Sectarianism And Lies

national | miscellaneous | opinion/analysis Monday September 01, 2003 12:39 by Yeren - SY (Personal Capacity)

Indymedia And The Campaign Of Slander Against the SP And CWI.

Since I joined Socialist Youth a year ago I have noticed an ever increasing level of hostility towards the Socialist Party and the CWI on Indymedia. Not just from contributors but also from those who run IMC. I hope in the following piece to outline the main aspects of the hate campaign against the SP which has taken place here.

1. The Man Who Would be King:

John Throne and his henchman John Reimann never tire in spreading lie after lie about both the SP and the CWI. The facts of the case are simple, Throne and a few cronies were unable to get their policies accepted by the US section. They then undemocratically went off and tried to under mine both the vleadership and the party itself. At a party conference 90% of delegates voted to expel Throne and his sidekicks. How could the question of an appeal arise in those circumstamnces?

John Throne had not been a member of the Irish Section for many years but he bizarrely chooses to turn up at NC meetings and Party Conferences and demands entrance. He also produces documents which are defamatory towards the CWI and then expects to be taken seriously. He was in fact allowed an appeal to the CWI Congress but didnt bother to turn up as it didnt suit him to do so.

2. The Man Who Never Was

Dennis Tourish or should I call him Professor Tourish? Now this is a strange case. Someone, full of his own importance who never rose as high as he hoped in the Irish Section. Unwilling to directly confront Peter Hadden he fled the North and continued his campaign of undermining and attrition from afar.

When this failed miserably he went off to make a career for himself in Academia. He then discovered (like many professional ex communists before him) that he could trade on his former existence as a Trotskyist. But to really make his name he added a new twist. He decided to slander the CWI as being a cult.

Along with another traitor to Trotskyism he wrote this turgid tract. Which so many fools on Indymedia have praised. Effectively Tourish makes a living out of slagging off the Left.

3. The Boy Bolshevik

Marc Mulholland was a precocious type, the original Wunderkind. Raised to the leading bodies of the Party at at such a young age it went straight to his head. He would contenance nobodys council but his own.

I still wonder why he has to lie in his Blog. Why must he attempt to undermine Peter Hadden? A man who has devoted his entire life to combatting Sectarianism. Mulhollands pitiful scrawls pale in comparison to Haddens insightful writings on how working class areas which had been thought to be Loyalist were now rejecting Sectarianism.

His nonsense about Finn Geaney is laughable. Geany chose to run away from the organisation. He had lost the debate and could not accept the consequences.

Marc is now a sad figure kept going only by his hatred for the SP.

4. War And Peace

Perhaps worse of all was the slander campaign run against the SP during the Anti War Campaign. Our support for the Shannon Workers against ultra left attacks was distorted. The fact remains that only Workers Action could have shut Shannon.

The concern of the SP that protestors might be injured due to the elitist actions of a self appointed group who only belueved in direct action was laughed at. Genuine concern and calls for the provision of medical back up was treated as if it was propaganda against action at Shannon.

Joe Higgins subsequent remarks at Shannon were taken compltetly out of context, distorted and used to slander the SP. Pat C and others were allowed to use this and lies about lobbying of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to carry on a sustained attack on both the SP and the IAWM.


I could go on for a lot longer on how Pat C will not let a week go by without finding some reason to clash with the SP. I could mention other attacks but I do not want to take up anymore of your space. The fact that you publish such patently untrue articles about the SP and CWI brings the entire Indymedoia.ie into disrepute.