[Marxism] Intelligence information and Political Opportunism (Martin McGuinness)

["DoC" <donaloc@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

The people of Ireland have probably been afflicted with more bad laws
and miscarriages of justice since partition than any other nation in
Western Europe. We have been subjected to Special Powers Acts, Special
Criminal Courts, Diplock Courts, Offences Against the State Acts,
Section 31, the Broadcasting Ban and many more in both jurisdictions on
this island. Then of course, there were the extra-judicial methods of
internment, shoot-to-kill, collusion, torture, supergrasses and perjured
evidence by agents of both states in order to gain convictions. After
the introduction of each peace of legislation, each more draconian than
the previous, we were assured that it was introduced based on
'intelligence assessments' that it was essential for 'national security'.
Mostly the population was assuaged with the caveat that it would only be
used against certain subversive groups and that it was only temporary
anyway. Experience shows that far from being temporary this legislation
is usually rubber stamped into permanency and generally utilised in a
vast expanse of areas that we were assured would not happen.



When introducing this legislation, no Minister has ever explained what
the nature of the threat to 'National Security' was or even demonstrated
that the accompanying erosion of civil and human rights was commensurate
with the level of the alleged threat. But then, all of these
undemocratic measures were introduced by 'democratic' politicians and
directed specifically at stopping the growth of support for
republicanism. Denying the general public access to information that
might make them question the motivation of successive British and Irish
governments seems to have become the hallmark of democracy in both these
islands.



Accompanying the imposition of the plethora of draconian legislation
aimed at demonising, stigmatising and criminalizing republicans is the
ability of Ministers in both governments, including the British Prime
Minister and an Taoiseach to make unsubstantiated blanket allegations
against republicans in the media unchallenged by journalists who would
claim to be objective and unbiased.



The most disgraceful example of this was an Taoiseach's use of the
airwaves to accuse the Sinn Féin leadership of duplicity and dishonesty.
Not only didn't the interviewer challenge him but also the media in
general picked up his comments and gleefully repeated them ad nauseam,
in their haste to discredit Sinn Féin's credibility and its contribution
to and commitment to the Peace Process. Due process and the balance of
proof go out the window when it comes to accusations against
republicans.



Despite the fact that Mr Ahern clearly stated that he was basing his
comments on the fact that he had no reason not to believe Hugh Orde, we
are now being told that he also had his own 'intelligence sources'.
Could these be the same Gardaí Special Branch sources that failed to
investigate Unionist Murder Squad activities in the twenty-six counties
over the past thirty odd years - preferring instead in their regular
'Intelligence' briefings with the Irish government to blame republicans
for murders and bombings that they were well aware where carried out by
these British controlled murder gangs? The same 'Intelligence' sources
that cannot, after thirty years, give a clear indication of who was
responsible for the Dublin/Monaghan bombings? The same 'Intelligence'
sources that failed to carry out a proper investigation into the murder
of a democratically elected Representative in their jurisdiction - Sinn
Féin's Eddie Fullerton. When will an Taoiseach make an unambiguous
statement based on his 'Intelligence' sources apportioning blame on the
perpetrators of these crimes against the Irish nation?



Then, of course, there is the ongoing Morris Tribunal investigating the
activities of both uniformed and plainclothed members of an Garda
Síochána who were manufacturing and planting explosives around Donegal
and Tyrone for years and blaming it on the IRA.



It is saddening, to note, that Irish politicians who publicly claim to
be pro-United Ireland, simply to preserve their own political fortunes
collaborate with anti-United Ireland forces in a manner that can only
delay such an outcome.



Republicans are used to sustained attacks from establishment
politicians, both Irish and British, who have a vested interest in
maintaining the status quo while paying lip service to democracy or
Irish reunification. In the coming months prior to Westminster and local
government elections we expect that the attacks, both personal and
political, will intensify.



The last couple of weeks is only a sample of what our political
opponents in both Britain and Ireland will throw at us between now and
May. But we will go toe-to-toe with them and they will not defeat the
republican Peace Strategy. Nor will they stop the march towards a
united-Ireland.



Joe Pilling, the Chief British intelligence Officer at the NIO said in
the United States recently that the worst-case scenario -from the
British point of view - would be for Sinn Féin to become the largest
party in the North. The Westminster and Local government elections will
provide the electorate with a golden opportunity to move us one more
step closer to that goal.



I understand that many within the unionist community fear the
implications of change but they are wrong to resist change, they should
be a part of managing it to protect their interests in the process of
change. Change is as inevitable as it is necessary, equality threatens
no one, and a United Ireland threatens no one except those that prosper
on continued conflict and division. I will continue to work for the
necessary change and to ensure that equality is delivered for all
irrespective of political allegiance in a genuine democracy. Those
so-called constitutional nationalist politicians who have joined the
'Lynch mob' over the last few weeks to undermine the republican strategy
would serve the process of peace, reconciliation and unity better by
reassuring unionists of the security of their position and the benefits
that would accrue in a united Ireland than by feeding their fears
through making unsubstantiated allegations against republicans.

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