SocialistAction 1983–88

The paper of the Socialist League, formerly the International Marxist Group, 1983–88

Murder in Gibraltar and Belfast

· Socialist Action No. 179, April 1988 · p. 2 of the scan · 568 words

The scan: 179-April-1988-SA-UK.pdf (PDF, Marxists Internet Archive, opens at this page)

Uncorrected machine reading. This text was read by machine (Apple Vision OCR) from a scan of a newspaper page, and the page was cut into articles by machine, at the headlines found by their type size. Nothing has been corrected: expect misread words, text from a neighbouring article, and titles that are the machine reading of the headline, some of them only fragments. Quote from the scan, not from this page.
How this article was cut and titled: headline found by type size in the OCR geometry (split_tabloid.py); 1-2 of 7; machine-segmented newspaper page; uncorrected Vision OCR.

page 2 of the scan

FOR ANYONE who discriminate attack on the funerals in Belfast of the three IRA members murdered by the SAS in Gibraltar should reinforce the view that no useful purpose is served by Britain remaining in Ireland. itself in seemingly never ending repression, murders and cover-ups.

Gerry Adams has accused the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) murderous attack on the funerals of Mairead Farrell, Sean Savage and Dan McCann. It is indeed almost impossible to see how such an attack could take place without the collusion at some level of the security forces.

Eventually the facts on that will be clear. It took seven years before the truth about the RUC's 1981 shoot-to-kill policy saw the light of day. It was only a matter of days before the truth came that Mairead Farrell, McCann were clinically murdered in cold blood by the SAS in Gibraltar. media about a 'gun battle' with 'armed terrorists' were exposed by the eye witnesses who told how the three had been shot once and then had more shots pumped into them as they lay dying Although the great majority of people in Britain unfortunately felt no grief for the murdered IRA members, because they did not understand the justice of the cause for which they died, the opposite is true in ireland, Even e cuaratan and 1ndependent had to report the remarkable display of grief as people lined every street of every village from Dublin to the border and as a one mile long column of cars followed the procession.

As the Independent, for example 'There were extraordinary scenes...On every street corner, on every roundabout, and on every bridge, men, women and children stood in silent tribute. Many waved black flags..Thousands more flags were decked along the route...As the cortege headed out of Dublin hundreds of cars followed. Many more joined the procession as it passed through each village. Outside houses, houses, in lay-byes, cavaicade passed. Near the border at Dundalk vir. tually the entire population lined the streets in mourning.

At the border, imposed by Britain, the first act of the security forces was to demand that the Irish fiao - the tricolour - be removed from the coffins. So much for the Anglo-Irish Agreement's promise of respect for minority in the north. That petty act of degradation excellently illustrated the nature of the Northern Ireland state for the great majority of Irish people.

It would of course be foolish to think that the huge Irish expression of respect for those gunned down by the SAS will find an echo in Britain. But the view that Britain's presence in Ireland serves no useful purpose is growing again. Britain's presence does not bring peace. Propping up the likes of Paisley and the Orange order cause.

The protection of those who covered-up the shoot-to-kill murders treatment of the Birmingham 6 and the shooting of Aiden McAnespie, have increased disquiet in Britain. The new murders will increase it further.

For twenty supported by the Labour Party and the TUC, has out of Ireland from taking any active form. Th unfolding, futility, British rule in Ireland must be used to break down that log jam.

thinks, the inBritain has enmeshed of collusion in the out Sean Savage Dan The lies splashed in the reported: isolated public crowds watched the of the is not a popular and framed Stalker, the years the British establishment, increasing brutality, bof

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