IRSP Condemns Today's Raids and Arrests in Strabane

national | rights, freedoms and repression | press release Thursday April 13, 2006 02:22 by Hannes - Irish Republican Socialist Party

Continuing attempts to criminalise party will be a failure.

The IRSP members and comrades were raided by the RUC in Strabane. The IRSP condemns this intimidation and will continue building solidarity and resistance!

The Irish Republican Socialist Party utterly condemn this morning’s raids on the homes of party personnel and the subsequent arrests of party members in Strabane.

We view these raids and arrests as nothing more than the latest in a line of intimidation against IRSP members that stretches back to November 2005 when a series of similar raids took place. We believe that these raids are an attempt to placate unionism and are being used by the RUC/PSNI to justify similar raids against criminals operating under the banner of loyalism.

The Irish Republican Socialist Movement are not involved in crime, the opposite is the case, members of the INLA recently distrupted two drugs gangs in Derry and Strabane. The INLA also dismantled two separate gangs who were targeting homes and business premises in Inishowen. The record of the IRSM speaks for itself in relation to crime and criminality. We oppose it whilst the RUC/PSNI see crimes and criminality as opportunities to turn young criminals into paid informers against their communities.

It is significant that these actions by the RUC/PSNI come as the Republican Socialist Movement prepares to commemorate ten young republicans who fasted to the death in the face of being labeled criminals by the British and their lackeys. The republicans of 1981 would not accept that label and twenty-five years on the republicans of 2006 will not accept that label.

We are confident that nothing will come from today’s arrests other than media headlines inspired by a discredited RUC/PSNI.

Recently the IRSP in Counties Derry and Tyrone have come under close scrutiny from the state’s “new” police force. We are continually told that there is a new dispensation when it comes to policing, we have seen that today, they have new emblems and a new name, that’s it. The same anti-republican attitude still exists within this discredited force. We are certain that they will uncover no evidence whatsoever in relation to money laundering or any other crime simply because the IRSP are not involved in any of this activity. We cannot be any clearer than that.

IRSP Spokesperson Yvonne Dalton

ENDS