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Date Posted: 05:41:41 09/19/02 Thu
Subject : Messages of Solidarity to 14th September Irish Political Status Committee Day Of Action
Date : Wed, 18 Sep 2002 15:51:48 +0100 (BST)
On Saturday last the Irish Political Status Committee held a successful day of action which included a Picket at the Irish 'Free State' embassy where a letter was handed in demanding action on the Irish Citizens held in the hell hole of Belmarsh Prison and highlighting the struggle for Political status in British Gaols.
Over 100 people packed the 100 Flower's Cultural Centre in the evening. Music consisting of Irish Rebel / Revolutionary Songs from Turkey was provided as was a childrens dance troupe from Turkey and Occupied Kurdistan. A video depicting stages of the Irish Republican Struggle accompanied by various Irish Rebel tunes was shown on the Civil Rights struggle, anti-internment protests, Bloody Sunday, the 1981 Hunger Strikes including the funerals of IRA Volunteer Bobby Sands and INLA Volunteer Patsy O'Hara. Also shown was the heroic struggle of the Nationalist and Republican people of the Garvaghy Road opposing the occupying Crown Forces and the fascist Orange Parades.
A Raffle with prizes from the Portlaoise Republican POW's in the form of Handkerchiefs and leather belts was held towards the end of the Social event.
Delicious food from Turkey was provided by the Comrades from that region and a bar was also provided. A Scottish Republican Piper brought the entire street out as Scottish and Irish Tunes were played to a thunderous applause.
Statements from various sources were read out on the night and listed below are just some of them. Additional Statements were received and read out from the stage from the Irish In Britain Representation Group, the National Executive Of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement - Ireland, and also from the World People's Resistance Movement - Britain. Statements were subsequently translated into Turkish. Statements listed below are from:
Oglaigh Na hEireann ( IRA ) Prisoners - Maghaberry Prison
Irish Republican Prisoner's Welfare Association
Ireland's Own
Irish Freedon Committee ( USA )
Friends Of Irish Freedon ( NYC )
STATEMENT FROM IRA PRISONERS MAGHABERRY JAIL.
The IRA prisoners incarcerated in Maghaberry jail thank you all for your continuing support and efforts on our behalf.
The power of solidarity in revolutionary struggle should never be underestimated and the gesture made in any protest can act as a great inspiration and comfort to a P.O.W many miles away.
Those who imprison us do so because we refuse to submit to their vision of what our country should be.
Their power relies on constant propaganda and spin, the type of which can convince a whole generation that they are wrong to aspire to national independence and social freedom.
We have refused to accept our enemy’s message and we are not crazy or wrong for wanting to be free.
The enemy knows we are not stupid. They know that we will not accept their message and that we are happier to live in a prison cell rather than accept their version of the truth.
So instead they try to convince us that we are alone, that we are the last of our kind that we have been forgotten about on the outside and that therefore we might as well give up.
Your presence here today cuts through their lies and assures us that we are not alone.
As you know the British government is attempting once more to criminalize us.
They have (in time honoured fashion) failed to learn from their mistakes of the past and obviously doubt the resolve of today’s POWs.
It is time the British government is made aware that the resolve of today’s POW is as strong as it was twenty years ago.
Some of us were involved in the prison struggle of that time and are still struggling on today, many more of us were children in 1981 and yet were inspired by the very example of what happened at that time, therefore to suggest that our spirit will be any weaker today than then is naďve in the extreme.
We are prepared for whatever the British government has to throw at us, but events such as today's are vital if that message is to be driven home.
You have chosen a good location to conduct your protest, the free state as we know is but a regional state of Britain.
With embarrassing consistency it accepts each and every decision and decree passed by that country and as such accepts and even participates with the daily torture dished out to Republican prisoners.
The Free State government along with anyone else who accepts and complies with any British substitute for Irish freedom (such as the GFA) should openly be exposed as collaborators, pure and simple, and when that person openly supports or endorses the torture and abuse of republican POWs they should be viewed as ‘the enemy’.
Just as solidarity in the Irish struggle is of vital importance so to is the gesture of international solidarity.
We take this opportunity to send revolutionary greetings and support to our comrades imprisoned in both Turkey and in the Basque country.
Like ourselves, our comrades in Spanish jails are currently being punished and criminalized for refusing to accept a settlement which is designed by our enemies and which falls far short of absolute freedom and independence for our respective nations.
In Turkey the continuing death fast claims the lives of more and more young freedom fighters in a most heartbreaking and tragic fashion.
We feel powerless in the face of their suffering and can only send them our continued support and admiration, their example and dedication is truely inspirational, may God bless them all.
