Over the past number of months posters recruiting for the ‘Prison Service’ in the Six Counties have appeared across Republican areas, most notably in Belfast and Derry, as members of Lasair Dhearg have continually marked them for removal.
Pádraic MacCoitir, a Republican ex-Prisoner and Vice-Chairperson of Lasair Dhearg, said:
“Following headlines and the publication of a joint statement from leading members of Stormont political parties, condemning the removal of ‘Prison Service’ recruitment posters and issuing support for the British state security apparatus, we note the absence of Sinn Féin’s direct support for the declaration, and their subsequent separate statements of support for the prison regime in efforts to avoid media criticism.
It is clear that the party is keenly aware that this is a serious issue within the Republican and Nationalist community. Indeed, much of their support base and many of their members have first hand experience of the British prison system and the effects that it continues to have within our communities.
Sinn Féin should now join the chorus of condemnation of the so-called ‘Prison Service’, and support the removal of British state recruitment posters, in Republican and Nationalist areas.
Throughout the history of Britain’s dirty war in Ireland, the British prison system has played an integral role in the suppression of Republicanism. The communities within which these posters now appear have suffered dearly over many decades. These areas are home to many Republican ex-Prisoners who know all too well the lengths that the Unionist ‘Prison Service’ will go to when it comes to the inhumane treatment of those it holds captive. The depths of depravity visited upon generations of Irish prisoners in British gaols in Ireland was, and indeed still is, brutal, callous and sadistic.
That system remains guilty of the attempted criminalisation and torture of Republican prisoners in the here and now. From controlled movement, segregation, denial of visits, denial of healthcare, to sexual assault through forced strip searches, Britain’s prison regime today continues to mete out the horrors of an unchanged system.
The normalisation of this type of ‘recruitment’ has become a common theme within Republican districts in recent times, with similar tactics employed by the PSNI. These posters are only the most recent instance in a long list of sinister attempts to recruit members of our community.
For those considering joining the ‘Prison Service’ we say this: in doing so you will set yourself apart from your community. You will become a pariah, an outcast, and part of the very system that has sought to keep your community on its knees now for generations.
Lasair Dhearg will continue to remove British state recruitment posters as they appear on our streets, whatever the consequences.”
ENDS
