Sinn Féin has said that the handling of a strongly opposed bonfire built
by nationalist youths which led to a riot in the New Lodge area of
Belfast last week was wrong and that ‘lessons needed to be learned’.
The PSNI laid siege to the bonfire site for ten hours last Thursday, but
the operation was stymied by one youth who climbed to the top and
remained there for several hours. Having arrived in what had appeared to
be overwhelming numbers in the early morning, the PSNI eventually
withdrew as clashes with the youths began to intensify.
The bonfire, held on the anniversary of the introduction of internment
without trial of republicans in 1971, was eventually lit at midnight as
planned. In recent years, it has become associated with anti-social
activity and sectarian symbols which mimic those seen on loyalist
bonfires in July.
Coming in the week of the anniversary of very serious rioting, there was
relief that the PSNI operation, which had threatened to explode into
serious violence, had ended relatively peacefully. A claim by a PSNI
spokesperson that breakaway IRA groups were involved in the bonfire was
widely dismissed as an attempt to justify their withdrawal.
Unionists and right-wing nationalists expressed dismay at the decision
of the PSNI to withdraw after a media campaign expressed support for the
use of extreme violence by the force, regardless of the consequences.
Interviewed by Connla Young of the Irish News, one of the youths
involved said the bonfire had been an act of defiance as well as
commemoration. He stayed on top during the siege which began at 5am and
said he would have remained there until midnight.
“Republicans still need to be remembered, to this day there are still
people in jail,” he said. “I feel like I am standing up for the
republican movement, there are people who have abandoned the republican
agenda.”
He accepted there were divided opinions on the bonfire. He said it had
been constructed to avoid endangering nearby flats.
“The community does support the bonfire, I know not everyone supports
it,” he said.
But Gerry Adams insisted the bonfire was “nothing at all to do with
internment” and said any attempt to portray it as an act of republican
resistance was “total nonsense”.
Referring to those involved, the former Sinn Féin leader said: “The
hooliganism needs to stop, the thuggery needs to stop and this community
needs to be given breathing space.”
After a party document was leaked to the media, Sinn Féin denied it had
sought to manipulate tensions in the New Lodge to win votes. The
prepared document called for party members to distribute thousands of
leaflets condemning the bonfire builders’ “invasion” as part of a
vote-building campaign.
Mr Adams said he understood the rationale PSNI had given for withdrawing
from the area on Thursday, given “public safety” issues were at play.
But he said the situation should never have reached that stage and the
bonfire should not have been allowed to have been built in the first
place.
“People here deserved to be policed properly on terms which would be
acceptable,” he said. “No harm to the people of the Malone Road [a
wealthy nationalist area of Belfast], but this would not have happened
on the Malone Road.
“There are many republicans now on the Malone Road as well, but I just
couldn’t imagine anybody trying to put pallets in some of those areas.
It shouldn’t happen here in these working class neighbourhoods.”
He added: “We were part of this huge historical move and came forward to
support policing, but it has to be policing with the community, and this
should never ever happen again in the New Lodge or indeed anywhere else,
whether it is in a so-called unionist area or a republican area – this
should never happen again.”
A Derry republican has taken a video of a highly sinister attempt to
recruit him as an informer by British ‘military intelligence’ agency,
MI5.
The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, said he was approached by two
men who told him it would be advisable to contact them as it would be
“beneficial to his safety”.
He contacted Saoradh to complain after the latest approach in his car in
Galliagh. He took a video as one agent threw a mobile phone number into
his car and then slammed the car door on his foot.
The two agents walked quickly away towards a vehicle that was parked a
short distance away.
A video of the encounter has been uploaded to social media. It shows two
men dressed in civilian clothing engaging with the local republican in
his parked car.
After a brief exchange one of the men appears to drop something into the
car before closing the driver side door, and departing.
“You slammed the door on my f*****g leg,” the Derry republican can be
heard shouting.
“Are you away? Where are you going? Hi boys. Are you away? Where are you
away lads? Hoods up. Is that the type of boys you are, aye?” he can be
heard asking after briefly following the two men with his phone.
Saoradh member Paddy Gallagher said: “These types of approaches by Mi5
and British agents are becoming more and more frequent as republicanism
rebuilds across Ireland.
“The people of our communities know only to well the life of a British
informer.
“Our recent history is littered with those who turned traitor for the
scraps of the so called top table or for the British queen’s shilling;
shame on them.”
Statements issued by three republican parties to mark the anniversary of
the Battle of the Bogside, when the cause of equality crystallised into
a campaign for freedom.
