Tuesday 14 September 2010

Real IRA 'to target bankers'


BANKERS are on the target list for dissident Irish republicans in the Real IRA, according to a Guardian interview with the underground group.

The Real IRA described bankers as criminals and told the newspaper: "We have a track record of attacking high-profile economic targets and financial institutions such as the City of London.

"The role of bankers and the institutions they serve in financing Britain's colonial and capitalist system has not gone unnoticed.

"Let's not forget that the bankers are the next-door neighbours of the politicians.

"Most people can see the picture: the bankers grease the politicians' palms, the politicians bail out the bankers with public funds, the bankers pay themselves fat bonuses and loan the money back to the public with interest.

"It's essentially a crime spree that benefits a social elite at the expense of many millions of victims."

The Real IRA also told the Guardian that support for them was building and they had turned away hundreds of young disaffected nationalists because they didn't have the capacity to absorb so many members.

"From the point of view of republican communities, there is still a heavily armed British police force that casually uses plastic baton rounds, CS gas and Tasers, carry out house raids, stop and search operations and general harassment.

"There's still a 5,000-strong British army garrison, a new MI5 HQ in Belfast, and a British secretary of state. Republican communities are still subjected to sectarian parades and the right to protest is being met with intimidation and violence."