ÓSF to host massive Demilitarisation Weekend in OmaghÓgra Shinn Féin will welcome delegates to Omagh in October for their fifth annual Demilitarisation Weekend. Youth from throughout the 32 Counties as well as International delegations from Britain and the Basque Country will converge to ‘claim victory’ according to local Ógra Shinn Féin chairperson Barry McNally.
The weekend, organised from the 6th – 8th October will be the fifth annual weekend focussing on British demilitarisation in the County Tyrone town. In the past the weekend has been the target of hoax bomb alerts and huge British military and RUC surveillance.
Massive progress has been made on Demilitarisation since last years weekend, with the last British Army Regiment vacating the Lisanelly Barracks in August of this year. The British Army Barracks, which occupies over 300 acres of prime development land, will be completely vacated by the British M.O.D in August of 2007.
The weekend will kick off on Friday night with, a ‘Women in Struggle’ theme. Former women POWs will talk about the prison struggle which will be followed by the screening of a DVD detailing the role of Republican women in the freedom struggle.
On Saturday delegates will hear a life in struggle lecture from Tommy McKearney. This will be followed by a youth discussion on the hunger strike with representations drawn from a number of political parties.
Following the youth debate, delegates will then take part in a tour of the local area. The tour will visit the spot on the Gortin road where 3 IRA volunteers where killed in 1973, the spot of the Drumnakilly ambush, the garden of remembrance in Carrickmore and the tour will conclude at Cashel Bridge in Greencastle were an IRA Volunteer was killed in the 1920’s whilst attending an IRA Training camp.
Speaking on the weekend local chairperson, Barry McNally said,
“This year the weekend will focus on the achievements of the Ógra Shinn Féin weekends in previous years.”
“The weekends acted as a local catalyst in raising the issue of Demilitarisation, the formation of the Omagh Resident’s Demilitarisation Committee soon followed, who guided by the genuine concerns of local residents, took on the British Government, challenging them to live up to their commitments to dismantle the massively oppressive military presence in Omagh.”
“To signal the Demilitarisation of Lisanelly Brit Barracks, this year’s weekend will be titled ‘Slan Amhaile’ and it will be a great opportunity for Ógra activists to claim victory for what we have campaigned for in the last number of years. We have succeeded in our campaign to Demilitarise the British War Machine in Omagh and would like to see this replicated throughout the 6 counties.”
For anyone interested in attending the Weekend please contact your local ÓSF cumann or contact Omagh Sinn Féin office on 02882 253040 or by email on osfnational@yahoo.ie
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