Fascists in Germany more violent

Fascist groups in Germany are not only increasing by the day, they are also getting more violent. They are holding more demonstrations and staging manifestations in many parts of the country. But their violent acts are the most worrying side of the problem, and in this area they are stepping up their activities. The targets are mostly people with leftwing beliefs and leftwing organisations. Last week a member of the socialist youth movement, Die Falken, was attacked in Berlin after het removed a fascist sticker from a lamp post.

He was beaten and kicked by masked men en his life was threatened. After the attack he needed hospital treatment. This is not the only violent incident. The home of a member of parliament of Die Linke party, also in Berlin, was recently attacked by fascist youths and a number of windows were smashed. Other targets have been buildings of leftwing organisations and youth camps organized by leftwing youth movements and community groups.

The fascists are trying to increase the fear and drive their opponents of the streets. The German authorities claim that they are taking action, but in practice this amounts to very little. We should expect nothing from the authorities, because when it comes down to it they will always turn a blind eye and let the fascists carry out their despicable deeds.

Only the people can, through mass action, smash the fascists into the ground. Complaining is no use because the fascists will not disappear after a little disapproval. The extreme right must be blocked and smashed everywhere. The best way to fight them is through mass action, but hitting back directly is not out of the question. History has taught us that waiting and doing nothing will in the end cost many lives. So don’t hesitate and smash the fascists into the ground where ever they appear. It is a matter of life or death!!  

South African police kill 35 striking miners

The South African police last week machine-gunned 35 striking miners to death, during clashes which have been going on for some time. During the confrontation the miners rightly refused to move away after police threats. When a group of miners appeared to move forward the police opened fire. After the shooting died down 35 miners were dead and many others were injured. There is now an investigation going on and the miners are being mourned nationally.

The police claim that they acted in self defense because they feared that the miners were going to attack them. A ridiculous claim because the police were armed to the teeth and the miners did not have a single firearm. The incident appeared to shock the world because it awoke memories of the old South African police under the apartheid system. But in fact the incident should surprise no one, even though the apartheid system has been abolished.

South Africa is not a socialist state under the control of the people. The police in South Africa have the same job as police forces in all the capitalist countries; protecting en supporting the ruling elite and the system. Any claim that they are there to protect the people is a complete lie.

We condemn the murders committed by the South African police and give our full support to the striking miners and their families. The South African working class should seize control of the country to prevent such barbarity in the future. We must not forget that any police force under capitalism is capable of such acts, including the police forces in the European countries. Always remember who your enemies are, those who forget pay a high price.  

Pussy Riot jailed for 2 years

Despite widespread international protests the Russian punk band Pussy Riot was jailed for 2 years last week. Their crime; hooliganism. A totally ridiculous charge because everyone knows that the three young women were jailed for criticizing President Putin. In a church in February they asked Mother Mary to relieve them of Putin. This was enough for 2 years in a labour camp. This camp must be far away from Moscow as well, so that it is harder for family and supporters to reach them.

With this sentence Putin has shown that he is nothing more than an ordinary dictator. In fact he is more suited to being in charge of a banana republic. When we think further, and also look at the reactionary power of the Russian orthodox church, we must conclude that between them they have turned the former Soviet Union into a large banana republic, where corruption is a way of life and any protest is brutally repressed.

Pussy Riot will appeal against their sentence and in response the Russian police are now looking for other members of the group. Protests against this situation can be heard everywhere, but it is doubtful whether this will have any effect. The arrogance of the ruling group has gone too far for that.

Pussy Riot has already said that they will not appeal to Putin for clemency, as is their right. A wise move, which shows that these three young women have something which Putin totally lacks: principles.

Republican prisoners still mistreated

Prison screws stayed as doctors attended Marian Price

THE family of veteran Republican Marian Price claim her human rights were violated after a prison warder remained in a treatment room as she underwent intrusive medical procedures. Marian Price, who has been suffering from pneumonia, was taken for a lung wash and an endoscopy so a camera could be inserted to examine her lungs. Doctors asked prison staff to leave the treatment room in Belfast City Hospital where Price was heavily sedated for the procedure on Friday, August 17.

