I think that things in China will get better. Progress is irreversible. Unlike fifty years ago, they finally have a sizable private sector of the economy. Political liberalization in that country is probably only one generation away.
--- In Politics_CurrentEvents_Group@yahoogroups.com, "Sheep&Goatlady" <springcreek@...> wrote:
>
> talk to the folks that live in tibet or tawian,, they might disagree with
> you, as well as the dissenters in china
> ** An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind Gandhi **
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "zeus32117" <zeus32117@...>
> To: <Politics_CurrentEvents_Group@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Monday, April 25, 2011 6:50 PM
> Subject: [Politics_CurrentEvents_Group] Re: Conflict resolution
>
>
> If that's the case, then Communists are not doing everything wrong.
>
> --- In Politics_CurrentEvents_Group@yahoogroups.com, "Sheep&Goatlady"
> <springcreek@> wrote:
> >
> > But that is exactly how the communist party does it,
> > ** My religion is very simple. My religion is Kindness .**
> > Dalai Lama ** Free Tibet **
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "zeus32117" <zeus32117@>
> > To: <Politics_CurrentEvents_Group@yahoogroups.com>
> > Sent: Sunday, April 24, 2011 4:33 AM
> > Subject: [Politics_CurrentEvents_Group] Conflict resolution
> >
> >
> > I propose the following way of resolving global and national conflicts:
> > All
> > those people who want to take an active part in resolving them would meet
> > in
> > groups of ten or more on a regular basis. They would discuss what they
> > want
> > to discuss and elect their representatives. Each group would elect one
> > representative. All those representatives would also meet in groups of ten
> > or more on a regular basis. They would discuss what they want to discuss
> > and
> > elect their representatives too. Each of those groups would elect one
> > representative. These representatives would also meet in groups of ten or
> > more. They would elect their representatives too. This process would
> > continue until fewer than thirty top representatives are elected.
> >
> > --- In Politics_CurrentEvents_Group@yahoogroups.com, "Gary" <garyrumor2@>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > Revival Of Irish Republican Groups
> > > April 23rd, 2011
> > >
> > > I saw this article about the renewed threat from the Irish and having
> > > been
> > > reading British history recently, I thought it was a good time to throw
> > > in
> > > my two cents on the issue. The British ripped off and oppressed the
> > > Irish
> > > for centuries. They attempted to colonize their country and as a result
> > > a
> > > British residue, Northern Ireland, exists as a reminder to the Irish of
> > > how long they have been under the British thumb. Anyone who has read
> > > history will understand the situation there is the result of long
> > > standing
> > > gevances, much more long standing than the Palestinian gripe against
> > > Israel, although it is a similar intrusion, the result of British
> > > mucking
> > > around in people's lives, just as the Pakistan-India division is the
> > > result of British interference and the same goes for much of Africa, the
> > > legacy of the Empire.
> > >
> > > I admire the British for their gall. The were the model for the USA in
> > > its
> > > imperial endeavors. Always claiming to be acting for the betterment of
> > > humanity, when in reality it was for the betterment of the wealthy
> > > elites
> > > controling policy in Washington.
> > >
> > > The British have good reason to fear the Irish. The Irish have good
> > > reason
> > > to want revenge. Until the British are out of Ireland for good, this
> > > will
> > > be a festering sore in the side of Ireland and no feel good peace
> > > movement
> > > will end the aberation of Northern Ireland until it is reunited with the
> > > rest of Ireland. Protestants live in the south, they can live in a
> > > united
> > > Ireland. I am not normally a big fan of nationalism, living in the USA,
> > > it
> > > is hard to justify any nationalist principals at all. But in a place
> > > that
> > > has over the centuries maintained its identity, as shredded and deformed
> > > as it may be from the British imposition, they deserve to retain what
> > > they
> > > call their own and then on the basis of equality, accept or refuse what
> > > they wish from the rest of the world. Ah if it were only so simple.
> > >
> > > ==================================
> > >
> > > From Guardian.UK
> > >
> > > New Irish terror groups are threat to UK, warn police
> > >
> > > Intelligence officials say dissidents are capable of mounting mainland
> > > attack, as fears grow of `Easter offensive' in Ulster
> > >
> > > Mark Townsend and Henry McDonald
> > > guardian.co.uk, Saturday 23 April 2011 18.52 BST
> > >
> > > The UK mainland has not experience an Irish republican attack since car
> > > bombs exploded at the BBC Television Centre, and Ealing Broadway station
> > > in London in 2001.
