Another Englishman Arrives to Oversee British Rule in Ireland

Matt Baggott has arrived fresh from England to his new job, as Chief Constable of the British Militia in Ireland. He has been welcomed with open arms by the main political parties including former comrades in the Provisional Movement.

He was also interviewed for the job by Constitutional Nationalist politician Alex Maskey.

The new boss of the Loyalist paramilitary group known as the RUC/PSNI also had the privilage of getting mentioned in the Constitutional Nationalist rag An Phoblacht! (oh how times have changed)

In An Phoblacht they speak of Matt Baggotts "impressive array of policing credentials" and his "impressive CV".

What they failed to mention in An Phoblacht was the fact that when he was chief constable of the Leicestershire police force, Matt Baggott oversaw the introduction of plastic bullets to the region and he was also in support of Internment in the form of 90 day detention!!!!

The force that he was previously in charge of Leicestershire police is being partly blamed for the death of a woman and her daughter.

Fiona Pilkington killed herself and her daughter Francecca Hardwick in 2007 after repeatedly asking for help with bullying and anti social behaviour.

éirigi's Breandán MacCionnaith issued the following statement on the issue: “Regardless of who is in charge of the PSNI, the British government will ensure it remains a paramilitary militia with the primary aim of protecting the occupation of the Six Counties.

Mac Cionnaith continued: “These revelations raise serious questions of the constitutional nationalist politicians who interviewed Matt Baggott before he took the job. Were they aware of Baggott’s history? Did they take the time to find out? Did they ask him his opinion on plastic bullets and 28-day detention? The fact these politicians thought Baggott was a suitable candidate points to either willful ignorance or connivance at the policies of repression. “Matt Baggott is yet another English functionary, sent to Ireland to protect the British occupation. During his time here, he will obviously use every repressive means at his disposal to do that job. That is the last thing that Ireland needs.”

There is no better person to oversee the British Militia in Ireland, a trigger happy Englishman who is fully behind Internment and is accountable to no-one.

No better man to keep the croppies down

The Importance of Republican Youth

Youth in Republicanism is of great importance, it's more important than we realise!

In 10, 15, 20 years who are going to the leaders of today's Republican groups? It will be today's youth, and if today's youth don't care then the future of Republicanism is doomed. We need to get them interested and educated, get them involved in any way possible.

Whether it's distributing leaflets, putting up posters, joining a flute band, bricking the peelers, helping at elections, putting up flags in their area, painting murals, becoming involved in a Republican party/group, anything at all. Remember those famous words "Everyone Republican or otherwise has their own particular part to play, no part too great or small, no one is too old or too young".

Most Republican groups educate young people, in some way or another, on the history of Republicanism, from as far back as 1798 to recent years, we need to make them aware of what happened and whats happening.

Ógra for a start are a great group and have done some magnificent work over the years, Na Fianna Éireann, who can trace their roots back to 1909, participate in many commemorations for RSF which is a great opportunity for young Republicans to listen to seasoned Republicans speak, likewise the RSYM are also heavily involved in important campaigns and éirigi seems to be appealing to younger Republicans, but these days there are too many distractions for young people.

Some would rather sit and have a carry out with their mates or go to a rave than get educated and involved in Republicanism. That is one of the reasons why we must make it interesting for them and not boring.

Flute bands are essential for Republican Youth, some bands have an education policy, which means that when the kids were learning a song about a volunteer they would explain who the volunteer was and how and why he died. They also have education seminars which are compulsory for all band members to attend and they invite Senior Republicans to come and talk to the youths about their experiences, and this ranges from discussions about being imprisoned to being an active Republican. The youths love it, they got a buzz listening to them telling of their experiences. It made them sit up and listen.

Sadly though bands are on the decline and so is the number of youths getting involved in active Republicanism. Everyone needs to realise how important young people are to our struggle and get them involved in any way possible.

Newry Republicans Continue to Highlight Colin Duffy's Campaign

A few Weeks ago Newry Republicans erected an impressive 24ft mural in the Republican stronghold of Derrybeg. The mural was erected to highlight the injustices being inflicted on Colin Duffy and his family and also to raise the important issue of Internment by remand. Afterwards we were inundated with messages of support for the campaign.

After the mural was erected by local Republicans, they pledged to continue to support the Free Colin Duffy campaign. Last night a number of Republican activists erected a 12ft banner with the slogan "FREE COLIN DUFFY" emblazoned on it. It is situated on the busy Camloch rd, beside the Carnaget and Derrybeg areas. Thousands of people use this road on a daily basis and we hope this banner will help get the message across.

Never Mind the B****CKS

NO MEANS NO!!!!

Despite the Irish people voting against the Lisbon Treaty last year, they now have to vote again. this is an attack on democracy. The democratic wishes of the Irish people must be respected.

In a big push from the yes camp, big businesses have pledged to pump vast amounts of money into the yes campaign. The Pro-Lisbon parties will not even have to raise funds for their campaign!

For example Intel and Ryanair will spend hundreds of thousands of euro to try to achieve a Yes vote in the upcoming Lisbon Treaty represents an unconcealed attempt by big business to shape politics in its favour.Ryanair alone says it plans on spending over half a million Euro advertising for a pro-Lisbon vote, together with Intel that means up to a million Euro for a 'Yes' by only two private corporations.

This time round the yes camp are trying to make people believe that the treaty has been changed since last year. This is not true, in fact the entire treaty remains exactly the same, not even a full stop or a comma is different.

New Monument in Derrybeg

A new monument was recently erected in the Derrybeg estate. The monument is dedicated to 5 IRA Volunteers from the estate who were killed in action over the years, Patsy Hughes, Edward Grant, Mickey Hughes, Brendan Watters and Colum Marks.

The Derrybeg community must be comended for raising the money and making it possible for this monument to take shape.