Irish prisoners

Press, 10 November 1980, Page 18

Irish prisoners

Sir, — Anne McHardy’s review of Peter Taylor’s “Beating the Terrorists" (“The Press,” November 1) has given your readers a little peek at British oppression of the Irish. The Irish claim that the real terrorists in Ireland are the soldiers of the British Army, ablyassisted by the sadists of the Special Branch and their minions the Royal Ulster Constabulary. Typically, the review uses the euphemism “ill treatment” of Irish suspects and prisoners. Any self-respecting British newspaper editor will tell you that while other nations torture their unwilling subjects the British only ever “ill treat” theirs. The use of torture on the Irish people is British Government policy, not the work of some isolated interrogators. To her shame Britain is committed to subjugation of the Irish to perpetuate her infamous 1921 political decision to partition Ireland for the sake of that approximately ’3 per cent of the Irish aulation who are of British v.ionist stock. — Yours, etc. D. J. LEAHY. November 6, 1980.