> > >
> > > Dissident republicans have developed the capability to mount an attack
> > > on
> > > the British mainland, according to the latest security assessment.
> > > Senior
> > > counter-terrorism sources confirmed the threat from dissidents attacking
> > > the mainland "now goes beyond an aspiration" and that they now possess
> > > the
> > > means to mount an attack across the Irish Sea.
> > >
> > > Amid rising tension in the province and fears of an "Easter offensive"
> > > by
> > > dissident groups, police in Northern Ireland also warned that
> > > anti-ceasefire republicans were plotting to kill more police officers.
> > >
> > > The increased threat from republican dissidents is certain to heighten
> > > security concerns during the build-up to the royal wedding on Friday,
> > > although there is no intelligence suggesting a specific plot related to
> > > the event.
> > >
> > > On Friday another dissident grouping, styling itself "the IRA", issued a
> > > public statement claiming responsibility for the murder of PC Ronan Kerr
> > > in Omagh this month. The group, comprising former members of the
> > > Provisional IRA, vowed to embark on a bombing campaign. It is understood
> > > that the new group includes veteran paramilitaries who were involved in
> > > transporting and later detonating the bomb that exploded at London's
> > > Canary Wharf in 1996.
> > >
> > > Intelligence officials monitoring dissident activity point to a growing
> > > sophistication in bomb-making techniques and a widening range of attack
> > > techniques as evidence of expanding capability. A senior intelligence
> > > source told the Observer: "We feel there is capability to attempt some
> > > form of an attack on Britain. Based on our assessment, it goes beyond an
> > > aspiration." Dissident groups have recently deployed command-wire
> > > explosive devices, van-mounted weaponry, car bombs and vehicle booby
> > > traps, as well as more orthodox military equipment such as
> > > hand-grenades.
> > > Several individuals are believed to be under surveillance.
> > >
> > > The mainland has not experienced an Irish republican attack since car
> > > bombs exploded at the BBC Television Centre and Ealing Broadway station
> > > in
> > > London in 2001. The head of MI5, Jonathan Evans, said last September,
> > > however, that dissidents posed a "real and increasing security challenge
> > > in Northern Ireland" and could be planning attacks elsewhere. According
> > > to
> > > MI5's Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, the official threat level is
> > > "substantial", meaning an attack is a "strong possibility".
> > >
> > > On Saturday a man appeared in court facing charges in connection with
> > > the
> > > murder of Kerr. Gavin Coyle, 33, from Omagh was charged with possession
> > > of
> > > explosives, firearms and articles likely to be of use to terrorists. He
> > > was remanded in custody. The court heard he was linked to a footprint
> > > found at a major dissident republican arms dump in Coalisland during
> > > investigations into Kerr's murder. Police have also revealed details of
> > > a
> > > substantial haul of guns and ammunition found in a vehicle stopped by
> > > officers in Keady, near the Irish border, on Friday.
> > >
> > > Attention has concentrated upon the Real IRA and the smaller but
> > > technically able Oglaigh na hEireann, which has improved its explosives
> > > technology over the past two years. Analysis suggests that the
> > > explosives
> > > material being used by dissidents may have originated from a onetime
> > > Provisional IRA stockpile whose whereabouts were known by former
> > > quartermaster general Michael McKevitt - who formed the Real IRA.
> > >
> > > Police in Northern Ireland said yesterday that fresh violence was
> > > expected. "Dissident terrorist groups are continuing to identify
> > > officers
> > > and target them with the single objective of killing them," a spokesman
> > > said.
> > >
> > > In further evidence of growing confidence among extremist republican
> > > groups, a leading figure in one of the dissident groups' political wings
> > > announced that the Queen should be considered a "legitimate target"
> > > during
> > > her visit to Ireland in May. The general secretary of the hardline
> > > Republican Sinn Féin party, Josephine Hayden, said she would have no
> > > problem with a sniper targeting the Queen. "You might say that she is
> > > just
> > > a little old grandmother," said Hayden, "but it is what she represents,
> > > what she symbolises that counts. She is a legitimate target."
