Thursday 14 October 2010

Free Gaza via Free Derry

In France, we were joined by a van lettered in Irish as well as English. Its four passengers - Betty, Liam, Eanna and Eddie - are from Derry (as opposed to Londonderry) which immediately places them as Nationalist Republicans. They are staunch supporters of freedom for Palestine and members of the Free Derry movement. Their tshirts say YOU ARE NOW ENTERING FREE GAZA, with Irish and Palestinian tricolours and the small er logo Breaking the Seige 2010. There's a picture of an Israeli fighter jet sending rockets down on a pram (baby carriage). Below is DERRY TO GAZA. Betty turns out to be one of the Derry people who attacked and cause \d damage to Raytheon, who make missiles in Derry. Defended by Clive Stafford-Smith of Reprieve, Betty and her co defendants were found not guilty of criminal damage by the judge who accepted the arguement that the amount of damage caused to Raytheon was far less than the damage prevented by the damage. This decision was repeated a few months later at Brighton, when the judge accepted that the defendents from Smash EDO (US owned, making trigger release mechanisms for F16 fighter jets used by the Israeli air force) prevented great damage being done by causing lesser damage at the EDO factory in Brighton.
Betty, like the others in the Irish contingent, is a quietly spoken person with a good sense of humour and a sharp sense of history. In Gibraltar last night (we are currently gathering at Algeciras to take the ferry to Tangier) she stopped at the petrol station where three IRA volunteers were assassinated by the SAS, and she and the others payed homage to them.

IW
  

3 comments:

  1. A little bit pious and disingenuous.I prefer to concentrate on the humanitarian objectives rather the complex politics. "Who? Whom?" as Vladimir Ilich observed.

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  2. Hi just want say to Rich and IW hope it's going smoothly so far. Good to hear your updates :) Fay and James

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  3. I've left comments here before tho they seem to have gone now... We remember McCann, Savage and Farrell -they are on the same journey.
    Wonder if these comments will remain
    Beir bua Keep going DC

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