Exclusive interview with Stephen Murney with the Five Demands Italian outlet

Below we carry an interview with recently released Republican prisoner Stephen Murney which appeared on the Italian based Five Demands political outlet

Biography

Stephen is a 30 year old political activist. In his role as an active member of socialist republican party, éirígí, he had reported on several occasions the actions of the PSNI  in the Newry area, where he lives and works. One of the greatest concerns raised by Stephen was the repeated stop-and- search policy of the PSNI, this is a common practice to ‘monitor, humiliate and demoralise Irish Republicans and state opponents in the North’.

On November 28th 2012, Murney was taken from his home by the police to the Antrim detention centre where he faced several rounds of interrogations.

On December  1st, the activist was moved to Maghaberry where he remained for 14 months. Once charges were formalized, Stephen bore a lengthy process for three allegations:

• Collecting information likely to be of use to terrorists.
• Distributing information likely to be of use to terrorists.
• Having articles likely to be of use to terrorists.

The first two charges were referring to the numerous photos of commemorations, protests and meetings which Murney had attended along with many others. Those photos mainly consisted of evidence of police harassment of local people in the Newry area.
The third claimed that ‘suspicious items’ were found at Murney’s home. In particular police stressed how some clothes (which are later found to be part of a uniform of a local Republican Flute band, in which there are numerous pictures of him marching in a perfectly legal and legitimate manner) and two toy ns might be used for terrorist purposes.
The detention of Stephen Murney , considered illegal and as another facet of political policing, by Republicans, led to a huge mobilization on social media (Free Stephen Murney page reached a thousand ‘likes’ in a few days) and on the streets where many rallies were held.
After 14 months in jail awaiting the verdict (according to the interment by remand  terms), Murney was found innocent and was immediately freed . Just out he said: ‘My imprisonment for the past 14 months was as a direct result of my political views and my membership of éirígí – an open and legitimate political party.’

Interview

F.B. First of all, how do you feel after a 14 months detention?

S.M. To be honest, the impact was far greater upon my family than any effect it had on me. My partner was left at home with three kids to raise. My youngest son, who was 6 at the time of my arrest, was very visibly shaken and terrified when heavily armed PSNI personnel smashed in the front door of our home at 6am, handcuffed me and took me away. Incidents like that can be very traumatic experiences for any young child.

Additionally, and although my partner, parents and the rest of my family knew there was no substance to the PSNI charges, they had no idea  how long I would be held for. That simple fact alone caused them a lot of stress.

With  regards to the effect it had on me, it has helped me learn a lot about Republican prison struggle and what prison life for Republicans entails, particularly when faced with an oppressive and restrictive regime such as the one in place in Maghaberry.

F.B. Let’s start from the beginning. The PSNI arrested you with three different allegations to which they will add others. In short, you have been accused of providing information to ‘terrorists’ otherwise the IRA. Do you consider that a simple miscarriage of justice or a proper judicial persecution?

S.M. I was initially charged with what the PSNI called information likely to be of use to terrorists, distributing information likely to be of use to terrorists and having articles likely to be of use to terrorists. It worth pointing out that these were photographs which had accompanied party press releases to the media.

On February 20, 2013, the PSNI removed me from Maghaberry Prison and took me back to Antrim interrogation centre for further ‘questioning’. The following day the British state levelled additional charges against me, in a move widely seen as an attempt to bolster the very weak case.

The new charges included one of ‘possession of articles for use in terror’ and ‘aiding and abetting in criminal damage to property owned by persons unknown’. The former charge relate to a single photograph allegedly recovered from my computer which I had already been charged with possessing. The later charge related to the possession of a number of political stencils.

From the outset I and my legal team made it clear that there no case for me to answer, that I was innocent of these charges yet I still spent 14 months in prison in what the British “justice system” would call “due process”.

‘Internment by remand’ is merely a more subtle and insidious form of internment. It is not a new invention given that, as a process, ‘internment by remand’ commenced as a planned strategy in the late 1970s. Britain would claim that this was part of a legitimate legal process as, unlike internment without trial, persons faced charges, court appearances and the possibility of a conviction at trial on some far off future date. Furthermore, as this strategy of ‘internment by remand’ also involves the prosecution service, the judiciary, and the wider legal system, Britain could respond to critics of the system and deflect justifiable censure by claiming that ‘due process must take its course’.

That, of course, was the illusion.

F.B. You probably visited Maghaberry  in your role of activist before your incarceration. But what were your first impressions of the prison when you were transferred there, as a prisoner?

S.M. Before I was interned I was involved campaigns to defend the human rights of political prisoners and that entailed going to visit some of them in Maghaberry. Little did I know that as a result of my activism I would end up amongst them in Maghaberry as a political prisoner.

When I first entered the Republican wing on Roe 4 the first thing that hit me was the smell. It hit me like a brick wall. Just a fortnight beforehand, Republican prisoners had just ended a “dirty protest” lasting 18 months. When I was first placed in my cell there was still human excrement on the walls from the protest and it was several months before the prison administration decided to clean it off.

I had often heard the stories of what it was like in Roe House but nothing prepared me for the vindictiveness of the screws and the extremely restrictive regime that was in place. Controlled movement remains in place. At times only one prisoner is allowed onto the landing at a time. If you need to go to the shower, several screws escort you to the shower room. It’s the same if you need to go to the laundry room or back to your cell. Then we have the isolation of Republican prisoners in which some prisoners are selectively targeted and placed in isolation by themselves. When in isolation they have no contact with any other prisoners and are locked up 23 hours a day. Gavin Coyle has been held in isolation for a number of years now and this is nothing more than a form of psychological torture. And of course the strip searching of Republican Prisoners is still in place despite the advances in technology.

F.B. Long Kesh and Maghaberry. Past and present. Do you really think that prison conditions in Maghaberry are as drastic as those which were in Long Kesh? I was wondering if you could describe a typical day as a Maghaberry prisoner on a Republican landing.

S.M. A typical day would entail wakening up to the sound of alarm bells ringing at 7am. This would be after a sleepless night due to the screws banging and kicking your cell door, lifting the flap and shining a torch in your face before slamming the flap shut. This would happen throughout the night so you wouldn’t get much sleep.

The cell doors would then be opened at around 8.15, one at a time ( only 3 prisoners are allowed on the landing at any given time and sometimes just one) and you would then make your way to the canteen in which your are locked in. Basically rather than being locked in your cell all day you are locked in a larger room all day.

If you wanted to go back to your cell then the controlled movement kicks in again. You have to press a button for the screws to let you out of the canteen. Then you walk to the slider and step in between the grills. When the screws eventually open the grills you step onto the landing. You are then escorted by up to 3 screws to your cell. If you are staying in your cell the door is slammed behind you and locked. If you are simply getting something from your cell such as a newspaper etc then the screws stand at your door and watch you, then you have to go through the whole process again to get back to the canteen and once again locked in there.

You have to go through the same process if you want to go to the shower or the laundry room. It’s very restrictive and unnecessary.

While it’s not the same as Long Kesh there are similarities.

When I was interned in Maghaberry i read a book called “Hard Time” by Raymond Murray, which was about the women prisoners being held at the time. There was a page about strip searching and controlled movement and the similarities were shocking.

Here’s a short extract from the book:

“Male officers dressed in riot gear with batons and shields stood by….the prisoners were seized and dragged to the floor; their faces pushed tightly into the ground so that they could not see and their mouths were covered to stifle their screams. They were then stripped naked.”

Any Republican prisoner who has been in Maghaberry in recent times can relate to this description of the forced strip searches even though this account occurred decades ago.

Similarly in the same book there is a description of the controlled movement that the women Republican Prisoners were subjected to:

“There was severe restriction on movement. Once the prisoners left the cells and the bathroom area and entered the association and kitchen area they were cut off by a grill and could not re-enter. Similarly for outside recreation in the yard, the choice lay between being locked in the cell or staying outside whatever the weather.”

Bear in mind these are descriptions of the conditions in the mid 1980s

The resemblance between the strip searching and controlled movement that took place decades ago and the  conditions in use today is very striking.

This shows how unwilling the prison administration is unwilling to move forward to help create a conflict free environment which is what the Republican prisoners envisage.

