Author: andrewnflood

A weekend in Erris at the national Shell to Sea meeting – In the aftermath of the Solitaire

Post author By andrewnflood
Post date July 8, 2009

I arrived in occupied Erris on Friday evening having travelled down to take part in a national meeting of Shell to Sea groups. It had been a busy week for the campaign as the state had reacted to the ongoing resistance to Shell in Erris by seizing fishing boats, sending 7 people to jail without trial and banning two more from Co. Mayo. Not only had hundreds of state forces including the police, navy, air force and possibly the army been deployed to suppress protest in Erris but those of us doing solidarity work elsewhere had found from time to time that we were being followed by the secret police.

Pic: Irish Navy gunship in the Bay

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The Shadow over Erris: Shell, IRMS and Bolivia – Sometimes monsters do exist

Post author By andrewnflood
Post date July 7, 2009
3 Comments on The Shadow over Erris: Shell, IRMS and Bolivia – Sometimes monsters do exist

In any country with a half way critical media, the last few months would have been disastrous for Shell. In Shell’s imposition of a Michael Dwyer posing with pistols in Bolivia n experimental gas pipeline on the people of Erris it emerges that Michael Dwyer, one of the security guards on this project, was part of an attempt to trigger a civil war in Bolivia. Soon after that it became clear that at least three others who had worked as security guards at the Shell compound had travelled to Bolivia with Dwyer and were wanted there for questioning. Some, it emerged, had links to fascist organizations in Eastern Europe.

Pic: Michael Dwyer posing with pistols in Bolivia

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Gardai harassment of Mayday protest leafleting continues

Post author By andrewnflood
Post date July 3, 2009

Over the last week the Gardai have repeatedly turned up on occasions where the Dublin Grassroots Network has been attempting ton inform the public about the Mayday protests. On each occasion they have demanded the names of the people there in what can only be a crude attempt to intimidate the protest organiser and reduce their ability to inform the public about the protesters. What are they afraid of you finding out?

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Large protest in Dublin against Gardai brutality

Post author By andrewnflood
Post date June 3, 2009

After two days when the first item on the evening TV news was the brutal Gardai attack on a Reclaim the Streets party it was not surprising that thousands joined a rally against police brutality outside Pearse St police station on Thursday night. The protest passed off peacefully despite paranoia from some quarters that there was ‘bound to be trouble’. (May 9 2002)

Anti Gardai brutality demonstration in Pearse st

Pic:Section of crowd at Pearse st

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The Orange Order: An enemy of all workers

Post author By andrewnflood
Post date May 26, 2009
1 Comment on The Orange Order: An enemy of all workers

The reality of the Orange Order is that it is a counter-revolutionary institution set up and maintained to target not just Catholics but also ‘disloyal’ Protestants. It’s formation and spread was encouraged by the British state in the years leading up to the 1798 rebellion precisely in order to drive a wedge between ordinary Catholics and Protestants. The 12th of July was picked as the key date to provide an alternative attraction to the marking of Bastille day and in itself to mark the sectarian massacre that led to the formation of the Orange Order.

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Marching to nowhere – Stirring Up Sectarian Hatred

Post author By andrewnflood
Post date May 26, 2009

While we should oppose the Orange Orders parades where ever local people reject them (and our ideal would be for ‘Protestant areas’ to also oppose them), there are real problems with the way these campaigns are proceeding. The central problem however is that the residents’ groups are fighting on the sectarian terrain chosen by the Orange Order. With its membership declining and its influence on the state under threat, the Order needs an ‘anti-Protestant’ opposition to justify its continued existence.

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The real difference is not between Catholic & Protestant but between rich and poor

Post author By andrewnflood
Post date May 26, 2009

THERE IS LITTLE hope of a new IRA ceasefire, the loyalist death squads may restart a full campaign of assassinations and terror. We may be heading back to a situation of bloody murders every other day. After the British government’s carry on during the ‘peace process’, after Drumcree, after the bombs, after Harryville there is a pessimistic mood throughout the six counties. So where do we go from here?

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Ireland, Sinn Fein and the peace talks

Post author By andrewnflood
Post date May 26, 2009

The peace talks represent the ditching of Sinn Féin’s left gloss and a return to good old nationalist politics, pure and simple. They started with the Hume – Adams dialogue, a still secret document but one which clearly set out to demonstrate that the northern nationalists could be trusted (by both Dublin and London) to ‘behave’ in the event of British withdrawa.

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Roots of the conflict – Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association

Post author By andrewnflood
Post date May 25, 2009

In August of 1968 NICRA called its first march. 2,500 marched from Coalisland to Dungannon to protest against local housing discrimination.

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Peace deal offers sectarian war or sectarian peace

Post author By andrewnflood
Post date May 25, 2009

The huge vote, North and South, in favour of the ‘Good Friday Agreement’ shows that the vast majority do not want a return to pre-ceasefire violence. Can this agreement get to the root of the sectarian problem and deal with the hatreds, fears and suspicions that have bedevilled our country?