We appeal for all present to get involved in a practical way to raise public awareness of what is happening in Turkish prisons and to help the Turkish hunger strikers in their struggle.
In finishing, let us remind our enemies that we have been through this all before we are wise in the ways of struggle and suffering, we are dedicated in a way that you could never understand.
We have the revolutionary spirit of freedom, a spirit with which you have no affinity, and you must understand that we are prepared for whatever you have in store for us.
We know we are right, “within our struggle, therein lies our victory” by fighting on we have already won and we will never submit, DO YOUR WORST!
Ciaran McLaughlin, O/C Oglaigh na hEireann P.O.Ws
Maghaberry jail.
The Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association.
Statement for IPSC Day of Action
Saturday 14th September.2002.
The IRPWA wish to thank the organisers of today’s events for their sterling work, your support in these hard times mean a great deal to our prisoners and their dependants. As you will be aware the British government is once again attempting to strip our prisoners of their Republican identity. Our men are being forced to integrate with Loyalists and other criminal elements including drug-pushers and child abusers but our prisoners are No criminals, they follow a noble path in a long line of Revolutionary Irish Republicans. The attempt to put the actions of POWS on a par with those of criminals is part of a wider campaign to attempt to criminalize Republicanism itself. Forced integration has led to a number of vicious attacks on our prisoners, you will all be aware of the horrific injuries received by several prisoners over this last year. We demand the prison authorities take action, Segregate Republican prisoners before a real tragedy occurs; we have buried more than enough of our prisoners in the past.
Prisoners families are also being victimised and subjected to frightening and humiliating searches, including the use of sniffer dogs. The prison authorities have tried to make closed visits the norm but the brave action of our prisoners in refusing such visits will ensure this tactic fails.
We are told by many, especially nationalist politicians that our comrades, friends and loved ones have no support, well, the massive mobilisation in town centres across the six counties these past months has put paid to that lie. Last May we took our protest to the gates of Maghaberry Gaol itself. Our message was heard loud and clear by both the prison authorities and the prisoners themselves, who sent us out word that our efforts were greatly appreciated and had given all inside a tremendous morale boost.
The Nationalist Press in Ireland and their favoured political spokesmen prefer to ignore the prisoners’ plight and our presence on the streets. They ignore what is happening in Maghaberry because they know in their hearts that British repression is alive and well in Ireland, and the torture of our prisoners is testimony to that fact.
The blatant set up, entrapment and illegal extradition from Slovakia of three lifelong Republicans which led to massive 30 year jail sentences in England, shows to anyone who wishes to open their eyes that for true Republicans the nightmare is far from over. We can expect no justice from our enemies. Our men are arrested under political laws, detained under political powers, tried and sentenced in political courts, but on stepping through the gates of Maghaberry and English Gaols, Britain tells us they are not Political Prisoners. All Republicans must stand together and back the Prisoners’ fight for Political recognition. We demand the restoration of Political Status. United we are Stronger than the British government and We Shall Overcome.
We in IRPWA pledge our support and solidarity to all those who struggle against political tyranny. We remember our revolutionary comrades incarcerated around the world, especially those brave men and women on Death Fast in Turkey, our Basque comrades in Spanish jails and our comrades in Palestine enduring untold Israeli repression—
YOUR STRUGGLE IS OUR STRUGGLE! BEIRIGI BUA!
14th September 2002
Ireland's OWN Solidarity with IPSC
Ireland's OWN sends greetings of solidarity to our comrades in the Irish Political Status Committee, England, who will be holding a picket at the Irish Embassy on Saturday, the 14th, to highlight and seek restoration of political status for Irish Republican POWs, as well as repatriation to Ireland. Ireland's OWN fully supports your efforts.
Once again, England is violating International Law by holding the Slovak 3 — Irish citizens Michael McDonald, Fintan O'Farrell and Declan Rafferty — in England.
And once again, the British government and its Irish overseers have violated not only international law, but also basic rights of humanity. The world will never forget the Irish Hunger strikes, in particular the 1981 strikes, in which 10 men gave their lives in an effort to achieve not only political status, but also basic human rights. And, history has a way of repeating itself — the quest for political status is again very much in the forefront.
Our comrades are separated, isolated and forced to endure a prison system that is designed to break down their Republican identity and mindset. They live under constant threat and intimidation from loyalist inmates and prison guards who will look the other way. Moreover, our POWs are not only criminalised but also punished for not accepting the Good Friday Agreement, i.e., for not accepting British Rule. Their families are consistently intimidated and humiliated by loyalist screws and their sniffer dogs.