F.B. Something that really struck me while I was reading your own dramatic description of the practice of strip searches in Maghaberry (description shown below) was the absolute futility of the search.  How do you maintain your political conviction in a place designed to be so oppressive and humiliating?

S.M. Strip searching of Republican Prisoners has been taking place for decades, as a child a remember taking part in a massive protest rally and i was holding a poster calling for an end to the strip searching of women Republican prisoners in Maghaberry at the time.

Today little has changed despite the advances in technology. The forced strip searching that takes place in Maghaberry today is still brutal, humiliating and very degrading.

I was forcefully stripped between 20-30 times during my internment and other Republican prisoners have endured it many more times. The technology, the BOSS chair, is in the prison and could put an end to this draconian practice, but the prison administration for their own vindictive reasons won’t use it for prisoners entering or leaving the prison.

F.B. I noticed you built strong relationships while in prison. What is the relationship between republican prisoners in Maghaberry? Could you talk about the importance of engaging in solidarity with other political prisoners?

S.M. I made some very good friends while I was in Maghaberry, some of them I knew beforehand from campaigning for them. The camaraderie and morale among the men is high despite the circumstances with which they are faced. I left Maghaberry knowing that I have developed, what will be, lifelong friendships. It’s important that people show solidarity and support with the Republican prisoners, even simple things like sending a letter or a card makes a difference to them.

F.B. After your arrest,  the mobilization of the republican movement was very quick to your cause and it has raised awareness among the public opinion on your case and cases similar. How important was the external pressure on the decision to give you back your freedom?

S.M. The main thing about people mobilising on the outside is to create awareness about what is happening. Constitutional nationalist parties try to portray the six-counties as a “normal society” when in fact it is far from normal. Many of the old repressive injustices remain including internment, political policing, Diplock courts and ongoing MI5/British military activity.

It’s important for people to expose the reality of what is happening in the North.

F.B.  If you could give a message to whoever it was in MI5 or the British establishment, that directed your arrest what would you say?

S.M. The agencies  responsible for my arrest and internment are the same agencies who have been trying to break the resolve and determination of Republicans for decades using those very same means and methods. They failed in the past and they will fail today.

F.B. You have taken issue many times with the PSNI policy of stop and search, do you believe that this system works in the states favor in any way, or does it serve to highlight the political nature still apparent in policing in the north?

S.M. The stop and search powers are used for ‘dragnet’ low level intelligence gathering exercises and general intimidation and harassment. When the PSNI are targeting people using these powers simply because of that persons political beliefs that that is simply political policing which is very much still a part of British policing in the six-counties.

F.B. éirígí, the party you joined, attitudes towards the armed struggle is often ambivalent. What is your personal opinion?

S.M. As a party, éirígí is far from ambivalent regarding armed struggle and that has been made clear repeatedly. I believe that we need to be honest about the position in which Republicanism finds itself today. The Republican struggle is currently in a fractured and weakened state, there is no denying that fact. On numerous times since éirígí were formed we have made our position clear and have given our analysis on the way forward.

Murney account of his strip-searches

‘..at this point I made it known that I would not be complying with the strip-search as it was degrading and humiliating for prisoners. I was then taken and placed in a ‘holding cell’ and informed that I had 15 minutes to rethink my decision. This ‘reflection period’ is solely designed as a psychological ploy to strike fear and worry into prisoners as they wait for what lies ahead.

…the screw standing in front of me grabs me by the face with both his hands while, simultaneously, the two screws each side of me grab my arms and stretch them outright forcing me to stand in a crucifix position.

Both my wrists are forcibly twisted and bent backwards, causing extreme pain and discomfort. I am forced onto my knees. As the screw in front pushes my face into the ground, the screw behind me then pulls both my legs from under me. I am now being held on the ground still in a crucifix position by four screws. I am forcibly held down with my face pushed into the ground. Both my legs are being held by two screws.

My arms are still outstretched with both my wrists twisted and bent in an almost impossible position. While I am held in this position my jumper is forcefully pulled off and thrown into the corner, my shoes and socks are the pulled off, next my jeans are very forcefully yanked down in a manner, which clearly, is only used to inflict pain on the prisoner.

Lastly my underwear is pulled down. I am now lying on the floor of the cell completely naked, humiliated and degraded. My clothes are lying in the corner of the cell. My face is throbbing, my wrists are aching and, while I am lying there naked, those responsible stand towering above me…’

http://thefivedemands.org/2014/03/11/esclusiva-stephen-murney-nessuno-mi-aveva-preparato-al-rancore-dei-carcerieri-e-al-regime-restrittivo-in-atto/

Stephen Murney on Radio Free Eireann

An interview with recently released Republican prisoner, Stephen Murney, on Radio Free Eireann in America. He explains the background to his case and the campaign of state harassment that led to his arrest and imprisonment. He discusses not only his case but internment in general and the fact that some people in Maghaberry have been interned for 3-4 years, while explaining the conditions Republican prisoners endure in Maghaberry such as forced strip searches, controlled movement and isolation of Republican prisoners.

Here's a link to the show it's about 27 minutes in

http://archive.wbai.org/show1.php?showid=rfeireann

International Women’s Day – solidarity and struggle

éirígí activist and former political prisoner Máire Drumm shares some of her thoughts on women and struggle in advance of International Women’s Day on Saturday 8th March.

Máire DrummFor many republicans and socialists in Ireland, on International Women’s Day our emphasis is often on the role women have played, and continue to play, in the struggles for national freedom, for social justice and for economic equality for all.

Ireland has a long and noble record of many women who played prominent and leading roles in those struggles. Women such as Betsy Gray, Anne Devlin and Mary Ann McCracken; the Parnell sisters; Maud Gonne; Countess Markievicz, Dr Kathleen Lynn and Winifred Carney and the many, many other less well-known but equally courageous women of those times.

From the original volunteers of Cumann na mBan, formed one hundred years ago in 1914, and the women volunteers of the Citizen Army to those who, in more recent decades, played a full part in a struggle for national liberation – the resilience, determination and valour of all those women remains an inspiration today.

In Ireland, women have had to constantly to fight on multiple fronts – to fight for national independence but also to fight against old-fashioned prejudices to demand equal status in the liberation movement and in society and to gain a voice in the political decision-making processes.

When Mairéad Farrell stated that Irishwomen had been oppressed both as women and as Irish people, she spoke an undeniable truth.

It is always worth reminding ourselves that International Women’s Day had its roots in the socialist movement of the early 20th century. It was a focal point for the struggles of working-class women internationally, for better living conditions, for better working conditions and pay, and for a political voice. The original roots of International Women’s Day sought an end to gender oppression, inequalities and injustices.

Those inequalities and injustices are still visible in the continuing wage differentials between women and men. They are visible in the prejudicial treatment of women who are abused physically and sexually. They are visible when those in government or in the pulpit attempt to dictate what women may or may not do with their own bodies.

International Women’s Day is also about women who are engaged in struggle around the world standing in solidarity with each other – from Ireland to Palestine, Africa and South America.

In that respect, it is right that we should acknowledge and send solidarity to those women who are currently imprisoned for the political beliefs – women such as Ursula Ní Shionnain in Limerick gaol and Sharon Rafferty, Christine Connors and Nuala Gormley in Hydebank. Women such as 79-year-old Margaretta D’Arcy – imprisoned by the Twenty-Six County state for her stance against imperialist wars.

International Women’s Day also coincides with an international week of events that seek to raise awareness about Israel’s apartheid policies towards the Palestinians and to build support for the growing Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.

Lena Al-JarboniAt present, there are 17 Palestinian women political prisoners in Israeli prisons. All but one is held in HaSharon prison in Israel.

Palestinian women political prisoners have to endure beatings, insults, threats, sexually explicit harassment and sexual violence, and humiliation at the hands of Israeli guards. They are often forced to undergo degrading strip searches and are subjected to intrusive internal body searches, for no reason other than as a punitive measure.

The British private security contractor G4S provides the full security system at HaSharon, including the central command room for the entire prison. The transfer of Palestinian prisoners from the occupied West Bank and Gaza into Israel to HaSharon Prison is illegal under international law and constitutes a war crime. G4S is complicit in this by the services it provides to HaSharon Prison.

The longest serving Palestinian women prisoner is Lena Al-Jarboni who has endured nearly 12 years in HaSharon.

