Britain Still Jailing Without Trial

national | rights, freedoms and repression | news report

Saturday July 26, 2008 13:20

by éirígí

press at eirigi dot org

37 years ago, the doors of working class nationalist homes across the Six Counties came crashing down as the British government's armed thugs went on the offensive in defence of the Stormont junta.

Britain Interns the Innocent

Fearful of the resurgent popularity of the freedom struggle and the example set by the civil rights movement, Brian Faulkner set out to break the nationalist people with one of the most draconian weapons at his disposal - internment.

By August 1971, internment without trial had been used by the Stormont regime in every decade of its existence. Like the return of British troops to Irish streets in 1969, putting people in internment camps was designed to shore up British rule in the Six Counties.

Hundreds of Irish citizens were carted off to torture centres, one of the most infamous being Palace Barracks, and on to prison camps as the world looked on aghast.

Working class nationalist communities met the latest outrage of the occupation with tenactiy and defiance. The IRA went on the offensive, the people took to the streets and the British state ceased to function in large swathes of the North.

Less than a year later, Stormont was gone and the British government was in direct confrontation with a risen people.

Fast forward to 2008 and Britain is still using all the repressive measures possible to stamp out dissent and protect the wealthy.

In June this year, the Westminster parliament passed legislation that enables the British state to hold people for 42-days without trial.

This legislation will doubtless be used against minority communities in Britain and, in time, Irish opponents of the British occupation.

Ironically, one of the places from which the spooks are probably selcting 42-day detainees is the new MI5 spy base in Palace Barracks. They might even be doing it 37 years to the day from when Irish civillians were being tortured and selected for indefinite detainment in the very same spot.

While it is important to remember the tumultuous events of 1971, it is even more vital to challenge the repressive policies of the British government, and their very presence in Ireland, in the here and now.

To that end éirígí will be organising a number of events nationwide to commemorate the injustice of internment and challenge the injustice of 42-day detention.

Saturday, August 9, Dublin: Assemble at the British Embassy, Merrion Road, D4 at 3pm.

The details of more events will be added to this site in the coming days.

Bígí Linn!

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Comments (7 of 7)

Internment 2008

by O'Cadhain

Wed Jul 30, 2008 01:01

And thanks to the British ministers of Sinn Fein and their "it is ok to tout now" campaign, internment by remand continues to this very day.

"British ministers"

by Con

Wed Jul 30, 2008 01:22

At the risk of taking this topic off away from the point, as the original piece is worthy of being read and discussed, what have SF ministers done to maintain internment without trial?

SF British ministers

Wed Jul 30, 2008 02:28

The SF British SF ministers endorsed British occupation of Ireland by SF’s endorsement of the British police force in the 6, by SF’s endorsement of MI5 in the 6, and by SF’s policy of telling their grassroots and the nationalist people in general to tout to the British police on Republicans and Republican activity (which will increase the number of prisoners jailed and as well as increase the number of people picked up and put on remand in jail).

SF’s have turned a revolutionary movement into a British constitutional revolutionary movement.

"Republicans are prepared to work an executive. We are really prepared to administer British rule in Ireland for the foreseeable future. The very principle of partition is accepted, and if the Unionists had had that in the 1920s they would have been laughing."
- Francie Molloy, Provisional Sinn Fein, March 28 1999 (London Sunday Times)

"No Irish nationalist could support any treaty which institutionalizes British government claims to a part of Irish national territory. Indeed, the term - 'constitutional nationalism'- used by Mr.Mallon (SDLP) and his colleagues to describe their political philosophy is a contradiction in terms. The only constitutional nationalist in Ireland today is Sean McBride. He puts his nationalism within a framework of Irish constitutionality. Mr. Mallon, however, puts his within the framework of British constitutionality. Irish nationalism within British constitutionality is a contradiction in terms."
- Gerry Adams, 1986
("The Politics of Irish Freedom", Gerry Adams, Brandon Book Publishers, Ltd., Dingle, County Kerry, Ireland 1986, page 112, lines 26-35. NOTE: REMOVED FROM 1995 and1996 EDITIONS).

British ministers

Wed Jul 30, 2008 12:24

Obviously SF calling on people to go to the PSNI about other republicans is wrong, but how are SF ministers responsible for internment?

SF fouled the f-ing ball

Thu Jul 31, 2008 01:19

Brother, I typed earlier that SF administer British rule in Ireland. Therefore they are just as responsible as the British for lifting, jailing, and remanding Republicans that dont follow the SF's press releases of tout and tell. SF has accepted and now enforce partition by telling the nationalist people to tout on republicans in order for Republicans to be lifted, jailed, and remanded.

If SF said what they say now in public 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, ago....they would have been shot dead as a traitor. Now, they are so proud of themselves with their money and political power and summer homes that they even dare to invoke the hungerstrikers to further contiue and justify their sell out. Think about it.

Imagine every person SF sent out to bomb and kill in order to destroy Stormont in the 70's-80's-90's....did those young men and women do that and maybe have endured jail and beatings and tortue and endured their personal family's suffering and personal destruction for this ????? How many exPOW's go to SF events these days? Not many!!!!!!!!!!!! Remember what the Dark said over and over again!

Power

Thu Jul 31, 2008 03:41

But Stormont has no power over policing and "justice" matters in the six-county statelet, and SF aren't in government in the Free State. You stated that internment continues thanks to SF, and I don't think that that's a fair comment to make. It's the people who actually rule over us, the British government, who are responsible for internment.

You have a poster of the Derry 4 in a post above. They were arrested in Donegal and were being held on the word of a Garda, is that SF's fault?

Change of Time

Thu Jul 31, 2008 14:21

Please Note: The August 9 protest outside Dublin's British Embassy has been moved to 12.30PM.

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Britain Still Jailing Without Trial

Comments (7 of 7)