Labhraíonn Tommy McKearney i ndiaidh cruinnithe Aifreann sa Chlochán Liath ar Chonradh Liospóin

(english version follows)

Ag labhairt ag cruinniú eagraithe ag éirígí sa Chlochán Liath ag éileamh ar vóta Níl sa reifreann i Mí Dheireadh Fómhair, dúirt eagraí Cheardchumainn na nOibrithe Neamhspleácha Tommy McKearney nach bhfuil sé de ghustal ag Éire ligeant don Eoraip a bheith cinnte maidir lenár gcomhlíonadh. "Le ceann dena daonraí agus eacnamaíochtaí is lú san Aontas Eorpach, ní féidir le hÉire cáil a fháil ó chomhlíonadh i gcónaí nuair a ordaíonn na stáit atá níos mó é sin a dhéanamh agus sin an rud a tharlóidh má athraíonn muid an cinneadh tógtha ag ár ndaoine i 2008", dúirt sé.


Bhí an cruinniú sin ceann de sraith chruinnithe de chruinnithe Aifreann curtha ar siúl lasmuigh de Shéipéal an Chlocháin Liath ar oíche Shathairn agus maidin Domhnaigh. Labhair urlabhraí éirígí Thír Chonaill Micheal Cholm MacGiolla Easbuig ag na cruinnithe freisin.

"Cuimhnigh," lean sé, "dá mba rud é gur athraíodh an conradh seo go mór ó dhiúltaigh muid é i 2008,
bheadh ar na pobail ar an Aontas Eorpach vóta a chaitheamh air arís. Tá muid, mar sin, ag vótáil ar an gconradh céanna. Seo conradh a dhéanann idirdhealú in aghaidh oibrithe agus i bhfábhar na baincéirí, amhantraithe agus gnóthaí móra trí thacú le hiomaíocht roimh shaothar." "Cén fáth, an dóigh leat, go bhfuil Michael Leary ag infheistiú €500,000 san fheachtas Tá," arsa McKearney.

Dúirt sé go bhfuil na páirtithe comhrialtais atá ag tabhairt comhairle dúinn vótáil Tá ag tabhairt le tuiscint go gcuirfear amach as an Aontas Eorpach muid agus go mbeidh muid brúite amach ón euro má theipeann orainn. Tá sé seo bréagach amach is amach. Ní féidir muid a dhíbirt agus muid ag feidhmiú ár gceart daonlathach Níl a rá agus ní chaillfidh muid an euro tríd an gconradh seo a dhiultiú.

"Breithnigh gur iad na páirtithe comhrialtais atá ag tabhairt comhairle dúinn ar vótáil, na daoine oll-neamhfhulangacha céanna atá i gceannas ar thubaiste ár ngeilleagair agus atá meáite anois ar reachtaíocht NAMA a thógaint isteach chun na baincéirí agus na hamhantraithe a tharrtháil agus iad tar éis an méad sin a dhéanamh chun muid go léir a scrios."

Chríochnaigh sé ag rá gur bhain muintir na hÉireann úsáid as a ndea-chiall agus dhiúltaigh siad bulaíocht an uair dheireannach a vótalaíodh ar an gconradh seo agus gur chóir dúinn an rud céanna a dhéanamh i Mí Dheireadh Fómhair.

Tommy McKearny addresses after mass meetings in Dungloe on Lisbon Treaty

Speaking at a meeting organised by éirígí in Dungloe to call for a No vote in October’s Lisbon referendum, Independent Workers Union organiser Tommy McKearney said that Ireland cannot afford to allow Europe take our compliance for granted. “With one of the smallest populations and economies in the European Union, Ireland must not earn a reputation for meekly rolling over when ordered to do so by the bigger states and that is what will happen if we change the decision delivered by our people in 2008” he said.



The meeting was one of a series of after mass meetings held outside Dungloe chapel on Saturday evening and Sunday morning. Tír Chonaill éirígí spokesperson Micheal Cholm MacGiolla Easbuig also addressed the meetings.

“Let us remind ourselves,” he continued, “that if this treaty had been significantly altered since we rejected it in 2008, the peoples of the EU would have had to vote on it again. We are, therefore, voting on the same treaty. A treaty that by endorsing the right of competition over that of labour, discriminates against workers and in favour of bankers, speculators and big business.” “Why do you think Michael O’Leary is investing €500,000 in the Yes campaign?” McKearney asked.

He said that the coalition parties advising us to vote Yes are implying that if we fail to do so we shall be expelled from the European Union and forced out of the Euro. That is simply untrue. We cannot be expelled for exercising our democratic right to say No and we shall not lose the Euro for objection to this treaty.

“Don’t lose sight of the fact that the coalition parties now advising us on how to vote are the same grossly incompetent people that have presided over the collapse of our economy and are now hell bent on introducing the NAMA legislation in order to rescue the bankers and speculators who have done so much to ruin us all.”

He concluded by saying that the people of Ireland had used their good sense and refused to be bullied the last time this treaty was voted on and we should do the same again in October.

Pól Brennan – Íobartach an Neamhghnímh Pholaitiúil
27/08/09

(English version follows.)

I ndiaidh eitilt anróch ó champa géibhinn i Texas SAM to haerfort na Sionnaine, thuirling Pól Brennan, fuar agus i ngeimhle, ar fhód na hÉireann den chéad uair i 25 bliain Dé hAoine seo caite [21ú Lúnasa].

Chaith an t-iarchime cogaidh poblachtach ó iarthar Bhéal Feirste, a throid feachtas bríomhar in éadan eisachadadh ó SAM, chaith sé an 18 mí deireanach i gcampa géibhinn ar an ábhar suarach go raibh cead oibre as dáta aige.

Tá Pól ar dhuine de na hiar-chimí polaitiúla Éireannacha ar dhírigh SAM orthu le haghaidh díbirt mar gheall ar a gcur i gcoinne gníomhach do fhorghabháil na Breataine ar na Sé Chondae.

É ina phoblachtach le haosacht ar fad, theith Pól ón oirthuaisceart i ndiaidh éalú dána le 37 poblachtach eile ó na Bloic-H in 1983.

Bhí sé ar an teitheadh i dTuaisceart Mheiriceá agus, sna 1990í, cuireadh faoi ghlas i bpríosúin i SAM agus é ag troid in éagan eiseachadta.

Nuair a d’éirigh rialtas na Breataine as a n-iarrachtaí Pól a eiseachadadh in 2000, shocraigh sé i California lena bhean Mheiriceánach Joanna Volz agus d’oibrigh mar shiúinéir i gceantar Bhá San Francisco.

Togann cás Phóil agus iarchimí polaitiúla eile neart ceisteanna. Aon bhliain déag ó shiniú Chomhaontú Aoine an Chéasta agus ceithre bliana i ndiaidh iarracht teipthe ar reachtaíocht le ceist ‘an lucht teite’ a réiteach, tá siadsan i Stormont, na mandairíní i Whitehall agus rialtas Átha Cliath chomh fada siar ó réiteach is atá siar ann.

In 2005, bhí aontú tosaigh ar reachtaíocht a chuimsigh maithiúnas do bhaill de fhórsaí stáit na Breataine a raibh baint acu i maraithe stáit agus claonpháirtíocht le dronga báis aontachtacha. Tréigeadh an reachtaíocht seo i láthair chur i gcoinne ó theaghlaigh a bhí i mbun feachtais ar son na fírinne faoi ról na Breataine i mbás a rúnsearca. Tá aimhrialtacht tugtha ar cheist ‘an lucht teite’ ach, cosúil le neart cásanna eile, i ndáiríre tá polaiteoirí na bunaíochta ag seachaint na ceiste.