Due to medical neglect, Lena can no longer walk and suffers from extreme pain. When the prison authorities refused to transfer her to hospital for an essential operation, all the other women political prisoners threatened to go on hunger strike. It was only then that the authorities finally allowed her the operation.

Lena Al-Jarboni has never fully recovered and her condition continues to deteriorate. Having endured nearly 12 years imprisonment, Lena is the longest serving Palestinian woman political prisoner. She still has over five more years left of her sentence and, due to her medical condition, it is very unlikely she can survive that.

So, this Saturday on International Women’s Day, let us pause and reflect on all those women of all nations who, in this 21st century, still continue with their struggles against aggression, occupation, displacement and deprivation of the most basic human, economic, social and political rights.

James Connolly paid his own tribute to all such women in struggle when he wrote in his pamphlet The Reconquest of Ireland<.em> in 1915:

“There are none so fitted to break the chains as they who wear them, none so well equipped to decide what is a fetter. In its march towards freedom, the working class of Ireland must cheer on the efforts of those women who, feeling on their souls and bodies the fetters of the ages, have arisen to strike them off.”

- See more at: http://www.eirigi.org/latest/latest070314.html#sthash.NQ2XwbD4.dpuf

BRITISH MILITARY INTELLIGENCE AT THE HEART OF THE POLICING PROCESS

A press release from the PRO Department of the 1916 Societies.

The 1916 Societies held a well attended and highly successful discussion in the Ashgrove Centre in Portadown on Saturday past, March 1st, to highlight the ongoing issue of political policing and the continued presence of British Military Intelligence at the heart of the policing process in the occupied six-counties. Darragh Mackin from KRW Law was joined on the panel by eirigi's Breandan MacCionnaith and Stephen Geraghty from recently formed human rights group, Justice Watch Ireland.

Much of the discussion focused on the use of a 'stop and search' policy on behalf of the PSNI as a tool of political harassment as well as continuing attempts by both the PSNI and MI5 to coerce young people in the six-counties into working as state-paid informers and how such attempts constitute a severe infringement of the right to life guaranteed under the European Convention.

Following a contribution from the floor by Dungannon republican Packy Carty it also became evident that efforts to tackle this issue of informer recruitment through the office of the Police Ombudsman, in relation to a recent attempt by uniformed PSNI Officers to recruit a young man in Dungannon in broad daylight in a crowded street, had revealed the accountability mechanisms supposedly contained in the Patten reforms to deal with such infringements were in effect non-existent and in their own words 'not the business of the Ombudsman's office'.

This is a startling contradiction of the propaganda which tells us the PSNI is now accountable locally, nothing could be further from the truth. An estimated 40 percent of the force has ties to MI5 structures and often such ties - due to the the fact MI5 is beyond the reach of the Patten reforms - effectively means the accountability structures supposedly put in place to prevent the type of abuses witnessed when the PSNI was known by its old title - the RUC - in many instance are effectively compromised.

That MI5 should have no role in policing given its sordid history - much of which has yet to be fully exposed - should be self-evident but the reality is they occupy a central role within the prism of policing in the north of Ireland today despite assurances to the contrary. This has severe implications for the political position of those apologists of the PSNI who maintain we have been in a new policing dispensation since 2007. Given the unaccountable role British Military Intelligence plays in policing then any such notion has been well and truly put to bed. It has been categorically shown to have no basis under the current policing reality.

All in all the days events demonstrated to those in attendance that policing in the north of Ireland has failed to make the promised strides forward in terms of local accountability those still condemned to live under Britain's authority in the six-counties were promised under the banner of the 'new dispensation'. Quite simply this has never materialised.

Alongside the all-pervasive role of MI5, within both policing structures and wider society itself, it goes to show that we are not as far removed from the conditions that gave rise to the myriad human rights abuses attributed to the British state during the recent armed conflict in this part of Ireland as some would have us believe. This should be a cause of concern for us all.

éirígí call for the release of Moazzam Begg

Moazzam BeggRúnaí Ginearálta éirígí Breandán Mac Cionnaith has hit out at the arrest and detention by British police of the well-known activist and former Guantanamo detainee, Moazzam Begg.

In a statement Mac Cionnaith said, “As a spokesperson for the prisoner rights organisation, CAGE, Moazzam Begg has appeared regularly in the media and at various venues in Britain and other countries, speaking on issues pertaining to the Muslim community, imprisonment without trial, torture and ‘anti-terror’ legislation.

“Moazzam has also spoken at many public events in Ireland in recent years and his contributions and insightful thinking have been warmly received. I’ve had the privilege of speaking along with Moazzam Begg at a human rights symposium in London some time ago entitled ‘Policing Communities: Race, Class and the State’.

“His own experiences of being interned without charge in both Bagram Camp and Guantanamo for three years before his unconditional release have given him a unique first-hand experience of the massive injustices which have been engendered around the world as part of the so-called ‘war on terror’.”

Mac Cionnaith added, “It is extremely disturbing to learn that his arrest and detention on Tuesday by British police and secret intelligence services has been timed to coincide with the planned publication of a major CAGE report on Syria.

“Given Moazzam Begg’s ability to expose British complicity in major human rights breaches in various countries, one has to ask if his arrest is a pre-emptive attempt by the British state to discredit or even prevent publication of that report which is expected to be highly critical of Britain’s role in Syria.

“éirígí fully supports the call made by CAGE and by other groups for the immediate release of Moazzam Begg. We urge all those who seek to defend civil liberties and human rights to add their voices to that demand.”

- See more at: http://www.eirigi.org/latest/latest260214_2.html#sthash.Aoog1X1b.dpuf

éirígí’s Stephen Murney Cleared of all ‘Terrorism’ Charges

The PSNI and prosecution service stand accused of operating a system of ‘internment by remand’ after Stephen Murney, a member of the socialist republican party éirígí, was cleared of all charges alleging that he took photographs of PSNI personnel for “terrorist” purposes.

Stephen Murney had faced a number of charges related to taking photographs of PSNI personnel during stop and search operations, public protests, and other incidents. He had been detained in Maghaberry prison for the past 14 months.

Until his arrest and imprisonment in 2012, Stephen Murney held the position of local Public Relations Officer for éirígí in the Newry and Mourne area. The photographs were taken by him in that capacity in order to record, document and publicise PSNI misuse of their powers.

Speaking after his acquittal and release, Stephen Murney said, “My imprisonment for the past 14 months was as a direct result of my political views and my membership of éirígí – an open and legitimate political party.

“Those charges, of which I have been found to be innocent, were brought against me by the PSNI who objected to fact that I recorded, documented and publicised PSNI personnel abusing the human and civil rights of citizens in the Newry area.

“Even though it was clear from the very outset that these charges were completely without substance, both the PSNI and prosecution service have persisted with a legalised charade which resulted in my imprisonment from December 2012. There is no other way of describing that charade except as ‘internment by remand’.

“I intend to continue with my activism on behalf of éirígí.”

éirígí’s general secretary, Breandán Mac Cionnaith, who attended the trial, said, “From the outset, we have said that the charges against our party comrade were nothing more than a spurious means to remove a committed and dedicated political activist from his family and his community. In short, Stephen’s imprisonment has been tantamount to ‘internment by remand’.

“Stephen’s case also highlights, yet again, the false claims made by constitutional nationalist parties in the Six Counties. This case clearly epitomises the reality of modern political policing.

“Had the PSNI and prosecution service been successful in their action against Stephen, it is very evident that this case would have had profound implications in relation to Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights. Article 10 states that everyone has the right to freedom of expression. That right includes the freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by state authorities.

“Stephen’s arrest and imprisonment was a blatant but crude attempt at political censorship and the open suppression of legitimately-held political opinions in direct contravention of those Article 10 rights.

“In that regard, this case is strongly reminiscent of the type of charges brought by RUC against political activists and others under the old and internationally discredited Special Powers Act.

“Had the PSNI and prosecution service succeeded in this case, I have no doubt that it would have led to the arrests of other political activists and to possible gagging orders on political publications as a first step towards an outright ban on éirígí as a political party.”

- See more at: http://www.eirigi.org/latest/latest240214.html#sthash.slAnvj6D.dpuf

New ‘Know Your Rights’ Leaflet Targets MI5 Harassment

The Conway Mill on Belfast’s Fall Road was the setting for a very well-attended public meeting on Thursday [November 8] at which éirígí launched its latest ‘Know Your Rights’ leaflet.

