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<\/a>Recently, there has been a steady increase in Loyalist prisoners being refused access to Bush House Separated landings by the Northern Ireland Office – NIO.\u00a0 We believe these Loyalist prisoners have a right to be located in Bush House either through being associated with or supporters of an organization or due to the fact they are incarcerated for political action in support of Loyalism.<\/p>\n
We here\u00a0on Bush House would welcome such prisoners and our political representatives are constantly requesting that the NIO facilitate them being transferred here.\u00a0 However, applications from such prisoners have been persistently refused on the basis that they do not meet the criteria in the ‘compact agreement’.\u00a0Having studied the agreement, it is abundantly clear that every Protestant in Northern Ireland who supports an organization, if arrested, meets the criteria for access to Bush House Separated.<\/p>\n
If an arrested Loyalist has not previously come under scrutiny from the PSNI then this seems to be a benchmark for refusal by the NIO.\u00a0 The fact that a majority of them have never been previously arrested, it is unlikely the PSNI would have any reason to have them on their ‘radar’.\u00a0 Put simply, if sentenced, they wish to be incarcerated in a safe environment distinct from the general prison population wherein they are at risk of being attacked.<\/p>\n
This issue has gone unaddressed for a number of years now and in spite of discussions with prison officials and compliance with the political process from our representatives, our protestations have ‘fallen on deaf ears’.\u00a0 The ‘flag protesters’ have a legitimate rationale for being accepted on Bush House Separated and we have repeatedly stated this since 2013.\u00a0 We call on the prison authorities to adopted a common sense approach and end their embargo on prisoners who undoubtedly meet their acceptance criteria.\u00a0In the absence of this, the Loyalist prisoners of Bush 1\/2, have no alternative but to begin a period of disruptive protest.\u00a0 We appreciate that this may cause hardship to any or all of us.\u00a0 However, we are not requesting that Bush House be filled to overcrowding but rather those that meet the necessary criteria are afforded the right to be separated as we are.<\/p>\n
It is our understanding that subsequent to our decision, Republicans have followed suit for similar reasons.<\/p>\n
The Loyalist Prisoners – Bush 1\/2<\/p>\n