The SovereignNation

T h e R e p u b l i c a n V o i c e November - December 2010

G l ó r n a p o b l a c h t a

32 CountySovereigntyMovement

An Náisiun Ceannasach

NOT WANTED

- Said to be highly dangerous, and the Commander-in-Chief of a notorious criminal gang called “The British Army”. Responsible for murder, torture

and repression.

- Currently lays an illegal territorial claim to 6 counties of Ireland.

- If sighted, please report her whereabouts to your local 32CSM Cumann.

“The Queen of England”

Join the 32CSM.Anyone wishing to join the 32 County Sovereignty Movementor contact them for any reason can do so at the following emailaddresses - National

jo inus@32csm. in foBelfast

bel fast32csm@hotmai l .co.ukCork

cork32csm@hotmai l .comDerry

derry32csm@hotmai l .comDubl in

dubl in32csm@yahoo. ieFermanagh

fermanagh32@yahoo. ieGalway

32csmgai l l imh@gmai l .comKerry

nor thkerry32csm@live. ie

Limerickl imer ick32csm@yahoo.com

Monaghanmonaghan32csm@yahoo. ie

North Armaghnor tharmagh32csm@hotmai l .com

Sligos l igo32csm@hotmai l .com

South Armaghsarmagh32csm@hotmai l .com

South Downsouthdown32csm@hotmai l .com

Internat ional .Britain

gaughan_stagg_cumann@hotmai l .com

War News

IRA Claim Bomb at Derry Bank.The Derry brigade IRA have claimed responsibility

for a 200 pound car bomb which significantly damaged theUlster Bank on the Culmore Road in Derry city on MondayOctober 4th, the attack also caused damage to surroundingcommercial premises. Following the attack the IRA alsoclaimed responsibility for earlier car bomb attacks on NewryCourthouse, RUC barracks in Newtownhamilton and theattempted van bombing of RUC barracks in Aughnacloy.

IRA Claim attack on sex attacker.Derry brigade IRA have claimed a gun attack on a 48 year oldman in Carnhill on 19th October. In a move welcomed by thelocal community this pervert was shot 4 times.

IRA Claim grenade attack on Court House.North Armagh Brigade IRA have claimed an attack

on Craigavon Court House with an improvised hand grenadeon Wednesday 6th October. The Brigade also claimed a gunattack on RUC barracks in Lurgan in early July and anothergrenade attack on RUC barracks in Craigavon in June.

IRA Claim executions of drug dealers.The leadership of the IRA have claimed the execu-

tions of at least 7 drug dealers in the past decade . In a state-ment to the Irish News on 2nd October the IRA claimed tohave executed, maimed crippled and forced into exile numer-ous drug dealers and have stated all units are on standby tofollow orders regarding its anti drugs policy.

IRA warn informers.In a statement to the Derry Journal on 15th October

Derry Brigade IRA claimed that a sniping operation on thecrown forces had to be aborted at the last minute due to 'civil-ian interference' and warned civilians to stay away from crownforce personel.The Brigade also warned against business‘supplying the British stating. "We repeat the warning given inthe past in relation to businesses supplying Crown Forces. Wewill be monitoring the situation and action will be taken if itdoes not stop" and warned those passing information to theRUC/PSNI that "Anyone passing information to the crownforces will pay the penalty.”

The RUC/PSNI campaign of harassment in Newry townand surrounding areas has continued unabated in recentdays. This campaign aimed at the nationalist communityin general and the republican community in particular hasbegan to take a bleakly familiar routine with activiststailed for miles until enough reinforcements are gatheredto stop and search.

On the evening of Wednesday 20th October , 3members of the 32 CSM in South Down were followed fromthe Mayobridge area, where a heavy police presence was sta-tioned all day, to the outskirts of Newry where their path wasblocked by 2 marked and 2 unmarked cars and an armouredland rover.

The 3 republicans were pulled from their van andrepeatedly asked the same questions despite having giventhe requisite answers under the relevant section (Justice andSecurity section 24). The men's outer garments and shoeswere then removed, despite the freezing conditions, and theywere searched on two different occasions by two differentpolicemen. The men were then left to stand at the roadsidefrom 19:10 to 20:20 while their van was ripped to pieces. Allthe way through this search the RUC/PSNI continued to askthe 3 men questions that they had already answered as wellas questions that they were not required to answer.

When the republicans were finally allowed to go ontheir way they travelled all of 5 yards before they were againstopped and issued a fixed penalty fine for a defective head-lamp.

This petty harassment is on the increase in Newryas our comrades from other republican organisations can tes-tify. However the 32 County Sovereignty Movement and ourrepublican comrades in Newry and South Down take this asevidence of the growing effectiveness of our respective cam-paigns. We thank all those who beeped and waved at ouractivists during their detention and vow to continue to highlightthe violation of our national sovereignty by a foreign occupier.

Urgent Notice:

December is Prisoners Month

Traditionally December is regarded by republicans asPOW month and we in the Irish Republican PrisonersWelfare Association ask all our members, supporters andgenuine republicans to redouble your efforts to supportthem in any way you can.

With the escalation of the conflict and the increasedharassment of republican activists it is very possible that thealready large amount of funds needed will increase

The next time the IRPWA are doing a door to doorcollection in your area, or you see the 32CSM are selling TheSovereign Nation, please give generously.

In addition we ask that you send messages andcards to our POW’s letting them know you are behind themandthat they are not forgotten. It means a lot at this time of year,if you need information on current POW’s contact:

joinus@32csm.infoor just simply ask any of our activists. News on the continuingprison struggle can be found on the back page of this publica-tion. Go Raibh mo agaibh.

Harassment is an expected and tolerated annoyance; itcomes with the territory, but over the past few weeksyounger members of the 32 County SovereigntyMovement in particular have been experiencing a moredevious form of harassment. In an attempt to isolate theindividuals from their families, members of the specialbranch have approached the parents and extended fami-lies of individuals with false and misleading informationin a bid to pressurise their sons/daughters to leave thesaid group.

In addition to this, members of both the GardaSiochana and special branch are arriving at the homes ofmember's parents on a regular basis walking the property tak-ing pictures and making notes without any explanation. If con-fronted, they say it is in accordance with Section 30 of theOffences Against The State Act 1939. In the majority of thesecases, the members do not live with their parents and further-more, their parents are not republican in their political views.Therefore there is no real reason for them to be near thehouses other than to cause tensions and rifts within thesefamilies. One of the members subject to this harassment is 8months pregnant, which gives an indication of the mindset ofthese people.

In light of this, it is crucial for younger members tobe fully aware of their rights. The following are some quickreminders. You cannot be arrested for having an opinion, orindeed for peacefully protesting. It is your right in a democrat-ic society to contest what you believe to be wrong. Many ofthe rights and freedoms we have today were gained becausepeople were prepared to take to the streets and protest. Thisis particularly relevant regarding the British Queens visit. Ifyou do not agree with it, then protest against it!

If you are stopped in the street give your name andaddress only. Always ask why you are being stopped but donot engage in any small talk or chit- chat, as this can givethem an insight into your character. Also, even if you know theGarda or detective, ask to see their identification or badgenumber. Exercising this right lets them know you know yourrights.

It is not a crime to be a Republican.

RUC Harassment ofNewry

32CSM MembersContinues

The Gardai and Young People

- Important Advice

The South Down 32 County Sovereignty Movement call for animmediate end to the growing tide of Anti-social behaviour andintimidation by a small group of youths in The Mayobridge arearecently.

Several residents of the Craignamona, Lisbane park andSt Annes Park estates have been in contact with the SovereigntyMovement with complaints ranging from persistent damage to prop-erty, intimidation and low level drug dealing. Others dealt withdrinking, drug taking and indecency on a public pathway.

It is significant that the majority of complaints have beenrecorded following a meeting of the Newry and Mourne DPP in theVillage last Monday (13th September). When asked why these resi-dents had approached the republican movement many stated thatthey believed that at least two of those engaged in acts of intimida-tion and drug dealing were in fact passing information to thePSNI/RUC.

In calling for an end to this behaviour the 32 CSM appealdirectly to these young men, youths and to their parents to ensurethat such actions cease before someone is hurt or is forced to leavethe area as a result of community action. It is our belief that dialogueis the most suitable way to resolve such issues and we pledge thesupport of the republican movement in facilitating dialogue if need-ed. We also pledge to stand with the community if the appeals of thecommunity are ignored by a small number of young people withinit. Anyone with concerns can contact the South Down 32 CSM

Further to this, The 32 County Sovereignty Movement isdelighted to announce the forming of a new committee in Newrywhich will incorporate the town and surrounding areas, the commit-tee has already reported a significant interest in membership and hasdistributed hundreds of leaflets in the various estates in the town.Anyone interested in joining, helping or requiring further informa-tion should contact: newry32csm@hotmail.com

Anti-Social Behaviour in South Down

W e b s i t e I n f o :w w w . 3 2 c s m . i n f o

The 32 County Sovereignty Movement

The Irish Republican Army has proved as good as it’sword when they attacked a banking facility owned by theRoyal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in Derry city on Octoberthe 4th, just over a fortnight earlier, in an interview withThe Guardian the IRA leadership stated categorically thatthey would be targeting banks and bankers who theybranded ‘criminals’.

The leadership stated “"We have a track record ofattacking high-profile economic targets and financial institu-tions such as the City of London. The role of bankers and theinstitutions they serve in financing Britain's colonial and capi-talist system has not gone unnoticed.

Let's not forget that the bankers are the next-doorneighbours of the politicians. Most people can see the pic-ture: the bankers grease the politicians' palms, the politiciansbail out the bankers with public funds, the bankers pay them-selves fat bonuses and loan the money back to the public withinterest. It's essentially a crime spree that benefits a socialelite at the expense of many millions of victims."

The IRA stated it will attack “Military, political andeconomic targets” as well as signalling their intent to raise theintensity of their conflict:

“Realistically, it is important to acknowledge that wehave regrouped and reorganised and emerged from a turbu-lent period in republican history. We have already shown ourcapacity to launch attacks on the British military, judicial, andpolicing infrastructure. As we rebuild, we are confident thatwe will increase the volume and effectiveness of attacks,"

The leadership also outlined their position regard-ing punishment attacks on criminal and anti-social elementsstating: “These actions are taken as a last resort to protect thecommunity. We are an integral part of the community and thepeople in them are our eyes and ears. The fact is that theBritish police force is rejected by republican communities andpeople naturally turn to us for help.

"The vast majority of issues are resolved by nego-tiation, a small percentage require more direct forms of inter-vention including punishment shootings and expulsions,"The IRA also addressed the failure of the GFA to deal withgrass roots republican issues on the ground and dismissedthe North’s first ministers deputy, Martin McGuinness’ claimsthat he had proof that republicans were in negotiations withthe British and free state administrations:

"From the point of view of republican communities,there is still a heavily armed British police force that casuallyuses plastic baton rounds, CS gas and Tasers, carry outhouse raids, stop and search operations and general harass-ment.

"There's still a 5,000-strong British army garrison, anew MI5 HQ in Belfast, and a British secretary of state.Republican communities are still subjected to sectarian

IRA: As Good as its Word! “Drug dealers deal death to our communities,

we deal death to them”

parades and the right to protest is being met with intimidationand violence."

There are no talks with either the British govern-ment or the Free State Administration.

The IRA is not unwilling to talk, in fact there needsto be talks … however, talks need to deal with the root causeof the conflict, namely the illegal British occupation of Ireland.We are mindful, though, that the history of such approachesfrom the British has been characterised by a lack of integrity,a lack of willingness to address the causes of conflict, and hasbeen motivated by a self-serving agenda.

Martin McGuinness is a British Crown minister whohas a vested interest in causing mischief among republicans.His job is to administer the Queen of England's writ in Ireland... However, if he has any evidence to back up his claims, heshould make it public,"

The Guardian’s Henry McDonald described theconclusion of his meeting with his IRA contacts thus:

“Shortly afterwards the Real IRA representative leftthe location without another word. At no time during our meet-ing did the Real IRA representative indicate who they were orwhere they came from. Nor had the Guardian ever encoun-tered him before. The one striking aspect of this encounterwas that the person the Real IRA sent to talk to the Guardianwas articulate, thoughtful and politically tuned-in. In our briefdiscussion they also talked about the latest Eta ceasefire inSpain and the political impact of the public sector cuts beingimposed on Northern Ireland by Conservative-LiberalDemocrat coalition”What did Henry expect? A Neanderthal?

It is clear the IRA are intent on pursuing their ownstrategy regardless of what obstacles their enemies (andsome so called friends) attempt to put before them.

In a rare response to deliberate media disinformation theIRA went on the attack against claims that they were tax-ing drug dealers and subsequent media fabrications thatsaid drug dealers were uniting to attack the republicanmovement. In a detailed statement the IRA articulatedclearly what their position is on drug dealers and gavesome idea of what would happen to any of these dealersfoolish enough to consider attacking the IRA either ontheir own behalf or with state encouragement.

The IRA stated it was responding to "Sensationalistmedia" claims that it was involved in extortion saying "TheIRA has never taken money from criminals and then allowedthem to continue to operate, we have in fact, relieved them oftheir finances and weaponry then closed down their opera-tions. Allegations have been made that the IRA have extortedlarge amounts of money. Anyone with evidence to supportthese claims should come forward immediately.

