Democratic Palestine : 7 (ص 17)
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- Democratic Palestine : 7 (ص 17)
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SU PRORT
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REVOLUTION.
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In brief we have something of a political dilemma.
Socialism cannot be constructed within the framework of parti-
tion which militates against even the construction of a serious
socialist organisation. And national liberation can only be
achieved by an organisation which is socialist. Partition has
been successful in pushing the national movement, the labour
movement, the cultural movement, etc. into relatively airtight,
separate compartments and in a way in which they are often
antagonistic towards each other. Our task then is to build a
movement which is separatist (from Britain), socialist, secular,
non-sectarian and culturally Irish.
In retrospect, how do you evaluate the results of
the hunger strikes of Irish republican prisoners?
What is the relation to the armed and mass strug-
gle generally?
Republican POWs in Belfast prison forced the British gov-
ernment to recognise them as political prisoners after a pro-
longed hunger strike in 1972. In an attempt to disguise the
political nature of the newly won political prisoner status, the
British described this as «Special Category Status». However
the unique conditions of imprisonment which ensued left no
doubt that the British government had, in fact, conceded politi-
cal status to the POWs.
These conditions included: recognition by the British
prison authorities of the OCs (Officer Commanding) of the
republican prisoners or their representatives, free association,
no prison work, no prison uniform, as well as other minor con-
cessions on visiting rights, etc.
In a major policy review put into practice circa 1976, the
British government evolved the three-pronged strategy of
«Ulsterisation, Criminalisation and Normalisation.» Very
briefly, this meant pushing locally recruited British forces, the
Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and the Ulster Defence
Regiment (UDR), into the front line of the British government's
counterrevolutionary effort with a corresponding diminuation in
the role of the regular British army. Nationally and internation-
ally they also set about trying to portray the national liberation _
struggle as no more than a «criminal conspiracy» in just the
same way as in other colonies they have tried to disguise their
imperialist endeavours by proclaiming that they were engaged
in «police actions against communist bandits». The «criminal»
tag was also intended to undermine the republican struggle
nationally and to facilitate the Dublin government's cross-bor-
der collaboration. Central to a successful outcome to the
attempted criminalisation policy was the removal of the politi-
cal status from the POWs in Long Kesh and Magilligan prison
camps and.in Armagh women’s prison. To achieve this the
British government simply declared that anyone charged with
actions in pursuance of the liberation struggle after March 1,
1976, would not be granted the status of a political prisoner.
Internal resistance to this in the prisons began with the sen-
tencing of Kieran Nugent in September '76; when his gaolers
attempted to force him to wear prison uniform, he declared that
they «would have to nail it» to his back.
From September '76 until October '81, republican prison-
ers were forced to live naked in their cells, without beds, in the
midst of their own excretia and urine, without reading or writing
materials or any other recreation or mental stimulation. After
four years of these horrendous conditions and after all other
attempts to gain proper prison conditions had failed, the
hunger strike was undertaken by republican prisoners in Long
Kesh prison camp and Armagh women’s prison in October
17
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