Irish Freedom: No. 11, July 1990

Bulletin of the Irish Freedom Movement Number 11 rish Freedom The conspirators who framed the Birmingham Six Join the annual anti-internment march Saturday 11 August see pages 14 and 15 and the back page unmasked and expo Media lies and the IRA Take sides in the Irish War sed-see pages 16-20 Contents inquiry 75p July/August 3 Editorial 4-8 The IFM in action 9 Letters 10-11 The Stevens 12 Reviews 13 War diary 14-15 Internment remembered 16-20 The Birmingham Six conspiracy 21-22 Extradition 23 Build the IFM

Register now! Prices for the full week: Waged 235 on the door; 633 in advance; unwaged f25 on the door; £23 in advance. Special price for the Irish course only: To order any of the above items make cheques or postal orders payable to IFM Association, and send to Irish Freedom Movement, BM IFM, London WC1N 3XX. Cheques for Behind the Mask should be made payable to Activision. For more information or queries write to this address or phone (071) 375 1702.

Win the propaganda war! Video: Behind the mask Twenty-one years on from the start of the present war in Northern Ireland, the IRA remains as controversial as ever. Even to talk about it is called a crime. Behind the Mask, includes unique interviews with former leading IRA members who have recently been released from prison. Frank Martin, the Belfast born director, says his film is asking the question: why did so many ordinary young men and women become involved with the Irish struggle? It looks at the people behind the headlines.

Were it not for the extraordinary circumstances in Belfast, none of them would have become involved in politics. They would have lived normal lives. Unless an attempt is made to understand their motivations how can anybody understand the problem and work towards solving it?. Individuals £25, organisations £40, institutions/libraries £70. Make cheques payable to Activision and send to: IFM, BM IFM, London WC1N 3XX.

90 Debate and discuss the Irish question at Preparing for Power 90— week of discussion and debate, organised by the Revolutionary Communist Party at the University of London Union, Malet Street, London WC1, between Friday 20 to Friday 27 July. For some years now the Irish Freedom Movement has organised a special five-session course on the Irish War during Preparing for Power, the Revolutionary Communist Party's annual summer school. This year's specialist Irish course will take place in the early afternoons, starting on Sunday 22 July.

five sessions from Sunday to Thursday: £10.

July/August 1990 Irish Freedom 2 19 This year's summer wear for supporters of Irish freedom Irish Freedom Movement t-shirts extra large size f6 (plus 60p p&p) preparina for It includes the following sessions: • Why Britain stays in Ireland • Loyalism: myth and reality • The strange case of Southern Ireland • The IRA • Why we say 'troops out now!"

There is also a variety of late afternoon and early evening workshops covering other aspects of Irish politics and culture.

If you want to win the arguments on Ireland, then Preparing for Power '90 is a must.

Take sides in the Irish War!

EDITORIAL

The recent IRA attacks in Holland and West Germany, London and Lichfield have raised the tempo of the Irish War. In response, the British authorities have stepped up the war of words against the liberation struggle.

need to be equally resolute in stepping up our campaign in support of the freedom struggle.

This is the time when solidarity counts.

The arrest of six people under the Prevention of Terrorism Act on the first weekend of June shows that the British establishment is still pursuing its war against the Irish people.

They were interrogated for two days while the press speculated that the men were responsible for the Lichfield attack. Eventually the police were forced to release three of them on nothing to do with any of the attacks. These arrests have confirmed that nothing much has changed in the Irish War: despite the Guildford Four's release and the quashing of the Winchester Three's convictions it remains the case that any Irish person in Britain is a target for police repression.

This is the point that has eluded what remains of the British solidarity scene. Events like the release of the Guildford Four and the Winchester Three, the screening of Chris Mullin's Who Bombed Birmingham?, and more recently Yorkshire Television's Shoot to Kill, have all had a peculiar impact on the sections of the British establishment could become allies of the Irish people and need to So much so that it is their This approach is both naive and dangerous.

When law lords and prominent church figures have come out in favour of the Guildford Four, for example, they have done so not because they support the Irish freedom struggle, but because they are concerned with the plight of these victims of injustice. They fear that these cases discredit what passes for British justice. When Irish people resist and fight back, however, this so-called support disappears. Indeed, it quickly translates itself into another voice in the chorus of condemnations, lies and hypocrisy directed against According to the press the IRA is a criminal organisation engaged in an evil conspiracy to undermine British democracy through random, arbitrary shootings. The Sunday Telegraph even suggested that the IRA hires professional hitmen from the Eastern bloc! In fact the IRA attacks have been neither random nor arbitrary. They are part of a liberation struggle to free Ireland from British domination. The British government partitioned Ireland in 1921 in defiance of the wishes of the Irish people. Since then Britain has occupied the Six Counties by force of arms. In 1969 the British Army was sent back on to the streets of Belfast and Derry to restore British rule which was under threat from a nationalist uprising. Since then the conflict between the nationalist people and the British authorities has exploded into a full-scale war.

The Yorkshire Television drama documentary Shoot to Kill provided a graphic account of what British occupation means for the nationalist community. It showed that it is Britain's death squads which are involved in random and arbitrary attacks. As far as the British authorities are concerned all nationalists are potential targets for their shoot-to- The experience of British oppression means that there is mass support within the nationalist communities for the struggle for Irish freedom.

The IRA does not have to hire Stalinist assassins to conduct its war. British repression ensures that there is no shortage of volunteers from within the nationalist community who are willing to take up arms against the army The nationalist people recognise that so long as Britain remains in Ireland, their community will continue to suffer. That is why the nationalist community will never consent to the presence of British troops on their streets and why there will be no peace while Ireland remains divided and unfree.

Which brings us back to Britain: while the British establishment has been unable to subjugate the Irish people, it has managed to isolate the liberation struggle from winning solidarity in Britain. The key to this success has been the policy of criminalisation -the depiction of the liberation struggle as a criminal conspiracy. The British establishment has got away with criminalising the Irish struggle because the left in Britain has never challenged its lies about it. The very fact that Shoot to Kill should make such an impact in this country is an illustration of how the official version of the conflict in Ireland has rarely been challenged. As the programme's director Peter Kosminsky pointed out, the film just told the truth. The fact that a television documentarymaker is better able to expose the British government's lies about its colonial war in Ireland than is the official solidarity movement in this country is an indictment of the left's failure to build support for the freedom The left has failed because it has refused to make the question of taking sides in the Irish War the centre of its approach. Instead it has attempted to win support for the Irish people as the victims of British injustice and coercion.

But what happens when the Irish people fight back and can no longer be presented as victims?

The fact is that there is a war going on in Irish Freedom Ireland. On one side is the British state whose forces occupy the Six Counties and which uses its full military might to maintain the partition of Ireland. On the other side is the Irish liberation struggle fighting for a united Ireland free from British domination. The IRA is the legitimate expression of the Irish people's aspiration for freedom.

The Irish Freedom Movement gives its unconditional support to the struggle for Irish freedom. We demand the immediate withdrawal of British troops from Ireland and the right of self-determination for the We support the right of the Irish people to fight for their freedom in any way necessary.

As in all conflicts of this nature, civilian casualties are tragic, but inevitable. The responsibility for these deaths or injuries lies with the British state. The only way to bring peace is by ensuring a victory for the The Irish Freedom Movement aims to win working class solidarity for the Irish people.

We recognise that British workers have every interest in siding with the liberation struggle.

The British state which oppresses the Irish nation is the same state that exploits workers at home. A defeat for Britain in the Irish War would make it easier for the working class in this country to pursue its own struggle for liberation. To win such support we first have to break the propaganda wall with which the British authorities have surrounded the Irish War. That is why the fight against the Prevention of Terrorism Act is central to our campaign to build effective solidarity (see "The IFM in action', pages 4-8).

In the light of the escalation of the Irish War, and the new clampdown on the Irish community, it becomes even more important to build for the IFM's annual anti-internment demonstration on 11 August (see pages 10 and 11). We want to make this year's demonstration even bigger and better than previous ones. This issue of Irish Freedom sees some welcome developments: we have increased the size and changed its design to make it a more effective propaganda weapon. The content of this issue covers a wide range of topics, all of which will arm supporters of Irish freedom with the arguments that can win support for the struggle in Ireland. If you want to strike a blow against Britain's propaganda machine, and hasten the day of Irish freedom, then get involved by contacting us on (071) 375 1702 or write to IFM, BM IFM, London WCIN 3XX. • Irish Freedom is written and produced by supporters of the IFM. It is edited by Charles Longford and Kevin Kelly. We welcome any contributions from our readers which should be sent to Irish Freedom, BM IFM, London WCIN 3XX.

July/August 1990 3

Freedom Movement has been actively campaigning struggle. Here we report on our delegation to Ireland, some of the activities we have organised over the past month as well as some of our forthcoming activities.

IFM delegation on Belfast Hunger-Strike Commemoration march, May 1990 Amenke Hugh Mitchell 4 July/August 1990 rish Freedom Movement

BOBBY

SANDS

Froops autof freland now!

IFMN ACTION

Since the last issue of Irish Freedom, the Irish throughout Britain for solidarity with the Irish Irish Freedom

'We have a lot in common' 'Now when I tell people they've got more and Derry than with that mob of liars and murderers who sit in Westminster, I'll be basing it on having met a community of Vicky, a 20-year old student from London IFM delegation to Ireland This was the conclusion one delegate from the IFM's visit to Ireland drew from the experience. The delegation was organised by the IFM to give ordinary British people the opportunity to see what life is really like under British occupation.

