News of the Kesh
``The phone rings - you could cut the tension with a knife - who's
going to be first to answer the phone, this would show signs of
weakness or overeagerness. It's like a scene from ``The Good, the Bad
and the Ugly,'' (there's possibly an argument over who would be the
ugly) sidewards glances to see who is going to break first, the only
thing missing is the music.''
The tension of Republican POWs waiting for their pre Christmas visits
is captured with the wit and honesty which has become a hallmark of
Republican tales from the jails. ``News of the Kesh'' is an internal
news pamphlet produced by republican POWs in Long Kesh. Published for
family and friends on the outside, the comradely banter of many of the
contributions offers a small insight into life inside.
But it's not all jokes and jibes. The international news section
reflects the political preoccupations of the prisoners. Human rights
and national sovereignty are top of their agenda with reports from
East Timor, Guatemala and Chechnya.
Last month Dr Robbie McVeigh gave an account of his recent visit to
East Timor to the Gaeltacht in H5. ``Abandoned by the international
community, the East Timorese waged a courageous guerrilla war through
FRENTLIN, a people's army, that inflicted heavy casualities on the
Indonesian army.
``Unlike the Indonesians who were supplied modern weapons, tanks and
planes by the British, USA and several other European countries, the
East Timorese people had to fend for themselves. They fought the war
with home-made weapons and weapons they had seized from the Indonesian
troops.''
In a message from the Camp OC, the prisoners look forward to the new
year and the new millennium ``with some confidence that the peace
process will continue to advance, but we cannot and must not take
anything for granted.''
``We must continue to press our demands inside and outside the prison,
never losing sight of our ultimate objectives, the unity of our
country and the establishment of a democratic socialist republic.
These are our guiding principles.''
Nollaig shona dhuit!
![[An Phoblacht]](http://republican-news.org/graphics/title_gifs/aprn.gif)