Provisional Sinn Fein
Soutien de Provisional Sinn Fein aux prisonniers.
Breton prisoners seek support for six demands
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The following information is provided by Lilianne Le Gac of SKOAZELL VREIZH, the
support committee for the political prisoners of Britanny, currently
incarcerated in French gaols for over two years without charge or trial and
without any political status recognition or rights.
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Born in the 9th century, the kingdom of Britanny, deeply rooted in its Celtic
culture, traditions, language and history, was in existence long before the
French nation was created in the 12th century. After centuries of
independence, Britanny signed a treaty with the king of France in 1532, which
despite a union between the two nations, still guarantees the rights of Britanny
in terms of nationality, justice and economy.
The Bretons have always aspired to their independence and self determination,
the French fighting back with a policy of unification, never so virulent and
determined than during the French Revolution, when it came to full effect,
subjecting all "its citizens" to a policy of elimination, erasing any difference
in nationality and culture. The existence of the Breton nation was then denied,
from its language to its history, its way of life, its economic system and its
culture.
To this day, Britanny does still not exist officially as a
nation, its language and history surviving through the will and determination of
the Bretons alone, its territory still divided and amputated by French
geography. The Bretons have fought in various ways in the past centuries to
regain their rights in term of culture and national recognition, to heavy and
bloody cost along the years.
Over the past 35 years, Breton militants have continually been harassed,
arrested and prosecuted by the French legal and political system. From 1963 to
1981, la "Cour de surete de l'Etat" (State Security Court) took charge of all
the political cases, thus ensuring and applying a polital status to all
prisoners arrested under its juridiction. From 1981 to 1986, the common criminal
justice system took all political cases over, thus denying any political rights.
Finally in 1986, the French government established an "exceptional Court",
omitting to include any rights to special political status in the cases brought
to its court.
It is in this context that over 350 Bretons have been deffered to the French
justice system since 1992. In the early '90s, Bretons were arrested en masse,
accused of harbouring and sheltering Basque nationalists. Since 1999, over 150
Bretons have been arrested and kept on remand for various amounts of time.
Eight Breton militants have been on remand in and around the
French capital for over two years, without specific charge or proof of any guilt
and without specific status. The French system does not recognise any political
implication and rights in those cases and denies the fundamental basic legal
right of "presumption of innocence". It ignores all human rights rules and
regulations during arrests, and actively persecutes and harrasses any individual
insisting on his or her rights in term of nationality or Breton identity. Under
an "exceptional jurididiction", all police arrests have been extended from 48
hours to 96 hours and a "special" non-jury court entirely constituted of
magistrates is the sole judge and executor.
SKOAZELL VREIZH is the support committee for the families of the prisoners held
for their political beliefs and involvement in all actions of resistance against
the French government policy of integration and repression towards Britanny. We
work on their behalf, providing legal and financial support to the prisoners as
well as practical help for their loved ones, financially and psychologically. We
carry out all administrative tasks the families require and are actively
involved in petitioning, campaining and mobilising support for their rights and
legitimate demands as political prisoners:
1- To be held together in one single jail, closer to home in Britanny
2- The right to hold meetings
3- The right to engage in activities specific to their political work
4- The right to communication without restriction
5- The right to information and communication in their language, the Breton
language
6- Better and more appropriate accommodation for the families visiting the
prisoners in jail
It is for the eight prisoners currently held in remand that we
ask for your help. They are all Breton political activists, mostly members of
Emgann (Breton independentist political party) and accused without proof of
membership to the ARB (Breton Republican Army). Please support them by writing
to them or sending them messages via the mail addresses we have set up for them.
Only a few words will make a difference. The prisoners are:
Alain Sole
(alainsole@bzh.net).
Stephane Philippe (stephanphilippe@bzh.net).
Gael Roblin (gaelroblin@bzh.net).
Jerome Bouthier(jerombotyaer@bzh.net).
Kristian Georgeault (kristianjorjaud@bzh.net).
Pascal Laize (Paskallaize@bzh.net)
.
Their Adress, to write to them a letter.(here)
(...)
More
information is also available online at:
SKOAZELL VREIZH: http://www.skoazell-vreizh.org
CARB: http://www.prizonidi.org
COLLECTIF DES FEMMES: http://collectifdefemmes.free.fr