The
Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association are
extremely concerned at the decision by The NIO and
the NIPS to accommodate prisoners charged with non
political i.e. Criminal offences on the segregated
landings reserved for Republican Prisoners.
There
has been considerable disquiet among the Republican
base because of this decision and some people are
labouring under the misconception that the Republican
prisoners have allowed criminals onto the wing.
This is not the case.
The
Prisoners on the wings have no control over who
is allowed into segregated accommodation and because
of the extremely restricted and controlled environment
have little ability to request that criminals leave
the wing.
On
one occasion recently a criminal was allowed onto
the wing despite the fact that he stated publicly
that he was not a member of any Republican movement.
The
IRPWA view the actions of the NIO and NIPS as extremely
malevolent and question their motives of placing
prisoners who are clearly unacceptable to republicans
in their midst. The Republican POWs embarked and
endured months on dirty protest and in isolation
in punishment blocks to gain segregation from criminals
only to have the NIO force them to share landings
with them.
This
is an obvious attempt to cause tension and friction
within the prison and on the outside and an attempt
to back up the NIPS’s assertions that Republicans
are not segregated because they are political prisoners
but are separated because they are at risk or a
risk to others.
The
IRPWA wish to make it clear that the prisoners that
they represent have not invited or allowed any criminals
onto the wing and never will.
We
regard the actions of the NIO/NIPS as a deliberate
act of spite against the very people who struggled
to gain segregation from the type of people who
are now being admitted.