As concern grows in communities across the Six Counties about the increasing activities of Britain’s MI5, the party has produced a four-page information and advice leaflet setting out the steps people should take if they find themselves approached by the secretive spying organisation.

The meeting, chaired by Belfast éirígí activist Máire Drumm, began with a fifteen minute video presentation detailing some of MI5’s methods of operation.

She then introduced the first of two speakers at the meeting, éirígí’s rúnaí ginearálta, Breandán Mac Cionnaith.

Mac Cionnaith explained that the party had seen an upsurge in people coming forward to report approaches made to them by MI5, approaches which often occurring with the co-operation of the Six County police force.

In the course of his remarks, Mac Cionnaith said that, for several years, constitutional nationalist parties in the Six Counties had peddled the lie that they achieved the following:

• No role for MI5 in ‘civic policing’
• No PSNI personnel under MI5 control
• No secondment of PSNI personnel to MI5
• Annual oversight and reporting mechanisms on MI5’s role
• A clear firewall established between the PSNI and MI5

Mac Cionnaith then dissected each of those claims.



He pointed out that MI5 does not have powers of arrest; does not have powers to question people; does not have powers to search or seize property and is fully dependent upon the PSNI to carry out those operations, arrests, searches and interrogations.

Constitutional nationalists, he said, put great emphasis on a statement made by the then British prime minister, Tony Blair, in 2007. Blair stated that only PSNI personnel attached to PSNI Headquarters Staff would act in a “in a liaison capacity” with MI5. Constitutional nationalists seized upon that statement to fool their members and supporters into believing that only a handful of PSNI personnel would be working with MI5. Those politicians, he said, failed to admit that many sections and departments of the PSNI fall under that overarching description of “Headquarters Staff” and that, at any one time, up to 1,200 of the PSNI personnel attached to Headquarters staff could be acting in a so-called ‘liaison capacity’ directly with MI5.

Mac Cionnaith also said that so-called annual oversight and reporting mechanisms on MI5’s role have been shown to be completely meaningless and worthless. He observed that the appointment of a British peer, Lord Carlile, a supporter both of non-jury courts and the prolonged detention without trial for suspects, to a role in annually reviewing MI5 in the North, was bizarrely hailed as “progress” by constitutional nationalists at Stormont. He also noted that that Carlile’s annual review of MI5 in the Six Counties is supposed to take place in consultation with the First and deputy First Ministers at Stormont – thereby directly implicating the north’s largest constitutional nationalist party into providing a fig-leaf for MI5’s activities in the Six Counties.

Mac Cionnaith also pointed out that Britain’s former Six County minister, Owen Paterson, had stated in December last year that there were “no difficulties of any significance in the inter-operability between the PSNI and the Security Service... This is a sound working partnership.”

Constitutional nationalist parties, said Mac Cionnaith, had created a smokescreen of propaganda to mislead their community into believing that those parties had achieved major progress on ending the era of political policing which has existed for as long as the Six County state itself. He bluntly described that as “a deceit”.

Referring to the recent controversy regarding the re-hiring of ex-RUC personnel as ‘agency staff’ by the PSNI, Mac Cionnaith stated, “It is also noticeable that no mention is ever made of exactly how many ex-RUC personnel are employed by MI5.

“Given that over 1,000 ex-RUC men were rehired back into the PSNI by the back-door, it is quite conceivable that at least a similar number have entered MI5’s base in Holywood through the front door.”

Máire Drumm then introduced the second speaker, Pádraigín Drinan, the well-known Belfast-based solicitor who, for forty five years, has been to the forefront in campaigns to defend against the erosion of human rights and civil liberties in the Six Counties.



From her participation in the Civil Rights movement in the late 1960s, Drinan was involved in representing many of those interned without trial by the British state during the 1970s, and over the course of many years has represented families who lost relatives at the hands of British state death squads. She has also represented many people who have been subjected to harassment and abuse by state forces and recently mounted a legal challenge against stop and search tactics used by the PSNI.

Ms Drinan said that, as a solicitor, she welcomed éirígí’s initiative in publishing the ‘know your rights’ leaflets. She described the latest publication on MI5 as “a necessity for many people” and added “that after all these years of repressive legislation it was remarkable how few people are actually aware of what their rights”.

Ms Drinan said, “The decision to make this information available is a very welcome and timely step.”

Ms Drinan continued, “Anyone approached by MI5 personnel, should contact a solicitor and let the solicitor act on their behalf. The goal of MI5 is to gather intelligence on a person’s neighbours, friends and even on members of that person’s family. They will try their hardest to extract any information, no matter how innocuous that may appear, from those whom they approach with each meeting.

“Anything they may offer, in terms of monetary incentives/jobs, is solely for their own benefit and not for the benefit of the person approached – and it is worth remembering that.

“No-one approached by MI5 should give away any personal details about themselves or anyone else, however harmless that information might seem.

“No-one is under any obligation to speak with MI5 no matter where or how they are approached. You can ignore them and you can walk away from them.”

She stressed the importance for everyone to report all approaches made by MI5 in order to protect their rights and civil liberties.

Several hundred copies of the new leaflet were readily snapped up by those attending the public meeting.

 The leaflet may be downloaded here.

http://www.eirigi.org/pdfs/campaigns/knowrights_mi5.pdf

éirígí criticise heavy handed PSNI raids in Newry

éirígí in Newry have criticised a series of raids and arrests that took place across the city early on Monday morning [November 05].

Several families were targeted during the dawn raids and homes were left ransacked as well as a number of residents being arrested and taken to Antrim holding centre during the state force operation.

Criticising the raids, éirígí’s Newry spokesperson Stephen Murney said, “This is an all too familiar pattern. Here we have several homes ransacked and a number of people arrested and taken from their families. Unsurprisingly, those arrested were later released without charge within a matter of hours and with nothing untoward found during the searches.

“The PSNI’s strong-arm tactics left a number of children terrified and families were left to pick up the pieces. These raids were a particularly frightening for young children.

“The PSNI operation lasted for several hours and a large force of PSNI personnel in countless armoured landrovers saturated a number of working class areas. At the same time, a PSNI helicopter hovered over the city, keeping the local population under surveillance. These communities have endured this type of treatment many times in the past and today’s actions are clear proof of the unchanged nature of policing.”

Murney continued, “I met and spoke with some of the families targeted in these raids and they were left distressed, worried and seething with anger at the actions of the state forces. During the raids the PSNI confiscated mobile phones, ipods, family cars and even children’s computer games. Those who had their cars confiscated now have to find alternative transport to get them to work.”

Stephen concluded, “While constitutional nationalist parties tell us that this type of RUC style policing is a thing of the past, for republicans it’s clearly very much part of the present.”

http://www.eirigi.org/latest/latest061112.html

Successful POW events

A number of successful events have been held to highlight the serious humanitarian crisis facing republican prisoners.

In Newry around 100 people ,from all backgrounds and ages, took to the streets to protest in support of the political prisoners, A large RUC presence was evident at the picket. Those gathered were addressed by Dee Fennell, who spoke on behalf of the Families & Friends of Republican Prisoners and Ciaran Cunningham, who spoke on behalf of Cogus.

Here is a video of the picket and speeches

On the same day several hundred people too part in a rally in Dublin in support of the release of political internee Marian Price



On the 25th October around 50 republicans held a torch lit vigil at Divis Tower in West Belfast in support of Republican prisoners in Maghaberry



On the 21st October there was a fantastic turnout in Dungiven with around 140 republicans turning up for the white-line picket in support of the prisoners on protest in Maghaberry. The flow of traffic heading through the town was massive with crowds heading to the Derry County final and the message that we have prisoners on protest in Maghaberry was well received with plenty of cars tooting and many people shouting support as they drove by.



Go raibh maith agat to everyone who attended these and any events to highlight the injustices republican prisoners are currently enduring.

VICTORY TO THE POWs.

éirígí to commemorate Wolfe Tone in Newry

éirígí have announced plans to commemorate the anniversary of one of Ireland’s most iconic revolutionaries, Theobald Wolfe Tone, in an event to be held in Newry.