For the 42 delegates on the delegation, the first myth to be exploded was that a visit to Northern Ireland is like a visit to any other part of Great Britain. As coaches full of football fans and holiday-makers were waved on to the Dublin-bound ship, our coach was held back by customs officers and Special Branch officials keen to give us that special kind of attention reserved for people en route to the North. *There I was, before I'd even left the country being questioned under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, even though I'd never been involved in any Irish politics before this delegation. I felt upset that I had to give them all this information about myself, but there was no way out it', said Julie, a student from London, afterwards. But it was the two Northern Irish delegates in a coach mainly filled with English, Scottish and Welsh people who were taken away to be detained, questioned and threatened with arrest under the PTA. One delegate, Yvonne, a student from Edinburgh was shocked by this blatant anti- Irish prejudice: 'Of course I've heard so much about the criminalisation of the Irish, but it made me really angry to see how these lads were treated simply because they had the wrong accents. Five minutes before the boat was due to leave, when most of us were resigned to missing it, six suited men rushed on to the bus and started issuing green PTA cards. We were told by a breathless man to fill in the cards and answer all the questions. Once filled-in and with our detained delegates liberated and returned to our ranks, the delegation was on its way.

in common with Irish people in Belfast ordinary people whose only wish is to give up fighting and have a normal life and freedom... Many delegates were shocked and surprised by this first experience. The fact that the British authorities didn't take kindly to those seeking out the truth about the Irish War made quite an impact. Jo, who works in an advertising agency, was surprised: *I couldn't believe it. Even before I'd made up my mind about Ireland they were treating me as their enemy.' Just who the enemy was and who our friends were was to become all too obvious over the next few days. Of the 42 delegates, only a few had been to Ireland before. Most were young working class people with a variety of reasons for wanting to see for themselves the reality of life for people living in the Six Counties. One commonly expressed sentiment was that the view presented in the British media about Ireland and the Irish did not square up in any way with the reality of the Six Counties. Britain's Berlin Wall *How can they welcome the collapse of the Berlin Wall when they've got border checkpoints like this", said lain, a transport worker from London, as we approached the heavily fortified British checkpoint which officially marked our re-entry to Great Britain from Ireland. Martin, a student from Leeds, agreed: *I was in Berlin early last year and the wall crossings were the same as this: the guns, the cameras, everything.' An ominous sign told us not to take photographs and the pocket cameras were nervously dispensed with as delegates got their first sight of Her Majesty's occupying forces with their rifles trained on our moving coach. Already another myth was being challenged: that it is the people who stand up to the British security forces who are cowards.

Royal Ulster Constabulary jeeps on patrol marked our arrival in Derry, their darkened Irish Freedom windows covered with grids. Helmeted RUC men nervously stuck their rifles out pointing them at anyone and everyone. The RUC gave the impression of being embattled in hostile surroundings. Normalisation In contrast, Sinn Fein activists sat enjoying some rare Derry sunshine outside the Pilot's Row community centre awaiting our arrival.

Dodie McGuiness, an elected Sinn Fein member of Derry City Council, formally welcomed us to Derry and outlined our itinerary for the next couple of days. It included a series of workshops to be run by local Sinn Fein activists, a May Day march called by Derry Trades Council and plenty of socialising. For Martin, as with most delegates, this was his first ever contact with a real life Sinn Fein member: *I don't know quite what I expected, but I was amazed by how nice they all were, how normal. You hear all these politicians calling them murderers. I remember Kinnock announcing that he didn't want to come within a million miles of a Sinn Fein member. I suppose all that rubs off on you and you expect them to be a bit fearsome.'

Kayode, an unemployed black man from London was impressed by their honesty: A few young Sinn Feiners gave us a spiel on repression and I was surprised to hear them admitting to being scared. They were telling us that for them the price of political activity is beatings, house-raids, harassment for their families and friends and that it's often very scary.' lain had a similar reaction: 'In some ways I found that disconcerting. I somehow expected them to be very special, very brave, very political and different to the rest of us.

But they're the same. What's different are the circumstances. Unlike us they don't really have the luxury of choosing whether or not to get involved —there's a war on and it's aimed at them. Sinn Fein had organised for all of us to stay in the homes of local nationalists. The warmth and hospitality of these people was not lost on delegates. Frank, a motorbike courier from London, explained how life was different: *Their doors are always left open and people just call in and out all day. The only time the doors close is when there's a police or Army patrol. Then all the kids get dragged in off the street. In lots of ways their homes are like any British working class homes. But then you notice the tribute to the republican hungerstrikers on the walls and the logo of a masked IRA man on the tea towel.: Martin remembers sobering up pretty quickly when the bouncer of the Rocking Chair, a popular disco in the heart of the Bogside, announced that the Peelers (the RUC) and the Brits were outside the door. As Martin said, 'It's funny. Bouncers in Britain are there to throw people out. Here their main job seems to be making sure the security forces don't get in. The bouncer gave us the all clear and we left in a crowd of young lads.

I heard an RUC guy say "right Jimmy Moore, let's have your name". The young guy looked pretty used to it.

July/August 1990 5

Remembering Bobby Sands Travelling into Belfast on the Sunday to attend the Bobby Sands Commemoration march, people immediately noticed the difference to Derry. Vicky felt a bit uneasy: "1 suppose because Derry was a mainly nationalist town I felt more safe and relaxed. Here you're in a nationalist area one minute, then you see the red, white and blue kerbstones and you know you're in hostile territory.

Places like Ballymurphy really look like war ghettos. It all seems really depressing then you see a beautiful, bright mural or that piece of graffito that said "RUC beware, the IRA have had their Weetabix"' Over 5000 marched along the Falls Road— children in their Sunday best, republican flute bands immaculate in their uniforms.

Martin was struck by how many people came out in support: *I think every door on the Falls Road was open with people out on the pavements supporting the march. Just ordinary working class people, so different to the usual middle class lefty who goes on demonstrations in England. I remember really wishing all my mates could see this—all these thousands of people out in support of the struggle. It's just something they never see."

Bernadette Devlin-McAliskey was one of the speakers at the end of the march rally. A ban on the march entering the city centre, hundreds of armed RUC men surrounding us, helicopters circling above shower of rain, all failed to dampen the spirit of resistance of the crowd. They roared and cheered as the speakers announced their support for the volunteers of the IRA.

Bernadette assured us that one day soon people of Belfast would march on their own July/August 1990 6 streets without an occupying military force to prevent them. Jo loved her speech,.. especially that bit where she started taking the piss out of the RUC, saying "look at them, standing in that macho pose and those braces that went out in the sixties" Bandit country Our last day in Britain's own war-zone was spent in South Armagh, known to the British security forces as "bandit country. The Sinn Fein councillor Jim McAllister, who was our guide to the area, explained that British security policy there was to reduce casualty figures by keeping soldiers in their barracks and off the dreaded open roads where they so often became the victims of IRA attack.

The British security forces pursue a more sinister form of surveillance and harassment through the use of a massive network of hitech military outposts whose cameras detect every movement within the republican community. These spy-posts have been built since the signing of the Anglo-Irish agreement in 1985 and reveal the less well-publicised aspect of Britain's latest 'political solution' to the For Vicky the visit to South Armagh conflicted the most with the British presentation of the conflict: Far from being in control in this so-called part of Britain, far from keeping the peace, these soldiers are everyone and spend their time underground in bunkers terrified for their lives. Then there's Jim McAllister who's meant to be a criminal thug showing us around his area smiling and waving at all the locals. I tell you something, I wish he was my local councillor. I'd trust him to fight the Irish Freedom Hugh Mitchell Inspiration Reflecting on the trip many of the delegates realised the seriousness of what is taking place in Ireland. They also learnt that there are no options but to stand up and take sides As Kayode said: *These lads I got talking to in Belfast kept talking about when you get your Army out and I was saying they're not mine and that I don't consider myself to be British.

I then realised that this was a classic cop-out.

We are British and it's our responsibility to build opposition to this war that's going on in our name.' Kayode's determination to become involved with the IF and to build a movement against Britain's war in Ireland began as soon as we got back. His first stop will be the Cohse branch which sponsored him to go on the delegation and now wants him to report back and write an article for the union journal.

Many of the delegates were sponsored by some organisation; a trade union, or a political or cultural group. All now intend to use their experiences to create a debate on the Irish issue within these groups. lain's final response perhaps best sums up the positive impact of the IFM delegation: I'm not exaggerating when I say that this trip will change my life because even though I don't think you have to see it to object to what Britain's doing in Ireland, seeing it makes you all the more angry and determined to tell people the truth and build a movement here which can give real support to the struggle there.' Fiona Foster

Police arrest IFM supporter Fight for the right to organise!

Police harassment at the Finsbury Park 'Fleadh 90' Irish music festival came to a head with the arrest of an Irish Freedom Movement supporter, writes lain Mackintosh The well attended Fleadh was marred not only by the weather but by a massive police presence. After the events of recent weeks which have seen a resurgence of IRA activity on the British mainland, it was clear that such a large gathering of Irish people would attract police attention. Many IFM supporters attended Finsbury Park on the day. Our intention was to sell bulletins and t-shirts to the thousands who turned up, to talk about Ireland and to interest people in our solidarity work in this IFM video showings Breaking the wall of silence In the lead up to the August demonstration, supporters of the IFM have been organising public video showings of banned films in many areas around London and a series of forums in central London. Despite problems with local councils refusing to rent rooms to us we have organised very successful video showings in Lewisham, Hammersmith and Kilburn where lively discussion followed the films. The video showings have proved once again that there are many ordinary people who have not been taken in by the British propaganda machine and who are seeking convincing explanations of what is happening country. The police made sure this did not happen: our sellers were threatened with arrest if they continued distributing leaflets about the anti-internment demonstration on Saturday 11 August. Many had their names and addresses taken and checked by the police. One was arrested for selling t-shirts and charged with obstruction under the 1980 Highways Act and with insulting behaviour under Section 5 of the catch-all Public Order Act. Police harassment is nothing new to supporters of the IFM. Every year at the antiinternment demonstration we face false arrest and trumped-up charges. And every time this happens we stand and fight our ground with great success. We intend fighting this latest arrest and others we have suffered in the in Ireland. We have met many new people who have heard the arguments for Irish freedom for the first time and who are now starting to get involved in campaigning on Ireland. To ensure that new people are exposed to the kind of political discussion that will convince them, and enable them to convince others, we have organised a series of forums to discuss and debate contemporary issues that have a bearing on the struggle for Irish independence. The meetings are fortnightly starting on Wednesday 13 June at 7.30pm in Room 10/11, Friends House, 173 Euston Road, London NW1 (nearest tube Euston on Irish Freedom recent period. We know, as do the police, that this is a dress rehearsal for August. If we can win the cases pending against us now, we will send a powerful message to the state that they will not get away with their tactics of harassment and intimidation. It is for this reason that we appeal to our readers to make a donation towards the legal costs these cases will incur. We do not receive funding from anywhere else but the support of our readers and sympathisers. This support has allowed us to fight back successfully in the past and now we need some more. Any donation would be welcome. Please make cheques or postal orders payable to IFM Association and send to IFM, BM IFM, London WCIN 3XX. the Victoria and Northern lines). The subjects covered will be as follows: • Wednesday 13 June: Lessons for withdrawal-Algeria and Northern Ireland • Wednesday 27 June: British repression and Irish resistance • Wednesday 11 July: The war South of the Border Entrance is £2/£1 unwaged or £5/£2.50 unwaged for all three. If you want a ticket or more information, write to IFM, BM IFM, London WCIN 3XX or phone (071) 375 1702.