Sinn Féin (Elisha McCallion MP)
To talk about the Battle of the Bogside and the intervening years it is
necessary to set it in context. And although it was before my time I
learned much about it through stories recited by those who were there
and also through my own interest in learning about the causes of the
conflict that followed. I read everything I could access about the
formation of the Civil Rights Association and the events leading up to
the Battle of the Bogside and its aftermath.
In the late 1960s, Civil Rights struggles in the US, and student
protests in France and Germany inspired those campaigning for reform and
social justice in the North of Ireland. The civil rights movement
(NICRA) was formed in the mid-60s seeking to achieve reform and demand
an end to gerrymandering, discrimination in employment and housing and
repeal of the Special Powers Act. Unionists opposed reform believing
that it would lead to a United Ireland and were and still are
instinctively opposed to the very concept of equality. This opposition
to equality may perhaps offer the best rationale for the conflict that
was about to engulf the North for the next quarter of a century.
Following the RUC attack on the Duke Street Civil Rights march on
October 5th 1968, the Burntollet ambush of the Peoples Democracy march
in January 1969, the subsequent invasion by the RUC of the St. Columbs
Well’s and in particular, the deaths of Francis McCloskey, in Dungiven,
14th July 1969 and Sammy Devenny 17th July 1969 in William Street, who
were the first fatalities of the ‘Troubles’, batoned and beaten by the
RUC, the scene was set for the Battle of the Bogside in August ’69,
The Battle of the Bogside will of course be seen first for the extensive
use of the noxious CS Gas by the RUC and was the catalyst for the
British Army deployment onto the streets of the North. As that year’s
Apprentice Boys parade passed the bottom of William Street rioting
erupted. In the ensuing battle the RUC accompanied by a unionist mob
used armoured cars and water cannon to drive the rioters back into the
Bogside.
After three days of fierce rioting the Bogside defenders eventually
succeeded in forcing the RUC, who had been reinforced by the hated
B-Specials and the loyalists out of the area. As it became obvious that
the RUC could not contain the Bogside Defenders and that Stormont was
losing control of the situation, as more nationalist areas around the
North rose in support of Derry the British Government sent its Army onto
the Streets of Derry.
In late afternoon,of August 14 the word spread that the British Army had
been deployed at William Street and the rioting had stopped. Shortly
after the British Army appeared the RUC and B-Specials were withdrawn.
The British government propaganda machine was simultaneously deployed
telling the world that it deployed troops to protect the ‘beleaguered’
civilian population. But one recurring question asked about that day, is
that if, as was reported, the British Army were brought in to protect
nationalists from unionist mobs and the sectarian RUC and B-Specials,
why were their guns pointed into nationalist areas!
It was only later that people became aware of the price that Belfast and
other areas had paid and continued to pay in the days and weeks that
followed the Battle of the Bogside. At the height of the Battle, appeals
had been made for other areas to come out and to draw the RUC away from
Derry. Calls had also been issued by various spokespersons for the
Bogside residents on the Irish Government to act.
The then Taoiseach, Jack Lynch made a television address announcing that
‘field hospitals’ would be set up in border areas. He went on to say
that: “… the present situation is the inevitable outcome of the
policies pursued for decades by successive Stormont governments. It is
clear also that the Irish government can no longer stand by and see
innocent people injured and perhaps worse.”
It’s a pity that successive Irish governments went on to not only stand
by and watch, but to actively collaborate with British governments in
attempting to criminalise the fight for Irish self-determination and
freedom.
It should be remembered that in Derry, despite the intensity of the
unrest and over a thousand casualties plus, the fact that the RUC had
used live rounds, no-one had been killed. Unfortunately it was a
different story in other areas that came out in support of Derry. In
Armagh a local man, John Gallagher was shot dead by the B-Specials
during a protest. He was the first fatality of August 1969 but in the
following two days another seven people would die.
In Belfast, after nationalist protests about the RUC actions in Derry;
vicious sectarian riots erupted and continued throughout the following
day. In Divis Street the RUC opened fire from an armoured car with a
heavy machine-gun on the Divis Flats and Towers killing a young Catholic
boy (Patrick Rooney, 9 years old) while he lay in bed.
The next day (15th August) six people were killed and countless more
injured during escalating sectarian pogroms in Belfast. Despite the
heroic efforts of a small band of IRA volunteers, dozens of families
were burned out or forced to move from their homes.
During the next quarter of a century, following the Battle of the
Bogside and the introduction of British troops onto the streets of the
North we witnessed an escalation of hostilities between Irish
Republicans and British security services and unionist paramilitaries.
Internment, Bloody Sunday, Operation Motorman where among the watershed
moments.
After many years of struggle we have now created the basis for peaceful
and democratic means to pursue our goal of National Self-Determination.
No one can seriously deny that change has been delivered and that the
Orange state of 1969 no longer exists.
