Issue 136, Saoirse: Irish Freedom (August, 1998)

              uimh 136 lunasa — august 1998 50p usa 1 e2 c/j • the h-blocks of long kesh the announcement on august 5 by the british sentence review commission that political prisoners in the six counties could be released by the end of the month if they accept the conditions laid down was a crude attempt to generate false hope among the relatives firstly it must be said that all humanitarians and nationally-minded people including members of republican sinn fein would dearly love to see all the prisoners released what this commission is offering however is not release but a form of extended parole that can be revoked any time the british forces want under this scheme prisoners must fill in application forms which will undoubtedly include the condition that the prisoner cannot resume republican activity the applications will be considered by the british and if the prisoner is fully conformed - in the words of the ex-british civil servant chairing the commission - they can use their discretionary powers to announce a release date even then fixed sentence prisoners release dates will be decided by the british administration in stormont certain prisoners known to be attached to organisations such as the continuity ira will not be released under any conditions the reality is that what was signed up to by the stormont agreement parties was that for political prisoners to regain personal liberty they have to surrender politically and agree to be humiliated bobby sands and his nine comrades died on hunger strike for political status to undertake not to resume republican activity is to deny that political status and by implication agree that it was wrong ever to conditional release of have engaged in it it is ironic that one of the co-chairmen of this committee is a white south african brian currin this conditional release process is not comparable to the general amnesty for political prisoners in south africa following the collapse of apartheid nelson mandela himself could have secured conditional release any time after 1975 but refused to repudiate the use of physical force or give any undertakings to his apartheid jailers he won unconditional release in february 1990 reneging while the provisionals are having their teeth drawn bit by bit by the conditional release of prisoners and demands for the surrender of arms the british are reneging on the stormont agreement provisions to place funding for all-irish secondary schools on the same level as integrated schools and to enact human rights and equality legislation are not included in the westminster bill to make the stormont agreement part of british law • nelson mandela refused the apartheid • bobby sands died on hunger strike in regime's conditional release in 1975 and may 1981 for political status to secure won his unconditional freedom in release by undertaking not to resume february 1990 republican activity is to deny political status 17th anniversary of the1981 hunger strike bundoran commemoration and rally 3pm saturday august 29 speakers and bands from ireland and the us