inla Statement on Strabane Attack
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news report
Friday November 01, 2002 12:19
by pat c - Republican Socialist Press Office
DublinIRSP at hotmail dot com
4 Cavendish Row Dublin 1, Ireland
01 8735620,
inla Statement on Strabane Attack 21 October 2002 The following statement has been received by the IRSP from the inla in relation to the shooting incident in Carlton Drive (Strabane), 15 October 2002
inla Statement on Strabane Attack
21 October 2002
The following statement has been received by the IRSP from the inla in relation to the shooting incident in Carlton Drive (Strabane), 15 October 2002
We have noted the spurious and disingenuous statements coming from some quarters in the media about the shooting of Collie Barr. We have taken the unusual step of issuing this statement through a circular in order the clarify the inla position on the matter even thought the dogs in the street DO know the reason behind the attack on this person, which have been well documented in the press. To claim that the attack was the result of a personal vendetta by "elements" is ridiculous in the extreme and an outright lie.
Since 1996 this individual has played a central role in attacks on the Republican Socialist Movement in the Strabane area. He was involved in a catalogue of events since 1996, such as:
Behind the graffiti writing attacking the IRSP in 1996
Behind the painting of a death threat on a wall naming an IRSP member in 1997
Behind the slashing of tyres of IRSP members cars in 1997
Issuing threats, including death threats, against members of the IRSP and their families in 1998
Encouraging others to start fights with members of the IRSP
Along with some of his cronies attacking members of the IRSP with hurley sticks in 1997
Using his influence with one of his cronies to intimidate an IRSP member's family with a weapon on two occasions in 1997
Attempting to get some members of the Republican Movement to attack IRSP members thus creating a feud type situation
Behind a campaign of black propaganda, lies and innuendos against IRSP members
Behind a campaign of black propaganda, lies, innuendos and intimidation against some former members of the Carlton Drive Community Association from 1996 to 1999 which led to the eventual collapse of the Association in 1999
Using his influence with the now disbanded Carlton Drive Republican Youth to carry out his personal vendetta against the IRSP
Using his cronies to carry out the burning of IRSP members cars along with that of SDLP member Eugene McMemamin in 2002
Openly threatening to burn another IRSP member's car and scoffing to members of the IRSP about the burning of the cars
Circulating a letter demonising a leading member of the IRSP with lies and false innuendos, the same letter was also posted to loyalist areas which included the personal movements of the IRSP member calling on loyalists and others to kill him and not to worry if his then 18 month old child "gets in the way", meaning the death of the child
Spreading malicious and untrue rumours about the IRSP including pointing the finger at the inla for burning Eugene McMemamin's car and the graffiti about McMemamin when in fact his influence led to these two incidents in 2002.
This individual created the illusion that all of the above was carried out at the behest of the Republican Movement thus heightening tensions within Republican factions, the community and the media. The inla met with the IRA on a number of occasions down throughout the years about this man's activities and have repeatedly asked for his status, i.e. was he a member of the IRA or SF or any other Republican grouping or if the Republican Movement were supporting him in his campaign of demonisation and physical attacks on IRSP members. No answer was forthcoming on his status.
Furthermore this man was under investigation, which is still ongoing, by the inla as to his links, if any, with the RUC Special Branch. Again during a number of meetings this year with the IRA at local level, his status was again asked for as the inla had identified him and a number of others who were behind the burning of IRSP members' cars.
All those identified left the country including Collie who later came back after mistakenly believing that he could get away with his activities. After he came back the inla bypassed the local leadership of the IRA and asked the national leadership of the IRA for this man's status. After several weeks the IRA leadership stated that this individual was not and is not a member of the Republican Movement.
This man was given repeated warnings down throughout the years to his face by the inla about his actions, some of which were delivered to him in the presence of other Republicans of his choosing, and of the consequences he would face if he refused to desist. Action would have been taken much earlier against this individual except for the mistaken belief by the inla that he was either connected to the IRA or SF as it has been and still remains the policy of the inla not to attack members of other Republican groupings.
Collie Barr has only himself to blame and we now take this opportunity to strongly advise him and his cronies to discontinue his personal vendetta against the IRSP or face further repercussions.