Cuireann éirígí beannacht dlúthpháirtíochta chun Pól agus Joanna san am anacair seo. Fiú ag an phointe mall seo, ba chóir ligean dó filleadh ar a theaghlach i SAM chun go mbeadh siad ábalta leanúint leis an saol atá tógtha acu dóibh féin.


Pól Brennan – A Victim of Political Inaction

After a gruelling flight from a Texan detention centre in the USA to Shannon airport, Pól Brennan, shackled and cold, arrived on Irish soil for the first time in 25 years last Friday [August 21].

The Irish republican ex-POW from west Belfast, who fought a vigorous campaign against extradition from the US has spent the past 18 months in a detention centre for the petty reason of having an expired work permit.

Pól is one of a number of Irish former political prisoners targeted in the US for deportation because of their active opposition to the British occupation of the Six Counties.

An Irish republican all his adult life, Pól fled the North of Ireland after a daring escape with 37 other republicans from the H-Blocks in 1983.

He went on the run to North America and, during the 1990s, was incarcerated in jails in the US while fighting extradition.

After the British government dropped its attempts to extradite Pól in 2000, he settled in California with his US wife Joanna Volz and worked as a carpenter in the San Francisco Bay area.

Pól’s case and that of other former political prisoners raises many questions. Eleven years after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement and four years after a failed attempt at legislation to resolve the issue of the ‘On the Runs’, those in Stormont, the mandarins at Whitehall and the Dublin government are still no closer to a resolution.

In 2005, legislation was initially agreed upon that included an amnesty for members of British state forces who were involved in state killings and collusion with unionist death squads. This legislation was dropped in the face of strong opposition from families who have been campaigning for the truth about Britain’s involvement in the deaths of their loved ones. The issue of the On the Runs has been called an anomaly, but, similar to many other issues, it is a case of establishment politicians burying their heads in the sand.

éirígí sends solidarity greetings to Pól and Joanna at what must be a difficult time. Even at this late stage, he should be allowed to return to his family in the US so that they can get on with the life they have built for themselves.

Seolann éirígí Chéad Bhorradh ‘Níl do Liospóin 2’
25/08/09

(English version follows.)

Sheol éirígí an chéad bhorradh i bhfeachtas Níl do Liospóin 2 an pháirtí inné (Dé Luain) lasmuigh de gheataí Theach Laighean agus d’oifigí an AE i lárchathair Átha Cliath.


Le cur i gcuimhne do bhunaíocht na Sé Chondae Fichead nach bhféidir leo cor a chur chun bua sa reifreann agus le dara díomua do Chonradh Liospóin a spreagadh, tá póstaer déanta ag éirígí faoin teideal ‘Never Mind the B****cks – It is the Same Treaty’.

Tá an feachtas póstaeir bunaithe ar chlúdach cheirnín clúiteach na Sex Pistols, agus dáilfear na céadta póstaer ar fud fad na Sé Chondae Fichead roimh athrith Chonradh Liospóin ar 2ú Deireadh Fómhair.

Seoladh an feachtas le píosa ildaite taibh-ealaíona, le beirt ‘punc’ éirígí agus gníomhaígh eile éirígí ag dáileadh bileogaí ar dhaoine den phobal ag dul thart.

Arsa urlabhraí éirígí Daith Mac an Mhaistír, a bhí ag an seoladh: “Níos luaithe sa bhliain, d’eisigh rialtas na Sé Chondae Fichead sraith urrús mar a deirtear leo, a dhréachtaigh haiceanna AE, in iarracht foscadh polaitiúil éigin a chur ar fáil dá mian reifreann an Chonartha a athrith. Ní raibh sna ‘hurrúis’ seo ach bolscaireacht pholaitiúil ar iomad cheisteanna bréige gan baint acu le Conradh Liospóin é féin. Leis an duilleog fige seo de fhoscadh, mhaígh Brian Cowen a chinneadh diúltú do thuairim dhaonlathach na dtoghdóirí sna Sé Chondae Fichead.

“Tá an póstear seo déanta ag éirígí le cur i gcuimhne do dhaoine gur, d’ainneon na haibhéile agus cor ar fad maidir le hurrúis Chonradh Liospóin mar a deirtear leo, gur é an Conradh ceannann céanna a mbeidh muid ag tabhairt vóta air mí Dheireadh Fómhair agus a dhiúltaigh muid dó mí Mheithimh 2008.

“Níor athraíodh aon fhocal, camóg ná lánstad i dtéasc Chonradh Liospóin. Tá bunaíocht na Sé Chondae Fichead ag dúnadh súile go callánach agus go sotalach ar mhian daonlathach na ndaoine trí reifreann Liospóin a athrith.

“Tá éirígí muiníneach, d’ainneon na reachtaireachta uafáis ar fad ón luch ar son Liospóin, go dtabharfaidh na toghdóirí ‘Níl’ iomráiteach arís eile ar 2ú Deireadh Fómhair.”





éirígí Launches First Wave of No to Lisbon 2

éirígí launched the first wave of the party’s No to Lisbon 2 campaign yesterday (Monday) outside the gates of Leinster House and the EU offices in Dublin city centre.

To remind the Twenty-Six County establishment that they cannot spin their way to a referendum victory and encourage a second defeat of the Lisbon Treaty, éirígí has produced a poster entitled Never Mind the B****cks – It is the Same Treaty.

The poster campaign is themed on the famous Sex Pistols album cover, and hundreds of the posters will be distributed across the Twenty-Six Counties in the lead up to the re-run of the Lisbon Treaty on October 2.

The campaign was launched using a colourful piece of street theatre by two éirígí ‘punks’, while other éirígí activists distributed leaflets to passing members of the public.



éirígí spokesperson Daithí Mac an Mhaistír, who was at the launch, said: “Earlier this year, the Twenty-Six County government issued a series of so-called guarantees drafted by EU hacks, in an attempt to provide some political cover for their desire to re-run the Treaty referendum. These ‘guarantees’ amounted to nothing more than political propaganda on a variety of bogus issues unconnected to the Lisbon Treaty itself. With this fig-leaf of a cover, Brian Cowen announced his decision to reject the democratic verdict of the electorate in the Twenty-Six Counties.



“éirígí has produced this poster to remind people that, despite all the hype and spin surrounding the so-called Lisbon Treaty guarantees, what we are actually being asked to vote on in October is exactly the same treaty as the one that was rejected in June 2008.

“Not a single word, comma or full stop has been changed in the text of the Lisbon Treaty. The Twenty-Six County establishment is blatantly and arrogantly ignoring the democratic wishes of the people by re-running the Lisbon referendum.

“éirígí is confident that, despite all of the scare-mongering by the Pro-Lisbon camp, the electorate will deliver a resounding No once again on October 2.”

Aontaíonn Pobail Ghaeltachta in Éadan An Bhoird Snip Nua
23/08/09

(English version follows.)

Thit cuid mhaith cruinnithe amach i gceantracha Gaeltachta le coicís anuas, agus níos mó á mbeartú, ina dtáinig muintir na háite le chéile le cur in éadan na ngiorruithe molta ar chaiteachas Gaeltachta i dtuairisc Cholm Mhic Chárthaigh, ceannaire An Bhoird Snip Nua.

Tharla an chéad chruinniú ar 4ú Lúnasa, nuair a d’fhreastail breis agus 200 duine ar chruinniú i nGaoth Dobhair, condae Dhún na nGall. Mná tí [iadsan a sholáthraíonn lóistín do dhaltaí Gaeltachta i rith an tsamhraidh] agus ionadaithe ó na coláistí samhraidh a bhí i bhformhór an tslua, iad ag nochtadh a n-uafás faoin mholadh deireadh a chur le Scéim na bhFoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge.