July/August 1990

Smash the Prevention of Terrorism Act!

IFM opens the British general election campaign Labour, Tory - same old story!

Spec for

SMA

THE

Picket of Paddington Green Supporters of the Irish Freedom Movement staged a lively and noisy picket outside Paddington Green police station in the early evening of Monday 4 June. The picket, called at short notice, aimed to highlight and protest against the detention of six Irish people earlier that day under the PTA.

On Thursday 24 May the Labour Party published its policy review-the IFM was there to protest at Labour's collaboration with the occupation of the Six Counties.

The policy review is Labour's 'minimanifesto' for the next general election. The IFM decided to attend this momentous occasion uninvited. We went along to point out to the shadow cabinet that the new July/August 1990 8 TOr. KA

SMASH

THE PTA!

IRISH

MOVEMENT

FREEDOM

01875 1792 The six are the latest victims of the British state's hysterical response to the recent upsurge in IRA activity on the British mainland. All were subsequently released without charge, but three were excluded from Britain: the British state is still fighting its dirty war against the Irish people.

document did not mention Ireland nor the fact that a war is raging in the Six Counties.

The lesson of the policy review is that the Labour Party in or out of office offers nothing different to the Irish people than the Tories. Amid the razzmatazz of the press conference launch, the IFM picket confronted journalists and the shadow cabinet with Irish Freedom atrish sperorich

MOVEMENT

Simon Norfolk We picketed Paddington Green and will do so whenever the authorities use the PTA to harass Irish people and treat them as criminals.

We will be there every time to put the case for Irish freedom. Kevin Kelly Labour's shameful record on Ireland-in office and opposition. Our message is straightforward: real opposition to Thatcher means taking sides with the Irish people against her, not supporting Her Majesty's loyal opposition who sent in the troops in the first place!

Watch this space for future election campaigning by the IFM! Nat Edwards

LETTERS

Republican POWs speak out Forced integration at its most basic level involved forcing republican prisoners of war (POWs) to share a common living area with Loyalist prisoners. It is fairly obvious that forcing what are recognised as politically opposed groups to share facilities such as canteens, toilets, exercise yards and washrooms is a recipe for disaster. On numerous occasions republicans have been physically assaulted by gangs of hostile Loyalists.

Some of whom are actually charged with collecting information on and attempting to murder these selfsame republicans. The close proximity of Loyalist factions also affords them the opportunity to collate intelligence on the families of republicans. Loyalists have already been observed scrutinising our letters and visiting permits which contain sensitive details including the names and addresses of families and friends. These are conveniently left lying around by prison employees with Loyalist sympathies.

Because of the inherent dangers of forcibly integrating with Loyalists, POWs are forced to remain locked up for an average of 22 hours per day in an attempt to limit potential conflict. We refuse to allow the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) the opportunity to brand our campaign as a sectarian one. We recognise that the policy of forced integration was designed wholly as a tool to keep republican POWs behind their doors for as I would like to commend you on your article on the Guildford Four and exposing British injustice on Irish people in Britain. When the Guildford Four were released a lot of people in England were shocked and disgusted that this miscarriage of justice should have happened-and rightly so.

The sad thing about it is that it has happened over here on a number of occasions. This prison is full of people like the Guildford Four who were convicted on signed confessions beaten out of them in Castlereagh interrogation A schooling in oppression As a supporter of Irish freedom I'm writing to let you know about what has been happening to me at my school as a result of my open support for the struggle in Ireland. I bought the IFM tshirt, the '20 years of resistance' one, some time ago and wore it for PE where we are allowed to wear what we like.

That day we had physical trainee marines in for our lesson and there was an uproar over my t-shirt because it was just after the IRA bombed the marines base at Deal. I was sent to the Head and Public Relations Officer, A Wing Many more Guildford Fours centre-a place that has come under many investigations for ill-treatment of suspects in the Six Counties In my home town of Derry in 1977, four young men were arrested and taken to Castlereagh. After a lot of illtreatment three of them signed confessions admitting murder. They were charged but the fourth was released. Some time later a third was released when a judge accepted that his I was called 'insensitive' for wearing something I believed in. I am now banned from wearing it again in PE For my English exam orals I did my talk on the Irish prisoners in English jails. I was shouted down during the discussion for supporting 'murdering bastards like the IRA'. School is ever thus. It's a shame I have to contend with ignorant children who are brainwashed by so much propaganda. When I'm older I hope to be a political journalist and bring the problems of British Irish Freedom long as possible. This obviously suits the prison authorities from a security point of view.

Over a period of 15 years the republican movement has consistently highlighted the failure of this illconceived strategy. The NIO has been petitioned, MPs have been lobbied and the support of the public has been sought. These legitimate forms of protest were, without exception, dismissed in a typically arrogant manner by the NIO. This leaves us with no other option but to protest internally as well as externally.

We, the republican POWs, acknowledge gratefully the sterling work carried out by our supporters, often in difficult conditions. All too often prisoners find themselves in an isolated position unable to defend themselves against colonially motivated policies such as this one. Public pressure can make a difference— witness the recent Guildford and Winchester cases.

Again we appeal to the public to do all in their power to force the NIO to concede on this contentious issue. The existence of political segregation in Magheraberry and Long Kesh reinforces the legitimacy of our campaign.

For it cannot be denied that its introduction in those prisons coincided with a marked improvement in their atmospheres and conditions. We are not prepared to stand meekly by and wait until someone is killed or seriously injured. Being imprisoned for our beliefs clearly reinforces our desire for justice.

confession was obtained after being illtreated. The other two were given life.

The fourth man who was released without being charged was awarded compensation last year in the high court in Belfast. This is just one example of the continuing injustice here in the Six Counties. Unfortunately there are a great many more Guildford Fours.

Hugh, HM Prison Maze totalitarianism into full view.

My sociology project has made me realise that we are the oppressors over the Irish when before I remember supporting Gibraltar (ignorant). After the incident with the t-shirt, I got one printed saying 'Freedom of speech: you'd be lucky to get freedom to think'.

Sorry about the writing but I've just finished 2000 lines of 1 must not be argumentative to the teachers and pupils'. Kirsty, Sussex July/August 1990 9

paramilitaries uncovered more than the authorities the Ulster Defence Regiment is Britain's own death The sectarian murder of Catholic Laughlin Maginn in August 1989 by the Loyalist paramilitary Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) marked the start of what rapidly became the unwrapping of the carefully concealed relationship between the British Army and Loyalist paramilitary forces in Northern Ireland. In attempting to justify this murder and increase fear of further attacks among Catholics the UFF leaked detailed intelligence information about Maginn to a BBC reporter.

leakage turned into a flood as more than 600 photographs of republicans, together with their names, addresses and other personal details, were released to the press.

The wide scale of the leaks provoked an outcry. But the outcry from British politicians had little to do with the fact that many republicans were receiving photographs of themselves through the post, with 'you are next-UFF' written on them. What provoked the outcry was the damage such leakages were doing to Her Majesty's armed forces who were beginning to look like banana republic death squads. John Stevens from Cambridgeshire was brought in to lead an inquiry. And, unlike previous British police inquiries into the security forces in Ireland, 'honest' John did the business.

Doing the right thing Stevens was the first outside investigator appointed by the RUC since John Stalker.

His job was straightforward: cover up the extent of collusion between the Crown security forces and Loyalist paramilitaries. Despite being unable completely to hide the truth, he made valiant attempts to avoid Stalker's fate.

He was, in the best traditions of Westminster, 'economical with the truth.

July/August 1990 10 The Stevens inquiry - Another British police cover-up The Stevens inquiry into the leaking of official information about nationalists to Loyalist bargained for. Hugh Mitchell explains how the collusion Stevens exposed between the British Army and Loyalist gangs, has demonstrated that squad in Ireland According to Stevens the passing on of information was neither widespread nor institutionalised. He reduced the fear that swept through the Six Counties in September and October 1989 to the 'misbehaviour of a few individual members of the UDR'. He also managed to exonerate the RUC, dismissing reports of an 'inner circle' of hardline Loyalists, and simply recommended that RUC security procedures should be tightened up His most remarkable accomplishment, however, and the one that placed him in a different league to Stalker, was to avoid finding a UDR or RUC member who had actually passed on information-despite interviewing 1900 witnesses and recovering over 2600 Irish Freedom Imperial War Museum documents from paramilitary groups.

