Ex-POW support groups gear up
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It is crucial that the Coiste build an effective, efficient organisation to
work on behalf of all republican former prisoners, but it is important to
keep in mind at all times that it is not just providing a service to
people. It is engaged in a struggle - a struggle that goes back to the
attempts to criminalise republican prisoners
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In November 1998, Coiste na n-Iarchimí was established as the umbrella
organisation to co-ordinate the activities of groups and individuals
working with republican ex-prisoners and their families. Mike Ritchie was
appointed as the Project Manager and Laurence McKeown as the development
worker. An office was established for the Coiste on the Falls Road shortly
afterwards. As well as providing services to republican ex-prisoners and
their families, the role of the Coiste is to develop policy positions on a
number of concerns affecting the republican ex-prisoner community.
On 30 June - 1 July 1999, the Coiste held a very successful residential in
Tí Chulainn, Mullaghbawn in South Armagh. The main purpose of the
residential was to assess the work of the Coiste since its establishment
and to plan for the years ahead. The over-riding theme was: Where do we
want to be in three to five years time and what do we have to do to get
there?
Present at the residential were representatives from the 22 groups
throughout Ireland currently affiliated to the Coiste. Gerry Hanratty and
Donald Gannon from Portlaoise Prison were also in attendance. Pádraig
Wilson and Joe Brennan from Long Kesh had requested parole to attend the
residential but the NIO refused permission. In all, over 30 people
participated in the residential facilitated by Joanna McMinn, who has a
long history of working with republican prisoners in all of the prisons in
Ireland.
The proceedings were opened by Raymond McCartney, the chairperson of
Coiste, followed by a review of the work carried out by the Coiste to date,
presented by Mike Ritchie the project manager. Laurence McKeown, the Coiste
development worker, then placed the work of the Coiste in the broader
political arena, drawing similarities between the work conducted by the
Coiste and the struggle waged within the prisons against criminalisation.
Both Mike and Laurence agreed that much had been achieved in the short time
since they took up their posts but that much still remained to be done if
the Coiste was to be as inclusive as possible of the entire republican
ex-prisoner community.
Although Mike and Laurence offered a critical assessment of the Coiste's
work to date, they also highlighted significant achievements. Currently, a
Coiste office with three workers is being established in Dublin which will
service the 26 Counties (see advert). This will allow the Coiste to broaden
its scope and establish itself in the south of the country, especially in
counties where small pockets of republican ex-prisoners exist, isolated
from the broader ex-prisoner community. This new development adds to the
groups which already exist in the south of the country but which are
confined to the border counties of Louth, Monaghan and Donegal.
Recently, the Coiste secured funding for the creation of an economic
development unit that will look at issues of economic sustainability for
the organisation and its affiliated groups and is also now establishing a
counselling service in north Belfast. This will complement the excellent
work already carried out in this important field by Tar Anall, the first of
the republican ex-prisoner self-help groups to be established in 1995. A
programme of political education and consciousness-raising will shortly
begin which will draw heavily on the core principles underlying the
informal educational systems created within the prisons. These are but some
of the developments that the Coiste has already initiated.
In Laurence's address to the participants he said that whilst it was
crucial that the Coiste build an effective, efficient organisation to work
on behalf of all republican former prisoners, it was important to keep in
mind at all times that they were not just providing a service to people.
They were engaged in a struggle - a struggle that goes back to the attempts
to criminalise republican prisoners. Despite that battle having been won in
the prisons and regardless of the fact that prisoners were being released
early as part of a political process, there nevertheless remained the
legislation that placed political ex-prisoners in the same category as
ordinary offenders. There were also ongoing attempts by various sections of
the media and establishment to lay the entire blame for the conflict on
republican prisoners. For that reason, Laurence said, the Coiste should be
very clear about the political campaigning and lobbying role it must play
if it is to seriously combat these agendas and to achieve the radical
change in legislation necessary. We wish them every success in their
endeavours.
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