The Plough
Volume 3, Number 25
14 June 2006
E-Mail Newsletter of the Irish Republican Socialist Party
1) Editorial
2) Economic Fallout Unfolds in Working Class Communities
3) Chicago Hunger Strike Commemorative Film
4) Immigrant Detention Centres
5) Statement of the Israeli Communist Forum
6) Massacres in Iraq
7) International Justice Day
8) Letters
9) What's On
*******
EDITORIAL
Much has happened since the last edition of The Plough: a young
Catholic beaten to death in Ballymena, a unionist leader who finally
admits that political unionism nurtured loyalist paramilitaries, DUP
politicians who gloss over or deny sectarianism, the raging debate
over the Richard O'Rawe allegations about the 1981 hunger strike,
workers sacked for holding a union meeting, and of course the farcical
goings on in Stormont. Meanwhile in the South of Ireland the ongoing
rush towards privatisation continues under the banner of outsourcing
and the last remaining vestiges of Irish neutrality are whittled away
by defence minister Willie O'Dea. On the international stage the
ongoing occupation of Iraq has intensified sectarian divisions and is
increasingly unpopular in both the USA and Britain. The attempt by the
USA to make political capital out of the tragic suicides of three
prisoners of war in Guantanamo shows the utter callowness of the USA
administration.
The forces of the revolutionary left in Ireland are weak and small.
There is not much that we can do about the so-called big issues other
than encourage people to turn out on demos and pickets. But as the
recent public meeting in Dublin on republicanism showed there is a
desire for a realignment of revolutionary forces out there.
The IRSP has always worked towards a broad front with other forces.
But a major difference we have with the pan-nationalist front that
Sinn Fein, the Irish government, and the SDLP built is that we
advocate in any alliance, the leading role of the working class. That
is central to our approach, our policies, and our philosophy.
The failure of the armed struggle waged to achieve a united Ireland
has to be looked at objectively, analysed, and lessons learned from
that struggle. The failure to put the needs of the working class to
the front of that struggle is we believe the fundamental reason that
the struggle failed. Why should the vast majority of working people
put their faith, trust, and belief in republicans if those same
republicans only deliver slightly sexier policies than the previous
generation of politicians?
Be assured that what Sinn Fein is now advocating is in essence no
different from what both unionists and nationalists advocated in the
past. The end result of their policies has been to carve up the North
of Ireland into various sectarian homelands where unscrupulous
property developers, smarmy business people, and profiteers make hay
while the sun shines. The Northern Ireland Office (NIO), the arm of
the British ruling class in Ireland, assidulously prepares the ground
for the further erosion of public assets and their sale to private
interests. In the meantime many of the former foot soldiers who fought
the war are discarded onto the scrap heap and kill the pain of defeat
by dependency on one drug or another.
But simply because the armed struggle did not achieve its objectives
does not mean that one simply gives up and retires to private life as
many former ex-combatants have done. Rather we must turn to the
working class to form the bedrock of the struggle. The forging of an
alliance between republicanism and the labour movement would create a
mighty weapon for struggle. We urge all republicans to turn towards
the working class movements, get active in the unions, and raise
issues that while relevant to the immediate interests of working also
form a bridge towards more radical and revolutionary demands.
*******
ECONOMIC FALLOUT UNFOLDS IN WORKING CLASS COMMUNITIES
'Underbelly of 26 Counties Exposed' - 10/06/2006
Republican Socialist Youth Movement - http://www.rsym.org/
The figures recently released by the Combat Poverty Agency in the 26
counties make worrying reading but are not at all surprising to those
that have been watching the economic fallout unfold in working class
communities on the back of the Celtic Tiger economic boom over recent
years.
The underbelly of the state has been exposed, we see it clearer now
than ever before. While the media heralds these times as times of
opportunity and investment, it is clear to us that working class
estates and inner city areas have been long forgotten about by the
Leinster House politicians.
While the inner city is overshadowed by the heightening Dublin
skyline, there are severe social and economic problems that are
ignored. Through poor state social planning, there is a considerable
lack of facilities for young people which could prevent them from
getting involved in crime and anti-social behavior.
Between 1996 and 2004, the state seized 6,919,780 Euro in criminal
assets. The state should be made accountable as to why this
desperately needed money is not channelled back into the working class
communities to whom it should rightfully belong.