But while we have progressed significantly in dismantling
gerrymandering, discrimination in employment and housing and other
areas, there is still a way to go to achieve full equality in all
aspects of life and for all sections of society.
We have new battles to fight in the context of Brexit and of course the
changing demographics and political atmosphere has put the debate on
Irish reunification squarely on the table.
So there are interesting and challenging times ahead and I encourage as
many people as possible to let their voices be heard on these important
issues which will forge the future of this island for generations to
come.
Saoradh
August 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the now infamous Battle of the
Bogside; where the people of Derry and the Bogside rose up in open
revolt against decades of blatant sectarian oppression and rampant
sectarian murder by the Occupied Six County Statelet.
In never seen before heroics, the Republican community of the Bogside
showed Stormont and the world that they would no longer bow down to them
by defending their community in open defiance.
Community leaders, residents and the youth of the Bogside and
surrounding areas, came together to defend the Bogside to ensure there
would not be anymore Sammy Devenneys; beaten to death by the armed wing
of the state, the RUC.
Little did the state know, that the open show of defiance and the hard
fought for creation of Free Derry, would be the catalyst to the rebirth
of the Republican Movement.
The young defenders of the Bogside, withstood wave after wave of attacks
by the RUC and B-Specials. Armed only with stones and later petrol
bombs, they repelled the armed might of the state.
Makeshift barricades were erected beside the Rosville Flats which were
defended not only by the youth on the ground but, also from above. From
the top of the Rosville flats debris, stones, rocks, petrol bombs and
even a sink and bath were thrown to back up their young comrades on the
ground.
Not only were the flats a good vantage point to defend the Bogside from,
they were also a fantastic asset in seeing the sectarian hoards of RUC
and B-Specials launching attacks on the community.
In photos and news footage which were printed and broadcast all over the
world, the people of the Bogside showed not only Stormont but, the
watching world that, never again would the state send in its armed
oppressors to terrorise and murder the local catholic community.
There are numerous tales of heroics by the young defenders over the
ensuing battle that took place and numerous iconic images, none more so
than the photo of a young boy wearing a gas mask and having a petrol
bomb in his hand. In this one iconic image, the state knew, as did the
world, that the Bogside and Free Derry would no longer tolerate or cow
down to the state. In fact, the state would learn that the risen people
were to be feared. They would not compromise. They would defend their
community at all costs.
From the Battle of the Bogside, a new militant Republicanism was born.
Many of those who were members of the Official IRA would break away to
form, what would be viewed as dissidents, the Provisional IRA. Many of
those who fought in the battle but weren’t members of the Official IRA
would go on and join the Provisional Alliance.
The state, through the RUC and B-Specials, fired countless rubber
bullets, countless tear gas canisters and countless live rounds at those
brave boys and girls, men and women, who not only manned the barricades
but also beat the armed wing of the state back from attacking the
Bogside and put them into full retreat.
After a hard fought victory, Free Derry was born and operated unhindered
by the state, though the state would periodically attempt to break
through the lines and invade the Bogside. It wasnt until August 1971
that Free Derry was finally breached and that was by the British Army
during operation Motorman; the introduction of Internment without trial.
Today as a monument to those who fought against the state in the Battle
of the Bogside, Free Derry Corner stands. Not only is Free Derry Corner
the pride of the Bogside, it is a reminder to the Six County Statelet
that the Republican community will never bow down to British rule,
sectarianism or the enforced border in our country.
Aontú
This week marks 50 years since British soldiers were deployed in the
north as part of ‘Operation Banner’. The troops were sent to Ireland as
Derry’s Battle of the Bogside and sectarian pogroms in Belfast and
elsewhere gathered pace.
The activities of the British Army in the six counties from 1969
included the Ballymurphy and Bloody Sunday massacres, torture of young
internees, repression of a whole section of the community and collusion
with loyalist paramilitaries that involved countless murders.
Thankfully, since the late 1990s there have been positive developments
for peace, including the withdrawal of thousands of British troops and
the end of ‘Operation Banner’. The drastic reduction in violence has
afforded young people opportunities that never existed for the previous
generation and has fostered positive cross-community relations.
For long-term peace, community cohesion and safety, demilitarisation is
essential. With the British Army’s ‘Operation Helvetic’ and British
secret service organisations continuing to be active in the north,
demilitarisation remains to be completed.
In the current climate, the British government’s rhetoric and actions
have renewed widespread concern across Irish society for relations on
this island and relations between Ireland and Britain. In recent times,
British politicians have displayed contempt for Ireland, our history and
the suffering of people. Karen Bradley, as Secretary of State for the
north, recently claimed that killings by British soldiers involved in
‘Operation Banner’ were ‘not crimes’ and that British soldiers had acted
in a ‘dignified and appropriate way’. Boris Johnson and others have
expressed opposition to the prospect of British soldiers being
prosecuted for killings such as the Bloody Sunday massacre.
