Teilnehmerberichte unserer
Delegation in den Norden Irlands /
Participants’ reports on our delegation to the North of Ireland
- September 2000 -
deutsch/German
The North of Ireland is far away from being a normal society. A legacy of
British colonialism in Ireland is the aggressive anti-irish attitude of the
Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC, in a military fashion organised police force),
their collusion with the anti-catholic Orange Order and with loyalist death
squads. Have a look at the brutality with which the RUC attack Nationalist
protesters and at the many cases in which attacks against nationalist
communities show signs of collusion between the RUC and loyalist death squads.
State terror against Irish nationalists, republicans or simply against catholics
is only rarely brought to court. Inquiries are only taking place after years of
civil right campaigns in such cases where victims themselves or relatives
present results.
(appeal for participation in the delegation, pogrom No. 205, April 2000, Uschi
Grandel)
From September, 10th - 17th, 2000 we were visiting the North of Ireland. Our aim
was to visit those organisations whose members have been fighting (sometimes for
decades) for equality, human and civil rights and against state terror and
massive human rights violations.
The places: Derry, Belfast, Portadown, Crossmaglen.
Map of Irland
Participants of the journey: five people who came to care about the conflict in
the North of Ireland for different reasons, by working in a human rights
organisation, by supporting the struggle of Irish Republicans for an Ireland
free of British occupation, by doing research on this conflict at University.
The aim of our reports is twofold: to share our experiences with others and to
thank the people we met for their hospitality, their openness and their
cordiality.
The planning of the weeks' program was done in cooperation with the Derry based Pat
Finucane Centre.
You will find our individual reports below. They are thought to express personal
experiences rather than summarize the whole week.
In addition we give an introduction to the organisation we visited.
The week was over too quickly and time flies. So a lot of aspects are not
covered here. But our journey need not be the last one.
Björn, Claudia, Dagmar, Sandra, Uschi
..... unsere Eindrücke und
Erfahrungen / our personal experiences
- sorry only in German language available at the moment -
Björn
Claudia
Dagmar
Sandra
Uschi
..... die Organisationen, die
wir besucht haben / introduction to the groups we visited
- German/English -
Pat Finucane Centre for human
rights and social change
The Pat Finucane Centre is based in Derry, Ireland. The Centre advocates human
rights and encourages political development and social change in Ireland. The
centre promotes a nonviolent ethos and actively works to build alliances with
groups and individuals within the radical and progressive wings of Irish
politics. The centre believes that the attainment of human, political cultural
and economic rights can only be achieved within the context of active self
determination involving all the Irish people.
Bloody Sunday Trust
On January 30th, 1972 ,known as Bloody Sunday, 14 participants of an
anti-internment rally in Derry were murdererd by British troops. In the
aftermath a tribunal under Lord Widgery declared the victims guilty of being
armed terrorists and the soldiers acting in self-defence. The relatives of the
victims have been fighting for the truth for decades. Meanwhile it is admitted
that the murdered victims were unarmed civilians. It is also established that
reports of soldiers were manipulated. It’s a big success for the campaign that
a new inquiry under Lord Saville was launched in March 2000. The hearings are
held in Derry, they are public.
Rosemary Nelson Campaign
Rosemary Nelson was a renowned rights lawyer in the north of Ireland. She was
murdered on Monday, March 15, 1999 when a loyalist booby-trap bomb attached to
her car exploded, severing both her legs and causing extensive abdominal
injuries. Rosemary died hours later in hospital. Rosemary's murder came the same
day as her article in the Irish News decrying the ongoing illegal Orange Order
siege in Portadown, and weeks after she called for a deeper look at RUC/British
collusion in the murder of Pat Finucane -- another lawyer whose murder has
chillingly similar characteristics to Rosemary's. Although the loyalist Red Hand
Defenders have claimed responsibility for her murder, possible collusion between
the RUC and loyalist terrorists is strongly suggested -- and it is the RUC
themselves who are investigating her murder.
Ardoyne Commemoration Project
Ardoyne is one of the irish republican areas in the North of Belfast. 83 people
from Ardoyne have been killed over the last 30 years. Over a quarter died at the
hands of the British army or the RUC, although not one soldier or policeman
spent a day in jail as a result. Two years ago people from Ardoyne started to do
research on their own history. One of the reasons was the anger about the
unionist enemies of the peace process who used victims of the conflict for their
own selfish reason of damaging the peace process. Two years of research and over
300 interviews will result in a book which is due out in spring 2001. It will
tell the story of each single person who was killed, to remember the victims and
to contribute to telling the truth about what happened.
Falls Women Centre
The Falls Women Centre exists for almost thirty years. As in women’s centres
all over the world the main issue is women helping women with all problems they
come up with. But in addition the centre is facing the problems resulting from
conflict and oppression. Hence for decades the women of the Falls Women Centre
contributed to the fight against oppression and injustice.
Coiste na n’Iarchimi
Coiste na n-Iarchimí (ex-prisoners committee) is a new organisation established
in 1998 to co-ordinate the activities of groups and individuals working with
republican ex-prisoners and their families. Meanwhile some 17 local groups have
been established throughout Ireland. A central aim of the group is the fight
against criminalisation of ex-prisoners. This include the struggle against
employment difficulties facing ex-prisoners; for freedom of movement for
ex-prisoners and the need for an amnesty for those convicted as a result of the
conflict.
Garvaghy Road Residence Committee
The Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition is an umbrella group set up by the
residents of the Catholic/Nationalist Garvaghy Road area of the town of
Portadown. The area has now achieved worldwide notoriety for its annual round of
parades and counter-demonstrations, and for the violence which accompanies
them. For two years, the community has been under constant siege by the
Orange Order and its supporters. The residents continue to stand strong
and struggle for their right to equality, freedom from sectarian discrimination
and harassment.
Relatives for Justice
Over the past thirty years British state forces have been directly responsible
for the killing of almost 400 people, over 60 of them children. Countless others
have been killed as a result of collusion between these same forces and loyalist
death squads. For in excess of 25 years those involved in Relatives for Justice
(RFJ) have been providing support for families and individuals who have suffered
as a result of our conflict. RFJ works primarily with, and on behalf of,
families who have been affected by state and state sponsored violence. RFJ is
itself formed by relatives who themselves have experienced violence from the
state.
South Armagh Farmer and Residence Committee
Unfortunately we did not visit the SAFRC this time because we arrived in South
Armagh at Friday late afternoon. We spent a whole weekend in Crossmaglen in
South Armagh and experienced and witnessed the heavy militarisation of the area
in spite of the British obligation under the Good Friday Agreement to
demilitarization. People are constantly spied at by a huge amount of electronic
devices which are also suspected to damage health, British foot soldiers are
still patrolling the area, harassment by British soldiers and RUC is frequently
reported, most of the occupied land is not given back to the owners, frequent
helicopter flights endanger residents and kills thousends of livestock each
year.
Organisatoren dieser Delegation/Organizers of this delegation
This delegation was organized by Irlandinitiative
Heidelberg and by Save
the Good Friday Agreement Coalition (Regensburg)