Dissidents Merge to Form New Irish Republican Army
A collection of radical left-wing groups opposed to British rule of Northern Ireland and critical of the political establishment, including the nationalist-focused Sinn Fein, have merged to reclaim the banner of the Irish Republican Army and are threatening violence against police.
A collection of radical left-wing groups opposed to British rule of Northern Ireland and critical of the political establishment, including the nationalist-focused Sinn Fein, have merged to reclaim the banner of the Irish Republican Army and are threatening violence against police.
The union of vigilantes recognized by the U.K. and the Republic of Ireland as terrorists promises to renew the bloody conflict between Irish nationalists and the British-dominated government.
A peace accord signed in April 1998 known as the “Good Friday Agreement” tentatively ended armed conflict between Republican paramilitary groups and the government. The recent announcement marks the first time since the agreement that a majority of the dissident forces have come together.
The new organization, which leaders claim consists of several hundred armed dissidents, plans to attack security forces and other symbols of British presence, a person close to the group told The Guardian.
See a breakdown of the former factions that make up the new IRA here.
— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.
Your support matters…The Guardian:
In its statement the new group said: “In recent years the establishment of a free and independent Ireland has suffered setbacks due to the failure among the leadership of Irish nationalism and fractures within republicanism.” This is a reference to the split between hardline republicans opposed to the peace settlement and Sinn Féin, which has followed a political strategy. Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin, Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister, was a leading figure in the Provisional IRA
In a clear dig at Sinn Féin’s participation in the power-sharing executive with unionists, the dissidents’ statement said: “The Irish people have been sold a phoney peace, rubber-stamped by a token legislature in Stormont.”
It said that the “necessity of armed struggle in pursuit of Irish freedom” against what it described as “the forces of the British crown”, would only be avoided by the removal of the British military presence in Northern Ireland. It demanded “an internationally observed timescale that details the dismantling of British political interference in our country”.
Independent journalism is under threat and overshadowed by heavily funded mainstream media.
You can help level the playing field. Become a member.
Your tax-deductible contribution keeps us digging beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that unearths what's really happening- without compromise.
Give today to support our courageous, independent journalists.
As voters prepare to choose a new parliament on Saturday, polls show surprising support for the party historically linked to the IRA.
Although decades apart, both terrorist attacks were reactions against a history of colonialism.
Despite its vitriolic activities and protests that are political in nature, the hate group Westboro Baptist Church has somehow managed to keep its IRS tax-exempt status. But after its publicly announced plans to picket the funerals of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, tens of thousands of people have signed petitions hoping to change that. Despite its vitriolic activities and protests that are political in nature, the hate group Westboro Baptist Church has somehow managed to keep its IRS tax-exempt status.
The story of the Protestant "settlements" in Ireland provides a ghostly narrative of those modern-day "settlements" in the West Bank, where the Israelis insist on fighting the world's last colonial war with the assistance of that great anti-colonial nation known as the United States.The story of the Protestant "settlements" in Ireland provides a ghostly narrative of those modern-day "settlements" in the West Bank.
Allowing that some Americans might find her "crazy," Nobel Prize-winning writer Doris Lessing told Spain's El Pais newspaper that the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, were "neither as terrible or as extraordinary as they think," pointing to the IRA bombings in Britain as other examples of calamities.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.