Nevertheless, Stevens' patch-up was good enough for the Labour Party. Immediately after, Peter Brooke, the Northern Ireland secretary, stated in the commons that he was convinced that the regiment is fundamentally sound', and Labour did not miss the opportunity to demonstrate its own commitment to Britain's war in Ireland and Her Majesty's armed forces. Kevin McNamara, Labour's Northern Ireland spokesman declared that in the against terrorism-whether battle Loyalist or nationalist-there is no room for complacency'. Just to prove how vigilant he really is, he told the commons of his delight in having accepted an invitation to join the

STALKE

STALK

UDR on training procedures in the north of England'. Britain's murder squads The Stevens inquiry may have succeeded in whitewashing the full extent of the collusion between the security forces of the Six Counties and Loyalist murder squads. What it did, nevertheless, was point to this relationship.

In reality there is little to differentiate the two: both the security forces and Loyalist paramilitary gangs see themselves as on the same side. They are both equally concerned to maintain British rule in Ireland, and both are willing to murder and terrorise the nationalist population that resist it.

The British Army, UDR, and RUC have been passing information on to Loyalist paramilitaries for years. After the arrest of 28 members of the UDR in connection with the Stevens inquiry, a former UDR sergeantmajor was quoted in the Guardian saying, Don Reed *This has been going on for a long time and will continue to go on. It is the only way we will win and get rid of them. Indeed many members and ex-members of the security forces are also members of Loyalist paramilitary groups, and are intimately involved The massacre of the Miami Showband, in 1975, by members of the UDR (two of whom were blown up by their own bomb) is perhaps the best-known example of UDR members participating in sectarian murders. The notorious Shankill Butchers, allowed to operate with impunity despite clear evidence of who they were, had at least one UDR member among them. Currently 23 members of the UDR are serving sentences for murder and manslaughter, and over 100 are in jail for other serious offences. Brian Nelson, arrested and questioned by the Stevens team, was a leading member of the Ulster Defence Association, the largest Loyalist paramilitary group, and its chief intelligence collator in Belfast. While on Irish Freedom remand he is said to have admitted to his family that he was also working for the security forces. A former soldier in the Black Watch, he is reported to have told them 'in a way I never really left the Army' (Independent, 28 May 1990). In reality it is wrong to characterise the relationship between the security forces and Loyalist paramilitary organisations as one of collusion. This relationship is more like a division of labour. As Combat, the journal of the Ulster Volunteer Force explained: 'In the event of political weakness on the part of the government leading to ineffective security measures, the UVF upholds the right to take such effective measures as it may, from time to time, consider necessary for the defeat of terrorism, aggression and insurrection."

When the Loyalists feel that the security forces are not handing out enough repression to the nationalists, the paramilitaries take over that role. Whereas the SAS will gun down three unarmed IRA volunteers in broad daylight in Gibraltar, the Loyalist paramilitaries target known republicans and ordinary Catholics. The effect is the same-violent brutality to keep the nationalists down.

The 'inner circle' The Stevens inquiry was useful for another reason. By focusing attention on 'the misbehaviour of a few individual members of the UDR' the real culprits responsible for sectarianism, violence and murder in Ireland are let off the hook. The British Army is seen to be neutral while sectarianism can be blamed upon the Irish themselves. The inquiry became part of the black propaganda the British establishment has built up over the years.

Stevens assured everyone that there was no 'inner circle' of Loyalist murder gangs operating within the security forces. But Irish Freedom has it on good authority that there is such an organisation—the British government. It is they and not a handful of Loyalist gunmen who are responsible for the planning, execution and continuation of murder and violence in Ireland. It is Britain's occupation of Ireland that sustains sectarian murder So long as there is British rule in the Six Counties there will be the sectarians of both the security forces and the Loyalist paramilitaries to defend it. Every death in Ireland results from the real conspiracy by the British ruling class to deny the Irish people their democratic rights. The Stevens inquiry attempted to cover-up the truth of Britain's rule in Ireland and to sustain the myth that the British armed forces are a neutral arbiter in the conflict. His limited success was entirely due to the lack of real opposition to the occupation of Ireland.

At the same time, the fact that the British public got a brief insight into the fact that the UDR operates as Britain's murder squad in Ireland means the mask slipped just slightly.

It's up to us to ensure that next time the façade of British law and order slips in Ireland, it remains exposed.

July/August 1990 11

REVIEWS

Irish freedom fighters are not British criminals Cage Eleven, Gerry Adams, published by Brandon, £4.95 pbk •British direct ruler Merlyn Rees' new act came into being at twelve midnight and suddenly we stopped being political prisoners.

That's as clear As soon as the as day. legislation came into effect, Irish men and women in the gaols all over the North became criminals. It was like an act of God. (Beware the ides of March, p69) *Beware the ides of March' is just one of the many essays worth reading in this collection of articles written by Gerry Adams under the pseudonym of Brownie' and published in the republican press. The insight Adams gives is very valuable. It is life from behind the wire, from the men and women incarcerated by British imperialism and branded common criminals-not through the actions of God, but by the British as he outlines above, government. Shoot to kill Yorkshire Television's drama documentary Shoot to Kill gave a rare account of British atrocities in Ireland and the authorities' sub- The sequent attempt to cover them up.

treatment, however, begged the question: was the shoot-to-kill policy the exception, or the rule? Shoot to Kill relates the story of the Stalker affair. John Stalker was the deputy chief constable of Manchester who was sent to Northern Ireland to investigate Britain's shoot-to-kill policy. In November and December 1982 six unarmed nationalists were shot dead by the Royal Ulster Constabulary in Armagh; another was maimed. The authorities tried to cover the facts up about the killing.

False statements by the RUC were soon followed by the acquittal of four of them of murder charges. Stalker was brought in to run a mock investigation. Stalker was expected to cover up the atrocities. But when he started poking around too deeply, the establishment set him up too. Allegations about criminal connections with Manchester businessman Kevin Taylor were trumped up. Taylor was framed for fraud and subsequently acquitted.

Stalker was removed. Shoot to Kill pulled no punches denouncing the cover-up. However, the real flaw in the programme was the implication that the shoot-to-kill policy was largely the product of local conspiracies and cock-ups, and men 'out of control. The Stalker affair proved that the conspiracy went all the way to Downing Street. 12 July/August 1990 Adams paints successfully a picture of his life inside the cages of Long Kesh concentration camp. The humour is inspirational as is the ingenuity of republican prisoners: we read in the heroically funny 'Cratur' the tale of a republican prisoner in the cages of Long Kesh who successfully convinced inmates and prison officials that he was going mad. He was so convincing that the authorities sent him to an open prison. He thanked them by toasting their health in a Dundalk pub after he strolled out of the prison and escaped. The search for an escape to the outside world dominates Cage Eleven. Beneath the humour lies the darker side of Britain's concentration camps. 'Frank Stagg, 1976' describes Stagg's hunger-strike which led to his death in 1976: The programme fails ultimately because it fails to place the murder of six nationalists in 1982 in the context of Britain's war in Ireland, and in particular in the context of the Northern Ireland assembly elections of 1982. These elections took place in the wake of the 1981 hunger-strikes in which 10 republicans died fighting for political status. For the first time since the war began again Sinn Fein stood candidates in the elections and took more than a third of the nationalist votes. The result showed that the conflict in Ireland was not a criminal conspiracy but a guerrilla war with mass popular support. Britain's response was to step up the campaign of terror: the result was the murder of six nationalists in Armagh. *It's not Dixon of Dock Green we are dealing with here, you know. It's more like Irish Freedom 'When Frank's jaws are finally prised open a wooden bit, rather like a horse's bit, is forced into his mouth. It "sits" across his mouth with a screw holding each end, and there is a hole in the centre of it through which the feeding tube passes. A flat piece of wood is used to press the tongue down and a three-foot rubber tube, coated in liquid paraffin, is shoved in and down his throat. A funnel is placed on the open end and some water is poured in. If the water bubbles they know the tube is in Frank's lungs. If so, the tube is removed and the process starts again.

Michael Gaughan was murdered in this way.

When the tube is eventually fixed properly it is pushed down into Frank's stomach' Frank Stagg died on his fourth hunger-strike in Wakefield prison. His determination to fight even until death against the criminalisation of Irish political prisoners is depicted with clarity by Adams. It reveals the commitment and courage of Irish freedom fighters.

Cage Eleven is a valuable book for supporters of Irish freedom to read. Not only is it inspirational but it gives a welcome new insight into the struggle against criminalisation.

For those building a solidarity movement in Britain where the battle against criminalisation is still to be won, Adams' book is well worth reading Kirk Williams Joe Boatman 5171126) some death squads from a banana republic.

These men are totally out of control.' So exclaims Stalker during the film. 'Death squads from a banana republic' is exactly how the British Army, and its local allies in Northern Ireland, operate. But they are not out of control. As the RUC inspector told Stalker in the film, 'from where we are standing, it is the only way we can keep control.

What Shoot to Kill failed to bring out is the fact that the death squads operate under the full control of the British authorities. No inquiry, particularly by the very people who wield that policy, can expose, let alone end, shoot-to-kill. Only defeating Britain in Ireland can do that. We look forward to the day Yorkshire Television make a drama documentary with this as the theme.

Linda Morris

WAR

DIARY

Compiled by Colm Murphy Sunday 1 April: Peter Brooke, Northern Ireland secretary, speaking at a regimental dinner marking the twentieth anniversary of the formation of the UDR, says the regiment is comprised of 'an exceptional body of men and women committed to justice, decency and democracy' Monday 2 April: The plea by the Winchester Three for leave to appeal against their 25year sentence in 1988 for conspiracy to murder the then secretary of state for Northern Ireland opens at the appeal court in London. Wednesday 4 April: Roger Bradley, a Catholic plumber from Swatragh, County Derry, is shot dead by Loyalist gunmen at his workplace in Rathcoole, North Belfast.

Thursday 5 April: Leave to appeal is granted to the Winchester Three at the appeal court.

