Photos: Protest Against Euro Pact

by 1 More of Real Democracy Now Wed Jun 22, 2011 23:33

Think it needs to be borne in mind that RDNI is still in the very early stages of organising. It has had a few protests, but has not had time to develop a coherent message that addresses the specific problem of democracy in the Irish context. How successful it turns out to be will depend on how well it communicates that message.

There is a basic point to the Spanish campaign that served to mobilise everyone. And it is this: you cannot talk about democracy when power rests with the few, not the many. Anything else -and this of course encompasses the Irish situation- is fake democracy.

And if you agree with democracy, then events such as an EU-IMF-ECB bailout are ipso facto illegitimate and must be actively opposed, obstructed, stymied and overturned. Not only that, but people occupying positions of power -whether in government, business, or media circles- who use democracy as an alibi in order to partake in this robbery -whether through claims of 'getting our sovereignty back' or claiming that the government has the right to force through austerity measures simply because it was elected- are exercising power illegitimately and must be stripped of that power.

So we shall see how it goes. Personally I think it has a lot of potential.

by x Wed Jun 22, 2011 21:40

I appreciate the 'camping' model might work in BCN and other euro places (where its nice and warm!) but it doesnt translate well into the middle of O'Connell Street - in front of the GPO might be heavily political but it is hardly a square, where people passing by can sit and engage with the issues.
What is the alternative in this case? Maybe a square like Temple Bar sq, much more people passing by, probably interested in hearing more about alternative ideas. I do think the area in front of the Central Bank has been done to death - but maybe given the current situation and the banks relevance to what is happening, maybe its time to camp out there instead, or have an RDN event there.

But for me, standing around and listening to speeches for a long period of time is incredibly disempowering and I walk away from it feeling drained and useless - ESPECIALLY if there is a small amount of people listening to the talks, when all the traffic and shoppers swirl around me. Just a personal opinion, maybe other people enjoy it, I dont.
I'm not saying everything has to be a direct action to be worthy, but something like the Halowe'en tour around the bankers hotspots might work better. How about an "IE-Uncut" style education tour along Grafton Street or Henry Street some Saturday - assemble in a group sitting on the street outside the various banks, let people know how much of their tax money has gone to propping them up, and so on. Vodafone and Topshop have shops in Dublin too (tax avoiders!).

by (1 of Real Democracy Now! Ireland) Wed Jun 22, 2011 20:59

Approximately 200 people turned out in Dublin. These 'assemblies' have been taking place over maybe a month in Dublin since the kick off of the camps in Spain. They started at around 400/500 people in initial flush. Dropped to 100 or less - but what is significant is that the 19th assembly/demonstration reversed this falling off and saw a strong and committed very heterogenous group (2/3 immigrant Europeans 1/3 Irish approx) start to consolidate around determination to make this RDNI thing work and communicate broadly. So rather than say - nothing will change (useless disempowering apathy) - why not take inspiration from immigrants with the courage and determination to organise in Dublin and start to support them, offer solidarity to them?

by John Wed Jun 22, 2011 18:36

Pathetic turn out's. Fair play to those who did bother though.

Typical Irish. The people will never force change here.

by #SpanishRevolution Tue Jun 21, 2011 07:10

Good photos Micheal, any chance of a brief written report; numbers, feeling, demands, response from Irish spectators etc...

reports

Ireland
J19: 'Indignants' to protest EU Pact in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/100028

Spain + beyond
J19 was awesome & as Greece came home - #Spanish revolution took a huge step up the hill to #global
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/99876&comment_limit=0&c...81663