The leadership of the IRA have never sanctionedsuch actions and anyone using our name to tax drug dealersand criminals will be executed. Drug dealers deal death to ourcommunities, we deal death to them: Some examples are:Matthew Burns, Kieran O Flynn, Jason Egan, Colly Owens,Gerard Staunton, Kieran Doherty, Sean Winters among oth-ers. To those who believe they can escape the reach of therepublican movement, we have also executed drug dealerson the continent who believed they were safe having fled thecountry. We have crippled, maimed and exiled numerous oth-ers"

The IRA statement concluded that all units were onstandby to carryout army orders in relation to this issue.

The Sovereign Nation say, again we see that theIRA have remained true to their word and have been consis-tent in their opposition to major drug dealers and the threatthey pose our communities.

The 32 County Sovereignty Movement absolutely deploreand condemn the actions of the RUC/PSNI in Derry Cityover the last two weeks. We believe these actions delib-erately coincide with the deployment of undercoverBritish military personnel in the area who have been wit-nessed in the darkness, on back roads around the city,heavily armed and dressed in black military fatigues.

A total of eight family homes have been raided andplundered by a so-called civic police service. Four of thesehomes belonged to the relatives of four IRA Volunteers whodied on active service. Personal effects have been ransackedand personal items have been confiscated. Numerous youngchildren have been left terrified as a result. These raids havebeen carried out in a highly aggressive and insensitive man-ner and indeed in the same manner that the RUC showed tothe mourners at Vol Eddie Mc Sheffrey and Vol Paddy Deery'sfuneral.

Nothing illustrates the continuity of the RUC's line-age in today's PSNI more sharply than the fact that theychose this anniversary to invade the homes of the sons of

each of those dead Volunteers.The fact that the date on the warrants authorising

these raids predated both raids, proves that this force hasdeliberately used the time surrounding this anniversary to

send an unmistakable message to Derry Republicans. Ourmessage is equally clear, that just like the Mc Sheffrey andDeery family, friends and supporters refused to be brutalisedby the RUC 23 years ago, so too will we refuse to be bru-talised and intimidated today.

“A total of eight family homes have been raidedand plundered by a so-called civic police service.Four of these homes belonged to the relatives offour IRA Volunteers who died on active service.Personal effects have been ransacked and per-sonal items were confiscated. Numerous young

children have been left terrified as a result”.

Homes of Dead Volunteers Ransacked by RUC on Anniversary

Ulster Bank in Derry After Bomb Attack

The only thing standing between Queen Elizabeth and herIrish visit next spring is the so-called 'dissident' threat,and if recent reports are to be believed, BuckinghamPalace and the British Government have claimed the visitwill not go ahead until the threat has "been eliminated".

This sheds some light on the recent upsurge inarrests south of the border: 7th October - 10 arrested in raidsacross Louth, Waterford and Wexford, 10th October - 2 mencharged, 8 released without charge, 15th October - Two menarrested in Waterford after pipe bomb find.

Throughout our history as a country, it has alwaysbeen our own people who have let us down. Free-state forceshave never shown any compassion for republicans, and thereseems to be no let up on this trend.

We each have our reasons for protesting the visit.The following are just some arguments against it.

This visit is not merely symbolic but an affirmation ofpolitical intent. This State is declaring to both our history andour future that the issue of British sovereignty in Ireland isfinally settled. We cannot allow British occupation and parti-tion to be cemented. The royal visit of 1911 was opposed bythe revolutionary leaders of the time. Those who do not

against protest this visit should have the courtesy not to insultthe memory of the 1916 leaders by commemorating them atEaster.

Queen Elizabeth, however anyone wishes to dressit up, is commander in chief of all British army forces. Thisincludes all forces presently occupying our Northern six coun-ties and also those involved in current foreign conflicts inAfghanistan and Iraq. It also includes those British army per-sonnel involved in collusion with loyalist paramilitaries result-ing in the deaths of innocent Irish civilians.

With the current economic state of the country,

Taking Back the WealthOn both sides of the illegal border on our Island there are shift-ing changes occurring in the social and political landscape. Inthe South the government has been attacking the working classwith levies, pay cuts, privatisation of vital healthcare facilities,trying to introduce water charges, cuts to social welfare, cuts tovital special needs care, and the complete lack of government totackle youth unemployment. Thereby forcing them to once againflock abroad in the search for work. In Cork alone, over 1,000people applied for 42 jobs in the Free State Navy. Personal expe-rience in searching for part time jobs has proved to be nearimpossible.

All the while the Dublin government talks of a ''joblessrecovery'' as if they have scored some victory for the Irish People.We wonder if it is instead in relation to their close friends theBankers that they talk - The enemy of the Irish People, who are earn-ing more money now than they did at the height of the so-calledCeltic Tiger. But injustice is only ever reserved for the workingclasses. Another blow to the people is the lack of funding for desper-ately needed support centres for suicide prevention. The centres thatare already in operation are severely understaffed and deal withthousands of calls each day from desperate people all over Ireland.They have reported that there has been a dramatic rise in suicidecalls due to the struggle to keep afloat in the current economic situ-ation. One may doubt that many of those calls are from bankers!Family members have been considering suicide because they are inserious financial difficulties and face living on the streets.Capitalism has held them to ransom in their own country and theyhave no one to turn to for help. Indeed suicide has proved to be thebiggest killer of our youth in Ireland, yet the Dublin governmentseems content to offer no support to such causes. Prisons in theSouth are also filling so drastically that there is currently a 'prisoncrisis'. Thousands are imprisoned over petty and small fines. Again,the Dublin government has yet to stand trial for their crimes as manyof the lower elected officials are suddenly exposed as owning manyluxury homes and receiving huge expenses that cannot be justified.

In the midst of the angry fervour from the people we havesome who may call themselves 'revolutionaries' yet are doing noth-ing to change it. A few months ago our Greek brothers and sisterswere protesting against their own Government and in some protestswere chanting '"we are Greek, NOT IRISH! We fight back!" Perhapswe could agree with those frustrating sentiments. In Dublin a fewmonths ago protestors gathered outside the Dail. Many were singing,talking, or speaking hollow words of condemnation as they stoodthere on the platform. Unfortunately many were simply sabre rat-tling middle class types whose only brush with "the workers" iswhen they're buying a coffee from the under paid employee at theirlocal Starbucks. However, a Band of protestors tried to take theprotest into the Dail and were faced with the boot boy thugs of theGardai wielding batons in their faces. Instead of joining in theprotest (and instead of condemning these Mafioso types in govern-ment) thousands of protestors stood and looked on. Many evenclambered to be interviewed by the waiting media, where they couldvoice their disapproval of those who took the necessary militantaction. These people who claim to want to change the system are

only distractions from achieving real change and instead misleadthose who seek the goals of true revolutionaries. Revolution is not aslogan of disenchantment, it is not a reaction to just an unfair meas-ure, it is not a gesture of concern, it is the assertion of the equal rightsof the people to live equally and to attain equally the fruits of theNation. History tells us that we cannot change the "inherently evil"capitalist system by becoming apart of it (no matter how noble yourintentions) - the system will always ultimately change you and diluteyour politics. Instead the system has to be avoided, cast aside anddestroyed, not absorbed or given a new name. We as IrishRepublicans and socialists must refuse to take part in the anti-dem-ocratic institutions of governments on both sides of the border.

In the North false revolutionaries have become the lapdogs and mouth-pieces of Imperialism on our Island. Taking theirplace as the native traitor, they assume their roles as modern dayFree Staters. A role that stretches centuries back to when the chief-tain Ruairi O Connor suppressed his own people from revolting onthe premise that the invaders would not take any more of his land aslong as he paid a tithe. Of course they lied and set a flaw in theagreement to allow them to issue orders to their sub-ordinates toseize the land in the name of King Henry. Fortunately the People sawO Connor for what he was and revolted. The point here being thatcounter-revolutionaries, traitors (call them what you will) haveexisted in Ireland in every stage of our struggle. Just like their pred-

ecessors their own falsehoods will consume them.The politics' of apartheid being wielded in the occupied

six counties above the heads of the working class has failed. Thesepoliticians have done nothing but reinforce their own pockets andthe Capitalist system. Should the people be thankful that after 30years of war they have gained nothing? Merely continuing sectarian-ism but not eliminating it. Helping the British uphold their occupa-tion with less soldiers. Upholding their rule with the aid of "nation-alist'' politicians who criminalize Republicans and Socialists. Whereis our Socialist Republic? All we see is the PSNI raiding homes,attacking Republicans, facilitating unwanted sectarian paradesthrough nationalist areas while dragging and beating protestors offthe streets. We see how in their Prisons Republican POWs are beingbrutalised. All the while these men are being called ''criminals'', justas the Prisoners and Hunger strikers of 1980 and 1981 were labelled.Above all this we have people like Martin McGuiness acting as areplacement for Thatcher.

In the face of Imperialism and Capitalism we must buildan alternative to empower the people of this Country. The govern-ments on both sides of the Border are illegal, they do not act in theinterests of the people. Indeed they are truly a law unto themselves.

The working class must organise, and create alternative structures ofgovernment to shift the balance of power from the hands of the Eliteand into the hands of the People. Community councils must also becreated to help facilitate this. We must remember the propheticwords of Theobald Wolfe Tone, as they are cast in stone at the footof his grave where we stand and honour him every year. "OurFreedom must be had at all hazards. If the men of property will nothelp us, they must fall; we will free ourselves by that large andrespectable class of the community - the men of no property''. Hiswords are as relevant today as they have ever been. In the words ofPadraig pearse "we will take what ye would not give''. We must goout and take back the wealth of the land that is ours. We must showthe Imperialists that we will not abide by their laws. We will refuseto become absorbed into their institutions.

If we create alternative structures of government thearmed wings of the elite cannot attack them because if they do, itwill expose the ugly side of their rule. In the absence of any legal,democratic and authoritative representative of the People (what Tonecalled the ''large and respectable class'') we must create our own. Thefight against Imperialism and Capitalism go hand in hand, if we cre-ate an alternative, Britain will be forced to contend with the fact thatthey have no authority over the six counties. The people are the driv-ing force. We as Republicans can not exclude them in the struggleagainst the occupation and against the illegal and corrupt Free StateGovernment. The wish for an alternative among republicans and thewider community is there. The People don't want sectarian parades.The people don't want anti social scumbags running down the com-munity and making it unsafe. They do not want the constant harass-ment of being stopped and searched, having there homes raided andfamily members being locked up on falsified charges used to quellopposition to the Good Friday Agreement. The mask of Normality isslipping, the people are speaking out and the forces of oppression arestepping up the campaign of terror. The people need a voice inde-pendent of Stormont and the Dail. Nothing can stop the people. AsBobby Sands said "I was just a working class boy from a NationalistGhetto, but it is repression that creates the revolutionary spirit ofFreedom". Beir Bua!

money being squandered on security costs for this visit wouldbe better spent elsewhere. The most vulnerable in our socie-ty must suffer benefit cuts or higher taxes to pay for a royalvisit that will only benefit those who do not want for anything.There is no foreseeable long-term economic benefit for com-munities to derive from this visit, only lasting damage to ourtourism industry if international media broadcast the tensionsarising from it.

Also from an anti agreement republican perspec-tive, it is important to note that had Articles 2 and 3 of the IrishConstitution not been amended in 1998, Queen Elizabethwould not have contemplated visiting the 26 counties even

Editorial

The Royal Visit:“An Affirmation of

Political Intent”

“The royal visit of 1911 was opposed by the rev-olutionary leaders of the time. Those who do notprotest against this visit should have the cour-

tesy not to insult the memory of the 1916 leadersby commemorating them at Easter.”

“We must remember the prophetic words of TheobaldWolfe Tone, as they are cast in stone at the foot of his

grave where we stand and honour him every year.”OurFreedom must be had at all hazards. If the men of prop-

erty will not help us, they must fall; we will free our-selves by that large and respectable class of the

community - the men of no property”

had she been invited. Originally she would have seen thesetwo Articles as a foreign government claiming territory overpart of her United Kingdom as before the amendment tookeffect in 1999, Articles 2 and 3 made the claim that the wholeisland formed one "national territory".

We have begun protesting, and we have been get-ting our message out loud and clear to a mostly sympatheticpublic. Posters have been put up in our local towns and citiesand petitions started by our southern cumainn. More needs tobe done however. From past experiences our ability to beeffective depends on our ability to work together. The biggerthe numbers at these protests, the bigger the impact will be.

By Cork 32CSM Youth Member

Anti-Royal Visit Protests Have Begun

Criminalization: Old tactic, New target

“The IRA in Dublin has also been to the fore ofthe fight against drugs and we believe firmly thatit is the inability of the special branch to hindervolunteers from their work that has resulted in

this upsurge of media speculation.”

The Dublin cumann of the 32 County SovereigntyMovement was once again to the forefront of activity ear-lier last month when ex-prime minister, war profiteer andunapologetic imperialist Tony Blair made a brief visit topromote his new book. Tony has a fairly interesting histo-ry in terms of his involvement with Ireland and his morerecent war crimes in the Middle East, which ensured thatthe protests would also attract diverse support.

Blair is an unrepentant unionist and declared priorto the GFA negotiations that he was a staunch supporter ofthe occupation of the six counties, hoping to ensure that theyremained under British rule. His attacks on the working classpeople of his own country through a neo liberal approachmerely reflected his repeated admiration for a thatcherite styleof governance. Since he was ousted he has toured the worldselling himself as the man who brought "peace" to Ireland andis being paid handsomely for doing so. His involvement withthe Zionist apartheid regime in Israel and his support for mili-tary occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan round off his politicalprinciples. In short Tony Blair is a man that no decent personwould welcome to their country.

