Damn your concessions

Republicans must stand united in defiance of British rule and all its vestiges The disgusting scenes from the British Armed Police in Lurgan today are enough to shock anyone; it is a throw back to what middle of the road mediocre pundits would call “the dark old days”. But to look at what happened in Lurgan today we must understand why it happened. In Ireland Republicans and anyone who assembles on the street must seek permission from the British State, many Republicans in recent years have done this in order to avoid any kind of annoyance, for peace sake you may say. For many Republicans seeking permission from the British state stands in direct contradiction of being a republican, I am one such Republican. I stand by the Proclamation of 1916, I do not take it as a mild suggestion, to me it is the cornerstone of my faith and I abide by it as faithfully as I can. The Proclamation is not vague when it comes to this issue: “We declare the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership

Taking someone to a secret location against their will, putting them up against a wall in a stress position, beating them, hooding them, playing white noise constantly, denying them food, water and sleep doesn’t constitute torture according to the European court of human rights! I awoke this morning to find the news that the hooded men case had upheld the original 1978 ruling, to say I am aggrieved for all the men involved in an understatement, but am I surprised? Not really if I am honest, it is nothing to do with the reality of the case, anyone with even a scant interest in human rights will concede that the five techniques used against these men most certainly counts as torture. I am not surprised because when it comes to human rights abuses there are certain countries that are deemed above that, players if you will and the UK is one of them. In 1971 Ireland was in the midst of mass Internment by the British government, for 14 men this meant the beginning of a period of torture,