Deepest Red
03-04-2006, 12:14 PM
Did Wales create first terrorist prison camp?
icwales.co.uk
Darren Devine
Feb 16 2006
Western Mail
WALES 'pioneered' Guantanamo-Bay-style prison camps with a detention
centre used to hold the men who went on to win the Republic of Ireland's
independence, it was claimed yesterday.
About 1,800 Irishmen were held at the Frongoch camp near Bala, in North
Wales, including figures who would go on to play key roles in the
Republic's first Government.
The author of a new book on the camp points to parallels between the
treatment of Irishmen imprisoned at Frongoch after the Easter Rising
rebellion of 1916 and the terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay.
Welsh broadcaster and journalist Lyn Ebenezer, whose book Fron-Goch and
the birth of the IRA is being launched in Ireland later this month,
said, "In Frongoch they were there without charge and without trial as in
Guantanamo. Of the 500 in Guantanamo only 10 have been charged.
"Another interesting connection is that at Guantanamo the detainees
have turned to hunger strikes, which also happened at Frongoch.
"In 1916 there were as many as 200 on hunger strike in Frongoch."
Among those imprisoned was Michael Collins, who later negotiated the
settlement with the British authorities that led to the creation of the
Republic.
Instead of crushing the sprit of those detained, Frongoch effectively
became a university for nationalists from all over Ireland and
reinvigorated their opposition to British rule.
Mr Ebenezer believes Guantanamo, as was the case with Frongoch,
contains a mix of radicals and apolitical prisoners who were simply caught up
in the US's war on terror.
At Frongoch, those indifferent to politics were radicalised by their
closeness to so many leading Irish nationalists and Mr Ebenezer believes
Guantanamo may be similarly counter-productive.
"There were men at Frongoch who had nothing to do with the Easter
Rising, but they were all thrown in together and they then became
sympathetic to the movement.
"There must be a few in Guantanamo with no connection with terrorism.
Some will have been together there for four years - that's long enough
to generate a hell of a lot of hatred.
"At Frongoch the longest anyone stayed for was seven months."
Frongoch started life as Wales's first whiskey distillery, but when the
company folded the building was later converted to a prison camp for
German soldiers captured during the First World War.
When they left, the men who orchestrated the Easter Rising took their
place in January 1916 and most of these were released around seven
months later, with only a hard-core remaining.
The men held at Frongoch were members of the Irish Republican
Brotherhood, but they would later rename the organisation the Irish Republican
Army (IRA).
Mr Ebenezer said the prisoners attracted the sympathy of local Welsh
people, but throughout the rest of Wales they were viewed, as in England,
as terrorists.
"All the research I've done shows they were treated very fairly by
local people, who deplored the way they were treated by the British.
"But as far as the rest of Wales goes the reaction was exactly as it
was in England - even trade unionists turned against them and regarded
them as terrorists."
During the 1930s the prison camp at Frongoch fell into dereliction,
with some of the buildings sold off to local farmers.
Ironically, relatives of those imprisoned there returned in the 1950s -
but not to see the site of their forebears' imprisonment.
Instead, the Irish who arrived 40 years later came to work on the
controversial Llyn Celyn reservoir, which was created after the tiny Gwynedd
village of Tryweryn was drowned.
icwales.co.uk
Darren Devine
Feb 16 2006
Western Mail
WALES 'pioneered' Guantanamo-Bay-style prison camps with a detention
centre used to hold the men who went on to win the Republic of Ireland's
independence, it was claimed yesterday.
About 1,800 Irishmen were held at the Frongoch camp near Bala, in North
Wales, including figures who would go on to play key roles in the
Republic's first Government.
The author of a new book on the camp points to parallels between the
treatment of Irishmen imprisoned at Frongoch after the Easter Rising
rebellion of 1916 and the terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay.
Welsh broadcaster and journalist Lyn Ebenezer, whose book Fron-Goch and
the birth of the IRA is being launched in Ireland later this month,
said, "In Frongoch they were there without charge and without trial as in
Guantanamo. Of the 500 in Guantanamo only 10 have been charged.
"Another interesting connection is that at Guantanamo the detainees
have turned to hunger strikes, which also happened at Frongoch.
"In 1916 there were as many as 200 on hunger strike in Frongoch."
Among those imprisoned was Michael Collins, who later negotiated the
settlement with the British authorities that led to the creation of the
Republic.
Instead of crushing the sprit of those detained, Frongoch effectively
became a university for nationalists from all over Ireland and
reinvigorated their opposition to British rule.
Mr Ebenezer believes Guantanamo, as was the case with Frongoch,
contains a mix of radicals and apolitical prisoners who were simply caught up
in the US's war on terror.
At Frongoch, those indifferent to politics were radicalised by their
closeness to so many leading Irish nationalists and Mr Ebenezer believes
Guantanamo may be similarly counter-productive.
"There were men at Frongoch who had nothing to do with the Easter
Rising, but they were all thrown in together and they then became
sympathetic to the movement.
"There must be a few in Guantanamo with no connection with terrorism.
Some will have been together there for four years - that's long enough
to generate a hell of a lot of hatred.
"At Frongoch the longest anyone stayed for was seven months."
Frongoch started life as Wales's first whiskey distillery, but when the
company folded the building was later converted to a prison camp for
German soldiers captured during the First World War.
When they left, the men who orchestrated the Easter Rising took their
place in January 1916 and most of these were released around seven
months later, with only a hard-core remaining.
The men held at Frongoch were members of the Irish Republican
Brotherhood, but they would later rename the organisation the Irish Republican
Army (IRA).
Mr Ebenezer said the prisoners attracted the sympathy of local Welsh
people, but throughout the rest of Wales they were viewed, as in England,
as terrorists.
"All the research I've done shows they were treated very fairly by
local people, who deplored the way they were treated by the British.
"But as far as the rest of Wales goes the reaction was exactly as it
was in England - even trade unionists turned against them and regarded
them as terrorists."
During the 1930s the prison camp at Frongoch fell into dereliction,
with some of the buildings sold off to local farmers.
Ironically, relatives of those imprisoned there returned in the 1950s -
but not to see the site of their forebears' imprisonment.
Instead, the Irish who arrived 40 years later came to work on the
controversial Llyn Celyn reservoir, which was created after the tiny Gwynedd
village of Tryweryn was drowned.