It was in light of this that the 32 County SovereigntyMovement decided to protest his appearance both on RTEand at his book signing on O’Connell street the followingmorning. Our activists gathered with a small crowd outsideRTE studios on the Friday night and were joined by an enthu-siastic group of 'Jedward' supporters who seemed less inter-ested in the anti imperialist potential of the evening!Unfortunately we were unable to block his entrance into thestudios but the large number of Gardai present indicated thatthere was a feeling of anxiety amongst the Free State policeabout how his visit would go. It is also worth mentioning thatat a time when there is an internal debate amongst the mediaabout the ethics of giving republicans "publicity", there wereno qualms within RTE about inviting a man responsible for thesuffering of millions onto a talk show, where he could promotean inaccurate and uncritical account of his crimes. Perhaps itis time for elements within the media to address their hypocrit-ical approach as they elevate themselves to the position ofmoral watchdogs for the people.

On Saturday morning a group of 32CSM activistsassembled before the unified planned protest. Despite the factthat there were a myriad of activists from all organisationsacross the political spectrum the detectives of Harcourtsquare chose to harass the 32csm and them alone. Twodetectives questioned the activists and when asked why theywere protecting a war criminal they replied, with all their com-bined wit and intellect that "everybody needs protection".

Truth be told they had a point as it was rapidly becoming clearthat this protest was not going to be a small scale affair.Having sealed off the main street of our capital for Blair, theFree State also saw fit to deploy hundreds of Gardai to protecthis entrance into Easons. They looked steadily more nervous

as the crowd grew and tensions began to rise with chants of"Tony Blair, war criminal" echoing around the street. As thecrowd grew restless, eggs were passed around to give Tony awarm welcome with. When his car pulled up, escorted by spe-cial branch and British security personnel, a number of32CSM activists as well as other protestors hurled eggs,shoes and anything that wasn't nailed down towards him.Enraged the Gardai then attacked the frontline protestors withBatons and fists, saving particular venom for members of theSovereignty movement. This was an unprovoked attack andthat point should be remembered. No officer was struck phys-ically before they attacked the crowd. However it is only natu-ral that people defend themselves, and again the 32CSMactivists were to the fore fighting back and in a number ofcases hauling the gardai off the protestors that they were

intent on brutalizing. These included elderly protestors - oneof whom was shoved over and trampled upon with scantregard for his personal safety.

Amidst the scuffles a barrier was pushed over andas the protestors pushed forward two members of the 32CSMwere arrested. They were charged with obstructing the police,public disorder and most serious of all 'foul or abusive lan-guage towards an officer'! The members arrested maintainthat the only term used was "Free State bastards" and I forone would contend that this is an accurate label for An Gardasiochana! After the arrests of a number of protestors some ofthe individuals waiting to have their book signed by Blair leftthe queue in solidarity and joined the protest. More peoplebegan to join in including passersby who were disgusted bythe behaviour of the police. As the police attempted to removethe people they had arrested the crowd blocked the path ofthe paddy wagons. This sparked further attacks from batonwielding gardai in riot gear that showed no regard for themany vulnerable individuals in their path including children inprams! When appeals were made for restraint they wereignored and what effectively became a running scuffle up anddown o Connell Street ensued - all in front of the worldsmedia. Speeches were then made by a number of differentactivists including the Irish Palestinian solidarity campaignthat appealed for support for its boycott of Israeli goods andmade an eloquent appeal for an end to the attacks on thePalestinian people by Israel.

However in none of the speeches was any refer-ence made to the continuing occupation of Ireland by theBritish army. This was alluded to by 32CSM activists and anargument did ensue. It is of vital importance to challenge atevery occasion the blasé acceptance of the situation in the sixcounties by much of the left wing in Ireland.

The 32 County Sovereignty Movement is an antiimperialist organisation; we support the people of Palestine,the Basque country, Iraq and elsewhere. Yet whilst our mem-bers attend and support these events we have not receivedany reciprocal support and indeed were heckled when raisingthe issue of the continued occupation. As chants of "free freeGaza" went up we added "free free Ireland" along with otherrepublicans present. As Blair exited the bookshop and waswhisked away further trouble broke out as 32CSM activistspushed through the police lines to march in front of Easonsand to display our Cumann banner in defiance of Free Stateintimidation. The book shop promptly closed for businessadding loss of revenue to their shame for hosting a war crim-inal.

Since this protest Tony Blair has cancelled all hisplanned book signings. Our presence was also noted by Skynews, Al Jazeera, Russia Today and even the Tehran times!Whilst members can become disheartened at the seeminglack of success of protests, this was a clear example of whypersistence pays off. A small shout of defiance will reverber-ate far louder than a cacophony of acquiescent mumbles.

“(The Gardai) looked steadily more nervous asthe crowd grew and tensions began to rise with

chants of "Tony Blair, war criminal" echoingaround the street. As the crowd grew restless,eggs were passed around to give Tony a warm

welcome with. When his car pulled up, escortedby special branch and British security personnel,

a number of 32CSM activists as well as otherprotestors hurled eggs, shoes and anything that

wasn't nailed down towards him.”

32CSM Confront War Criminal Blair in Dublin

visional movement abandoned their armed struggle and did indeedembrace criminality with open arms, raking in millions of euros ayear whilst former volunteers were left destitute. The results of thisactivity are not hard to identify, expensive suits and holiday homesfor those enthusiastic participants. There is however no equivalentwithin the 32 County Sovereignty Movement. The growth of the32CSM in Dublin in the past number of years has been considerableand as we have expanded into working class communities our analy-sis has gained popularity but our reputation has been upheld by theindividuals engaging in community work. People are not easilyfooled and if an individual is engaged in exploitative activities with-in a community it is no secret. No such activities have been report-ed to us and none of our members have besmirched the movement'sreputation through them.

The IRA in Dublin has also been to the fore of the fightagainst drugs and we believe firmly that it is the inability of the spe-cial branch to hinder volunteers from their work that has resulted inthis upsurge of media speculation. Unable to contain the IRA fromdefending working class communities the branch have decided toinstead try and single out individual republicans for trial by tabloid.

These accusations have not been backed up by any evi-dence and we call on anyone repeating them or propagating them toprovide some. We will not be dissuaded from helping communitiesnor will we be intimidated by the forces of the free state. To the peo-ple of Dublin we would say that if there are any concerns or queriesabout any 32CSM member's behaviour then they should contact usimmediately and all approaches will be met with honesty and confi-dentiality. To the media outlets from which these spurious storiesemerged we would say that you should consider the motivations ofthose feeding you the information you so eagerly push into the pub-lic domain. Whilst our country is under attack from Neo liberalsintent on destroying the lives of working class Irish people youremain content in attacking those seeking to aid these same people.There will no doubt be a day in the future when you will be held toaccount by the Irish people for these lies!

been elements in both the British establishment and in later years thefree state government who have sought to discredit and destroyrepublican support in our communities. These efforts have taken var-ious forms but one of the primary methods has always been toattempt to smear republicans with the tag of criminals. This is toenable the establishment to remove any political legitimacy from therepublican movement. Given that the state claims a monopoly on theuse of legitimate violence this is essential as any group vying withthem for this fundamental right must be destroyed as they representa destabilization of the natural order. To do this the state and what-ever resources it has at its disposal must attempt to replace the ideaof a politically and socially motivated grouping with that of anexploitative criminal conspiracy.

The first real concerted effort to do this was during thetan war when the Print media was used to extravagant effect by the

British government to paint IRA volunteers as "bank robbers, gun-men and corner boys" in the words of Sir Henry Wilson at the time.Headlines of the establishment press would defame the republicanmovement whilst the police and army sought to destroy it. Duringthe civil war the same tactics were used, volunteers were describedas "irregulars" to try and discredit them. Similarly during theProvisional movements campaign a concerted and sophisticatedcampaign to criminalize the republican movement was invoked inan attempt to destroy the republican support base. This culminatedin the jails with the hunger strikes but did by no means end there.

With the signing of the good Friday agreement the pro-

In the past number of weeks a number of tabloid papers havebegun a series of articles aimed at criminalizing republicans inDublin. These articles have been long on lurid speculation andshort on accuracy. They have primarily focused on a number of32CSM members and have offered libellous speculation as to thesupposed activities of these men.

The alleged activity includes extortion, drug dealing andmurder. According to these articles republicans in Dublin haveextorted nearly half a million euros from gangs. Given the hugesums involved they surprisingly failed to show any material evi-dence of this newfound wealth. No large houses, luxury cars orextravagance. Not even a trace of it. The articles also alleged that the32CSM members were heavily involved in the drugs trade. We arepublicly calling on all media outlets making these claims to contactus with any evidence they have of such involvement. To date no32CSM member has ever been convicted of any drugs relatedoffence in Dublin, no 32CSM member has ever been found withdrugs.

Rather the 32CSM has been behind the resurgent antidrugs campaign in some of the most deprived areas of Dublin whilstthe gardai content themselves with harassing our members ratherthan arresting the drug kingpins. As for supposed republicaninvolvement in gangland murders the papers seem unsure as to whatgroups they are actually talking about, given that they change theiraccusations day to day!

Originally the CIRA were supposed to be behind thegangland violence, then it was a CIRA splinter group and then a daylater it was a renegade "Real IRA" group! The inability of thesemedia outlets to substantiate any of their claims or even to keep theirstory straight is unsurprising. We believe that these stories are beinginstigated and encouraged by the Garda special branch. This poorlyexecuted attempt to criminalize republicans is nothing new butrather should be placed in a historical context.

For as long as there have been republicans there have

The Myth of Irish Neutrality- Free State Forces Sent to Help Occupation of Afghanistan

“Maybe the true role of the Gardai in this exer-cise is to show the American and the Afghan

authorities just how a home grown police forcecan be used to suppress it's own people's desirefor sovereignty and self determination. Lets faceit the Gardai have a vast knowledge and experi-

ence at doing just that.”

The James Larkin RFB recently organised a march in liv-erpool to support the prisoners. The parade was support-ed by WOSBA (West of Scotland Band Alliance) PollockRFB, Parkhead RFB, Eiren go bragh, the Gaughan StaggCumann and the Vol Charles Carrigan Cumann of the32CSM.

The parade raised the plight of the prisoners inIreland, and the public showed great interest in the paradealong the route. As many as 300 hundred people attended.32CSM National Executive members Joe Dillon and PhilO'Donoghue addressed the rally at the end of the parade. MrO'Donoghue, who is a veteran of the Brookborough Barracksraid , read the Declaration of Independance which was metwith appluse from those gathered. Joe Dillon gave a speechhighlighting the plight of the Irish POW's and the ongoingdenial of sovereignty, he also commended those present asthe standard bearers of republicanism, and reminded them oftheir duty to uphold Irish Sovereignty.

'An Claddagh' an Irish Republican Rebel band trav-elled from Glasgow to attend and show their support for thePOW's at a function later on. During a short break theParkhead RFB together with members of other RFB's, alsoplayed a few tunes. Joe Dillon commented on the great cama-raderie that existed between the bands.

Liverpool MarchSupports POWs

32CSM National Executive members Joe Dillon and PhilO'Donaghue attended the north west of England as part of anongoing investigation into what appears to be an unlawfulinterference in National Monuments situated there.

The Gaughan Stagg Cumann had noted andreported that an important commemorative stone had beenremoved from the Manchester Martyrs memorial. It was even-tually discovered that the stone had been lifted and placed ina local Irish Community centre. There was no reason for thisto have happened. After a number of weeks the stone waseventually returned. However the stone has not been putback in its original place. The Gaughan Stagg Cumann invit-ed the National Executive to take the matter up in Ireland,whilst they work with other progressive republicans and histo-rians to ensure National Monuments are not interfered with.

Whilst visiting the North West Joe Dillon and PhilO'Donaghue, on behalf of the National Executive paid theirrespects to four veteran IRA members, and members of theCumann na Mann who gave their lives for the Sovereignty ofIreland.

32CSM National Executive InvestigateInterference in National Monuments.

Ireland has become that which its people sought todestroy over hundreds of years of struggle. Ireland hasbecome an advocate of the imperialist system. Irish neu-trality is a myth, a figment of imagination, shrouded in avale of lies.

The Free State political establishment would proba-bly disagree with the above statement, at least publicly any-how. But the facts and the decisions taken by successiveFianna Fail led Governments tell a different story. Ireland'ssupport for America's "war on terror" is well known. For near-ly a decade now Ireland has acted as America's aircraft carri-er on the edge of Europe, a staging post for the invasions ofboth Iraq and Afghanistan, a vital link in the logistic chain thathelps to maintain the occupation of both nations. The rendi-tion flights probably refuelled in Shannon, as they took their"passengers" to torture centres around the globe. The FreeState a willing partner in all the above actions, and now readyto take their collaboration a step further as we honour our com-mitments as an EU member state.

The European Union, in June of 2007, launched theEu police mission in Afghanistan. The European police force,Eupol is instructed under this mandate to provide personnel totrain the Afghan police force. All part of an initiative to "con-tribute to the peace, security and safety of the Afghan people".Six members of An Garda Siochana have been selected to bepart of this force. Three of the Gardai are from the "specialist"Armed Response Unit. Also included are an inspector, ser-geant and rank and file officers. So now a situation existswere Irish personnel are going to be on the ground directlypartaking in America's war in Afghanistan. The question hasto asked, if the EU is serious about it's mission statement ofcontributing to the "peace, security and safety of the Afghanpeople", then maybe the first actions of the Gardai on theground should be to arrest the American commander for warcrimes and some of his soldiers too. But that would be toomuch to expect from a police force that upholds the occupationof part of it's own country.