We would also like to take this opportunity to dismiss all media speculation of feuds as wishful thinking and pure media hype.
-- Statement Ends --
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Comments (19 of 19)
Jump To Comment: 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1What do we do in the case of sexual crimes within anarchist communities?
rape, assault, paedophilia?
what do we do when guests leave syringes in beds?
We don´t go to the police.
now one of the problems we have with the police are the characters that become police. the same with prison warders.
I suspect it is often the same with "paramilitary" police as well.
These are difficult questions for anarchists.
And this isn´t the right place to discuss them.
But it seems to me one community is discussing its policy of "auto-policing", even if its means are repugnant to me, (I don´t like seeing guns, and the last time was by a cockney gangster in ´99 who quite quickly without police help busted our squat) but the question remains as I put it no? how do we police ourselves in extreme cases?
i might not be a good drummer but i can squawk many a loyalist ditty.
"if guns were meant for shooting,
then rifles were meant to crack.
i've never seeen a better taig
than with a bullet in his back."
Written by the late lamented John McKeague, Loyalist & paedophile. Executed by the INLA 30 January 1982.
Inside the head of an anarchist is bit scary. Although probably not as scary as meeting Pat in a dark alley while carrying a Lambeg drum
Here we see an exchange between an IRSP/INLA republican and another of the Ireland Indymedia family. The issue is the use of violence.
Now I do not want to get involved in this particular issue (I suspect like many many others of the Irish indymedia family) but something has been troubling me for years, it is not news, therefore I can´t post a newswire article on it, but it is a "community" issue.
If we argue against "state violence", if we call for the end of "police and security force entity" "intimidation and persecution" of activists around the world we do so as "enlightened pacifists and thinking anarchists" [I´m talking about anarchists here]
However what happens when one of a community "goes out of line"?
Today I´m thinking about pension plans and old people, Tony O´Reily posted a "Zen budhism world solution" thing yesterday, that reminded me of the plight of many old anarchists.
If you will permit tell you a story.
In the 1990´s mostly in England but in Wales and Ireland as well, many road / development projects were faced by occupationist protesters. Activists went and lived on site and up trees to give direct action resistance against enviromental destruction and all it entailed. These protests were amongst the most important roots of "Reclaim the Streets!" I knew many of those protesters and one a man in his fifties by the turn of the century was still living in occupied housing in an anarcho-collective community in London. He had through years of "criminalisation" lost his "papers", "social security numbers" all those little things that help "normal life". Nothing strange in that, many anarchists become used to such. However one night at one of the free parties in London, [raving events which many will know are also important to the RTS movement] he "lost the plot". Free parties are "free" they are "self-policed", anarchists choose to be "peer-responsive" if there is a problem with someone´s behaviour we deal with it ourselves. That night a man who had earned great respect amongst many of his peers, on "losing the plot" almost killed another. This caused us great problems. What were we to do? The worst that can happen to an old anarchist is to be ostracised from his community. But it brings me (as rambling as always) to a question, if there are some who do not wish to see police forces ascribed or devolved moral and political authority to "judge wrongdoing and apply summary ´justice´" then how do we do it?
The most difficult aspects of anarcho-syndicalist social organisation seem to be such problems.
Now I don´t want to get involved in the "INLA/IRSP SF/IRA punishment issues" but they seem to me to skirt around issues of vital importance to all of us. IF a community does not accept a state´s police force, then how should it "police" itself?
I recall on many ocassions in occupied houses in Europe where I have had the privelage of being an assembly member the recurrent problems of "rule-breakers", the thieves, those who use hard-drugs in "non-hard-drug tolerant houses" and also many other types of anti-social behaviour. I recall with regret seeing people as "fucked up" as anyone else thrown out on to the street, I recall wondering to what ultimate point would violence when used in these circumstances serve. The communities within which I have lived have often been subject to attack by fascist elements. I often wondered was violence a justifiable response?
When I write or speak or "preach" as the intellectual I of course always pursue the "pacifist" line. Violence begets violence. I know that many of my anarchist comrades and perhaps myself would have for reason of our involvment in "free parties" "raves" and "drug decriminalisation issues" have found ourselves on the "anti-social behaviour lists".
