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Time for Negotiations on A Genuine Peace with Justice

category international | rights, freedoms and repression | opinion/analysis author Saturday August 10, 2013 07:11author by Brian Clarke - AllVoices Report this post to the editors

Anti Internment Rally Belfast 2013

Last night, and over the last number of months, I have been mezsmerized, watching the British PSNI paramilitary police operate in Belfast. They did a good job in very difficult circumstances. It is not easy for me to admit that but credit where credit is due, they did a good job.Now I will make a lot of enemies, by saying that. I understand that!. Some people will accuse me of being a traitor and a Tout for saying that. They would be wrong. I have put my life on the line, as a matter of principle on this. I am no angel but that is a fact.
Blown Away
Blown Away

There's no nicer people in Ireland, than those from British Occupied Ireland. I am speaking about people from both communities there. I say that as a Galway person, who is from the west of Ireland, who lived there for several years. It is against my instinct, as an Irish person, to allow for the fact and reality, that Britain has any right in the governance of any part of Ireland but I am must face the difficult current reality as my starting point, that there are many other Irish people who see it differently. To be honest it hurts but I can live with it.

Last night, and over the last number of months, I have been mezsmerized, watching the British PSNI paramilitary police operate in Belfast. They did a good job in very difficult circumstances. It is not easy for me to admit that but credit where credit is due, they did a good job.Now I will make a lot of enemies, by saying that. I understand that!. Some people will accuse me of being a traitor and a Tout for saying that. They would be wrong. I have put my life on the line, as a matter of principle on this. I am no angel but that is a fact.

Ruairi O Bradaigh has recently passed away. He is probably the Irish republican, who most impressed me most, in my time around Irish Republican Socialist politics. He would not be pleased with the above statement, neither I am sure would his friend Martin Corey, who is also a principled man, but I I must first be honest with myself, before I can be honest with anyone.It is time I believe for Republican Sinn Fein, whom I believe are the only real Sinn Fein left to talk with everyone, including the Brits.

There are some very genuine people in 32CSM, RNU, Eirigi, IRSP, SWP, etc.,..even in British Sinn Fein. Those in British Sinn Fein are naive, if they believe you can be Lord Mayor of Belfast, call yourself and your party Gaelic names and still want people to call you Lord, while professing to be a republican of any sort. It is time Martin Millar came clean and stopped being a chameleon calling himself an Irish name, in an Irish named party. Those career politicians living on genuine Irish republican wounds, should do the decent thing and call themselves the Chameleon Party.

Last night in Belfast, was a major victory for democracy and the vast majority of working class people in the City, whether they are aware of it or not. Everyone who a participated in making that Anti Internment Rally happen, including the PSNI should be very proud of their contribution last night A lot of noble spirits who gave their lives, including British ones, particularly over the last 40 years, were jumping for joy in another realm of freedom last night and I am not talking about any earthly realm of privilege.

I believe all Irish people of goodwill, from whatever community can see that and would be willing to sit down around a table and negotiate a genuine compromise. The British have shown good faith over the last few months with decent policing and while one swallow never made a Summer, it's a good start. It would be consolidated further, by ending internment without a proper transparent public trial and releasing internees like Martin Corey, Stephen Murney and those internees on remand, as a further act of good faith. It is a time for generosity by all people of good faith to negotiate, without surrendering traditional principles.

I believe a major factor to become clearer, after last night in Belfast, is that people can see, that their political objectives, can be achieved, without political violence, if people are willing to work for them. I salute everyone who participated in the rally last night. I credit the PSNI with being fair cops last night and I salute the decent Unionist people, who did not buy into the fascism of those trying to prevent free expression of political beliefs. I offer my condolences to the British viceroyal on the recent loss of her father, she is very welcome in Ireland, strictly in a private capacity.

Related Link: http://bit.ly/16Gr8I2

Caption: Video Id: QNnKn3Q48Cs Type: Youtube Video
The Dubliners ~ Joe Hill


author by brionOcleirigh - AllVoicespublication date Sun Aug 11, 2013 13:07author address author phone Report this post to the editors

In a report on the rally the Irish Republican news stated, "More than ten thousand republicans, socialists and concerned citizens took part in a civil rights march against internment through Belfast this evening despite heavy rioting by loyalists and a political campaign to demonise those taking part.

The planned march along a neutral city centre route from nationalist areas in north Belfast to west Belfast was not considered contentious. But tensions had increased during the week after it was revealed that almost a thousand loyalists had been given permission to hold ‘protests’ along the parade route.
The Parades Commission appeared to have been hoodwinked into believing legal protests were planned when it permitted a number of previously unknown groups to mass along the parade route.