It would be interesting to see just what the gardaicould teach the local Afghan police force. Both already havea lot in common. Corruption is rife in the Afghan NationalPolice so maybe on that front they could share ideas, the gar-dai could relate some of their experiences, such as the fiascoin Donegal in which over 11million Euro in compensation hasalready been paid out to victims of garda corruption. TheAfghan Police are also notorious for shooting first and askingquestions later, maybe they could teach the ERU somerestraint when it comes to the use of fire arms. The membersof the ERU could explain their execution of IRA volunteerRonan McLoughlinn or the murder of John Carty in Abbeylara. But maybe the true role of the Gardai in this exercise is toshow the American and the Afghan authorities just how ahome grown police force can be used to suppress it's ownpeople's desire for sovereignty and self determination. Letsface it the Gardai have a vast knowledge and experience atdoing just that. Since the foundation of both puppet states inIreland An Garda Siochana has been an important tool in theattempted suppression of the IRA's freedom struggle.

The Gardai who will soon be on the ground inAfghanistan will find themselves serving with their comradesin the Free State army, who for a number of years have beenplaying an active role in the NATO led ISAF (InternationalSecurity Assistance Force). Free State forces have providedexperts in bomb disposal and also have officers stationed inthe ISAF headquarters their role described as, "liaison & nego-tiations". Irish personal have also been stationed in Baghram

airbase, which has been and is being used by the US andAfghan forces as a detention centre and also as a torture cen-tre. Baghram has also been the starting point for the vastmajority of rendition flights many of which have found refu-elling facilities in Shannon. So the support given to the "waron terror" is not only logistical but it is also a physical reality onthe ground in Afghanistan.

The Irish people need to realise that the neutralitythey believe is Free State government policy is a lie. Irish sol-diers are part of a war of aggression that has seen the deathsof thousands of civilians. Irish soldiers and Gardai are beingused to prop up a corrupt government in Kabul, of course thiswould be the natural role for Irish personal as they have awealth of experience propping up corrupt governments inLeinster House.

Not only are Free State troops finding themselvesunder NATO command it also looks as though the incorpora-tion of the Free States armed forces into a European army isfast becoming a reality. Earlier this year, the end of March,Swedish Brigadier General Jan Stephan Anderson found him-self in Collins Barracks in Cork inspecting the Free Statetroops that will be falling under his command in October of thisyear. The Irish troops will be taking their place in the "NordicBattle group", travelling to Scandinavia to train with units from

Sweden, Norway (not an EU member but a member ofNATO), Finland and Estonia .

The stated aim of the various Battle Groups is thatthey are supposed to be for humanitarian use only, but anoth-er of it's stated aims is "peace enforcement" which is open forvarious interpretations. Ireland could very well find itself pro-viding troops to police the former empires of France, Germanyand Britain. We have already seen this in the recent deploy-ment of Free State soldiers to Chad to quell rebels who wherefighting the French backed regime. This new Imperial agesees the old powers and America agreeing the division of theworlds resources among themselves, through the tactics ofglobalisation, "regime change" and "peace enforcement" Ofcourse Irish troops have a long history in empire building andpolicing due to our long occupation by Britain and involvementin Britain's armed forces, which unfortunately continues to thisday. If ever evidence was needed for how far the politicalestablishment in the Free State has subverted republicanprinciples we only need look at how we honour our commit-ments to America's "war on terror" or on how Irish sovereign-ty has been sold for a few motorways.

Occupied peoples around the world used to look tothe Irish struggle for self determination for inspiration. TheIrish people have a proud history of resistance to colonisation,now the Free State is seen as a supporter of the EU's andAmerica's imperial project. We as separatist republicansmust continue the tradition of resistance standing by the prin-ciples found in the 1916 Proclamation and 1919 Declarationof Independence. Only by dismantling partition and the FreeState and establishing a 32 County Socialist Republic can wetake our place among the nations of the world.

to have a word with the 32 CSM member about the 'politicalsituation' and told him he was in a position to help them under-stand "what it was republicans were about." They also told himthey knew all about his friends and accomplices and what'organisation' he belonged to. They then said that they could"set him up for life financially and could give him anything hewanted" if he would talk to them. The man told them he hadno intention of talking about the political situation to anyone,least of all them. He asked if he was under arrest, then got upand left the room refusing a card they tried to offer him andwent to find his daughter and granddaughter who were upsetand shaken at being detained and interrogated.

The 32 CSM in South Down condemn this incident,the latest in a series of attempts by the British to entice orcoerce republicans or their friends and families in the SouthDown area. We urge republicans and their families to remainvigilant and to report any approaches to another party as soonas possible.

The 32CSM in South Down condemn an attempt to recruitone of its members by the British security services whilehe was going on a family holiday at the beginning of thismonth (September).

The member, a former Long Kesh POW, was inBelfast International Airport with his daughter and grand-daughter waiting to board a flight to an Eastern European des-tination when he was approached by someone who identifiedhimself as security. He was then taken to a room where twoother men were present and told he had to fill out a form, heasked what it was all about and was told he was beingdetained under section 7 of the terrorism act. At the same timehis daughter and granddaughter were held in a separate roomand quizzed about the man’s movements, and they wereasked would he be leaving her at any stage when on holidaysto meet up with 'friends'.

The British security agents stated that they wanted

Approach by Special Branch/MI5 Provokes Condemnation

“Whatever branch of the British military thatarrived recently in the Derry, it will be conduct-ing covert rather than overt operations. We can-

not rule out the possibilities of these troopsbeing involved in a planning operation for theremilitarisation of Derry and other areas, if theIRA campaign intensifies to a level where the

PSNI cannot cope.”

The recent re-deployment of the British Military in Derryand other areas comes as no surprise to Republicans.Indeed republicans have been aware for some time thatundercover British military operations were being con-ducted in the occupied territory. What is surprising is thatthe British once again announced such an operation,publicly.

Evidence to suggest that the British may be slowlyretracting from their normalisation strategy is emerging. TheRepublican snowball is rolling and condemnation on its own isnot going to stop it from growing. In this reality, the British mustchange tact. Republicanism must now prepare for what theBritish will throw at us next.

The ongoing cuts in Britain which include defenceand social investment has left the British with a hard choice tomake in regards to dealing with the recent upsurge inRepublican activity. Its long-term goal is to normalise partitionin the mindsets of the Irish people. When this is achieved par-tition and the British presence in Ireland will be secure and'Northern Ireland' would become a normal region of the UnitedKingdom. The British cannot afford to pump money into cost-ly 'peace initiatives' and fund the rising cost of dealing with theRepublican threat at the same time as its public pursebecomes lighter. Normalisation may be on hold.

The bloated community sector is already beginningto feel the crunch of Tory cuts too. The renewal of funding forcommunity jobs has stopped dead with the 'peace money' anddirect funding from Westminster and the Free State grinding toa halt leaving former Republican and Loyalist prisoners on thedole queue. These 'community jobs' were given to both com-munities in return for support for the peace process. Influentialkey players on both sides of the political divide benefitedfinancially over the years due to this British led initiative. Thecuts have left such people in a disillusioned position were theyare no longer benefiting financially from the normalisationprocess - which will no doubt cause infighting in theProvisional and Loyalist camps.

The growing number of disenfranchised youth in thedozens of working class housing estates across the occupiedterritory is a development that is garnering significant supportfor the ongoing republican insurgency. These young men andwoman up until recently would have had decent jobs andlifestyles. They now clearly blame the politicians for their hard-ship, and see the republican socialist ideology as an alterna-tive to boom and bust capitalism. No doubt the coming yearsare an interesting time for the Republican Movement with aright wing government in Westminster and the 26 counties ineconomic free fall.

The Tory government at its recent conference wasalso prepared to embarrass the Provisional Sinn Fein leader-ship and Martin Mc Guinness (who attended this event) byusing language that has not been used by the British govern-ment since the signing of the Good Friday agreement. Thatagreement was to ensure that the British government was tobe a neutral player in the politics of the northern state-let.Speaking at the conference the British Prime Minister saidthat the "constitutional question in Northern Ireland had been

answered" and stated without hesitation that "When I say I amprime minister of the United Kingdom, I really mean it.England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland - we're weakerapart, stronger together, so together is the way we mustalways stay." Earlier in the year Cameron declared that he hada `selfish and strategic interest' in Northern Ireland. These aredirect contradictions of communications that led to the PIRAceasefires in the 1990s. Whatever deal the Provisional SinnFein leadership had done with Labour has now been over-turned if we are to go by the language used by the Tory PrimeMinister. The rhetoric used and the silence of PSF in regardsto the deployment of British special forces is only leading tofurther disillusionment in key republican heartlands. It has

been six whole years since PSF last called for a British with-drawal from Ireland.

Last year the former head of the PSNI/RUCEnglishman Hugh Orde announced that the SSR 14thIntelligence (the intelligence wing of the SAS) was beingdeployed to the occupied territory to assist the PSNI.Whatever branch of the British military that arrived recently inthe Derry, it will be conducting covert rather than overt opera-tions. We cannot rule out the possibilities of these troopsbeing involved in a planning operation for the remilitarisationof Derry and other areas, if the IRA campaign intensifies to alevel where the PSNI cannot cope. Terry Spence of the PSNI'sPolice Federation has already said that "the PSNI are poten-tially reaching breaking point". Other sectors of the British mil-itary have also stressed that more resources are needed tobolster Crown Forces such as the PSNI and MI5 to tackle theupsurge in republican activity.

The tactic of attempting to condemn anti agreementRepublicans off the stage and plough ahead with the normal-isation policy are obviously not working. The British areadjusting their tactics to the realities of the game. Republicansmust do the same if we are to survive. The British play chess,not draughts, and their pawns are certainly no longer as effec-tive as they once were.

The IRA and others have ensured that the occupiedterritories will never function the same again for as long asmilitant republicanism exists. Because of this, recent Britishtactics are becoming reckless and blatant. Instead of resolv-ing the prisoner dispute they choose to drag it out to the pointwhere they become pressurised into making a deal. The peo-ple putting the pressure on them were worried that the POWcampaign was growing and was further destabilising supportfor the Stormont regime in nationalist areas. In recent weeksthe prison regime has reneged on the deal made with thePOW's which has sparked off another wave of protestingagainst strip-searching.

The British do not have to declare the deploymentof any of its forces in British occupied Ireland to anyone. It iscounter-productive to announce the presence of overt SpecialForces into an area before they get there. It certainly doesnothing to advance their normalisation policy, which they nowseem to have abandoned. So why are they here?

They are here because the British have realisedthat they can no longer stop the growth and effectiveness ofanti agreement Republicanism. The Labour governmentscharm offensive in Ireland is over, being replaced by MargretThatcher's boot boys who will once again repeat the samemistakes she made in Ireland.

British Military Back on the Streets of Derry

To be honest there was little surprise from any republican aboutthe condemnations following the IRA attack in Derry recently.There is a media ebb and flow in relation to the current cam-paign and the printed responses have gained an almost hysteri-cal nature in their attempts to outdo each other in vitriol.

Although occasionally humorous in their contradictoryanalysis, I particularly enjoy the oft repeated "no support" line whichis followed quickly by "minority support", these statements can giveus some insight into the mindsets of those issuing them. MartinMcGuiness however managed to take the top prize for inventive lan-guage by lambasting republicans, from a Tory party podium as being"conflict junkies and Neanderthals". The sdlp, no doubt still smart-ing from the provisional movement snatching the mantle of consti-tutional nationalism, chose instead to label them as "born againprovos". No doubt these sound bites were rehearsed well in advanceand they were waiting with baited breath for the IRA to strike so thatthey might be deployed! But it may be a useful exercise to analysethe terms themselves which I think not only highlight the lack of realinsight into republicanism today but also display a not inconsider-able concern that republicans are making real inroads in the sixcounties.

McGuinness has consistently shot himself in the footwith his abuse of republicans, in particular during the notorious"traitors" press conference which seemed to take even Hugh Orde bysurprise in its sheer hypocrisy and stupidity. There is an air of nearpaternal outrage about martin when he starts mouthing off on thetopic of the IRA. He has all the mannerisms of a disgruntled parentdealing with a difficult child. I think that analogy does in fact sumup his view of republicans. He is most annoyed, not at our refusal tosubmit to British rule but our refusal to submit to provisional rule.The personality cult surrounding the provisional leadership was notput in place overnight but rather grew over a period of many years.

The cult of leadership was wielded as a weapon to sup-press dissent. Unfortunately for martin his authority has no credibil-ity amongst republicans in Derry. It is this cold hard fact that nags athis ego. And it is this fact that drove him to use the term"Neanderthal". Martin isn't an anthropologist so I think it's safe to

say that he was intent on depicting "dissidents" as backwards, polit-ically unsophisticated and stupid. The truth however is that republi-canism since the Good Friday Agreement has been forced to under-go an even greater degree of political turmoil that has led to a greaterquestioning of its role as an ideology and that has led to lengthydebate and discussion about its future. Constitutional nationalism onthe other hand has merely retreated to its most comfortable and itsoriginal stance, that of a pressure group for middle class Catholics.Any student of history can point to movements such as the home ruleparty as being largely representative of the nature of nationalism inIreland. That is to say moderate, and more often than not seeking tobuild a broad coalition of powerful institutions to argue for internalreform rather than revolution. In the past this usually focused on theCatholic Church as seen in the structuring of both the GAA and theHome rule movement along parish lines. Thankfully the CatholicChurch does not wield the influence that it once did but this hasn'tfundamentally altered the tactics of nationalists. The relationshipwith the Irish-American lobby is a good example as it shows howpolitical elites are recruited as allies to try and gain a sympathetic earwhilst Martin begs for crumbs from Cameron.