Her husband Jerry McGlinchey said: “They refused, saying they were under instruction from Hydebank that at least one prison officer stay with her during the medical procedure. “The doctors stated it was unacceptable to have prison staff beside Marian but they were over-ruled. My wife is a seriously ill woman. She is not a security risk. She can hardly walk, let alone run off and escape.”

Marian Price (58) was moved to Belfast City Hospital in June to be treated for severe depression after spending a year in solitary confinement in Maghaberry and Hydebank jails. She developed pneumonia and arthritis and her family say her health is deteriorating rapidly. Jerry McGlinchey claimed that on Friday, for the second consecutive day, his wife was handcuffed by prison staff against medical advice.

”Marian’s wrists are badly swollen from arthritis. The doctors have repeatedly told prison staff not to handcuff her but they insist on doing so.” He claimed that on Thursday July 16 his wife was subjected to “oppressive security” when she went to Musgrave Park Hospital for tests for her arthritis.
“She was double handcuffed as two prison staff and four PSNI officers accompanied her to the examination. When she went to give a urine test, one prison officer actually insisted on going into the toilet with her,” he said. “This is inhuman and degrading treatment. Nobody has to agree with my wife’s politics to see this is wrong.”

British Secretary of State Owen Paterson revoked Marian Price’s licence last year and she has been held in custody ever since. Her lawyers claim he’d no right to do so as she’d been granted a royal pardon when freed from jail in 1980. The government says this pardon has been lost or shredded.

Time to free Martin Corey

MARTIN COREY has spent more than two years in Northern Ireland's Maghaberry Prison, but he still doesn't know why he is there. A Belfast judge ordered him released on unconditional bail on July 9 because he was being held on the basis of secret evidence neither he nor is lawyers had been allowed to see. His family rushed to the prison to bring him home.

But while Corey was sitting in the prison reception area and his family was waiting outside, Owen Paterson, the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, overruled the judge and ordered him re-arrested. Later, two judges confirmed that he can be held at least until a September 28 hearing.

Corey received a life sentence in December 1973, when he was 19 years old, for killing two members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary in an IRA operation. He served 19 years and was released in June 1992. He returned home to Lurgan in County Armagh, where he worked steadily, formed an ongoing relationship and became a highly respected member of the local community.

The police appeared at Corey's door and took him away to prison in the early hours of April 16, 2010, almost 18 years after his release. His younger brother Joe described what happened: “They came to the door at around 6 a.m. There were about 12 of them standing there when I answered the door. They asked for Martin and told me the Secretary of State had revoked his [parole]. They gave no reason for this. There was no struggle. He just got up and walked out with them. They brought him to Maghaberry, where he has been ever since.”

Corey wasn't charged with any crime and wasn't told what, if anything, he was supposed to have done. He was simply informed that the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland had revoked his licence (parole, in American terms) because he was a “security risk”. Later, it was claimed that “he was involved with dissident (sic) Republicans”.

-- Sandy Boyer, the co-host of Radio Free Éireann on WBAI in New York City (August 14).

Source: Republican Sinn Fein 23-08-2012

The war on our doorstep

When you live somewhere in the centre of Holland you will have heard them in the last few months. The warplanes high in the skies. You can’t see them, although with clear weather you see the white stripes. But you hear them all day and most of the night. By the sound of it they are American planes. In the past there were exercises, which lasted a few days. Then it was over. But the current bout of flying has been going on for months now, and it happens every day. We must conclude that something special is going on.

When we look at the situation in the world we can conclude that there are two issues which may explain the enormous amount of jet fuel which is being burned every day. First of all there is the civil war in Syria. But it seems unlikely that so much practice time is needed for the situation there. The West has already made it clear that it does not want to intervene directly in Syria, even though they hate the regime in Damascus. This statement does not mean they are sitting quietly observing the outcome. It is clear that they are supporting the rebels with weapons and other stuff. But until now they have not set up a no fly zone like they did in Libya.

By the way, the word no fly zone is not as innocently as it may seem. You would expect that it is no more than a few patrols to check that the nation involved does not put planes into the air. In fact a no fly zone means that the West, mostly the Americans, can bomb and shoot anything that moves, including civilians. But at this point we have not yet moved into that phase, and the reason seems to be that the Americans are going for the big prize; Iran.

