Throughout the vast crowd of republicans gathered outside Maghaberry Gaol today the chant "Victory to the Pows" could be heard loud and clear.  Over 400 republicans including family, friends and former POWs marched up to the gate of Maghaberry in support of the POWs and their demands.

The intention of the organizers of the rally was to make as much noise as possible so as the prisoners could hear the growing support for them.  This was achieved. 

Loud cheers and chants of "What do we want?" "Political status", "When do we want it? "Now" and "Victory to the POWs" ,in what was reminiesent of the H Block and Blanket protest era, could be heard loud and clear. 

The beating of drums as well as bin lids could also be heard.  Flutes, whistles and even fireworks pierced the air.

Text of speech given by Maureen Fitzsimmons, sister ofHarry Fitzsimmons,who was dragged into the SSU (isolation) whre he had his clothes cut off his body.  He was handcuffed to a bed at the start of the month and is still being held in isolation.

"We come here today to stand in solidarity with the men incarcerated in Maghaberry, to demonstrate to them and the world that we do not forget them, that we will not forget them and that we will campaign tirelessly until they have been granted the full rights and recognitions they deserve.

"The claims that our prisoners are self-inflicting brutalities upon themselves and their condtions are actually akin to a 5* hotel are insulting: it is every bit as insulting as when they told us Bobby Sands and his comrades similarly self-inflicted brutalities upon themselves while housed in the most progressive prison regime in Europe.

"The full stories of the H-Blocks are well known now and nobody is under any illusion as to what type of mentality the screws of that era possessed. Today, those same screws with the same mindset are trying to reverse the gains and safeguards initiated after the hunger strike in 1981; it is the screws who are upping the ante and forcing Republican prisoners into a position where they will once again be held behind locked doors for year after year.

"It is the system which wants to bring us back to the dark days, the days of total lock-ups, the endless days of degradation and humiliation: the screws are on a revenge run, it is they who hark back to the good old days when it was a sacred duty to beat a Fenian a day.

"Prisoners, like my brother Harry, are being singled out for intensive punishment and humiliation. He was beaten, chained to a bed and had his clothing literally cut off him by the screws. He is denied visits from his family and even refused legal visits from his solicitor. Is this the 5* hotel Spratt the Prat claims it to be?

"The horror of Maghaberry has been allowed to run for too long and the wall of silence which surrounds it is going to be broken down. We, together, can bring this issue to the fore and demand a satisfactory resolution for the prisoners.

"Our prisoners are not making any unreasonable demands, our prisoners are not even asking for new mechanisms or structures to be put in place: all these men are asking for is the right to be able to serve their time free from sectarian bullying and harassment. Our prisoners are not animals to be caged 24 hours a day, they are human beings with every right to be treated respectfully and in accordance with international norms for the treatment of prisoners.

"These safeguards were put in place after the 1981 hunger strike and we demand the immediate reinstatement of these conditions so that we may be able to resume some sort of semblance of normality, free from the constant stress and pressures of not knowing what is happening to our loved ones behind these walls and wire. This prison is every bit the monument of shame to penal repression and Britain’s nefarious role in Ireland that the H-Blocks were, and like the H-Blocks we will not stop until our family members incarcerated here are given the full recognitions and respect that they have earned.

"We do not walk away from here today to forget, we walk away to plan further our approach, we walk away from here determined that we are not going to be intimidated or bullied; we are determined to make the living conditions of our prisoners a top priority for protest and agitation.

"Do not forget the men in Maghaberry, break the wall of silence which surrounds the treatment these men are being subjected to.

Victory to the prisoners!"