Posted by Jim on May 20, 2017
By Gerry Adams (for Leargas)
We remembered with pride Bobby Sands and Francis Hughes, who died on hunger strike in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh in 1981. At the weekend the anniversaries will occur of Raymond McCreesh and Patsy O’Hara. And in July and August we will celebrate the lives, sacrifice and courage of other six hunger strikers who died 36 years ago; Joe McDonnell, Martin Hurson, Kevin Lynch, Kieran Doherty, Tom McElwee and Mickey Devine.
I was reminded of all of this as I read the An Phoblacht/Republican News
from July 18th 1981. The paper is a miniature copy that the Sinn Fein
POW department and the AP/RN staff produced for smuggling into the
H-Blocks and Armagh and to other prisons. The miniatures were four
inches by six. They were printed on thin paper to make it easier for
them to be concealed for smuggling. The July 18th edition had the one
word ‘Sadness’ over three photos. One was a picture from Martin Hurson’s
funeral and the other two were of Martin and of Joe McDonnell. This
edition of the paper was reporting on their funerals. It also carried a
profile of Kevin Lynch who was to die three weeks later.
In 1995, on my first visit to South Africa, I met former ANC prisoners
who told me of their experience of hunger strike and of their admiration
for Bobby Sands and his comrades. The hunger strike as a means of
protest has a long tradition in Ireland and especially among Irish
political prisoners in English prisons. But as in South Africa it has
also been used in other places.
Two and a half thousand miles away there are over one thousand
Palestinian political prisoners in the fifth week of a mass hunger
strike in Israeli prisons. Entitled, ‘Freedom and Dignity’ their hunger
strike reflects much that is similar with the 1981 hunger strike,
especially in the response of the British and Israeli states.
In a letter I received from Marwan Barhouti, the imprisoned Palestinian
leader who is leading the hunger strike, he says: “Palestinian prisoners
have always suffered from injustice and violations of their rights. But
in recent years Israeli occupation authorities have ever deprived us of
rights acquired through prior hunger strikes.”
The Palestinian hunger strike is about the inhumane treatment of and the
appalling physical conditions currently being endured by Palestinian
political prisoners in Israeli prisons. It is also has its roots in the
all-pervasive oppression of the Palestinian people by the Israeli state;
the poverty and deprivation that is the daily experience of
Palestinians; the military raids; the theft of Palestinian land and
water; the separation Bill, and the construction of illegal settlements.
I know from my own visits to the west Bank and Gaza in recent years that
there is a deep sense of despair, helplessness in the face of an Israeli
state that Europe and the USA refuse to stand up and hold to account by
international laws. As a result there is a lack of hope, and lots of
anger, especially among young people, and there is huge frustration
within the Palestinian refugee camps, the Gaza Strip and the west Bank.
Currently there are six and a half thousand Palestinians held I Israeli
prisons. Approximately 300 of these are children. 53 are women and
nearly 550 are being held under what the Israeli’s like to call
administrative detention – in effect internment without trial. According
to Addameer, the Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association more than
800,000 Palestinians have been imprisoned or detained by Israel in the
last 50 years.
The conditions under which the prisoners are held are appalling. Torture
has been documented. Addameer has reported the case of Arafat Jaradat
who died six days after he was arrested by the Israelis in 2013. The
post mortem showed he had six broken bones in his spine, neck, arms and
leg. He died of cardiac arrest.
The hunger strike among the prisoners, as well as some former prisoners
on the outside of the prisons, has already seen one Palestinian hunger
striker, Mazan al-Magrebi, die. The prisoners are protesting the mass
incarceration of Palestinian people by the Israeli authorities as well
as the serious deterioration of prison conditions. The prisoners are
seeking basic demands, including access to books, newspapers and
clothes, and the resumption of bi-monthly family visits. They are also
seeking the installation of air conditioning in prisons where summer
temperatures can regularly be over 40 degrees centigrade; an end to the
extensive use by the Israeli Penal Service of solitary confinement and
access to study and educational facilities, including exams.
Several months ago the worsening crisis in the region saw the United
States and Israel succeed in having a United Nations report entitled:
Israeli Practices towards the Palestinian People and the Question of
Apartheid – withdrawn after just two days.