Is é Scéim na bhFoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge an deontas a thugtar do theaghlaigh Ghaeltachta a choinníonn daltaí atá ag freastal ar choláistí samhraidh. Tá ról na dteaghlach seo bunriachtanach do rath na gcoláistí agus cuireann go mór le taithí na míltí dalta a fhreastalaíonn ar na cúrsaí gach bliain.

An oíche dár gcionn [5ú Lúnasa], d’fhreastail níos mó ná 200 duine ar chruinniú ar an Cheathrú Rua, condae na Gaillimhe. Phléigh painéal cainteoirí an iarmhairt shóisialta agus eacnamúil a bheadh ag na giorruithe molta ar phobail Ghaeltachta agus ar an Ghaeilge i gcoitinne. Phléigh muintir na háite chomh maith an dóigh a rachadh giorruithe níos leithne, cosúil leis an scéim SCTT agus iompar tuaithe, i bhfeidhm ar phobail Ghaeltachta.

Seachtain ina dhiaidh, bhí cruinniú eile ar an Cheathrú Rua, eagraithe ag Comhchoiste na gColáistí Samhraidh [CONCOS]. Arís, chuir mná tí áitiúla a bhfearg in iúl faoi na giorruithe molta.

Is cónascadh é CONCOS de 47 coláiste samhraidh. Tá an argóint déanta acu go dtáirgeann an €5 milliún [£4.3 milliún] a chaitheann rialtas na Sé Chondae Fichead ar Scéim na bhFoghlaimeoirí timpeall €50 milliún [£42.7 milliún] don eacnamaíocht áitiúil sa bhliain, araon le breis agus 2,000 post sealadach agus breis agus 60 post buan a chruthú.

Ní briathra díomhaoine atá ag teacht as na cruinnithe go dtí seo. I nGaoth Dobhair, bunaíodh coiste de mná ag seasamh don 13 coláiste samhraidh sa cheantar, agus táthar ag tosnú ar phlean gnímh a eagrú. Ar an chuma chéanna, bunaíodh grúpa gnímh i ndiaidh an chéad chruinnithe i gConamara – An ‘G-Fórsa’ a thugtar air go háitiúil.

Tá na grúpaí seo ag iarraidh ar a bpobal aontú le heagraíochtaí Gaeilge lasmuigh den Ghaeltacht, agus tá siad ag eagrú tuilleadh cruinnithe timpeall na gceantracha Gaeltachta.

Tá agóid beartaithe acu freisin ag an Roinn Gnóthaí Pobail, Tuaithe agus Gaeltachta sna Forbacha, Conamara, ar 2ú Meán Fómhair agus tá sé ar intinn acu agóid a dhéanamh ag Teach Laighean roimh i bhfad.

Chruthaigh CONCOS achainí ar líne chomh maith ar son chaomhnú Scéim na bhFoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/gaeltacht-future/

Arsa urlabhraí éirígí Daithí Mac an Mháistír: “Tá na cruinnithe sna Gaeltachtaí ina gcomhartha mhaith den mhíshásamh a mhothaíonn na pobail seo faoi na hionsaithe molta orthu.

“Má chuirtear tuairisc an Bhoird Snip i bfeidhm beidh sé ina bhuille mhillteach do phobail tuaithe go ginearálta agus do phobail Ghaeltachta go háirithe. Throid muintir na Gaeltachta go daingean diongbháilte áfach lena slí beatha a chaomhnú le ligean do seo tarlú.”

Lean Daithí: “I mbliana cuimhnímid 40 bliain ó bhunú Ghluaiseacht Chearta Sibhialta na Gaeltachta. An uair úd, thug daoine áitiúla ar dhún stát na Sé Chondae Fichead a súile orthu, thug siad na sráideanna orthu leis an Ghaeltacht a chosaint.

“Inniu, tá an dearcadh céanna de dhíth má tá muid chun seasamh in aghaidh an dúnmharaithe chultúrtha atá molta ag Colm Mac Cárthaigh. Is mithid do mhuintir na Gaeltachta teachtaireacht an Chadhnaigh a athshealbhú: ’Sí an Ghaeilge Athghabháil na hÉireann agus is í Athghabháil na hÉireann slánú na Gaeilge’.”



Gaeltacht Communities Unite Against An Bord Snip Nua

The past fortnight has seen several public meetings take place in the Gaeltacht areas, with more in the pipeline, where residents have come together to oppose the proposed cuts in Gaeltacht spending contained within the report of Colm McCarthy, head of An Bord Snip Nua.

The first meeting took place on August 4, when over 200 people attended a meeting in Gaoth Dobhair, County Donegal. The meeting was mostly made up of mná tí [those who provide accommodation for Gaeltacht students in the summer months] and representatives of the summer colleges, expressing their dismay over the recommendation to end Scéim na bhFoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge.

Scéim na bhFoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge [the Irish Language Learners Scheme] is the grant given to Gaeltacht households who accommodate students attending the summer colleges. The role played by these families is essential to the success of the colleges and adds greatly to the experience of the thousands of students who attend the courses each year.

The following night [August 5], over 200 people attended a meeting in an Cheathrú Rua, County Galway. A panel of speakers at that event discussed the social and economic impact the proposed cuts would have on Gaeltacht communities and on the Irish language in general. Local people also discussed how broader cuts, such as the REPS scheme and rural transport, would affect Gaeltacht communities.

A week later, another meeting was held in an Cheathrú Rua, organised by Comhchoiste na gColáistí Samhraidh (the Federation of Summer Colleges, CONCOS). Again, local mná tí expressed their anger over the proposed cuts.

CONCOS is a federation of 47 summer colleges. It has argued that the €5 million [£4.3 million] spent by the Twenty-Six County government on the Irish Language Learners Scheme generates around €50 million [£42.7 million] for the local economy per year, as well creating over 2,000 temporary jobs and over 60 permanent positions.

The meetings so far have been much more than mere talking shops. In Gaoth Dobhair, a committee made up of women representing the 13 summer colleges in the area was set up, and has begun drawing up an action plan. Similarly, an action group was set up following the first Connemara meeting – known locally as the ‘G-Force’.

These groups have called for their communities to unite with Irish-language organisations outside the Gaeltacht, and have also organised more meetings throughout the Gaeltacht regions.

They have also planned a protest at the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs in Na Forbacha, County Galway, on September 2 and also intend to protest at Leinster House in the near future.

CONCOS have also set up an online petition calling for the preservation of the Irish Language Learners Scheme: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/gaeltacht-future/

éirígí spokesperson Daithí Mac An Mháistír said: “The meetings organised in the Gaeltacht areas are representative of the discontent these communities feel about the proposed attacks against them.

“If the Bord Snip report is implemented it will be a devastating blow to rural communities in general and Gaeltacht communities in particular. However, Gaeltacht people have fought too long and hard to preserve their way of life to allow this to happen.”

Daithí continued: “This year marks 40 years since the formation of the Gaeltacht Civil Rights Movement. Then, local people who had been ignored by the Twenty-Six County state, took to the streets to preserve the Gaeltacht.

“Today, the same attitude is needed if we are to resist the cultural homicide proposed by Colm McCarthy. It is time for the people of the Gaeltacht to reclaim the message of Máirtín Ó Cadhain: ’Sí an Ghaeilge Athghabháil na hÉireann agus is í Athghabháil na hÉireann slánú na Gaeilge’.”

Tugann Oibrithe Phort BÁC Dúshlán do Bhatalach MTL
19/08/09

(English version follows.)

Tá oibrithe ag Port Bhaile Átha Cliath amuigh ar stailc le seacht seachtain anuas as siocair iarrachtaí á bhfostóirí iomarcaíocht éigeantach agus giorruithe i bpá agus coinníollacha a fhorhur ar an lucht oibre.

