The first photo shows what the "Free Derry" mural actually looks like (in reality, as opposed to in the fantasy-world of some anarchist's revolutionary fantasies)

The 2nd photo shows the famous black (anarchist) and red (communist) diagonal striped flag made famous primarily by this flag's use by the CNT (anarcho-syndicalist) trades-union in the Spanish Civil War (this photo is relatively recent, while the design however remains the same as that used in the Spanish Civil War)

The 3rd photo shows the "Free Derry" mural, as Photo-shopped - presumbly by this pamphlet's author Alasdair Elmwood (?) - to make it look like the sectarian colonialisation of Derry by the IRA had anything whatso-fucking-ever to do with the kind of views espoused by Indymedia users

> Suspect Device by Stiff Little Fingers...

Inflammable material is planted in my head
It's a suspect device that's left 2,000 dead
Their solutions are our problems
They put up the wall
On each side time and prime us
And make sure we get fuck all
They play their games of power
They mark and cut the pack
They deal us to the bottom
But what do they put back?

Don't believe them
Don't believe them
Don't be bitten twice
You gotta suss, suss, suss, suss, suss out
Suss suspect device

They take away our freedom
In the name of liberty
Why don't they all just clear off
Why won't they let us be
They make us feel indebted
For saving us from hell
And then they put us through it
It's time the bastards fell

Don't believe them
Don't believe them
Question everything you're told
Just take a look around you
At the bitterness and spite
Why can't we take over and try to put it right

We're a suspect device if we do what we're told
But a suspect device can score an own goal
I'm a suspect device the Army can't defuse
You're a suspect device they know they can't refuse
We're gonna blow up in their face

> SLF, Wasted Life lyrics

I could be a soldier
Go out there and fight to save this land
Be a people's soldier
Paramilitary gun in hand
I won't be no soldier
I won't take no orders from no-one
Stuff their fucking armies
Killing isn't my idea of fun

They want to waste my life
They want to waste my time
They want to waste my life
And they've stolen it away

I could be a hero
Live and die for their 'important' cause
A united nation
Or an independent state with laws
And rules and regulations
That merely cause disturbances and wars
That is what I've got now
All thanks to the freedom-seeking hordes

I'm not gonna be taken in
They said if I don't join I just can't win
I've heard that story many times before
And every time I threw it out the door

Still they come up to me
With a different name but the same old face
I can see the connection
With another time and a different place
They ain't blonde-haired or blue-eyed
But they think that they're the master race
They're nothing but blind fascists
Brought up to hate and given lives to waste

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv-cWXFAAUE

you're right that the free derry mural is normally white. but we paint over it often enough. it's been painted with the palestinian flag, in pride colours and recently with the red and black to commemorate the passing of john mcguffin.

 http://www.wsm.ie/c/black-flag-anarchism-free-derry-john-mcguffin

there; not exacly a 'pack of lies' is it? besides, there's nothing in there saying that free derry was an anarchist paradise. just the police and army had a very, very rough time getting there for three years (and beyond).

stop colonising our history. it's not photoshopped.

 http://www.wsm.ie/c/black-flag-anarchism-free-derry-john-mcguffin

You'll actually see that the mural was recently painted over. You probably have never been to Derry, so don't feel too bad about your ignorance. It get's painted an awful lot...it's been pink to celebrate queer culture, it's been painted with the EZLN flag, the Palestinian flag...a whole range of stuff actually.

It was recently painted red and black because a local anarchist died.

Not that you would care, as you seem to only see it in sectarian ways.

do your research.

I was in Derry a few weeks ago, and it was flying a rainbow flag for an LGBT weekend. There were books and postcards featuring the dozens of ways the Free Derry wall had been painted up to highlight an event or the death of a well known person, for example. The Free Derry wall is just one way the people of NI use to make history alive and relevant. A real contrast to the mawkish and tawdry celebrations on D-Day and WWI that we have to put up with over here.

Link to photos:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/backinderry/

Thanks for the link. I was in Derry a couple of years ago, and the mural was then as it is now. However, Alasdair, what the link "proves" is that four decades after the "Free Derry" episode (which ended in 1972), the mural was painted in anarchist colours for a whopping 2 weeks, after which it was returned back to its original appearance by the Republican community. Excuse me while I rub the point home - from 1972 to 2012 is a period of over 2,000 weeks, for just TWO of those weeks the mural was painted in Anarchist colours

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Derry

Care to express an opinion about the SLF lyrics?