> > >
> > > The Observer has learned that a radical republican group known as
> > > Eirígí:
> > > for a Socialist Republic is planning to occupy Dublin's Garden of
> > > Remembrance 48 hours before the Queen is scheduled to attend a
> > > reconciliation ceremony there.
> > >
> > > Republicans in Dublin say the splinter group plans to establish a tented
> > > camp on the Sunday prior to the visit, creating the possibility that the
> > > Garda Siochána will have to forcibly remove protesters before the royal
> > > tour begins on 17 May.
> > >
> > > On 5 May, Northern Ireland is braced for trouble to mark assembly
> > > elections and the 30th anniversary of the death of IRA hunger striker
> > > Bobby Sands. Future trouble could depend on the reaction from the
> > > loyalist
> > > community, described by sources as "relatively restrained" until now. A
> > > 40-year-old Belfast man was, however, arrested on Saturday in connection
> > > with loyalist terrorist activity.
> > >
> > > http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/apr/23/terrorism-threat-uk-northern-ireland
> > >
> > > eirigi site
> > > http://www.eirigi.org/
> > >
> > > Republican Sinn Fein site
> > > http://www.rsf.ie/index.html
> > >
> > > Real IRA site
> > > http://www.32csm.info/
> > >
> > > Article About Cumann na mBan - Womans Irish Republican group
> > > http://www.irishdemocrat.co.uk/features/cumann-na-mban/
> > >
> > > Irish National Liberation Army site
> > > http://www.angelfire.com/space/derryirsp/inla.htm
> > >
> > > Continuity IRA site
> > > http://irelandsown.net/RIRA.html
> > > ==========================================
> > >
> > > From the Belfast Telegraph
> > >
> > > Dissidents: interview with terror splinter group
> > >
> > > By Brian Rowan
> > > Wednesday, 3 November 2010
> > >
> > > The Belfast Telegraph today publishes an interview with the terrorist
> > > group behind the Palace Barracks bombing and the Peadar Heffron murder
> > > attempt in which its leadership boasts: "Nothing is beyond our reach".
> > >
> > > The newspaper's security correspondent Brian Rowan met face-to-face with
> > > senior figures in the armed republican faction Oglaigh na hEireann in
> > > the
> > > wake of the groups increasing activities which in recent months have
> > > also
> > > included a car bomb attack in Strand Road, Londonderry and an attempt to
> > > kill an Army Major with a booby-trap bomb.
> > >
> > > The interview comes just weeks after the director-general of MI5
> > > Jonathan
> > > Evans highlighted the "real and rising security challenge" posed by
> > > dissident groups here and the decision to raise the threat level in
> > > Britain to substantial.
> > >
> > > The newspaper insisted on a face-to-face interview rather than written
> > > communications in order to challenge statements the group might make.
> > >
> > > Oglaigh na hEireann has quickly become the most active of the dissident
> > > groups operating separately from the Real IRA and Continuity IRA.
> > >
> > > The interview, which took place in a house in Belfast, covered a range
> > > of
> > > issues:
> > > .The organisation's tactics and strategy;
> > > .Recent attempts by the security services to recruit informers from
> > > within
> > > its ranks;
> > > .Its position on talks with the British and Irish Governments;
> > > .What it thinks of Sinn Fein leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness;
> > > .And its response to that recent speech by the head of MI5.
> > >
> > > The organisation made clear that attacks in places such as Holywood,
> > > Bangor and east Belfast have been deliberately planned in what were seen
> > > as "safe zones for security forces".
> > >
> > > "It was to send a direct message that nowhere is safe," said one of the
> > > group's leaders.
> > >
> > > According to republican sources the organisation has between 80-100
> > > members in Belfast drawn from the Provisional IRA, Real IRA and INLA and
> > > new recruits.
> > >
> > > Three representatives of the group's so-called Army Council and General
> > > Headquarters Staff took part in the interview with this newspaper - an
> > > interview in which they accepted they were not yet ready to launch a
> > > sustained campaign of attacks.
> > >
> > > "To go at it full steam would increase momentum short term, but, we
> > > believe, ultimately would fail within a very short period of time," said
> > > the Army Council representative.
> > >
> > > "There is no ready-made IRA pack that can be assembled in a short period
> > > of time.
