As Maghaberry human rights abuses continue. ‘Socialist Party’ must break links with P.O.A.

national | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Monday July 22, 2013 20:28 by RNU PRO - Republican Network for Unity

Given their professed position as ‘Internationalists’ there is no way that the SP in Ireland can write off their movements links with the right wing POA as an English Issue, nor can they with any credibility describe the actions of the POA here as ‘Industrial Action’. What is happening in Maghaberry is a sustained campaign of human rights abuses, conducted against vulnerable political prisoners and directed by the ‘Prison Officers Association’ along the the Gaol administration.

Joe Simpson, POA assistant general secretary, addresses Socialist Party conference 2011,

RNU have been made aware of the latest twist in the joint campaign by the Maghaberry Prison Administration and the Loyalist ‘Prison Officers Association’ to degrade and break the resolve of Republican prisoners in Roe 3 and Roe 4 of the Gaol.RNU Maghaberry We understand that in the past few days, a regime of particularly strict controlled movement has been introduced onto both landings on Roe House using a ‘staff/prisoner ratio system’ in which the numbers of prisoners allowed out of their cells at any one time is limited depending on staff levels and quoting a fake risk assessment levels as an excuse.

The primary objective of this tactic is to deny prisoners access to fresh air, exercise and shower facilities, it is most commonly used during periods of particularly hot weather when cells turn into virtual sweat boxes.

The tactic has been used many times in the past ten years since the establishment of the Maghaberry Republican wing and is the brainchild of leading figures within the ‘Prison Officers Association’, which claims to represent the interests of Screws in the Six Counties, England and Scotland.

The ‘POA’ objected vehemently to the establishment of Roe House as a Republican wing due to the overtly Unionist political persuasion of its membership and indeed it organised a walk-out of staff when segregation was achieved by the Republican ‘No was/Dirty’ protest in September 2003.

Since then the ‘POA’ have been central to creating tactics aimed at degrading and severely restricting the life’s of Republican Prisoners. On a monthly basis POA directed screws led by Finlay Spratt, sought to create and exploit invented ‘logistical problems’ on the wings ultimately aimed at making life on Roe 3 & 4 as miserable as possible, and hoping to force men into leaving the landing altogether, as well as to secure extra shifts and ‘danger money’ for POA members.

Excessive lock up, denial of basic hygiene facilities and education, denial of exercise and fresh air as well as forced strip searches have been the lot of republican prisoners ever since and under the careful design of the ‘Prison Officers Association’. All independent reports have criticised the excessive levels of security on Roe 3 & 4 and those with insight recognise what is happening as a gross campaign of human rights abuses directed against vulnerable political prisoners.

It is therefore nothing less than shocking, to learn that a self-professed revolutionary movement which is active in Ireland, has struck

socialist_partyup and even boasts of an alliance with this pseudo union. The ‘Socialist Party’ has in recent times not only attended POA conferences in England, it has even recruited several POA screws into its ranks including POA national executive member John Hancock and POA general secretary Brian Caton, a fact boasted about on the ‘Socialist Party’ website.

Given their professed position as ‘Internationalists’ there is no way that the SP in Ireland can write off their movements links with the right wing POA as an English Issue, nor can they with any credibility describe the actions of the POA here as ‘Industrial Action’. What is happening in Maghaberry is a sustained campaign of human rights abuses, conducted against vulnerable political prisoners and directed by the ‘Prison Officers Association’ along the the Gaol administration.

Nobody is claiming that the Socialist Party in Ireland supports the abuse of Republican Prisoners in Maghaberry, however they can no longer ignore it as they attend and support events addressed by the architects of torture. It is the duty of all self-proclaimed Socialists to oppose such abuses, and the Socialist Party here must begin by demanding that their movement breaks links with the bourgeois and self-serving ‘Prison Officers Association’.