Republicanism on the other hand is fundamentally a rev-olutionary tradition, the only tradition on this island with thelongevity and historical and social importance that is capable ofenacting radical change. With the changing of circumstances repub-licanism too has undergone reality checks and it would be mostunwise to pursue any revolutionary agenda on this island that did notseek to fundamentally change the economic and power structurescurrently in place. This message is gaining ground, whilst the provi-sional's are forced into populist left-nationalist rhetoric whilst sittingin coalition with a reactionary and sectarian party. The so-calledNeanderthals it would seem are the ones developing their politicalanalysis and seeking to transform rather than reform their country.

Martin couldn't resist painting republicans as war mon-gering either, ironic given his party's contention that it was the IRAwho made their ideal peace agreement possible! Calling republicansconflict junkies was no doubt designed to portray us as those with noagenda other than mayhem. But how does that square with reality?A bomb timed to cause maximum political capital and directed

against a capitalist target is not a tactic wielded by individuals igno-rant of sophisticated political thinking. Rather it is the product of astrategy designed to cause maximum disruption to an uneasy settle-ment that is and always has been predicated on lies. There are thosein the media who contend that republicans have no strategy otherthan chaos, this is untrue. The strategy is clear. They may not like it,or agree with it but it is undeniably effective. The New Zealand gov-ernment issued travel warnings to its citizens travelling to the sixcounties recently. The myth of tranquillity is being blown apart inthe so-called city of culture! The message being sent around theworld however is not necessarily what's worrying Martin most,rather it is the message that is being listened to by increasing num-bers of people in the Bogside and Creggan. For it is from communi-ties such as these that his own movement was born and sustainedand he knows it!

His compatriot in the SDLP also cast some interestinglight on the conflict within nationalism. His use of the term bornagain provos makes little actual sense in any historical way. It iscommon knowledge that the IRA has within its ranks the majority ofthose who in 1997 rejected fundamentally changing the raison d'êtreof the IRA. Therefore it is in fact the provisionals who have beenevangelized to the church of constitutional reform. However it wasas much a jibe aimed at Sinn Fein as it was one against republicans.For the stoops have not forgotten that not so long ago it was theywho stood alone condemning republican actions whilst Martindefended them. They resent the fact that PSF stole their languageand their voting base. So they seek to remind what is left of theirvoters that these people are hiding behind a carefully constructedfaçade, a narrative of deceit. Unfortunately for them it will do themlittle good. The provisionals successfully ditched republicanismwhilst deluding many republicans into following them. Havingachieved that they began to seduce the nationalists who did not havethe stomach for fighting the brits but were more than happy to havethe republican rhetoric without the armalites to back it up! And sowhilst our one time comrades seek to condemn and cajole republi-cans we can sit content in the knowledge that if they are that workedup about us, we must be doing something right.

Who is the Neanderthal?

A Chara,What constitutes a Republican Activist and what consti-

tutes Republican Activism? This is a question I've often considered.What are these terms descriptive of and what do they really mean tome?

Well, let's start with the first term - a Republican Activistis by definition someone who has a belief in freedom for his peopleand a 32 County United Ireland with the various other aspirationsthat go along with that. They are a member of their local communi-ty and work as part of that community on their behalf - with the goalof presenting and achieving the best possible scenario for their peo-ple.

This is the very crux of Republicanism. Working for thebest regime for the inhabitants of all Ireland. With this as their goalI believe there is an inherent nobility within these actions. They areworking for the same goal as their ancestors extending back to asfar as the beginning of the very ideology of Republicanism itself.Now as part of this legacy they have the obligation to behave in sucha way to be respectful and pay credence to the sacrifices of thosethat passed before them - which the 32 County SovereigntyMovement and its members do with every action they undertake (andrightly so). Republican activists are subjected to various forms ofharassment, this is generally something accepted by themselves

when they decide to undertake the work of building our Republic. This is a very selfless act from which there are no

rewards apart from that feeling of "doing the right thing." It is some-thing overlooked by the media that partakes in this harassment. Thatthere is no selfish interest in being Republican (in fact it's quite theopposite). It's the very knowledge they are doing the right thing thatindeed encourages their actions.

Republican Activism as I touched upon already is workthat is designed and intended to bring about a United Ireland. Whentaken in isolation the fact of putting up a poster does not seem likeit will make a difference. But it does, for every small action it addsto a greater action, or forward thrust, to achieve Republican goals.Small actions may lead to other people taking up the banner ofRepublicanism and carrying out the same. It has a snowball effect,and it is this very effect that is required in attaining our aims. NowRepublican activism (just like being a Republican activist) mustkeep to an honourable code, for if it falls from a code of high moralstanding it can no longer be Republican in neither name nor deed.Republican Activism is the very life-blood of Irish RepublicanActivists.

So if Activists are the blood of activism, then Activismand ideology must the oxygen of those members. They are all insep-arable. The 32 County Sovereignty Movement is a body, withinwhich these components must be brought together to flourish as partof a wider national organisation. It is possible to call yourselfRepublican but you cannot be a Republican without actively pursu-ing the goals of Irish independence, to say so is a fallacy. I wouldcall upon any person young or old, Irish or otherwise that has a firmbelief in Republicanism and is prepared to be a role model of whatIrish Republicanism is to join the 32CSM in their local cumann. It'swith the help of each other we will eventually achieve our goals.

Belfast 32CSM member.

Letters to the Editor. . .

A local Republican who recently suffered a brutal assault at thehands of the Tactical support group of the RUC / PSNI todayfinds himself once again a victim of their barbarity. Their fur-ther actions show they are a corrupt sectarian force who havethe audacity to attempt to represent themselves as lawkeepers.

The Republican and his partner, on the way back from awedding some weeks ago, were dragged from the back of a taxi bythe TSG, beaten and brutalised befored being cuffed and throwninto the cells at Strand road barracks. Once in custody at Strandroad, the TSG were somehow able to access the holding cells wherethey threatened the Republican's life and further assaulted him.

The assault in the holding cells proved (if any proofwere needed) that the Tactical Support Group are a law onto them-selves. They are allowed to bypass their own laws and gain illegalaccess to civilians being held in custody. Can we really be surprisedthough, given that Chris Yates is quoted as saying that he has nocontrol over these units whatsoever. This raises serious questions asto how much access this shadowy organisation could have hadwhen a lifelong Republican lost his life under extremely dubiouscircumstances in the very same cells last year.

The threats that were issued against this man were actedupon last week when a member of the Tactical Support Groupapproached him and without warning released a can of CS sprayinto his face. This was done in extremely close proximity to the skinand as a result the skin has lifted from parts of his face. It left hisface and neck covered in welts and open sores that bleed as they dryout and crack.

Fr. Paddy O'Kane met the children of Republicans thisweek and described the stories from them as harrowing. The politi-cal policing that was protested about through the previous decadesis still ongoing but the fact the media choose not to report these inci-dents shows that they, in conjunction with the RUC, prefer to felonset youngsters through the RUC's "Operation Exposure." It's prob-ably easier for them to have their news handed to them by the RUCthan actually report the true facts which would fly in the face of thenormalisation policy they portray.

The RUC/PSNI refer to CS spray as a "less lethalweapon". They have previously attempted to portray it as a tool to"temporarily incapacitate and to enable arrest". However, when acan of cs spray was lost in Strabane by the RUC/PSNI , they saw fitto issue a statement through the media stating "members of the pub-lic should not push the spray nozzle, as this will activate the con-tents and cause injury to anyone nearby."The only change to the RUC seems to be the name. They are stillthe same corrupt sectarian force they have been throughout theages.

Republicans, their relatives, friends and children willcontinue to be fair game for them as they manipulate their laws, vio-late, assault, felon set, tamper with evidence, plant evidence, intern,harrass and intimidate.

The courts respond in kind, with a nod and a wink to theRUC as they discard justice in favour of fast tracking Republicansto gaol on the evidence of flawed and disgraced RUC "witnesses."The RUC feel comfortable enough to unleash vicious assaults onRepublicans in full view of the public safe in the knowledge that thecourts and judges have their backs. All said with the cynical com-ment that "the bad old days are gone". The reality of course is some-what different.

Republicanism and Political Activism.

Campaign of ViolenceAgainst Local

Republican Continues

A Chara,We are being asked to believe the peace process is the

new beginning, a new start for Ireland, a place where according toFinance Minister Brian Lenihan "The spirit of Collins is the spiritof the nation and it must continue to inspire all of us in public life,irrespective of party or tradition." It appears from an article in theIrish Independent Monday August 23rd, 2010 "Landlords lay claimto property at scenic spot" that the tradition of the English absenteelandlord has not changed to reflect the supposed new beginning.

"Villagers are reeling after English-based Landlordsstaked claim to property that the original owners left almost a cen-tury ago. Several locals in Rosses Point, Co Sligo, received a solic-itor's letter telling them they had 28 days to hand over property topeople they had never met. The letters come from shareholders ofthe original owners of the property ground rent, the MiddletonEstate, most of whose family departed Ireland up to 90 years ago". In the 1970s according to the Irish Independent, "locals tracedMiddleton family members across the globe, and reached a dealwhere many bought their ground rent for sums of around IR£100.But some did not clinch agreement, leaving uncertainty over theground on which their homes were built, which is in one of the mostvaluable locations in the north-west".

"Meanwhile, Devon-based vicar, the Reverend GuyChave-Cox, and his wife Heather, who claims descent from theMiddleton family, have been checking land in Rosses Point. Itincludes a seaside home where the Yeats brothers, poet WB andpainter Jack, holidayed with their Middleton cousins in the now-dilapidated Elsinore Lodge".

“…Mrs. Chave-Cox said it was possible several vil-lagers who did not sort out title to their land might have a mistakenbelief that they owned their own ground rent. When asked if legalproceedings were a prospect, Mrs. Chave-Cox said: "We are look-ing to sort out the facts of any situation." She refused to say howmany people were approached, adding: "It's none of your business."

“One local businessman said: "People are quite con-cerned where this is all going to lead. I know of one woman whoactually cried when she received a letter claiming somebody elseowns her property."

"A number of homeowners received solicitors' letters inJuly… with the 28-day notice from shareholders of the Middletonestate. It claimed the homeowner was "wrongfully in possession" ofMiddleton Estate property. It threatened proceedings without fur-ther notice if the property wasn't surrendered. That means, with the28-day notice, proceedings against some householders could starttoday".

“Local Solicitor Joe Carter, who represents a number ofpeople who received legal letters, said "the issue was resolved tomost people's satisfaction in the 1970s, and it is at least 35 yearssince anybody paid ground rent". "Nobody knows who these peopleare who have arrived on the peninsula. They are trying to lay someclaim to the ground rents that were unresolved."

As you can see from the article, the Baron Landlord isstill alive and laying claim to Irish Land. These are the descendantsof those settled here by Cromwell and rewarded with Irish Land fortheir butchery of Irish people in the Sieges of Wexford, Waterford,Kilkenny and Clonmel through to the siege of Drogheda in

September 1649. As we no doubt remember, all Catholic-owned landwas confiscated in the Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652 andgiven to Scottish and English settlers, the Parliament's financialcreditors and Parliamentary soldiers. The remaining Catholiclandowners were allocated poorer land in the province of Connacht-this led to the Cromwellian attributed phrase "To hell or toConnacht". Under the Commonwealth, Catholic landownershipdropped from 60% of the total to just 8%.

I wonder what Michael Collins would have to say aboutyet another land grab by the English? I wonder did he envisage afinal resolution / peace process in which the British Crown contin-ues to exercise jurisdiction over the Peerage of Ireland and the IrishLand, including those peers whose titles derive from places locatedin what is now the 26 counties?

To the victor indeed go the spoils, and on Saturday 21stAugust they came back to Sligo to view their bloody trophy. To claimground rent and or the land bequeathed to them for their butcheryof Irish people by Oliver Cromwell or through the Act for theSettlement of Ireland 1652.

The sitting Baron landlords can still be seen. For exam-ple the Earl of Meath a title in the Peerage of Ireland created in1627 and held by the head of the Brabazon family. This familydescends from Sir Edward Brabazon, who represented CountyWicklow in the Irish House of Commons. Add to that the Earl of

Mount Charles from 1974 or more commonly known as HenryMountcharles. He is lauded by our national politicians and nation-al press for the concerts he runs at Slane Castle.

How quickly we forget that these land lords occupystolen land and yet for a paltry amount returned to the people theytook it from, we erect plaques to thank them for their benevolence.(See for example the stone in the Peoples Park Bray as an exampleof our politicians' gratitude to Brabazon Family. They made a pres-ent of the land to the people of Bray whom they stole it from in thefirst place!) Likewise we heap praise on Henry Mountcharles forallowing Irish People onto stolen land for a substantial fee to enjoyconcerts.

Minister Lenihan said during the oration at the annualcommemoration at Beal na mBlath, "De Valera himself felt a senseof challenge from the ghost of Collins." However I as a Republicanmust say I feel more a sense of challenge from the ghost ofCromwell, the Baron land lords and the absentee public propertygrabbers!

Is this really the new beginning? A new start for Ireland?or is it just history repeating itself?

John, Wicklow.

"A number of homeowners received solicitors'letters in July… with the 28-day notice from

shareholders of the Middleton estate. It claimedthe homeowner was "wrongfully in possession"

of Middleton Estate property. It threatened proceedings without further notice

if the property wasn't surrendered.”