Ag croílár an aighnis tá comhlacht bunaithe sa Bhreatain, Peel Ports, a chuaigh i mbun oibriú an chríochfhoirt go mall anuraidh. Roimh chúpla mí, chinn Peel Ports Group ar 19 oibrí a dhéanamh iomarcach i muinín saobhthrialacha inniúlachta. D’éiligh na trialacha seo ar oibrithe a scileanna a léiriú, ina measc bhí úsáid innealra nach bhfuair cuid acu traenáil le bheith á n-oibriú. Fuair an fhoireann a bhí fágtha litreacha ón chomhlacht ag insint dóibh go raibh orthu conarthaí nua a shíniú ag glacadh le giorruithe pá idir 14 agus 18 faoin chéad nó dul i ngleic le briseadh.

Ag tabhairt aghaidh ar ionsaí trom ar a gcoinníollacha oibre, chaith na hoibrithe a n-uirlisí síos agus chuaigh ar stailc.

Ó shin d’eagraigh na hoibrithe agus d’éirigh leo tacaíocht a shlógadh ó phobail áitiúla, ó cheardchumainn agus ó pháirtithe polaitiúla. Bhí cúpla mórshiúl agóide ann, an ceann is déanaí 10ú Lúnasa leis na céadta de lucht taca i láthair. Dé Luain [17ú Lúnasa] ghlac na hoibrithe an agóid isteach chuig croílár cheantar airgeadais Átha Cliath agus iad ag déanamh agóide lasmuigh de fhoirgneamh Deutsche Bank, ar leo scoir 49 faoin chéad sa Peel Ports Group.

Is é freagra Peel Ports Group ar an stailc ná bristeoirí stailce a thabhairt isteach ar an suíomh agus comhlacht slándála a fhostú, Control Risks, a fheidhmíonn san Iaráic agus san Afganastáin ar mhaithe le fórsaí forghabhála Sasana agus SAM. Fostaíonn Control Risks iarphearsana míleata na Breataine don chuid is mó, iarbhaill de reisimint mhíchlúiteach an SAS san áireamh.

Ag caint ar an stailc, dúirt cathaoirleach éirígí Brian Leeson: “Tacaíonn éirígí go hiomlán leis na hoibrithe ina stailc. Níor chóir ligean do chomhlacht, dúchásach ná eachtrach, iompar sa bhealach ina bhfuil Peel Ports Group. Ag am nuair atá pá agus coinníollacha oibrithe faoi ionsaí ag stát na Sé Chondae Fichead, tá sé iomlán doghlactha gur féidir le comhlacht phríobhaideach ionsaí a dhéanamh ar phá agus ar choinníollacha oibrithe freisin.

“Tá cinneadh cróga glactha ag na hoibrithe ar stailc ag Port Bhaile Átha Cliath agus is cúis misnigh é pobail lucht oibre ón lárchathair thuaidh agus theas a fheiceáil ag tacú leo ina streachailt. Bhí an Port Thuaidh mar láthair do cheann de na himeachtaí is clúití i nua-stair na hÉireann – Frithdhúnadh 1913. Cé go bhfuil na huimhreacha inniu níos lú, tá an prionsabal fós mar an gcéanna; aithniú na gceardchumann, agus chearta oibrithe ar choinnoíllacha oibre agus ar phá cothrom.”

Lean Brian: “An chomparáid eile ó 1913 ná bagairt an fhoréigin ag teacht ón chomhlacht i bhfoirm á ngnó slándála príobháidigh. Níl áit in Éirinn do chomhlacht a fhostaíonn amhais le forghabháil na hIaráice agus na hAfganastáine a mhaoirseacht. Chonaic muid le gníomhaíochtaí IRMS i Maigh Eo cad é a tharlaíonn nuair a thugtar cead an cinn do chomhlachtaí slándála príobháideacha.

“Bhí gníomhaígh éirígí ar an talamh ag tacú leis na hagóidí agus leanfaidh linn go dtí do ngéillfear éilimh na n-oibrithe.”

I measc imeachtaí le teacht ag baint leis an feachtas tá:


Dé Sathairn 22ú Lúnasa, 8in: Imeacht shóisialta, Seabank House, Bóthar an Phoirt Thoir, BÁC 3.
Dé Luain 24ú Lúnasa, 10.30am: Mórshiúl agóide go MTL. Bailigh ag Ray’s Shop, Bóthar Sheáin Moore, An Rinn, BÁC 2, nó ag Scoil Iosáif, Br an Phoirt Thoir, BÁC 3.

Le haghaigh tuilleadh eolais ar an feachtas, logáil ar www.mtldockers.com



Dublin Port Workers Defy MTL Bully-Boy Tactics

Workers at Dublin Port have been out on strike for the previous seven weeks over attempts by their employers to impose compulsory redundancies and cuts in the pay and conditions of the workforce.

At the centre of the dispute is British-based company Peel Ports, who took over the running of the Port terminal late last year. Within months, Peel Ports Group decided to make 19 workers redundant based on spurious ‘aptitude tests’. These tests required employees to demonstrate their skills, including using machinery that some of them had received no training in operating. The remaining staff received letters from the company telling them they must sign new contracts agreeing to pay cuts of between 14 and 18 per cent or face dismissal.

Faced with a serious assault on their working conditions, the workers downed tools and went out on strike.

Since then the workers have organised and managed to mobilise support from local communities, trade unions and political parties. Several protest marches have been held, the most recent, on August 10, was attended by several hundred supporters. Monday [August 17] also saw the workers bring their protest into the heart of Dublin’s financial district as they protested outside the premises of Deutsche Bank, who own a 49 per cent stake in Peel Ports Group.

Peel Ports Group have reacted to the strike by introducing scab labour to the site and employed a security company, Control Risks, who operate in Iraq and Afghanistan on behalf of the US and British occupation forces. Control Risks employ mainly ex-British military figures, including former members of the notorious SAS regiment.

Commenting on the strike, éirígí chairperson Brian Leeson said: “éirígí fully supports the workers in their strike action. No company, foreign or indigenous, should be allowed to carry on in the manner in which Peel Ports Group have. At a time when the wages and conditions of workers are being attacked by the Twenty-Six County state, it is completely unacceptable that a private company is allowed to attack workers wages and conditions also.

“The workers out on strike at Dublin Port have taken a courageous decision and it is heartening to see the working class communities of the north and south inner-cities supporting them in their struggle. The North Wall was the scene to one of the most famous events in modern Irish history – The Lockout of 1913. Although the numbers involved today may be smaller, the principle remains the same; recognition of unions, and the rights of workers to fair pay and working conditions.”

Brian continued: “The other parallel from 1913 is the threat of violence emanating from the company in the form of their private security firm. A company which employs mercenaries to oversee the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan has no place in Ireland. We have seen from the activities of IRMS in Mayo what happens when private security companies are allowed a free rein.

“éirígí activists have been on the ground supporting the protests and will continue to do so until we see the granting of the workers’ demands.”

Future events connected with the campaign include:


Saturday, August 22, 8pm: Social event, Seabank House, East Wall Road, Dublin 3.
Monday, August 24, 10.30am: Protest march to MTL. Meet at Ray’s Shop , Sean Moore Road , Ringsend , Dublin 2 or St. Joseph’s School, East Wall Road, Dublin 3.

For more information on the campaign, log on to www.mtldockers.com

Meeting in Belfast Recalls Internment Past and Present


11/08/09

Following two successful events in Enniskillen and Dublin marking the thirty-eighth anniversary of the introduction of internment, éirígí Bhéal Feirste held a public meeting to mark the 38th anniversary of internment in Conway Mill in Belfast.