Two so-called ‘residents groups’ were granted permission to stage a protest involving an estimated 300 people at Royal Avenue, where the worst of the violence broke out. A further four protests were held by other Protestant organisations including the Orange Order, adding a further six hundred loyalists into the mix.

Long before the parade made its way into Belfast city centre, hooded flag-waving loyalists blocked the road and rioting erupted along Royal Avenue.
Shocked tourists looked on as bricks, bottles, stones and fireworks showered a showpiece city centre boulevard known for its shops, restaurants and bars. The police responded with water cannon and a small number of plastic bullets, while dogs were used to attempt to control the loyalists.

Business premises were attacked and bins were set alight amid the disturbances. However, the riots only served to draw attention to a hugely successful parade and the incoherent rage of loyalism.While the original, neutral city centre route through Royal Avenue was blocked off, marchers were ironically directed by the PSNI through the intersection of Peter’s Hill and Carrick Hill, passing an interface with the loyalist Shankil Road.

The parade was briefly attacked at the intersection where a burning barricade had been erected. However, it ultimately made it down Millfield to a rendezvous with thousands more cheering supporters in the Divis area of west Belfast.

Organisers successfully appealed for calm from marchers. Amid a lull in the trouble, civil rights activist Dee Fennell said the media had wrongly portrayed the parade.
“This is a parade over a human rights issue, not a republican parade and certainly not a dissident republican parade.”

He said the march had been organised by the Anti-Internment League, and that he is not aligned to any republican group. He said political activists are being held for up to two years on remand before having charges dropped or beating them in court.

'It’s a way to get activists off the streets for two years,” Mr Fennell said. “People think internment is a thing of the past, but only the way it is used has changed. It is now more selective.' "

A full report with further video and speeches afterwards at the link below.

Anti Internment Rally Belfast
Anti Internment Rally Belfast

Caption: Video Id: iG8oBacoyUA Type: Youtube Video
Anti-Internment Rally Belfast Video


Related Link: http://bit.ly/1cW642R
author by brionOcleirigh - AllVoicespublication date Mon Aug 12, 2013 15:26author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Some Provisional Sinn Fein supporters are currently very angry with Gerry Adams latest outburst, attacking more than 10,000 human rights demonstrators, who marched against internment at the weekend in Belfast and who were also commemorating, more than 42 years of internment without trial, as human rights activists have done annually, for almost a hundred years in Ireland.

People are now calling Gerry Adams' party, British Sinn Fein, because of the extent of their collaboration with the British, particularly with regard to internment without trial, censorship and prevention of free political expression. Some say, British Sinn Fein are now more British, than the British themselves. The following statement of a Sinn Feiner from County Limerick, is an example of the growing dissatisfaction within Adams's party ranks, when he said of the anti internment protest, "Well done on your dignified march at the weekend to highlight an important issue. I've always been a SF supporter but your analysis of Gerry Adams is spot on. Their rhethoric these days is the same as that of The Workers Party about 30 years ago."

The political negativity or doom and gloom of Provisional Sinn Fein, is in marked contrast, to the very positive vibe around the Anti-Internment March at the weekend. While Provisional propaganda called it the 'Dissident March in the Irish News, with a frontal assault, attacking Republican Unity, the Organizing Committee, Stewards and Participants, despite extreme provocation also from Loyalist extremists, remained united and disciplined.

While it was disappointing for traditional Irish republicans, to see Adams' party align themselves divisively, with the sectarian fascist thugs of the orange order, who attempted to prevent the march going through Belfast, it is also not helpful to republican unity, for any band, despite the extreme provocation, to be playing "Take it Down from the Mast" entertaining, drunken alcoholics in any felons club, who were afraid to march themselves. It is unhelpful whatever the level of collaboration.

This is history repeating itself, as during the hunger strikes, when the stickies started fighting among themselves, as the principles of the hunger strikers started to shine through. Unfortunately good people were badly misled and betrayed, some paying the ultimate price, as both officials and provisionals consigned themselves to the dustbin of history.

This Rally was the Phoenix rising, from the ashes of both, once proud traditions, once again. Unity must be the watchword and lesson from that experience, with the Irish people of no property, being the only guarantors to be trusted, after the experience of so many betrayals, from native gombeen men, political careerist carpetbaggers, morphing into active alcoholic felons, riding on the backs of other Irish men and women's wounds.

