Revolutionary Communist Group Solidarity With RPAG

national | rights, freedoms and repression | press release

Thursday October 26, 2006 04:13

by rpag fan

Support Republican Prisoners - Support The RPAG

Comrades from Scotland Rock Around The Blockade and Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism!/Revolutionary Communist Group headed out for Celtic Park in Glasgow last Saturday, 21 October, to take part in a joint protest with the new Republican Prisoners Action Group.

Comrades from Scotland Rock Around The Blockade and Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism!/Revolutionary Communist Group headed out for Celtic Park in Glasgow last Saturday, 21 October, to take part in a joint protest with the new Republican Prisoners Action Group.

We were demanding an end to censorship and an end to criminalisation. The censorship had already been challenged as we had organised previous demonstrations there against the banning of Che Guevara's image outside the world famous football ground.

We were now joining with activists from the RPAG to also demand an end to the criminalisation of republican prisoners in British gaols in the Occupied Six Counties of Ireland.

The protest called for the defence of political rights here and for political status for the Irish prisoners.

It should be noted that it was the British Labour government of 1976 which began the criminalisation of political prisoners in Ireland by removing Special Category Status in that year.

In 1981 ten brave young Irishmen died on Hunger Strike to achieve recognition of their struggle against British rule as a political struggle. Fidel Castro stated then: "Tyrants tremble when they are faced with men willing to die for their ideas"

It is Glasgow's Labour Council which drafted the byelaws which have made it an offence to display political material outside the football ground and we have challenged this ban.

We were pleased then to see that a vendor was openly displaying a large Irish Tricolour with Che's internationally known image boldly set in the centre with the statement that "Anyone who trembles with indignation at any injustice is a comrade of mine" As we secured a couple of these flags for our stalls the vendor explained that he had not been troubled by the police since the protests.

We recognise this as a victory for our campaign! We will continue though to distribute, display and sell political material outside Celtic Park- Cuba solidarity material and Irish solidarity material- and continue to openly and militantly oppose censorship and criminalisation.