Anti-War Ireland media panel for Bush protests

by Pit Stop Ploughshares Tue Jun 01, 2004 03:28 087 918 4552

phone: 087 918 4552

Remembering the War Dead

Memorial Day (May 31st.) is a national holiday in the U.S. where the war dead are remembered.

In Dublin the Dublin Catholic Worker, U.S. Citizens for Alternatives to War were joined by U.S., Australian & Irish citizens, members of the Spiritan Community and other activists in a 2 hour anti-war vigil at Dublin's U.S. Embassy (cnr. of Elgin & Pembroke) on Monday May 31st. 5pm-7pm.


Banners included "War is Terrorism is War" and placards called to "Remember the Dead, Bring U.S. Troops Home!" and to "Free Imprisoned Peace Activists" Other placards called to "Free Kathy Kelly" (serving 4 months for trespass at Ft. Benning Georgia (www.soaw.org) to "Free Sr. Ardeth Platte, Sr. Jackie Hudosn, Sr. Carol Gilbert" (serving 2 & 3 years for a nonviolent inspection and plowshares action at an ICBM Missile silo in Colarado www.jonahhouse.org) & "To Free Sgt. Camilo Meija" recently court martialled for his refusal to continue to be deployed to Iraq.

A shrine was constructed in the front of the security pod at the front of the U.S. embassy with candles and photos of an Iraqi child wounded by U.S. fire and the recently deceased U.S. peace activist Dave Delinger (in the photo clipped from last week's Guardian obituary Dave was pictured with Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin of the "Chicago 8").

As Ciaron O'Reilly of the Pit Stop Ploughshares (www.ploughsharesireland.org) read the names of U.S. military dead and Caoimohe Butterly read the names & ages of Iraqi slain, they were accompanied by San Franciscan Brenda Malloy on the harp. It was a beautiful and moving litany - a powerful reminder of lives behind the daily statistics.


Following the litany, Irish based U.S. journalist Harry Brown - spoke to how the planned plunder of Iraq was on course amidst the scenes of social chaos and killing. Harry introduced his mother New Jersey based Flavia Alaya - a U.S. solidarity Activist with the thousands who have been detained/interned under Ashcroft's draconian legislation to round up immigrants in the U.S. Flavia spoke powerfully to the issues of lost freedoms i a country mobilised for a war without end.
Glenda Cimino, U.S. peace activist, exposed lies that were the basis of marketing the war in the U.S.

The anti-war vigil will continue every Monday 5pm - 7 pm at Dublin's U.S. embassy in the lead up to George Bush's arrival at Shannon Airport on June 25th. Shannon presently facilitates 16,000 U.S. troops a month commuting through to the invasion, occupation & plunder of Iraq.

More vigil information Ph. 087 918 4552

by Observer Tue Jun 01, 2004 03:46

The story/posting above (same wording etc., just giving the Anti-War Ireland spokespersons for the Bush protests) has been deleted from irishantiwar.org where it was posted on the newswire earlier tonight.

Why would the IAWM delete this? It simply gives details of the Shannon protest and a list of Anti-War Ireland spokespersons. What is going on?

by John Tue Jun 01, 2004 03:53

It's disrepecting every one of the activists on that list.

by Mark Thomas Tue Jun 01, 2004 09:42

Why would the IAWM delete this?

The IAWM (i.e. the SWP) is a commercial enterprise. They want to sell their brand name and fight competition. It's like capitalism. The only difference is that they don't pay their workers (paper sellers).
Sad, but that's the way they work.

by john paul Tue Jun 01, 2004 19:25

i think this thread comments and the comments shown on the iawm announcement thread show exactly what the main readership of indymedia ireland now amounts to,nothing more then a small collective of non aligned individuals hell bent on petty sectarianism towards the likes of the swp(my party) and the sp and the like and their wish for the demise of the iawm.

by Anti-war activist Tue Jun 01, 2004 19:39

John Paul,

There are reasons for the hostility towards the SWP-run IAWM, and you would do well to take them seriously. Your party has prided itself in the past on its opposition to Stalinism, but its practice is little different from that of an orthodox communist party. Do you find this acceptable?