You totally ignored all the SLF lyrics condemning the British Army

Really, what a comment - "I suppose SLF bother me in the same way some criticism about the English Riots bothered me...al this 'oh no! violence!' whilst thousands of kids get the shit beaten out of them my the mother-fucking-police"

Innocent people get the shit beaten out of them by the police, to which the IRA then "respond" by car bombing more innocent people, who literally have to have their corpses scraped off the pavement with shovels, try and see this from the perspective of the innocent people, hence the lyrics "they play their games of power, they cut and mark the pack..."

Thanks for shortening my name, Ox. Yes, Belfast Anarchist Group has a couple dozen members in the 1960s. I don't think you're an anarchist but if you are you're probably unlucky enough to associate with an above ground anarchist group or at least attend the occasional meeting of one. You'll probably notice these are pathetically small and in no way represent the figures of any larger movement.

Example being All London Anarchist Revolutionary Mob or whatever they're called. The biggest numbers they get together are an advertised 100 for their first meet. At the recent Olympics demo there was about six of them and some loud chatter by them afterwards.

All power to them, don't get me wrong, and I think they do a great job...but yes they are small. Now, would that mean that anarchists in London are in the numbers of 100? No, of course it wouldn't. Many people can't stomach organisation, won't attend meetings, won't join one particular group over another, maybe are in another active Anarchist group, maybe don't want to draw attention to themselves (i.e. 1960s/70s Belfast) and so on.

I remember the M26 demo had thousands of people dressed in black acting autonomously, spontaneously and aggressively. That was a massive show for anarchists that has been celebrated here, in the print at Freedom and on the streets to people I know.

That sort of protesting (autonomous and on the street) is often how street demonstrations liven up here.

However, Ox, I suppose you're like most English people where you (a) don't give a toss about NI as it is (b) too close to home and unlike Palestine or Chiapas not romantic enough (c) and you don't want to accept your complicitness in the conflict.

Can I ask YOU something and it's not even going to be something as petty as what you think about some shitty NI punk band. What did YOU do during the Troubles? What are YOU doing now as the police beat up and arrest hundreds each year? When the mainland police start using rubber bullets and tear gas will it surprise you? Do you think it'll take them some practise, or do you think they've done it before? If you're an antimilitarist, which it seems you are, do you spend more time talking about Afghanistan or hundreds of years of deployment in Ireland? If so, why?

If you're ever back in Derry your wishy-washy liberal fews can go fuck themselves. Go join the SDLP so you can feel good about your progressiveness.

Come on, Ox, you should know this.

Thanks for making all kinds of assumptions, and for answering questions about the political content of SLF lyrics as though I was actually interested in your personal musical taste

I'll tell you a couple of things I won't be doing if the police start using baton rounds on the mainland, first I won't be incriminating myself on Indymedia, and second I won't be bombing innocent people ya mug

Yes there were a lot of car bombings which had many, many people killed innocently. The IRA also killed about 700 evil buggers called British troops. Most of their attacks were not high profile car bombings but targetted assasinations agains the Army or loyalist gunmen.

Did you stop supporting Palestinian struggle when Islamic Jihad starting bombing the shit out of innocent Israelis? Did you stop supporting Greek struggle when anarchists bombed a bank? Did you stop supporting the EZLN when they killed fascists?

How do you feel about antifascists in Europe? There's a book called Beating the Fascists that would probably make you wince in horror. Dozens of beautiful, innocent Nazis and scumbags are having their brains kicked out by evil, dirty, anarchists. The worst part is that the anarchists are supported!

Oh no! Reciprocity!

> Yes there were a lot of car bombings which had many, many people killed innocently. The IRA also killed about 700 evil buggers called British troops. Most of their attacks were not high profile car bombings but targetted assasinations agains the Army or loyalist gunmen.

And the 2 children in Warrington.


> Did you stop supporting Palestinian struggle when Islamic Jihad starting bombing the shit out of innocent Israelis?

I didn't support them.


> Did you stop supporting Greek struggle when anarchists bombed a bank?

I stopped supporting them when they burnt those innocent office workers to death by setting the bank on fire with them inside.

> Did you stop supporting the EZLN when they killed fascists?

Killing isn't all its cracked up to be. I can't support killers.


> How do you feel about antifascists in Europe?
Not that good to be honest. The anti-fasc act like the fasc sometimes.

> There's a book called Beating the Fascists that would probably make you wince in horror. Dozens of beautiful, innocent Nazis and scumbags are having their brains kicked out by evil, dirty, anarchists.
Doesn't sound like any to applaude.

