The untimely passing of Dolours Price is a moment in
Republican history. Born into a staunch Republican household in Belfast she
came under the influence of her father, Albert Price, who was active in the
1940s and was imprisoned, and her aunt Bridie Dolan who was severely injured
when a grenade she was handling exploded prematurely.
With the birth of the Civil Rights movement in the
1960s, Dolours was to the fore in all activities. When the struggle escalated and
internment without trial was brought in, she and her sister Marion joined the
Republican Movement. There followed activity in London and prolonged
imprisonment and hunger strike.
This last development was met by force-feeding for
more then 200 days until demands for relocation to the Six Counties were met,
but were not implemented for more than two years. It is certain that the brutality of the protracted
force-feeding had grievous effects on Dolours both mentally and physically. It
surely brought about an early release for both sisters.
Dolours rejected what she saw as a “surrender
process” from the outset. When the Stormont Agreement was signed in 1998, she visited the
Ard-Oifig of Republican Sinn Féin in Dublin and made her position clear. By
attending the subsequent Ard-Fheis of Republican Sinn Féin she nailed her
colours to the mast.
When attending the 25th anniversary in Ballina of the
death on hunger strike of Frank Stagg in 2001, she spoke at the grave of an old
friend and comrade, Jackie Clarke. Here she made her stand once more. In more recent times she publicly attacked what she
saw as deceit, hypocrisy and public lying in high places. She exposed it
relentlessly. She saw all that as a contradiction to the mountain of sacrifice
that had been made over the decades.
She herself had contributed more than her
share and she was outraged at the developments. Never did she participate in
deceit, hypocrisy or public lying. She will be remembered – cuimhneofar ort, a
Dholours. You have triumphed in the end.
Sincere sympathy is expressed to her sisters Marian
and Clare and to her two sons, Danny and Oscar.
-- Ruairí Ó
Brádaigh, Eanáir 27, 2013.
Source: Republican
Sinn Fein 28-01-2013
Veteran republican Dolours Price, sister of Irish
political prisoner Marian Price, has died. Dolours remained a significant force
in Irish republicanism until her untimely death in Dublin last night. Following
the introduction of internment in 1971, when hundreds of nationalists were
arrested and imprisoned without trial, she approached Sean MacStiofain, one of
the founders of the Provisional IRA and said she wanted to be a "fighting
soldier". She campaigned to join the IRA, not part of Cumann na mBan, the women's
wing of the republican movement. An IRA Army Council was convened and Price was
sworn into the organisation, followed by her sister. Both played a significant
role in the IRA's armed struggle.
In 1973, she and her sister were sentenced to life imprisonment
in England, and immediately embarked on a 200-day hunger strike seeking their
repatriation to a prison in Ireland. During the hunger strike, which was called off in 1974, the sisters were force
fed. Following her release on compassionate grounds in 1980, Dolours returned to
Dublin and she married Belfast actor Stephen Rea in the early 1980s. The
couple, who divorced in 2000, have two sons. Her sister Marian Price was interned in 2011 by an order of the then British
Direct Ruler Owen Paterson. Marian continues to suffer serious ill health as a
result of her hunger strike and remains the subject of a worldwide campaign for
her release.
Their brutal treatment in English prisons continued to
affect both sisters' mental health, and Dolours has received treatment for post
traumatic stress disorder. It is understood she died peacefully at her home
last night in Malahide, County Dublin. Ar dheis De go raibh a anam.
Source: ANF, DUBLIN 24.01.2013
From
the outside you may not say so, but even the most complicated conflicts have a
set of rules. It may look that those conflicts are unlimited exchanges of
attacks and counter attacks in which rules, written or not, have no place. But
this is a misunderstanding. All conflicts have rules and customs which make
sure that things do not get out of hand. A good example is the conflict in
Northern Ireland, which some people like to think, is solved. Others would
disagree, but this is not the point in this context. During the height of the
exchanges between the Republicans and the Unionists, the organisations tried
not to strike directly at each other. They struck out at everything else, but
very rarely direct. There was a good reason for that. Direct open warfare would
have made the organisations on both sides unable to function. It did not always
work, but usually it did. That’s why most of the leaders from those days are
still here to tell the tale.