*******
CHICAGO HUNGER STRIKE COMMEMORATIVE FILM
On 29 April, republicans and republican socialists of the Irish
Freedom Committee (IFC), Concerned Group for Republican Prisoners
(CGRP), and Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America
(IRSCNA) gathered as the Chicago Hunger Strike Commemoration Committee
(CHSCC). The CHSCC hosted a film showing of the movie by
(ex-republican socialist POW) director Terry George.
The film is a harrowing depiction of the ordeal the Ten went through,
as well as those who survived the strike. The film also depicts the
suffering by the mothers, family and comrades on the outside in a
convincing way. Several people were moved to tears by the film.
Following the film a discussion was held by the committee. The
audience asked many questions and were given reports by the IFC, CGRP,
and IRSCNA spokespersons regarding their respective prisoner
situations. The IFC and CGRP detailed the conditions in the prisons,
and how a tragic repeat of the hunger strikes could be possible due to
the de facto loss of political status. The IRSCNA representative was
pleased to announce the recent release of Dessie O'Hare, and explained
how the struggle today with the RSPOWs is not just in the prisons, but
also with the ex-POW association Teach Na Failte who are targeted as
'criminals' by the British authorities despite lack of evidence.
There was talk of how the support networks in the USA can help lead
the way to more broad front work, and united action on such issues as
the prison struggle.
As well as educational and motivating, the film showing was a
successful fundraiser, and many copies of republican literature,
including the Starry Plough, were distributed.
The Chicago Hunger Strike Commemoration Committee's next activity will
be a punk rock show fundraiser in late July, before the actual
commemoration of the Ten in August.
*******
IMMIGRANT DETENTION CENTRES
Detention centres are essentially prisons where immigrants who don't
have the correct documentation can be locked up indefinitely. In
Dungavel in Scotland, children have been locked up in these centres
for more than a year. The UK is the only place in Europe that
imprisons immigrants. Apart from the obvious denial of civil liberties
involved, detention centres have been criticised for promoting an idea
that immigrants are criminals.
The role of the immigration squad will be to "act on information"
where they believe that immigrants are here without papers or are
involved in criminal activity. They will do this by carrying out raids
on homes, workplaces and colleges.
One South Belfast family has recently experienced the appalling way in
which these immigration teams work when their one year old child's
birthday party was raided by a visiting team of immigration officers.
The team consisted of several immigration officers and a number of
PSNI from the vice squad. They broke down the door of their home and
burst into a house full of children. They proceeded to interrogate and
search the adults in the presence of the terrified children while
other officers surrounded the house. The operation was conducted in
the full view of the family's neighbours. Afterwards the papers
reported the operation as a joint sting by immigration and the vice
squad and named the address. What they failed to mention was that no
criminal activity had been taking place there, quite clearly leaving
the family open to attack.
[From the South Belfast Anti Racism Network]
*******
STATEMENT OF THE ISRAELI COMMUNIST FORUM
19 May 2006
New Government, Old Policy
The new government of Israel was created at the beginning of this
month, headed by the successor/continuator of the previous PM, Ariel
Sharon (still hospitalized in severe condition). Headed by Ehud
Olmert, the "Kadima" Party continues the same basic policy lines
which characterized the Government of Israel in recent years. The main
principle is the refusal to conduct serious peace negotiations with
the Palestinian side. Instead, the Olmert Government intends to take
steps whose aim is the de-facto annexation to Israel of large parts of
the Occupied Territories. For example, the Jordan Valley has recently
become an area almost completely closed to Palestinians. Extension of
the settlements goes on all over the West Bank. Construction of the
"Separation Wall" goes on apace. Mistreatment of Palestinians at
roadblocks and checkpoints continues, with various old and new
limitations. And to top it all, there are increasing instances of the
criminal "liquidations" of Palestinian leaders, in the course of which
more and more civilians are hurt, including women and children.