Chances are that all the flying, which is shaking European skies, are the preparations for a wide scale attack on Iran. The first target would be the nuclear capability, but it is well known that Washington is also looking for a regime change. Such an attack would not only hit the nuclear industry in Iran, but also many civilians. Many people in the world are against such an attack, but that has not stopped the American imperialists before. Even in Israel, which wants an attack because it fears the Iranian bomb; many people have used Facebook to let the Iranian people know that they are against the bombing. But again, this and similar actions have not stopped the imperialists.

It seems that we are witnessing the preparations for a war no one wants, and the world fears. Because the consequences could be very wide ranging. Also here in Europe. We are certainly no friend of the mad clerics and green fascists which form the government in Teheran, but our point of view is that people’s must liberate themselves from dictatorial and fascist regimes. That goes for Iran as well as Syria. It is up to the people, not to the West or anybody else. The thinking in Washington seems to be that it can let Syria burn itself out. When Iran falls, it will drag Syria along. What all this means for the ordinary men, women and children in the street does not concern the generals. They don’t have to pick up the pieces of so many shattered lives.

We don’t want to see western interference anywhere in the Middle East or the rest of the world, for that matter. The influence of the imperialists is already far too great as it is. We don’t want to see a further increase. We are backing everyone who is trying to liberate himself. But this must be done from within, not from outside.

But when you open your window in the morning, or close it at night you can hear the planes and their message is clear; capitalism is war and conflict. Nothing more and nothing less.

Let the mighty fall!

Everyone who remembers the Soviet Union can’t help but wonder how this once mighty country could turn into a pure mafia state. A state where the principles and ideology of the recent past have made way for only one real power; the power of money. No one understands this power better than the current president Putin. His power, combined with the power of his big money friends, have in fact complete control over the country. His power goes much further than the official law, which he bends in his favour whenever necessary. He has been president en prime minister, but it makes all little difference. His power base has remained the same.

Opponents are ignored, dismissed, or when they dare to demonstrate, beaten up or arrested. Some find a different way of drawing attention to this unacceptable situation, which is largely ignored by the rest of the world. The all-girl punk band “Pussy Riot” found such a way. In February, shortly before the presidential elections, they performed a so-called ‘punk prayer’ in a church, in which they vented their anger and frustration at the way Putin rules Russia. Among other things they questioned his relationship with the Russian orthodox church. Apparently they struck a raw nerve, because the three young women were arrested en put on trial.

In the courts too Putin seems to have limitless power because “Pussy Riot” was found guilty and the three singers were sentenced to three years in prison. During their act they did not call for riots to break out in the streets, they did not threaten anyone and they did not wave guns about. But for Putin en his cronies the fact they dared to speak out was enough. The case has drawn international attention and many artists from around the world have protested against the draconian sentences.

The final outcome of the case will be known later this month. But the case has drawn attention to the dictatorial powers which Putin uses en puts on display with pride. His relationship with the orthodox church is indeed a curious one. There is a clear connection between the activities of the church and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since the early 90ties the church has taken back all its original reactionary powers, and Putin has jumped on the bandwagon without difficulties. When it comes down to it Putin is the spokesman for the two most powerful institutions in the country; the casino capitalists and the church leaders. Between them they control everything.

While the people starve and suffer these fat cats grow fatter every single day. Often the Soviet Union was criticised for keeping the church in its place and limiting its power. The current situation shows how right this policy was. Give the church leaders one finger and they take your complete hand and more. “Pussy Riot” is the victim of this unholy alliance. The girls have said in a reaction that they believe that the political system will soon collapse. We can only hope that they are right. The day can’t come quick enough that the power goes back into the hands where it belongs; the hands of the people.

Republican prisoners in the six counties

It is often forgotten that there are still republican political prisoners in Northern Ireland. They are held either illegally or in a way which damages their human rights. Responsible are the Northern Ireland authorities supported and guided by the British government. The Red Banner will regularly post news about the political prisoners in the future and to give an idea of the current situation we are now posting recent information we received from our comrades of Republican Sinn Fein.

August 02 2012

Marian Price has pneumonia - human rights denied.