The
problems arise if a conflict comes to a point where a solution seems possible
or even likely. All of a sudden the status-quo, which governed the conflict, is
broken through, and at the same time the rules mentioned above go out of the
window. In such times we usually see the most bloodiest of incidents. All the
parties, big or small, high or low, see
their long running existence threatened. Then they react in the only way they
know how, they strike out with all their power. No target is illegitimate in
those times. That’s why the days shortly before a possible solution are the
most dangerous in any conflict. Everyone wants to get the retaliation in before
the dust settles, may be for good. There is also another reason for all this.
Often the solutions are not only full of compromises, they also carry the real
danger of betrayal in them. Compromises can be accepted by people who have
given their lives to the struggle. But betrayal is unacceptable. It proves that
everything has been for nothing, and no one who holds principles dear can live
with that, and rightly so.
When
Ireland was divided in the twenties of the last century, the people in the
North were left behind en betrayed. They struck back, which was fully justified
under the circumstances. When in the 90s the IRA accepted the Good Friday
agreement, the Republican people were again left behind. The main elements of
the conflict were not settled; there was still a British presence in Ireland
and Ireland was not reunited. Some accepted the deal, because the prisoners
were coming home. Others stayed silent because they were tired of the war. But
a minority stood firm and did not give up the struggle. It is still going on
today. When the deal was first on the verge of acceptance incidents took place
which shocked everyone. A good example is the Omagh bomb. Many died, especially
because the authorities mishandled the situation at the time. Did they do this
on purpose? Very likely because it got the so-called peace process out of the
mud and had it up and running again. The results, good or bad, we see today.
Another
long running conflict which falls into this category is the Kurdish conflict
between the Turkish state and the Workers Party of Kurdistan, the PKK. At the
beginning of the conflict the Kurds demanded independence, later different
forms of autonomy. Now the main demand of the PKK is cultural and political
rights for the Kurdish population within the Turkish borders. Up to now there
has been no settlement because the Turkish state refuses to move an inch and
prefers to isolate and kill the Kurds. So the struggle has been going on,
moving from war to ceasefire and war again. There were times when there seemed
to be some movement. But those opportunities always came to nothing and in the
meantime the war carried on.
In
recent weeks there were reports that the jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan was
involved in serious negotiations with the Turkish state. When the reports were
confirmed wild rumors started flying around. Some said that there would be a
cease fire in May and in August the PKK would hand in its weapons. Others said
that the weapons would already be handed in by March. There were tales of a
road map for peace which already showed all the steps which would be taken.
Furthermore there were rumors that, if all this became reality, Öcalan would be
given house arrest instead of his current prisoner status. And some even said
that he would be completely released to play his part in politics. The Turkish
press was full of stories like these, and because of all that the status quo,
which had existed for so long, seemed to be on the verge of collapse.
The
reaction to this came almost immediately. In Paris 3 Kurdish women activists
were murdered in cold blood in de Kurdistan Information Centre. The killers are
still unknown. Shortly afterwards a Kurdish association building in Genk,
Belgium, was destroyed by a firebomb. Earlier, a similar association was
damaged in Vienna, in Austria. In Moscow a weapons dealer who had ties with the
PKK was shot dead. All of this happened in the space of days. It is clearly a
reaction to the peace rumors. The question is who is behind all this. When the
3 women were gunned down in Paris the Turkish state said it was part of a feud
within the PKK. Even the Turkish PM Erdogan claimed that there was evidence to
back up this theory.
But
now we know that the attack in Paris is not the only incident, and it appears
that there is a campaign of some sort going on which targets Kurdish activists,
organsations and meeting places. When a feud was at the bottom of all this it
would have taken a different shape. From the past we know what feuds within
organsations look like. They are marked by a series of tit-for-tat attacks in
which both sides suffer casualties. In this case there is no evidence to
support the feud theory at all. It is far more likely that Turkish fascists,
who are known to have death squads in Europe, have panicked after the peace
rumors and embarked on a bloody murder campaign. They hope that this will
restore the status quo and allow the war to continue. They would rather see the
world burn than give concessions to the Kurds.
