Ireland - Stop harassment of republicans!
Sinn Fein are facing a squeeze. Yet another crisis in the peace process means that more concessions will be required, and there is little left to concede except the humiliating hand over weapons.
In one of the most disturbing developments of the current peace process, evidence is growing of a new republican policy for dealing with their difficulties. Quite simply it is the intimidation and physical suppression of their political opponents.
This has two elements. The first is the killing of military rivals and was signalled by the murder of Real IRA member Joe O'Connor.
The other is the physical and political intimidation of their political opponents. This became evident in the aftermath of the O'Connor killing when his family called on members of the Republican Writers Group to investigate. The writers, Tommy Gorman and Tony McIntyre, indicated a belief that the Provisional IRA were responsible for O'Connor's death.
Democracy - A campaign for freedom of expression
We, the undersigned, wish to express our concern at the involvement of Sinn Fein in the physical intimidation and political suppression of political opponents.
The facts are these:
Following the killing of Joe O'Connor, a member of the Real IRA, on the 13th of October 2000, members of the Republican Writers Group were called in by the dead man's family. They investigated and issued a statement asserting that they believed that the Provisional IRA were responsible for the killing.
Since then the writers, Tony McIntyre and Tommy Gorman, have been subject to a tirade of abuse in the republican press.
Their homes have been picketed and they have been physically intimidated.
In his statement in the American paper The Irish voice on 25th October 2000, Gerry Adams of Sinn Fein said that the two writers were fellow travellers of the Real IRA. This was untrue and put them in considerable physical danger.
We call on the leadership of Sinn Fein to stop the harassment of these writers and underwrite the right to freedom of expression by their opponents.
Since then the writers have been the target of an ongoing hate campaign. They have been denounced in the republican press and subject to physical intimidation in their local areas, culminating in pickets designed to force them from their homes. Speaking from the United States, Gerry Adams denounced the two as fellow travellers of the Real IRA.
The level of threat should not be underestimated. There have been many opportunities to draw a line under the affair, but the Provisional leadership have persisted in the campaign, with an article by a former hunger striker in the current An Phoblacht directly attacking the writers.
There are also indications that Sinn Fein spokespersons are ending a policy of routinely condemning acts of paramilitary force, something that would free the hands of the IRA in the event of further physical attacks.
We should also take into account the level of complicity by capitalist, state and media forces. The killing appeared to be invisible to Sinn Fein allies in Dublin, the SDLP and the Catholic Church.
The media and the state forces accepted without comment Provisional claims of a feud among republican dissidents as the cause of the O'Connor killing.
Protests by the writers and their supporters have been ignored by the media. There is a clear duty on socialists, civil libertarians and Human Rights activists to oppose this witchunt. A new organisation - Democracy - a campaign for freedom of expression - has been set up. It aims to oppose the harassment and intimidation of political critics of the republicans and to affirm the right to freedom of political expression.
Activists should organise now to make clear to the republican leadership their absolute opposition to the current hate campaign.