‘Real IRA’ statement

The following statement was read out at an Easter commemoration organised by the 32 County Sovereignty Committee in Derry city today.

The leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann send fraternal greetings to our friends and comrades at home and overseas, especially to those incarcerated by the enemy here in Ireland and further afield.

Special mention must be made of the families of our POWs. Their resilience in the face of adversity inspires us all. We would remind republicans that, at this time of commemoration, we have a special duty to all POWs and their dependents. We send solidarity greetings to all those revolutionaries fighting to defend the sovereignty of their nations.

History has shown us that compromise with the British on the issue of national sovereignty has always resulted in those who have compromised condemning those who continue to uphold and defend Irish sovereignty.

Our struggle is against the British occupation forces and the administrative arm of the British government in Ireland - be they in the RUC/PSNI, the NIO, or the quislings in Stormont. The same has happened in Iraq and Afghanistan: those who assist the occupier always condemn the occupied. However, seldom in such blatant or hysterical terms as we have witnessed recently.

A former comrade has come full circle and, with a knight of the British realm at his shoulder, he has labelled our gallant volunteers as traitors to justify his Redmondite stance and home rule politics.

Let us remind our former comrade of the nature and the actions of a traitor. Treachery is collaborating with the enemy, treachery is betraying your country. Let us give our one-time comrade an example. Denis Donaldson was a traitor and the leadership of the Provisional movement, under guidance from the British government, made provision for Donaldson to escape republican justice in the same manner as Freddie Scappaticci.

It fell to the volunteers of Oglaigh na hEireann to carry out the sentence and punishment demanded in our Army Orders and by the wider republican family. No traitor will escape justice regardless of time, rank or past actions. The republican movement has a long memory.

Recent years have seen the reorganisation and restructuring of Oglaigh na hEireann. This is continuing and is constantly evolving and being refined to keep abreast of enemy developments in technology and modes of war. It is vital that volunteers educate themselves in such developments and take the necessary steps to safeguard themselves and their comrades.

Actions by volunteers of Oglaigh na hEireann in the last year have proved that the tactical use of armed struggle can, and does, bring results. As was witnessed in Antrim, British soldiers and the colonial police will continue to lose their lives as long as the issue of national sovereignty remains unresolved. Oglaigh na hEireann will continue to strike at the British occupation forces wherever and whenever we decide.

We also reserve the right to execute anyone providing services, in any shape or form, to the enemy. Those who assist the occupiers have placed themselves in harm’s way. They know what they need to do to extricate themselves from a situation of their own making. There will be no further warnings.

The same goes for the RUC/PSNI. Let us be clear so there is no further ambiguity on the matter: any young person fool enough to join the colonial police in the belief that the leadership of the Provisional movement will protect them, or give them cover, is sadly mistaken. The RUC/PSNI are a British police force, just like the old RIC.

Like the RIC, some in their ranks portray themselves as Irish and there to protect and serve their communities. In reality, they are the first line of defence for the British government. They are being used to spy, arrest, interrogate, brutalise and uphold foreign laws against fellow Irishmen.

By such actions, they forfeit any right to call themselves Irish. Once you don the uniform of your British paymaster, you become its instrument. He who pays the piper calls the tune.

The leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann urges republicans to be vigilant in the time ahead. We have no doubt that the British Army and colonial police will seek to once again spill republican blood for recent attacks on their ranks. The republican movement is prepared for this.

The British political, military and security establishment, along with local allies, will redouble their efforts in the dirty tricks department and their campaign of criminalisation. They will seek to sow mistrust and divisions among republicans and will use counter-revolutionaries to do so. These people will one day be forced to answer for their actions.

Finally, we reject the assertions of the pro-establishment media that Óglaigh na hÉireann is fractionalised or engaged in criminality. Óglaigh na hÉireann is a unified body committed to the cause of Irish sovereign national self-determination and an end to British rule in Ireland.

Our recent actions speak louder than a thousand establishment lies. Beir Bua. Victory to the IRA!

Urgent Appeal