Indeed the London fascists who killed our animals might have done so thinking they were protecting their communtities from "anti-social" behaviour by "foreign drugged up punks".
As an intellectual we can adopt many comfortable viewpoints on such conflicts, but really it isn´t very comfortable is it?
.....sorry for adding my little bit here.
It certainly sounds as if certain people here have mistaken ideas on a great many things, particularly accusations of the INLA selling drugs and being involved in feuds.
No serving member of the INLA has ever been arrested, charged, or convicted on drug offences. Members of the IRSP and the INLA are known anti-drug activists, and earlier this year two senior members of the IRSP were invited to participate in a major anti-drug event in Dublin sponsored by a coalition of over 40 community groups.
The feud accusation has no basis in reality. On three occasions the IRSM has come under attack from counter-revolutionaries and/or those doing the dirty work of the British state.
jesus, but i am sick of the juvenilia that passes for sarcasm on indymedia.
do you support the loyalist attacks on taigs?
do you believe people have the right to defend themselves from attacks by loyalist fascists?
or are you a typical imc pseudo pacifist pro imperialist?
Hypocrisy - the art of condemning murder on one side committed by a specific organisation without condemning the brutal system of the world every time you open your mouth. This must mean you support the latter violence.
The innocents murdered by the world's imperialism are clearly very supportive of the INLA. Many's the time I have heard of slaves in plantations, prisoners in concentration camps, residents of refugee camps say "if only we had the INLA in our part of the world fighting for a unified socialist Ireland, keeping drugs of our streets and fighting against those pesky loyalists."
"tell that to the relatives of the dead innocen"
you tell it to the countless thousands of victims of imperialism.
"its hard to believe that you actually try and justify the INLA's record"
i dont. there are many actions of the inla which i could not defend. but they pale in comparsion with the atrocities carried out by imperialism.
now run away home to mammy you hypocrite
The activities of the INLA was "the defensive violence of the oppressed" - what a complete load of bollox - tell that to the relatives of the dead innocent, most of the time you just killed each other in feuds and built up a criminal empire - if thats the defensive violence of the oppressed then I'm Willy Wonka, bloody hell, its hard to believe that you actually try and justify the INLA's record.
"No I'm not, I'd be happy to watch you and your scumbag mates have your heads kicked in, (from behind a two way mirror of course "
typical of the craven imc hypocrites. you support imperialist violence but attack the defensive violence of the oppressed. you even believe stateviolence should be used against those you disagree with.
you won't take up the issue of imperialism because you are incapable of rational argument.
"you are typical of the pseudo pacifists of imc, you only condemn those who use reactive violence"
No I'm not, I'd be happy to watch you and your scumbag mates have your heads kicked in, (from behind a two way mirror of course - you'd probably come after me, sell me drugs, rob them back off me, burn my house, kill my cat, have sex with my hamster, and bury me alive - what you and you mates call legitimate political activity, or a typical Friday night out). And please spare us the "imperialism of the world" jargon crap - your politics are still up your arse.
the real hypocrisy is your failure to refer to the amount of people killed throughout the world by imperialism in the same period.
but you are typical of the pseudo pacifists of imc, you only condemn those who use reactive violence.
you still haven't explained how you speak on behalf of the irish people. perhaps you look into your gall bladder?
"How dare I speak on behalf of the country" - I know, what a scandal.
What is more of a scandal is that a load of thugs calling themselves the Irish National Liberation Army used to go around claiming to act in the interests of the nation and the working classes brutally killing and mutilating people, (invariably from their own side) and running crime rings etc etc etc. How dare I....the hyprocracy would be almost comical if it werent for the fact that so many were killed.
so now dave d speaks on behalf of everyone in ireland? what does he do? look inside his heart? certainly not his brain.
"irrelevant fool" - sorry I forgot that the INLA were the most relevant, wise and enlightened organisation in the country, how stupid of me. Bloody hell, everybody in ireland thinks they're a gang of gobshites. Defending the common man - yeah right.
What a pathetic statement issued by the worst kind of mindless thugs. Who the fuck do they think they are? You are all assholes and should be locked up to rot for the rest of your lives.