thieves!). In an article in the New York Times there was a report alleging that the U.S. government's "Intelligence Agencies [Are] Not Up to the Job." This will certainly be followed by increased congressional funding to enable these agencies to better spy upon and violate the basic democratic rights of new generations of union, farmer, civil rights, and women's rights fighters in this country and around the world.

Robert Dees
Palo Alto, California  
 
 
Weaponry in Ireland
It may come as a surprise to anyone who is crowing over an alleged Provisional Irish Republican Army surrender or concession on the decommissioning of its weaponry that the IRA has actually consistently held to its policy of refusing to disarm until the new political institutions established by the Good Friday Agreement have truly established a government in which the human and civil rights of the Catholic nationalist population in British-occupied Ireland have been guaranteed.

The cause of peace has already been served since the second IRA cease-fire. The arms of the IRA have, in essence, been put "beyond use." Would that it could be said about the 135,000 legal weapons held mostly in the hands of unionists.

Unfortunately, sporadic killing of Catholic nationalists continues in British-occupied Ireland. The IRA will not be laying down its arms tomorrow.

Orange bigotry has yet to be deposited in the ash can of history. When that actually happens, then and only then will a bona fide decommissioning of weaponry on the part of the IRA take place.

William Gartland
Rio, Wisconsin  
 
 
China and Taiwan
After reading the article "U.S. rulers maneuver to pressure China" in the May 22 issue, I would like to make two suggestions.

Always be very careful when referring to Taiwan "independence." While the country really functions independently, the issue, as you know, is volatile. Few people really advocate declaring independence. Most such calls are posturing. We shouldn't give them a weight that Taiwan workers don't.

There is no "indigenous majority." The "Taiwanese," the majority, are the descendants of immigrants from Fujian over the last three or four hundred years. They may feel oppressed but they are definitely not indigenous and are decidedly Chinese. Their language is a derivative of Fouzhou and is not understood by Mandarin speakers. Whether they are a distinct nationality is debatable. Many are intermarried with the Hans who came around or after the revolution.

There are, however, genuine indigenous people in Taiwan; some nine groups, I think. They are in no way "Chinese," have their own languages totally unrelated to any Chinese dialect, and are seriously oppressed. I don't think they make up even 1 percent of the population. They were largely dispossessed by the Taiwanese. In Guns, Germs and Steel, Jared Diamond says their ancestors were the source of all Asian island and Oceania populations with the exception of the Australian aboriginals.

Marty Anderson
Staten Island, New York  
 
 
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