12 April 2001 Edition
Back issue: POLITICAL RECOGNITION
THE thousands of votes cast on Thursday for Hunger Striker Bobby Sands by the nationalist people of Fermanagh/South Tyrone constitute invaluable political recognition for the cause of the h-Block blanket men and Armagh women in their fight for political prisoner status, whatever the final outcome of the by-election contest.
The massive nationalist turn-out for the Hunger Striker came despite sabotage by the despicable SDLP leadership, who semi-publicaly called upon voters to abstain in order to hand the seat over to unionist Harry West; despite British Government's ban on Sands gaining access to the media; despite a constant campaign of harassment waged against scores of sands electoral workers by the British Army and by the sectarian UDR and RUC; and despite the intimidatory suggestion consistently floated by unionist politicians, and taken up by the media, that Catholics seen voting by their Protestant neighbours would be marked down down as IRA supporters, thus excalating their vulnerability to loyalist assassins.
Whilst the tremendous publicity boost given to the Hunger Strike campaign by the candidature of Sands has undoubtedly lifted it on to a new, and higher, plane, a masive task still lies ahead if the lives of Sands and his three fellow H-Block Hunger Strikers are to be saved, and if their rightful political prisoner status is to be won.
This Sunday marks the 43rd day without food for Bobby Sands, the 29th day for Frankie Hughes and the 22nd day for Patsy O'Hara and Raymond McCreesh. The decline in Sands' health is moving towards a critical stage.
This weekend there are a number of protests organised around the country by the
National H-Block/Armagh Committee, including a mass lobby of the reconvened Fianna F‡il Ard Fheis at the RDS in Dublin on Saturday, and major marches and rallies at Limerick city and Carrick-on-Shannon in County Leitrim, also on Saturday and at Craigavon on Sunday.
The welcome impetus given to the Hunger Strike campaign by the Hunger Strike campaign followed by the by-election should be followed through with an impressive turnout at each of these protests, with an effective industrial day of action of token stoppages next Wednesday 15 April, and with a massive display of support at the national rally in Dublin, the following Saturday 18 April, on the eve of the traditional republican Easter parades and ceremonies on Sunday 19 April.
Now is the time to transform weeks of patient building by action groups in local areas into centralised displays of popular support which will help convince the British Government that it is in their interests to defuse the campaign and to dampen growing Irish anger, through grating the prisoners just demands.
The massive nationalist turn-out for the Hunger Striker came despite sabotage by the despicable SDLP leadership, who semi-publicaly called upon voters to abstain in order to hand the seat over to unionist Harry West; despite British Government's ban on Sands gaining access to the media; despite a constant campaign of harassment waged against scores of sands electoral workers by the British Army and by the sectarian UDR and RUC; and despite the intimidatory suggestion consistently floated by unionist politicians, and taken up by the media, that Catholics seen voting by their Protestant neighbours would be marked down down as IRA supporters, thus excalating their vulnerability to loyalist assassins.
Whilst the tremendous publicity boost given to the Hunger Strike campaign by the candidature of Sands has undoubtedly lifted it on to a new, and higher, plane, a masive task still lies ahead if the lives of Sands and his three fellow H-Block Hunger Strikers are to be saved, and if their rightful political prisoner status is to be won.
This Sunday marks the 43rd day without food for Bobby Sands, the 29th day for Frankie Hughes and the 22nd day for Patsy O'Hara and Raymond McCreesh. The decline in Sands' health is moving towards a critical stage.
This weekend there are a number of protests organised around the country by the
National H-Block/Armagh Committee, including a mass lobby of the reconvened Fianna F‡il Ard Fheis at the RDS in Dublin on Saturday, and major marches and rallies at Limerick city and Carrick-on-Shannon in County Leitrim, also on Saturday and at Craigavon on Sunday.
The welcome impetus given to the Hunger Strike campaign by the Hunger Strike campaign followed by the by-election should be followed through with an impressive turnout at each of these protests, with an effective industrial day of action of token stoppages next Wednesday 15 April, and with a massive display of support at the national rally in Dublin, the following Saturday 18 April, on the eve of the traditional republican Easter parades and ceremonies on Sunday 19 April.
Now is the time to transform weeks of patient building by action groups in local areas into centralised displays of popular support which will help convince the British Government that it is in their interests to defuse the campaign and to dampen growing Irish anger, through grating the prisoners just demands.