‘Collusion’ – Republican Poppy campaign hits Belfast bus stops
Republican Poppy posters have appeared on bus stops across Belfast this morning as commuters navigate rush hour on ‘Remembrance Day’.
The posters, featuring a poppy dripping with blood, include the slogans ‘collusion’, ‘genocide’ and ‘Bloody Sunday’ and were signed by Republican group Lasair Dhearg.
Pól Torbóid, a spokesperson for the group, said, “The Poppy is continually portrayed as a symbol of remembrance, though the actual purpose of the Poppy and the raising of funds is not remembrance but, according to the British Legion, to ‘provide support to current serving and ex-serving members’ of the British armed forces; it is about standing, as they publicly state, ‘shoulder to shoulder with all who serve’ in those same forces.”
Torbóid said, “Supporting the Poppy Appeal equates to support for the British Army, among them members of the long-disgraced UDR and other British military units who, in collusion with other state agencies, carried out a campaign of assassination of Irish citizens, and who today still conceal the truth regarding their actions. To stand ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with members or ex-members of those same forces is not a position that can align with those concerned with freedom, truth or justice.”
“So as almost a month of continual poppy propaganda and glorification of British imperialism in the name of remembrance ends, Lasair Dhearg activists erected posters across Belfast highlighting the real symbolism of the poppy. To many it means occupation; to others, collusion and state sponsored death squads; and to many others across the globe it means mass murder.”
“On the 11th hour, of the 11th day of this, the 11th month of 2020, we remember those killed by state-sponsored death squads drawn collectively from the ranks of the British Army, RUC and unionist paramilitaries; we remember the 14 dead on Bloody Sunday and the scores of innocent civilians murdered by British state agencies in Ireland; we pay homage to those slain by Britain’s campaign of ‘shoot-to-kill’ operations here and we remember the hundreds of thousands that have died more recently at the hands of Britain and their imperialist allies in their global wars.”
ENDS