The report was published in March by the United Nation’s ‘Economic and
Social Commission for Western Asia’ (ESCWA). It examines the practices
and policies of Israel with regard to the Palestinian people in its
entirety. It concludes that ‘Israel has established an apartheid regime
that dominates the Palestinian people as a whole. Aware of the
seriousness of this allegation, the authors of the report conclude that
available evidence establishes beyond a reasonable doubt that Israel is
guilty of policies and practices that constitute the crime of apartheid
as legally defined in instruments of international law.’
The report draws heavily on international law and specifically refers to
the definition of apartheid in article II of the International
Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid.
It defines apartheid as; ‘… inhuman acts committed for the purpose of
establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons
over any other racial group of persons and systematically oppressing
them.’
An Israeli spokesperson described it as “despicable and constitutes a
blatant lie,” while the Israeli Foreign Ministry likened the report to
Nazi propaganda. The head of ESCWA, Rima Khalaf, resigned rather than
withdraw the report.
All of this amounts to an escalating crisis in a region which has known
little else. Some Palestinian leaders, exasperated and outraged by the
Israeli stance, and speaking about a possible intifada, have said there
is an onus on the United Nations, and all those genuinely interested in
peace in that region, to speak out against Israeli aggression.
Just over two years ago a Sinn Fein motion calling on the Irish
government to formally recognise the state of Palestine received
unanimous support in the Dail. The Irish government has refused to take
that necessary diplomatic step. Sinn Fein will raise this issue this
week in the Dail. In the meantime, there are a growing number of
protests in support of the Palestinian hunger strikers taking place
across the island. Support them if you can. Organise protests if you are
able. In words that resonate with those of Bobby Sands, Marwan in his
letter writes: “Some believe that this is the end of the story, that II
will perish here in solitary confinement. But I know, even in this
forced solitude, that we are not alone. I know millions of Palestinians
and many more around the world stand with us.”
36 years ago the hunger strikers and the political prisoners in the
H-Blocks and Armagh Women’s prison were uplifted by reports of
international solidarity. Let’s send our Palestinian brothers and
sisters a message of hope and support and solidarity. Victory to the
Hunger Strikers.
Posted by Jim on
A loyalist bonfire group has said unionists will never remove any flag
“at the behest of Sinn Fein/IRA” after the party complained about flags
erected near Belfast City Airport.
Sinn Fein councillor Mairead O’Donnell had called on unionist
politicians to “act urgently” after unionist paramilitary and Union Jack
flags were erected at the entrance to Sydenham train station. They are
one of the first sights to greet visitors using the station.
In a statement on Facebook, Sydenham Bonfire group said the flags “will
always fly in East Belfast”.
“We have one of Sinn Fein’s new agitators poking their nose into
unionist areas of East Belfast. This will not be tolerated and it is
quite conceivable that many more flags will now be erected to send a
strong message to Sinn Fein,” they said.
They added: “The unionist community of East Belfast will never remove
any flag at the behest of Sinn Fein/IRA.”
The same group held a provocative “fun day” on the day of the funeral of
Sinn Fein leader Martin McGuinness earlier this year.
Ms O’Donnell said: “The display of loyalist flags, including a
paramilitary emblem, is deliberately provocative and intimidatory,
particularly to nationalists who regularly use this line.
“Given the enormous efforts and resources that we expend on attracting
tourists and business people to our city, this sectarian display also
sends out an entirely wrong and negative message to these visitors.
“I would urge unionist politicians in East Belfast to speak out against
this sectarian behaviour and to act urgently to have these flags
removed.”
The PSNI police said they would not intervene. A spokesperson said: “The
removal of flags is not the responsibility of the PSNI and police will
only act to remove flags where there are substantial risks to public
safety.”
UDA flags have also appeared in a mixed area of Glengormley in north
Belfast. The flags were put up overnight at the same time Sinn Fein
election posters were also ripped down in the area.
Local Sinn Fein representative Gerry Kelly said it was another attempt
to intimidate.
“I would call on community representatives and other political parties
to call for the removal of the flags. This attempted intimidation will
not work but does raise tensions in the area as we approach the marching
season.”
Posted by Jim on
The Gaelic Athletics Association has been accused of ignoring the
anniversary of the murder of one of their senior officials 20 years ago
as they attempt to curry favour with the British establishment.
County Derry GAA official Sean Brown was abducted by a loyalist death
squad as he locked the gates at the Bellaghy Wolfe Tones club 20 years
ago yesterday.
He was taken to a country lane outside Randalstown in County Antrim
where he was shot six times. His remains were found beside his burning
car. No-one has ever been charged in connection with his death.
