Northern Ireland

IRSP 'committed to political means'

The IRSP has said it is committed to a united Ireland through "political and peaceful means".  File picture by Cliff Donaldson
The IRSP has said it is committed to a united Ireland through "political and peaceful means".  File picture by Cliff Donaldson The IRSP has said it is committed to a united Ireland through "political and peaceful means".  File picture by Cliff Donaldson

The IRSP has reasserted its position that the best way of achieving a united Ireland is through “political and peaceful means”.

The comments came during the party’s annual Easter Rising commemoration in Belfast on Sunday.

Members and supporters marched along the Falls Road to Milltown Cemetery were the crowd was addressed by Joe Matthews.

Mr Matthews talked about how the party’s strategy has changed in recent years but that it remains committed to peace.

“Comrades and friends, over the course of this movement’s existence our tactics have changed,” he said.

“Our political analysis and direction that was publicly announced in 2009 that the objective of a 32 county socialist republic will be best achieved exclusively through political and peaceful means still confidently stands.”

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Mr Matthews said the party still views the British as the “enemy”.

“The British state remains the enemy, and while our tactics have changed so have theirs,” he said.

“The republican socialist movement is feeling the brunt of this at present, with the British PSNI mounting daily attacks on our movement through propaganda released through a subservient media.

“We know who the enemy is and we will continue to oppose and expose their presence in Ireland.”

The IRSP has said it is committed to peace at its annual Easter Rising commemoration in Belfast
The IRSP has said it is committed to peace at its annual Easter Rising commemoration in Belfast The IRSP has said it is committed to peace at its annual Easter Rising commemoration in Belfast

Last April five people were arrested following a police operation targetting the INLA.

Twelve searches were carried out in Belfast, Lisburn, Crumlin and Newtownabbey.

The headquarters of the IRSP, which is aligned to the INLA, on the Falls Road in west Belfast were also searched.

At the time the IRSP said it had “no knowledge of matters of human trafficking, extortion or prostitution”.