In order to achieve international support for the intended annexation
moves, Olmert speaks of certain Israeli unilateral steps, which would
include the evacuation of certain settlements in the occupied West
Bank (as a continuation of the previous "Disengagement Plan", which
included mainly the evacuation of settlements in the Gaza Strip). But
with the creation of the government even this option - of some kind of
partial withdrawal from some additional small parts of the Occupied
Territories - seems more far away than ever. According to a recent
Olmert statement, if it takes place at all it will only be two years
from now. In any case, the way to promote a comprehensive and lasting
agreement is not through any kind of unilateral act, but through
talking to the legal elected leadership of the Arab Palestinian
people, and reaching an agreement with it on the basis of withdrawal
from all the Occupied Territories, until the June '67 borders. The
Government of Israel must recognize the elected Palestinian
government, headed by the Hamas. It is unacceptable to demand the
holding of democratic elections and then not to recognize the results.
The Hamas victory in the Palestinian legislative elections is being
used a pretext to repeat the old mantra about there being "no partner
to talk to". This, precisely when the Hamas leaders make many
declarations indicating a tendency for moderation and willingness to
reach a compromise on the basis of Israeli withdrawal to the June 1967
lines. Unfortunately, also the Labour Party leader made inflammatory
statements following the Palestinian elections - as did even the
Meretz leader Yossi Beilin.
It is highly worrying that Ehud Olmert made an effort to include in
his cabinet also the extreme-right party "Israel Our Home" - even
though in the end this party remained outside the cabinet. Avigdor
Lieberman, leader of this party, is one of the most extreme racists in
Israel. In the Knesset debate on May 4, Lieberman effectively incited
to murder the Arab Knesset Members, when he compared them to the Nazi
war criminals executed following the Nuremberg Trials. Of course, in
reality the arch-fascist Lieberman is himself far closer to being
defined as a Nazi, and it is very regrettable that his party increased
its electoral strength in the recent elections.
Kadima's main coalition partner is the Labour Party, which for its
part did not completely rule out being in one cabinet with Lieberman.
The new Labour Party leader conducted a campaign in which the social
issues were emphasized and raised several conspicuous social demands
(such as raising the minimum salary to the equivalent of 1000 dollars
per month). In the end, however, he gave up nearly all of these
demands, and surprisingly chose to take up the Ministry of Defence
rather than any socio-economic portfolio. It is no surprise that in
its very first days the government already announced its intention to
considerably increase the prices of basic foodstuffs and of public
transportation. This is a direct continuation of policies enacted by
the previous government.
In the present political situation, we face a complete absence of a
perspective for a political and diplomatic process and an increase in
the power of racist nationalists who support ethnic cleansing. In face
of this, unity in struggle should be increased between the political
forces active among the Arab population in Israel, and especially
together with consistent Jewish peace seekers. In our view, it would
have been much better had such understanding been achieved already
before the elections. But also now it is still highly important. It is
of paramount importance to promote a unity in struggle of all
political organizations which struggle for the dismantling of all
settlements and for complete withdrawal from the Occupied Territories;
who confront the threat of "transfer" and ethnic cleansing made
against the Arab Population in Israel and against its continued
discrimination in all spheres of life; and who struggle for a
fundamental change of the present socio-economic policy.
The Israeli Communist Forum
POB 4406
Tel-Aviv 61043
ISRAEL
Tel-Fax number: 972-3-5168032
E mail: info@icf.org.il
WEB-SITE: http://www.icf.org.il/indexen.htm
*******
MASSACRES IN IRAQ
The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) condemns
the international community's silence regarding the massacres being
committed against Palestinian refugees in Iraq.
The Palestinian people, who for years have lived as refugees in Iraq,
are the target of a chain of unprecedented, bloody, organized crimes.
The criminal actions, threats, expulsions from their homes and
limitations of their movements carried out by death squads have
intensified daily with the objective of forcing the Palestinian to
leave Iraq.
The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine vigorously
condemns the silence of the international community regarding the
massacres committed against Palestinian residents in that country
since 1948, the year of Al-Nakba, and rejects the racist ethnic
cleansing that has become an inseparable part of the daily policies of
the criminal bands.
The DFLP calls upon Iraqi institutions and national forces, the Arab
League, international organizations and those committed to human
rights to stop the massacres that are being carried out against our
people.