British Landlords Descend on County Sligo

32CSM Cork CommemoratesI.R.A Volunteer Joe O’Connor

“NORTHERN IRELAND”:A PRODUCT OF GERRYMANDERING - NOT DEMOCRACY

Ireland' Unionists can out vote Nationalists and Republicans issimply an outcome of the way in which its borders were fixedat the time of partition and says nothing about the justice ordemocratic nature of their case. The principle of consent forconstitutional change only refers to consent within the sixcounties against the will of the majority of the people of Irelandand has therefore dubious democatic credentials.

The artificial majority set about building 'aProtestant state for a Protestant people', a state built on dis-crimination and bigotry. While 'Northern Ireland' was formallydemocratic, as an entity where more than a third of its popu-lation contested its legitimacy, it could not function as a normaldemocratic state. It was an exceptional state relying on spe-cial powers, sectarianism and electoral fraud for its survival.The Nationalist experience of the creation of 'Northern Ireland'is an equivalent of the Palestinian experience of 'Nakba'.Nationalists became an artificial minority and were long treat-ed as second-class citizens. 'Northern Ireland' was based oncoercion not consent. It is not based upon the rule of law buton a system where normal rules of justice can be circumvent-ed. Many civil liberties taken for granted in other Westerncountries have always been severely restricted in the sixcounties. From the moment of its birth, 'Northern Ireland' hasbeen in a state of more or less continuous emergency wherecivil liberties have been severely curtailed.

The British state has dispensed with the 'normal'process of law and has used 'special powers' of arrest, deten-tion, internement without trial and remand procedures. It hasused extra-legal methods of 'shoot to kill' to eliminate politicalopponents, collusion, censorship, torture, inhuman anddegrading treatment of prisoners, abolished trial by jury. Allthese have been documented by international human rightsbodies and organisations. Legal constraints on security forcesare minimal. Today, security forces have almost unlimitedpowers to stop, search, arrest and detain whoever they chose.No-jury courts and ill-treatment of suspects are still common-place. The Belfast Agreement has certainly created greaterequality for nationalists within 'Northern Ireland' and gave itmore legitimacy in the eyes of nationalists. The six counties in2010 are not the same place they were in 1970 or 1920. Butto say "that 'Northern Ireland' is 'more stable' and 'more legiti-mate' is not the same thing as suggesting that it is either sta-bilised or legitimised.» (Sara O Sullivan (ed) ContemporaryIreland: A Sociological Map, Dublin: University College DublinPress, 2007, 416) Because the fundamental reality is that'Northern Ireland' “is inherently sectarian and undemocraticand the British presence only serves to perpetuate that stateof affairs “. (Michael Farrell, Northern Ireland : The OrangeState, Pluto Press, 1976, 332)

themselves to be British or Unionists). To take 'NorthernIreland' as a legitimate unit for self-determination has littlepolitical, geographic or historic logic. On that basis, if six coun-ties have the right to secede from the thirty-two, then there isno reason why counties Fermanagh, Tyrone and Armaghcouldn't drop out of 'Northern Ireland'! Finally the aggregateverdict is the normal means of assessing an electoral contestso even if a 'majority' in the North wished to remain part of theUnited Kingdom this lacked democratic legitimacy.

In fact 'Northern Ireland' did not demand self-deter-mination, it was created to deny self-determination. 'NorthernIreland' was created and maintained through the threat of vio-lence and denial of democracy. Its origin was a sectarianhead-count as John Whyte explains : “For the border was sodrawn as to corral within it not only almost all areas with union-ist majorities, but also considerable areas with nationalistones. If the county is taken as the unit, there were at the timeof partition unionist majorities in only four of the six counties ofNorthern Ireland. If some smaller unit had been chosen thenparts of Tyrone and Fermanagh might have been reclaimedfor unionism, but considerable parts of other counties wouldhave been lost to nationalism…(Unionists') only worry washow much territory they would be able to control. The idea that

it might be unjust to ask for more territory than was actuallyunionist apparently never entered their heads. The fact mightbe used by their critics to argue that unionists sought , notequality, but supremacy.” (John Whyte, Interpreting NorthernIreland, Oxford University Press, 1990, pp.163-164) On thatbasis, it is therefore absolutely wrong to argue that “there isnothing inherently reactionary about…a national frontier whichputs Protestants in numerical majority.” (Paul Bew, PeterGibbon, Henry Patterson, The State in Northern Ireland,Manchester University Press, 1979, 221)

As a result of this the people of Ireland were deniedtheir rights as a majority and an undemocratic system of artif-ical majority and artificial minority was set up. What made par-tition 'legitimate' was that a majority in the North wanted itwhen partition had created this majority in the first place!(therefore artificial ) But since democracy is usually equatedwith majority rule (something Martin Mansergh would probablycall outdated majoritarian thinking), many would argue that itwould be undemocratic to force the Unionists, who are now amajority in 'Northern Ireland' into a united Ireland without theirconsent. What this argument ignores is precisely the artificialnature of this 'majority'. Prior to partition Unionists constituteda minority within the whole population of Ireland. The veryexistence of 'Northern Ireland' is due to the British governmentand Unionists' refusal to accept the results of majority rule inIreland as a whole. To attempt to legitimise that refusalUnionists had to be transformed into a 'majority'. This wasachieved by creating 'Northern Ireland' whose borders weredeliberately chosen to exclude counties which were predomi-nantly Nationalist and Republican. In this new state Unioniststhus enjoyed a clear majority. The fact that within 'Northern

“It is not based upon the rule of law but on asystem where normal rules of justice can be cir-cumvented. Many civil liberties taken for granted

in other Western countries have always beenseverely restricted in the six counties. From themoment of its birth, 'Northern Ireland' has been

in a state of more or less continuous emergencywhere civil liberties have been

severely curtailed.”

Over the past few months the Belfast Newsletter ran aseries of opinion pieces on 'Union 2021' to mark the forth-coming one hundred year anniversary of the creation of'Northern Ireland'. On the horizon appears not just thecentenary of the Easter Rising in 2016 but importantlyalso that of partition in ten years time. This provides theopportunity to restate the Republican case against parti-tion and the existence of 'Northern Ireland'.

It is not a matter of “irredentism” as Paul Bew andHenry Patterson attempt to portray it. It is fundamentally anissue of democracy. As democracy is the essence ofRepublicanism, for Republicans the problem is first and fore-most that 'Northern Ireland' is a product of gerrymanderingand not democracy. It is based on a sectarian headcount tomaintain supremacy, not democracy and equality. It is notbased on consent but on coercion. It is not based upon therule of law but on a system where normal rules of justice canbe circumvented.

It was imposed by the British state, not created bythe will of the people. It was established by a 1920 British Actof Parliament for which no one in Ireland ever voted. What theBritish government thought of democracy can be summed upby what Prime Minister Lloyd George wrote to Lord Carson in1916 : “We must make it clear that Ulster does not, whethershe wills it or not, merge with the rest of Ireland.” The peopleof all Ireland were given no say. The partition of Ireland is noteven based on the wishes of the people within the partitionedarea. Along the actual border areas were included where themajority wished to be on the other side of the line. There areeven some indications that the Unionists did not want partition.Some historians like Clare O Halloran argue that some sort ofpartition was inevitable. However, it was the British govern-ment that chose the way in which Ireland was to be dividedand imposed this by force. It is inconceivable that negotiationsbetween Republicans, Nationalists and Unionists would haveproduced the same settlement, especially if the British statehad been out of the equation. The primary responsibility forpartition lies with the British government and 'Northern Ireland'is kept in existence only by British guns and finance.

It is sometimes argued that partition was legitimatebecause a majority in 'Northern Ireland' wished to remain partof the United Kingdom. But one has to draw a line where themajority for partition begins and where the majority for partitionends. The only recognised constitutional entity until 1920 wasthe 32-county Ireland. It recognised itself as a constitutionalentity prior to Henry II although it had difficulties in establish-ing a central government (on this see Christopher Maginn,Contesting the sovereignty of early modern Ireland, HistoryIreland, November-December 2007) It was governed as anentity for 750 years under English rule. It was the parliamentof Ireland that passed the Act of Union in 1800, and it wasnever suggested that the 32-county Ireland disintegrated itselfby enacting the Union. It was governed as a distinct entityunder the Union right through until 1920 when the British gov-ernment over-ruled the democracy of Ireland and split thecountry. There are therefore serious grounds to take the 32-county Ireland as being the legitimate unit for self-determina-tion. However the historical, geographical or national basis tojustify the existence of 'Northern Ireland' is more questionable.The six-county 'Northern Ireland' is not the nine-county Ulsterand there is little that makes its population distinctive from therest of the island (also not all protestants in Ulster consider

Editor’s Note - Guest Opinion’s are the views of contributingindividuals, and not necessarily those of the 32 CountySovereignty Movement. This column exists solely to promoteopen debate amongst Republicans.

Guest Opinion.

Liam O’Ruairc

The Poppy: A Symbol of British ImperialismIt's nearly that time of year again. As we approach the 11th dayof the 11th month no doubt the airways will be filled with theannual debates about whether or not Irish people should wear apoppy in remembrance of those Irishmen who fought and diedduring the first world war, 1914-1918. The same old commen-tators will be wheeled out and no doubt the odd Free Statepolitician will try and placate their bosses in London. But nomatter how the issue is fudged the fact is the poppy is no longera symbol to remember the dead of World War One. Instead ithas become a symbol of support for the present day Britisharmed forces and also a symbol of support for British imperial-ism.

Tens of thousands of Irishmen died in the trenches of theFirst World War. We can't claim to know the motivation behind allthose who took the queen's shilling and donned the uniform of thecrown. To simply say that all who fought in the British army dur-ing the war were traitors to Ireland is just too simplistic a view tohold. There is no doubt that many felt their allegiance was to "kingand country". But many others were led to believe, by the constitu-

tional nationalists of the time, that their service in the trencheswould guarantee Home Rule and so fought out of a misplaced andnaive trust in the British Establishment that they were fighting forthe "freedom of small nations".

So how should Ireland remember those Irishmen whodied to preserve the British and French empires? The poppy, as asymbol of remembrance, was first internationally recognised in theearly 1920s. A group of French women, widowed during the war,approached Earl Haig, who had founded the British Legion, andsuggested that the poppy could be sold as a means of raising fundsto support veterans and families bereaved in the war who had beenabandoned by the political establishment. It wasn't long before thepoppy was adopted as the British Empire's symbol of remembrance.Herein lies the difficulty for many. Over the years as World War Oneveterans became fewer the meaning of the poppy was subverted bythe British Legion. The poppy over time underwent a metamorpho-sis. Transformed from a symbol of remembrance to one of supportfor the current members of the British armed services. According tothe British Legion's web site, this year, the poppy is dedicated to

British forces who are currently waging a war of aggression inAfghanistan.

So in Ireland as this issue is debated, as it is every year,we should know exactly what the poppy stands for. We as a peopleneed to know that if we wear the poppy we remember not only theBritish and Irish dead of World war one but also those British troopswho died suppressing the Republic established in 1916, the Britishtroops who executed Irish soldiers in the aftermath of the 1916 ris-ing, and those who committed unspeakable atrocities as they triedand failed to suppress the Republic re-established in 1919. Finally,we will be remembering those members of the British army who inthe current phase of our struggle were responsible for war crimes,armed the Loyalist death squads and who still occupy the six NorthEastern counties of Ireland.

The political establishment of the Free State is notashamed of its support for imperial Britain. Indeed the very exis-tence of both the six and 26 county states is a stain on the memoryof Irelands patriot dead, but it is even more insulting when theywear that support on the lapels of their Armani suits.

“The Americans caught people, they sent themto the Iraqi security services. They knew what

would happen. They knew that in 1,300 cases it'dhappened. And they knew very well that they

would be tortured, and they were. And that's whyso many Iraqis who've ever been arrested, whenyou talk to them in Baghdad, they'll say, "Yes, I

was tortured, routinely, always and withoutexception." And that's the situation.”

A second consignment of leaked US Military files, this time con-cerning the Iraq War, has shown the shocking reality of theirimperialist inspired adventure in Iraq. 391,832 Field reportscompiled by US forces have been handed over to the mediathrough the whistle-blowing website Wikileaks. In a quote fromthe website; "they detail events as seen and heard by the US mil-itary troops on the ground in Iraq and are the first real glimpseinto the secret history of the war that the United States govern-ment has been privy to throughout." Earlier this year an initialsmaller haul regarding the war in Afghanistan was made publicin a similar manner. It caused an outcry from the US govern-ment alleging that it was a breach of security and "could put sol-diers' lives at risk". A flurry of activity saw the US establish-ment using any excuse to downplay the situation once Anti-Warlobbyists and members of the public began demanding answers.

The eventual outcome was the arrest and imprisonmentof a 22 year old dissident American soldier, Bradley Manning. Ajunior intelligence analyst formerly based in Baghdad. The personwho received the files to publish (Julian Assange, founder ofWikileaks) went into hiding but announced the release of further,more damaging files, that this current submission is a part of.One aspect has highlighted prisoner abuse. Despite revelationsabout Abu Ghraib after photographs were found showing torturedand dead detainees, it seems that US military involvement had beena lot more widespread. It also extends to the acknowledgement of"systematic torture" by American backed Iraqi security forces. Oneof the main proposals by the US and British governments was thatthere would be a "phased withdrawal" and authority handed over toIraqi personnel. Using only the US and UK military forces for train-ing and backup. This was meant to create stability in the country.

In fact what happened was a huge upsurge in deaths,detainment, brutal interrogations and summary executions. One partof the leaked field report a man was detained by Iraqi soldiers andheld in a basement. He had his hands tied behind him before beingsuspended from the ceiling by his wrists. An extremely painful tech-nique that gradually dislocates both shoulders as the arms moveslowly into a raised position above the head. The soldiers thenwhipped him with plastic pipes and tortured him with an electricdrill. Despite US personnel being aware of this, and even allowinghim to be treated by US medics, their submission was returned stat-ing that "no investigation was required".