Upwards of 150 people packed into the Conway Education Centre on Sunday [August 9] to hear speakers Ruhal Ahmed, Pádraigín Drinan, Caitríona Duffy and Gerry McDonnell. Chaired by éirígí national vice-chairperson Rab Jackson, the talk was both thought-provoking and emotional.


éirígí spokesperson Seán Mac Brádaigh said: “Internment without trial in 1971 left a mark on nationalist communities across the North that lingers to this day. But it is important to remember that internment is not merely an historical event. The British government is still denying people the right to a fair trial, in the Six Counties and elsewhere. 28-day detention is a de facto form of internment."

To view the video recordings of the event clink this link to the report on the main website.

Cáineann éirígí bearta imeaglú an PSNI i gcoinne gníomhaíoch polaitiúla Thír Chonaill.
09/08/09

Cháin úrlabhraí éirígí Thír Chonaill Mícheál Mac Giolla Easbuig Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart na hÉireann (PSNI) de bharr a bhfeachtais leanúnach de chiapadh agus imeaglú ar ghníomhaigh pholaitiúla, baill éirígí san áireamh, atá i gcoinne forghabhála leanúnach na Breataine ar na sé contae. D’iarr sé arís ar Shinn Féin agus ar an SDLP a gcuid tacaíochta don PSNI a tharraingt siar.



Bhí Mac Giolla Easbuig ag labhairt tar éis teagmhais a tharla Dé Sathairn in Inis Ceithleann nuair a stopadh roinnt baill d’éirígí agus ceistíodh iad ag an PSNI maidir lena rannpháirtíocht in agóid shíochánta taobh amuigh de dhún baile an PSNI. Cheistigh an PSNI iad freisin maidir lena mballraíocht in éirígí agus a mbainteacht le gníomhachtaí polaitiúla eile don pháirtí.

D’eagraigh éirígí Fhear Manach an léirsiú chun comóradh a dhéanamh ar 38 bliana ó thugadh imthreonnú isteach sna sé contae agus chun agóid i gcoinne reachtaíocht choinneála 28 lá a úsáid agus i gcoinne úsáid philéar phlaisteacha. I measc iad siúd a stop agus a cheistigh an PSNI bhí beirt gníomhaíoch de chuid éirígí ann as Tír Chonaill.

Dúirt Mac Giolla Easbuig: “Tá an iarracht is déanaí den PSNI imeaglú a chur ar ár ngníomhaithe páirtí agus daoine eile atá i gcoinne forghabhála leanúnach na Breataine ar chuid dár dtír do-ghlactha.”

Chur sé leis: “Dúirt na páirtithe polaitiúla a shínigh le Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta agus atá tar éis dílseachta a thabhairt don PSNI linn go raibh “tús nua don phóilíneacht” anseo. Dúirt siad linn go raibh deireadh leis na laethanta sin de leatroim ar chearta daonna agus de chiapadh polaitiúil agus cur faoi chos.”

“Le míonna beaga anuas, tá an bréag sin nochta le feiceáil ag cách, toisc gur thugadh isteach coinneáil 28 lá agus toisc gur scaoileadh piléir phlaisteacha ag agóideoirí síochánta arís. Tá an PSNI agus arm na Breataine tar éis treisiú a dhéanamh le déanaí ar a mbrú faoi agus imeaglú ar ghníomhaithe polaitiúla. Tá baill éirígí san áireamh agus gníomhaithe polaitiúla eile ina bhfuil sé de mhisneach iontu seasamh suas agus cur i gcoinne forghabháil na Breataine ar ár dtír agus na leatroim ar chearta daonna déanta ag an PSNI agus arm na Breataine, An é seo an “tús nua”ar phóilíneacht a bhí siad ag labhairt faoi?”

“Caithfidh ionadaithe na bpáirtithe sin anseo i dTír Chonaill miniúcháin poiblí a thabhairt ar na fáthanna gur fhan siad ciúin d’ainneoin brú faoi leantach agus leatroim ar chearta daonna ag an PSNI. Caithfidh siad a bheith soiléir an dtugann siad tacaíocht do na bearta sin, an iarracht is déanaí on PSNI chun gníomhaithe polaitiúla as Tír Chonaill a chiapadh agus imeaglú a chur orthu san áireamh, agus má síleann siad go bhfuil a leithéad de ghníomhaíochta le fórsa póilíneachta, mar a thugtar orthu, inghlactha dóibh.”

Chuir sé i gcrích: “Tá an t-am imithe le fada do Shinn Féin agus an SDLP chun admháil go bhfuil a n-aidhm mar dhea deireadh a chur leis an RUC i bhfoirm an PSNI teipthe. Caithfidh siad stop a chur le clúdach polaitiúil a thabhairt do bhearta diansmachtúla agus póilíneacht pholaitiúil an PSNI agus caithfidh siad a gcuid baill a tharraingt siar ón mBórd Póilíneachta agus comhpháirtíocht Póilíneachta mar bheart práinne.”

éirígí slam PSNI intimidation tactics against Donegal political activists

09/08/09

Tír Chonaill éirígí spokesperson Micheál Cholm MacGiolla Easbuig has slammed the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) for their continued campaign of harassment and intimidation of political activists, including éirígí members, who oppose the continued British occupation of the six-counties. He has also repeated his call to Sinn Féin and the SDLP to withdraw their support for the PSNI.

MacGiolla Easbuig was speaking following an incident on Saturday in Enniskillen where a number of éirígí activists were stopped and questioned by the PSNI about their participation in a peaceful protest outside the towns PSNI barracks. They were also questioned about their membership of éirígí and their involvement in other political activities for the party.

The demonstration was organised by éirígí Fear Manach to commemorate the 38th anniversary of the introduction of internment in the six-counties and to protest against the use by the PSNI of 28 day detention legislation as well as their continued use of plastic bullets. Amongst those who were stopped and questioned by the PSNI were two éirígí activists from Donegal.

MacGiolla Easbuig said: “This latest attempt by the PSNI to intimidate our party activists and others who continue to oppose the ongoing British occupation of part of our country is unacceptable.”

He added: “Those political parties that signed up to the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) and who have given their allegiance to the PSNI told us that a ‘new beginning to policing’ was now here. They told us the days of human rights abuses and political harrassment and repression were over.”

“Over recent months, that lie has been clearly exposed for all to see, as 28 day detentions have been introduced and as plastic bullets have been fired at peaceful protesters once more. The PSNI and British army have also intensified in recent times its repression and intimidation of political activists. This has included éirígí members and other political activists who have dared to stand up and oppose the British occupation of our country and the human rights abuses committed by the PSNI and the British army. Is this the “new beginning” to policing they were speaking of?”

“The representatives of those parties here in Donegal need to publicly explain why they have remained silent in the face of continuing repression and human rights abuses by the PSNI. They need to make clear whether they support such tactics, including the latest attempt by the PSNI to harass and intimidate political activists from Donegal, and whether they believe such activity by a so-called police force is acceptable to them.”

He concluded: “It is long past time for Sinn Féin and the SDLP to admit that their professed aim of reforming the RUC out of existence has failed miserably. They must cease giving political cover to the repressive tactics and political policing of the PSNI and they need to withdraw their members from the Policing Board and Policing partnerships as a matter of urgency.”

Oppose Britain’s State of Repression

06/08/09

In the early hours of August 9 1971, 400 Irish citizens were woken to the sound of armoured jeeps, smashing glass and hysterically abusive British soldiers invading the privacy of their homes.

Internment, the system of legalised injustice habitually used by Britain and its Irish allies to keep the status quo secure, was on.

