Another day in Castlereagh
On 4 May the Sunday Business Post carried a major article by the British journalist and television producer Lin Solomon. The piece exposes three of the crucial weaknesses in the German warrant which seeks the extradition of Roisin McAliskey in connection with the IRA mortar bombing of a British Army Barracks in Osnabruck on June 28 1996.
Key witness, Manfred Schmidt, owner of the holiday cottage which it is claimed was rented out to the IRA unit, has "unambiguously asserted" that he had never identified Roisin as the woman 'Beth'
2. The warrant claims that fingerprints, allegedly Roisin's, were found in the holiday cottage. The German authorities now claim however that the fingerprints were actually found 90 km. away at the site of the IRA attack in Osnabruck.
3. The warrant states that some of the IRA unit returned to Ireland aboard the Roscoff-Cork ferry arriving on July 1 1996. But as Solomon points out, "a check with the ferry company... reveals 8 International Viewpoint that there was no ferry which made the Roscoff-Cork crossing on the June 30. No ferry which could have arrived at Cork from Roscoff on July 1."
In fact, Roisin was not arrested in connection with the Osnabruck bombing at all. For the first days of her interrogation there was no mention of Germany. She was questioned about events in the North in the preceding weeks.
Woman Detective Constable, Douris, is said to have told Roisin that the problem with the cease-fires and the release of prisoners was that "republicans are breeding like rats, breeding like shit" This RUC officer is alleged to have told Roisin which parts of her body were most vulnerable to blows which would induce a miscarriage without any evidence showing afterwards. She is also alleged to have given Roisín a vivid description details of the haemorrhage suffered by another female detainee from Belfast.
Detective McRoberts allegedly told Roisin on the fourth or fifth day that will not be long before this leads to a confrontation with the new government. Any attempt by the government to further cut welfare spending, or to impose a public sector pay freeze, in order to meet the convergence criteria for a single currency, will be strenuously opposed by a working class which has gained in confidence with the massive defeat of the Tories.
Abdication to the bankers
The decision by Chancellor Brown to surrender control over interest rates to the
Bank of England - in effect establishing an independent central bank - can be seen as a first step towards acceptance of a European central bank.
It indicates that this government, like the
Tories, is more concerned with combating the threat of inflation than controlling the bankers and creating jobs. Under the new system, the banks will find it much easier to sabotage any economic policies not in their interests.
Although their massive parliamentary majority of 179 seats should enable Labour to disregard attacks from the right, it is more likely to be used as a threat against any left wing MPs who break ranks and demand increased public spending.
Left-wing MPs must start work
Before the election, many left Labour
MPs argued that it would be a mistake to rock the boat, and be accused of threatening the election strategy.
This excuse no longer holds water. These
MPs must now be challenged to fight Blair's programme, even if this leads to expulsion Derek Martindale, the head of RUC Special Branch, had gone "on a wee holiday" and would be bringing back "a package deal". It is thought that Martindale travelled to Germany at this time knowing that the German authorities wanted a woman suspect in the Osnabruck case and hoping to put Roisín 'in the frame'. In other words, the German interest in Roisin was aroused by the RUC Special Branch, having failed to pin anything else on the daughter of that "republican bitch".
Roisín's abusive treatment is no accident. Louis Blom Cooper QC, appointed by the British Government to oversee conditions in the interrogation centres, recently found that "complaints continue to be received alleging psychological abuse, personal threats and threats concerning the detainee's relatives. Not infrequently, detainees have complained of the demeaning, degrading and insulting remarks made about them, their spouses, partners or relatives." * Source: "No case to answer - Federal Republic of Germany Vs Roisín McAliskey, " Sunday Business Post, as reported in Ireland News Update (from the Pat Finucane Centre, Derry), 4 May 1997
Britain/Albania * from the party. One thing is clear. If Blair acts against them, their strongest defence will
Analysis with Attitude be though linking up with party members and trade unionists in building a strong and campaigning left.
Activists have already planned a series of
There is only one magazine in the English language where conferences over the next few months in order to discuss the way forward for the left.
• the leaders of France's trade union left debate how best to articulate the
The first of these will be the conference of new mood of resistance to public sector cuts and unemployment.
the Network of Socialist Campaign Groups, in London on 31 May, which will be attended
• Tahiti's NGO activists explain why they feel Greenpeace marginalised by party and union activists and several left them during the campaign against French nuclear tests.
MPs.
As well as discussing the way to fight in
• Indian activists argue that we shouldn't ban imports on countries with the wake of the election victory, this meeting deficient environmental and labour legislation.
will focus on the way to oppose proposed changes in the Labour Party constitution,
Founded by Ernest Mandel, which would virtually eliminate its demo-
International Viewpoint is the world's cratic structures. Further conferences are largest international Marxist news and planned by the Network of Socialist
Alliances in Coventry in June, and the analysis magazine.
Welfare State Network in Liverpool in July.
VIEWPOINT
Together with the successful Euro-
Correspondents in over 50 countries marches in Britain, and the forthcoming report on popular struggles, and the annual conferences of many trade unions, debates which are shaping the left of this will ensure that the real issues will not be tomorrow. Direct from the front line in ignored in the euphoria of the massive Tory the fight against neo-liberalism.
defeat. *
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Note
1. In Dudley (near Birmingham) Mark Atherton gained
Britain: Outlook International, PO Box 1009 London N4 2UU © (081) 800 7460
4.5%. SLP candidate Harpal Brar, secretary of the Indian
Workers Association, won 3.9% of the vote in Ealing
Canada: Socialist Challenge, PO Box 4955, Main P.O, Vancouver V6B 4A6
Southall The sitting MP, Piara Khabra, is also of south
USA: International Viewpoint, PO Box 1824, New York, NY 10009
Asian origin. Other SLP candidates included Trevor
Wongsam (1.4% in Manchester Gorton), Patrick Sikorski
(1.1% in Hornsey & Wood Green) and Paul Davidson es BP 85, Paris cedex 11, 75522 France 0 +33 1/43792961
(1 40) in Cheffield Brichtside)
(1.4% in Sheffield Brightside).
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