Statement from Continuity POWs, Roe 3, Maghaberry jail, Co Antrim

After a long period of deliberation, it has been decided that we the Continuity Irish Republican Army POWs will suspend our current phase of protest from Monday November 26, 2012 in order to give the prison regime another opportunity to acknowledge and implement the agreement all parties signed up to in August 2010.

As Republicans we undertook the agreement in good faith and committed to honour it, and as Republicans, at no time did we break our word. After a period of six months it became increasingly clear that in the tradition of Perfidious Albion the British Government had reneged on their word to implement that solution and so we resumed our protest.

Now after 18 months of this second phase of protest, we believe that we have shown the prison regime our resolve and determination to oppose conditions not befitting Republican Prisoners of War. We also believe we can afford them the opportunity at this juncture to implement the agreement. 

It is our hope that with this magnanimous gesture the prison regime will now honour their word. As Republicans we will not shirk our responsibility and we believe that it is now necessary for us to take this lead in bringing the agreement to its conclusion.

Like our Comrades on Roe 4, we assert that the resolving of this conflict lies squarely at the feet of David Ford and the British Government, despite Ford’s assertion to the contrary. Failure on the part of the British Government to implement the August 2010 Agreement in full, will result in a reemergence of conflict in the Jail

To all who have supported us up to this point, we ask for your continued support. We salute all people across the world who have worked on our behalf. We thank our families and our friends and CAHAIR who have given us unswerving support and assistance.

Signed O/C Maghaberry Prison

ENDS

http://www.iol.ie

    rsf.ie
Republican Sinn Fein

Source: Republican Sinn Fein 26-11-2012

Kurdish hunger strike stopped without results

The hunger strike by Kurdish prisoners in Turkish jails is over; 67 days after the action began on September 12. The end came after a call from the Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is himself a prisoner on the island Imrali where he has been held since 1999. He made his call through his brother, Mehmet, who visited him in prison. Everyone who lived through the Irish hunger strikes of the 1980ties feels a sense of relief when a hunger strike ends without people dying. But we find it necessary to make some remarks with regard to this particular hunger strike, which could be important for future actions. At first we must take a good look at the words of Öcalan which ended the hunger strike.

Abdullah Öcalan said that he feels that the weapon of the hunger strike is not the right way to ensure that demands are met. He added that in his opinion hunger strikes should take place outside prisons en not behind bars. In his opinion the action could now be stopped because it had reached its goal. First of all it is strange that the Kurdish leader now rejects the hunger strike as a form of action, because since its foundation the PKK has made us of the hunger strike on many occasions. The hunger strikes in the past must have had the approval of Öcalan, because he has never acted to stop hunger strikes taking place. On the contrary. Furthermore it is ridiculous to say that hunger strikes must not take place in prisons, but outside. This is not a revolutionary way of looking at the issue.

A revolutionary who is not in prison tries to stay alive and fit as long as possible to continue the struggle against the enemy in the best possible way. You don’t try to undermine or weaken yourself, what clearly happens during a hunger strike. Going on hunger strike outside prison is wrong because you have many other ways to put pressure on your enemies or attack them. In prison it is a different story. There may be circumstances which make active resistance necessary and in such a case the hunger strike, as well as the uprising, are the only alternatives. You have no other weapons at your disposal. The only available weapon is your own body, and under special circumstances this weapons can be used. For example, when the prison regime is so inhuman that a struggle for improvement is the only way forward. The main demand in Ireland was that prisoners should be treated as prisoners of war, not criminals. That was a just demand, which in the end was met.

In the case of the Kurdish hunger strike you must ask yourself if the action was justified. The demands were very wide-ranging; Abdullah Öcalan should once again have the right to see his lawyers, the Kurdish language should become more accepted in Turkey and prison conditions must be improved. The third demand may justify a hunger strike, under certain conditions; the two other demands do not. Of these demands none has been met, so how Abdullah Öcalan can say that the goal has been reached is a complete mystery. Another point is that the first demand is not based on reality. The visit by his brother on November 17 was not the first time. Mehmet Öcalan was also on Imrali in September. So there was no question of total isolation.

