If we want to fully understand what exactly was going on inside the H-Blocks at the time of the two Hunger Strikes we need to have an honest look at the build up to them.
The Blanket Protest had begun in September 1976 when Kieran Nugent refused to wear the prison uniform, others followed him and the number of men on protest grew. As the years passed things got increasingly worse in regards to beatings etc.
The escalation in the protest merely gave the authorities another weapon with which to attack us, this came in the form of brutal wing shifts and forced washings – a living nightmare.
Throughout the protest men were gradually leaving, being unable to endure what was in effect a hellish existence. No-one can judge anyone in this situation unless you lived through it and those of us who did could understand fully why they left.
I remember word coming to our wing in May 1979 that one of the most prominent men on the protest had left. This sent shock waves throughout the protest, many even speculated that he had been sent to the conforming wings to talk men into coming onto the protest.
Brendan Hughes and some others knew otherwise. They knew things were getting bad, that morale was dipping alarmingly. A change of tactics was even proposed in which we went into the system and wrecked it from within. This was rejected because of the prison clothing aspect. We simply could not wear the convict’s uniform. There was only one other alternative – the Hunger Strike.
Rather than go into the two Hunger Strikes in detail I will simply move forward to July 4 1981. By this time four brave men had died, Bobby Sands had won the Fermanagh/ South Tyrone by-election and 100,000 people had attended his funeral. Down south shock-waves had been sent through the system with the election victories of Kieran Doherty and Paddy Agnew. The world could no longer be fed the lie that we were criminals.
The pressure from across the globe was building on Thatcher.
In H3 the leadership saw all this yet no end was in sight. Four men were dead and from what I’ve since been told they had not intended it to go beyond four deaths.
Desperate measures were called for and Richard O’Rawe drew up a statement effectively pulling back from political status, saying that all prisoners in the north could avail of the five demands.
This statement gave Thatcher the way out she needed. Her response was immediate. The Mountain Climber Channel was opened between the Foreign Office and Gerry Adams and an offer was made on July 5th/6th which had the most important of our demands included – the right to wear our own clothes at all times.
Before the Hunger Strikes it was accepted that if we were to get our own clothes we could go into the system and make it ungovernable. And who would argue with that?
The right to wear our own clothes effectively smashed the criminalisation policy. There was no ifs nor buts about it. The Thatcher offer gave us a way out as the convict’s uniform was gone.
This is exactly why Richard O’Rawe and Bik McFarlane agreed, within earshot of other prisoners, that the offer contained enough to end it.
THOMAS DIXIE ELLIOTT
Former Blanket Man H3,
Derry City
EU must do more to clean up murky tax practices
The European Commission ruled on Tuesday that Apple received illegal state aid from the Irish government.
This decision follows the investigations on illegal state aid between the Dutch government and Starbucks, the Luxembourg government and Fiat, and the Belgian government for its ‘excess profit’ tax scheme.
Ireland has benefitted from multinational investment but all companies should operate under rules which are fair and which do not benefit some companies over others. Deals that exempt companies from paying their legitimate share of tax mean the ordinary taxpayers have to foot the bill.
Poverty in Europe has been rising and some EU countries have even had bailout programmes in recent years, so it makes no sense for European governments to spurn the chance to raise billions in corporate tax income for the benefit of their citizens.
If people’s trust in the tax system is to be restored, the Irish government and other EU member states must act immediately to end these special deals otherwise people’s trust in the tax system will continue to evaporate.
The EU must also do more to clean up these murky corporate tax practices once and for all, and reassure citizens that sweetheart tax deals are a thing of the past. They cannot be tolerated, especially when public services are in vital need of investment.
So far, the multinationals that have been exposed by the European Commission have only had to pay back their missing taxes – no additional fines have been levied. This status quo is not a sufficient deterrent whatsoever.
Adequate measures to prevent such deals in the future must include public disclosure of where multinational companies generate profits and where they pay their taxes, giving governments and citizens the power to hold them to account.
JIM CLERKEN
Chief Executive Oxfam Ireland
Sinn Féin can no longer call itself republican
The Irish News exclusive that Sinn Féin had been colluding with loyalist flag protester Jamie Bryson comes as no surprise to myself and other Republicans. This comes on top of revelations that senior Sinn Féin officials have been meeting with senior Israeli representatives whose government has been responsible for the slaughter of thousands of Palestinians.
In this past few years Sinn Féin caved in on Welfare Reform and handed the power to make welfare cuts back to the Tories. Martin McGuinness recently commemorated the British war dead at the Somme.
This party of government can no longer call itself republican.
How can anyone who calls themselves a republican have anything to do with a party consumed with attempting to undermine the credibility of its political opponents at every opportunity?
S FOX
Glengormley, Co Antrim
Good guy comments over the top
[ Tom KellyOpens in new window ]
and John Dallat go out of their way to talk up the virtues of Seamus Mallon (August 23). In fact they make him out to be a God among the rest of us.
Of course Tom and John are entitled to their opinion as are those with strong republican beliefs.
As deputy leader of the SDLP Mr Mallon articulated policies which were to say the least contrary to the thoughts and wishes of people who held a republican view. Just because he has reached his 80th birthday is hardly a good reason to glorify his political career in the media.
So gentlemen please spare us the Seamus Mallon good guy comments, it really is way over the top.
VAL MORGAN
Newry, Co Down
Loss of cycle paths
Congratulations to Peter Emerson on his letter (August 24) entitled ‘Lack of cycle facilities’. While I don’t suggest those responsible just resign, Peter is correct that MLA Chris Hazzard’s Department Of Infrastructure has a mixed record.
His department’s Cycle Unit builds cycle paths while his department’s Transport NI Eastern Division has deleted other cycle paths.
Worse, Eastern Division have stated that they don’t know which cycle paths have been removed when road resurfacing has been undertaken.
Loss of cycle paths make the roads more dangerous with more crashes and is therefore in clear violation of Trasnport NI’s obligation to Safety Audit.
The recent death of Davy Catherwood has resulted in another white painted ‘ghost bike’ memorial. Such memorials are mute testimony of the failure of politicians and civil servants to look after the most vulnerable road users.
Please minister ask your department to get their act together.
JOHN WRIGHT
Belfast BT6