This
does not mean that within the PKK there are no disagreements about the talks
with the state and a possible solution. The PKK leaders in the mountains have
already said that they have doubts and apprehension about the current process.
This is logic. When there is talk of solutions and compromises, betrayal is
usually not far away. For many this is unacceptable, and rightly so. The PKK
can prevent major disagreements about the way forward if they take a number of
measures. First of all the negotiations, if and when they start, must not be
solely between Abdullah Öcalan and the state. Öcalan is a prisoner of the state
and can be put under pressure. He is not free to move, and furthermore, it is
not acceptable that one man becomes the central figure. That is a recipe for
disaster.
If
there are negotiations the leaders in the mountains, the leaders of the
prisoners and the Kurdish civic leaders must be directly involved. Only if a
possible settlement is carried by all these parties there is a real chance of
success. When for example the Guerrilla is left out, chances are that they will
just carry on the war in the mountains and ignore the talks. Then the whole
process would collapse. Because of the uncertainty and the bitterness it would
bring, many more people would die.
No conflict can carry on forever. There must be
a solution one day. That also goes for the Kurdish conflict. But a solution
must be a just one, carried by the majority. There must be concessions by both
sides, but no betrayal. And what is even more important, no weapon must be
handed in until it is absolutely clear that there will be a just peace and a
better and more independent life for the Kurdish people. With real rights which
are guaranteed in a new constitution. The question must be if the Turkish state
is ready for all this. The facts of the last weeks show that they are not.
Apparently they have still not learned a lesson from the last 30 years. That is
a shame, but also a risk. The coming time could very well be more dangerous than
the last 30 years have been. And the Turkish provocations need to be answered
in the right way. Otherwise the whole conflict could explode with many more
victims. In short, everyone connected with the conflict in some way must be on
guard in the coming time. This to prevent more tears and more blood.
by Luke James
A miners'
leader slammed the government today for starving working-class culture of cash
in a row over brass band funding. The
British Federation of Brass Bands received just £23,000 in public funding last
year, leaving the future of the famous Grimethorpe Colliery Band that inspired
Brassed Off and others on the line. That's
despite the English National Ballet and the Royal Opera House being funded to
the tune of £6 million and £26m respectively.
Labour MP
and vice-chairman of the all parliamentary group on brass bands Michael Dugher
pointed the finger firmly at "snobbery at the heart of Whitehall." And
senior National Union of Mineworkers official Chris Skidmore told the Star:
"Anything remotely linked to coal mining, its heritage and its history is
frowned upon by government. "Brass bands are an important part of our
heritage and when I say 'our heritage' that includes people in non-mining areas
who have a fantastic interest in the music.
"But
the majority of the old colliery brass bands have had to change their name and
seek whatever sponsorship they can." A spokesperson for Arts Council
England told the Star they gave grants totalling £120,000 to brass bands across
the country last year including Brass Band England and the Brass Durham
International Festival.
Source: The
Morning Star 08-01-2013
New Year Statement from the leadership of Republican Sinn Féin
Republican Sinn Féin extends fraternal New Year
greetings to friends, comrades and supporters in Ireland and internationally.
Millions of working-class people in Ireland and across Europe will greet the
coming year with a sense of fear and foreboding. The recent budget announced by
the 26-County Administration shows that the unrelenting policy of austerity -
dictated by their political masters in Brussels - is not only to be continued
but increased, squeezing all sections of our people beyond breaking-point. In
the eyes of the political class and their media cheerleaders the working poor
and unemployed, the elderly and the young are all expendable. The very concept
of a society which can educate its young and care for its sick and elderly is
being sacrificed on the altar of the EU’s political and economic ideology of
centralised authoritarianism and finance capitalism.
The decision by the British Government to host the G8
Summit in Co Fermanagh on June 17 and 18 is highly symbolic and presents an
opportunity for progressive forces to make the important connection between the
old imperialism in the shape of British occupation of the Six Counties and the
new imperialism represented by the economic colonisation of the 26 Counties by
the EU/ECB/IMF troika. Republican Sinn Féin will be holding an alternative
Anti-Imperialist Forum on the weekend before the G8 summit to present national
as well as international alternatives to these twin imperialisms.
