MacCionnaith Condemns Lurgan Raids

éirígí general secretary Breandán MacCionnaith has condemned the continuing harassment of Lurgan republicans after three homes were raided this morning [Wednesday] by the PSNI.

The PSNI arrived at the homes at 7am and were continuing with one raid this afternoon.  Among the homes raided were those belonging to relatives of imprisoned Armagh republican Colin Duffy.  Around 100 PSNI officers were involved in the searches.

 

MacCionnaith said: “Early morning raids are something that republicans in the Lurgan area are unfortunately very used to. However, that in no way lessens the trauma caused when a family finds its home invaded and their possessions being rifled through.

“This morning, not only did the PSNI place massive strain on children by demanding they be taken from their beds so armed strangers could trample through their homes, they also confiscated harmless equipment being used for school projects and homework.”

MacCionnaith added: “These raids are about one thing – persecuting republicans for their political beliefs and activities.  The ongoing harassment of the Duffy family is an extra malicious element that has been added by the PSNI.

“éirígí and the wider republican community in Lurgan and elsewhere will not remain silent while the political police attempt to isolate and criminalise those who dare to stand up to the status quo.

“The families targeted this morning should be left alone to get on with their lives in peace.”

Newry Protest Against PSNI Harassment

Once again republicans have been forced to take to the streets to stand up against MI5/PSNI harassment in Newry.

Over 70 people took part in yesterday’s [July 2] protest at Ardmore PSNI barracks in Newry, in direct response to a relentless campaign of harassment and intimidation directed towards republicans in the area by the PSNI.

The protesters were met with a large presence of PSNI thugs in several cars, armoured landrovers and on foot around the barracks, obviously fearful of éirígí’s intentions. For the duration of the protest the PSNI videoed and recorded everyone, including children, some of whom were stopped and searched last weekend.

Speaking at the protest éirígí’s Stephen Murney thanked all those who attended.

“Just a few months ago we were forced to come to this barracks to protest against harassment, now here were are again with double the numbers. At a time when people are being persecuted by the PSNI and MI5 it’s heartening to see so many people, young and old coming here to confront the thugs responsible for harassing them. Last week we announced that we would intensify our Different Name, Same Aim campaign, this protest is only the start of things to come,” Murney said.

The main speaker at the protest was rúnaí ginearálta éirígí Breandán Mac Cionnaith.

In his speech Breandán highlighted the unchanged nature of the force.

“In November 2001, amid much fanfare, the British government re-branded the discredited Royal Ulster Constabulary with a new name. And with that new name, the occupying power promised ‘a new beginning’ to policing in the Six Counties.

“Almost a decade later, it is now abundantly clear that, instead of delivering a ‘new beginning’, the PSNI has simply continued with the same failed anti-working class and anti-republican agenda of the RUC and Royal Irish Constabulary before them. The lie of ‘community-based’ policing has been exposed by the reality of increased draconian legislation, harassment and brutality,” he said.

Mac Cionnaith continued, “éirígí activists in Newry are no strangers to Crown Force harassment. Our activists, along with other republicans are being stopped under the draconian British Justice and Security Act. It’s clear that our activists and supporters in the area are being singled out for special treatment because of their political activities.

“The PSNI are only proving by their own actions that they are an unchanged, unaccountable paramilitary force. The PSNI remains a British police force, enforcing British law in support of the British occupation.

“No amount of PSNI harassment, in Newry or anywhere else, will prevent éirígí activists from continuing the work of rebuilding the republican struggle.”

Breandán concluded, “Despite what those constitutional nationalist parties who sit in Stormont may claim, that move has neither affected the function or the form of the PSNI. Nor has it placed manners on them, as one prominent apologist for British policing once claimed.

“The PSNI remains a British police force, enforcing British law in support of the British state. Like police forces across the capitalist world its primary aim remains the protection of the state and the protection of the interests of the ruling class; interests which run in direct contradiction to the interests of the working class and of republicans.”

Republican Newry will be seeing a lot more actions in the coming weeks and months and we urge all those who oppose British policing to join us in our struggle.

The Political Face of the Gardaí

In the weeks preceding the visit of Elizabeth Windsor to Dublin in May, it was made quite clear that the Twenty-Six County state would not tolerate any form of political protest.

In fact, anyone expressing any dissenting view from the official line that the commander-in-chief of Britain’s armed forces was welcome was to be regarded as a subversive troublemaker.

It began with the national media’s campaign to inform the Irish people that anyone who had the least objection to Windsor’s state visit was a political dinosaur. We were treated to warnings of doomsday scenarios in which crazed republicans, mad mullahs and members of the flat earth society would burn down or bomb our capital city to the ground. But, lest we panicked, we were assured that An Garda Síochána had a masterful plan to protect the peace from these nihilists intent only on rapine and destruction.

This plan involved the Gardaí instigating a campaign of political repression to a level not previously witnessed in the state for many years. Those who attempted to raise awareness of why Windsor should not be made welcome in Ireland were to be intimidated off the streets.

In the days and weeks before the visit, political activists were followed around Dublin and stopped and questioned on every street. Personal possessions were confiscated, as well as political leaflets, flags and banners. Activists were body searched and photographed.

Despite being shown a council permit, which allowed for the erection of political posters, Gardaí began to rip down the same posters, at first, only at night but, later, in broad daylight.

The Gardaí behaved extremely aggressively; there was plenty of charming comments to political activists such as “Just clear the fuck off home” and “We are going to sort ye out tomorrow [the day of the Windsor’s arrival].” Responses to activists who spoke in Irish included “I don‘t speak Polish” and “Just speak fucking English”. A number of Gardaí would not give their name or number.

It has been remarked that, when needed, the Gardaí are nowhere to be found in certain, invariably working class, communities in Dublin. Therefore, the scene of thousands of Gardaí crowding our streets to squash any political dissent before and during the Windsor visit demands explanation.

The short answer is that the Gardaí, just like police forces the world over, are a political organisation. Their first duty is the protection of the state and the protection of the interests of those who run the state. The promotion of crime-free environments in working class communities is way down the list of obligations, if on the list at all.

The measures taken by the Gardaí over the past weeks is a worrying sign and raises concerns for all citizens in the Twenty-Six Counties who value political freedom. Now Windsor has been and gone, what next might the state declare offensive or a threat to public order? What campaign or opinion might they next attempt to close down or silence?

Now that the Gardaí have discovered that they can suppress civil liberties without any outcry from the public, how far will they push their new found powers?

There has long been an attitude among political activists to simply accept whatever harassment they receive from the Gardaí as ‘just the way things are’. This attitude has got to change.

Republicans and socialists made a clear demonstration during the Windsor visit that the streets do not belong to the Gardaí. They belong to us, the citizens of Ireland. Irish citizens have every right to organise and express their views without harassment. People must become educated on their rights. They must learn to stand calm and firm in the face of state intimidation and to challenge it at every opportunity.

We cannot allow a situation to develop in this country where those in power believe that they will be able to close down any political activity that they wish.