Central Information Office of the FDLP
June 5, 2006
http://www.dflp-palestine.org/
*******
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE DAY
Every June 15, cleaners, security officers and other property service
workers around the globe mark International Justice Day. The day was
first celebrated in 1990 in the U.S. as "Justice for Janitors Day"
after cleaners who cleaned office buildings in Los Angeles were beaten
by police during a peaceful demonstration against a multi-national
cleaning company, ISS. The incident provoked a public outcry in the
U.S. and abroad. Pressure from ISS cleaners who belonged to unions in
other countries led ISS to agree to recognize the cleaners' desire to
form a union in Los Angeles. In remembrance of that day, cleaners and
security workers take action every June 15 in cities around the world.
To mark International Justice Day 2006, LabourStart is working
together with Union Network International, a global union uniting more
than 900 trade unions in 140 countries with a combined membership of
over 15 million workers. We're launching an unprecedented triple
campaign -- simultaneously targetting three different corporations in
the property service sector, worldwide.
We know it will take more than the usual few seconds for you to
participate in all three campaigns, but we know we can count on you to
take a couple of minutes to do this, and to spread the word. Please
click here now:
Power Security:
http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=109
ISS:
http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=108
German cleaning industry:
http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=110
*******
LETTERS
*
A Chairde,
The CGRP in the Central, Eastern, and Western offices of the US send
their solidarity to the Irish Republican Socialist Movement (IRSM),
following the recent harassment their members have received from the
PSNI/RUC in Derry.
The attempts to criminalize Republicans should and will be challenged
at every turn. We salute all Republicans who are constantly under
attack because they continue to organize and resist the Normalization
and Criminalisation policies of the British and Free State forces. We
pledge our support to all our Republican Comrades in the forefront of
this fight.
The forces of Occupation seem to have stepped up their efforts to
criminalize Republicans. This is also true in the Free State, where
recently members of the CGRP were arrested and their civil rights
violated.
They will fail as they have failed in the past, we will not be
silenced and we will continue to grow.
We urge all Republicans to stand together and oppose these attempts to
criminalize us.
Beir Bua
Is Míse,
Colm Mistéil
CGRP Central Office Coordinator
http://www.cgrp.info/
[Editor's note: Teach Na Failte have received many messages of
support, like the one above, from a wide range of organisations
including ex-political prisoner groups from both loyalist and
republican backgrounds. The police actions were driven by the
political desire to put our movement out of exixtence. Needless to say
they found no evidence of money laundering and no evidence linking
Teach na Failte to criminality.]
*
Subject: Re: Bobby Sands
[Editor's note: The following letter was sent by our Canadian comrade,
Mike Quinn, to a Canadian newspaper in response to an article by one
of its reporters commenting on a successful celebration of the 1916
Uprising and the 25th anniversary of the Hunger strike.]
Dear Editor/Ms Kennedy.
Had Bobby Sands grown up in a society where multicultural mutual
respect is cherished and fostered there would have been no icon, no
hunger-strike, no incarceration, Civil Rights Campaign, no Diplock
courts, no Special Powers Act, no Emergency Provisions Act, no Flags
and Emblems Act, no Internment, no H-Blocks, no Castlereagh
Interrogation/Torture Centre, no Bloody Sunday...the list is endless.
This is the society which Bobby Sands found himself a 'prisoner' long
before he ever entered the conveyor belt to the Maze Prison (Long Kesh).
He grew up like me, in Rathcoole Housing Estate, North Belfast. His
family evicted by thugs from our community, bad as that may be, some
were killed not because they were Republicans simply because they were
Catholic. By 1972, ethnic cleansing was well under way. The Sands
family through intimidation and threat moved to Twinbrook, West
Belfast, there at least there would be less threat from loyalist
thugs, but regardless, the politicization of Bobby Sands had begun.
Regardless of how or why Sands became an icon is not for me to
explain. Many historians and journalists have undertaken this task to
great length. More recently, a biography written by Denis O'Hearn
"Nothing but an Unfinished Son". The author is a professor of social
and economic change at Queens University, Belfast and in the sociology
department at Binghampton University in New York. Sands himself
recorded much of prison life including the early days of his
hunger-strike this point almost mocked by columnist Kennedy.