The commemoration will take place in Newry city centre on Saturday 17th November at the Cochran and Lowans plaque situated at John Mitchel Place, Hill Street. The Volunteers Patricia Black & Frank Ryan Memorial Flute Band from Glasgow will also be in attendance.

Speaking ahead of the event éirígí’s Stephen Murney said, “Wolfe Tone is regarded by many as the founding father of Irish Republicanism. In 1791 he founded the revolutionary society of the United Irishmen along with Samuel Neilson, Thomas Russell and Henry Joy McCracken, taking their inspiration from the French Revolution. Wolfe Tone was captured with a French fleet in Lough Swilly County Donegal and taken to Dublin. He was tried and condemned to death in November; he died on the 19th November 1798.



“The reason we have chosen Newry as the location to hold this commemoration is that in 1792, Wolfe Tone held a meeting in the Crown Inn (now Best estate agents) in Hill Street directly beside the Town Hall. At this meeting a local branch of the United Irishmen was formed. The first chairman of the United Irish Society in Newry was James Lang.

“At the lower end of Hill Street a plaque is situated in John Mitchel Place which commemorates Cochran and Lowans, who were executed in Newry for their part in the 1798 rising. Cochran and Lowans, both from Newry, were publicly executed on the high ground at the rear of the Bank of Ireland, Trevor Hill, a site known as Gallows Hill where Heather Park is situated today.”

Stephen continued, “Cochran on his return from the Battle of Ballynahinch, gave money to a woman on the outskirts of Newry to conceal him However she induced her husband to go into Newry and report his whereabouts for a much higher reward. The only information available on Lowans is that after the Battle of Ballynahinch he was apprehended at Bellman’s Loanin (now Windsor Avenue) off the Downshire Road. Both men were interned in the Linen Hall Barracks before their execution. They were then hung, drawn and quartered.

“Their heads were then spiked on a building in Margaret Square for forty-one days. Cochran’s father was not given permission to bury his son’s head along with his body until he agreed to carry it uncovered in his hands shouting “Traitor, traitor, the head of a traitor” all the way to the graveyard.

“Both Cochran and Lowans are buried in St Patrick’s graveyard, Church Street, Newry. The name of Cochran has been kept alive in Newry by a street named Cochran Row in a small housing estate on the Armagh Road. Part of the tunnel from the Bank of Ireland to Gallows Hill can still be seen in Heather Park.”

Tone was also very much aware of the class struggle being intertwined with the freedom struggle and he is quoted as saying, “Our freedom must be had at all hazards. If the men of no property will not help us they must fall; we will free ourselves by the aid of that large and respectable class of the community – the men of no property.”

Join with éirígí in commemorating those revolutionaries who gave their lives and let us continue to finish the task and complete their objectives, which remain unfilled.

Assemble at the Cochran & Lowans Plaque, John Mitchel Place, Newry, on Saturday 17th November at 4.30pm, with main speaker Pádraic Mac Coitir. Refreshments and entertainment will be available in a nearby establishment afterwards.

éirígí to highlight MI5 activities in the Six Counties at Belfast meeting

The socialist republican party éirígí are to hold a public meeting in Conway Mill, Belfast at 7pm on Thursday evening, November 8th, at which the party will formally launch an information and guidance leaflet aimed at advising people who have been or who may be subject to harassment by MI5.

Speaking ahead of the meeting and leaflet launch, éirígí spokesperson Padraic Mac Coitir said, “An increasing and disturbing trend has emerged in the Six Counties where undercover MI5 agents have been involved in numerous attempts to recruit various individuals to ‘work’ for them.

“It is clear that MI5 operatives, based at their headquarters in Palace Barracks, Hollywood, are engaged in a massive intelligence gathering trawl right across the Six Counties. It is also clear, from the cases reported to us, that they doing so in total collusion with the PSNI.

“Many of those targeted by MI5 and who contacted the party in recent months are not republicans, but are community workers, trade union activists and ordinary members of the public.”

Mac Coitir explained, “The circumstances in which people have been approached by MI5 vary from case to case.

“Cases that have been reported to the party include:

• Individuals being stopped at what appeared to be normal ‘run-of-the-mill’ PSNI traffic checkpoints. In these cases, PSNI personnel then stood aside as well-dressed civilians approached the person stopped, introduced themselves as ‘X’ or ‘Y’, and then proceeded to attempt to recruit the person stopped
• Telephone calls being made to people by individuals who have identified themselves using various pseudonyms such as ‘Ian’, ‘Mark’ ‘John’, etc. During these calls people have been asked to meet with MI5. Monetary incentives and jobs have been offered to people if they will assist them in gathering information
• Individuals being approached while travelling through airports on way to a family holiday or as a journey connected to their work
• Individuals being approached in person at their place of work
• Individuals being approached while shopping in town centres

“Incidents have been reported to the party from across each of the Six Counties and it is clear that the frequency of such incidents is increasing.”

Mac Coitir continued, “In response to this increased activity by MI5, éirígí is launching a comprehensive information leaflet advising people what to do if they find themselves approached by MI5. Earlier this year, the party published a ‘know your rights’ card detailing a person’s rights when stopped or questioned by the PSNI. That received a very positive response in our communities, and we believe that this initiative regarding MI5 will be equally responded to.”

The meeting in Conway Mill on November 8th will be addressed by éirígí’s Breandán Mac Cionnaith and Belfast solicitor Padraigin Drinan.

Mac Coitir also said that the party would also be showing a short video at the meeting on the activities of MI5.

Maghaberry Protest Intensifies

It has been confirmed that Gavin Coyle has now joined Thomas and Desmond Hamill, Martin Mc Gilloway and Austin Creggan on Dirty Protest in the SSU, Maghaberry.

These 5 Republican prisoners are Roe 4 prisoners and are now adhering to the new policy by Roe 4 where by any prisoner aligned with Roe 4 will join their comrades on protest no matter where the administration of Maghaberry hold them.

The blame for this new development can be laid directly at David Ford, he has continually ignored the Republican prisoners on protest in Maghaberry and instead has delayed any productive developments.
This protest could be resolved very easily if Ford was to implement the August Agreement.

VICTORY TO THE POWs

PSNI Death Threat Against Newry Activist Condemned

The latest news from éirígí



Members of the PSNI in Newry have made a direct threat to kill a member of éirígí in the Newry area.

The threat was made on Friday evening [October 26] when éirígí's Newry spokesman Stephen Murney was stopped and searched by members of the PSNI just minutes after he left a community event in the town. The well attended event was being held to promote suicide awareness and prevention.

During the stop and search in Monaghan Street, one member of the armed PSNI unit menacingly told Murney, “I’ll put a bullet in your f***ing head.”

Commenting on the incident, Murney said, “I was stopped and searched by the PSNI in Monaghan Street shortly after leaving the suicide awareness event. It was during that search that a member of the PSNI said he would put a bullet in my head.

“Given the history of collusion between the Six-County police force and loyalist death squads, I am taking the threat seriously. In the past, similar threats were made to people and, in many cases, those threats were later carried out by state forces acting in conjunction with their loyalist proxies.

“While the threat is a worrying development it certainly won’t be deterring me from my political activities. I will be recording the details of this threat with my legal representatives and with the human rights group CAJ.”

Rúnaí ginearálta éirígí Breandán Mac Cionnaith said, “Such behaviour by the PSNI is totally unacceptable, although it is far from surprising. The PSNI has inherited the old bully-boy tactics of the RUC. Indeed, half of the current manpower of the PSNI who patrol the streets of the Six Counties were themselves members of the RUC. It is little wonder that they feel that they can act with impunity.

“Constitutional nationalist parties have created a smokescreen of cover for the PSNI to engage in widespread harassment and human rights abuses. Contrary to what those parties state, incidents such as these confirm the reality that the PSNI is merely the old RUC dressed up in new uniforms with a new name.”


http://www.eirigi.org/latest/latest291012.html

éirígí Newry Slam Benefit Appeal Hearings Move

éirígí in Newry have expressed their concern after it was revealed that benefits appeal hearings are to be moved, and will now be held in Newry Court House rather than Ballybot House.

Ballybot House is a widely used, purpose built, multi-purpose community resource centre located in the city’s Cornmarket area. A number of local people and community groups contacted the party after hearing of the move.