> The worst part is that the anarchists are supported!
In the same way that the fascists are supported. Not everyone supports anarchists. In fact, the vast majority of people do not. Hence anarchy is practically illegal.

> "Most of their attacks were not high profile car bombings but targetted assasinations agains the Army or loyalist gunmen"? Yeah, but FUCKING OBVIOUSLY what most people object to is their killing of innocent people, call back if you need any help understanding that

> "Did you stop supporting Palestinian struggle when Islamic Jihad starting bombing the shit out of innocent Israelis"? OBVIOUSLY not, but I did not ever nor will ever support Islamic Jihad - first because they kill innocent people and 2nd because they're ISLAMO-FASCISTS

> "Did you stop supporting Greek struggle when anarchists bombed a bank"? OBVIOUSLY not (but, FYI, that was a transparently a State-sponsored / false-flag attack, not that people like you are sharp enough to actually realise the obvious)

And, for your further information Sherlock, there's a book called Beating the Fascists, which I've read cover-to-cover, several times, which describes the activities of a mostly non-Anarchist group called AFA who (while they did use violence) firstly never targeted innocent people and secondly never killed anyone, so what the fuck that has with your analysis of "reciprocity" is anyone's guess

Alasdair, grow up!!

Accusing those who've subjected your bullshit to fair criticism of, in your mind, objecting to "dozens of beautiful, innocent Nazis and scumbags are having their brains kicked out by evil, dirty, anarchists" is dishonesty of the highest order

You totally fail to win a factual debate so you resort to inventing complete fantasies instead

Aftermath of the Oxford Street bomb showing the body of one of the victims being shovelled into a bag

*****************************

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Friday_(1972) –

A carbomb exploded outside the Ulsterbus depot on Oxford Street, the busiest bus station in Northern Ireland. An Austin 1100 saloon car loaded with explosives had been driven to the rear of the depot. The blast resulted in the greatest loss of life and the greatest number of casualties.
...

Speaking in the House of Commons on 24 July, Home Secretary William Whitelaw called the bombings "appallingly bloodthirsty". He also drew attention to the CATHOLIC victims, and mentioned the revulsion in the Republic of Ireland and elsewhere. Leader of the Opposition Harold Wilson described the events as "a shocking crime against an already innocent population". The Irish Times wrote, "The chief injury is not to the British Army, to the Establishment or to big business but to the plain people of Belfast and Ireland. Anyone who supports violence from any side after yesterday's events is sick with the same affliction as those who did the deed." Television images of fire-fighters shovelling body parts into plastic bags at the Oxford Street bus station were the most shocking of the day.
...

"The first thing that caught my eye was a torso of a human being lying in the middle of the street. It was recognisable as a torso because the clothes had been blown off and you could actually see parts of the human anatomy. One of the victims was a soldier I knew personally. He'd had his arms and legs blown off and some of his body had been blown through the railings. One of the most horrendous memories for me was seeing a head stuck to the wall. A couple of days later, we found vertebrae and a rib cage on the roof of a nearby building. The reason we found it was because the seagulls were diving onto it. I've tried to put it at the back of my mind for twenty-five years.
...

For the IRA, and the Belfast Brigade in particular, it was "an operation gone awry". Brendan Hughes, Officer Commanding of the IRA's Belfast Brigade, viewed the attack as a disaster. He described his reaction in an interview organized by Boston College:

"I was the operational commander of the 'Bloody Friday' operation. I remember when the bombs started to go off, I was in Leeson Street, and I thought, 'There's too much here'. I sort of knew that there were going to be casualties, either [because] the Brits could not handle so many bombs or they would allow some to go off because it suited them to have casualties. I feel a bit guilty about it because, as I say, there was no intention to kill anyone that day. I have a fair deal of regret that 'Bloody Friday' took place ... a great deal of regret ... If I could do it over again I wouldn't do it."

On 16 July 2002, the Provisional IRA issued a statement of apology to An Phoblacht, which read:

Sunday 21 July marks the 30th anniversary of an IRA operation in Belfast in 1972 which resulted in nine people being killed and many more injured. While it was not our intention to injure or kill non-combatants, the reality is that on this and on a number of other occasions, that was the consequence of our actions. It is therefore appropriate on the anniversary of this tragic event, that we address all of the deaths and injuries of non-combatants caused by us. We offer our sincere apologies and condolences to their families. ...

*****************************

Unfortunately, despite realising that slaughtering innocent people made some of them feel "a bit guilty", this fuck-up was one the IRA would chose to continue inflicting on innocent people (often innocent people from their own community) –

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enniskillen_massacre