Brian Fleming from Alabama, and Charles Malone, from San Francisco, are convicted at a court in Montgomery, Alabama of conspiring to send high-powered rifles to the IRA. Friday 6 April: The supreme court in Dublin refuses to extradite Owen Carron, former Sinn Fein MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, to Northern Ireland on a charge of possession of a firearm. Sinn Fein publicity director Danny Morrison is remanded yet again at Belfast magistrates court, charged with conspiracy to murder, and falsely imprisoning an alleged informer. Monday 9 April: Four UDR men are killed outside Downpatrick, County Down when their landrover is blown up by an IRA landmine. Six men with Dublin addresses are remanded in custody at the special criminal court charged with IRA membership and possession of explosives found during a raid by Gardai in County Wicklow on 7 April.

Wednesday 11 April: Four hundred Loyalists led by lan Paisley join the protest in Belfast against the visit by Charles Haughey to the Institute of Directors conference.

On Channel 4's Dispatches programme, Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams indicates that an IRA ceasefire could be effected if Britain were to enter into negotiations with Sinn Fein about an eventual disengagement from Northern Ireland. Sunday 15 April: IPLO member Eoin Morley is shot dead by the IRA in Newry, County Down. The IRA accused him of being an informer. Thursday 19 April: Martin Corrigan, an IPLO member, is shot dead by a British Army patrol near the home of a police reservist in County Armagh. Friday 20 April: Charles Haughey, Irish prime minister, visits Downing Street for talks with Margaret Thatcher about further European integration. Official Unionist candidate David Trimble is elected in the Upper Bann by-election with a reduced majority. Conservative candidate Colette Jones finishes in sixth place with 1118 votes. Thursday 26 April: The home secretary lifts an exclusion order imposed on Martin Galvin, publicity director of Noraid.

Friday 27 April: Finbarr Cullen, Martina Shanahan and John McCann, jailed for 25 years for conspiracy to murder Tom King, have their convictions quashed by the court of appeal after it decides that the case was overwhelmingly prejudiced by a statement make by King during their trial.

The IRA claim responsibility for the killing of building contractor Kenneth Graham in Kilkeel, County Down for supplying materials to the RUC. Monday 30 April: The trial opens at the Old Bailey of Nick Mullen and Eamon Wadley.

They are charged with conspiracy to cause explosions. the Crown alleges that the conspiracy was uncovered during a raid on a flat in Clapham in December 1988.

Wednesday 2 May: An IRA bomb explodes inside Lisburn Territorial Army base, critically injuring a mechanic.

Tuesday 8 May: Cardinal Tomas O' Fiaich, Catholic primate of all Ireland, dies of a heart attack while on a pilgrimage to Lourdes.

Monday 14 May: An IRA bomb explodes at the Royal Army Education Corps HQ in Eltham, south-east London injuring seven Irish Freedom Wednesday 16 May: One soldier is killed and another seriously wounded when a bomb explodes under their van at the rear of an Army careers information office in Wembley, north-west London. Thursday 17 May: The Stevens report into collusion between security forces and Loyalist paramilitaries concludes that there was collusion, but that it was 'neither widespread nor institutionalised.

Monday 21 May: The film Hidden Agenda, which deals with undercover security operations in Belfast, wins the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Tory MP Ivor Stanbrook says that the film is not the British entry, but the IRA entry.

Thursday 24 May: Kevin Barry O'Donnell, a student from Staffordshire, is charged with possession of two rifles at Lambeth magistrates court. He was arrested in Tottenham, north London on 22 May.

Sunday 27 May: The IRA admits that they shot and killed two Australian lawyers in the town centre of Roermond, Netherlands, having mistaken them for British soldiers. Thursday 31 May: Ulster Television director of programming announces that the television documentary based on allegations that the RUC operated a shoot-to-kill policy in Northern Ireland, will not be shown in Northern Ireland for legal reasons.

Friday 1 June: Major MJ Dillon Lee, a Royal Artillery major in the British Army, is shot dead by the IRA in Dortmund, The IRA shoot dead one British soldier, and wound two others in an attack at a train station in Lichfield, Staffordshire.

Monday 4 June: Police detain six men for questioning under the PTA in connection with the Eltham and Wembley bombings and The Ulster Volunteer Force admits shooting dead a 60-year old Catholic, Patick Boyle, and wounding his two sons Paul and Michael, in Annaghmore, County Armagh.

An IRA bomb explodes at the site for a new RUC station in Lisnagevlin, July/August 1990 13

Why we march in August Troops out of Ireland! Prisoners out of jail! On 9 August 1971 Britain introduced internment without trial in the Six Counties. Denis Ryan examines the events which led to internment and explains why commemorating this act of colonial repression remains vital in 1990 *They dragged men out of their homes who were wearing only their pants, no shoes, no shirt. The Brits were everywhere. It was total pandemonium. Someone was shouting "Internment! internment!". People were throwing everything imaginable at the soldiers.'

(Clara Reilley, Turf Lodge resident).

It was 4am on Monday 9 August 1971 and this was 'Operation Demetrius, the codename for internment without trial. It marked a significant new point in the repressive campaign which Britain had been running since the troops went back on to the Irish streets in 1969. Internment was an expression of the fact that Britain was fighting a colonial war of oppression in Ireland. What led to internment? Things fall apart The emergence of the civil rights campaign in 1968/69 unleashed forces that caught many unawares. It brought the Irish question back into British politics in a way that had not been The civil rights movement campaigned for basic reforms such as one person one vote and an end to discrimination in jobs and housing. It was met with brutal repression from Loyalist mobs supported by the RUC.

But as subsequent events were to illustrate, the sectarian state of Northern Ireland was not reformable: its institutionalised discrimination against Catholics remained the backbone of British rule in Ireland. And as this became obvious, so the nature of the struggle began to change accordingly.

The civil rights movement was simply the catalyst which brought Catholic working class resentment to the surface. They had suffered long years of discrimination and repression at the hands of the Loyalistdominated state. Once they had been brought out on to the streets things could never be the same. What had begun as a plea for reforms soon became a fundamental challenge to British rule in Ireland. Ominously for Britain, marchers and protesters had stopped singing 'We shall overcome", and began to sing 'A nation once again' and 'Kevin Barry'.

July/August 1990 14 Dormant since the twenties, the struggle for Irish independence was coming back to haunt British imperialism. The re-emergence of the national question represented a fundamental change. Since partition in 1921 Britain had left the running of Northern Ireland completely to their Loyalist agents at Stormont. A convention was established uniting both Tory and Labour administrations whereby the internal affairs of Northern Ireland would not be discussed at Westminster. Right up to October 1968 Whitehall was so unaware of the explosive situation that was developing that they had no civil servant devoting full-time attention to Northern Ireland. Westminster's watch on the situation was handled by the general department of the home office, where it ranked somewhere alongside the control of London taxis (Ulster, Sunday Times Insight Team). Even when things began to get out of hand it took some time for the gravity of the situation to sink in.

'A good place for hunting' The job of commanding Ulster's garrison had till then been a quiet task, allocated as a last posting before retirement: "A good place for hunting' as one of the defence staff said.

There would not be much hunting but plenty of shooting for Lieutenant General lan Freedland who was brought in as General Officer in Command in July 1969. As it happened, Freedland was just the chap for the job: between 1954 and 1964, Freedland had led British forces in putting down independence movements in Cyprus, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Many of the tactics that were to be used in Ireland had been tried and tested by this leading exponent of counter-insurgency warfare.

In contrast to the politicians at Westminster his first reaction on arriving in Northern Ireland was to call for Army reinforcements.

*Why don't they realise, we are on the brink of civil war, he pleaded when troops were refused him. Whitehall soon had to wake up to reality.

By 12 August the siege of the Bogside in Irish Freedom Derry had begun. Two days later RUC men were driving through the Catholic strongholds of Derry and Belfast firing machine guns mounted on the backs of landrovers.

Ten people were killed, but the forces of British law and order could not gain control.

Then Freedland got his wish. British troops went back on to the streets of Northern Ireland for the first time in 50 years.

The Army were initially seen as defenders of the beleaguered Catholics. Attempts by the RUC to break into the 'no-go' areas, however, revealed the Army role as back-up to the RUC. The rioting continued.

By mid-1969, the Ulster cabinet and the British government were in a state of panic.

Rioting was widespread and the IRA was becoming active. In 1969, however, the IRA and disorganised was still badly armed Britain's next move was to help bring about a rebirth of the IRA which was to finally lead to the introduction of internment.

Intelligence and repression The problem for Britain was that increased repression led to increased resistance.

The military clampdown created ever greater grievances against British rule.

John Benson for example had painted No tea served here!' on the wall of his street-a reference to the now-defunct practice of giving tea to the troops. The Army followed a trail of red paint back to his house and arrested him. The judge said it was an obvious attempt to intimidate people and gave him six months. Between July and December of that year, 269 people were arrested on similar charges: 32 served less than six months, 109 served the full term.

However, this did nothing to dampen resistance. By mid-1971 the IRA had grown in numbers and capability. By March it was letting off two bombs a day in Northern Ireland and the first soldiers had been killed.

When Brian Faulkner became prime minister in the Stormont government in March 1971 the British government was frantically searching for a strategy to defeat the nationalist upsurge. It was now clearly an open anti-colonial war for national self-determination. The British seized upon internment as the most viable proposition. By the evening of 9 August 1971, 342 people had been arrested by the British Army.

Internment One hundred and twenty-four of these people went to the Crumlin Road jail in Belfast, while the overspill was put on a rusting prison ship The Maidstone moored in Belfast docks.

Over the next three months a further 882 people were picked up, and over a four-year period, 2158 internment orders were signed.

As people watched their friends and relations being dragged and beaten from their houses on that first day the nationalist community was inflamed. News of the torture taking place in the prisons began to leak out.

The alienation of the Catholics from the Army and the British government was now complete.

Of the 342 picked up on 9 August, 14 were selected for sensory deprivation and subjected to what became known as the five techniques. With hands over their heads, they were made to stand flush against walls for long periods. They were deprived of sleep, given irregular food and water to increase their disorientation and they were subjected to white noise. Some were hooded and thrown out of helicopters flying a few feet above the ground, having been told they were flying high over Belfast.