What followed in Palace Barracks and other holding centres across the North was later lambasted by the European Court of Human Rights. Violence and the threat of violence was the order of the day for the majority of vulnerable internees, while a select few were selected for a more systematic form of torture involving being dropped from helicopters, white noise and sleep deprivation. On the streets, the British army went on the rampage, murdering and maiming civilians at will, most notoriously in the Ballymurphy Massacre in the Upper Springfield area of Belfast.

In March of this year, the British government began using its 28-day detention legislation in the Six Counties. Under the legislation, citizens can be held in interrogation centres for up to 28 days without charge or recourse to a trial. Among those subjected to this treatment so far in the North was a 17-year-old boy.

In Belfast yesterday [Wednesday], 200 people gathered on the Andersonstown Road for the annual vigil for the victims of plastic and rubber bullets. This year sees the 25th anniversary of the murder of John Downes, shot dead at point blank range with a plastic bullet by the RUC during a peaceful demonstration on the same road. In all, 17 people have been killed by plastic and rubber bullets since their introduction in the North in the 1970s.
It is worth recalling their names, and their innocence:

Francis Rowntree, aged 11, shot in the head by the British army

Tobias Molloy, aged 18, shot in the chest by the British army

Thomas Friel, aged 21, shot in the head by the British army

Stephen Geddis, aged 10, shot in the head by the British army

Brian Stewart, aged 13, shot in the head by the British army

Michael Donnelly, aged 21, shot in the head by the British army

Paul Whitters, aged 15, shot in the chest by the RUC

Julie Livingstone, aged 14, shot in the head by the British army

Carole Ann Kelly, aged 12, shot in the head by the British army

Henry Duffy, aged 45, shot in the head by the British army

Nora McCabe, aged 32, shot in the head by the RUC

Peter Doherty, aged 36, shot in the head by the British army

Peter McGuinness, aged 36, shot in the chest by the British army

Stephen McConomy, aged 11, shot in the head by the British army

John Downes, aged 22, shot in the chest by the RUC

Keith White, aged 20, shot in the head by the RUC

Séamus Duffy, 15, shot in the chest by the RUC

On July 13, the PSNI opened fire on the residents of Ardoyne in north Belfast with plastic bullets, injuring 10 people. The force currently has a stockpile of at least 50,000 rounds of this deadly weapon and, as was witnessed in Ardoyne, they are more than prepared to use them.

The British government remains wedded to repression in its Irish colony. Along with 28-day detention and plastic bullets, the PSNI has been equipped with assault rifles, CS gas and Tasers. MI5 has its largest base outside of London in north Down and is primarily tasked with intelligence gathering on Irish republicans. Non-jury Diplock courts remain in operation. The British army has 5,000 troops garrisoned in the Six Counties with unique powers, while the Special Reconnaissance Regiment is, no doubt, snooping around in a neighbourhood near you.

The Six Counties is not a democratic or fundamentally altered entity. It remains an occupied territory, to be held by any means necessary by the British government.

This weekend, éirígí will be holding demonstrations in Dublin and Enniskillen and a public meeting in Belfast to expose and oppose Britain’s role in Ireland.

On Saturday [August 8], there will be protests at the British Embassy in Dublin and at Enniskillen PSNI Barracks.

The following day, a public meeting on Belfast’s Falls Road will hear from former Guantanamo Bay detainee Ruhal Ahmed, Duffy family representative Caitriona Duffy, former Long Kesh internee and H-Block escaper Gerry McDonnell and human rights lawyer Pádraigín Drinan, who represented the hooded men.

The use of plastic bullets and 28-day detention are not signs of a normal or healthy society. The policies and tactics used to sustain the Six County are, in fact, deeply abnormal. All those with an interest in human rights should oppose them – get active at the weekend.

Palestine – Detention, Annexation and Ethnic Cleansing the Order of the Day
06/08/09

At 3am on Monday morning [August 3], 200 Israeli soldiers poured into the small Palestinian village of Bil’in in the West Bank.

The soldiers raided a number of houses and arrested seven Palestinians, four of them teenagers, as well as an international activist from the United States.

The Israeli forces then threw sound bombs at residents who came to protest against the regular night raids, and maintained a presence in the area for several hours – ensuring that locals would once again be deprived of any rest or reprieve from the zionist occupation.

In similar acts of repression, 14 other Palestinians were arrested in different parts of the West Bank at the same time. Ten of them were seized from their homes in Bethlehem, Ramallah and Qalqiliya, despite the Israeli government previously stating that those areas had been handed over to total Palestinian Authority control.

Two days earlier, Israeli occupation forces arrested 154 Palestinian workers for “illegally residing in Israel”. Several of these ‘illegal’ workers were detained, while the rest were ‘deported’ into areas nominally administered by the PA.

On Sunday morning [August 2], Israel evicted over 50 Palestinians from Jerusalem [Al Quds]. Israeli police and border guards stormed into the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in the east of the city and drove two families from their homes at gunpoint, not letting them bring any of their belongings with them. The Israeli forces then destroyed a number of tents near the two homes and arrested 20 solidarity activists who were present in the area.

In the Silwan area of east Jerusalem, around 90 homes that lie near the Old City are due to be demolished. They are to be destroyed ostensibly because they were built without permits from Israeli authorities, although a number of them were built before Israeli forces occupied the region.

It is almost impossible for a Palestinian to get a building permit from Israel’s municipal authorities. While this situation has dragged on for years, in recent months the current Israeli government of Binyamin Netanyahu has consistently expressed its desire that Jerusalem be the united capital of a jewish, zionist state.

In this context, the ongoing home demolitions and evictions can be seen for what they are. According to Hatem Abdel Qader, a senior Fatah official in Jerusalem: “We discovered recently that there is a plan that is submitted to the local Israeli committee for construction by the Elad settlement group to establish a settlement outpost on six dunums [1.5 acres] of lands of Al-Yemen neighbourhood in Silwan with 60 homes. What is really astonishing is that the plan does not fulfil the legal conditions required by the municipality, particularly proof of ownership of the land… this proves that there is clear collusion with the settler organisations to confiscate homes and lands especially in Silwan and eventually Judaizing all of the holy city.”

The evictions, demolitions and settlement building are all illegal under international law, but, aside from a few words of disapproval, the international community has done nothing to intervene in the matter.

With Fatah’s national conference being held in Bethlehem from Tuesday to today [Thursday], the actions of the zionist state might well force the party to reconsider the realities of the peace process and the divisions within Palestinian society. A united Palestinian people is the biggest threat the zionist project could ever face.

US Speaks Out of Both Sides of its Mouth on Honduras
05/08/09

“We certainly think that if we were choosing a model government and a model leader for countries of the region to follow, that the current leadership in Venezuela would not be a particular model. If that is the lesson that President Zelaya has learned from this episode, that would be a good lesson.”

With these words, US assistant secretary of state Philip Crowley betrayed his administration’s real position vis-à-vis the recent coup d’état in Honduras against the democratically-elected government of Manuel Zelaya.

While feeling obliged on the one hand to appeal to notions of ‘democracy’ and publicly state that they “don't recognise Roberto Micheletti as the president of Honduras… we recognise Manuel Zelaya” [Ian Kelly, US state department spokesperson], from the US administration’s perspective, the real subtext to the whole Honduran crisis is as follows: the political tide continues to turn in Latin America – this is a bad thing for US interests and prospects – it therefore must be arrested and stopped.

In the context of US economic, military and political influence being at an all-time low globally, what these mixed-messages reflect is simply a US administration that needs to project a less overtly imperialist and anti-democratic policy. Where, in times gone by, the US would have loudly proclaimed a coup, any coup, in Latin America as having been necessary to re-establish ‘democracy’ or resist the influence of ‘communist despotism’, given the times, the US is now somewhat constrained in what it can say and do. Given the extent of support that the deposed president Zelaya commands, the US has had no option but to publicly adopt a position that is supportive of his re-instatement.