Successive attempts to reform the northern state (6 counties) were met
with the same legal apparatus of paramilitary institutions from
Internment to Special Powers to imprisonment. The central issue in all
of these 'campaigns' was the classification of status of those who
were imprisoned or interned. In the recent 'campaign' 69/98 the
hunger-strike/s in 1972 by Belfast republican Billy McKee insured that
the policy of criminalization would yet again have to be confronted by
the only means available to Republicans in Belfast Prison, Crumlin
Road...hunger-strike. McKee's actions and victory over the policy
meant that those republican and republican socialist POWs entering the
legal/prison system, entered as "Special Category Prisoners".
In March 1976 this 'status' was once again arbitrarily withdrawn and
again the age-old struggle had to be confronted again. Britain's
rationale, if they could criminalize the prisoners then the logical
conclusion is that the 800 year struggle against colonialism and
domination must also be criminal. In short, Sands led this first
hunger-strike as negotiator in 1980 as O/C of republican prisoners
followed by another hunger-strike in March, 1981 when Britain withdrew
the original settlement. Sands himself going on hunger-strike as the
first republican prisoner and followed by six other republicans
representing the Irish Republican Army and a further three
representing the Irish National Liberation Army starting with Patsy
O'Hara from Derry City. A point not acknowledged by Ms Kennedy.
On April 8, 2006 we celebrated the 90th anniversary of the Easter
Rising and the 25th anniversary of the 1981 hunger-strike here in
Regina, Saskatchewan. We are proud to have undertaken this task. It
was never our intention to embarrass any part of our community, nor to
'open old wounds' and whip up the type of rhetoric I read in the
columns of the Ottawa Citizen as presented by Janice Kennedy. Our
audience was Canadian, Irish, English, Scottish, Chilean and from the
Kashmir community. And a whole host of people who just wanted to be
with us in solidarity as we remembered two dates in Irish history with
the dignity and respect they deserved.
Michael Quinn
Regina
*
Comrades,
New from Socialist Productions for May 2006
http://www.socialistproductions.org/
In celebration of the 70th anniversary inspiring fight against
fascism by the Spanish people and the international volunteers we
have reproduced a International Brigades enamel badge and t-shirt
visit the website to check both items out!
We have a number of DVDs in stock including 'Paradise Now' -
about two young Palestinian suicide bombers, H3 fictional account
of the 1981 hunger strike up to the death of Bobby Sands MP
written by a former hunger striker, Laurence McKeown and POW Brian
Campbell, Chomsky - 'Rebel Without a Pause', Howard Zinn - 'You
Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train', Malcolm X documentary based on
his autobiography.
Just some of the new items on the new look website, not all pages are
currently available, but we are working on it!
In comradeship,
Robert
*
Llibertat! Saoirse! E-news service of the Catalan Solidarity: Ireland
Committee
To obtain this regular eservice Llibertat! Saoirse!, forward SUBSCRIBE
to the following e-mail: catalansolidarity@hotmail.com
*******
WHAT'S ON
*
Saturday, 17 June
INTERNATIONAL BRIGADE COMMEMORATION COMMITTEE
Spanish Anti-Fascist War 1936-39
(Symbol of the International Brigade)
c/o 45-47 Donegall Street, Belfast, BT1 2FG
ibcc@hotmail.co.uk
First of three Public Seminars on:
The Island of Ireland and the Spanish Civil War 1936-39:
The People Unite Against Fascism
A Common History Seminar
Speakers:
Ciaran Crossey
Harry Donaghy
John Grey
Saturday 17th June at 11.00am
In the Belfast Unemployed Resource Centre
45/47 Donegall Street
Belfast
BT1 2FG
Organised by: The Belfast & District Trades Union Council,
The Fellowship of Messines Association,
The International Brigades Commemoration Committee.
Supported by Community Relations Council.
*
The next meeting of the James Connolly Debating Society will take
place on Thursday 29th June at 7.00pm in An Chulturlann on the Falls Road.
The topic of this discussion will be the question of engaging with
unionism, and the Reverend Bill Boyd, a Gaeilgeoir and the last
Presbyterian minister to serve in the church that is now An
Chulturlann, has agreed to come along and take part in the debate.
This will also be the final meeting before the summer, and considering
the importance of the issue, we hope as many people as possible are
able to attend.
I hope to see you here.
Adh mor,
Ciaran
*******
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*
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