This was a pre-planned exercise by the Army. It was also a ghoulish experiment in psychological and physical maltreatment to see how it would affect these selected prisoners. The intention was to find a fairly subtle -one that left no marks on the body-of wayshattering a person's will and forcing him to cooperate with his captors rather than lose his mind. Many of the 14 suffered permanent psychological damage as a result of this cruelty.

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01 375 17077 Long Kesh was hurriedly built to hold the internees. When news of what was taking place within its walls started to leak out the effect was exactly the opposite this brutality was intended to stem: nationalists were queuing to join up and the IRA was taking on the police and the Army in open street battles.

In the four months prior to internment, four soldiers had been killed in the North. In the four months after its introduction, 30 soldiers and 11 RUC and UDR men were killed.

March for Irish freedom! This is why we march in August: not simply to remember the brutality of the British state but to salute the resistance of the Irish people.

Commemorating the introduction of internment without trial also serves to remind ourselves what is at stake in Ireland: internment showed that there are no lengths to which the state will not go to ensure that there is no armed uprising within the borders of

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Irish Freedom what they call the United Kingdom.

But there is another reason why we need to march in August 1990: there are still over 1000 Irishmen and women held in inhuman conditions in these islands. We want them out. Today Britain still brands these Irish prisoners as criminals and sends them to HM Prison the Maze rather than Long Kesh. In 1990 it is more necessary than ever for us to declare these prisoners are freedom fighters.

Their only crime was to fight for the freedom of their nation from British imperialism.

We will march on 11 August to remember the injustice of internment without trial and to declare our support for all those struggling to end Britain's concentration camp law in Ireland. The demands Troops out of Ireland!

Prisoners out of jail!' are ones which anybody who believes in real freedom must support.

And the place to show that support is on the internment commemoration march in north London on 11 August.

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01-27s 1702 Simon Norfolk July/August 1990 15

hold them in jail in the full knowledge of The Birmingham Six conspiracy The British state is rotten to the core In the almost 16-year long saga of the Birmingham Six, there has only ever been one conspiracy-that of the British political and judicial establishment to fit up six Irishmen for the Birmingham pub bombings and their innocence. • To the British ruling class the guilt or innocence of the Six has always been an irrelevance. Paddy Hill, Johnny Walker, Hughie Callaghan, Dick Mcllkenny, Billy Power and Gerry Hunter were stitched up and have been kept inside because the British state is at war with the Irish people.

• In this five-page feature, Alex Farrell examines the depths of the conspiracy and exposes through examining the major personalities involved who the real conspirators are—the brotherhood which pulls the strings tied together by education, inclination and above all, class interest July/August 1990 16 Irish Freedom The trial 9 June-15 August 1975 The judge: BRIDGE, Nigel Cyprian Born 26 February 1917, the son of a Royal Navy commander Educated at Marlborough public school 1940: joins British Army 1941: commissioned into the King's Royal Rifle Corps 1947: becomes a barrister 1968: Nigel becomes Sir Nigel and is appointed judge of the high court of justice, Queen's bench division Bridge's summing-up amounted to an instruction to the jury to convict. On the forensic evidence-only Billy Power and Paddy Hill had registered positive on the Greiss test, and the GCMS tests (100 times more sensitive than Greiss) subsequently came up negative on both. The Greiss test has been shown to give a positive result from nitrocellulose and many other nonexplosive items. The home office has discontinued its use. The forensic scientist who carried out the tests, Dr Frank Skuse, has subsequently been retired on grounds of limited efficiency'. Yet Bridge described the forensic evidence as one of the two 'absolutely critical' elements in the prosecution case. The other critical element was that of the confessions extracted under torture.

Bridge rubbished the suggestion. If the Six were telling the truth, said Bridge, the police had been involved in a conspiracy 'unprecedented in the annals of British criminal history' and would be shown to be 'masters of the vile techniques of cruelty and brutality to suspects'. This of course is what subsequent revelations have in fact shown them to be. Bridge worked overtime to give credence to the police version of the interrogations.

After the inevitable guilty verdict, Bridge declared that the Six had been convicted 'on the clearest and most overwhelming evidence I have ever heard'. The pay-off 1975: eight days before sentencing the Birmingham Six to life, Bridge is appointed a lord justice of appeal and elevated to the privy council 1977: appointed to the Security Commission, which oversees the security services of the British state 1980: Nigel Cyprian becomes Baron Bridge of Harwich in the county of Essex and gets a better-paid job as a lord of appeal in ordinary 1982: the noble lord is made chairman of the Security Commission 1985: retires

The prosecutor: SKINNER, Henry Albert Born 20 May 1926 Educated at Wyggeston grammar school, Leicester and St John's College, Oxford 1950: becomes a barrister 1965: becomes a Queen's counsel (QC) 1973: Crown prosecutor against Father Patrick Fell and five others in Coventry accused of being an IRA unit 1975: prosecutor in Birmingham Six trial The pay-off 1975: five days after the Six were convicted, Skinner is appointed a circuit judge The defence lawyers: EVANS, John Field Born 27 September 1928 Educated at Cardiff high school and Exeter College, Oxford 1948-9: RAF pilot 1953: becomes a barrister 1972: becomes a QC and crown court 1975: defence counsel for Paddy Hill, Billy Power and Hughie Callaghan The pay-off 1978: Evans is appointed a circuit judge UNDERHILL, Michael Thomas Ben Born 10 February 1918 Educated at Radley public school and Brasenose College, Oxford 1939-42: Gloucester Regiment 1942-46: joins 2nd King Edward's Own Gurkha Rifles; leaves with rank of major 1947: becomes a barrister 1972: becomes a QC 1975: defence counsel for Gerry Hunter, Dick Mcllkenny and Johnny Walker The pay-off 1978: Underhill is appointed a circuit judge The appeal 30 March 1976 The Six appealed on the basis of Bridge's clear guidance to the jury to convict, when 'summing up', his denigration of defence witnesses, his D))) failure to include in his summing-up some key aspects of the defence case, and his conscious avoidance of the many discrepancies in the alleged confessions. The Six were unable to reraise questions on the forensic Illustration: Nat evidence, on the grounds that there was no new evidence since the original trial.

The appeal came before the lord chief justice, Lord Widgery, sitting with Lord Justice Lawton and Mr Justice Boreham. Irish Freedom July/August 1990 17

The judge: WIDGERY, John Passmore Born 24 July 1911 Educated at Queen's College, Taunton 1933: becomes a solicitor 1939: joins Royal Artillery 1942: promoted to lieutenant colonel 1945: awarded Order of the British Empire 1946: becomes a barrister 1952: promoted to brigadier in the Territorial Army 1958: appointed QC 1961: becomes Sir John and a judge of the high court of justice, Queen's bench 1968: appointed a lord justice of appeal and elevated to the privy council 1971: Sir John becomes Baron Widgery of South Molton and is appointed lord chief justice, second only to the lord high chancellor in the English and Welsh judicial system 1972: fourteen unarmed civil rights demonstrators are shot dead in Derry by soldiers of the First Battalion Parachute Regiment. The Derry coroner describes the killings as 'sheer unadulterated murder'-for which he loses his job. Lord Widgery is brought in to conduct an inquiry. To the surprise of nobody but the terminally naive, Widgery whitewashes the murderers, while failing to find any evidence to support their claim that they were fired on first. To add insult to injury, Colonel Wilford, the Officer Commanding the First Paratroops on the day, is shortly afterwards awarded the Order of the British Empire for his distinguished services to the British 1976: hears and rejects Birmingham Six LAWTON, Frederick Horace Born 21 December 1911 Educated at Battersea grammar school and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge 1932: founder member of the Cambridge University Fascist Association 1935: becomes a barrister 1939: joins London Irish Rifles 1941: invalided out, returns to the bar 1957: appointed QC 1961: becomes Sir Frederick (Horace) and a judge of the high court of justice, Queen's bench division 1964: becomes president of the British Academy of Forensic Sciences 1972: appointed to the privy council and gets a new job as a lord justice of appeal 1976: hears and rejects Birmingham Six appeal 1977: joins Lord Justice Roskill and Mr Justice Boreham in dismissing the Guildford Four appeal 1986: retires THOMPSON, John Born 16 December 1907 July/August 1990 18 Educated at Bellahouston Academy, Glasgow University and Oriel College, Oxford 1933: becomes a barrister 1954: appointed QC 1961: becomes Sir John and a judge of division In rejecting the appeal, Widgery remarked on the beatings that there was no evidence that the Six had sustained damage or knocking about 'beyond the ordinary'-but then this was the man who had concluded that shooting down 14 unarmed demonstrators was quite reasonable.

On the forensic tests, which did not form part of the appeal, Widgery admitted that they showed no the Six's hands, but described the question as being 'not a point of great importance in this case'! Whereas the trial judge had described it as one of the crown case. The fact that the material allegedly carried by the men could not possibly have fitted into the cases which they actually carried was do not find it necessary to go into detail'. Appeal dismissed Trial No2 10 June-15 July 1976 The trial of 14 Winson Green screws, who beat up the Six on their arrival on remand at the prison. The trial was Birmingham Six, to ensure that their evidence would be thoroughly discredited and so that the screws their side. The trial was held in Birmingham. The judge: SWANNICK, Graham Russell Born 24 August 1906 and University College, Oxford 1930: becomes a barrister reserve 1956: appointed QC and is appointed a judge of the high 1975-8: becomes presiding judge, Midlands and Oxford circuit, and as such presides over the trial of the Winson Green warders Irish Freedom the high court of justice, Queen's bench general staff conclusive traces of explosive on any of appeal 1982: retires the two 'absolutely critical' elements in described as 'so unimportant...that we delayed until after the conviction of the would have public sympathy firmly on Educated at Winchester public school 1940: wing commander RAF volunteer 1966: Swanwick becomes Sir Graham 1978 by: court of justice, Queen's bench division The defence lawyer-for the prison warders: COX, Brian (Robert) Escott Born 30 September 1932 Educated at Rugby public school and Oriel College, Oxford 1954: becomes a barrister 1974: appointed QC The prosecutor: DRAYCOTT, Douglas Patrick Born 23 August 1918 Educated at Wolstanton grammar school and Oriel College, Oxford 1939-46: Royal Tank Regiment and 1950: becomes a barrister 1965: appointed QC 1972: appointed master of the bench 1976: hears and rejects Birmingham Six The trial of the Winson Green screws No screw gave any evidence on oath.

