Challenging the myths
Coiste Na nIarchimi, an umbrella group for republican ex-prisoners
held its first national conference in Belfast last Saturday.
Mike Ritchie, one of the two full time workers said, ``there are over
18 local ex-prisoners groups that appeared spontaneously in response
to the needs of Republican ex-prisoners. The umbrella group aims to
co-ordinate that effort, to stop duplication and to rationalise the
approach to funding.''
Ritchie said there was also a need to assist the work of Tar Anall,
the oldest and most established service provider. He said: ``Tar Anall
is in a position to pass on skills to newer groups, which will also
encourage the even development of services especially where its
expertise means it is over burdened with work.''
Coiste Na nIarchimi aims to co-ordinate the representation of the
interests of Republican ex-prisoners to the media, statutory and
government agencies. ``The time is right for a more structured
approach,'' Ritchie said.
Ritchie and Laurence McKeown, the second full time worker, stressed
that ``the public misconceptions and simplistic discourse of
prisoner/bad and victim/good had to be challenged''. They said with
anywhere up to ``15,000 ex-prisoners and their families, a
constituency of 50,000 people, the myths have to be challenged if
there is to be the full integration of that community into the
mainstream''.
They also pledged to be at the forefront of the battle to end the
discrimination that former political prisoners face.
In its charter, Coiste Na nIarchimi firmly rooted itself in the
self-help and mutual aid tradition, and co-operation, negotiation,
consultation and equal and parallel development.
![[An Phoblacht]](http://republican-news.org/graphics/title_gifs/aprn.gif)