Belfast 34 Test Case Hunger Strike Militant Fined
Socialist Republic1982Prisoners and the hunger strikesLoyalism and unionismThe Southern state and its partiesTrade unions and workers' strugglesLabour, the left and left unityPrisoners and the hunger strikesLoyalism and unionismThe Southern state and its partiesTrade unions and workers' strugglesLabour, the left and left unity
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On Monday January 18 in Belfast, Joe Craig, an H Block/Armagh activist and member of Peoples Democracy, was fined £25 for ‘obstructing the highway”. A second charge of “conduct likely to tause a breach of the peace”’ was dismissed. The case arose after the RUC arrested thrity-four people, including two PD, two IRSP and one British Labour Party councillors, who were outside Belfast City Hall in support June 27, 1981.
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attempting to peacefully demonstrate of the H Block hunger strikers on As far as the loyalist RUC is concerned members of the nationalist community have no democratic right to demonThe verdict of the magistrate, Albert Walmsley, is typically contradictory. He said, ‘‘while the meeting was not illegal but (it) expressed views that were contentious at the time” and “there was nothing unlawful about The Belfast 34 Defence Committee will continue to mount a vigorous defence of the arrested militants. The H Block/Armagh Committee recently reaffirmed its decision to that defence of the campaign was to be acentral priority throughout the 32 Counties.
Exposure of the Belfast 34 arrests and the Embassy 20 arrests in the South must be seen as the central priority of militants in the campaign. All over lreland the nature of the attempt by the loyalist RUC and the collaborationist Gardai must be driven home to the Irish people. Pressure must be put on the SDLP and Fianna Fail to condemn these victimisations.
Resolutions from trade union branches and trades councils in support of the defendants must be sought. Having failed to criminalise the prisoners the RUC and the Gardai are trying to criminalise their supporters.
Peoples Democracy fully supports the call by Bernadette McAliskey for an independent enquiry into the events surrounding the a attempted assassination of herself and Michael McAliskey.in January 1981. There is evidence to suggest that the British Army allowed the UDA assassins, Watson, Graham and Smallwoods, to mount their attack before “accidentally”? stumbling upon the attackers. The first Brits on the scene did not give Michael or Bernadette first aid, even though they were both bleeding profusely. According to an Irish Times report (22.1.81), the Brits were watching the house because they believed there was going to be a-UDA attack. It is also clear that they were hanging back until the killers had done the job. Collaboration between the UDA and the Brits must also be the subject of the proposed enquiry.