BY JO O'BRIEN
DUBLIN, Ireland - Chanting "What do we want? - Peace Talks! When do we want them? - Now!" 6,000 people marched here August 26. The whole route was lined with observers.
The march was called by the Irish National Congress, which is working to help secure a political and military withdrawal by the British government from Ireland and a broadly acceptable peace settlement.
The march was timed to commemorate the first anniversary of the cease-fire in Northern Ireland and call on London to allow the peace process to advance.
Many of the marchers walked behind Saoirse banners from all parts of the country. Saoirse is an organization campaigning for the release of Irish political prisoners. To highlight the condition of these prisoners, an open lorry carrying a mock prison cell was part of the march. The "cell" had three men inside, dressed only in a blanket. Refusing to wear prison clothing became a widespread form of protest by Irish political prisoners in the late 1970s and early `80s.
Protesting prison conditions
The treatment of Irish political prisoners in British
jails has been in the news in both countries in recent
weeks. Campaigns have been mounted about the treatment of
republican prisoner Patrick Kelly, who is being held in the
Special Secure Unit of Whitemoor Prison in Britain even
though he has skin cancer. Kelly has been on a protest
against the conditions in Whitemoor along with fellow
republican prisoner Michael O'Brien.
Kelly was moved to Peterborough Hospital August 9. While there he was kept chained to his bed and to prison officers. He was due to be returned to Whitemoor Prison the weekend of August 26, where he would be kept in isolation 23 hours a day.
Joanne, a member of Portadown Saoirse, explained that 60 people had come on a coach from her town to be on the march. Fifteen members of the Derry women's group Guth na mBan (Women's Voice) set out from Derry August 22 and walked to Dublin to be part of the march and to raise awareness of the lack of progress made in the peace process.
When asked why he was on the march, Brendan from Portadown said, "I came on the demonstration because I am not satisfied with the way things are going and the response from the British. We need round table talks. Everything else will flow from that."
On the eve of the march Patrick Mayhew, London's Northern Ireland secretary, made an announcement regarding the sentences of Irish political prisoners. According to the August 26 Irish Times, Mayhew "confirmed that if there was no resumption of violence he would seek early legislation to increase remission from 30 per cent to the 50 per cent level which applied up to 1989. Strict conditions would apply to early releases."
"These are no new proposals," commented Brendan. "They take us back to where we were. The situation in the Kesh [Long Kesh, a high security prison in Northern Ireland] is that there are fellows in there who are already entitled to this remission because they were sentenced before 1979."
Among the large numbers of youth carrying placards demanding "All Party Talks Now" were three women who are working in Dublin. Rosa, originally from Spain, explained, "Britain hasn't the right to stay in Ireland."
"When I was in France I heard there was peace in Ireland and I hope peace continues," commented Gwen, who is from France. Francesca, from Italy, said she was on the march because "where I come from is on the border of former Yugoslavia, so I am interested in peace."
Calls for all-party talks
The march concluded with a rally outside the General
Post Office, focal point of the 1916 rebellion against
British rule. At the rally, Declan Bree, a Labour Party
representative in the Dail (Irish Parliament), said, "It
must be made clear to British prime minister John Major and
his government that a refusal to act and agree to all-party
talks could lead to the end of the greatest opportunity for
peace in our lifetime." Fianna Fail representative in the
Dail Eamon O Cuiv also called for all-party talks.
To cheers from the large crowd, Gerry Adams, president of Sinn Fein, explained "We need to demand and ensure that London reacts as urgently to acts of peace as it did to acts of war.... Sinn Fein believes absolutely in dialogue as the only way to resolve conflict."
Contributing to this article were Anita Ostling, a member of the Transport Workers Union in Stockholm, Sweden; Joyce Fairchild, a member of the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union in Manchester, England; and Jim Spaul, a member of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers Union in London.