POW Function

POW Function Easter Monday Derry City

A function in aid of Irish Republican POW's will be held in Molly Maguires,Derry on Monday 5th April.



There will be live Irish music all day following the commemoration and the function will be held upstairs from 9PM.

Tickets available from the bar or by emailing derry32csm@hotmail.com

The War Goes On

Deal falls on deaf ears




THE 'WAR' goes on. That's the message from dissident republicans believed to be linked with the most active paramilitary groups in Fermanagh. The warning comes in spite of the decision taken by the INLA and other organisations to disarm before Monday's decommissioning deadline.

And while one security expert has said that groups like the Continuity IRA and the Real IRA - both of whom have claimed responsibility for attacks on the PSNI in the Fermanagh area - have been weakened by the political breakthrough at Hillsborough, the dissident message is one of defiance.

Security expert Brian Rowan told the Herald that had the politicians at Hillsborough failed to reach an agreement on policing and justice, it would have created a 'playground' for dissident republican activity.

But, for at least two high-profile paramilitary republican groupings, the 'war against British occupation' goes on.

The 32 County Sovereignty Committee which is thought to have links with the Real IRA said in a statement to the Herald this week that the conflict will continue: "The regime at Stormont will return to form just as British-backed unionism always intended for it to be. Token nationalist involvement merely offers it a veneer of acceptability.

"We reiterate our call for a conflict resolution process which actually deals with the cause of the conflict. In the absence of such a process, the conflict will continue."

The spokesman said the 32 County Sovereignty Committee movement was growing: "Our analysis is reaching a wider audience. Irrespective of the distractions in Stormont, we will see an end to British occupation in our country."
Meanwhile, Republican Sinn Fein have described the INLA's unilateral surrender of weapons as, 'no less shameful than that of the Provos'.

An RSF spokesman told the Herald: "These weapons should have been given to those prepared to use them rather than destroyed to gain favour with the enemy. British guns remain on our streets with the blessing of former republicans."

Meanwhile, Brian Rowan, a commentator on security matters, was invited by the Herald to comment on how the political progress made in recent days was likely to impact on the dissidents' campaign. County Fermanagh has already been given a 'high security' tag following several dissident attacks in the east of the county over a six-month period, June, 2008- March, 2009, two of which were attempts to kill police officers, at Roslea and Lisnaskea.

"You can look at them from a narrow frame base - the attacks on Masserene Barracks, Craigavon and the attempt on (Constable) Peadar Heffron, and when you look at it in that narrow way, it exaggerates the threat.

"If you look at it in a much wider frame, you see incidents like the bomb abandoned at Forkhill, the attack at Garrison, the bomb outside the Policing Board offices that didn't go off and, likewise, the device at Strabane, and they form a pattern which shows that a lot of their activities fail.

"In saying that, I am in no way downplaying or understating the threat. They can kill people, they have killed people and they will want to kill more people. The question that has to be asked is: what are they fighting for?"

Asked about the prospect of the Hillsborough deal prompting a fresh upsurge in dissident violence, Mr Rowan said if anything political progress would serve to undermine those opposed to the peace process.

"I have a huge concern that had the political deal not been made last week, that would have created a vacuum and that would have been the playground for dissidents to try and step up their activities.

"I say that because they're trying to undermine the Adams and McGuinness peace strategy. While the dissident threat can be presented as a war against the British and the security forces, I think it is much more to do with what is going on inside the republican community.

"So, if the deal wasn't done, that would have gone badly against Adams and McGuinness who are hate figures for the dissidents. People would have said they talked the IRA out of the war by telling them there was an alternative political strategy. If politics failed, the people would have the dissidents to argue that Sinn Fein's alternative strategy had failed."

Yesterday, a Police spokesman declined to comment on the recent decommissioning of weapons by two republican groups.

However he did state: "It is fair to say that the current Chief Constable and his predecessor (Sir Hugh Orde) have spoken about the high levels of dissident threat in border areas, like Fermanagh."

Taken from Front Page of Fermanagh Herald Newspaper

http://www.nwipp-newspapers.com/FH/fhhomepage.php

http://www.nwipp-newspapers.com/FH/free/296558072883941.php

Republican prisoner held in ‘inhuman and degrading’ conditions!

Republican prisoner held in ‘inhuman and degrading’ conditions!

February 2010.


