ROBERT OVEREND (with shotgun) and would-be murderer.
DUBLIN demo for contraception rights last month the Loyalist statesperson year message' on 2 January.
The march itself left Belfast on Friday arrived at January. It marked the tenth anniversary of a similar march which was viciously ambushed Burntollet Loyalists and members of the *B' Specials — the predecessors the Ulster Regiment In his speech, Mason said:
"Ten years ago, as we all beginnings of violence and civil disturbance.
Those who marched demonstrated thereafter did so in the name of civil rights. Many of them were genuine in their concern for these issues and were concerned «DOU grievances, perceived, for sought redress.
January and time their banners Burntollet on treatment for a few.
bridge by Defence human rights Mason's the odW achievements. land my and weathered 1969 and boasted Seamus Mallon. real or which they to une real Mason's *But what are the aims of those who march today? This are TOI asking for equal treatment for all citizens of Northern Ireland.
They are demanding special *And who are they support- for 800 years ing? Men who have shown by oldest colony. their actions a contempt for the ordinary people in Northern Ireland.' Danger the marchers was accompanied by his usual claims about his own history. ministers have the storms', he remarks which brought heavy criticism from the Chief Whip of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, The latter complained: At every level of political activity and settlement.?
ment's Burntollet march.
march, march The Overend the Northern Ireland office has shown an arrogant indifference problems facing Northern Ireland.' speech was also attacked by Sheffield Labour MP Joan Maynard. Referring to Mason's remarks about the violence starting ten years ago, she told Socialist Challenge:
If he believes that he can't know much about the turbulent history of Ireland and Britain's part in it. We have been there - Ireland is our we have perpetrated against Ireland is a black record in our Will behoves Mason to talk of human rights when you look at our history in Ireland, and at what we are doing at the present time. first *Mason and the government, like the Tories, have no policy for Ireland except repression. The violence will continue until we set a date for withdrawal work for political Maynard's comments about Mason's policy of repression were reflected in the governhandling the commemorative Two nights before the march lican started the RUC visited one of the principal organisers of the People's Democracy The RUC Michael Farrell informed Farrell that the police would stop the demonstrators Police riot again From Ronan Brady UNDER pressure from Robert Overend (Loyalist Convention member and local counchor, the Burntollet commemoration was banned Bellaghy, a small almost totally Catholic Antrim village.
Was local opposition', but the course of from entering the towns of Bellaghy, Claudy, and part o Maghera.
Farrell told Socialist Challenge that his RUC visitors had made it clear that the ban was being because of pressure from Mason and local BOVAISES The whole situation bears a remarkable resemblance to the original Burntollet march.
When the Loyalists ambushed the march ter years ago, they did the connivance of the RUC, who had been chatting and joking with the ambushers just before the bottles, rocks and sticks were hurled at the civil rights demonstrators.
As a statement from the Commemoration Committee of last week's march said: "Ten years ago, RUC collaboration with Loyalist harassment of the world the rottenness of the march exposed to Northern state.
learned nothing.
weeks Commemorado!
cluded: a number of Relatives Action Committees, the Trade Union Campaign Against Repression, the Irish RepubSocialist Party, and People's Democracy.
Provisional Sinn Fein withdrew its support for the march because the Commemoration Committee had notified the RUC of the intended route this thug saved him from a premature end to his political career.
The police then pulled their guns and rioted — no doubt to remind uS how little has changed in ten years. Michael Farrell, one of the march organisers, was among those beaten up.
In the whole affray the police succeeded in arresting only two people. Neither of them was the attempted murderer called Overend.
But the final touch was yet to Special Patrol Group of the RUC was sent into the field and surrounded the marchers.
We sat down and refused to move; demands to be allowed into the local hall where people had prepared food for us were refused. The only answer from the police was to raise their guns against us.
We then decided to occupy a piece of road nearbv. As we formed up there, the march organisers pointed out that we were within the limits of the town of Bellaghy.
In spite of massive police and harassment had reached Bellaghy and fooled Mason!
And when we bedded down in Maghera ten miles later, we noted that our march had grown in numbers trom lo people to 250, despite the arrests, the assaults, and the sheer exhaustion
----- pull-quotes -----
FREE LEGAL CONTRACEPTION NOW LABOUR's Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Roy Mason, made criticism of last week's Burntollet commemoration marchers a major theme of his 'new
THUGGERY *The violence and thuggery
Ten years on, the authorities have evidently
WITHDRAWAL Those mme oratio int