The Brown family and many nationalists suspect there was British Crown
force collusion in the attack.
Speaking on the anniversary, Mr Brown’s son Damian said his family have
been “greatly heartened” by support at GAA club level in Bellaghy and
elsewhere — but feel let down by the association’s leadership.
“In terms of the GAA we have had a lot of support from the grass roots
level in the north, but active involvement from the GAA at provincial
and national level would be at a minimum and has been lacking up to this
point,” he said.
“We are disappointed at the level of support we have received.”
The GAA was criticised earlier this year when they invited the British
Direct Ruler James Brokenshire to the Dr McKenna Cup final in Newry. In
a public insult to the organisation, the Tory MP then refused to take
his seat until after the Irish national anthem was played.
So far, Brokenshire has refused to make funds available for an inquest
into the killing.
Mr Brown said it was “scandal” that a full inquest has yet to be held.
To date the family has attended almost 30 coroner court hearings linked
to the case. It is one of dozens being held up due to what is claimed to
be a lack of resources.
The Brown family lawyer, Kevin Winters, said his case is one of several
being considered in the High Court over delays.
“We have written to the coroner and families are still waiting,” he
said.
“Yet again families have to resort to the courts to get access to
information about the case.”
The PSNI police has also come in from criticism over delays in
disclosing documents.
In 2015 chief constable George Hamilton was ordered to attend a
coroner’s court to explain why police were refusing to hand over a
report to Mr Brown’s family.
Paul O’Connor from the Pat Finucane Centre, which provides support to
the Brown family, said delays in getting the inquest up and running are
unacceptable.
“It is truly shocking that this family have had to attend so many
hearings and they are having to fight for justice,” he said.
“This case could have been resolved many, many years ago had there been
a proper investigation at the time.”
Mr O’Connor said questions still hang over the ability of the killers to
drive Mr Brown past Toome police barrack, which was on the main road
between Belfast and Derry and was regularly used by the Crown forces to
set up checkpoints.
“For the family it’s one of the absolute key questions,” he said.
Posted by Jim on
The DUP is under intense pressure to reveal the source of a large
donation received during the referendum on Britain’s EU membership last
June.
In February of this year, the DUP confirmed that it received a donation
of more than half a million euro from a group of business people led by
a Scottish Conservative party member, the ‘Constitutional Research
Council’ (CRC). It passed almost all of it on to help fund the
pro-Brexit campaign in Britain.
Two days before the Brexit referendum last June, the Metro freesheet in
London and other British cities came wrapped in a hugely expensive,
four-page glossy propaganda supplement urging readers to vote Leave.
It was paid for by the DUP, even though Metro does not circulate in
Ireland.
The Metro wraparound cost a staggering 282,000 pounds (330,000 euro) –
thought to be the biggest single campaign expense in the history of
Irish politics. It dwarfs the 90,000 pounds (106,000 euro) the DUP
spent on its entire campaign for the previous month’s assembly
elections.
The DUP eventually admitted that this spending came from the donation
of 425,622 pounds (530,000 euro). It has repeatedly refused to
identify who provided the cash originally.
It is thought that the party was used as a front because, unlike
Britain, there is no legal requirement for large party donations in the
North of Ireland to be made public.
There are possible links between the cash and the Saudi Arabian royal
family and the Saudi intelligence service through the head of the CRC,
former Scottish Conservative parliamentary candidate Richard Cook.
Efforts to unearth the original source of what Sinn Fein describe as
‘dark money’ have been rebuffed by both the DUP and the CRC.
The DUP’s Brexit campaign manager, Jeffrey Donaldson, has said that the
party did not need to know the true source of the money, a statement
which appeared in violation of electoral law.
Mr Donaldson has also said that he couldn’t remember why his party
choose to spend more than 32,000 pounds during the Brexit campaign on a
controversial data analytics company linked to Donald Trump.
It paid 32,750 pounds to Aggregate IQ, a data analytics company based in
British Columbia, Canada, according to accounts filed with the Electoral
Commission. This money was to target voters on social media during the
Brexit referendum campaign.
It is still unclear why the DUP decided to spend an amount more than
half its budget for the 2015 general election with a little-known data
analytics company in Canada, and Donaldson has provided no answers.
The firm has very close ties to Cambridge Analytica and hedge fund
billionaire and Donald Trump-backer Robert Mercer. Cambridge Analytica
has also been linked to the use of ‘big data’ psychological programming
techniques to help swing the US presidential election in Trump’s favour.