Commenting on the development éirígí’s Newry representative Stephen Murney said, “It can be a daunting enough experience to appear in front of a benefit appeals panel but this decision to relocate to a heavily fortified Court House will do nothing but cause additional stress and worry to many of those working class people who will be affected by this decision. The people who contacted éirígí are quite rightly concerned about the negative impact this move will have on ordinary citizens, the vast majority of whom have never entered a Court House in their lives.

“Entering a Court House is not a pleasant experience and indeed this move could be seen as a very carefully designed plan to try and deter people from appealing draconian decisions regarding their benefits. Indeed, this is very clearly a not so subtle attempt to portray those struggling to maintain their welfare entitlements as criminals.

“Those in positions of power seem to be hell-bent on using scare tactics against those who are being directly affected by the Tory/Stormont cuts. The Stormont poverty enforcers are threatening to strip people of their benefits if they refuse to do unpaid labour through the Workfare scheme and now benefits appeal hearings will be held within a fortified British Court House.”

Murney concluded, “Not only is the Stormont administration willingly implementing Tory cuts on behalf of the British government in Westminster, but now they are using heavily fortified courts as part of their anti-social programme. The extent that those responsible for this mess will go to seems to know no bounds. It appears that they will try everything and anything to prevent the sick, the disabled and the unemployed from accessing their rightful entitlements.”

http://www.eirigi.org/latest/latest261012.html

INTERNMENT BY DECEPTION

A County Tyrone republican has lashed out at the justice system in the North of Ireland after charges against him and four others were quietly dropped by Crown prosecutors this week — after more than 14 months held without bail at Maghaberry prison.

The charges against Coalisland man Kevin Barry Murphy were based on alleged forensic evidence linking him to a claimed arms find in County Armagh in April last year.

Another man, Patrick Carty from Dungannon, was also freed after the RUC/PSNI  and prosecutors abandoned claims that his fingerprints were discovered on a mortar rocket.

Relatives and friends of the two men, who packed into the public gallery at Armagh Magistrates Court, were filmed entering and leaving the court complex by Special Branch police.

Murphy was previously cleared by a court of IRA charges in 2004 after it emerged that a police informer had been used to lure him and three others to a site where a rocket launcher had been hidden.

He said he had been interned by remand [‘awaiting trial’] and denied ever being a member of the ‘Real IRA’.

“In the past I have been acquitted of being a member of that organisation,” he said.

“The important point is that for the last 14 months we have asked for the fingerprint evidence and they have failed to produce it. It is tantamount to internment by remand.

“Someone said we were guilty of something without producing the evidence. That is the strategy being used against republicans. In the eighties we had the super-grass trials, in the nineties we had shoot-to-kill and today they are using internment by remand.”

He also called for the role of the RUC/PSNI and the forensic scientists used in his arrest and detention to be examined.

“An independent body needs to look at how those who step outside the box, those who are not pro-Good Friday Agreement republicans, end up in Maghaberry,” he said.

“What happened to us is also an indictment of constitutional nationalism which has remained silent on the issue.

“It’s an indictment of the new political dispensation on policing and justice.”

The two men have spent their detention at Maghaberry prison in County Antrim, where they joined in the ongoing no-wash protest against criminalisation by other political prisoners held there.

Arms charges against three other men were also dropped this week, although they continue to be held at Maghaberry without bail.

Mr Murphy’s lawyer, Peter Corrigan said the charges had been dropped to avoid having to finally reveal the statements of evidence.

“We have been requesting the so-called fingerprint evidence from the police station from his arrest right through the proceedings,” he said.

“We initiated experts to go into the lab and that request was refused.

“All of a sudden they know we are going to see the statements of evidence and they withdraw the charges.”

He said he believed his client had been targeted for imprisonment and ‘malicious prosecution’.

“This is effectively internment by remand when you don’t produce the evidence to justify the detention,” he said.

“In light of this case we are calling for custody time limits to be brought in so the prosecution cannot do this, so they cannot delay cases without producing the evidence.

“This case is going to be referred to the police ombudsman and we will be initiating civil proceedings for malicious prosecution.”

http://www.ir-news.net/2012/10/internment-by-deception/

Internees released

Welcome home Republican Internees Kevin Murphy and Packy Carty, victims of a British campaign of evidence invention and falsification to place Irish Republicans in the hands of the British torture regime in MagHaberry gaol.

Both Kevin & Packy have been through the ongoing protest and brutal violations at the hands of the British state.They have had the clothes torn and cut from their bodies and had to run the gauntlets of the Riot squads in MagHaberry Torture camp and been beaten to the ground.

These men were Interned! .... The charges were invented to give the British Crown months and years to torture these men and others away from the public gaze.. Kevin and Packy have been released. Their Friends and comrades continue to suffer the brutality of the British Stormtroopers in the torture camp of MagHaberry and it is our duty to ensure that we redouble our efforts to support the Republican POWs within the British torture system.

Speaking following his release Packy Carty said "I've just Been released from Maghaberry Gaol after being interned by the British State for 9 months , God Bless the Republican POWs in Roe 4 who are in a living hell, i am blessed to have endured their hardships with them"

http://www.irpwa.com/2012/10/welcome...nternment.html

Upcoming POW events - Dungiven, Belfast, Newry & Dublin

In the coming weeks several events will take place in various parts of Ireland to highlight ongoing injustices endured by republican prisoners and political internees. These events are organised by the Families & Friends of Republican Prisoners in Maghaberry, the Dublin based Free Marian Price Committee and the Newry/South Armagh Republican Prisoners Support Group.

I would encourage everyone concerned to try and attend these events


F&F's have organised a white-line picket on Sunday 21st October to highlight the prisoners on protest in Maghaberry. 

This protest will coincide with the Derry county final. 

Assemble at Dungiven GAA club at 1.00 pm

All Republicans welcome.

Poster for the Belfast event on Thursday 25th October






The Dublin Free Marian Price Committee will hold a march in Dublin on the 3rd of November which will start at the garden of remembrance @ 2pm, we would encourage all who are able to attend to do so.

Victory to the Prisoners,
Beir bua!




Newry-South Armagh Republican Prisoner Support Group will be holding a white line picket on Monaghan Street, Newry on Saturday 3rd November at 2pm


This is an Independent event an is open to all Republicans


Victory To The POWS 

éirígí Slam Newry Normalisation Stunts

Recently in Newry a number of events have taken place which can only be described as an attempt to normalise the British state forces, events which have prompted local people, angered by the offensive displays, to contact éirígí.

These normalisation initiatives focused on both the British army and the British police, the PSNI.

These included a publicity stunt held in the Quays shopping centre on Saturday [October 13] in which the PSNI were put in the same light as genuine emergency services such as the fire, rescue and ambulance service.

This particular event was advertised as a ‘fun day for all the family’. For many families across Newry, their experiences of the PSNI have been far from fun. Countless citizens of Newry have endured house raids, and stop and searches at the hands of the PSNI.

Voicing the party’s anger, éirígí’s Newry spokesperson Stephen Murney said, “Saturday’s event clearly tried to portray the PSNI as a “normal” emergency service when in fact they nothing of the sort.

“In recent weeks advertisements for the British army have appeared in Newry city centre as well.”

Stephen continued, “The British army’s record in Ireland consists of murder and brutality. These tactics have also been adapted in their recent imperialist exploits in other countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq.

“Local people contacted our party and told us of their disgust that these recruitment advertisements were displayed in various parts of Newry.

“Indeed, to add further insult, one such advertisement, which depicted an armed British soldier, was displayed in Hill Street, just a few yards from the spot where three unarmed local men, Sean Ruddy (28), James McLaughlin (26) and Robert Anderson (26) were murdered in 1971 by British soldiers who shot them in cold blood.”

Murney added, “However the British army’s role in Ireland is not consigned to the past, it is very much part of the present day. British troops remain garrisoned in the Six Counties and the sinister Special Reconnaissance Regiment is on active operations here. Undercover British soldiers are currently involved in covert surveillance operations right across the North.

