Republican News 11/12/97 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit Republican News 11 November 97 ************************************************* TD "alarmed at US prison conditions for H-Block 3 Sinn Fiin TD honored in San Francisco Sinn Fein student resurgence ************************************************* >>>> TD "alarmed" at conditions for Irish prisoners in USA By Micheal MacDonncha and Paddy Newell "I came away alarmed and dismayed at their conditions." This was how Cavan/Monaghan Sinn Fein TD (member of parliament) Caoimhghin O Caolain reacted to the plight of three Irish prisoners currently on remand in jails in California. The TD visited Kevin Barry Artt, Terry Kirby and Pol Brennan last weekend and on his return to Ireland yesterday called for urgent action on their cases. O Caolain said that in Oakland County Jail he found Kevin Barry Artt completely isolated. "The prison authorities inisted that we could have only a closed visit with a perspex screen between us. Even under the draconian prison regime in England such conditions no longer apply" said O Caolain. He met Terry Kirby and Pol Brennan in Pleasonton Federal Penitentiary and said that the prison authorites were pursuing an "isolation strategy": "These three men should be allowed association with one another and open visits with their families. I will be lobbying both the US authorities and the government here for immediate amelioration of their prison conditions pending their speedy release. It is totally unjust on the part of both the British and US governments to pursue these extradition proceedings." (The three men were denied bail on 27 November in their appeals against extradition to the Six Counties where they escaped from the H-Blocks of Long Kesh in September 1983.) On Friday, Mr O Caolain met the Mayor of San Francisco Willie Brown and Senator Tom Hayden. During his trip he also took the opportunity to continue contacts to secure US economic investment in Cavan and Monaghan. The highlight of the visit was the keynote address to the Annual Congress of the Irish American Unity Conference which Mr O Caolain delivered in San Francisco on Saturday. Mr O Caolain reminded his listeners that there is no contradiction in remembering the past and moving forward with new ideas for peace. IAUC Regional vice-president John Fogarty praised Mr O Caolain's speech calling it "a tremendous impetus" for the prisoners and their families. IAUC California chapter president H.B. O'Keady said "The road of collusion between the US and British governments is long, dark and dirty. Mr. O Caolain's words are like a laser beam spotlighting the history of the injustices heaped upon our people." In December the Unity Conference is planning a rally at the Federal Prison in Dublin, California where Kirby and Brennan are currently held, to protest the prison conditions and highlight the need to release all Irish P.O.W.s. For more information on H-Block 3 go to: http://www.gmu.edu/org/ireland32/ http://inac.org/IrishPeople/ http://inac.org/ During the course of his speech, which he dedicated to the late Irish patriot and former IAUC national president, Dan O'Kennedy. Mr O Caolain said: The theme of your deliberations this weekend has been Remembering All But Moving Towards Peace. There is no contradiction between remembering and progressing. We are right to recall the journeys we have made as a people, those who have given their lives along the way, the lessons we have learned and the road ahead which we must travel together into the new century. I would like to recall two of those journeys. It is only in recent years that the full horror of one of the greatest movements of population in history has been revisited and described in detail by historians. That was the journey of hundreds of thousands of Irish refugees from An Gorta Mor, the Great Hunger, across the Atlantic to America. The United States Commissioner for Emigration said at the time of this exodus which began 150 years ago: "If tombs could be erected on water the whole route from Europe to North America would have the appearance of a crowded cemetery." Of course Irish emigration to America had begun long before 1847 and this was one of the reasons why the Society of Friends, the main charitable organisation in Ireland during the Great Hunger, could write: "The chief source whence the means at our disposal were derived was the munificent bounty of the citizens of the United States. The supplies sent from America to Ireland were on a scale unparalleled in history." And we know also that people of all ethnic groups - from a Jewish Synagogue in New York to the displaced Native Americans of the Choctaw tribe - came to the assistance of the Irish people at that time. Unlike the British government they reacted with humanitarian concern and a sense of justice. For many years certain historians, and others with an obvious political agenda, sought to absolve the British government of its responsibility for the Great Hunger, the darkest period of our history. But their school of thought, a product of colonised minds and embittered hearts, has been thoroughly discredited in recent years. That this is so, I believe, is of no small importance in the context of the peace process. A renewed sense of our history as an oppressed nation has played a key role in the revival of national consciousness at home and abroad. That revived national consciousness has given to many the confidence and the resolve to join with others in the building of a just and lasting peace in Ireland. Of equal importance in this regard must be the forthcoming anniversary of the United Irish Rising of 1798. And this brings me to the second of my journeys. One of the earliest and certainly the most distinguished Irish visitor to the infant American Republic was the founding father of Irish Republicanism - Theobald Wolfe Tone. Forced into political exile by the British government Tone came to America in 1795. It was here that Tone made plans to enlist the help of the French Republic to secure Irish freedom. He made keen observations about the development of democracy in this country but his thoughts were always with Ireland. In a letter to his friend Thomas Russell he expressed the feeling which has been repeated by countless exiles ever since when he wrote of "the irresistible affection by which a man is drawn to his native soil". Sadly Wolfe Tone did not find ultimate success in his mission of liberating his country, but he and his followers planted something in Ireland that still endures. They planted the Tree of Liberty. The tree has been battered and beaten many times but its roots have never been destroyed. Be assured that today among the Irish