Issue 043, Saoirse : Irish Freedom (November, 1990)

              uimh 43 samhain - november 1990 30p usa 22 per year issn 0791 - 0002 bulk rate us postage paid hummel dist corp new ulster regions and districts • r uairi o brddaigh neutrality for sale will we have to wait for the news that compulsory national military service for irish youth is one of the inevitable things down the line that will arise from any incorporation of ireland in any type of new ec military pact before people in ireland realise what is being done without their consent and behind their backs by an elite pressure group ?" - ruairf 6 bradaigh see ard-fheis reports pages 4-6 release dessie ellis sinn fein poblach tach has called for the release of dessie ellis from portlaoise prison where he has been on hunger strike since october 10 in protest against the dublin ad ministrations att empts to extradite him to britain in view of past tragedies from hunger strikes i it is alarming that a person is compelled to take i this course of action to avoid sharing the fate of i the birmingham six guildford four judith 1 ward and many others a statement from the i organisation said it continued the british tabloid media's most recent prejudicial i conviction of two irishmen arrested on october 2 i last illustrates only one element in the british establish i ment's lust for vengeance this has been recognised by i the french and belgian authorities who have refused to i hand over irish citizens to britain in political cases the policy of successive dublin administrations however i has been to collaborate with and attempt to appease british rule in ireland sinn fein poblachtach condemns that policy as na tional treachery and calls for an end to political ex tradition the statement concluded " in eire nua lies the key to the 800 years of conflict in ireland " said sinn fein poblachtach president ruairf 6 bradaigh in his address to the 86th ard-fheis on october 27 last three weeks earlier the revised eire nua - a new democracy " proposals were launched at a press conference in dublin october 5 was deliberately chosen to mark the 22nd anniver sary of the batoning by the ruc of the derry civil rights march on that date in 1968 which brought international attention to bear on the sectarian six county statelet this new democracy policy originally publish ed by the republican movement in 1971-72 is based on self-determin ation democracy protec tion for minorities and most of all decentralised community-orientated lo cal government a federa tion of four provincial par liaments in ulster muns ter leinster and connacht with a decentralised sys tem of government to lo cal level trend but first the british must leave on october 3 germany was reunited following the withdrawal of soviet power in the east and in it's issue of october 6 the economist magazine's editorial com mented the trend could spread . . . to other divided places such as ireland and cyprus ..." the federal system is regarded by many as the guarantee of reunited germany's future and there is no doubt that the decentralised structure of west germany has grea tly contributed to its econ omic success return address saoirse box 1053 south orange n.j 07079 above daithf 6 conaill and sean lynch at the 4ua launch and left new ulster — one of nine maps in the document — snowing regions and districts three key aspects of eire nua were summar ised at the dublin press conference on october 5 last 1 . it represents power to the people at the lowest possible level through community action instead of the existing centralised system of patronage and doling out of funds and grants to buy votes and allegiance which alienates people from the state and represents a travesty of democracy 2 it aims to redress the economic imbalance in ire land along east-west lines by decentralising real power to local communi ties and at national level by giving increased clout to the less populated west ern areas 3 it addresses the uls ter question — the sit uation of former loyalists in a new ireland — by giv ing them a place of equal ity in a nine-county ulster provincial parliament and in district councils that are responsible for then own education health so cial welfare and job creat ion in addition a new con stitution with a strong commitment to neutrality and a draft charter of rights are included eire nua remains on the table for debate and discussion it is a docu ment for the 1990s that represents a realistic solu tion and is worthy of ser ious consideration and study the system of partition government in ireland has failed on the supreme test of results and in the 22 years since duke street in deny no other credible solution has emerged it is time to think of radical change it is time to build eire nua • copies available from 13 aston place dublin 2 for 1 plus post and post age