“éirígí will resist all attempts to normalise the presence of British forces – irrespective of whether they are British troops or British police.”

http://www.eirigi.org/latest/latest151012.html

Davy Hyland welcomes Marian Price, Gerry MCeough, Martin Corey motion

Cllr Davy Hyland response to motion submitted to Newry & Mourne District Council by cllrs P McDonald and M Murphy

The motion reads as follows: " That this council calls for the immediate release of of Marian Price, Martin Corey and Gerry McGeough. Everyone is entitled to due process. Both Marian Price and Martin Corey have been denied this. Their continued detention without trial is an infringement of their human rights and clearly undermines the justice system. their imprisonment is unjust and is in defiance of rulings by the courts in both cases. Both have been granted bail by the courts and yet remain in prison.

the arrest and continuing detention of Gerry McGeough represents  a flagrant breach by the British Government of its commitments in the Weston park Agreement woth respect to OTRs.

All three should be released immediately"



As an independent republican councillor who has been campaigning on behalf of republican prisoners and their families for some time, i very much welcome, support and endorse this motion. The basic infringement of natural rights is clearly a serious humanitarian issue and any help or support for their cause is clearly welcomed.

Martin Corey from Lurgan was released from gaol in 1992 having served 19 years and was arrested once again in April 2010 and held without trial, ie internment, ever since.

In July of this year his release was ordered by Judge Seamus Treacy who recognised that Martin’s human rights had been violated and infringed upon under article 5 of the said act. However Patterson, the British secretary of state, over ruled Treacy’s findings and insisted that the republican should remain in gaol. During the hearing it transpired that the so-called evidence against Corey was so secret that not even Justice Treacy was allowed to see it. The book of evidence given to him was an empty book with the words “the secretary of state, states that this evidence exists”, a truly colonial and imperialistic mindset if ever there was one!!!!

Patterson is now gone and his predecessor hasn’t said or done anything to the contrary and hence Martin Corey remains imprisoned, having not been charged with anything.

Marian Price from Belfast is another internee. Jailed in the 1970s she suffered from 200 days of horrific forced feeding. She has, more recently, been interned for over 500 days (1 ½ years) on a spurious charge. Having been imprisoned and isolated in an all-male prison she is now being held under armed guard in hospital suffering from pneumonia and numerous other health problems- there is a distinct possibility that this middle aged woman will die whilst in prison under the most flimsy of charges. Has Britain not learned anything from the experiences of 1981 when ten republicans lost their lives in Long kesh???

Is Britain determined to repeat the deadly mistakes of the past???

However it is really important to remember that the three named prisoners in this motion are not the only victims of the gaol scandal. In Maghaberry over 40 other republican prisoners have been forced to go on “dirty protest” fighting for political status in filthy squalid cells without the most basic of needs.

They are locked up approximately 23 hours a day, denied education, free association and all the rights associated with political status. They are still being stripped searched despite the fact that body scanners have been introduced and utilized in other prisons and yet there exists an agreement, facilitated by independent observers, that could end all of this suffering in the morning.

It was reached in August 2010 but for some strange reason David Ford reneged on it and it currently sits on the Stormont ministers desk gathering dust.

I want to finish by urging the councillors who are proposing this motion to not only use words but to follow their words with actions. No one can deny that they are a well organised party and hence they should and must mobilise their members, their support base and indeed their voters to actively protest against the injustices being inflicted upon Republican prisoners and political hostages held in British prisons.

Hopefully this motion will be supported by all within this chamber tonight and following it i would like to see a delegation of Sinn Fein, SDLP and independent councillors, and even unionist Councillors, to visit the prisoners and see at first hand the real conditions which they and their families and friends are enduring. Anyone who undertakes such a visit will come away from that prison with a much different view and interpretation of prison conditions in the six-counties.

Could i finish with a perspective from the republican prisoners themselves.....”We are currently engaged once more on a protest against conditions imposed on us that do not befit a republican prisoner of war. We cannot and will not be criminalised for actions of resistance to British rule in Ireland. The republican prison struggle has a long and turbulent history. The core and only reason there are republican POWs is British rule in Ireland. While this remains there will always be republican prisoners and until our demands are met our protest goes on”

A DAY IN MAGHABERRY By Alan Lundy.

Its 27th September about 5 o clock in the morning I am lying in my cell nervously thinking about the day ahead.

Today I am in court and with court comes the brutal, degrading and humiliating tactic of the forced strip search of Republican prisoners. This is not my first time being brought to court so I know what lies ahead. My heart beats faster and faster I can actually hear it pumping through my chest as thoughts of what I am about to receive run through my mind. I might be worried but at the same time I know I wont comply to these bitter heartless torturers.

The next few hours seem to drag in then about 7 o clock the alarm bells ring throughout the wing, they couldn't be any louder. I lift myself up into a sitting position and stretching myself out I look into corner of the cell and see last nights dinner I had thrown it there as it wasn't edible.

Looking on the floor beside my bed I see my breakfast, a small packet of Alpen and a half carton of milk, the screws had threw it into my cell the night before knowing I was for court this morning. I eat this and when finished I keep the spoon as I will need it later. I rip up the plastic container it came with and the milk carton and I throw them out the window, this procedure happens with the three daily meals, it stops them from using the containers and cutlery over and over again and it also leaves the outside of the Republican wing looking like a rubbish dump which annoys the administration as they have to pay industrial cleaners every so often to come in and clean it up.

I can hear the cleaners outside with big hoovering machines cleaning up the mess we had made by pouring the stuff threw the doors last night. I realise I had better go to the toilet quickly before they come and get me for court. The toilet consists of a sheet of newspaper on the ground and an empty half carton of milk, out the window the urine goes and onto the wall the rest of it goes. Its not a nice thing to be spreading this onto the wall first thing in the morning, not a nice thing to be doing anytime of the day but we have no other choice the administration has forced us into this position but at least today there is room to spread it, my cell was cleaned for the first time 2 weeks ago, before that the four walls were covered top to bottom with a double coat of excrement as well as the ceiling. The ceiling isn't accessible to all the prisoners as height comes into play here. To cover the ceiling it entails stacking a load of newspapers on top of the plastic chair we have or placing your brown bag of clothes on top of the chair and standing on it, it takes good balance as it is awkward but it is a good feeling knowing that the person cleaning it with the power hose will be finding it difficult to dodge the waste coming down on him from the ceiling.

Shortly after the door opens and there they stand. The riot squad. These are the hateful rats that work our landing every single day. There are four of them “shower, you're for court” one of them snarls. I walk out carrying my towel, toothbrush/paste and soapbox, one of them takes these from me and searches through the towel and box, another searches me from head to toe while the other two just stand and stare at me with hate filled eyes. The four of them walk me the short distance to the showers, two to the front of me and two behind me, this is what they call controlled movement. No other prisoner will be out on the landing while another prisoner is on it and at all times he will have four of this riot team around him.

At the showers they throw a box at my feet with a brown paper bag on top, in this box we have our clean clothes, they don’t let us wear the clothes we have in our cells when we leave the landing as they say they are contaminated.

I take my clothes out of the box and lift the brown bag, they open the steel barred grille let me in and then lock it behind me. I'm only in a few minutes when one of them shouts “hurry up the bus is here” I take my time I'm in no rush for what lies ahead. I put the clothes I had wore leaving my cell plus the towel and toiletries into the brown paper bag I walk over to the grilles the same four are standing waiting. One takes the brown bag and searches it thoroughly while another searches me again from head to toe and the other two yet again just stare with their hate filled glare. “Right use the phone” one of them says I tell him that I can't use the phone as my phone card is in my cell “not our problem” he says and I quickly realise that I wont get my 5 min phone call to my family today with that he turns to other members of the riot team who have now gathered at the reception desk "that’s him for the bus, he doesn't want the phone" they all burst out laughing. Pathetic.

Four of them again walk me the short distance to the grilles that leads me off our landing and out into to the circle, through one gate and then another a short walk to the turn-style,through it and straight onto the bus at the entrance of Roe house. The engine starts and away we go. There is a small hole in the material used to blank out the window and as we go through the two large electronically controlled gates I can see we pass the search box. The search box contains the boss chair which is a body scanner that can detect objects hidden inside ones body they put us through this on our way back from visits so why cant they just put me through it now instead of driving straight by it and on to the reception area where a body search will be forced upon me by a five strong riot team.

