Anger over treament of H-Block 4 POWs id EAA06674; Thu, 9 Oct 1997 04:42:47 -0400 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit source: cbhaird@nextek.net (Chris Ward) Oct 8, 1997 The Irish People, 363 Seventh Ave., N.Y., N.Y. 10001 1-800-IRELAND, $30/yr., http://inac.org/IrishPeople/ October 11, 1997 Anger builds over treatment of H-Block 4 By Christy Mac an Bhaird Irish Americans fighting for peace with justice in Ireland are hopping mad. While they're upset with the continued clowning of Ian Paisley and the never ending intransigence of David Trimble, most of their anger now is reserved for the Clinton Administration. Last week the temperature was raised a bunch. While Paisley, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, was holding neo-fascist meetings in Belfast urging followers to resort to every means possible (that could mean violence) to kill the Stormont talks, Trimble was getting ready to address the folks in Washington, D.C., where he'll tell them he doesn't have much faith in the talks. The powerful in Washington - the ones who profess deep concern with peace and justice in Ireland - will no doubt sup with Trimble and pat him on the back for all he's done to move the peace process forward and once again praise the Loyalist death squads for holding their ceasefire. Meantime, three men in California are suffering outrages any 7th-grader in American could tell you are wrong. Terry Kirby, Pol Brennan and Kevin Barry Artt, who along with Jimmy Smyth are known as the H-Block 4, aren't having a good week. The four are from Belfast. All were tried in juryless Diplock courts for actions the British claim they took to rid their country of British interference. Along with 34 others, they escaped from Long Kesh prison in 1983 in the most daring breakout in the history of Europe. Kirby, Brennan and Artt are being held for extradition to Britain. Smyth was sent back in August of '96, and is again in Long Kesh with his fellow republican prisoners, occupying a cell next to the one housing the well known Irish POW, Joe Doherty. Artt was moved, without warning, on September 18, to North County Jail in Oakland, where prison officials have denied him proper medical treatment for a gum disease problem. Kevin lost a tooth last week, and is having difficulty eating. He's being given pain killers, but the problem is getting worse. Brennan, who is in the Pleasanton Federal Detention Center in Dublin, Ca., has been in and out of the "hole" - solitary confinement - this past week, refusing to take part in a prison work program. Kirby, also in FDC Pleasanton, has expressed grave concern about the treatment of both Artt and Brennan, and is angry the three have been separated. Unlike Brennan, he is not forced to work, because he's in the pretrial "non-work" section of the prison. Brennan was moved to the "work" side last week, and that's when his trouble began. According to those close to the situation, prison officials said they moved the three because they were a security risk. Friends and family say they were moved because oversensitive prosecutors bristled at the publicity they received after the three were visited in early September by Martin McGuinness, a member of the British Parliament and a senior member of Sinn =46ein's Ard Chomhairle. McGuinness is Sinn Fein's chief negotiator in the Stormont peace negotiations that began October 7, and while in California, he called for the release of the three as a confidence building measure to enhance the negotiations. According to those who have spoken to Kirby, (his phone access is limited, making it difficult to talk to him directly) prison guards, some of whom are referred to as "counselors," have been passing comments about the three, calling them, "Irish scum," and "terrorists," and saying, "you guys are going back." While in the hole, Brennan reportedly asked a "counselor" when Kevin Artt would be coming back to FDC Pleasanton, and his "counselor" told him, "you might as well get used to the idea that Kevin's never coming back." All this can be put down to a lack of will in Washington. First off, the three are not a security risk. In 1995, Artt and Kirby shared a cell for a year, and nothing untoward happened. And it simply isn't logical that they would do anything to disrupt the peace process or to extend their California visits. There is also a bit of ignorance operating here. None of the three is charged with any crime in the U.S.A. They are not wanted for anything in England, and according to knowledgeable sources, they will not be charged in connection with the escape even if they are returned. Another bit of information that may be helpful to their "counselors," is that 10 men - 11 when you count wee Pat McKeown - died on hunger strike in 1981 to regain political status for all prisoners in the H-Blocks. And one of the demands the British agreed to was that POWs would not have to do prison work. The situation in California is reaching a critical point, and supporters of the H-Block 4 are growing tired of the way these men are being treated. It's likely the situation would not have escalated if the three had not been moved apart, but that now seems a moot point. The right thing to do is to consider the facts and what affect mistreatment of these men may have on support for the peace process. Some might see this as a sign the Clinton Administration is not serious about its support of peace with justice in Ireland, and the White House is on shaky ground already. The Administration needs to step in and end this harassment. It's within its power. If it doesn't, it sends a powerful signal to Irish-America that this is nothing more than a political game where POWs are the pawns. On February 10, 1996, President Clinton said, "No one and no organization has the right to deny the people of northern Ireland a peaceful future." Clinton should heed his own words and act swiftly to free the H-Block 4 as soon as possible. Anything less could lead to disturbing results. -30- (c) The Irish People, may be reprinted with credit. ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytire-10.09.97-04:42:56-9315