THEY were withdrawn from the north of Ireland because there could not be a ‘peace process’ and a power-sharing regime while they were there, performing their murderous ‘anti-insurgency’ duties.
Now they are on the way back, with the power-sharing regime unable to stop them, even if it wanted to do so.
The reason the Special Reconnaissance Regiment is returning is not just because there is a rise of Republican activities taking place against the power-sharing regime of which Sinn Fein is a vital part, but that the whole of Ireland has been plunged into crisis.
Its source is the world crisis of the capitalist system which has brought the banks crashing down and hurled industry into depression and slump, throughout the world and throughout the whole of Ireland, north and south.
The massive February 21, 120,000-strong march through Dublin put the frighteners up the British bourgeoisie since they saw in it just a semblance of their own future.
Its junior partners in the Irish Republic were also none too pleased about the massive turnout.
With pay cuts, mass sackings, price rises and plans afoot to decree wage cuts to add to the pension levies, the Republic is heading for a one day general strike on March 30, while the North, where workers are facing very similar conditions, is not too far behind.
It is this sharpening of the class struggle that is behind the return of the special forces to the north, and no doubt they will be playing a role in the Republic as they have done in the past.
In the past the British ruling class has seen Ireland as its back door, and an invasion route for attacking Britain.
In the 20th and 21st centuries the ruling class has tended to see Ireland as a potentially revolutionary neighbour and threat, where a revolutionary struggle that has emerged, could rapidly ‘spill over’ into the UK, where a large part of the working population are of Irish origin, where the problems of the working class are very similar, and where many workers are in the same trade unions as the Irish workers, such as the Unite members who are occupying Waterford Crystal.
A Sinn Fein leader Alex Maskey yesterday, in a special statement, brought out the nature of the British forces that are returning to Ireland.
He said: ‘This is a matter of grave concern in particular for the nationalist and republican community given the legacy of British Special Forces here in Ireland. Sinn Fein remains opposed to any such deployment of these forces and remains committed to ensuring that the PSNI is held to account for an effective, efficient and non-political policing service.
‘We have raised these concerns this morning with both governments. I have also spoken with the Chief Constable Hugh Orde and conveyed to him in no uncertain terms our opposition to this deployment and indeed the manner in which this has entered the public domain.
‘Like many others, I was a victim of so-called British Special Forces, who colluded with Unionist Murder Gangs in attempts to murder me and my family. There can be no place for these types of groups within any civic and non-political policing service.’
Further the Policing Board was not informed of the deployment.
There is no doubt that the working classes of both Ireland and Britain are poised to erupt in mass actions against ruling classes who are determined that they will bear the whole burden of the capitalist crisis.
What is required in Britain is the building up of the WRP as the revolutionary leadership of the workers, while a section of the Fourth International must be built in Ireland. This will lead the enormous mass movement that is emerging, north and south, to overthrow the Irish capitalists and unite Ireland, driving out British imperialism.
