Issue 016, Saoirse : Irish Freedom (August, 1988)

              issn 0791 - 0002 bulk rate us postage paid hummel dist corp return address saoirse box 1053 south orange n.j 07079 uimh 16 lunasa - august 25p usa 50c per issue 18 per year nelson mandela joe doherty hunger-strike martyrs commemoration bundoran co donegal saturday august 27th 3pm west end pr 0m1nent spea kers two one as we enter the second half of 1988 two men lie in prison thousands of miles apart yet they are united in spirit and determination to see a resolution to their respective freedom struggles one is irish pow joe doherty who entered his sixth year in detention without being charged in the new york metropolitan correctional center usa on june 18 last thus becoming the longest held prisoner in the history of that institution the other is nelson mandela who has spent the last 24 years in south african jails and celebrated his 70th birthday in pollsmoor prison cape town on july 18 last because of his leadership in the struggle against the system of institutionalised racism known as apartheid 3 000 people turned out for joe doher ty in thomas paine park in new york on june 18 last and heard speeches and sol idarity messages calling on the united states government to immediately release him after the rally the crowd marched to where joe is being held to express their solidarity with him joe doherty has had numerous visits from us politicians and public figures most notably the rev jesse jackson who have pledged their support for his case against extradition to britain by the reagan administration despite four courts or administrative bodies in the usa finding that he should b6 returned to ireland the attorney general edwin meese who has since resigned signed an order to hand him over to the british it is now being appealed on the same grounds that judge sprizzo found for doherty several years ago the facts of this case present the political offense exception in its most classical form joe doherty was originally charged with the killing of a british sas officer in combat on the streets of belfast in 1981 on june 10 1981 he made his escape with seven others from crumlin road jail belfast and made his way to the usa he was arrested on june 18 1983 in new york on foot of a brit ish request for his extradition retroactive treaty instead of abiding by the political exception clause the reagan administ ration overturned the 210 year-old trad ition of the usa which has seen them give refuge to such people as iiam mellows after the 1916 rebellion and brought in an extradition treaty with britain that ruled out the political offence and operated retroactively liam quinn of san francisco was the first irish nationalist activist actually handed over to the british under this new treaty within the last year he spent at least five years in prison in the usa before being extradited and later con victed in london on suspect evidence of shooting a policeman in 1975 while resisting arrest he is at present in albany prison newport isle of wieht po 30 5 rs his number is l49930 nelson mandela's birthday tribute in dublin saw a large crowd gather in merrion square on july 18 to hear kadar asmal of the irish anti apartheid movement and others pay tribute to him and state that his extraordinary strength lies in his commitment to principle those present heard of his founding role in the south african liberation movement along with oliver tambo present anc leader and the change from passive resistance to armed resistance to the south african white regime at the new york rally for joe doherty a message of solidarity was read on behalf of filiberto ojeda rios of the puerto rican independence movement and from the veterans of the abraham lincoln brigade which fought against franco in the spanish civil war 50 years ago republican sinn fe'in was represented by a contingent visiting from cork and by george harrison tom falvey michael flannery and micheal whelan of cumann na saoirse clear parallels in south africa as in the six counties of occupied ireland over 50 years of passive resistance had brought no change in the oppressive and undemocratic systems of governments ruling over them in south africa undemocratic because only white people have the freedom to vote and therefore have a monopoly of political power in ireland because the franchise was limited to people in the north-east of the country thus creating an artificial majority out of a national minority both south africa and the six-county statelet were born out of gerrymandering discrimination and col onial terrorism and both have been main tained by these same methods in both ireland and south africa the people have taken up arms to actively resist terrorism and imperialism and to pursue their legit imate rights to self-determination the anc has the freedom charter with its programme for a non-racial democratic south africa irish republicans have the 1916 proclamation nelson mandela was offered immediate release in 1975 if he renounced violence as a political instrument ". his answer was that the south african regime had not renounced violence but used it system atically and that he would not repudiate his own people my freedom and yours cannot be separated he said there is no doubt that joe doherty would likewise be treated much more leniently if he was willing to repudiate his own people - it is because he has not done so that his case has become a landmark in the struggle for justice in ireland and the usa even though they both remain in prison they continue to act as a powerful inspir ation to people throughout the world nelson mandela's message to his people echoes that of liam mellows executed in december 1922 when he says only through hardship sacrifice and militant action can freedom be won ".