My stomach is in knots as the van pulls up to the reception area. I'm brought into the reception area and asked immediately if I am going to comply with the strip search. My answer is no. They put me into a small room and tell me I have 15 minutes reflection time to think about it. "I don’t need it" I say but the door slams firmly shut. During this time I am pacing up and down the small room taking deep breaths and moving my arms and wrists in circular motions to loosen them up for the attack that lies ahead. After the allotted time the door opens and a governor walks in he asks me am I going to comply with the strip search, more determined than ever I repeat "no", he asks is there anything he can do that will change my mind again I say no, "ok then" he says "I am going to order the search" and he walks out. Within seconds a five strong riot team rush through the door, one of them runs to the corner with a hand held video camera in his hand while two quickly rush me and grab my arms, they pull them straight out from my sides and twist my wrists, fingers and arms into some kind of martial art lock. A third grabs hold of my head and pushes it down to my chest whilst pushing me hard enough to force me to my knees.

Whilst on my knees my arms are outstretched in a crucifix type position and my wrists are twisted agonizingly upwards. The fourth member goes behind me and pulls my legs from the kneeling position while the third one forces my head to the floor, all the while the other two still have my arms, wrists and fingers in locks, I am now lying face flat on the floor two of the riot squad are on the ground with me still with my arms wrists and fingers in these painful locks. Again the fourth member of the team begins taking off my shoes and socks, he searches them and finds nothing, he then pulls off my jeans and underwear leaving me naked from the waist down, again he searches these and finds nothing, Then the third one lifts my head about 8 inches off the floor while the other two have my arms wrists and fingers still in locks then the one doing the stripping pulls off my t-shirt searches it and finding nothing, he throws it on top of me and the senior officer of the riot squad tells them one by one to pull out. The first to go is the one stripping me he is then followed by the one who is holding my head to the floor. This leaves three of them still in the room, one in the corner who has been videoing the whole ordeal and the other two who have my arms, wrists and fingers in locks. All of a sudden one of them starts shouting “stop resisting, stop resisting" I can't move never mind resist and at this they systematically pull my arms up outstretched behind my back. I squeal in agony, I don’t know how to explain the position I am in because I don’t think it would be humanely possible to put ones body in this shape, I think my shoulders are going to pop out, I feel my wrists are at breaking point, I am still screaming in pain when they let me drop to the floor, “don’t get up till we leave the room” one of them says. I just lie there in agony but a sigh of relief comes over me, it was over, for now.

I get myself together and get on my feet I look at the door, the hatch is open and the one who had the camera is still videoing, I get dressed and the hatch slams shut. Within a minute the governor walks into the room “have you any complaints about the search?” he asks I say it was overly aggressive and uncalled for. "I'll make a note of it" he says he leaves the room and a nurse enters “have you any injuries?” I just look at her, and she leaves. The screws at the door shout "lets go."

I walk out to the reception area and there is the riot squad standing laughing, they all stand tall as if they had just carried out something to be proud of. I just look at them smirk and turn and walk to the front door.

Out we go and into the prison van for the short journey to Laganside courts in Belfast. Once there I am brought straight down to the cells and I wait to be called. Within the hour I am brought upstairs to the courtroom. I get to sit beside three of my friends who are in the dock with me, all four of us in court on trumped up charges placed against us by the RUC. Within minutes the judge adjourns it as the so called police witnesses haven’t appeared.

I shake hands with my friends and am lead back down to the cells. I am held here for a few hours. They bring me lunch, a sandwich and a packet of crisps and then its back onto the prison van and the same short journey back to Maghaberry.

The nerves in my stomach return again. I know they are waiting on me.

Back in reception the whole brutal procedure is repeated again.

I am in agonizing pain as I am brought back to Roe 4. I am lead straight to my cell by four of the riot squad. Two in front and two behind.

The cell door slams behind me. My dinner is already sitting on the bed, freezing cold potatoes and some kind of cheese and broccoli slice. I throw it behind the door and lie down on top of the bed and think about the day I've just had. I ask myself, why do they drive past the search box with the boss chair in it?

If they put us through the boss chair leaving Maghaberry then there would be no need for these brutal forced strip-searches. Then reality kicks in, it is all about power and control. I cant help but wonder what sort of person would you have to be to go to work every day and brutalise another human being ? A sick individual is my only conclusion.

As I lie there in thought my cell door opens “anything for the duty governor” one of them says, I don’t even lift my head to acknowledge him the cell door slams shut.

Its about half 6 now time to start the nightly building of the dam to block the door for when I put the stuff out later. Some skill is needed in mastering this art but within a few days I had it sussed.

When I need to go to the toilet later I will use the plastic spoon I saved from this morning from breakfast to mix it all together until it turns into a brown nasty liquid which I will be able to pour out onto the landing.We never get to see it but I would love to see the state of the landing and the mess they have to clean up after all the lads have emptied their mix out the doors. With this done and after a little bit of reading I close my eyes and settle down for the night. Tomorrow brings a new day and although we might be locked up 23 hours a day I will get to see my friends and comrades during that little bit of exercise time. This brings a smile to my face because despite the treacherous conditions we are forced to live in despite the brutal regime we are forced to endure, the craic and the spirit couldn't be greater.

It fills me with great pride to play a small part in this phase of the prison struggle. We are more determined now than ever to see this protest through to the end and we will win. These men on dirty protest here in Maghaberry are brave men, these men are strong men but above all else these men are Irish Republicans.

Victory to the protesting prisoners in Maghaberry.

ALAN LUNDY, P.O.W
ROE 4, MAGHABERRY

éirígí picket Newry event for Ed Balls

Despite persistent rain, members of éirígí held a successful picket today outside the front entrance of the Canal Court Hotel in Newry where a business lunch was being held, attended by the British shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, Ed Balls. Those attending the lunch included ministers from all of the Stormont parties.

The protest was part of the party’s Stormont Isn’t Working campaign and was held to highlight the fact that Stormont’s failed economic agenda is designed in Britain and implemented by local politicians.

éirígí members also handed out leaflets to shoppers and other passers-by, many of whom expressed their support for the protest.

Rúnaí ginearálta éirígí Breandán Mac Cionnaith, who was present on the Newry picket-line, said, “The social and economic fabric of the Six-County state is in complete disarray and the Stormont assembly is unable to provide any meaningful or effective solutions.

“The previous economic recession of the Thatcher era during the 1980s saw unemployment in the 6 counties reach a peak of 123,500 by October 1986.

“In the intervening years, various British governments introduced no less than 13 separate measures to massage and hide the true levels of unemployment. Those measures are still being used by the Stormont coalition today to hide the extent of mass unemployment within our communities.



“Stormont’s ‘official’ statistics are heavily massaged to minimize the number of unemployed persons downwards. Those massaged figures put the number of unemployed at 71,000.

“Stormont is deliberately concealing the fact that there are another 60,000 men, women and young people who need and want work, but who are excluded from the ‘official’ count.

“Today, in the Six Counties, the scandalous reality is that there are an estimated 130,000 people seeking work.

“Almost one in four young people aged 18 to 24 are unemployed as a result of Stormont’s economic ineptitude.

“One senior economist has described the method used by Stormont for measuring unemployment as ‘unreliable’ and ‘not well regarded in the economics world’.

“Over 11,000 people recently applied for the 450 full- and part-time jobs due to be created by a large international supermarket chain in Portadown. That demonstrates just how critical the demand for employment has become.”



Mac Cionnaith continued, “In addition to unemployment, child poverty levels are also growing unabated under Stormont and the welfare reform bill will mean that the less well-off in our society will again be the hardest hit. Yet, Stormont politicians are united in a campaign to secure further tax-breaks for large businesses and multi-national companies which already make vast profits.

“It’s clear that Stormont is simply not working for ordinary people and that is the message which our party activists will be driving home over the coming weeks and months.”

Local éirígí member Stephen Murney also criticised the PSNI for attempting to harass party members participating in the picket.

He said, “The PSNI attempted to take the names and other details of party members immediately the protest commenced. Our members quite rightly refused as the PSNI could not even state the legislation under which they were seeking that information. Even when it was pointed out to the PSNI that there were no legal grounds for anyone to provide them with such details, the PSNI continued to persist in their harassment.

“It was only after one of our members phoned a solicitor and then offered the phone to the lead PSNI officer for the solicitor to inform that officer of the limitations of their powers that the PSNI backed off. At one stage, the PSNI also demanded to see the credentials of a press photographer who was covering the events both inside and outside the hotel.

“The PSNI actions once again demonstrated that political policing is still very much a reality.”

 http://www.eirigi.org/latest/latest111012_2.html