The IAWM should disband and the SWP should join with everybody else in Anti-War Ireland. The IAWM still has the ear of the media (no surprise there), but that will be gradually eroded as more and more journalists discover that most anti-war activists have left and are now supporting the creation of a genuinely open, broad-based anti-war movement - AWI.

It will be a long time before anti-war activists forgive the SWP for what they done to the anti-war movement in Ireland.

Cheers.

by 1 of IMC Tue Jun 01, 2004 19:40

A brilliant and scientific analysis of the plight of Indymedia. It's funny the way we always get people coming on here and explaining which one of our problems is reponsible for our declinging readership. They never seem remotely embarrassed that they don't have a clue what they're talking about and that we know it - we read the stats and our traffic has been steadily rising since the start of the site.

5,578,775 hits last month, not including the traffic that was diverted off-site for Mayday (a lot). The small collective of non-aligned individuals must be getting tired fingers from hitting reload so often. Let's assume that there are 5-6 people in the collective. That makes about a million hits each. Making various rough allowances for multiple hits per page and cacheing, I'd estimate that all 5 or 6 of them must have been hitting the reload button every 3-4 seconds, 24 hours a day for the last month. They were also cunning enough to hide their use behind some 80,000 or so different IP addresses. Some collective.

by john paul Tue Jun 01, 2004 19:46

i regularly visit indymedia,as do,im sure many members of the swp,sp,sf and the like,but that is not reflected when i look at the threads comments which are predominantly anonymous or from the same people time after time,i get the impression that lots of people,like myself,dont respond regularly as its really a case of putting your head above the pulpet to get fired at

by Behind you Tue Jun 01, 2004 19:56

Ah John Paul. I can see you feverishly reading indymedia in a Paul Street cybercafe. Tis like watching a guilty soul reading porn.

Seriously though, are you suggesting that all tha hits are really from that vast army of SWP members? And they are daily overwhelmed by the tiny bunch of non-aligned types (yuk! non-aligned!) who spent all day thinking about you and yours?

Have you seen a doctor recently (no offence intended)?

by John Wed Jun 02, 2004 01:38

This posting about the Shannon demo and listing the Anti-War Ireland spokespeople was reposted on the irishantiwar.org newswire earlier today (apparently by the webmaster) but it has been deleted again.

What is the IAWM's problem with this? It advertises an antiwar protest at Shannon as Bush arrives and gives the names and details of Anti-War Ireland spokespeople. If PANA or the NGO Peace Alliance posted something similar, would it be deleted?

This is a disgraceful insult to the spokespeople of Anti-War Ireland, all of whom are esteemed and well-known antiwar activists. It's an absolute disgrace and I demand an explanation.

by Observer Wed Jun 02, 2004 02:53

This is a useful list of some the leading anti-war activists involved with Anti-War Ireland. Most of us know loads of other prominent activists who also support this new group. All prominent and reputable anti-war activists.

So, what about the IAWM? Well, it wouldn't matter who fronts them if the IAWM didn't pretend to represent the anti-war movement. But they do, even though all the leading antiwar activists in this country from Mary Kelly to the people listed above have long dismissed the IAWM, so which 'leading activists' are involved with them? Who is speaking for the IAWM and who still supports it?

Err...Richard Boyd Barrett (who hardly left the speaker's platform in Stephen's Green during the past year, even squeezing real Shannon activists off in the process) and...emmm...Rory Hearne (a refugee from the failed Another Europe is Possible) and...errrr....fuck it, that's it. Nobody with a national profile actually.

The IAWM steering committee? Nobody seems to know who is on this. The IAWM hasn't published the list since their flop of an AGM (virtually nobody attended) in the Teachers Club recently. What we do know is that if you knew the names of the IAWM steering committee members, you wouldn't recognise them. Complete unknowns directing the 'movement'.

