'I do wonder, however, if the racists who run websites, who make disgusting intimidating phone calls, who will not accept my right to have my election posters displayed publicly, are gaining encouragement from the government’s decision to run a racist referendum in conjunction with these elections'

Tokie Laotan, an independent candidate for the North / East ward in Galway city, has been facing harassment on the election trail. She has been receiving abusive anonymous phone calls to her mobile phone, she has been targeted by a racist website, and now her posters are being removed –-apparently in a systematic fashion.

‘I was reluctant to raise this publicly’, says Tokie Laotan, ‘because almost all of the Galway people I have met on my campaign have been friendly and open to what I have to say. Clearly, however, there are individuals who think that an African woman should not be allowed to even stand for election. All this harassment is making me nervous, and making it difficult for me to campaign effectively’.

‘The phone calls stopped after a few days, when I started to tell the callers that I was having their numbers traced’, according to Ms Laotan. ‘The website is still up and spreading its message of hate against me and other immigrants to Ireland —can it be closed down, I wonder?'

‘The final straw was when I learned that two-thirds of my posters were removed within 36 hours of being put up. I realise that posters can be brought down by the wind, and by the odd stray drunk, but this was done systematically, with posters taken from every pole on several routes —College Road and Augustine-street for example.’

‘I know that the racists who do this are a tiny minority, and that they have little support among Galway people and Irish people generally. I do wonder, however, if the racists who run websites, who make disgusting intimidating phone calls, who will not accept my right to have my election posters displayed publicly, are gaining encouragement from the government’s decision to run a racist referendum in conjunction with these elections'.

Related Links and Stories on Immigrants, Elections and McDowell's Referendum
Audio Report on Campaign against the Racist Referendum Meeting - June 4th 2004
Voting Rights for Immigrants in Ireland Under Threat - April 11th 2004 Report
All Children are Equal But if Michael has his Way - Some Will be More Equal than Others - April 6th 2004 Report
The Chen Case @ the European Court of Justice – Money Talks and a Government Lies - May 24 2004 Report

Tim Hourigan is always at the right place at the right time when it comes to Shannon and environs. In his latest coup he finds the Tainiste in the local Supermarket denying Ireland has an arms trade. She'd probably also deny the fact that prisoners in US Style extra-judicial detention are being flown through the Airport down the road from the self-same Supermarket. Read it and weep:

"I was wondering why there was a Garda helicopter over the area on Saturday morning. I went up to my local shopping centre to use the cash machine, (which told me I was so broke I couldn't get to the corner if it cost 10c to go around the world).

When I turned around, there was Mary Harney and her husband with local PD TD Tim O'Malley, and council candidates Bridget Teefy, Jim Hickey, and other hangers-on although I didn't spot her sister-in-law Isobel Geoghan (sister of IBEC boss, Brian, Mary's hubby) who is running in Ward 4 in Limerick.

There was nobody else around, just the PDs and me. . . . ." Click below to continue reading

Plans are breaking out like a sudden summer heat rash for protests to mark the visit to Ireland in late June of possibly the most unpopular individual on the Globe - GW Bush.

He is expected in Ireland on the 25th/26th June for an EU/US Summit which will take place in County Clare. By then he will have visited Italy in early June and hopefully by the end of that visit the US Public will have had an opportunity to realise how far down the toilet this man has dragged the reputation of the USA. Up to a million protesters are expected in Rome to greet his arrival despite the usual hysterical scaremongering coming from Berlusconi and his mob.

Nationwide protests calling for 'troops out of Iraq' planned for the 26th and 27th June will also greet him as he arrives back in the USA from his short visit to the West of Ireland. These protests will take place in a country in which public dissent is under a sustained and unprecedented attack from the Republican Administration.

Ireland is in a unique position in all of this. It is traditionally friendly territory for US presidents. A large majority of the population do not want Bush here at all. He happens to be arriving in Shannon Airport - a place that symbolises Irish Government complicity in the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq - where the rubber literally hits the road. All the ingredients are in place for a massive series of protests in the Global spotlight. The whole World WILL be watching. What's more there is no sign so far of any Mayday-style orchestrated state/media moral panic campaign to put a dampener on protests. A once in a lifetime opportunity is there for the taking.

