Troops Out Movement

rdf:langString Troops Out Movement

rdf:langString The Troops Out Movement (TOM) was an Irish republican organisation formed in the United Kingdom in 1973, following actions by the British Army in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, including the Bloody Sunday and Ballymurphy massacres by the Parachute Regiment. The organisation's goals were to secure the withdrawal of British troops from Northern Ireland and support self-determination for the Irish people as a whole. These main aims were supplemented by smaller ones such as the demilitarisation of the Northern Irish police and the paramilitary Ulster Special Constabulary (USC) as well as opposition to discriminatory policies against Catholics in Northern Ireland. The TOM sought partnerships and other forms of cooperation with like-minded organisations in Ireland, Great Britain, and internationally. As the Troubles continued to grow in severity, with increasing clashes in Northern Ireland between Irish republicans and unionist, primarily paramilitary groups such as the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), the TOM developed close links with Sinn Féin. The TOM undertook measures to distance themselves from the IRA while simultaneously maintaining that armed struggle was a reasonable response to the discrimination faced by Catholics in Northern Ireland and the various policies instituted by the British government. TOM's two main demands, "British troops out of Ireland" and "self-determination for the Irish people as a whole" both called for the withdrawal of the British government from Northern Ireland, as the TOM considered that this was fundamental to a peaceful solution to the Troubles, and would lead to the realisation of Irish self-determination.