Irish Political Policing Continues

national | crime and justice | opinion/analysis

Monday July 09, 2007 01:32

by W. - Workers Solidarity Movement

Recent arrests of protestors, both north and south of the border, has shown that political policing is alive and well within our society.

Gardaí police Shell to Sea Demonstrations in Rossport

Four anti-war protestors were attacked and arrested by the PSNI while protesting warmonger Tony Blair’s visit to Stormont. Three of them now face a series of charges for voicing their opposition to Blair’s visit.

In Rossport the state has been waging a war of attrition against the local community with the gardai acting as hired thugs for Shell. Five protestors who engaged in a peaceful “lock-on” had their medical team attacked and removed from the scene and were then deprived of their water and blankets until the fire brigade arrived. The five were arrested and are due to face trial on July 11th.

Another Rossport resident, John Monaghan, is facing continuing harassment from the Gardai, having been arrested twice in recent months on ridiculously trumped up charges of assaulting gardai. The reality is that the gardai see in John a strong militant voice for the Shell-to-Sea campaign and wish to silence him.

Back up North we have seen the arrest and threatened extradition of Roisin McAliskey, daughter of Free-Derry veteran Bernadette McAliskey,, for her alleged involvement in bombing a British army base in Germany over ten years ago. The arrest, interestingly, came just days after her mother Bernadette spoke at an Eirigi (a left wing breakaway from Sinn Fein) republican commemoration in Dublin.

This is, of course, just standard practice, whenever people organise themselves and begin to demand social justice or to question the way society is run they may be met by the states first line of defence, the police.

We have repeatedly seen in Ireland the role the police and our class-based justice system take in defending the interests of the ruling class, with the the jailing of ‘Coalition of Communities Against Drugs’ activists, anti-bin tax organisers and more recently the harassment of the Wheelock family who are campaigning for an enquiry into an extremely suspicious death in garda custody.

Police harassment, of course, is not just reserved for political activists, many young working class men and women suffer harassment from gardai. But it is when we organise ourselves to improve conditions at work or in our communities that the lines are drawn. If it is felt we are getting too militant the police may be used against us, showing their primary role as defenders of the ruling class.

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Comments (7 of 7)

political policing

by Sarah C

Mon Jul 09, 2007 20:40

No one from the WSM ever gets arrested though... It seems the police on both sides of the border are more concerned with Republicans (and Anarchists who actually do things).

...

by dblu - wsm

Mon Jul 09, 2007 20:52

"No one from the WSM ever gets arrested though"

I've no idea what this means, I haven't been arrested since about 5 years ago but just a couple weeks ago a wsm member was in jail in germany at the g8. I shouldn't really rise to comments like this.

by paul o toole

Mon Jul 09, 2007 23:13

if you dont like it, you could go and commit suicide, as our fearless leader has suggested we do if we dont like the way he runs things

Re. Chomsky and further policing

by Mark

Tue Jul 10, 2007 09:42

Hello I'm an independent journalist with malta.indymedia.org and I have lately borne an interest in Ireland and its political situation. I would like to ask some questions in response to the comments made. So are civil rights movements in Ireland persecuted by the British military? And what do you mean by anarchists and Republicans? I am not aware of any actions made by the IRA in the past few years. It seemed you also made a connection with Anarchists and Republicans and till now I only thought the Republican movement had only strong connections with the left, unless you are right of course.

twice

by krossie - wsm personal capacity

Wed Jul 11, 2007 11:57

i been "done" twice but got away with it!! (very good solicitor!)

Here lets all compare scars and old war wounds and see which is the biggest
- YES surely an excellent way forward! :-)

(grack I'm rising to it as well - oh no!)

kp

reply to Mark of MALTA

by pat - o

Wed Jul 11, 2007 19:02

Hey Mark,
If you are interested in debate regarding Irish republicanism today, I would suggest you go to this site

IRISH FREEDOM COMMITTIEE

Try THE BLANKET, in left hand column,

to Mark above

by Pat - o

Wed Jul 11, 2007 19:14

Go to news, in green box next to home to find THE BLANKET

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Irish Political Policing Continues

Comments (7 of 7)