March 9, 2003 Suppression of Republicanism Stepped Up
by John Mangan, Kerry Republican Sinn Féin

As the Dublin and London administrations set about "patching up" the sectarian Stormont Agreement, the hammer will once more be brought down on those who refuse to accept British rule in Ireland, Republican Sinn Féin has warned.

Des Dalton, a member of the Ard Comhairle of RSF said that North and South the suppression of true Irish Republicans has been stepped up. He was speaking in advance of delivering the oration at the Ballysheedy Memorial outside Tralee on this coming Sunday 9th March.

"We have seen erstwhile comrades not only embrace British rule, but actually administer it," he commented. "Once they have taken their places on the Six County Policing Board, as they will surely do, we will see the men forcing British rule on the ground.

"In recent days in Fermanagh we witnessed the spectacle of the Lavelle family being arrested on trumped up charges, their home wrecked, their community placed under siege and their chances of a fair trial quashed when a presiding judge in his remarks effectively found them guilty."

John Mangan, the Tralee based chairman of Republican Sinn Féin appealed to all true Republicans to attend the ceremony and hear what Des Dalton has to say on the current political situation. "Politicians now in power would like the people to forget the massacre of Republicansat Ballysheedy, " said Mr. Mangan. "But our view is that this awful event should not be ignored because it shows how the 26 County Administration was founded on bloodshed.

"Eighty years on from the horrific events at Ballysheedy, the cause of a free and independent Ireland has never been more threatened - but we still say that the conflict is a result of the British presence in Ireland."