All made unsworn statements.

Their solicitors had statements from each in which many acknowledged their part in assaulting the Six. All pleaded not guilty. The Birmingham Six made sworn statements reaffirming their innocence and describing their beatings at the hands of both the police and the prison warders. Swanwick referred to them throughout as 'the bombers'. There were also sworn statements from many prisoners and ex-prisoners present at Winson Green when the Six were brought in. All were denigrated by Swanwick who contrasted them unfavourably with the screws, who were all, he said, men of 'exemplary character. All 14 screws were found not guilty. The only problem with this fine example of British justice was that it put the police back into the frame for the beatings, which nobody denied had The Six then began a civil action for damages against the police and the home office, using forensic evidence which showed that they had been beaten before and after arriving at Winson Green. The home office admitted liability, but the police applied to have the action struck out. This application was heard in November The judge: CANTLEY, Joseph (Donaldson) Born 8 August 1910 Educated at Manchester grammar

school and Manchester University 1933: becomes a barrister 1939: joins Royal Artillery 1943: promoted to lieutenant colonel and assistant adjutant general 1945: awarded Order of the British Empire 1954: becomes QC 1965: becomes Sir Joseph and is appointed a judge of the high court of justice, Queen's bench division 1971-7: honorary colonel Manchester and Salford universities officer training corps 1976: presides over trial of Brendan Dowd and sentences him to life imprisonment on 11 May 1978: hears police application to strike out Birmingham Six civil action for damages 1985: retires Given that the Six had been beaten up, and given that the screws had been found not guilty, Cantley ruled that the Six's civil action against the police The chief constables of the West Midlands and Lancashire police weren't wearing it and appealed against Cantley's ruling. Their case went to the court of appeal where it was heard in January 1980 by the master of the rolls, Lord Denning, with his colleagues Lord Justice Goff and Sir George Baker.

Appeal court hearing January 1980 The judges: DENNING, Alfred Thomas Born 23 January 1899 Educated at Andover grammar school and Magdalen College, Oxford 1917-19: Royal Engineers, British Expeditionary Force, France 1923: becomes a barrister 1938: appointed king's counsel KC) 1944: becomes Sir Alfred and is made judge of the high court of justice 1948: appointed to the privy council and made lord justice of appeal 1957: Created Baron Denning of Whitchurch and promoted to a lord of appeal in ordinary 1962: becomes number three in the judicial hierarchy, when he is appointed master of the rolls Denning's elder brother Lieutenant- General Sir Reginald Francis Stewart Denning, served as General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland from 1949 to 1952—and then retired GOFF, Robert Lionel Archibald Educated at Eton public school and New College, Oxford 1945: commissioned into the Scots 1948: leaves British Army 1951: becomes a barrister 1951-5: academic at Lincoln College, 1967: appointed QC 1975: becomes Sir Robert and made a judge of the high court of justice, Queen's bench division Following the appeal court hearing, Goff's career progresses: 1980-1: honorary professor of legal ethics(!) at Birmingham University made a lord justice of appeal 1986: meets the Queen and becomes Baron Goff of Chievely in the royal lord of appeal in ordinary BAKER, George (Gillespie) Born 25 April 1910 Educated at Glasgow Academy, Strathallan School and Brasenose College, Oxford 1932: becomes a barrister 1939: joins Queen's own RWK 1940: commissioned into the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) 1941-2: deputy assistant adjutant general, war office adjutant general, British war crimes executive, Nuremberg trials 1945: contested Southall, Middlesex constituency for the Conservative & Unionist Party (lost) 1952: appointed QC a judge of the family division of the 1971: appointed to the privy council These three lofty Oxford men had no hesitation in upholding the police appeal. It was at this appeal that Lord Denning made his famous statement, of the British state will always rank above any formal notion of British justice: If the six men fail, it will mean that much time and money will have been that the police were guilty of perjury, that they were guilty of violence and threats, that the confessions were involuntary and were improperly admitted in evidence and that the to continue? 1982: appointed to the privy council and county of Berkshire and is appointed a 1942-4: assistant adjutant general, allied 1945: colonel, 'A' army group, assistant 1988, was: 1961: becomes Sir George and is made 1939: joins RAF affirming that the authority and integrity bench division 'Just consider the course of events if St Ippollitts this action is allowed to proceed to trial.

expended by many people for no good purpose. If the six men win, it will mean Irish Freedom convictions were erroneous. That would mean the home secretary would either have to recommend they be pardoned or he would have to remit the case to the court of appeal. This is such an appalling vista that every sensible person in the land would say: it cannot be right these actions should go any further....It is high time it stopped. It is really an attempt to set aside the convictions on a side wind. It is a scandal that should not be allowed The Birmingham Six appealed to the house of lords against Denning's verdict. In November 1981, to nobody's surprise but to the disgust of many, the house of lords found against them.

In October 1985 a World in Action programme on television subjected Dr Frank Skuse's forensic tests to detailed analysis by two forensic scientists, who demonstrated that they showed no conclusive proof of contact with nitroglycerine. It further emerged that home office forensic scientists in the early and mid-seventies were in the habit of cleaning their test equipment with nitroglycerine and therefore of contaminating it themselves. A few days after the TV programme, Dr Skuse was retired.

In November 1986 an ex-police officer, who was present during the interrogations at Queen's Road police station, came forward to support the Six's statements that they had been beaten and tortured. On 20 January 1987 home secretary Douglas Hurd referred the case to the court of appeal. The presiding judge, who delivered his verdict on 28 January LANE, Geoffrey Dawson Born 17 July 1918 Educated at Shrewsbury public school and Trinity College, Cambridge 1942: promoted to squadron leader 1946: becomes a barrister 1962: becomes a QC, in which capacity as prosecuting counsel, he sends James Hanratty to the gallows. Hanratty is later shown to have been innocent 1966: is knighted and made a judge of the high court of justice, Queen's 1974: appointed to the privy council and made a lord justice of appeal 1979: becomes a lord of appeal in ordinary and is created Baron Lane of 1980: achieves the heights of lord chief justice, number two in the hierarchy At the appeal, evidence was heard from three ex-police officers, one serving policeman, two ex-prison warders and a police station cleaner/supervisor which corroborated the fact that the Six had been tortured in police custody. The original forensic evidence was utterly 19 July/August 1990

discredited. These two elements in the original case had been described by the trial judge Bridge as the two absolutely critical' elements in the prosecution case. The appeal court judgment was delivered on 28 January 1988 by Lord Lane. Having indicated his view that all the fresh witnesses were either dishonest or their testimony irrelevant, Lord Lane declared that 'the longer the hearing has gone on, the more convinced this court has become that the verdict of the jury was correct. We have no doubt that these convictions were both safe and satisfactory. The appeals are dismissed' Lane also refused the Birmingham Six leave to appeal to the house of lords. July/August 1990 20 Troops out of Ireland! Prisoners out of jail!

This is the story so far. Reading it is like reading a John Le Carre spy thriller.

But this is no fiction. The Birmingham Six are still in prison. The reduction of their security classification from Category A to Category B status in December 1989 was an embarrassing but belated acknowledgement that almost everyone recognises them to be innocent. Yet the protracted conspiracy of the British establishment shows that what has happened to these six Irishmen is by no means a miscarriage of British justice. It is in fact British justice in its highest form—a legal system reflecting faithfully the interests of the British ruling class, which is at war with the The Birmingham Six (clockwise from top): Paddy Hill, Hugh Callaghan, Johnny Walker, Gerry Hunter, Billy Power and Dick Mcllkenny Irish Freedom Irish people. It is this reality that liberal campaigners fail to grasp. Their approach which emphasises concern for the reputation of the British legal system is doomed to failure. The British state will do whatever it deems necessary to win its colonial war against the Irish people. That's why we have to emphasise again and again, that the question of guilt or innocence does not enter into it: the real question is, whose side are you on in the Irish War?

If we are to ensure that there can be no more Birmingham Six cases, as well as no Irish freedom fighters in British jails, then it is the British state and its justice that must be defeated.

The decision of the supreme court in Dublin not to The extradition controversy in the South Business as usual extradite Owen Carron, the former Sinn Fein MP, caused. major consternation in the Republic and Britain. Colm Murphy explains why the decision does not alter Dublin's subordination to Britain The scene is a typical one in the Irish Republic: judges in the supreme court in Dublin deliberated whether or not to extradite Dermot Finucane and James Clarke from the Irish Republic to Northern Ireland. Meanwhile the Irish army and the Gardai were mounting an elaborate security operation along the Border, in preparation for the anticipated handover. However, somebody changed the script and didn't tell the Gardai.

The supreme court, in a ruling that took almost everyone by surprise, denied the extradition requests and rendered the military exercise on the Border obsolete. The Irish taxpayer was left to foot the £250 000 bill.

This ruling and the subsequent decision to free Owen Carron, former Sinn Fein MP.

provoked an outcry. Desmond O'Malley, the leader of the Progressive Democrats, junior partners in the present Haughey administration, expressed 'consternation and dismay'.

Margaret Thatcher felt "bewilderment and depression. Liberal media commentators talked of a renewed diplomatic crisis between Dublin and Whitehall. More strident critics of the decision described the Republic as a sanctuary for terrorists. On the other hand, antiextradition activists in Dublin described the ruling as a 'legislative watershed. How meaningful are these analyses? Let us examine the issues involved. Screw brutality The primary consideration of the judges in Finucane and Clarke cases was the likelihood of them being subjected to physical abuse from prison officers if they were returned to the North. Finucane and Clarke were two Irish Freedom Charles Haughey (left) meets Sinn Fein MP Owen Carron back in 1981 of 38 republicans who escaped from the Maze prison in September 1983. During the escape, one prison officer died and several others were injured. Evidence was given to the court in Dublin that the remaining republican prisoners were subjected to vicious assaults by prison officers. An action in the Northern Ireland high court by one of the prisoners exposed an elaborate cover-up of the events by Northern Ireland prison authorities.

