Saoradh says party under intense attack

More than a dozen Saoradh members have now been rounded up and charged with a variety of offences in what the party believes is new initiative by Britain to increase its grip in the north of Ireland.

The activists were arrested and subjected to up to three days of intensive interrogation before being held on restrictive bail conditions. Some of the police involved in the arrest operations were accompanied by unidentified media camera crews.

Many of the charges presented were connected to a riot in Derry more than two years ago in which an innocent civilian, Lyra McKee, was killed when she was struck by a bullet aimed at a PSNI vehicle. But Saoradh said they believe the detentions are linked to a PR onslaught which has seen several of their Facebook pages removed.

They said the charges are a “clear attempt” to break what they describe as revolutionary republicanism, while “so called human rights advocates remain unsurprisingly silent on issues close to home but shout from the roof tops regarding issues that are thousands of miles away”.

“The Crown Forces being accompanied by TV crews, the multiple detentions, the fabricated charges, the press releases announcing the fact republicans have been charged before physically charging the activists, all prove that this is a statelet that is controlled by MI5 and covered by those who have taken the soup and sold their souls for wealth and British power,” they said in a statement posted on their website.

Saoradh has repeatedly attested that it is a legitimate political party, and hit out again out at the recent shutdown of its social media.

“The occupiers continued to work with capitalist conglomerate, Facebook, in an attempt to silence the Republican narrative. This has failed in the past and will continue to fail now.

“Acts of political censorship are not limited to social media platforms however, with local and national mainstream media outlets refusing to accept or acknowledge press releases from revolutionary Republicans, instead opting to print one sided bias from the Crown Forces.”

Meanwhile, images of large scale movements of the British Army have added to the tensions in Derry.

A number of armoured vehicles were seen travelling in convoy though the streets of the border city on the evening of Saturday, 25th September.

“The myth that the British Army and their cohorts have left the Occupied Six Counties has once again been dispelled,” Saoradh said.

“In a city which has witnessed prolonged periods of devastation at the hands of our British occupiers, we witness once again members of the occupational forces on our streets.

“The ground activity of British forces follows a day of Crown Force personnel continuously stalking the family homes of Derry Republicans.

“From the sky British spy planes have flown overhead for long periods followed by hours of helicopter activity.

“Saoradh Doire would urge all Republicans to be vigilant. Crown Force harassment, attempted intimidation and ground activity by the occupier won’t deter republicans from legitimate political activism within working class areas.”

Urgent Appeal