The conditions in a Lithuanian jail where a republican prisoner, Michael Campbell, is being held on remand have been described as ‘inhuman’ and ‘degrading’ and in direct contravention of prisoners’ human rights.
These findings were included in a recently published report by Professor Rod Morgan, an independent expert in criminal justice and the former head of Britain’s Youth Justice Board.

Professor Morgan’s report re-iterated the findings of the Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), which in 2008 inspected the Lukiskes Prison in Vilnius where Campbell, from Dundalk, is being held.

Campbell, from Faughart, has been held on remand in Lukiskes prison for almost two years. He was arrested with his wife, Fiona Duffy, in January 2008 during a sting operation in which it is believed MI5, the Gardaí and Lithuanian police were involved. Duffy was held for four months before being released unconditionally and allowed to return to Ireland.

Prosecutors in the case against Campbell allege he was attempting to procure weapons for use by the RIRA but he insists he had travelled to Vilnius to purchase counterfeit cigarettes and that he is the victim of a conspiracy by British and Lithuanian Intelligence.

Among the conditions which the CPT found to be ‘totally unacceptable’ were cells in a poor state of repair and filthy, little or no access to natural light, inadequate artificial lighting, lack of ventilation, unhygienic toilets, inadequate drinking water provision and absence of outdoor exercise facilities.

Levels of overcrowding were described as ‘outrageous’, with six prisoners sharing an eight metre square cell. While there have also been reports of high suicide rates.

A follow-up inspection by the Lithuanian Ombudsman acknowledged that conditions in the jail are in violation of the human rights standards and sanitation regulations due to overcrowding and the failure of the authorities to carry out basic renovations.

Since his arrest, Michael Campbell has only been seen by his lawyers and an official from the Irish Embassy in Lithuania.

He is denied any visits from his family and it took numerous court appeals by his lawyers before he was granted two brief phone calls to his wife, their only contact in two years.

According to his family, his mail is heavily censored and he is prevented from making any mention of his trial which began in October 2009. The trial is being heard in closed court with family and supporters banned from attending. Severe restrictions have also been placed on media coverage from the court, which sits for just two or three days each month.

Little or no advance notice of some court sittings is given and often Campbell’s legal representatives are not informed of proceedings. With a date of verdict yet to be returned, there is no indication of how long the trial will continue.

Campbell’s brother, Liam, is currently fighting extradition to Lithuania. He has been held in Maghaberry prison since he was arrested in Bessbrook in May last year for an alleged breach of bail conditions.

At the time he was on bail awaiting extradition proceedings from Dublin and it was alleged his bail conditions prevented him from crossing the border. It has since been established that conditions were not breached however, he remains in custody. He faces accusations of conspiracy to procure arms from Lithuania for use by the RIRA.

Soon after his arrest in the north, extradition proceedings were levelled against him at the behest of the Lithuanian authorities, who have requested he be extradited from Northern Ireland instead.
This request was upheld by the Belfast court despite the fact that the same proceedings were already at an advanced stage in the south.

His extradition hearing from the north is scheduled for next month.

Hillsborough Fudges Issue Again

Hillsborough Fudges Issue Again


6/02/2010


The so called Hillsborough Agreement is yet another exercise in fudge endorsed by political parties fearful of an electoral backlash from within their own constituencies.
From a republican perspective it reinforces the impotence of the current process in pursuing Irish unity.
The pantomime of late night discussions and Prime Ministerial visits can only mask for so long the reality that Stormont is a sectarian talking shop put in place to normalise British rule in Ireland. From London’s position the perfect arrangement has been formulated, Provisional Sinn Fein are now institutionally policing British interests in Ireland.
For Dublin, the Hillsborough Agreement offers a welcome distraction away from the economic and financial crisis currently enveloping the Twenty Six Counties and its culpable political leaders.

The conflict in Ireland will not be resolved by creating sub committees and working groups in Stormont.
No amount of British money can buy Irish acceptance of its presence in our country. Re-branding the produce of Partition will not disguise Partition for what it is; an affront to Irish sovereignty.
The regime at Stormont will return to form just as British backed unionism always intended for it to be. Token nationalist involvement merely offers it a veneer of acceptability.

The 32CSM reiterates our call for a conflict resolution process which actually deals with the cause of the conflict.
In the absence of such a process the conflict will continue. Our movement is growing, our analysis is reaching a wider audience. Irrespective of the distractions in Stormont we will see an end to British occupation in our country.

32csm