Late last Thursday night dissident republicans again targeted the Alliance Party Headquarters in Belfast – and, then to make a point, issued their own photographs (above and below).
The pictures showed the windows, door, step and buzzer smeared with excrement – a grotesque image meant to draw attention to protest conditions inside Maghaberry Jail.
This is a read back into another era – back into the seventies, and the ‘dirty protest’ of that period.
What happened then is being replayed today, albeit on a much smaller scale.
And on the outside, Justice Minister David Ford is the target, with the dissidents demanding his attention.
They believe he can end the Maghaberry protest.
In August members of Republican Network for Unity (RNU) staged a protest inside the Alliance offices on University Street, and during the summer the terror faction Oglaigh na hEireann was behind an unclaimed arson attack at Mr Ford’s constituency office in Newtownabbey.
Commenting on the latest incident, Carl Reilly who is national chair of RNU, said:
“The action by RNU was an attempt to once again highlight the current conditions that republican prisoners in Maghaberry are enduring.
“David Ford as Justice Minister has the power to implement an electronic method to end strip searching at Maghaberry, which would end the protest,” he said.
But that suggested scanning alternative to strip-searching is dismissed by the Department of Justice:
“There is no technology available that provides the same level of security as full-body searching,” a spokesman said.
And in those few words the standoff is defined.
Reilly also has a challenge for Sinn Fein.
“There are people who are administering power at Stormont – former prisoners and ex-combatants,” he said.
“From experience they should understand that these men are suffering.
“They keep telling people they have power,” he continued.
“Well, then, they need to use that power.
“Martin McGuinness is the joint First Minister.
“He needs to be very clear and very public that strip searching in Maghaberry should cease,” Reilly said.
After a recent visit to the jail, Sinn Fein is seeking a meeting with the Justice Minister, when the protest will be “high on the agenda”.
“All prisoners should be treated with dignity and respect,” said MLA Raymond McCartney, vice-chair of the Stormont Justice Committee.
“The only way this will be resolved is through dialogue,” he added.
But Reilly speaks of “an absolute sense of frustration – bewilderment.”
“We want this protest done and dusted, and we believe the conditions exist to end the protest immediately.”
Again this is a reference to scanning technologies, but the prison authorities insist that full body searching of prisoners entering and leaving the jail is an essential part of security – right across the UK.
“The prison protest could be brought to an end very swiftly with an indication from the Department of Justice on the start date for a [scanning]pilot scheme that would end strip searching,” Reilly said.
And another source argued that if “a window of opportunity” presents itself between now and Christmas it should be taken.
RAISING THE STAKES:
There are some in that fragmented dissident world who take the view that if Peter Robinson can threaten to resign over issues relating to the prison service title and badge, then Sinn Fein could do more on the issue of strip searching.
So, are they suggesting that Martin McGuinness should now threaten to resign?
“I don’t believe Martin McGuinness or Sinn Fein will ever bring down Stormont,” is the response from Carl Reilly.
And the reality is that threatening resignation is not going to resolve the Maghaberry jail row.
This needs cool heads and commonsense.
Dissidents claim the two big obstacles in the way of a breakthrough are the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) and the DUP.
But, in all of this, there is really only one question to be answered.
Is there a security alternative to strip searches?
It is not a question to be answered by the POA or the DUP.
But is a matter for those with operational responsibility for jail security.
On the dissident wings at Maghaberry the prisoners are being held one to a cell.
“Most of the cells have maggots in them,” Reilly explained, as he described worsening conditions.
He said some letters written by prisoners are being placed in forensic bags and left at the front gate of the jail for collection.
Because of health issues they are not being delivered through the post.
And those who have examined conditions – including one of the facilitators trying to broker an agreement to end the protest – have had to wear protective suits, masks and gloves.
“It’s not pleasant,” one source explained, in an understated kind of way.
So, is a breakthrough possible, and can it be found in the security systems at other jails such as Portlaoise?
Not if you listen to that short response from a spokesman for the Department of Justice.
But there are those who answer yes to above questions.
There is also a growing danger in this situation.
That someone gets into their head that force and not dialogue is the way to resolve this.