15 February 2001 Edition
Back issue: H-Block men resist attempts to demoralise and degrade them
THE joint announcement from the H-Blocks and Armagh Jail on Thursday 5 February of new Hunger Strikes commencing from 1 March coincided with a Westminster statement by direct ruler Humphrey Atkins in which he reiterated the British Government's inflexible position.
That public declaration of stubborness was backed up by the action of prison warders at Long Kesh who assaulted, in some cases for the third time in as many weeks, over 70 of those blanket men who a fortnight ago smashed up cell furniture in a fit of frustration.
Atkins had been due to make an announcement on the prisons on Wednesday 4 February but suddenly postponed his statement until Thursday, perhaps awaiting confirmation of strong media speculation that a Hunger Strike announcement was imminent.
The Hunger Strike was announced on Thursday, but no satisfactory explanation has been made for Atkins' 24-hour postponement, since what he said on Thursday was presumably no different from what he had to say on Wednesday and thus would have had no bearing on the prisoners' decision.
In his Westminster statement Atkins has, in effect, again publicly repudiated his statement of Friday 19 December (which was delivered to seven hunger strikers and the republican OC of the H-Blocks, Bobby Sands) on Thursday 18 December, the day the hunger strike ended.
In his 19 December statement, Atkins said that the blanket men would be given their own clothes before being supplied with prison-issue clothing.
In his statement on 9 January, Atkins reversed the order in which the men would get their clothes - that is they must wear prison issue clothing first before getting in their own clothes.
Attempting to get over this obstacle, 20 prisoners who took part in the recent pilot scheme applied on 23 January for their own clothes at 4.30pm, on a Friday afternoon when prisoners do not wear their own clothes. Had the Brits been sincerely interested in settling the H-Block crisis then this was an obvious opportunity to do so.
But instead they refused the men their own clothes and demanded `strict conformity'. It was frustration at this stumbling block which culminated in the prisoners smashing up their cell furniture.
That public declaration of stubborness was backed up by the action of prison warders at Long Kesh who assaulted, in some cases for the third time in as many weeks, over 70 of those blanket men who a fortnight ago smashed up cell furniture in a fit of frustration.
Atkins had been due to make an announcement on the prisons on Wednesday 4 February but suddenly postponed his statement until Thursday, perhaps awaiting confirmation of strong media speculation that a Hunger Strike announcement was imminent.
The Hunger Strike was announced on Thursday, but no satisfactory explanation has been made for Atkins' 24-hour postponement, since what he said on Thursday was presumably no different from what he had to say on Wednesday and thus would have had no bearing on the prisoners' decision.
In his Westminster statement Atkins has, in effect, again publicly repudiated his statement of Friday 19 December (which was delivered to seven hunger strikers and the republican OC of the H-Blocks, Bobby Sands) on Thursday 18 December, the day the hunger strike ended.
In his 19 December statement, Atkins said that the blanket men would be given their own clothes before being supplied with prison-issue clothing.
In his statement on 9 January, Atkins reversed the order in which the men would get their clothes - that is they must wear prison issue clothing first before getting in their own clothes.
Attempting to get over this obstacle, 20 prisoners who took part in the recent pilot scheme applied on 23 January for their own clothes at 4.30pm, on a Friday afternoon when prisoners do not wear their own clothes. Had the Brits been sincerely interested in settling the H-Block crisis then this was an obvious opportunity to do so.
But instead they refused the men their own clothes and demanded `strict conformity'. It was frustration at this stumbling block which culminated in the prisoners smashing up their cell furniture.