Seriously, the IAWM is claiming to speak on behalf of us; they won't tell us who's on their committee and claiming to make decisions on our behalf. In fact their committee has nobody with any profile within the wider movement. Complete unknowns with no serious track record. Nobodies. They are people dragged in off the street. Some Green called Sinead something or other has posted on indymedia recently. She was recruited to the IAWM steering committee by the SWP recently, but who is she? No matter, she is your leader!

A committee of unknowns under the thumb of the SWP. The leadership of the anti-war movement? I don't think so.

by unknown Wed Jun 02, 2004 18:52

What's all this about unknowns? Sounds a bit elitist to me . Not all of us can be college lecturers you know

by Fintan Lane - Anti-War Ireland Wed Jun 02, 2004 19:26 info at antiwarireland dot org 087 1258325

I agree fully with 'Unknown'. The comment above is replete with snobbery and elitism, and is hardly constructive.

George Bush will be here in a few weeks and I think it would be better if people put their obviously considerable energy into building for the protests.

Remember your date with President Bush:

7pm, Friday evening, June 25th, assembling in Shannon town centre.

by Observer Wed Jun 02, 2004 21:07

My point was simply that no nationally known anti-war activist supports the IAWM, even though they still claim to speak on behalf of the anti-war movement. Nobody remains involved except SWPers and a few hangers-on. That's all I meant.

by Fintan Lane - Anti-War Ireland Wed Jun 02, 2004 23:06

I think it is important that we focus a bit more on mobilising for the Bush protests. Measuring Anti-War Ireland against the IAWM is a pointless exercise.

Anti-War Ireland is developing at its own pace. In my opinion, it is growing as an alliance of groups in favour of particular objectives and democratic methods of working, and not as an alliance brought together by antipathy to another anti-war group.

Leave the sectarianism to the professionals, please.

by anti terrorist - peace train Wed Jun 02, 2004 23:59

from the INLA's political wings website


Though it has been many years, we in the IRSP have not forgotten that Fintan's father, Jim Lane, was
once the chairperson of our party and that Fintan was an energetic and talented member of the IRSP as
well. Even were this not the case, however, the IRSP would continue to demand his release. Fintan's
participation in the demonstrations against the US military's use of Shannon during its war with Iraq
should not have resulted in his being treated as a criminal. Rather, he should be recognised as a defender
of Irish sovereignty and Irish neutrality, as should all those who protested and continue to protest the US
presence in Shannon.

by Anti-anti-terrorist Thu Jun 03, 2004 00:47

Your choice.

by Ciaron - Dublin Catholic Worker Thu Jun 03, 2004 10:57

Fair cop guv'

It's true, I was once a member of the "Holy Name Sodality" headed for 20 years by Queensland's Special Branch supremo Les Hogan.

Yep the O'Reilly pew always skipped the part of the pledge that swore "obedience to all lawful & civil authority". But there you go, happened during my 8 year tour of duty as an altar boy at Mitchelton's "Our Lady of Dolors" parish.

by Babybromley - none Thu Jun 03, 2004 16:02

Anti-terrorist, why don't you debate the issue on the table i.e. the wisdom or otherwise of the location of the various anti-Bush demonstrations? Well your choice of alias gives an interesting clue, given that we are in the midst of a so-called war on terrorism. Looks like yours is the neo-con reflex to label all opponents terrorist, with no discussion of motives or rationale to muddy up the sanctimoniousness.

Oh and by the way, I don't know much about Fintan's history but even your mischievious posting acknowledges that at most his involvement was in the past and not current. As for a discussion about the IRSP, that's for another thread... so give us a break and take it outside.

Oh and for the record, I think the main demo should be in Shannon. Smaller demonstrations are appropriate if people can't make it to the Shannon. So this time let's call Dublin a region let's endorse it as Shannon 'the real capital' of the anti-war movement.

by Anti-War Ireland Fri Jun 04, 2004 02:27 info at antiwarireland dot org

The phone number given for one of the Anti-War Ireland spokespersons above has one '7' too many.

Harry Browne's contact number is actually 087 7648065.