people at home and abroad the Tree of Liberty is blossoming. Liberty, Equality and Fraternity for the Irish people - this sums up the philosophy of Irish Republicanism bequeathed to us by the men and women who stood together for freedom 200 years ago. It is the only philosophy and the only tradition in Ireland which argues positively for the unity of all our people as the basis upon which we can build a peaceful and stable future. It is this philosophy which we as republicans are taking to the most important negotiations to take place in Ireland since Partition. For the first time nationalist and unionist parties, together with the British and Irish governments, are around the table together. The task for all of us at the Stormont talks is immense. But the potential is immense also. I believe that with the political will to succeed, especially on the part of the British government, we can reach a lasting settlement out of the present talks process. The guarantee of permanant peace will be the democratic nature of that settlement. Let me explain what Sinn Fein means by a democratic peace settlement. All parties recognise, even if on the unionist side it is a grudging recognition, that the political and constitutional arrangements of the past have failed us all. The status quo is not an option. A new political and constitutional dispensation is required. The British government must transform its relationship with the Irish people. It must break once and for all with the colonial legacy. It must erase from its statute books the legislation arising from the Act of Union of 1800 and the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It must give constitutional recognition to the right of the Irish people to national self-determination. It is for the Irish people, nationalist and unionist, Protestant, Catholic and Dissenter, people of every religion and no religion, to decide how the right to self-determination is to be exercised. It is for all the Irish people, and the Irish people alone to exercise self-determination. We want to see an end to British jurisdiction in our country because that offers the only means whereby we as Irish people can effectively determine our future together. We want to see an end to Partition, not for some vague romatic notion about the fourth green field, but because we recognise that by its very nature, partition is a structure which divides people, fosters instability and creates conflict. Sinn Fein has placed Irish unity and independence firmly on the agenda of the talks. That threatens no-one. We are fully conscious of the many fears and concerns of the unionist community. Their full participation, their share of the consensus, their agreement is needed if we are to create a new political era in Ireland. The quality of this process will be measured by the quality of life of our people, particularly in the present Six-County area. Decades of discrimination against nationalists in employment must be reversed; the Irish language and culture must be accorded equality; the whole raft of repressive legislation needs to be repealed; all political prisoners must be released. The RUC must be disbanded and the British Army withdrawn. These are crucial issues which can be addressed now by both governments outside the talks. They would contribute greatly to confidence and enhance the atmosphere for successful negotiations. We need to realise the tremendous democratic potential in the peace process. The end of partition and British jurisdiction, the reunification of our country politically and economically, holds enormous potential to benefit all of our people. It holds the potential to transform Irish society. We in Sinn Fein seek a democratic transformation to an Ireland based on equality where economic prosperity is shared by all our people. In conclusion let me say that we must let no-one lower our expectations. The struggle for freedom, justice and peace in Ireland is not over. We have made great progress in the past few years. There can be no turning back to the injustices of the past. We are stronger and more confident than ever. What we have achieved so far, and what we will achieve in the future, will be based on our united efforts. It is on our own strength we must rely. There is a great deal of work to be done and we look to you here to continue to play your part as we know you will. I am confident that we can all set aside the legacy of colonialism and sectarianism and embrace a democratic future. Irish democracy was first envisaged by those of all denominations who came together 200 years ago to abandon the sectarian labels of Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter, to unite in the common name of Irishmen and Irishwomen, and to break the connection with England. With that spirit of unity let us go forward into a new century and a new era of lasting peace for the Irish people. ___________________________________________________________ >>>> Sinn Fein student resurgence Fianna Fail and Fine Gael students in colleges throughout Dublin are in complete bewilderment following a massive increase in young people wishing to join Republicans in the search for a just and equitable society. In University College Dublin alone, 106 students applied to join Sinn Fein. This is a significant figure in a university which in recent years had followed a trend of anti-republicanism. It is believed that the large number of applicants is an endorsement of the Sinn Fein leadership's strategy for a peaceful settlement within the current talks process. Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) Sinn Fein chairperson, Pearse Doherty, credits the increase in membership within his cumann to good organisation, "Without doubt we have firmly placed ourselves as the most efficient political society in DIT, particularly on the Bolton St. campus". A Saoirse group has also recently formed in Universty of Galway and there are reports of increasing student interest across Ireland. Although similar statements have been issued by Dublin City University Sinn Fein, Matt Carthy, Youth Liaison officer for Dublin Sinn Fein has warned that there is still room for improvement. "Thousands of young people from colleges and universities in which Sinn Fein has yet to mobilise its support are longing to play their part in the republican struggle. We must not forget these people". *Young people can involve themselves in Sinn Fein Youth by contacting Matt at Dublin 8724858/8724469. >From RM_Distribution an Irish Republican news and information service http://irlnet.com/rmlist/ ================================================================= 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-11.15.97-02:44:13-20929