Over 30 years of anarchist writing from Ireland listed under hundreds of topics
Having announced their decision to sack 1,200 teachers and an untold number of Special Needs Assistants last week, the government has swiftly followed it up with a plan to make unemployed teachers and other school staff work for free.
Free Education for Everyone (FEE) has begun a peaceful protest at Anglo Irish Bank on Forster street, Galway, calling for an immediate General Election. FEE places the blame for Ireland’s current economic situation directly on the Fianna Fail politicians, who refused to regulate the financial system, and on the bankers, who took advantage of the lack of regulation to gamble on the markets. Once those bets fell through the Irish people were threatened: that failing to bail out the bankers would result in national ruin.
Dublin Saturday 27th November 100,000 on ICTU march. I was there and I heard the booing.
Got back to Cork late Saturday, after an icy drive down the motorway. Visiting a friends house after coming back , relating the story from the day. "Did you boo Jack O'Connor then?" says one.
Many of the hundred thousand plus people who took part in Saturday's demonstration against the IMF/ECB four year plan would be disturbed to know that mixed among them were a number of secret police disguised as protesters. And it appears these Special Branch operatives were among the small breakaway march to the Dail that occurred after the main protest and which some media outlets seized on as 'proof' of the violence the Garda and that section of the media had been hyping in advance of the protest.
Despite freezing temperatures, an estimated one hundred thousand people were on the streets of Dublin today to take part in the ICTU demonstration against the draconian four year plan, which is raising taxes on low paid workers, slashing wages, social services and cutting social welfare. The WSM took part in the demonstration with the 1% Network, highlighting the wealthy 1% of the population who own 34% of the wealth, and pointing out that only a general strike can force them to back down from making us pay the full costs of the crisis.
Tens of thousands will take part in today's ICTU demonstration in Dublin but the demonstration is seen by ICTU’s leaders as yet another one-off protest, another ‘letting-off-steam’ exercise, a trek around town from A to B to listen to speeches from the same people that have misled us to this position and then go home and get ready to vote for Labour in the forthcoming election. Far from ‘standing idly by’ they are actively working to demobilise opposition to the government. Against this we need to use today's protest as the starting point for the conversation about what we’re going to replace the current rotten mess with and as the first block in building for the general strike that we need to bring that about.
The WSM welcomes the statement by Chief Superintendent Michael O'Sullivan about the groups and individuals who wish to exploit the fact that thousands will be on the street tomorrow, and use that for their own ends.
This article was written prior to the big ICTU anti-cuts demonstration of November 2010 and in the afterfath of a large anti-student fees demonstration where a two thousand strong militant breakaway was attacked by Gardaí.
An article headlined "Gardaí on alert for Dublin protest" published this evening on the Irish Times website is a clear attempt by the political establishment to divide protesters and create an atmosphere of fear amongst those attending.
Garda Chief Supt Michael O'Sullivan is quoted as saying “there are individuals and groups who seek to exploit such events for their own ends”. This is a globally recognised police tactic of trying to divide the movement into "good" and "bad" protesters. This follows weeks on from disturbances at the national student march where Gardaí in riot gear launched an unprovoked attack on demonstrators.
We want to make the 1% rich pay, not the compromise of 'fairer' cuts.
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions have called a national demonstration on 27th November in Dublin which will see tens of thousands take to the streets. But many are very unhappy with the ICTU leadership and a march called on the basis of 'fairer' cuts and a return to the disastrous policy of Social Partnership. The 1% Network will be taking part in the demonstration - not to support the demands of the ICTU leadership, but to outline what we see as the alternative. This is not in the expectation that the ICTU leadership can be convinced but because we want to make the argument to the thousands of workers who will take part that it is up to all of us to organise what is needed, a general strike, despite that leadership.
Anarkismo.net has announced that a demonstration is being held in Paris, France tomorrow to coincide with the ICTU demonstration in Dublin under the slogan of 'Solidarity with the Irish people'. The demonstrations called by 8 French organisations will be taking place at the European Union offices of bld Saint Germain, the organisers include the WSM's sister Anarkismo group in France, Alternative Libertaire.