With such automatic support for the British military in-grained in
powerful sections of the British political class, it is reasonable to
ask questions of the British government’s claim to be a neutral force
where Ireland is concerned.
Furthermore, as a no-deal Brexit becomes an increasingly likely
possibility, the British government has taken no constructive steps to
ensure that the north of Ireland and the border region will never again
be militarised. The British government’s position, given all of the
lessons from recent history, is beyond reckless.
There have been calls for sectarian parades to be banned from Derry
after an inflammatory display by a loyalist flute band led to three
nights of serious disorder this week.
The incident took place during the ‘Relief of Derry’ parade by the
loyalist Apprentice Boys organisation, the biggest parade of the
Protestant marching season.
In the overwhelmingly nationalist city, in which the Bloody Sunday
massacre by the British Army’s Parachute Regiment remains an open wound,
one band from County Antrim wore the insignia of the Paras on their band
uniforms.
Members of the Apprentice Boys and their supporters cheered and clapped
the Clyde Valley Flute Band across the Craigavon Bridge into the heart
of republican Derry. The PSNI police were seen to escort the band along
the route.
The long frustrated judicial process into the Bloody Sunday massacre —
which has seen cover-ups, a bogus tribunal, and a mealy-mouted Tory
apology — has recently reached the point that a single low-ranking
British soldier, ‘Soldier F’, set to face trial.
Dozens of parachute flags and banners in support of ‘Soldier F’ have
been flown in unionist area in recent weeks. It was in honour of this
soldier that his regiment’s insignia was paraded through Derry last
weekend, just yards from where he took part in the 1972 killing spree.
A small nationalist protest during the parade went ahead, and the parade
itself ended without incident. Tensions rose, however, as news of the
provocation emerged. Two petrol bombs were thrown in the vicinity of the
headquarters of the Apprentice Boys, while PSNI patrols also came under
attack from youths throwing missiles including bricks and bottles.
Up to 40 nationalists were involved in the disorder, which continued for
three nights, with a small barricade being erected and burned at Fahan
Street.
Most of the trouble happened in the streets in the vicinity of the city
walls, where dozens of loyalists also gathered alongside PSNI vehicles.
An agreement which has seen parades by the Apprentice Boys take place
without incident in recent years is now under threat. Sinn Féin MP
Elisha McCallion said the insignia displayed by the band had caused
“deep anger in the city”.
“Ahead of Saturday’s parade, assurances were given that there would be
no Parachute Regiment or Soldier F imagery involved but this agreement
was broken,” she said.
“Subsequent Apprentice Boys denials of such an agreement do not stand up
to scrutiny, and are in direct contravention of the accounts from the
PSNI and the Bogside Residents Group.”
Sinn Féin said it would be raising the incident with the Parades
Commission and the PSNI.
“The PSNI and the organisers must explain why, after giving an assurance
that no provocative symbols would not be tolerated, this band were
allowed to march on the parade,” said councillor Chris Jackson. “This is
a deliberate attempt to stir up tension and to hurt the families of the
Bloody Sunday victims.”
The Bloody Sunday Trust has said it will seek a meeting with the
Apprentice Boys of Derry.
The chair of the Trust, Tony Doherty, said the “disgraceful display of
pro-Parachute Regiment regalia” had caused unnecessary tensions and had
a negative impact on community relations.
Relatives of the victims of Bloody Sunday said the band’s display caused
great hurt.
“People are very angry about what happened,” said John Kelly, whose
brother, Michael, was killed on Bloody Sunday.
“The way we look at it, and I’m talking about the families, and the
people of Derry, we found it very, very provocative.”
The Apprentice Boys organisation only admitted that the band’s behaviour
“may have caused upset”. The DUP leader Arlene Foster also saw no need
for conciliation, simply noting that the band’s Para insignias were not
illegal and “did not tangibly threaten a breach of the peace”.
DUP MP Gregory Campbell and his party colleagues only added to tensions
when they posed for a photograph in the loyalist Fountain estate under a
banner which featured the Parachute Regiment’s logo.
Danny Morrison of the Irish Republican Socialist Party said there had
been “a new low” for the city. He described the loyalist display as
“blatant sectarian triumphalism” and “the ultimate insult to the people
in the city.”
“The organisers [of the parade] which the people of the North West
accommodate each year, have a responsibility to come forward and explain
why this was allowed to happen,” he said.
“Continuing to raise sectarian tensions is not in the interests of the
people of Derry yet political unionism and loyalism seem intent on
continuing down this path, driving a deeper wedge between community
relations.”
