THE BOUNDARY COMMISSION , 1921-1925 .......
A British 'sleight-of-hand' which caused a mutiny within British forces in Ireland.......
....... when the (pro-British) 'Prime Minister' of the Stormont 'Parliament' in the Six Partitioned Counties of Ireland , 'Sir' James Craig , refused to nominate a representative to the Boundary Commission , Westminster, at first, refused to establish any such Commission at all and sought legal advice on such a move from one of its own Legal Committees , the 'Judicial Committee of The Privy Council ' , which issued its findings on 31st July 1924 , stating - " If no appointment is made (by 'Sir' Craig) the (Boundary) Commission cannot go on ....... "
What happened next was , in this scribblers opinion , highly dubious and illegal : realising that they would have an 'inbuilt majority' on any Boundary Commission anyway , and could therefore control its conclusion , it seemed foolish not to set it up and use its 'findings' for propaganda purposes : so the Brits actually took it on themselves to amend the 1921 Treaty to allow themselves (ie Westminster) to appoint a representative to speak on behalf of the Stormont 'Parliament' !
It should be noted that the 1921 Treaty of Surrender (which set-up the Free State [and the Boundary Commission]) was lodged with the 'League of Nations' body in Geneva ; as already stated here , Article 12 of said Treaty concerned itself with the specifics of establishing a ' Boundary Commission ' . That set-up , as agreed and outlined in Article 12 , and as lodged in Geneva , was not properly adhered to by the signatories of the 1921 Treaty thereby , at least in this scribblers opinion , negating the Treaty itself .
I can only presume that the Free State administration would have been aware of this probable 'get-out' clause but choose not to take its case to Geneva ; instead , they ignored this breech of the 1921 Treaty despite the fact that they were witnessing war on the streets caused by that Treaty - ie Treaty signed 1921 , while the agreed terms of the 'Boundary Commission' was broke on 9th October 1924 .......
(MORE LATER).
WE FIGHT ON , SAY IRA CHIEFS .......
... and Maggie is still on their hit list .
Twenty years into their campaign against the British Army , the IRA is still as far from victory , or defeat , as ever . Now , its leaders talk exclusinely about their plans .
Margaret Thatcher is still a target , so are some members of the British Royal family , while attacks on British forces in continental Europe will continue . Peace is out , says a spokesman , there is nothing to be gained from a ceasefire .
By Derek Dunne .
First published in 'NOW' magazine , volume 1 , No. 4 , October 1989 , pages 5 and 6 .
Re-published here in 10 parts .
( 6 of 10).
Asked about media speculation , since the seizure of arms on the MV Eksund in late 1987 , that the IRA has 'SAM' surface-to-air missiles and may be preparing to use them , the IRA spokesperson said - " The IRA has Sams , Seans , Pats and Seamuses ; and we propose to use them all . Next question please . "
Another area of controversy involving the IRA recently has been the killing of alleged informers especially in the South ; the rules for such shootings are complex , said the IRA spokesperson , but come down to a number of basic things -
- " A person's age , their experience , how long they have been informing , why they were informing , if their informing led to Volunteers getting killed , injured or arrested . It's all a question of degree - many , many people who have informed and have come forward to the IRA have not been killed . The IRA regularly issues amnesties . I'd like you to quote a time when the British have had an amnesty in armed actions . It's a step the IRA takes reluctantly , to shoot someone . "
Almost invariably , say the IRA , the person they shoot comes from a nationalist area and there is a 'knock-on' effect with their families and the community in general . There is a demoralisation factor in shooting informers and the British are the 'winners' because these people are expendable .......
(MORE LATER).
NORAID'S UNTOLD MILLIONS .......
Irish-Americans have long had complex and contradictory relations with Ireland and the 'Irish Question' . On Saint Patrick's Day , all the ambiguities are apparent .
This year (ie 1987) , on Saint Patrick's Day , the latest book by Irish writer , Jack Holland was published in New York , exploring the tangled web of links between Irish-Americans and the Irish in Ireland , the IRA and the Irish government .
' The American Connection ' describes the activities of leading Irish-American politicians , of romanticising writers and of gun-runners .
In this edited extract , the author tells how Noraid was set up and how it has resisted pressures to disclose all the sources and uses of its funds .
First published in 'MAGILL' magazine , April 1987 .
Re-published here in 31 parts .
(14 of 31).
Also in Bergen County , New Jersey , another NORAID Unit , formed in January 1972 , was dissolved thirteen months later because of the FBI investigation ; the FBI noted - " Individuals did not want to become involved in any political type organisation which would register or be associated with registration as an agent for a foreign power . "
What is interesting about the FBI's memos is that they show the overriding concern to be stopping the fund-raising activities of the INAC ; the interest in finding violations of FARA seems secondary , a by-product of the effort to curtail support for the IRA .
Though NORAID was being called a " terrorist " organisation , it was engaged in the same activities in 1973 as it had been in 1971 when the FBI referred to its leadership as " conservative " and " responsible " . What had changed was the pressure on the American Government to do something to reduce fund-raising among Irish-Americans for the IRA or the IRA's cause , even though this kind of support was legal .......
(MORE LATER).