So what is planned? This is where the problems seem to arise. So many things are planned that it is all a little confusing at first glance for the uninitiated. So in the interests of clarity here is a full breakdown of events which have been planned so far that we at IMC IRL are aware of. Please add details of events not covered in the comments below this feature and we will add them in.

SATURDAY 19TH JUNE
AMBUSH 'Warm-up' Protests in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Belfast
IAWM 'When Bush Comes To Shove' Concert at Point Depot featuring Christy Moore and Damien Rice
Bikes against Bush - Critical Mass Cycle Ride leaves Dublin for Clare

THURSDAY 24TH JUNE
Shannon Peace Camp Opens

FRIDAY 25TH JUNE
IAWM STOP BUSH Demonstration: Dublin: 7pm: Regional Demonstrations in Galway, Waterford, Tralee and Sligo: Also 7pm
Reclaim the Skies with Light and Noise: Anti War Ireland Protest: Shannon Town Centre: 7pm
BushWalk for Fun and Peace Begins: Lahinch to Dromoland

SATURDAY 26TH JUNE
Bush Off and Don't Come Back: Ambush/AWI March on Shannon Warport: Assemble at Bunratty Castle: 12 noon
IAWM Demonstration & March: Assemble Dromoland Castle: March to Shannon: 9-10am

OTHER RELEVANT LINKS:
Anti-War Ireland Bulletin
Bikes against Bush Public Meeting
Rialto Anti War Group Screening / Stop Bush Campaign Launch
Shannon Security Update

Mary Kelly, an Irish nurse and mother of four, peacefully disarmed a USAF warplane in Shannon on Jan 29th 2003 by taking a hatchet to the nose-cone installation. Having failed to convince a jury to convict her on June 30th 2003 Mary now faces prosecution on June 15th by the Irish State for acting according to the dictates of the Nuremburg Convention. Supporters have been active in many cities around Ireland. The following is a brief roundup of the tremenduous support this brave and principled activist is receiving.

From the Newswire: Report from Tommy D:

"Last Saturday more powerful support for St. Mary was evidenced at the Mary Kelly information stall in Shop St, when the Galway 'Mary Kelly Support Group' did their stuff, from 10.30 AM to 5.45 PM, giving out 1,000 leaflets on her plight.

The peak moment of the day was when five preteen/teenage girls, daytripping from Portumna in the Vibrant City, offered to distribute the leaflets to passing pedestrians, when appraised of Mary's disarming of the war plane.

Yet another primo moment was when a guy who stopped at our stall affirmed that he "was against her attack on the plane last year, now I'm for it."

The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Group were out in strength commemorating Nakhbah Day (the planned ethnic cleansing of their land in 1948 by the Zionists) centering their activity around the stall.

Galway Alliance Against War also gave themselves an outing and didn't stint their support for Mary, with one of their activists, dressed as one of the tortured of Abu Ghraib prison, eliciting strong condemnation of the American human rights abuses in Iraq.

To boot, an activist from Galicia, did his stuff for Mary as well. Fair play, Jose !

This Saturday, along with all Saturdays leading up to her trial, another stall is planned. What about activists in Cork, Limerick, Kilkenny, Dublin, etc doing something similiar???? Now is not the time for fiddling and farting about when, as it were, Mary is about to burn."

Fairview Against the War, MAMA and Global Women's Strike will be holding a stall in Ennis every Saturday from 12:30pm in Ennis until Mary's trial on June 15th.

See Mary Kelly's website for more information

As the Occupation of Iraq turns rapidly into the worst-case scenario many feared it would in the run-up to the US / UK invasion - Irish Anti-War Groups are mobilising again to AMBUSH George Bush with some potentially very public Anti-War protests - around Ireland in general and in the Shannon area in particular – when he arrives in Clare to attend the EU / US Summitt.

The Gardai meanwhile are already involved in a police operation in the area of Shannon and have been knocking on residents doors. Police also recently heavily outnumbered protesters in Cork who turned out early in the morning to greet the Republican cabinet member Tommy Thompson.

In an opinion piece (which went unpublished in the Irish Times) Fintan Lane who took part in the protest assesses the lessons of the recent Mayday protests for those planning to lay on a protest when Bush arrives in late June. While the IAWM and AWI compete for space in the media and on the ground in the run-up to the visit others discuss tactics and the value of a populist approach

Latest Security Update From Shannon
More Indymedia Anti-War news
Update: Flag pictured above removed by a person or persons unknown shortly after Gardai call!