> > >
> > > "An Oglaigh na hEireann capable of having a sustained campaign will take
> > > time to develop."
> > >
> > > This interview took days to arrange and was requested by the Belfast
> > > Telegraph after the speech by the head of MI5 and the decision shortly
> > > afterwards to publicly raise the threat level in Britain to substantial.
> > >
> > > Here the threat level remains severe and the Police Federation has
> > > called
> > > for 1,000 more police officers.
> > >
> > > "It says that they - MI5/British Intelligence - are acknowledging a
> > > growing threat, which they admit they played down and ignored - played
> > > it
> > > down and underestimated it," the leaders of Oglaigh na hEireann said.
> > >
> > > Asked whether attacks in Britain were part of their focus and thinking,
> > > they responded:
> > >
> > > "Oglaigh na hEireann will decide when and where it attacks.
> > >
> > > "Sceptics will say, `they would say that', because they don't have the
> > > capabilities.
> > >
> > > "Eighteen months ago, they told us we couldn't even detonate a bomb.
> > >
> > > "Nothing is beyond our reach."
> > >
> > > During the past 18 months, the organisation placed three under-car booby
> > > trap bombs on vehicles belonging to Constable Peadar Heffron, an Army
> > > Major in Bangor, and the female partner of a PSNI dog handler in east
> > > Belfast.
> > >
> > > Speaking to this newspaper, its leaders talked about those operations
> > > and
> > > how the security forces have responded. "We have noticed a dramatic
> > > increase in both overt and covert surveillance," one of its leaders
> > > said.
> > >
> > > This means a bigger challenge for the dissident group to operate under
> > > the
> > > security radar.
> > >
> > > "Every time we are not involved in the execution of an operation, we are
> > > recruiting, developing expertise, gathering intelligence and planning
> > > the
> > > next operation," its leadership said.
> > >
> > > Oglaigh na hEireann said it did not want to copy the IRA. "They failed,"
> > > said one of its leaders.
> > >
> > > Oglaigh na hEireann on bomb-making, targeting police and `successful
> > > operations'
> > >
> > > Interview with three representatives of Oglaigh na hEireann leadership -
> > > one member of the organisation's Army Council, who did almost all of the
> > > talking, and two general headquarters staff.
> > >
> > > Rowan: I'd like to ask about the roots of your organisation, how it
> > > emerged - the when and why of that, what you see as the organisation's
> > > role.
> > >
> > > ONH: The organisation began with nothing more than a number of
> > > conversations between senior republicans across Ireland [in 2005]. They
> > > had watched how the anti-agreement republican military world had the
> > > perception of [being] badly organised, ineffective and perceived [as]
> > > highly infiltrated, and, in some cases, I suppose they were. They
> > > decided
> > > that after a very lengthy debate to try and salvage a group of
> > > republicans
> > > and form them into an organisation. It would have taken a year just to
> > > agree to the formation of a group. We had agreed the title Oglaigh na
> > > hEireann, but hadn't made it public. We looked at all of the IRAs,
> > > including the Provisional IRA. We looked at all their strengths and
> > > weaknesses. We picked out what we believed were flaws in structure and
> > > operational, and we designed a structure for Oglaigh na hEireann, that
> > > while based on the same format as the Provisionals, had sections that
> > > were
> > > fundamentally different, which we believed offered better security and
> > > limited the security services in the event of them being able to
> > > successfully recruit agents and informers.
> > >
> > > Rowan: [Is it] a new beginning, or picking up where others had left off?
> > >
> > > ONH: It was a mixture of both. At that particular stage a number of
> > > people
> > > had come to our attention as having become disillusioned with the
> > > Provisional IRA strategy and approaches were made both ways [from ONH to
> > > individuals, and from individuals to ONH]. We believed that some of the
> > > people who were starting to form a core structure were people who could
> > > offer a formidable military alternative to what was then on offer
> > > militarily. It's a number of people who were former members of other
> > > organisations, and that's across the spectrum - Provisional IRA, INLA,
> > > Real IRA. The vast, vast majority of people who were recruited were
> > > deliberately selected for their skills, experience and know-how. This is
> > > island-wide. There wasn't an open recruitment procedure.
> > >
> > > Rowan: When does this become a first operation?