To some, US ‘support’ for Zelaya is reflective of a change in policy towards Latin America that came with the ascent of Barack Obama to the office of president. This perception sees the US of today as a more benign force on the world stage. This is, however, to fundamentally misinterpret both the politics of Obama and the US system, and the wider predicament the US finds itself in.

éirígí made its position on Obama clear at the time of his election when the party said that, “there is nothing to suggest that Obama will address the inadequacies and crimes of the global system of ‘business for private profit through private control of banking, land and industry’ that the US stands at the head of. The poverty and politics of the US are essential by-products of the capitalist socio-economic model that reigns supreme in that country.”

In the realm of international relations, “Obama’s stance on foreign affairs clearly shows the way he envisages the US will interact on the world stage: his policies on Afghanistan and Iraq are essentially the same as those of the Republican ‘opposition’… his statements on Cuba during the election campaign clearly locate him in the realm of those annexationists who would wish to return Cuba to its former colonial state… His appointment of [the right-wing zionist] Rahm Israel Emanuel to the centrally important position of chief-of-staff is further indication of the approach that Obama will take in the realm of international relations.”

And why should it be otherwise? In the same article, it was stated how “it is a certainty that the US will continue for the foreseeable future on the course it has maintained for all of its modern history – that of being a capitalist and imperialist power. Barack Obama has never indicated that he intends to substantially change that direction. And this lack of substantive change will continue, to the detriment of the people of the US, of Iraq, of Afghanistan, of Cuba and beyond.” [http://www.eirigi.org/latest/latest151108.htmltest151108.html] To the “beyond” can now be added the name of Honduras.

If there was any real substance to the USA’s alleged support for Manuel Zelaya then, as the political commentator James Suggett notes, the Whitehouse would take substantive action where it really matters: “The US has cut off $18 million in economic aid to Honduras, but refuses to define the coup as a ‘coup’, which would obligate the US to cut off another $180 million. And, while the US claims to have cut off military aid, it continues to train Honduran military officers in the School of the Americas in Georgia, now called the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC).”

If there were any substance to the claim that the US didn’t support the coup it would heed Fidel Castro’s point that “the only correct thing to do at this point is to demand that the government of the United States ends its intervention, stops lending military support to the coup perpetrators and withdraws its Task Force from Honduras”.

Not only does the US refuse to ‘call a coup a coup’ and continue to train members of the same Honduran army, its activities in Colombia of late are also indicative of a deliberate heightening of tensions in the region.

In a recent article in Green Left Weekly, reporter Federico Fuentes wrote that “Colombia, which in March 2008 bombed Ecuadorian territory, has just opened the door to five new US military bases on its territory. This occurred just days after the US began to move out of its base in Ecuador, from which the government of President Rafael Correa expelled it.”

The escalation of tension also comes at a time when Colombia, having originally denounced the coup against Manuel Zelaya, has actively begun to fete the Honduran junta; according to an article published in the Cuban daily newspaper Granma, foreign minister for the dictatorship in Honduras Carlos López and an eight-member Honduran delegation met with Colombian president Álvaro Uribe in Bogotá in the last number of weeks.

In a separate but doubtlessly related incident, Venezuela has withdrawn its ambassador to Colombia and sent more troops and armoured vehicles to the border both countries share in a dispute ostensibly over claims that Venezuela is arming the FARC guerillas. However, as Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez attests, the real issue is that the US “wants to convert Colombia into the Israel of Latin America”.

According to Chávez, “the extreme right sectors continue to conspire… they were there in the White House and the OAS [Organization of American States] practically asking for Venezuela to be intervened in, that's what they want.” These developments coincide with a recent Israeli claim that there are members of the Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah active in Venezuela with the knowledge of the Chávez government.

Be under no illusions. The situation in Latin America is precariously poised. There is no doubt that the hand of US imperialism lurks behind recent developments there. The possibility that the tensions that have been heightened and exacerbated by the coup in Honduras might erupt into open conflict and spill over into more widespread regional conflict is very real.

While military repression of trade unionists and members of the Honduran anti-coup National Front intensifies, opposition to the dictatorship is growing daily. Last week, the three principal trade unions in the country staged a hugely successful two-day general strike that brought the country to a standstill. President Zelaya is determined to return to the country and has set up base on the Nicaraguan side of the border. Zelaya has called for the establishment of a “popular, pacific army” to facilitate his return to power, stating that “we will begin with a training period. The best way is for five trainers to train 20.”

The New York Times reported at the weekend that Zelaya has thrown down an ultimatum to the effect that either the putschists “reverse the coup, or there will be generalized violence”.

In the same article, Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega is quoted as saying: “There is a danger that, to try to distract attention from the internal conflict they themselves created, they might organize a group of people with military training to attack a Honduran army position, for that to serve as a pretext for a retaliation against Nicaragua… we are not talking about an army that doesn't have a history of aggression against Nicaragua… But they shouldn't think they would have a cakewalk in Nicaragua.”Ortega concluded that Nicaragua “is preparing for war because we want peace”.

Further recognition of the escalating nature of the Honduran situation can be gleaned from Bolivian president Evo Morales’ linking of the coup to the furtherance of US interests with his unambiguous assertion that “this coup is a threat against the continued growth of ALBA [Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas]”. Morales continued that a crisis in Honduras serves US interests because ALBA, of which Honduras is a member, “has defeated the proposal of the Free Trade Area of the Americas proposed by United States. The (ALBA) Trade Treaty for the Peoples will do the same with the United States’ Free Trade Treaty.”

There is a high likelihood that open conflict between the forces of progress and reaction will occur in Latin America. This will, in all probability, occur as a part of or as a precursor to new cycles of revolution, counter-revolution, and wider conflict globally. The growing pace of the division of nations and societies into political groupings representing different sectional and class interests is reflective of a wider and ever-deepening global economic crisis and polarisation between the forces of capitalism/imperialism and labour/internationalism.

As éirígí stated in a previous piece on the crisis: “The struggle on the streets of Honduras is, in its essence, a struggle between the past and the future, between the forces of reaction and progress, between the forces of capital and the rights and needs of people. The dignity of Latin America has been reclaimed by the hard work and struggle of the masses during the past decade. The maintenance of its dignity depends upon the overthrow of the putschists and the continuation of the project to build a Latin America based upon the principles of solidarity and co-operation.”

What you see in Honduras is another front in the battle for the heart and soul, and wealth of Latin America. It is a battle between the historical colonial rulers of that continent and its peoples, who have suffered under Spanish, US and indigenous collaborators’ jackboots for the last 600 years.

As recent events and developments demonstrate, it is a battle that the people of Honduras and Latin America are willing to fight. It is a battle that all democrats and socialists must be willing to fight also.

Remembering Fianna Éireann

03/08/09

éirígí will be hosting a weekend of commemorative events on August 15-16 to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the republican youth movement Fianna Éireann.

Fianna Éireann was founded on August 16 1909 at a meeting in Dublin city centre. The committee that called the meeting did so in order to channel the energies of young men into progressive nationalist politics.

The organisation played an important role in the lead up to the 1916 Rising, promoting the republican message, actively partaking in the cultural revival, and assisting in the acquisition of arms for the Rising itself. During Easter Week, Fianna members served in several of the republican garrisons around Dublin.

In the years that followed, Fianna Éireann continued to play an active role in the increasingly intense national liberation struggle. After the signing of the Treaty in 1921, the Fianna joined the IRA in opposing the British-enforced settlement.
The Fianna’s role in republicanism continued right up to the 1980s, and it was in the organisation that many of those who were to become prominent in the independence struggle first became active.

