[United Ireland then obviously they 'll create a…]

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United Ireland then obviously they 'll create a problem.

What do you think of the Darkley killings?

1 condemn them. Those people were only hill billy folk who had done no harm to anyone. They were in no way a legitimate target.

These killings are contrary to republican socialism. They cannot be defended.

How do you see the struggle developing in the Six Counties?

Well, I'm no prophet, I see hopeful signs. The Brits have tried nearly everything to defeat the anti-imperialist struggle. They have tried internment, torture, Diplock Courts, criminalisation, shoot-to-kill and now informers. All have failed.

Unbroken

The spirit of the nationalist people remains unbroken. They have shown the capacity to unite behind broad demands on the H Blocks and on informers like the Relatives for Justice.

The anti-imperialist movement cannot be beaten and the signs are that the INLA and IRA are stronger than ever. Together, with the support of the Nationalist population the British will be beaten.

THE Irish Republican Socialist Party totally condemns sectarianism!

Whether at Darkley Lurgan. our response is the same - total opposition!

We view sectarianism as a device whereby Britain enabled - through disunity and strife - to maintain its presence in Ireland.

The shooting at Darkley only benefits Britain and the Loyalists. It gives the Loyalist murder gangs an excuse for their actions and it conceals the source from which most sectarian acts stem.

This is the British Government.

Britain has, through the years, used sectarianism in order to divide Catholic Protestant.

It is notable that the media has been whipped up into a hysterical campaign following Darkley, but the more numerous victims of Loyalist murder gangs are ignored. This is not to excuse the Darkley killings -for such killings cannot be excused. But it does expose the hypocrisy of the media and of establishment politicians.

Britain through its attempts to foist the most sectarian force in Europe, the UDR, on the nationalist community, and through the UDR involvement in UVF and UDA murder squads has openly pursued sectarian policies.

These policies are part of its age old policy of 'Divide and Conquer' . By stirring up fear and hatred through its sectarianism... Britain seeks to justify its presence as peacemaker and categorise the war of national liberation as a sectarian war..

Republican Socialists have a duty in the struggle against sectarianism. They must continually oppose those who take the emotional and "easy options"

They must expose the British and Loyalists for what they are - the real forces of sectarianism. And they must ensure that Britain's presence on this island is ended. For the ending of imperialist rule in Ireland will put an end to the cause of | sectarianism.

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nside Long Kesh after the escape AT THE END of last September 38 prisoners broke out of Long Kesh, and half of them were never recaptured.

In this letter smuggled out of Long Kesh, Republican prisoner of war Eoghan MacCormack describes what happened to the remaining prisoners after the break-out.

Immediately after the escape, the POA (Prison Officers' Association) in the H Blocks seized control of the camp. The authority of the prison governors was ignored, direct orders by the governors and the NIO (Northern Ireland Office) were disobeyed.

Together with the openly sectarian RUC, screws rounded up 19 of the 38 escapers, and began a systematic series of vicious assaults on these men.

They were stripped naked, layed face down on the ground and beaten unconscious. Many were savaged by dogs, had broken bones, lost teeth, had hair pulled from their heads, and all were a mass of cuts and bruises.

The beatings continued on and off for the next week, men were dragged naked from place to place within the camp, being refused proper medical attention. water and sleep for long periods, clothes to wear or bedding at night.

While these barbarities occured to the recaptured escapees, collective punishment was instituted against all other PoWs in the camp and particularly against the 90 prisoners in H7 who were not involved in the escape.

These men were forced to run a gauntlet of screws, RUC and guard dogs, from H7 to another block, H8.

They were wearing only trousers or shorts. 47 received injuries from batons or fists and sixteen were bitten by dogs. For the next five days they were given only a towel for a covering, food only occasionally, and were subject to frequent attacks from SCreWS.

Massive searches took place in every block, all handicraft material was removed, personal letters, books, educational and political literature, even spectacle cases and tobacco tins, were confiscated and many articles were destroyed.

In cage 10 and 11, clear glass windows were removed from the huts housing PoWs and opaque glass replaced it.

For five days, visits to the camp were stopped and when they resumed the PoWs in H7, H8 and on the boards. were refused ordinary visits, and instead given closed visits.

These closed visits consisted of two adjoining cubicles, with a glass screen dividing them and preventing any physical contact between them.

The visitors sit on one side with a screw standing behind, and the PoW sits on the other side, accompanied by several screws.

If, on these visits. any word or reference was made concerning the escape or the events which followed the escape, the visit was immediately stopped.

Several men were dragged from the visiting area, and beaten up for attempting to tell their worried families of conditions.

Legal access was refused to those who were assaulted and strict censorship was applied both to the visits, letters and by banning all papers from the camp for a fortnight.

Lock-up lasted 23 hours a day, with the one break being for exercise, and even that was denied on some days. All association was stopped and frequent and intensive searches were implemented.

Control of movements was also increased and this has led to severe tension within the camp. The control of movements is a totally unnecessary restriction purely to harass the PoWs and their families, since it disrupts visits, exercise, meals and use of washing facilities.

The POA claim their actions are to secure the camp against further escapes, but the reality is their association has close links with the Official Unionist Party and by their actions they are hoping to discredit Prior and advance the OUP position.

Apart from this, the screws recently won an overtime pay claim and they see this latest action as an opportunity to strengthen their power. and introduce a highly repressive and sectarian regime into Long Kesh.

The third reason is money. The screws already earn around £320 a week, yet under the new controlled movements. opportunities exist for further gains through overtime, danger money. and more jobs.

Such activity was exposed recently when when the POA spokesperson John Howell spoke of their concern for prisoners' rights (during the RUC take-over of Long Kesh in September)

of the dirty protest' (above)

i concern that has been noticeably absent this month, as report after report tells of screws brutaly beating naked and injured PoWs.

The present situation highlights the political nature of the Long Kesh jailors, in fact of all screws in the various jails here.

They play a major part in the repression of republicans and their actions in recent weeks prove that they have chosen this role, thus making themselves part of the British war machinery.

What has also become clear in the wake of the escape, is the vulnerability of PoWs, if the screws seize control of Long, Kesh and initiate serious censorship and brutalities.

The POA is a sectarian organisation. Many of the screws involved in the attacks on PoWs Organiser no.161 after the escape are already infamous for assaults on prisoners during the five years of the dirty protest.

It must be made clear that so long as POA attempts to intensify oppression in Long Kesh; PoWs Will resist, and trouble must surely follow. The solution is to remove that power from bigoted screws.