For Irish Republicans our struggle is both political and
economic, anything less would be to ignore the reality of imperialism and
consequently to dilute our revolutionary programme. As with James Connolly we
believe that it is not enough to merely remove the physical presence of
imperialism in the form of British military occupation without creating a New
Ireland based on real political and economic democracy; an All-Ireland Federal
Democratic Socialist Republic. Ninety years after the death of Liam Mellows his
teaching has never been more relevant: “If the Irish people do not control
Irish industries, transport, money and soil of the country, then foreign or domestic
capitalists will. And whoever control the wealth of a country and processes by
which wealth is attained control also its government.”
In the Six Counties the process of normalising British
Rule continues with the designation of Derry as a “UK City of Culture”.
Republican Sinn Féin will be actively opposing this hijacking of the historic
Doire Colmcille throughout 2013. The recent revelations arising from the
discredited de Silva report into the murder of Belfast human rights lawyer Pat
Finucane by a British backed loyalist death-squad, exposes the true face of
British rule in Ireland.
Today nothing has changed; last year saw an increase in
the repression of Republicans and 2013 promises more of the same. We will be
once more campaigning for the unconditional release of political internee
Martin Corey as well as veteran Republican Marian Price. We take this
opportunity to extend New Year’s greetings to the Republican POWs in Maghaberry
Prison and pledge them our unstinting support in the latest phase of their
fight for political status. By suspending their protest the POWs have placed a
serious onus on the Six-County Justice Minister David Ford and the Six-County
Prison Service to speedily implement in full the August 2010 Agreement.
As the centenary of the historic 1916 Rising approaches,
other important centenaries must also be marked. Next year will see three
significant centenaries all of which carry a pressing relevance for the Ireland
of today. Next August will mark the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the
heroic 1913 Lockout when Irish workers struck a telling blow in the universal
fight for human dignity and freedom. The coming year will also mark the
centenaries of the founding of the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army,
both of which would combine in 1916 to form the Irish Republican Army. All will
be fittingly marked.
For those who doubt the potency and power of history one
has only to consider the words of the filmmaker George Morrison in reference to
his masterful Mise Éire film covering the revolutionary period in Ireland from
the 1890s to 1918: “ I regard Mise Éire as being a great anti-imperialist
document.” History, if utilised correctly, can awaken and inspire the brightest
and best of a generation to the possibilities of radical change in the present
and the future.
We must resist all attempts to sanitise and package our
history in a way that will rob it of its meaning and message for the Ireland of
today. Rather than merely commemorating the past we must set out a programme
for the future that will challenge the powerful and rouse the down trodden. As
Connolly warned a national movement must prove itself capable of: “Formulating
a distinct and definite answer to the problems of the present and a political
and economic creed capable of adjustment to the wants of the future.”
We appeal to the Irish people to awaken to the
realisation that they possess the power to bring about true political and
economic change, not the chattering classes in Leinster House. Electing
politicians to the corrupt Lenister House institution will not deliver the
revolutionary change that is demanded by the present political and economic
conditions. As the only political organisation which rejects the two partition
states in their entirety, Republican Sinn Féin is best positioned to lead the
struggle for a New Ireland worthy of the ideals set out in the 1916
Proclamation.
An Ireland which would harness our natural resources for
the betterment of this and future generations, an Ireland which would truly
“cherish all the children of the national equally”. In the lead up to 2016 we
will be unveiling a series of seven specific polices covering areas such as
natural resources, banking, economic development etc, all based on our
political, social and economic polices ÉIRE NUA and SAOL NUA. We can only truly
honour the men and women of 1916 by making the All-Ireland Republic of Easter
Week a reality for all sections of our people.
In 2013 let the slogan of the 1913 Lockout ring in our
ears: “The great appear great because we are on our knees: Let us rise.”
An Phoblacht Abú
ENDS.
Source: Republican Sinn Fein 01-01-2013