Both Adams and the Loyalist thugs failed miserably on the 9th of August 2013, while demonstrating how prejudiced and bigoted their hatred for human rights' activists, socialists and genuine traditional Irish republicanism really is. The 10,000 strong marchers, succeeded not alone in commemorating the anniversary of internment with respect but also highlighted the continued injustices in British Occupied Ireland today. Praise goes to the steadfastness of the marchers, along with the continued humanity and loyalty of everyone involved in the anti Internment events, which is in marked contrast to highly paid collaborators of ongoing internment 42 years later.

During the Hunger strike rallies, Adams and his felons, regularly rallied around West Belfast, shouting that Gerry Fitt is a Brit, before he was burned out of his home. Seamus Lynch of the Belfast stickies gave Adams a lot of stick about it at the time. Adams and British Sinn Fein, are walking the well worn path of the Fitts and Lynchs, who stood all idly by as their Irish brothers and sisters bled. They are again walking into the same political oblivion collaborating in the internment of old republicans like Martin Corey, who has served 23 years for the Irish Cause. British Sinn Fein are in effect administering internment and damning internees with feint protest.

After the deaths of the 10 hunger strikers, Adams and his Chameleon republican careerists, replaced the SDLP, who boycotted Stormont on political principle unlike Adam's party. They also stole their middle class agenda and middle class British salaries. Now their Gaelic Chameleon Lord Mayor, from their Gaelic Chameleon party or was that Official Sinn Fein? wants to be addressed as Lord Millar of Belfast, while professing republican principles more akin to the entreprenuerial spirit of the Republican Bush Family of Texas. Nevertheless it is important for Ireland's sake, not to resent British Sinn Feiners as individuals, but instead what Brit Feiners, are doing to the traditional Noble Spirit of Republicanism and Ireland, like their collaborating opportunists in Fianna Fail and the blue shirts before them.

Eamon de Valera, covertly co-operated with Britain to crush the IRA. Papers reveal that De Valera and entire cabinet in the late 1930s, former IRA members, asked London to help smear the IRA's Chief of staff as a communist agent. De Valera's government executed more IRA members than Britain and borrowed Albert Pierrepoint, to hang one of them.During the war, more than 1,500 were interned, while several died on hunger strike in Irish jails. Gerry Adams hasn't hung anyone yet with his own hands that we are aware of but he has hung Martin Corey out to dry with more than 3 years interned, who alreadygave almost 20 years of his life, as a Provisional IRA volunteer imprisoned in Long Kesh. There are many more currently interned by remand in Maghaberry, while British Sinn Fein share power administering it in Stormont.

Unlike the SDLP,. British Sinn Fein will not do a principled boycott of Stormont like their predecessors the SDLP, a) Because they are too fond of the Queen's shilling, B)Because they are the political sock puppets of MI5, politically blackmailed. When British SS MI5 say jump, British Sinn Fein say how high! George Orwell described their mentality as follows: “Now I will tell you the answer to my question. It is this. The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power, pure power. What pure power means you will understand presently. We are different from the oligarchies of the past in that we know what we are doing. All the others, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites. The German Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods, but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended, perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just around the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal. We are not like that. We know what no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now you begin to understand me.”

Now I have been warned, by someone, who professes to have strong connections with the British and American intelligence community, that I will be whacked, I.e. murdered, for campaigning against internment or divulging anymore Provisional Sinn Fein not so secrets activity, as a former Chairperson of Newry Sinn Fein before they went totally British. There is nothing personal in any of this towards any member of British Sinn Fein and I wish all of them well in their private lives outside politics. I would however strongly advise Gerry Adams and ask his fellow travelers, including his alcoholic felons, that for once, just once, to put their communities and dysfunctional Ireland first, before they go on their merry way into the dustbin of Irish history, like Gerry Fitt and the Stickies.

They need to sit down and work out a common strategy, with all the groups involved in the Anti Internment Rally at the weekend and work towards republican unity, instead of undermining it. That is if they can convince them, at this late stage with something positive like ending internment once and for all in Ireland. and building a lasting peace with justice for everyone, including the loyalists. Can we for once stick together and put Ireland's interests first, like our Republican martyrs of yesteryear. None of us are an island and none but a fool or child, can see the ultimate self destruction of selfishness and self-centredness, we must rebuild community Ireland.

Anti Internment Rally Attacks
Anti Internment Rally Attacks

Caption: Video Id: 2X3f5e7uqzA Type: Youtube Video
Anti Internment Parade Belfast


Related Link: http://bit.ly/17jjMs1
 
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