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(thereby excluding the hard core dissidents). It is of some satisfaction that all this was accomplished without a shot being fired or a person being hurt or any significant breakdown in law and order. Nevertheless to have given an amnesty under pressure was a large price to pay. Jack Cater and I had always envisaged that a stage would be reached, as in Singapore, at which there was more to be gained by an act of oblivion, than remorselessly prosecuting for past offences committed at a time when attitudes were quite different. been speaking of the spring or summer of 1978. do it under pressure was quite a different matter.
We had But to
21.
In retrospect the two questions which nag me are whether the decisive action eventually taken, ie powers of summary dismissal and a rousing of the public would have been effective without an amnesty if taken:-
a)
immediately after the Hutchinson House incident, or
b) on the night of November 5 instead of an
amnesty.
Certainly the answer to scenario a) is negative. In retrospect it is quite clear now that the determination of the ring-leaders, and the depth of feeling in the Police was so great that whatever suppressive action we took would have been met with a united Police front, and a demand for an amnesty. The action taken on November 7 was only successful because the amnesty had split off the bulk of the force from the hard core dissidents, and the latter's rejection of it brought home to the public the sort of people they were and the implications of giving in to them.
22.
In scenario b), I also, in retrospect, think the answer is negative for very much the same reasons. The amnesty was an essential element in isolating the hard core dissidents and in bringing home to the public that concession to them could lead to anarchy. While I think it will always be criticised by some, I am satisfied that it was right.
23.
The question also arises whether I might not have left things a little bit longer so that I could have consulted the Executive Council on the Sunday morning, and decided what to do in the light of any developments overnight. While I think that this would have resulted in advice to do precisely what I did on the Saturday night, it would have run a very serious risk of a breakdown of law and order developing spontaneously or
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