This is but one of the many hundreds of instances in theleaked reports where detainees were beaten with metal rods, chains,TV antennae and even belts from car engines. Some had acid pouredover them, whilst others were sexually abused by having objectsforced inside them. In one instance five men were found in a cellcoughing blood and showing signs of rape.

The Americans have on occasion appeared to makeattempts to stop this abuse from happening, but are stopped by anorder from above commonly known as 'Frago 242'. This orders UStroops not to investigate the laws of armed conflict unless coalitionforces are directly involved. Any individual or group of US soldierswho have tried this have found their efforts blocked or disregarded.According to the logs US soldiers witnessed, or were told of, morethan 1,300 cases of detainee abuse by Iraqi authorities.

In an interview with an American news service, wellrespected investigative journalist Robert Fisk said: “It is a fact - andI discovered this in police stations myself, and by talking to police-men - that if you got arrested, particularly if you were handed overby the Americans to the Iraqis as a suspected "terrorist", you wouldbe tortured. It was a kind of domestic form of rendition. If theAmericans caught someone in Afghanistan and couldn't make themtalk, they'd ship them off to Morocco or Egypt where they'd pull outtheir toe nails and then perhaps they would talk. So in a sense thiswas a miniature rendition. The Americans caught people, they sentthem to the Iraqi security services. They knew what would happen.Well they knew that in 1,300 cases it'd happened. And they knewvery well that they would be tortured, and they were. And that's whyso many Iraqis who've ever been arrested, when you talk to them inBaghdad, they'll say, "Yes, I was tortured, routinely, always andwithout exception." And that's the situation. This 1,300 (is a baseline figure). We're talking of tens of thousands of prisoners who'vebeen brutalised and abused by the Iraqis with American knowledge- that's what we're talking about.”

Indeed, the Americans themselves are quite often likelyto ignore the laws of armed conflict altogether - and especially whenit includes their own troops. In perhaps the most revealing account,an Apache helicopter crew killed two Iraqi men who were attempt-ing to surrender to them. In 2007, it is reported that US helicopterGunship (call sign 'Crazyhorse 18'). The two men jumped out of

their truck after it was fired upon by the helicopter. The subsequentvideo and audio footage obtained by Wikileaks shows the helicop-ter hovering nearby while the pilot radios through a message to baseasking what to do. He comments "they came out wanting to surren-der". A military lawyer at their headquarters returns their call say-ing "they cannot surrender to an aircraft and are therefore valid tar-gets". The men are eventually killed by the Apache helicopter firinglong bursts of cannon fire at them.

According to a feature in the Bureau of InvestigativeJournalism, Claude Bruderlein director of Humanitarian Policy andConflict Research at Harvard University is reported as saying thatthis incident would be a clear breach of international law. "This ideathat you cannot surrender to a helicopter is ridiculous, absolutelyunacceptable. Surrendering is a fundamental principle of the law ofarmed conflict and you can surrender to aircraft. You cannot attackthose that surrender". He cites the allegations as being a clear

breach of article three of the fourth Geneva Convention, drawn up in1949 following the second World War. It states "that non combatantsand members of the armed forces who have laid down their arms,shall in all circumstances be treated humanely". He concludes thatthe helicopter crew would clearly be guilty of a war crime in this sit-uation. Interestingly, an Apache helicopter with the same call signhad already been involved in another notorious incident where twomembers of a civilian press team working for Reuters, along withother innocents, were gunned down and killed. Iraqi civilians werealso reportedly used as minesweepers by US soldiers according tothe leaks. It described how the leader of a US mounted cavalry pla-toon ordered Iraqi civilians to "clear the road of trash and debris" ifhe suspected a bomb might be hidden on their route. The incidentsoccurred during mounted patrols on several occasions in Augustand/or September 2005.

Another devastating revelation is the amount of civilianskilled at vehicle checkpoints or near military convoys. Apparentlythere were 13,963 incidents linked to convoys or at checkpointsacross Iraq from 2004-2009. During the US occupation, checkpointswere set up across Iraq. Soldiers stationed at these checkpoints weresupposedly trained to deal with potential threats. A procedure calledEscalation of Force (EOF), was meant to be used if the soldiers feltthey were under serious threat. An EOF warning begins with flash-ing lights, horns and sometimes flares. The next stage is a warningshot at the tyres or engine block and finally the soldiers are clearedto shoot at the driver if all else fails. This didn't always work in prac-tice. For instance, on June 14th 2004 in Ramadi at a checkpoint, aUS marine tried to wave down a vehicle with hand signals and wav-ing. He then tried warning shots at the front grill of the car, but thebullets passed through the vehicle and killed seven people inside.Including two children. In another reported case a grandmother wasblinded by flying glass and her three year old grandson killed whenapproaching a checkpoint.

It is understood that many Iraqis are increasingly wary ofthe use of checkpoints (either by militias or Iraqi police) to abductand murder people. For this very good reason, some civilians mayprefer to try their chances and drive straight through or around them.

Straying too close to military convoys has also resultedin the same civilian deaths. According to the leaked reports a highnumber of civilian deaths were caused by people driving too close tothem and receiving gunfire in return. Due to the prolific use of sui-cide bombers, US soldiers issued guidelines stating that civilianvehicles were to be kept at a distance from military convoys. Thisapparently used a similar technique to checkpoints, with flashinglights and warning shots. However, the Escalation of Force appearsextremely rapid and erratic with nervous soldiers blasting away atcivilian vehicles without restraint.

A section of the Wikileaks submissions are given over to'Friendly Fire' incidents. A unit from the 502nd Infantry Regimentcame under small arms fire whilst travelling in convoy throughBaghdad on 4th November. This became a prolonged engagement in

which five of their men were injured and another killed. It laterbecame clear that the 'enemy' was actually the rear gunner of anoth-er US convoy further up the road. British coalition forces reportedthat they had come under attack by the US military no less thaneleven times. In May 2005 a gunner in a US convoy opened fire ontwo British vehicles just because the latter had swerved to avoid apiece of rubbish in the road. Perhaps the most telling evidence is anight in October 2006 when British soldiers were travelling with'Blue Light Sticks' (an agreed signal between US and UK troops thatthey were friendly forces) were shot at by American soldiers. Anafter action report revealed that the Americans had no night visionequipment with them, and had all been listening to their iPod musicsystems when it happened.

We should be aware here that the British Army has notbeen without its fair share of Iraqi blood on its hands. As many willalready remember in the case of Baha Mousa. Mr Mousa was a 26year old hotel receptionist who was beaten to death whilst in BritishArmy custody in Basra during September 2005. An investigationfound that he had 93 separate injuries to his body. Eventually sevenmembers of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment were tried on chargesrelating to prisoner abuse. Only one was ever convicted in 2006, andbecame the only British soldier to have pleaded guilty to a warcrime in the history of the British Army. Several other memberswere cleared of all wrongdoing. In July 2008 the British Ministry ofDefence agreed to pay £2.83 million in compensation to the familyof Baha Mousa and nine other men, following an admission of "sub-stantive breaches" of articles 2 and 3 (right to life and prohibition oftorture) of the European Convention on Human Rights by theBritish Army.

Despite the US military claim that "we don't do bodycounts" (attributed to General Tommy Franks in 2002) it hasbecome clear that statistical documentation has been kept, but heldin secret. The field reports are very specific in showing all casual-ties, whether military or civilian. Now that these logs have beenmade public, they show around 15,000 casualties that were neversubmitted publicly. Between 2004 and 2009 there were 109,032 vio-lent deaths in Iraq. 66,081 were civilians. 23,984 are claimed as'enemy' with 3,771 US and Coalition troops killed. 15,196 Iraqisecurity forces are added to this. Other statistics can also be com-piled, such as 65,439 successful IED (Improvised ExplosiveDevice) detonations. It must be realised that this only covers a fiveyear period and doesn't include the first initial fighting at the start ofthe war. So despite the 15,000 additional deaths added to the officiallist of casualties the true figure is likely to be even higher again.

In a Times newspaper column a British Army Colonelwas quoted as saying that those who were responsible for the leakswere "civilians who had no understanding of the horrors of war" andtherefore had no justification in commenting upon such actions.This is despite the fact that (as stated above) one of those whoexposed the true nature of what was happening in Afghanistan wasa serving soldier himself. It also has to be stated that there is grosshypocrisy in such statements by the British military. After all, thestatistics themselves show that civilians are the primary victims insuch imperialistic adventures, so why shouldn't they be allowed tovoice their anger? It's like saying that the families of the victims ofBloody Sunday should not be able to oppose or expose the actionsof the British Army because they are not serving soldiers them-selves.

In conclusion, it is apparent that the leaked documentsblow apart the myth that both the US and British government werebringing "peace and stability to Iraq". All the while, and even to thisday, both of those same governments constantly lie and cover-uphow the invasion (and subsequent occupation) did nothing butplunge the people of that country into the abyss.

We shall leave the final word, again, to Robert Fisk inthe same interview quoted above: “I think there's an awful lot ofhypocrisy here. The fact of the matter is that routinely when armiesgo abroad to other countries far away, they torture and they abuseand they turn blind eyes. Look at Korea, look at Vietnam. I could gothrough a whole lot more. And it will happen again. I don't think wecare about the people whose lands we occupy and that is the prob-lem.”

The True Face of the Iraq War- More Leaked Files Expose Lies, Failings and Cover-up

In ternat ional News

November1st: 1973 - Séamus Twomey, JB O'Hagan and Kevin Mallonairlifted to freedom in Mountjoy Helicopter Escape2nd: 1884 - Gaelic Athletic Association founded. 1920 - KevinBarry hanged in Mountjoy Jail. 1987 - The arms ship Eskundcaptured off the coast of France.3rd: 1569 - Earl of Desmond revolt.4th: 1815 - John Mitchel born.5th: 1641 - Phelim O'Neill entered Newry with the Irish army1779 - The Volunteers assembled in College Green. 2001 -RUC changed name to PSNI. 'Northern Ireland' PolicingBoard formed.6th: 1649 - Owen Roe O'Neill poisoned. 1971 - KathleenThompson murdered. 1974 - IRA Volunteer Hugh Coney shotdead escaping from Long Kesh.7th: 1968 - Margaret Pearse died. 1981 - Ian Paisley-inspired'Third Force' formed.8th: 1798 - Wolfe Tone arrived in Dublin under arrest.9th: 1583 - Earl of Desmond assassinated. 1791 - Dublin clubof United Irishmen founded.10th: 1787 - Joseph Holt surrendered. 1798 - Wolfe Tone triedand sentenced to death. 1861 - Funeral of Terence BelewMacManus. 1879 - Pádraig Pearse born. 1919 - Cork citysacked. 1922 - Erskine Childers captured.11th: 1913 - Preliminary meeting about Irish Volunteers. 1918- Donnchada Mac Nialais broken out of Cork Jail. 1957 -Volunteers George Keegan, Oliver Craven, Paddy Parle,Michael Watters, Paul Smith die in Edentubber explosion.1982 - IRA Volunteers Seán Burns, Gervais McKerr andEugene Toman executed by RUC in shoot-to-kill operation.12th: 1942 - Maurice O'Neill executed in Mountjoy.13th: 1923 - Owen Boyle died in Newbridge Camp.14th: 1882 - Eamonn de Valera born. 1918 - Séamus O'Kellydied during British army raid on Sinn Féin offices.15th: 1985 - British government recognised UDA 'ceasefire'.1985 - Anglo-Irish Agreement signed.16th: 1971 - Nine POWs in 'Kangaroo' escape from CrumlinRoad Jail. 1982 - IRA executed Shankill Butcher LennyMurphy.17th: 1922 - Free State executed first four young Volunteersin Kilmainham Jail.18th: 1873 - Home Rule League founded. 1940 - JackGaffney died on Al-Rawdah prison ship.19th: 1798 - Wolfe Tone died. 1969 - Announcement that BSpecials would be replaced.21st: 1920 - Bloody Sunday. British Intelligence unit 'TheCairo Gang' assassinated by IRA. British soldiers opened fireon crowd in Croke Park killing 14 civilians; Clancy, Clune andMcKee tortured and shot in Dublin Castle 1923 - Dinny Barrydied after 34 days on hunger strike.22nd: 1920 Eddie Carmody brutally murdered by Black andTans outside Ballylongford, Co. Kerry.23rd: 1867 - Manchester Martyrs executed. 1913 - IrishCitizen Army founded. 1923 - Hunger strike ended. 2004 -Bloody Sunday Inquiry hearings ended.

24th: 1798 - Napper Tandy arrested. 1922 - Erskine Childersexecuted. 1974 - 'Birmingham Six' charged with pub bomb-ings. 1982 - Michael Tighe shot dead in shoot-to-kill operation.2006 - Loyalist coward Michael Stone arrested at Stormontwhile attempting to murder Provisional Sinn Féin negotiators. 25th: 1913 - Irish Volunteers founded. 1992 -IRA VolunteerPearse Jordan was murdered by undercover RUC memberson the Falls Road in West Belfast. 26th: 1919 - Sinn Féin proclaimed.28th: 1863 - Irish People newspaper published. 1905 - Policyknown as 'Sinn Féin' announced. 1920 - Kilmichael Ambush.1929 - Republican File newspaper published. 1938 - ThreeIRA Volunteers die in premature explosion29th: 1853 - John Mitchel arrived in New York having escapedfrom Tasmania.30th: 1922 - Three IRA POWs executed by Free State. 1968- Armagh civil rights march halted by RUC after armed protestby Ian Paisley and loyalist mob. 2000 - Long Kesh Prisonclosed.

