"The impression is effectively created by English policy, military and political that the Northern problem is based on sectarianism. Republicans realise that there is a sectarian problem created and fostered by England but that reconciliation and an end to sectarianism depends upon English withdrawal…" This is a quote from an article published in Republican News on 21st June 1975. This followed the publication of claims in The Sunday Times that loyalists were being directed onto targets by the security forces. Of note here, as the article flags, is that this included friends and relatives of suspected members of the IRA, not just suspects.
What is not noted (although it may just be implicit) is the extent to which this reflects the broader methods of security policy and sectarianism in Ireland. Of course, The Sunday Times disclosure did not lead to arrests or convictions arising from the supply of security force intelligence data to loyalists. This was yet another public demonstration of the capacity of the state to refuse to abide by its own laws. The extreme end of that spectrum may be immunity for murder, license to kill with no fear of investigation or threat of prosecution, sham legal processes such as inquests and inquiries and collusion. But the same thread, acting outside the law without fear of prosecution or being forced to observe the same legal limits and standards as everyone else applies to continuing activities such as bonfires and (up to recently) loyal Order parades. Nor are the issues of collusion or security force immunity resolved today (by continually refusing to deal with the issue, a succession of governments have effectively re-endorsed it as policy). These are not actions hidden behind closed doors. Instead these are very public acts to demonstrate an ability by a section of the population to subvert the supposed laws applied by the state, pretty much the definition of sectarianism.
Here is the full text of the article.
ENGLISH 'HAND IN HAND' WITH ASSASSINS
Dossiers and files compiled by English intelligence units operating in Republican areas have been passed to loyalist paramilitary organisations by English soldiers. The disclosure made by The Sunday Times, who were given samples of some of the documents by a loyalist, verifies what Republicans have been saying for a long time, namely that the English Army is patronising loyalist sectarian assassins. The secret documents contain the names and addresses of hundreds of Republican internees, their home addresses, and the names and addresses of their families, relations and friends, as well as information on those who visit men in English concentration camps in the North.
One document is, according to the Times report, part of a dossier of "suspected" members of the IRA, compiled at English Army headquarters in Lisburn. This contains photographs taken by the English Army during the interrogation and screening of Republicans and one such photographs is of Belfast Republican leader, Joe Cahill. Another document contains photographs and particulars about Provisional IRA supporters, mostly in the nationalist Ardoyne area of Belfast, giving such details as the place where the "suspect" works and his car registration number.
Minority Fears – To English Advantage
The disclosure that the loyalist para-military organisations have possession of such information, not only gives added credence to the belief amongst Republicans that English troops in the North are working "hand in hand" with the loyalists, but such claims increase the fears in minority areas of further assassinations by loyalist gunmen. Such fear and anxiety in minority nationalist communities is something the English have always utilised to their advantage.
The most sinister fact of the matter is that the documents include names and addresses of the friends and relatives of hundred of detainees – something is causing considerable anger amongst the people of minority areas. Undoubtedly, however, the situation would be more seriously disturbing for such people were it not for their total confidence in the leadership of the Provisional Republican Movement and its capacity to defend them.
English Rule Rooted In Sectarianism
Loyalist paramilitary groups have claimed in the past that they have dossiers on known republican and their families. Republican have never had any doubt about the veracity of these claims, nor the origin of their information, distributed and handed down through units of the English Army throughout the North. Such claims are forwarded always in conjunction with the usual threats and at a time when the political question of the maintenance or withdrawal of English rule in the limelight. This is understandable since none knows better than does the loyalist himself that English rule is loyalist rule as far as the North is concerned and such rule is rooted in sectarian division.
The impression is effectively created by English policy, military and political that the Northern problem is based on sectarianism. Republicans realise that there is a sectarian problem created and fostered by England but that reconciliation and an end to sectarianism depends upon English withdrawal. Only after an end to English rule will the METHODS of English rule disappear. Sectarianism is the last vestige of England's methods for maintain her power in Ireland.
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