> > >
> > > ONH: There was a number of training operations, and testing the
> > > structure,
> > > which have never been claimed. [The] first operation claimed was a
> > > kneecapping on south link pitches Andersonstown. The victim was shot six
> > > times -|elbows, knees, ankles.
> > >
> > > Rowan: Talk to me about this description of a two-headed beast, used to
> > > describe the Oglaigh na hEireann relationship with the Real IRA - two
> > > bits
> > > of one organisation?
> > >
> > > ONH: It simply isn't the case. Oglaigh na hEireann is a separate entity.
> > > The confusion initially in some media and security circles, we assume,
> > > came about [because] there was a handful of former senior members of the
> > > Real IRA who were playing pivotal roles in the emerging Oglaigh na
> > > hEireann. Unfortunately because Oglaigh na hEireann wasn't doing
> > > interviews or statements at that time the water remained cloudy.
> > >
> > > Rowan: That suited you?
> > >
> > > ONH: No end.
> > >
> > > Rowan: What about joint operations - sharing materials, expertise?
> > >
> > > ONH: At the present stage there is a friendly and cordial relationship
> > > between Oglaigh na hEireann and other armed republican organisations.
> > > That
> > > doesn't cross over into joint operations. I don't believe there is any
> > > sharing of expertise.
> > >
> > > Rowan: Let's deal with the tactics and strategy of your own
> > > organisation.
> > > Describe your immediate aims, and then we'll talk about what you think
> > > is
> > > achievable longer term.
> > >
> > > ONH: Our fundamentals are about securing the organisation, about
> > > credible
> > > recruitment and carrying out credible, high-grade operations. We also
> > > want
> > > to offer working class communities, who have been abandoned, protection
> > > from criminals and drug dealers. Every time we are not involved in an
> > > operation we are recruiting, developing expertise, gathering
> > > intelligence
> > > and planning the next operation. All of that is made easier on the back
> > > of
> > > some of our operations. The Provisional IRA took approximately 15 years
> > > to
> > > wind down. There is no ready-made IRA pack that can be assembled in a
> > > short period of time. An Oglaigh na hEireann capable of having a
> > > sustained
> > > campaign will take time to develop. It will take time to develop the
> > > structures, personnel, finance and weaponry.
> > >
> > > Rowan: If Oglaigh na hEireann went full out [now]?
> > >
> > > ONH: I think we would be playing right into the hands of the British,
> > > who,
> > > while the Provisional IRA were winding down continued with their
> > >
> > > war machine in Ireland unabated. To go at it full steam would increase
> > > momentum short term, but we believe ultimately would fail within a very
> > > short period of time.
> > >
> > > Rowan: As your expertise builds, as you become more successful in your
> > > terms, what happens inside and outside the organisation?
> > >
> > > ONH: Inside the organisation successful operations increase morale. It
> > > also gives republicans increased confidence to carry out more daring
> > > attacks. Republicans who acknowledge that Oglaigh na hEireann are doing
> > > the right things offer their services. That in turn increases our
> > > capabilities even further.
> > >
> > > Rowan: Do you have what previously would have been Provisional IRA
> > > bomb-making expertise?
> > >
> > > ONH: Yes.
> > >
> > > Rowan: Do you want to elaborate?
> > >
> > > ONH: No. We have found that former IRA volunteers have applied to join
> > > Oglaigh na hEireann on the back of those successful operations.
> > >
> > > Rowan: Security activity?
> > >
> > > ONH: We have noticed a dramatic increase in both overt and covert
> > > surveillance. A number of people have also been approached with offers
> > > from the security services to work for them - from right across the
> > > security spectrum. Four people in the last week have been approached
> > > with
> > > at least one offered a substantial amount of money. In the aftermath of
> > > Section 44 stop and search, with the increased [security] activity and
> > > presence, we watched as they tried to increase their presence on the
> > > ground, and, likewise, we adapted to counter that threat.
> > >
> > > Rowan note: The interview then deals with a number of specific Oglaigh
> > > na
> > > hEireann attacks including the car bomb at Palace Barracks military base
> > > which houses the MI5 Headquarters in Northern Ireland, and the under-car
> > > booby trap bomb |attack in which police officer Peadar Heffron was
> > > critically injured. It also touches on a |dissident
> > > intelligence-gathering
> > > operation in a wooded area close to Palace Barracks. Over an unspecified
> > > period of time, digital cameras were used to record images of activity
> > > at
> > > the base.
