A heady mix of errrr, stuff
There is one question regarding the Libyan crisis that the Irish media so far fails to ask: what will the downfall of the Gaddafi regime imply for De Shinners? Barring the Evening Herald during the election campaign virtually none of the news organisations in Ireland (electronic and print) have raised the issue of Sinn Fein − the IRA and the strangely moss-coloured man that is Colonel Gaddafi − during the current uprising against his dictatorship.
The historical facts are already in the public domain regarding the republican movement and the Gaddafi tyranny. In the 1970s, and more crucially the 1980s, the Green Colonel’s government armed and helped finance the IRA’s campaign. Following the United States bombing of Tripoli in the mid-1980s Gaddafi took revenge on the UK (which allowed American planes take off from England to bomb Libya) by supplying the Provisionals. According to security forces on both sides of Ireland’s border the Green Colonel gave the IRA enough AK47 assault rifles to arm two infantry battalions, around 1,200 activists. In addition, Gaddafi passed on tonnes of semtex explosive which was used to [let’s not get sticky about the wording here] kill, maim and wrought physical destruction in Northern Ireland and Britain. The Libyan dictator even provided the IRA with flame throwers and surface to air missiles, although these were used only sparingly during the armed campaign in the north.
But what else will emerge if Libya goes through a DDR-style experience of lustration if and when Gaddafi is finally toppled? After the Berlin Wall fell and the communist regime collapsed the country’s secret police, the Stasi underwent democratic investigation. Thousands upon thousands of files from Stasi archives were released to the public. They included links between the regime and terrorist groups as disparate as the Baader Meinhoff-Red Army Faction gang to various Palestinian armed organisations.
If and when the forty odd year old regime crumbles in Tripoli and the archives of Gaddafi’s murderous secret police are exposed to the light, what will we find there in relation to the connexions between the state organs of his dictatorship and the IRA? How many leading Sinn Fein figures may be named as regular visitors (secret tourists) to the Colonel’s alleged socialist-paradise-in-the-sand during the Troubles? And how will these revolutionary-tourists explain their presence in the Libyan sun to say their chums in Irish-America particularly on the conservative right of US politics?
These questions are wholly absent from current reportage and commentary in Irish newspapers or on our airwaves. Or am I missing something? Perhaps we have to wait and see if this week’s imposition of a UN no fly zone will impact on the struggle between Gaddafi loyalists and the rebels based in Ben Ghazi. If Gaddafi is unable to bomb the anti-regime forces from the air and the balance tips in the insurgents’ favour the Green Colonel’s government may finally fall after more than four decades. Then, maybe, just maybe, the Irish media will wake up and realise that there’s a massive “Irish angle” to the end of Colonel Gaddafi and his murderous tyranny, and some newly elected members of the 31st Dáil.
June Caldwell is a writer, who after 13 years of journalism, is finally writing a novel. She has a MA in Creative Writing and was winner of ‘Best Blog Post’ award at the 2011 Irish Blog Awards. You can read this post on her own blog here:
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Jesus H Christ! What are you trying to do? The Green, White and Gold wash has been kicking in earnestly over the past few years, all thats in the past etc… Like, how could you even suggest that the Shinners had anything to do with blowing innocent people up, killing mothers, terrorising communities, drug dealing and general c*ntish behavior?
Its all over now sure, aren’t they in the Dail, as a proper, non violent, down-with-that-sort-of-thing political party.
As for Gaddafi? Sure he sent the stuff to them, and it’s rude to turn a gift down.
I think you are right! How silly of me…
Well, I’m a member of Sinn Féin and am completely opposed to Gaddafi’s regime in Libya and support the people’s movement there as do ALL of my friends in the party. Painting all Sinn Féin members with the same battered and wiry brush I see.
Absolutely respect your current opinion/world view but I’m not painting anybody with any type of wiry brush, just stating an historical fact that connections between the Gaddafi regime and leading S.F. figures such as your late Party Treasurer, Joe Cahill, go right back to the early 1970s.
Yeah, Wikipedia has an interesting article on foreign supporters of the PIRA here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provisional_Irish_Republican_Army#Support_from_other_countries_and_organisations
What a bunch! PLO, Hezbollah, ETA, Libya, Estonia (?), FARC, etc. Before the Provisional IRA, the old IRA organisation contacted the Soviet Union for arms (meeting a young Stalin) and later they collaborated with Nazi Germany.
Hanging out with far-left and far-right, I suppose the message is that they were pragmatists, willing to bend political principles to do deals with groups who had a common enemy in Britain.
I see many reasons to denounce the PIRA and Sinn Fein. To be fair, though, many other groups have done the same thing: backing up terrorist groups and brutal dictatorships to defeat a common enemy.
Now I’m very worried about the air strikes. I can’t believe “Western” governments, up to their necks in debt and bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan, think bombing more Muslims is going to help. This seems a terrible decision.
You make a totally fair point about aligning the far right and far left in 20th century. The jury is still out if Gaddafi will be overthrown. I think there’ll always be ‘additional monies’ in the coffer for military operations even when Joe Soaps are not getting by. The world is now much more complex [I think] than in the last Century.
Excellent post! I hadbeen wondering about this already during the elections. I have asked the question somewhere on Facebook ( it may have been on Journal.ie,not really sure) whether Gerry Adams and his friends know Gaddafi personally, but Nobody reacted. It would be very interesting indeed to hear his comment on that.
You know already what his “absolutely not” reply would be!
By the same token, won’t it be interesting when the North Korean regime falls and all those records are opened to reveal the extent of contacts with people now prominent in Labour. Maybe it’ll even help Eamon Gilmore remember the name of the party that he joined!
But didn’t Gilmore break with the Worker’s Party because of its links to communist regimes? That’s why he joined Democratic Left.
Didnt he leave because they were unelectable?
[...] These questions are wholly absent from current reportage and commentary in Irish newspapers or on our airwaves. Or am I missing something? Perhaps we have to wait and see if this week’s imposition of a UN no fly zone will impact on the struggle between Gaddafi loyalists and the rebels based in Ben Ghazi. If Gaddafi is unable to bomb the anti-regime forces from the air and the balance tips in the insurgents’ favour the Green Colonel’s government may finally fall after more than four decades. Then, maybe, just maybe, the Irish media will wake up and realise that there’s a massive “Irish angle” to the end of Colonel Gaddafi and his murderous tyranny, and some newly elected members of the 31st Dáil. This post originally appeared on the Anti Room blog in March 2011, to read comments, click here [...]