Republican News · Thursday 4 April 2002

Rathmullen intimidation

Intimidation by faceless individuals in the seaside town of Rathmullen caused the cancelation of a Sinn Féin public meeting due to be held in the town on Tuesday 2 April. The election meeting was to be addressed by Sinn Féin's Donegal North East candidate, Padraig MacLochlainn, Pat Doherty MP and party chair Mitchel McLaughlin.

Commenting on what he referred to as 'this clumsy attempt at political censorship', Padraig MacLochlainn said: "This local manifestation of the negative campaigning indulged in by other political parties in the state in an atempt to stem the tide of support for Sinn Féin will not succeed.

"It clearly shows the fear of the radical alternative that Sinn Fein can offer, in moving society away from the stale, predictable and corrupt politics of the last 20 years. It is a blatant attempt to prevent the electorate of Donegal North East from hearing the Sinn Féin alternative to the establishment parties whose policies have consistently neglected Donegal and treated it as an economic backwater.

"This is also an attack on Sinn Féin's commitment to the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, including its all-Ireland aspects that would serve to address some of the historic social and economic neglect of Donegal.

"Sinn Fein, unlike the parties of government in this state that neglected Donegal during a time of unparalled economic buoyancy, is the only party with the vision, strategy and policies to achieve Irish unity, independence and sovereignty - an honourable and achievable goal that will remove the cause of Donegal's underdevelopment permanently.

"The individuals responsible for this act of intimidation against the owner of the premises where the public meeting was to have taken place would have gained some credibility and respect had they taken the opportunity to voice their opposition to Sinn Féin at the public meeting.

"However, rather than depend on the strength of their argument they chose to put pressure on the owner. This clearly put this person in a position where there was no alternative but to withdraw from the agreement to allow Sinn Féin to use the premises or face a possible boycott.

"We regret this state of affairs but this attempt by certain individuals or parties to censor Sinn Féin in Rathmullan will no more succeed than did the use of Section 31 by the Dublin government or the British government's attempts to silence our party in the past.

"Sinn Féin's message will reach the people regardless of these clumsy atempts to censor us."