To make one thing clear; it is good that the hunger strike is over and that no one has lost his or her life. But the question must be raised why all these sacrifices were necessary, if the action could so quickly be called off without any visible results. We must not forget that a long term hunger strike means terrible hardship, which is hard to understand by someone who has not experienced it from close by. Even now the hunger strike is over; many of the hunger strikers will have suffered enormous damage to their health. Organs are damaged and some of the damage becomes visible many years later. This is the bitter truth for everyone who has taken part in a long term hunger strike.   

We must note that the weapon of the hunger strike in the last few years have lost its sharpness. The authorities often ignore this form of action, and the press, both local as international, has little interest. It happens more often than not that the terrible sacrifices made by the hunger strikers are in vain. This is even more the case when the authorities suspect that a hunger strike will not be carried through until the end. For them this makes it easy to lean back en wait for the finish.

The conclusion must be that the weapon of the hunger strike must be used carefully and not too often. More ill-considered actions will make the damage only bigger and create more health problems to the people taking part. For the hunger strike the criteria is in fact the same as for the armed struggle in general. You don’t seek the direct confrontation unless you have at least a chance to score a victory. Without this chance it is just a waste of revolutionary lives.

Millions tell austerity-obsessed governments: stop the cuts

by Luke James

Millions of workers took to Europe's streets today to demand an end to economy-wrecking austerity. General strikes were held in Spain and Portugal, workers in Greece and Italy downed tools for several hours, rail workers walked out in Belgium and demonstrations were held across France. Hundreds protested outside the European Commission's building in London, one of 18 different solidarity demonstrations held in Britain. And thousands of others joined rallies all across Europe.

The historic strikes and demonstrations were called by the European Trade Union Confederation in response to the "social emergency." Spanish demonstrators came out in force on Tuesday night and unions said most of the country stayed away from work and joined one of the many huge rallies. Italian workers, furious at unelected technocrat Mario Monti's savage cuts, co-ordinated rolling strikes that brought air, sea and rail transport to a standstill. And thousands of Greek workers faced off with police outside the country's parliament in Athens.

Anti-poverty charity War on Want said one in four Greeks are now unemployed. Things are even worse for young people, three-fifths of whom are out of work. "Today is an important moment for the movement resisting savage austerity. Workers and communities across Europe and around the globe are paying a terrible price for a crisis they did not cause," War on Want campaigns director Ruth Tanner said. "(Britain's) government is continuing with failed economic policies which serve City bankers and tax-dodging corporations like Starbucks, Amazon and Google, rather than ordinary people."

Coalition of Resistance secretary Sam Fairbairn, whose group helped organise the London rally, said austerity had "unleashed misery" across Europe but it was "business as usual" for those who caused the crisis. TUC general secretary-designate Frances O'Grady also addressed today's rally. She said the government were allowing the "super-rich" to "snatch an ever larger share of the nation's wealth. "We need investment to grow greener industries and jobs, especially for young people - around a million of whom are still without work. "We need fair taxes to ensure big corporations pay their way and pay decent wages to all workers, not just to those at the top."

Source: The Morning Star Wednesday 14 November 2012

Obama stays in the White House

The media made it a close run race, but at the end of the day Obama got the votes he needed. He can stay in the White House for another 4 years. The previous 4 years have made little difference and it quickly became clear that too much had been expected of the first black American President in history. That he could not deliver everything he promised was a certain fact. But the feeling remains that he could have done more, much more. He now has a chance the make up for the opportunities he has thrown away. It is clear that we can expect very little from both big parties in de US. Both are tied to big business and both believe in capitalism. It is as simple as that.

It is said that the Democrats are moving to the left. Maybe that is the case and maybe this process will carry on. But the Americans have at present very little they can expect from politics. If there is something that makes watching the American elections worthwhile, it is that you get a view of what really is going on in the country. The US are usually just seen as a main player on the world stage, but what happens in their own backyard is mostly hidden from view. But when you do get a chance to see behind the curtains you are shocked by the poverty and the deprivation. This is supposed to be the richest nation in the world, but so many people are out of a job that you really can speak of an army of the unemployed. Another point is that thousands are losing their homes because the criminal banks gave them mortgages they could never repay.

