The dismaying case of Tony Taylor

Posted by Jim on September 23, 2017

by Jude Collins (judecollins.com)

 

If you drive around the north of Ireland you’re sure to come across one
of the signs: three words that test our notion of democracy. They are
‘FREE TONY TAYLOR’.

Tony Taylor is in prison because the former Secretary of State Theresa
Villiers thinks it’s a good idea that he should be. “His early release
from prison under the Good Friday Agreement has been revoked” is a more
official way of putting it but it amounts to the same thing. Which is
internment.

Decades ago, in the 1950s, internment was seen as part of the state’s
machinery. We lived in a unionist-controlled state, so of course they
were going to put in prison anybody they thought had a face that didn’t
fit. People who were Irish language enthusiasts, people who were active
members of the GAA, people who just happened to live in a strongly
republican area. Into prison they went, and they came out only at Her
Majesty’s pleasure.

Then we had internment in the 1970s, and the nationalist population had
become sufficiently bold to see that internment didn’t have to be as
inevitable as the weather, that if the government could shove into jail
anyone they selected with no questions asked, we were living in a …what?
Police state? Corrupt state? Call it what you will but nationalists and
republicans in the 1970s made their feelings about internment clear.

Tony Taylor is a member of the Republican Network for Unity. That means
he doesn’t think much of the political line adopted by Sinn Fein. On
Friday, after a visit to Maghaberry prison, the Mayor of Derry City and
Strabane District Council Maoliosa McHugh has declared his support for
the release of Tony Taylor. So too have Sinn Fein’s Raymond McCartney,
Martina Anderson and Elisha McCallion.

That’s good. Although it’s a pity that eighteen months had to pass
before protest at Taylor’s detention should assume a markedly higher
profile.

Taylor’s case is one that tests our commitment to democracy. It’s safe
to say his thinking would be different from, even contrary to that of
most nationalists and republicans. But that’s exactly the point. If we
only agitate for rights in the case of those who agree with us, we’re
behaving in a way that says “I’m all for democracy but for my lot only –
the others can look after themselves.”

There are a lot of people – not all unionists – who would say there’s no
smoke without fire, Theresa Villiers must have had good security
information to decide to intern Taylor. Except that’s not how justice
works. You put people in jail when you’ve evidence that they’ve done
wrong – evidence that stands up in court, is robust enough to withstand
scrutiny. If Theresa Villiers or the justice system doesn’t have such
evidence, then Tony Taylor, like the rest of us, is innocent until
proved guilty.

Our shame should be that it took so long for his case to receive support
at an official level.