IRISH HUNGER STRIKERS FORCE CONCESSIONS but Tories break agreement

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statement says that if other each.

• authorities almost melted away as soon as une lull the hunger strike actually began. republican could status in prison, Irish repubsubstantial educational people as a whole find their activities. country partitioned and Available, price 45p including postage from WSL, BM Box 5277, London WCIN 3XX ending the conditions which forced us onto a hungerstrike will not only lead to inevitable and continual strife within the H Blocks, but will show quite clearly the intransigence of the British government."

So saying, the seven heroic republican hunger strikers from the 'H' Blocks of Long Kesh ended their fifty-three day struggle which had brought one of them, Sean McKenna, to the brink of death.

Protests

Their strike-and the huge wave of supporting demonstrations, strikes and protests throughout the whole of Ireland, coupled with wide support-had forced the Tories to expand a brief four-page statement on December 4 to a 34 page set of proposals which, two weeks later, offered the basis of a settlement.

Central to the 34-page document was the flexible interpretation of the two most contentious issues challenged by the republican prisoners in their four year struggle for the restoration of political status-the wearing of prison clothing and doing prison work.

The expanded statement stated that "prison work" could be interpreted to include "education" in which "periods of study range from two to twenty hours a week, depending on the subject" and *in addition ... • self-study courses-with tutoriai support as necessary."

In addition it declared that it was undesirable to draw a rigid line between such "work" and free time: and that:

"prisoners who have the benefit of study time during the Dublin solidarity demonstration day can also frequently make use of their leisure time to continue their studies."

On top of this open-ended offer of education as a form of non-penal "work" , the 34 page work is not available on any day, then additional PT, games or handicrafts time could be provided instead.

ThiS document it is plain that penal work, and instead organise end Work. an msted oreanse Leeway On prison clothing, Atkins had in October offered prisonissue civilian clothing. And his December 4 statement claimed that if prisoners conformed with the rules they could wear their own clothes for almost half the time they were_ outside their own cells.

The December 18 document went even further, stating that as soon as the blanket protest ends "denim prison uniform becomes a thing of the past" The document allows enough leeway for prisoners to completely evade the wearing of prison-issue clothing.

Thus the republican protest secured substantial verbal offers of concessions on the two issues most central to the attempts by Labour and Tory governments to impose "criminal" status upon them.

In addition the tenacity of the hunger strikers forced the Tories to recognise the republicans' command structure.

A top representative from Atkins' office travelled to Long Kesh, met with the hunger strikers themselves, and negotiated with their spokesman Brendan Hughes.

And before the hunger strike was called off, government representatives had been forced to bring Bobby Sands, the of 1 the hunger strikers was par of he secret deal cooked ut bett ween Thatcher and Irish Prin ne Minister Charles Haughey on December 8: it remains an ope n question how far this mea ins the Tories will go in mak cing actual concessions to the republicans.

However there is no doubt that ¿ the 53-day hunger strikesupl ported by an 18-day fast by the women of Armagh Gaol and by 300 more blanket menbroi ught more publicity to the Poli tical status struggle than 4½ yeal is of blanket protest and gent eral propaganda.

It has helped to mobilise a new " wave of mass suppor thrc ughout Ireland.

sut it has also exposed the acu1 te weakness of the anti A Labour conference janised by Battersea CLP turday 17 January 1981 11.30 am-5.00 pm. 17' 7 Lavender Hill, London SW11 Atkins Photo: Republican News

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CONFERENCE Ireland and the British"