> > >
> > > Rowan: Did you target Peadar Heffron, or did you target a police
> > > officer?
> > >
> > > ONH: We never target an individual in uniform. We target the uniform and
> > > what it stands for.
> > >
> > > Rowan: Did you target him because of his involvement with the GAA - that
> > > he speaks the Irish language? Were you making a point?
> > >
> > > ONH: No comment on that.
> > >
> > > Rowan: Is he not as Irish - more Irish - than those who make up your
> > > organisation?
> > >
> > > ONH: Absolutely not. Irish history is littered with mercenaries who have
> > > worked for and implemented British laws.
> > >
> > > Rowan: What is it about new policing that you object to?
> > >
> > > ONH: Policing in the north of Ireland is still controlled by National
> > > Security - MI5. All its powers, laws and finance come from England, and
> > > it
> > > is no different today in 2010 than it was in 1994 [the year the IRA
> > > announced a complete cessation of military operations]
> > >
> > > Rowan: Do you really believe that?
> > >
> > > ONH: Yeah I do ? everything that the RUC did - the abuse, harassment and
> > > frame-ups - still continues today.
> > >
> > > Rowan: How big an operation was the Palace Barracks attack - its timing
> > > [coinciding with the devolution of justice powers] and the fact that MI5
> > > Headquarters is on site?
> > >
> > > ONH: The timing of it was deliberate. The significance was deliberate,
> > > and
> > > a major effort was put into that operation.
> > >
> > > Rowan: Did you have the base under camera surveillance prior to that
> > > attack?
> > >
> > > ONH: We'll not go into details on duration of our surveillance except to
> > > say that we garnered significant intelligence.
> > >
> > > Rowan: Is it from this that you target the Army Major [in a planned
> > > under-car booby trap bomb attack] in Bangor?
> > >
> > > ONH: We won't go into detail on how we garner intelligence except to say
> > > that we have shown that we can pinpoint police officers and soldiers
> > > very
> > > accurately.
> > >
> > > Rowan: Security assessments suggest the fingerprint/type of bomb used in
> > > Bangor was |different to the make-up of the device used when you
> > > targeted
> > > a police dog-handler in east Belfast - clearly suggesting more than one
> > > bomb-maker. ONH: Oglaigh na hEireann has developed explosives expertise.
> > >
> > > Rowan: It was the dog-handler you were targeting - not his partner?
> > >
> > > ONH: Had we been targeting his partner it [the bomb] would have been
> > > under
> > > her seat. Our intelligence and surveillance showed us that she regularly
> > > drove him to work. We deliberately picked areas [for attacks] that were
> > > seen as safe zones for security forces. It was to send a direct message
> > > that nowhere is safe.
> > >
> > > Rowan: I want to talk about some recent developments - the speech by the
> > > Director General of MI5, the threat level raised in Britain, Police
> > > Federation calls for a thousand more police officers, a stepping up of
> > > overt policing. What does all of this say to your organisation?
> > >
> > > ONH: It says that they - MI5/British Intelligence - are acknowledging a
> > > growing threat, which they admit they played down and ignored, played it
> > > down and underestimated it.
> > >
> > > Rowan: Is Britain - attacks there - part of your focus and thinking?
> > >
> > > ONH: Oglaigh na hEireann will decide when and where it attacks. Sceptics
> > > will say, `they would say that because they don't have the
> > > capabilities'.
> > > Eighteen months ago, they told us we couldn't even detonate a bomb.
> > > Nothing is beyond our reach.
> > >
> > > Rowan note: The interview then deals with a claim by Martin |McGuinness
> > > that the British and Irish governments have been talking to dissident
> > > groups. The Belfast Telegraph has been told of a process of contacts -
> > > not
> > > face-to-face, but mediators talking to representatives of the dissident
> > > groups and separately to British and Irish officials, but with all sides
> > > knowing who is involved.
> > >
> > > Rowan: Has your organisation met face-to-face with representatives of
> > > the
> > > British or Irish governments?
> > >
> > > ONH: No.
> > >
> > > Rowan: Let me talk about contacts, quiet dialogue, involving mediators
> > > talking both to your organisation and British and Irish officials. Do
> > > you
> > > recognise that description?