On Saturday, August 15, éirígí will host a public meeting in Dublin city centre, focusing on the history of the Fianna. Speakers will include éirígí general secretary Breandán Mac Cionnaith and Damien Lawlor, the author of Na Fianna Éireann and the Irish Revolution.

Later that evening, a ballad session will be held in the Clifton Court Hotel, Eden Quay.

On Sunday, August 16, a walking tour at St Enda’s school in Rathfarnham and a wreath laying commemoration will be held. St Enda’s was established by Pádraig Pearse in 1908 as an Irish language counter-weight to the existing schooling system and many of its students were members of Fianna Éireann.

Fianna 100th Anniversary Weekend

Saturday, August 15

Public Meeting: 7pm, Wynns Hotel, Abbey St, Dublin 1.

Speakers: Breandán Mac Cionnaith [éirígí general secretary], Damien Lawlor [author of Na Fianna Éireann and the Irish Revolution], Samantha Ní Mhurchú.
Commemorative Function: 9pm, Clifton Court Hotel, Eden Quay, Dublin 1. Ballad session.

Sunday, August 16
Tour of St Enda’s.

For further details, contact 086 236 7298.

An Bord Snip – Tír gan Teanga, Tír gan Anam!
02/08/09

(English version follows.)

Le moladh an Bhoird Snip Nua ag bagairt dífhostaíochta agus aimléise tá fíorbhaol ann go mbeidh ciorruithe fíochmhara ann don Ghaeilge freisin.

Pé dul chun cinn atá déanta ag an teanga le blianta beaga anuas sna meáin chumarsáide, sna gaelscoileanna agus ó thaobh séirbhísí Gaeilge de tá féidearthacht ann go scriosfaí an obair mhaith seo. Buille tubaisteach don teanga a bheadh i gceist dá gcuirfí moltaí Cholm Mhic Chárthaigh i bhfeidhm.

Mhol an Bord Snip Nua ciorrú a dhéanamh ar an maoiniú stáit a fhaigheann TG4 agus laghdú €10 milliún (£8.5 milliún) a dhéanamh thar 2-3 bliana ar an €37 milliún (£31 milliún) a fhaigheann siad in aghaidh na bliana. Seo laghdú beagnach 1/3 ar an méad a fhaigheann an t-aon stáisiún teilifíse Gaeilge atá ann.

De bharr na gciorruithe seo beidh cláracha cosúil le Paisean Faisean, Hector, Aifric agus cartúin i nGaeilge go léir i mbaol.

Mhol an Bord Snip Nua ciorrú €1 milliún (£845,000) ar Chiste na Gaeilge a thugann maoiniú do Raidió Rí Rá, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann agus do Thaibhdhearc na Gaillimhe.

Bheadh deireadh le Comhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta a chuireann acmhainní teagaisc agus tacaíocht ar fáil do scoileanna atá ag feidhmiú trí mheán na Gaeilge agus atá lonnaithe sa Ghaeltacht. Gan an t-eagras seo beidh deacrachtaí móra ann do scoileanna Gaeilge a bhaineann úsáid as ábháir Ghaeilge.

Cuirfear deireadh le Scéim Labhairt na Gaeilge. Is é seo an t-ioncam beag a spreagann muintir na Gaeltachta le fanacht ina gcónaí sna Gaeltachtaí agus stop a chur le meath a bpobal.

Moladh deireadh a chur le Scéim na bhFoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge freisin. Seo an fóirdheontas a fhaigheann na Mná Tí sna Gaeltachtaí. Clúdaíonn sé seo costais na gcúrsaí samhraidh agus gan an fóirdheontas seo bheadh na cúrsaí samhraidh sna Gaeltachtaí go mór mór i mbaol.

Beidh An Roinn Gnóthaí Pobail, Tuaithe agus Gaeltachta imithe agus aistreofar obair na roinne go dtí an Roinn Oideachas agus Eolaíochta.

Leis an easpa tacaíochta a fhaigheann An Ghaeilge cheana féin is ionsaí mór iad na moltaí seo ar an dteanga náisiúnta. Agus na Gaeltachtaí ag meath de shíor de bharr easpa seirbhísí agus postanna beidh siad níos mó i mbaol ná mar a bhí siad riamh gan tacaíocht agus maoiniú an stáit 26-Contae.

Gan acmhainní agus tacaíocht á chur ar fáil ag an Comhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta beidh sé fíordheacair do na gaelscoileanna sa Ghalltacht agus sa Ghaeltacht feidhmiú mar is gnáth.

Cé go bhfuil ag éirí le TG4 ní bheidh an caighdeán céanna le feiceáil gan na cláracha iontacha a thaispeánann siad do dhaoine fásta agus do pháistí agus an chabhair a thugann siad do lucht foghlamtha na Gaeilge.

Gan na seirbhísí bunúsacha seo is féidir súil le meath na teanga agus scrios ar an dea-obair atá déanta ag gníomhaithe teanga le blianta fada anuas.

Tá sé riachtanach go gcuirtear brú ar ar an rialtas eite-dheis gan bhotún tromchúiseach a dhéanamh tríd tairne eile a chur i gcónra na Gaeilge.

Tír gan teanga, Tír gan anam!

An Bord Snip – Tír gan Teanga, Tír gan Anam!

With An Bord Snip Nua’s right-wing proposals threatening unemployment and misery, there is a very real danger that the Irish language will also suffer savage cutbacks.

Whatever progress the language has made in the media, in Irish-speaking schools and in terms of Irish language services in recent years, there is a possibility that all of this good work could be destroyed. If Colm McCarthy’s proposals are implemented, it will be a disastrous blow to the Irish language.

An Bord Snip Nua has proposed cutting state funding to TG4 and a reduction of €10 million (£8.5 million) over 2-3 years to the €37 million (£31 million) they receive each year. This is a reduction of almost 1/3 of the amount the only Irish language television station receives.

Because of these cutbacks, programmes such as Paisean Faisean, Hector, Aifric and cartoons in Irish will all be at risk.

An Bord Snip Nua have proposed a cutback of €1 million (£845,000) to Ciste na Gaeilge [The Irish language Fund], who fund Raidió Rí Rá, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann and Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe.

There will be an end to Comhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta [The Council of Gaeltacht Education and Irish medium Education], who provide teaching resources and support for schools that function through Irish and for schools based in the Gaeltacht. Without this organisation, there will be major difficulties for schools that use material through Irish.

There will be an end put to Scéim Labhairt na Gaeilge [The Irish-speaking Scheme]. This is the small income that the Gaeltacht population receives to encourage them to stay living in the Gaeltachtaí and to stop the decline of their communities.

An end to Scéim na bhFoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge [The Irish language Learners Scheme] has also been proposed. This is the subsidy that the Mná Tí in the Gaeltachtaí receive. This covers the costs of the summer courses and, without this subsidy, the summer courses in the Gaeltachtaí would be highly at risk.

The Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs will be gone and the Department’s work will be transferred to the Department of Education and Science.

With the lack of support the Irish language already receives, these proposals are a huge attack on the national language. As the Gaeltachtaí forever go into decline because of a lack of services and jobs, they will be now be more at risk than they ever were without the support and funding of the Twenty-Six County state.

Without the resources and support made available by An Comhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta it will be extremely difficult for Irish medium schools in English-speaking areas and in the Gaeltacht to function as normal.

Although TG4 is growing, the same standard will not be seen without the excellent programmes they show for adults and children and the assistance they provide for those learning Irish.

Without these basic services a decline, in the language can be expected and the destruction of excellent work that has been done by language activists for many years.

It is imperative that pressure is put on the right-wing government not to make the serious mistake of putting another nail in the coffin of the Irish language.

A country without a language, A country without a soul.