Call for Internment

national | rights, freedoms and repression | opinion/analysis Friday March 13, 2009 11:29 by Brendan - none

Harris beats the war drum

A call for Internment
Eoghan Harris worked himself into a ball as he bounced up and down in Seanad Eireann the other night. The reason for this noisy outburst was the killing of two British soldiers and one member of the P.S.N.I. last weekend. Before he actually said the word Internment, he led the listeners up this point by repeatedly referring to Internment as ‘The I word‘. In Ireland, the word Internment evokes painful memories in generations of Irish people North and South of the border. The very mention of the word Internment carries an absolute loathing with it. Certain negative words can have this effect on people because of the fearful emotions associated with it.

Eoghan Harris worked himself into a ball as he bounced up and down in Seanad Eireann the other night. The reason for this noisy outburst was the killing of two British soldiers and one member of the P.S.N.I. last weekend. Before he actually said the word Internment, he led the listeners up this point by repeatedly referring to Internment as ‘The I word‘. In Ireland, the word Internment evokes painful memories in generations of Irish people North and South of the border. The very mention of the word Internment carries an absolute loathing with it. Certain negative words can have this effect on people because of the fearful emotions associated with it. Words like Nazis, Holocaust, Ku Klux Klan, Evil, by there very nature carry an absolute stain with them. For the fact that even Eogan Harris kept calling Internment, the I word proves that in Ireland Internment really is a dirty word that puts a stain on any civilised society that calls itself fair and just. The nature of Harris’s speech was contradictory. He was actually calling for the reintroduction Internment while at the same time skirting around the word Internment by calling it the I word. Even this man in all his thickness recognises that there is a stigma attached to the use of Internment in this country. Any sane person on this island would not call for the reintroduction of Internment. But having said that, I’m sure some people like New Sinn Fein would be only to happy to see it come in, but under a different name of course.

In the early eighties rumours circulated around Dublin that the Curragh was been prepared for the reintroduction of Internment. Large numbers of Chairs and beds etc where shipped into the Curragh in preparation for a long list of republican guest, invitation only. Even back then the word Internment by its self had a definite stain attached to it, certain politicians where careful about throwing this dirty word around. The upper echelons back then decided to add a new word in front of Internment in the hope that it might dilute some of the nastiness associated with it. The new cleaned up version they came up with was Selective Internment. To members of the public who where politically illiterate this new version of Selective Internment sounded ok. It had to be fair because they selected you from a special list that has been drawn up by professional people who knew stuff. If you are on this specially selected list you must have done something, right ?.

The powers that be in the Free State in the early eighties must have thought that the word Internment by itself was too random, so they decided to stick the word selective in front of it to make it appear more accurate.

No matter what you call Internment it is still unjust and should never be used again. There will always be people like Eoghan Harris who demand the reintroduction of Internment. Harris is the ultimate West Brit Gombeen man. His hatred of Irish Republicanism cannot be measured because no rule is long enough to measure it. His personal crusade against Irish Republicanism is riding on the backdrop of the three people killed last weekend. If he gets his way, he will use this event to stamp Irish republicanism into the ground. It cannot be ruled out that Internment might be on the cards. If it does arrive with the assistance and support of New Sinn Fein, it will no doubt come under a new title. As every second word out of Gerry Adams mouth is Peace process, he might suggest renaming Internment as, The Peace Process Protection Act. Maybe it will be called Temporary Holding Order or Short-Term Incarceration Period or some other silly name in a vain attempt to conceal the true unjust nature of imprisonment without trial.