> > >
> > > ONH: I recognise the description, yes.
> > >
> > > Rowan: I'm told it's at two levels - alternatives to punishment attacks,
> > > and exploring a way forward without armed struggle/activity. Is that a
> > > reasonable description?
> > >
> > > ONH: We are a people's army. It's inevitable that we will be interacting
> > > with the community. Some punishment attacks are resolvable, others
> > > aren't.
> > > It's a giant leap to get from that to a perception of engagement with
> > > the
> > > British or Irish governments.
> > >
> > > People from all walks of life talk to us about non-violent ways. Again,
> > > we
> > > don't see that as direct contact with either government.
> > >
> > > Rowan: How do you respond to the description of dissident republicans as
> > > traitors - "conflict junkies"?
> > >
> > > ONH: We think it's farcical. Some of the hypocritical comments coming
> > > from
> > > former armed republicans who are engaged in demonisation of former
> > > comrades for upholding the proclamation and the IRA's Green Book.
> > >
> > > Rowan: We hear a lot about senior Sinn Fein figures being warned of
> > > threats. Are they legitimate targets in your eyes?
> > >
> > > ONH: No. Ireland has seen enough of feuds while the British sit back and
> > > happily watch it.
> > >
> > > Rowan: The IRA was better armed, supported, resourced, and they
> > > acknowledged a military stalemate. So, what makes you think you can
> > > achieve more?
> > >
> > > ONH: The overview of the structure we pointed to |earlier in the
> > > interview, we |believe has more durability to penetration. We have no
> > > |desire to replicate or be a morph of the Provisional IRA. They failed -
> > > so, why would we want to copy them? There is a fragile Assembly. There
> > > is
> > > a forging together of political opposites that is much easier to
> > > undermine
> > > and defeat than the war that the Provisionals had.
> > >
> > > Rowan: Do you think a war can be won?
> > >
> > > ONH: We think a war can |create the conditions where republicans can
> > > create |dialogue that will fulfil |republican objectives.
> > >
> > > Rowan: Brits out?
> > >
> > > ONH: A 32 county democratic socialist republic. Brits out is simply not
> > > good enough.
> > >
> > > Rowan: So it's a pipedream then?
> > >
> > > ONH: Some people say that Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness sitting in a
> > > room sharing power in a partitionist Assembly endorsing British policing
> > > was also a pipedream.
> > >
> > > Rowan: Has killing become the cause, just to say, `we haven't sold
> > > out' -
> > > killing for killing's sake?
> > >
> > > ONH: As far as we are concerned we are not engaged in killing for
> > > killing's sake. We are engaged in a war against the illegal occupation
> > > of
> > > our country and usurpation of Irish sovereignty.
> > >
> > > Rowan: So you think that killing will work?
> > >
> > > ONH: We think that a war will |create the conditions for |credible
> > > dialogue aimed at British withdrawal. Internal settlements are not what
> > > Irish republicans fought, died and went to jail for.
> > >
> > > Background
> > > .September 2005: Major acts of decommissioning - "The IRA leadership
> > > can
> > > now confirm that the process of putting our arms beyond use has been
> > > completed."
> > > .2005-2006: Conversations among disaffected republicans leading to the
> > > formation of the dissident faction Oglaigh na hEireann. Members are
> > > drawn
> > > from Provisional IRA, Real IRA, INLA and new recruits.
> > > .First claimed action: A so-called punishment attack in which the
> > > victim
> > > was shot in the elbows, ankles and knees.
> > > .October 2009: Female partner of PSNI dog handler injured in under-car
> > > booby trap bomb attack in east Belfast.
> > > .January 2010: PSNI constable Peadar Heffron critically injured in
> > > under-car booby trap bomb attack.
> > > .April 2010: Car bomb explodes at Palace Barracks Army base Holywood,
> > > which houses the Northern Ireland MI5 headquarters.
> > > .August 2010: Car bomb explodes at Strand Road Derry.
> > > .August 2010: Army Major escapes |injury when a booby trap bomb falls
> > > from
> > > his vehicle.
> > >
> > > More: Brian Rowan: It was like a journey into the past. but this was
> > > very
> > > much the present
> > >
> > > http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/dissidents-interview-with-terror-splinter-group-14993952.html
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
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