Geraldine McNamara, National PRO of Republican Sinn Fein, on August 1, called on all human rights groups and activists to pressurise the British establishment into immediately releasing veteran Republican Marian Price. Marian Price was been imprisoned for over a year on the basis of a spurious charge - the original charges were dismissed - and now remains in prison on the order of secretary of state Owen Paterson.  On June 22 Marian was transferred from Hydebank Prison to hospital as her health had deteriorated rapidly. She is now suffering from pneumonia and is in intensive care.The prison authorities boarded up the windows of her room in hospital until the staff protested against it.

Unless immediate action is taken to save Marian's life, she, like Giuseppe Conlon in 1980, will die a prisoner, another innocent victim of British injustice. Marian's continued detention is yet another breach of human and civil rights by the British Establishment who continues to occupy the six north-eastern counties of Ireland.


Críoch/Ends
rsf.ie

Head Office: 223 Parnell Street, Dublin 1, Ireland

Tel: 872 9747 Fax: 872 9757 e-mail: saoirse@iol.ie

July 25 2012

Martin Corey exposes reality of British occupation

The recent overturning of a court decision ordering the release of Martin Corey highlights the
reality that the Six-County state is both abnormal and undemocratic. The actions of British
Secretary of State Owen Paterson in subverting a British Court in order to imprison an Irish
Republican sends out the message that nothing has changed when it comes to the
enforcement of British rule in Ireland.

In his judgement Séamus Treacy ruled that the use of closed or secret evidence as the basis
for interning Martin Corey was a breach of his human rights under Article 5 (4) of the
European Convention on Human Rights. Despite this the British Secretary of State ordered
that the case be heard by a second judge effectively subverting the original judgment.

And so 41 years after the introduction of internment in the Six Counties it appears it is once
more being employed as a means of silencing Irish Republicans. What has happened to
Martin Corey constitutes not only an attack on Martin´s human and civil rights but are an
attack on the human and civil rights of all people within the Six Counties. The continued
imprisonment of Marian Price on trumped up charges coupled with the vindictive
imprisonment of Gerry McGeough tell us much about the true nature of British involvement in
Ireland.

So much for the much heralded human rights agenda of the Stormont regime what we have
got instead is more of the same. We are calling on people to join the campaign for the
release of Martin Corey and help expose the true nature of British occupation in  Ireland.

Críoch/Ends

July 11 2012

Martin Corey's human rights are being breached.

In a statement released on July 11, 2012, the Chairperson of the Release Martin Corey Committee Cáit Trainor said:

“Martin Corey has been interned now for over two years – without charge or trial. On July 9, a British judge, Justice Treacy ruled that Martin Corey's human rights had been breached and he should be released immediately on unconditional bail.

This was overruled by British Secretary of State in Ireland Owen Patterson. While Martin Corey sat in the reception of the prison with his belongings waiting for his family, the British government underhandedly intervened and blocked his release.

On July 10, the matter was referred back to the court. The matter was to be reviewed by Justice McCloskey who further stayed Martin release until an appeal court could hear it the next day, [July 11].
Contrary to media reports, at no time did the British Government appeal any decision, they arbitrarily overturned the decision of the first court; it was Martin Corey and his legal team who had to take legal proceedings to appeal the refusal of the British Secretary of State to implement the decision of the Court.

An appeal was heard on July 11, with Justice McCloskey and Justice Morgan. That court rubber stamped the British Secretary of States’ overruling, and referred it to be heard again on September 28, 2012.

“In view of the blatant disregard for the human rights of Martin Corey, the Release Martin Corey Committee will be once more lobbying all those concerned with human rights and justice to take action to secure Martin Corey's release, We would ask all those who have worked so far to continue and urge people to take a stand against tyranny and oppression.

“The Committee will lobby nationally and internationally. We have to expose the double standards of the British Government to human rights; while they complain and state they oppose human rights abuses in various countries, they in fact themselves are guilty of human rights abuses against people who dissent from British rule in Ireland.

“In the year the British are hosting the Olympics, they show a face to the world of righteousness and morality, the world must now see the truth: British rule in Ireland can only result in the oppression of the Irish people and those with independent thought. It must be remembered that Martin Corey is interned with no charge, no trial but on secret allegations by unknown people that the British Government refuse to present."

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Source of the above articles: Republican Sinn Fein Dublin/Belfast 2012