To highlight just a few of the many incidents:
March 1998. The lights were deliberately extinguished on a landing in Portlaoise, and Mick Kenny was savagely beaten (and left for dead) as the prison officers ran from the scene.
November 2000. Darren Mulholland was allowed to be seriously beaten by loyalist prisoners as prison guards looked the other way.
November 2000. POW Danny McAlister was denied the right to attend his father's funeral. He had also been denied temporary leave to visit his dying father. On one occasion McAlister was actually brought to the gates of Portlaoise prison with his suitcase and handed a bus ticket, only to be told by prison guards that there had been a mistake. Passionate leave was again sought when McAlister learned that his brother was dying. The leave was finally granted – a few hours AFTER his brother was dead.
September 2001. POW John Martin Swift had to have 17 metal staples and 14 stitches to his face. His wrist was broken as he was beaten with an electric iron in Maghaberry prison. Prison officers left the scene as loyalists beat Swift.
September 2001. Despite the fact that Martin Swift was in a wheelchair and experiencing excruciating pain, he was taken from hospital on a 78-mil journey to attend a remand hearing in Enniskillen. The trip was unnecessary because prisoners are not usually required to be present at remand hearings!
November 2001. POW Kevin Murray, despite the fact that he complained of severe headaches and dizziness, was not allowed proper medical attention. By mid-September, Kevin was in critical condition; yet he was not taken to hospital until October at which time he suffered a severe stroke that left him blind. And, on 13 November, Kevin died.
November 2001. Despite a spirited, non-violent protest, POWs were forcibly returned one by one to their cells. Throughout this process, extreme violence was repeatedly used by prison officers on isolated Volunteers. Men lying on the floor were kicked and stamped in the groin, others were beaten with shields, while in one case a riot officer stood with his boot on a man's neck, screaming personal abuse at his victim.
November 2001. Riot officers gripped and attempted to crush the testicles of naked men with their hands. Men were prohibited from receiving visits, writing letters or making phone calls for two months.A 23-hour lock-down was implemented. Men were being confined to darkness for 16 hours in freezing cold cells, and given only one bucket for the duration.
March 2002. POW Vincent McKevitt suffered a heart attack. He was moved out from Portlaoise Prison to a hospital in Dublin for treatment; he was moved in a van — not an ambulance — WITHOUT a Medic — and not even with a blanket. Within days, despite the fact that the hospital recommended against it, he was sent back to Portlaoise.
August 2002. POW Ciarán Mc Laughlin was denied the opportunity to see his dying grandson Kyle, and only given a few hours to attend the funeral.
These are only some examples of the attempts by the establishment to try to criminalise not only the men themselves but the very Struggle to which they bear allegiance. Here we are 21 years since the 10 men died, and sadly not much has changed for Irish prisoners of war. We encourage all supporters to take part in the picket.
Ireland's OWN would also like to commend our comrades on the Irish Political Status Committee for their dedication and perseverance. While we witness other support groups stabbing each other in the back for glory or gain, the IPSC has consistently exhibited a well-organised,cohesive agenda. We are honoured to be in partnership with them. Since their inception in February 2001, they have consistently addressed not only Irish POW issues, but other pressing issues including, the Turkish hunger strike, Palestinian rights, the Nepalese struggle, the so-called anti-terrorist laws and other incidents of oppression by fascist and imperialist regimes.
Whilst ex-Republicans sit in the parliament of the enemy, it is up to us to carry on the Struggle. Onward to victory.
Ireland's OWN
http://irelandsown.net
The Irish Freedom Committee fully endorses the aims and principles of the Irish Political Status Committee, and we salute your continuing efforts to highlight human rights abuses in British jails and against Irish Nationalist communities.
Beir Bua!
The Irish Freedom Committee
http://www.irishfreedomcommittee.net
Friends Of Irish Freedom wish you great success in your efforts this evening. Though we were greatly saddened by the news of Sister Sara Clarke's death in February; she is a beacon for those incarcerated and for those of us on the outside. We will follow her example. We will not be deterred by threats or intimidation of any kind. We will prevail. We stood fast in 1989 when we realized that others were deviating from the path. We will stand together and stand fast now .....for the Irish POWs and their families. We have not changed or altered our views on the cause of Irish freedom. We cannot be bought off either. We will continue to support the Irish men and Irish women who remain..... true Irish Republicans!
.
Cathleen O'Brien; on behalf of Friends Of Irish Freedom, NYC
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
CONTACT THE IPSC
IPSC, BM BOX 1981, LONDON, WCIN - 3XX. E-Mail: statusnow@yahoo.co.uk
Web Adress : http://humanrightsonline.net/ipsc.html
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