Speaking on BBC’s The View, Arlene Foster said the controversy was an
attempt to distract from “real issues”
She claimed she knew who the source donors were — British businessmen,
she said — but refused to identify them. She said she was “satisfied
that the people who gave it had every right to give the donation”.
“We have answered all the questions the Electoral Commission have asked
us. It is satisfied we have done everything in accordance with the law
and I am satisfied,” she said.
Sinn Fein has met with the Electoral Commission to discuss the unusual
donation and campaign spending.
“Most of the money, 282,000 pounds, was spent in London where the DUP have no
presence, on a pro-Brexit wrap-around in the Metro freesheet,” said
former Sinn Fein finance minister Mairtin O Muilleoir.
“Putting this in context that was more than three times the amount spent
by the DUP in last May’s Assembly election,” he added.
“The Constitutional Research Council has no legal status, publishes no
membership list, has no public presence and has failed to make public
where it got the money,” said Mr O Muilleoir.
The party’s election candidate in west Belfast, Paul Maskey, said there
are “serious public concerns” about the donation.
“With allegations of involvement of individuals linked to Saudi Arabian
intelligence it is vital that the public gets answers as it is illegal
to receive election donations from a foreign government,” he said.
Posted by Jim on May 18, 2017
Enda Kenny has announced that he will step down as leader of the Fine
Gael Party, effective at midnight, but will continue to fill the
position of Taoiseach until June.
In a statement, Kenny said:
“Last year I indicated that I would not lead the Fine Gael Party into
the next General Election. I have decided to implement that decision
from today. Therefore I will retire as Leader of Fine Gael effective
from midnight tonight 17th May 2017.
“I will continue to carry out my duties as Part Leader in an acting
capacity, until my successor is elected through the Fine Gael Leadership
Election process.
“I have asked that the Fine Gael Executive Council expedite this process
and to have it concluded by close of business on Friday 2nd June.”
His move averts a heave by senior Fine Gael ministers amid increasing
concern over the paralysis in the administration he cobbled together
with the support of Fianna Fail following the general election in May
2016.
The move had been widely telegraphed last month amid an overt political
and media campaign to burnish his reputation, particularly in regard to
a self-styled ‘diplomatic triumph’ over the Brexit negotiations.
Mr Kenny said he would remain in place as Taoiseach for a “brief but
appropriate period”. It is understood he will continue to draw the
salary of Taoiseach at least into June, following a planned ‘lap of
triumph’ tour to include a visit to Canada.
The announcement brings to an end years of speculation about his
departure. He became the longest-serving Fine Gael Taoiseach in April
2017.
However, it finally clears the way for leadership hopefuls Minister for
Social Protection Leo Varadkar and Housing Minister Simon Coveney to
launch their campaigns to take over the party and become Taoiseach.
Mr Kenny paid special tribute to his wife Fionnuala, children and
siblings “for their understanding of my work, and indeed for accepting
the many intrusions of politics into family life in the interest of
building our country”.
Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams wished wish Enda Kenny and his family
well. “It will be a big a change in all of their lives,” he said.
“He and I disagree on many political issues, but I acknowledge that he
did his best from his perspective. From Sinn Fein’s perspective, this
was not good enough.
“In 2011, Mr Kenny came to power with the largest majority in the
history of the state. He promised a democratic revolution. Six years on
and his political legacy is dominated by crisis, chaos, and chronic lack
of accountability.
“There is an ongoing and unprecedented crisis in housing and
homelessness. The health service is in chaos and there is the deep
crisis in policing and justice.
“The government’s strategy for dealing with the challenge of Brexit,
acknowledged as the greatest threat to the economies of this island in
generations, is deeply flawed.
“There also a clear lack of affinity with the North and a clear lack of
consistent strategic engagement on the process of change that is
required to sustain the political institutions.
“This is a do-nothing government courtesy of the confidence and supply
arrangement with the government’s partner in Fianna Fail.
“The reality is that so-called new politics, led by Mr Kenny and the
Micheal Martin, isn’t new at all. As a result, there is a deep paralysis
in the body politic.
“The reality is that Fine Gael, no matter who leads them, are firmly
wedded to the policies that cause so much hardship in the daily lives of
ordinary people.
“That will not change under Leo Varadkar, Simon Coveney or any other
contender. We need a change of government, not just a change of
Taoiseach.”