32 County Sovereignty Movement

The 32 County Sovereignty Movement, often abbreviated to 32CSM or 32csm, is an Irish republican group that was founded by Bernadette Sands McKevitt. but this was denied by both organisations. The group originated in a split from Sinn Féin over the Mitchell Principles. The group was designated by the United States as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

Objectives

"The restoration of Irish national sovereignty".
"To seek to achieve unity among the Irish people on the issue of restoring national sovereignty and to promote the revolutionary ideals of republicanism and to this end involve itself in resisting all forms of colonialism and imperialism."
"To seek the immediate and unconditional release of all Irish republican prisoners throughout the world."

History

The organisation was founded as the 32 County Sovereignty Committee

Before the referendums on the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, the 32CSM lodged a legal submission with the United Nations challenging British sovereignty in Ireland. The referendums were opposed by the 32CSM, but were supported by 71% of voters in Northern Ireland and by 94% in the Republic of Ireland. It was reported in February 2000 that the group established a "branch" in Kilburn, London.

In November 2005 the 32CSM launched a political initiative titled Irish Democracy, A Framework For Unity.

On 24 May 2014, Gary Donnelly, a member of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement, was elected to the Derry and Strabane super council. In July 2014, a delegation from the 32 County Sovereignty Movement travelled to Canada, to take part in a six-day speaking tour. On arrival the delegation was detained and refused entry into Canada.

Protests

thumb |200px |32CSM march to commemorate the [[Easter Rising, Dublin, April 2010]]

The 32CSM has protested against what it calls "internment by remand" in both jurisdictions in Ireland.

Other protests include ones against former Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Ian Paisley in Cobh, County Cork, against former British Prime Minister John Major being given the Keys to Cork city, against a visit to the Republic of Ireland by Police Service of Northern Ireland head Sir Hugh Orde, and against the Israeli occupation of Palestine and Anglo-American occupation of Iraq.

In 2015, the 32CSM organised a demonstration in Dundee, Scotland, in solidarity with the men convicted of shooting Constable Stephen Carroll, the first police officer to be killed in Northern Ireland since the formation of the PSNI. The organisation says the "Craigavon Two" are innocent and have been victims of a miscarriage of justice.

Legality

The group is currently considered a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) in the United States, because the group is considered to be inseparable from the Real IRA, which is designated as an FTO. At a briefing in 2001, a spokesman for the US Department of State stated that "evidence provided by both the British and Irish governments and open source materials demonstrate clearly that the individuals who created the Real IRA also established these two entities to serve as the public face of the Real IRA. These alias organizations engage in propaganda and fundraising on behalf of and in collaboration with the Real IRA." The US Department of State's designation made it illegal for Americans to provide material support to the Real IRA, requires US financial institutions to block the group's assets and denies alleged RIRA members visas into the US.

Outside Ireland

The 32CSM also operates outside of the island of Ireland to some extent. The James Larkin Republican Flute Band, founded in 1996 in Liverpool, and the West of Scotland Band Alliance, founded in 1979—the largest section of which is the Glasgow-based Parkhead Republican Flute Band— are supporters of the 32CSM. The larger flute band communities in these areas tend to be aligned to Sinn Féin. As of 2014, the 32CSM's alleged paramilitary wing, the Real IRA, was reported to still be involved in bombing attempts on British soil, as part of the dissident Irish republican campaign ongoing since 1998.

References

Bibliography

External links

Official website
Sovereign Nation – Online and hard copy newspaper of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement
32CSM documents at the Irish Republican Digital Archive