December1st: 1944 - Charlie Kerins hanged in Mountjoy Jail.2nd: 1971: Three IRA POWs escaped from Crumlin Road Jail.1972 - Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act passed inthe twenty-six counties. 1974 - British soldier killed by boobytrap bomb attack while on foot patrol in Fermanagh. 1982 -UDR soldier shot and killed by IRA in Coalisland, Tyrone. 1984- IRA volunteers Antione Mac Giolla Bhríghde and CiaránFleming killed during gun battle with British troops in Kesh,Fermanagh. A British SAS soldier was also killed.1986 - GerryKelly and Brendan 'Bik' McFarlane extradited from Holland.1993 - British soldier shot and killed by IRA sniper in Keady,Armagh.3rd: 1925 Partition Confirmed. 1976 - RUC Officer killed bythe IRA in Tyrone. 1979 - Chief Prison Officer in Belfast isassassinated by the IRA. 1992 - IRA bomb Manchester.4th: 1887 - Winnie Carney born. 1971 - Fifteen people killedin UVF bombing of McGurk's Bar in Belfast. 1983 - IRAVolunteers Brian Campbell and Colm McGirr murdered bySAS in shoot-to-kill operation.5th: 1915 - Terence MacSwiney's Fianna Fáil suppressed.1921 - British Prime Minister Lloyd George threatened Irishdelegation with "immediate and terrible war" during Treatynegotiations.6th: 1921 - The Anglo-Irish Treaty is signed in London byBritish and Irish representatives. 1922 - One year to the dayafter the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, the Irish Free Statecomes into existence. 1975 - Balcombe Street Siege: An IRAActive Service Unit takes a couple hostage in BalcombeStreet, London. 1982 - Droppin Well bombing: The IrishNational Liberation Army detonate a bomb in Ballykelly killingeleven British soldiers and six civilians.7th: 1971: UDR soldier killed in IRA bomb attack inEnniskillen. 1985 - IRA gun attack on Ballygawley RUC basekills two officers8th: 1867: Funeral of the Manchester Martyrs. 1922 - RichardBarnett, Rory O'Connor, Joe McKelvey and Liam Mellows (the'Four Martyrs') executed. 1971 - UDR soldier executed by theIRA in Belfast. British soldier is also killed in a sniper attack inthe New Lodge. 1972 - British soldier killed by IRA in gun bat-tle, Ballymurphy. 2005 - 'Stormontgate' charges droppedagainst remaining three defendants.9th: 1921 - IRA internees released. 1973 - SunningdaleAgreement signed.10th: 1881 - Meeting to stop split in Irish Party in Rotunda.1881 - Anti-Parnellites seized United Ireland offices in AbbeyStreet. 1974 - Meeting between IRA representatives andProtestant clergy in Feakle, County Clare, led to IRA cease-fire.11th: 1920 - Cork city burnt by crown forces. 1920: Jeremiah

On This Day...

and Cornelius Delaney were executed in their homes onDublin Hill by Black and Tans. 1936 - Frank Ryan led 40socialist republicans to fight Franco's fascists in Spain. 1939 -Barnes and McCormack sentenced to death at CoventryExplosion trial. 1956 - IRA Border Campaign began.12th: 1914 - Scissors and Paste newspaper published. 1922- Cyril Heany shot by Free State. 1956 - Barracks inFermanagh attacked. 1975 - Balcome Street siege ended.13th: 1867 - Clerkenwell explosions. 1884 - Captain Mackay,William Lomasney and two others died in explosion underLondon Bridge. 1989 - Battle at Derryard. 2006 - ProvisionalSinn Féin held first official meeting with PSNI Chief Constable.15th: 1796 - General Hoche's expeditionary force sailed fromBrest to Ireland. 1921 - De Valera's 'Document Number 2' pre-sented to Dáil Éireann. 1982 - Sinn Féin veteran MaireComerford died. 1993 - Downing Street Declaration.16th: 1940 - Volunteer Barney Casey killed by military policein Curragh.17th: 1883 - Patrick O'Donnell hanged for executing theinformer James Carey.18th: 1980 - Hunger strike ended after British guarantees.19th: 1920 - Commander-in-Chief of British forces in Ireland,Lord French, ambushed at Ashtown, County Dublin. 1922 -Seven republican POWs executed by Free State in Dublin.20th: 1865 - Maud Gonne born.21st: 1956 - Internment introduced in the six counties. 1973 -IRA exploded two bombs in London.22nd: 1601 - Battle of Kinsale began. 1938 - Stormont regimeintroduced internment.24th: 1590 - Aodh Rua O Dómhnaill attempted to escape.1923 - Joe Lacey died from effects of hunger strike.25th: 1939 - Derry Prison protest.26th: 1920 - RIC attack on Bruff dance hall in County Limerickkilling five and injured eighteen.27th: 1935 - Belfast IRA raided Officers Training Corps depotfor arms. 1997 - INLA killed LVF leader Billy Wright in LongKesh.28th: 1918 - General Election results announced - Sinn Féinwin 73 of 105 seats. 1942 - John Hinchy died in Mountjoy Jail.2005 - Sinn Féin activist and former Hunger Striker MattDevlin died.29th: 1797 - Storms forced Tone's expected French expedi-tionary force to return to France. 1849 - James Fintan Lalordied. 1922 - Free State executed two republican POWs inKilkenny. 1970 - IRA split.30th: 1971 - IRA Volunteer Jack McCabe killed in accidentalexplosion.31st: 1592 - Aodh Rua O Dómhnaill escaped. 1863 - FenianConvention in Chicago, USA.

Lieutenant Eddie CarmodyCommemorationNovember 20th

Ballylongford, Co. Kerry

Assemble at the Eddie Carmody Memorial Hall at 8.00pm32CSM Function in Finucanes Bar, Ballylongford immedi-ately after the commemoration. Raffle, live music andrefreshments. All Republicans Welcome.

Charlie Kerins wreath laying ceremonyDecember 3rd

Tralee, Co. KerryAssemble at the Charlie Kerins monument in Strand Road,opposite Bon Secours Hospital at 7pm.

Cork 32CSM Commemorate Jeremiah andCornelius Delaney.

Sunday 12th of December.Cork City.

Assemble at the Grotto in Blackpool, Cork City @ 1pm andmarch to Delaney Brothers Monument at the top of DublinHill. Prominent speaker to be announced.

* Cork Ex-POWs V Dublin Ex-POWs Gaelic FootballChallenge match to follow commemoration*

* Sponsor cards available** All money raised goes to the

Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association*

Upcoming Commemorations and Functions

In 1835 the Royal Irish Constabulary were set up by the Britishparliament to maintain law and order in Ireland. On Sunday21st September 1920 a large number of Volunteers from theSouth Meath division of the IRA burned the Trim R.I.C bar-racks to the ground. The day began when part of the IRA ActiveService Unit blocked all roads leading into Trim. Then a secondpart of the IRA Unit captured up to eight R.I.C men as they wereattending mass in the town. The barracks was a large fortifiedbase located on the Summerhill road with a wall about fifteenfeet high all around with large iron gates at the front.

At the barracks a Unit of IRA Volunteers broke in,wounding the head Constable and capturing the remaining R.I.Cofficers inside. The IRA removed the R.I.C officers from the garri-son, captured their weapons before pouring petrol over the barracksand burning it to the ground. By noon that day the Volunteers hadescaped and all that remained was a smouldering heap of ashes. Thepeople of Trim were not so lucky; four lorries of police and soldiersdrove into the town to seek revenge.

They opened fire on a group of boys and men who wereplaying a game of hurling on the fair green injuring two in the sav-age attack. After a time the Crown forces then withdrew from thearea offering a guarantee to the people that no more reprisals wouldoccur. However at about two o`clock the following morning theCrown forces again returned for revenge. They attacked and burnedthe council offices, along with three houses and business premises.After two hours of brutal attacks they then again withdrew from thetown. (Article by GATE POST, Meath Republican)

90th Anniversary of Trim RIC Barrack Attack

Tom Barry and Veterans of the Kilmichael Ambush

IMPORTANT NOTICEPOW List: In recent months it has been made clear to the Sovereign Nation that both the British and Free State establishmentshave been using the regular prisoners’ list normally published on the back of this publication to somehow infer ‘guilt’ upon thoseappearing on it. As anyone knows the prisoners’ list is nothing more than a run-down of those who receive help and support fromthe Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association. Some of those currently in gaol are without a doubt completely innocent of

the charges ranged against them and have found themselves stitched-up or framed simply as a matter of political expediency anddue to their unapologetic Republican principles (as Frank Kitson said: the law is nothing more than a way of getting rid of unde-sirable members of the public). The use of such weak excuses in political trials just shows how inherently corrupt these so-called

justice systems continue to be.If you wish to receive information about Irish Republican prisoners (writing to individuals, prison address details or even to help

out with the IRPWA) then please do not hesitate to use the contacts opposite.(If any Republican Prisoner wishes to be added to the list then they should likewise contact us immediately. All details will be kept

private and will not be open to public scrutiny)

Contact Details:Email:

irpwa@mail.com

Contribute direct:IRPWA.

Ulster BankAndersonstown Rd, Belfast.

Account Number88919077Sort Code98 00 15

At Easter this year the Republican prisoners in RoeHouse, Maghaberry Gaol began a prolongedprotest against strip-searching and controlledmovement. The men endured over four months ofa dirty-protest during which they were continuallyharassed and denied family visits on a whim byprison staff. After considerable pressure frommany quarters and following many protests on thestreets in support of the men, the prison regimebowed to the inevitable and agreed to talks with theprisoners to find a way of resolving the outstand-ing issues.

These talks were overseen by three inde-pendent facilitators at the request of the prisoners' rep-resentatives on the outside. This was to ensure thatany agreement reached would be kept by the prisonregime, we had no doubt that Republican prisonerswould honour any agreement they made. On August12th after arduous talks and negotiations an agree-ment was reached which satisfied all parties.

This was duly signed by the facilitators, theprison service and the prisoners themselves; conse-quently the men ended their protest. While we were alldelighted that the men's dignified protest had beensuccessful we remained cautious as we all know thatagreements made with the authorities are never full-proof and are often reneged on.

In the first weeks after the deal many thingsdid not go as planned but the prisoners were willing toaccept the regimes excuse of "teething problems" atface value. However while certain conditions haveimproved in Roe House, the men are allowed out oftheir cells for longer periods, the main causes for the

protest in the first place have not been fully addressed.The controlled movement on the wing remains andrather than working to address this, the regime hasraised the stakes, by further breaking the agreementthey signed up to, by forcibly strip-searching prisonersgoing to and from court.

The issue of strip-searching was a major partof the agreement and was supposed to have stopped

“The facilitators are in total agreement with theprisoners that strip-searching going in and out

of the prison is in direct breach of the agreementitself. They have stated that had the prison

regime required this they should have inserted itinto the 'exceptions' section in the document.The prison regime cannot sign up to an agree-

ment and then try to unilaterally change oramend it when they feel like it.”

completely. The only two exceptions to this were if theprison service had intelligence led information or if the"boss" search chair indicated that a prisoner was con-cealing something on their person.

The facilitators are in total agreement with theprisoners that strip-searching going in and out of theprison is in direct breach of the agreement itself. Theyhave stated that had the prison regime required thisthey should have inserted it into the 'exceptions' sec-tion in the document. The prison regime cannot signup to an agreement and then try to unilaterally changeor amend it when they feel like it. The Republican pris-oners have honoured all their commitments under theagreement and we expect no less from the prisonservice.

Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association

Prison Service Renege on AgreementWe now have a situation where prisoners are

being beaten and forcibly strip-searched by the prisonriot squad, in some cases their clothes have been cutoff. A number of prisoners have had to endure thisindignity but the past week has made the situationworse. Colin Duffy, a remand prisoner, was in court lastweek for a preliminary hearing which was scheduled tolast two weeks.

However after four days of being beaten andstrip-searched twice a day the man was in such a badstate that his solicitor had to ask the court to speedthings up and to sit longer each day so that the hear-ing could end and the man wouldn't have to be broughtin and out of the prison. Colin Duffy appeared in courtbattered and bruised and on one occasion after theyhad cut his clothes from his body the riot squad put aprison uniform top on him. Of course as soon as hishandcuffs were removed Colin tore this from his back.The prison regime know well that Republicans havedied rather wear a prison uniform so this can only beseen as an attempt to further inflame the whole situa-tion.

The facilitators have met with David Ford, theStormont justice minister, to express their frustrationthat a binding agreement is being ignored by theprison authorities, his handling of this will show whatsort of justice Republicans can expect from thisStormont minister. We in the IRPWA and 32CSMremain totally behind the prisoners in their stance ofrefusing to be strip-searched. We are committed tosupport them in any way we can. We urge allRepublicans to give these men your backing, theydeserve no less.

Victory to the POWs!

Republicans Kevin Barry Nolan and GerardMcManus have become the latest POWs to beassaulted and forcibly stripped whilst leavingMaghaberry gaol on their way to a court hearing.

Both POWs are part of group still refusing toco-operate with strip searching on the way to and fromthe prison compound as it is in clear breach of anagreement reached between POW's, facilitators andthe Prison service.

The IRPWA wish Kevin, Gerard, Collie and allthe other protesting prisoners all the best and hope theNIPS and POA come to their senses and stop this bru-tal practice immediately.

POWs Assaulted on Way to

Court