RUC Liars
Socialist Republic1981 Read the scan at the Encyclopedia of Trotskyism On-Line (PDF, page 12) →Machine-read text, not corrected. Cut from the scan by machine, by the size of the headline type. Where columns were set close together, lines of a neighbouring article can run in, and a headline can be missed so that two articles share a page. For anything you quote, read the scan.
Scan page 12
In the last issue of Socialist Repub- examination, the officer contradiclic we reported on the arrest of 34 militants, including PD, IRSP and British Labour Party councillors, for attempting to hold a meeting at Belfast City Hall. The case has now been put back for trial to The arrests fo!lowed an earlier rally by Belfast H-Block Committee which had been broken up by an RUC baton charge. This case came to trial on The RUC case was that the officer in charge had used his experience and judgment to assess the situation and because he believed that there might be a breach of the peace he had decided to break up the rally.
This in itself is a pretty ridiculous argument. What was to follow was even more ludicrous. Under crossted all this and admitted that he had been ordered to break up the rally at a ‘briefing ’ meeting earlier that morning. The argument about ‘judgement’ of the situation had coll— apsed and reality of RUC sectarianism exposed.
However, the collapse of the RUC case and the fact that the chief witness was caught lying did not bother the magistrate. He went on to find all but one of the defendants guilty.
Yet again we see the plight of the prisoners reflected in the irreformable sectarianism of the 6-county state. That is why the Belfast 34 defence committee has decided on a militant policy of continuing to support the demonstrations and bringing international observers to the trial.