Broken families, broken homes and broken hopes. That describes the United States of America in 2012. This is the country that Obama will lead for another 4 years. He has tried to help, especially by providing medical care. But it is not enough. It makes you wonder why the Americans put up with this. How can it be that millions of people are living in poverty? How can it be that many need to do 3 low paid jobs part-time and still not earn a living wage? How can it be that millions of youngsters have no prospects of a decent future? While all this is happening billions of dollars are spend on wars and weapons. With all these facts in mind you would expect the American people to rise up and take matters into their own hands. After all, the political parties have already shown that they can and will not help them. But there is no uprising, only some limited protests.

The reason is that the Americans have been brought up to see themselves as individuals. You solve your own problems and the problems of others are not you business. And if you cannot solve your own problems you’re a failure and that is your own fault. Solidarity and standing together to fight for the right things are commodities that rarely appear in the minds of the Americans. The system has done a good job. The old divide and rule game. It was not always like this. America used to have a strong Labour movement with trade unions that stood up for the rights of their members. They have been destroyed by corruption and being too close to the system. America is portrayed as the land of opportunities. But in fact there are opportunities for only a few, and poverty and hopelessness for the many.

This is the country which Obama will rule for another 4 years. Maybe in the coming years he will try to make more changes. He no longer has to worry about re-election, so he can take more risks. But that too will not be enough. If the American people want a real future, they will have to stand up for themselves. They have to learn the lessons from the battles of the past. And they have to learn once again that solidarity is the only way to beat the system. Individuals are easily picked off one by one. But when masses rise up, there is nothing the system can do. Maybe this will happen in a few years time.

They say that in 2018 the minorities in America will be the majority for the first time. Maybe than something will change forever. The old saying goes; united we stand, divided we fall. That should once again become the main slogan of the American working class. When that uprising comes America will in reality become the land of opportunities, and this time opportunities for the many, not the few.

RUC attack nationalists at bonfire in Newry

Press release from Joe Conway/Brendan Watters Cumann, Republican Sinn Féin, Newry on November 1, 2012:

IT has been brought to our attention that the activities of the renamed RUC, the PSNI, were totally over the top and irresponsibly provocative towards the nationalist residents of the Dromalane Quayside Close estates on the night of October 31. A family fun entertaining night was had by all down at the bonfire until four armoured RUC vehicles arrived and drove aggressively towards those who were standing watching the fire burn out.

The RUC/PSNI jumped from their vehicles pointing their weapons menacingly at children and ordering them to put their hands up while they get searched. Not surprisingly this got a response from those who were enjoying the Halloween festivities which soon turned to heated confrontations between the parents of those who were being subjected to the measures deployed by the armed police.

At one stage the parent of one local lad was handcuffed by the RUC personnel for simply taking his son away from the melee that was unfolding. The local resident was then un-cuffed when the neighbours all came to his assistance; by this time the police had tried to extinguish the bonfire, further infuriating the residents of the area who contacted us.

They told us that up to them there had been a great night of craic with everyone well behaved. However things took a turn for the worst when up to 50 riot squad members descended into the area armed with batons and shields and started to attack the youth of the area. By now upwards of 30 armoured land-rovers had sealed of the entire area and 50 baton wielding thugs with their faces covered were running amok with the inevitable results.

The youth of the area moblised themselves and fought back against the heavily armed militia for several hours; unfortunately several locals had their cars damage in the battle the raged for more than two hours. The residents of Dromalane are in no doubt were the blame for last nights trouble lies and that's with the RUC/PSNI who obviously had pre-planned this incursion into the area given the number of personnel and resources they put into the operation.

Would they RUC/PSNI not be better of trying to put resources into catching those who are robbing and violently attacking vulnerable pensioners in their homes rather than send their militia into areas such as Dromalane to use it as some kind of training ground exercise against those who have no faith nor support for the British backed RUC/PSNI.

We in Republican Sinn Féin commend the local youth in defending their area against the British armed forces and we unashamedly denounce and condemn those who support and work with them in anyway

Pro Joe Conway/Brendan Watters Cumann, Republican Sinn Féin, Newry.