‘RSF must give the lead’

international | rights, freedoms and repression | press release Monday April 09, 2007 05:23 by Saer - IRBB

Speaking in Derry city on Easter Sunday April 8 Republican Sinn Féin Vice President Des Dalton said:

“Irish Republicans throughout Ireland and abroad gather this weekend to mark the 91st anniversary of the 1916 rising. We are rightly proud of the legacy of 1916, the All-Ireland Republic which was born amidst the fires of Easter Week, as well as the pivotal role it played in the broader anti-colonial struggle, inspiring nations throughout the world to cast of the shackles of imperialism.

‘RSF must give the lead’

Speaking in Derry city on Easter Sunday April 8 Republican Sinn Féin Vice President Des Dalton said:

“Irish Republicans throughout Ireland and abroad gather this weekend to mark the 91st anniversary of the 1916 rising. We are rightly proud of the legacy of 1916, the All-Ireland Republic which was born amidst the fires of Easter Week, as well as the pivotal role it played in the broader anti-colonial struggle, inspiring nations throughout the world to cast of the shackles of imperialism.

The ideals contained within the 1916 Proclamation form the bedrock of Irish Republicanism and are the basis of the Irish Republican programme in the 21st century.

Each county in Ireland takes pride in the part played by their sons and daughters in the fight for Irish freedom, Co Derry is no different. Indeed Derry has given of its best in that long and historic struggle. From Sean Larkin, executed by Free State forces in Drumboe Castle in 1923 to Thomas McElwee, Kevin Lynch and Mickey Devine, who died on hunger strike in the H Blocks of Long Kesh in 1981.

Other Derry Republicans such as Sean Keenan devoted their entire lives to the cause of a free and independent Ireland.

Turning to the Ireland of 2007 the road facing true and faithful Irish Republicans has never been steeper or harder to travel. Having embarked on the road of betrayal and sell-out in 1986 the Provisionals have now been fully absorbed within the apparatus of British rule in Ireland. Each step since 1986 has seen them accept the partitionist assemblies of Leinster House and Stormont as well as opening offices in the British parliament at Westminster. Accepting the Unionist veto, the decommissioning of arms and the criminalisation of Republican prisoners. Let there be no mistake about it, the Provisionals having donned the ‘Peeler’s coat’ are now an instrument of British government policy in Ireland and should be viewed and treated as such.

The Provisionals are signed up to administer and enforce the British occupation of Ireland. They have allowed themselves to become a barrier between the British government and the Irish people. Ian Paisley and the DUP have replaced the old Official Unionist Party as the monolith of Unionism and are sure to extract even further humiliation from the Provos.

Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster on April 5 Ian Paisley was very clear as to why he agreed to form a Stormont Executive, he did so he said rather than have “the union destroyed”. The significance of the Provo sell-out has not escaped either the British or Unionists, the position of the Six County state has been secured and the only question is how to govern it.

Coupled with all of this is the ongoing project of both the British and 26-County states to normalise British rule in our country. Events such as the England rugby match in Croke Park, British royal visits, the playing of GAA games between British and 26-County forces are part of this attempt to portray British occupation as a normal and acceptable part of the political landscape in Ireland. RSF was to the fore in organising the protest at Croke Park, just as we will be at any visit by the Queen of England.

The real political agenda which underpins the Stormont Agreement and St Andrews proposals was spelled out in the Irish Times editorial of February 26 which stated “British occupation is a thing of the distant past”. To accept the logic of this is to view the 26-Counties as Ireland, however if you see Ireland as a 32-County nation such a claim is grossly untrue.

Either you accept the existence of the Irish nation or you don’t, on this there can be no middle ground. If you accept and believe as Irish Republicans do that the Irish nation exists, that the “right of the Irish people to the ownership of Ireland, and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies to be sovereign and indefeasible”, as proclaimed in 1916, then British courts, British law, British police or British rule will never be either normal or acceptable.

Speaking in Belfast at Easter 1973 Daithí Ó Conaill spelled out what is the root cause of the conflict in Ireland: “Today, the central issue in the war is one of conflict between Ireland’s right to freedom and England’s determination to keep us in subjection. All other issues are subordinate to this basic point. There can be no compromise on the fundamental issues as to who should rule Ireland: the British Parliament or the Irish people. We have had 800 years of British ineptitude in ruling Ireland; we have never known rule by the Irish, of the Irish, for the Irish. Until we do, we shall never enjoy peace and stability in our land.”

It is our duty now as Irish Republicans to give the lead to that section of the Irish people who will never accept British rule in Ireland. As we stated in our New Year Statement: “Now more than ever clear thinking, leadership and a programme of action is required, providing a focal point of resistance.”

The statement continues: “Republican Sinn Féin represents the sole political alternative capable of providing this, coming from a position of solid and unequivocal Irish Republicanism. Other groups or organisations may attempt to hold this ground but Republican Sinn Féin are the only political organisation to uphold the right of the Irish people, acting as a unit, to national independence, who reject both partitionist states and their respective assemblies and with policies capable of delivering a New Ireland for all of the Irish people.” Our participation in the Stormont elections was essential for this reason, as it provided an opportunity to show the Irish people that an organised body with a coherent philosophy and polices remained in place to resist Queen of England’s writ running in our nation.

Both EIRE NUA and SAOL NUA represent the only credible alternative to the present sectarian process. EIRE NUA with its proposals for local majorities with maximum decentralisation of power in a four province federal Ireland taken alongside SAOL NUA, a social and economic policy based on Republican, socialist, ecological and environmental principles provide the framework within which all of the Irish people can build a New Ireland.

Our cause is the cause of humanity, which is why we oppose forces of imperialism not only in Ireland but internationally as well, just as we actively oppose the British occupation of Ireland we also oppose the illegal Anglo/US occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan and the Israeli occupation of Palestine. RSF must continue to place ourselves to the fore in protesting at the continued use of Shannon, Baldonnel and Irish airspace by US warplanes. Likewise we oppose the continued attempts to construct an armed EU super-state. Irish Republicanism has always been internationist in the best sense of the word; we stand in solidarity with all peoples and nations who struggle for freedom, independence and sovereignty.

91 years we don’t simply gather to commemorate 1916 as an historical event. We view it as unfinished business. For Irish Republicans the All-Ireland Republic of Easter Week remains the only legitimate state in Ireland, endorsed in the last exercise in All-Ireland democracy in 1918. We must bend ourselves to the task of making living reality; it is our duty to all of the Irish people.”

Ends.