Issue 072, Saoirse: Irish Freedom (April, 1993)

              uimh 72 aibrean - april 1993 wear an easter 40p britain 45p usa 24 per year i ii y honour ireland's dead ! list of easter commemorations — page 11 six-county victims unmourned robert shaw • robert shaw 56 a semi-invalid recovering from a heart attack was shot dead as he slept at the wheel of his van at quay road newtownabbey on march 15 by the uda/uff british-con trolled death squad a father of four from the roddens larne co antrim he was waiting for friends who were digging for fish bait on the nearby flats of the belfast lough shore his son • peter gallagher escaped a similar assassination attempt 15 months ago in larne • the uda/uff ambushed and shot dead peter gallagher 44 as he arrived for work in the grounds of the westlink enterprise centre west belfast on the morning of march 24 a member of free state sinn f6in he had six children and lived in toomebridge co antrim • the next day march 25 the uda uff riddled a workmen's van with • james kelly bullets in castlerock co deny killing four nationalists the dead were james mckenna 52 james kelly 25 both from maghera gerry dalrymple 58 from rasharkin co derry and noel o'kane 20 from upperlands co derry a fifth man was seriously injured • also on march 25 a 17-year-old youth damian walsh from colinvale pole glass was gunned down by the uda/uff • gerry dalrymple as he closed up the coal bunker fuel supply shop in the dairy farm shopping centre on the stewartstown road near twinbrook outside belfast a co-worker was wounded in the attack witnesses said one of the killers turned his machine gun on the nearby crowds but it jammed they complained that the british crown forces had been operating roadblocks on the stewartstown road up to half an hour before the attack peace with justice the understandable human reaction to the deaths of children in the continuing conflict over the british occupation of the six counties has been carefully whipped up in recent days by the propaganda machines of london and dublin a sectional peace movement in the 26 counties has arisen which demands that british armed force in ireland be surrend ered to by republicans what this so-called peace movement desires is a victory for british policy in ireland a pax brittanica republicans mourn all victims of the conflict wherever their deaths take place any real peace initiative in ireland must address the root cause of the problem which is the british armed occupation of part of this country the continued british interference in ireland's affairs only prolongs the agony of the irish people in general and the nationalist population of the six counties in particular who have suffered more than any other group in the past seventy years and longer from injustice discrim ination and largescale intimidation and assassination the last week of march has seen the deliberate shooting dead by british controlled death squads of six nationalist workmen in the six counties one of them a 17-year-old youth see above without any of the public expressions of sympathy or media-generated hysteria that featured when the victims were killed by nationalists it all depends on who commits the deed apparently journalist frank doherty pointed to the pro-british political agenda of many of those now clamouring for peace when he wrote the tragic events of last week came just days after many of those who are now calling for peace were congrat ulating themselves on having successfully blocked moves in the us to send a peace envoy to ireland even a fact-finding mission by an eminent american polit ician was opposed by people who are now loud in their demands that some thing should be done to stop the viol ence sunday business post , march 28 equally the experience of the relatives for justice who travelled to the peace rally at the gpo in dublin on sunday march 28 reveals the anti-republican and pro-british bias of the organisers and many of the attendance the rally organisers refused to allow a group of mothers whose children were killed by the ruc and british army onto the platform because it might cause embarrassment to the british govern ment they did find room however for a prominent spokesperson for the official unionist party abused mrs kathleen duffy whose son seamas was killed by a plastic bullet in 1989 described what happened to their group we were abused we were treated with contempt they asked us why we were there on their day they said we had no right to be there ; they shouted at us that we were ira they spat on julie living stone's photograph anne bradley whose husband was killed by the british army said that photographs of dead children held by working class people were spat upon by middle-class people at the rally some of these people also refused to sign a book of condolences for the relatives of the six nationalists killed in the six counties this peace campaign is clearly controll ed by the neo-unionists of new consen sus and the peace train it is motivated by anti-republicanism and is supported by the british establishment in order to try and undermine the resistance of nationalists to british rule in ireland it cannot but fail because it is not genuinely based among and representing the irish people republican sinn f6in has always invoked a genuine peace process such as that outlined in towards a peaceful ireland launched in 1991 the constituent assembly proposed would be elected by all the people of the 32 counties in order to draft a new constitution to be voted on by all the people in addition the british govern ment must declare that it will withdraw its forces from ireland within twelve months of the adoption of a new con stitution together with an amnesty for all political prisoners this represents a plan for peace with justice that involves all the people of ireland in deciding their own future who are the real peacemakers west county hotel chapelizod 1993 honorees billy mckee - ulster andy molloy — leinster sean o'neill — munster sr sarah clarke — connacht frank o'neill - usa dinner and ceili 1993 8 dltl please book y°ur tickets early available from * 41 arran quay dublin 7 cabhair nnual testimonial friday 14 may