Medical evidence showed that prison officers had been guilty of perjury.

Finucane's lawyers told the court that during the disturbance, prison officers had told Finucane that he would be executed if any of the prison officers were injured. It was this evidence that prompted the supreme court judges to conclude: The total absence of any repercussions on the staff as a result of ill-treatment of prisoners in the aftermath of the escape and the success of their conspiracy to cover up their conduct would appear to make Finucane a probable target for illtreatment.' The judges also found in favour of Clarke on the grounds that they had a duty under the Irish constitution to protect him as an Irish citizen. The second reasoa given for the refusal to extradite caused considerably more controversy among the Irish establishment. Justice Walsh ruled that a ions which took place outside Irish jurisdiction would not be deemed unconstitutional. The ruling has led to calls for a tightening up of the legislation.

The Progressive Democrats, Fine Gael and the Workers Party leaders were all united in their condemnations of the ruling. Des O'Malley, leader of the Progressive Democrats, July/August 1990 21

exacerbated tensions within the fragile Fianna Fail-PD coalition government by calling for a review of the 1987 Extradition Act. He baulked. however, at the notion of precipitating a general election on the issue, stating that this was not one on which the public would welcome an election. The response to the rulings from the Haughey administration were predictably cautious and defensive. Prime minister Charles Haughey contended that the 1987 act will overcome any difficulties that arise in future extradition cases (these cases were not subject to the 1987 legislation). Foreign minister Gerry Collins suggested that it was up to the Northern Ireland prison authorities to get "their house in order'. Justice minister Ray Burke extolled the virtues of the Criminal Law Jurisdiction Bill as a vehicle for prosecuting Irish republicans. British justice These sentiments and the extradition debate, reflect the pressures faced by the Irish establishment on the question of extradition. The framing of the Guildford Four, Winchester Three and the continued incarceration of the Birmingham Six have confirmed suspicions among vast sections of the Irish public that Irish people cannot expect a fair trial in Britain. This is a consideration Southern politicians find expedient to play upon. It serves a dual function: it keeps the appearance of independence from Britain as well as the upholding of civil rights in the Republic. At the same time it in no way condones the republican movement or the armed struggle against Britain. These factors cannot be underestimated because the extradition issue goes to the very heart of all Southern politics.

Political offences Extradition has always been a difficult issue for Southern politicians. Up to 1984, Irish courts steered clear of extraditing for 'political offences. The Irish constitution does not allow the extradition of prisoners wanted in the North for political offences. The 1965 Extradition Act specifically prohibits extradition for political offences. However, under intense pressure from Britain, military activities by republicans no longer fall into the category of political offences. The fact that this was eventually accepted in Dublin exposes the real subordination of the Republic to British imperialism. In 1984, Inla commander Dominic McGlinchey was handed over to British authorities when the judge asserted that his activities did not constitute what reasonable civilised people would regard as political activity'. In March 1985 when he extradited John Quinn to Britain, Dublin's Chief Justice Finlay ruled that membership of the IRA should be a reason for extradition, not a defence. He deemed the aims of the IRA were *the establishment of a 32-county workers' republic and were thus unconstitutional".

The four remaining cases before the high court are those of Anthony Sloan, Paul Magee, Michael McKee and Desmond Ellis.

22 July/August 1990

NO BCTEADITIONS

TROOPS CUN

NOW

In the cases of Sloan, Magee and McKee, life sentences were imposed on them in 1981 for killing an SAS captain in 1980. All three have served 10-year sentences in Portlaoise for escaping from lawful custody in the North.

Against the verbal onslaught from the British to amend the 1987 Extradition Act, Charles Haughey insists that this act closes all potential loopholes and that it will be successful in securing their extraditions.

Britain's loyal puppet Any perceived ambivalence on the part of the Southern regime on the question of extradition should not obscure its commitment to criminalising and marginalising the liberation struggle in the Six Counties. Take the case of Desmond Ellis, a Dubliner sought by British police on charges of conspiracy to cause explosions in Britain between January 1981 and October 1983. Dublin is pleading with Whitehall to be allowed to try him under the Criminal Law Jurisdiction Act. This act, introduced in 1976, allows Irish courts to try republicans for their military activities in Britain or the Six Counties.

The Offences Against the State Act, the Irish equivalent of the PTA, has resulted in the arrest of over 20 000 people, a miniscule proportion of whom were charged. Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act, which bans Irish republicans from appearing on TV or radio predates its British equivalent by 13 years.

The 1985 Anglo-Irish agreement copperfastened the already close Irish Freedom

MIG ENDONTINA

Irish Freedom Movement

OOPS OUT NOW!

collaboration of Southern security forces with their British counterparts. Per head of the population, the Southern government spends three times as much as the British in policing the Border. A mistake commonly made by left-wing commentators about Anglo-Irish cooperation against republicans, is that this cooperation is a policy option for the Dublin regime. Ever since Britain partitioned Ireland in 1921, the survival of the Southern ruling class has depended on the capacity of the British to maintain the division of Ireland. Partition laid the foundations for a new form of British domination, allowing Whitehall to retain an indirect supervisory role over Southern affairs.

Just as Northern Ireland is an artificial British creation, so too is the South.

Appeals to Charles Haughey or to the Irish judiciary to oppose British imperialism in Ireland is akin to asking the Southern establishment to cut their own throats. It is the equivalent of asking the British ruling class to give up the Six Counties and break up the United Kingdom. Only a working class movement which recognises that the real enemy is British imperialism and its Dublin sidekicks can effectively challenge a regime which presides over massive unemployment, emigration levels of 40 000 per year and a corrupt system of political patronage. While Ireland remains partitioned, the agents of British imperialism in the South will continue to maintain Britain's interests in Irelandextradition and all.

Join the Irish Freedom Movement!

What we fight for The Irish Freedom Movement is the most active solidarity organisation in Britain. We organise the annual anti-internment commemoration which has become a national event (details overleaf). Throughout the year, we hold meetings, dayschools, protests and pickets, and produce Irish Freedom, leaflets, posters and stickers in support of our three demands: Troops out now! The British state is the force for oppression.

and violence in Ireland. It must bear the blame for all the bloodshed of the 'troubles.

Britain has no progressive role to play in any part of Ireland. The only hope of a just peace lies in forcing the immediate withdrawal of all occupation forces. Self-determination for the Irish people! National self-determination is a basic democratic right. The Irish people are denied it by

LIVING

MARXISM

The monthly review of the Revolutionary Communist Party The July issue of Living Marxism includes articles on: Out of the dark: racist violence in Italia '90 • racket capitalism in Poland, irrationalism in Western thought • Into the light: the case for reason, science, progress and revolution Living Marxism costs £1.50 or £15 for a 12-month subscription to anywhere in Britain or Northern Ireland. Make cheques payable to Junius Publications Ltd and send to Junius Publications Ltd, BCM JPLtd, London WC1N 3XX, or phone (071) 375 1485.

Win the propaganda war! The Irish War Irish Freedom Movement The lisha Freedom Mor handbook £4.95 plus 85p p&p Attractively produced and well illustrated...provides a tidy synopsis of

TRISH

what the North of Ireland is all about...you won't get better.' Irish Post Make cheques payable to Junius

WAR

Publications Ltd and send to Junius Publications Ltd, BCM JPLtd, London WC1N 3XX the existence of the British-imposed Border.

While any part of Irish soil is occupied by foreign forces, the Irish people must have the right to fight for a 32-county republic.

Smash the Prevention of Terrorism Act! The PTA is the British face of the Irish War.

Since it was introduced by the last Labour government in 1974, the PTA's powers of detention without charge and expulsion from Britain have been used to terrorise the Irish community over here and to endorse the idea that all Irish people are potential 'terrorists.

Campaigning against this draconian act is a vital part of building support for Irish freedom in Britain. Join the IFM There is plenty of work to be done if we are to get the message of Irish freedom across to British people. You can play an important part, by joining the Irish Freedom Movement Special offer Sell Irish Freedom only £5 to get you started Fill in the form below: copies. for Name Address Phone .. (071) 375 1702. Irish Freedom and campaigning for the cause in the labour movement, in your communities and on the streets (see pages 4-8 for reports on some of our work over the past few weeks).

If you want information about our forthcoming events or about the FM's approach to building a solidarity movement in this country that can get British troops out of Ireland, then get in touch. We have branches in: Glasgow, Newcastle, Durham, Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Birmingham, Coventry, Nottingham, Leicester, Oxford, Leeds, Wakefield, Bristol, Cardiff, Brighton, Southampton, West London, North London, South London The Irish War has already gone on for over We cannot afford to waste twenty years. another moment. So don't delay -sign up today! Annual membership costs £5 for individuals, £25 for union branches or other organisations and includes a free subscription to Irish Freedom. If you are new to the IFM and want to get involved but live in a part of the country where we don't have a branch, write to us and we will send you all the materials you need. As a special offer we will send you 10 copies of the bulletin for • I/We would like to join the IFM and enclose a cheque or postal order for f....

| I/We would like to start selling Irish Freedom and enclose a cheque/postal order for f.

Postcode Make cheques payable to IFM Association and send to IFM, BM IFM, London WC1N 3XX or telephone July/August 1990 23

troops out Irish Freedom Movement now saturday 11 august Join us and march with republican flute bands demanding Troops out of Ireland!

Prisoners out of jail! If you want more information about the march, or details of cheap transport from all over Britain, either write to IFM, BM IFM, London WC1N 3XX or phone (071) 375 1702.

assemble 1pm at slington Town Hall (rear), Upper Street, London N1 anti-internment marc