Deportations Protest

by The Mekon Mon Aug 30, 2004 14:48

Approx 50 at it. Speakers : Joe Costello LP, Ciaran Cuffe GP, Finian McGrath Ind TD, Daithi Doolan SF, Ronat Lentin ICCL, Mick O'Reilly ATGWU. There were also members of WSM, ISN, CWM, WCA, AFA, Sparts and UCDSU present.

It looks as if the SWP & SP decided to boycott the Demo.

by hs - sp Tue Aug 31, 2004 00:25

Boycott is a very strong word, it implies not that people may be working, away (it is the end of august) or plain old laziness, but that people that didn't go to the demo were against it. And further implies we may even support the deportations, boycott is a strong word. For myself I have to work at 12.30 on Mondays (and not in the city centre) and it wasn't pssible to go, I don't like being accused of boycotting a demo which is protesting the fact a mother and child were seperated. (and yes when you do say "the swp and sp" it also includes the members, including me) And I don't think political point scoring like this is appropriate in such a case. All I can do is promise to attend the next demo where I possible. People can't always attend everything, but that doesn't make them against it.

by The Mekon Tue Aug 31, 2004 15:00

Members of the WSM, WCA, ISN, CWM were able to attend. All of these are tiny in numbers in comparison to the SP. The SP have plenty of Public Service members who work in the City centre, who get lunch breaks and are on flexi time. I reckon it was a boycott.

by sick of trolls Tue Aug 31, 2004 15:11

By the bye - I heard a lady on the radio today who made it into a centre where Failed Asylum seekers are gathered together just before deportation flights take place. Does anyone know where this is? Strikes me that the deportation process is being hidden completely from view. Things seem to go into a limbo of didn't really happen these days unless images are available and in peoples faces. It would be worthwhile to shine a light on this centre as deportations are scheduled

by The Mekon Tue Aug 31, 2004 15:21

I am not a troll. I posted a report of an event that I attended. Given the attitude of the SP to CARR, I think it is reasonable to query their abscence from this Demo. I do not believe that evey single member of the SP in Dublin was too busy to attend.

by . Tue Aug 31, 2004 15:51

is this a fact or shitstirring opinion -"t looks as if the SWP & SP decided to boycott the Demo."

facts might look like -'there were no swp / sp banners present' - unless you know the faces of the entire sp/swp membership.

by The Mekon Tue Aug 31, 2004 15:56

The SP are the ones who carry out the real trolling here. Are you saying that opinions are not allowed? Based on my knowldge that the SP boycotted CARR and played down their opposition to racism during the election campaign, I reckon it is reasonable for me to venture an opinion that the SP deliberately boycotted this Demo.

by James O'B - WSM Tue Aug 31, 2004 15:56

It's kind of obvious that not everyone can get to everything. Anyway, maybe there were SP members there but who you didn't recognise. Without party placards or tattoos on foreheads it can be hard to tell a bolshevik from a pleb.
You're doing more than quering their alleged absence, you've said it was a boycott, which as hs pointed out requires a degree of deliberation on the SP's part. Have you any evidence for your assertion other than the SP's approach to CARR? Conversations with members of the party, seen internal mails, or articles in their paper calling for a boycott?

by The Mekon Tue Aug 31, 2004 16:08

I dont have any evidence such as mails etc. But 1 given my experience of the way the SP operate, 2. given the size of the SP membership, 3 given the number of SP members who work in the Public Service and are based in the City centre and 4 given their attitude towards CARR I reckon I am entitled to venture an opinion that this was a boycott of the Demo.

by Stop trolling Tue Aug 31, 2004 16:15

This site is unbelievable. If someone from the SP or SWP allegedly doesn't turn up to a half organised demo in the middle of prime holiday season the SP and SWP are accused of organising a 'boycott' of the event! Maybe nobody was free? Maybe nobody knew about it? these things happen, it does not mean that the SP or SWP are attempting to sabotage an anti deportations demo. Why would they do that?

by The Mekon Tue Aug 31, 2004 16:18

The SP and SWP would boycott it because they cant control RAR, just as they boycotted CARR because they couldnt control it. All I did was report on the event and venture an opinion as to why the SP & SWP were absent.

As I have already pointed out the SP have plenty of members, I dont believe they were all busy. The same goes for the SWP.

by Hebe Tue Aug 31, 2004 16:25

"a half organised demo "

What do you mean by that? It was organised well enough to get speakers from Labour, the Greens, McGrath, Sinn Fein and the ICCL. About half a dozen other groups knew about it and were able to attend. That sounds like a well organised demo to me.

by Brian C. Tue Aug 31, 2004 16:57

Start by posting a notice advertising a worthwhile event. Add a report of that event.

Season by having some halfwit wander by, throwing abuse at a political organisation or two. Leave to simmer.

Come back in a few hours and you have an unpleasant mess.

For the record, the Socialist Party did not "boycott" the protest. Personally I didn't even know about it - my fault, not that of the organisers - and I have no idea if anyone in the SP was there. We can't go to every protest and we don't. Mekon's contribution to this thread is a particularly crass attempt to smear people and is best ignored.

Now does anyone who was at the protest have a proper report to make?

by The Mekon Tue Aug 31, 2004 17:19

Given your own record of spouting sectarian invectice on this site you are hardly in a position to criticise anyone else. I gave an account of the event and gave my opinion that the SP had boycotted the event. I gave detailed reasons for this.

I cannot believe that the SP as a whole were ignorant of this event. If they had so wished they could have arranged for members to attend. The GP, LP, SF, WSM, WCA, ISN, CWM and even the Sparts were all able to send along members. There were also independent activists present.

The only thing half-witted in this thread is your inability to give a rational reason for the abscence of the SP.

by hs - sp Wed Sep 01, 2004 00:47

thank you james for the post adding a little sanity to the debate.

Mekon you have every right to question why no sp member was there (if there was none there, i don't know every members face), you absolutely have every right to critisise us for not being there. Or supplying a speaker etc you also may question what political reasons may or may not have been behind it.

But you did not do that,

you made a statement saying the socialist party and the socialist workers party organised a boycott of a protest against deportations and a mother and child being seperated. That is a very very different thing. A Very very serious charge, and i don't suppose it occured to you to call/email or god forbid talk to someone from the party and find out the story. And you can "c'mon" all you like but I take that very personaly and wish you would leave your petty point scoring out of something so serious.

by The Mekon Wed Sep 01, 2004 10:53

At the very least the SP did not mobilise its members to attend this demo. Given the deportation which had just taken place, this was an important demo. About 10 different organisations recognised this by sending members along to the protest. This makes the abscence of the SP and SWP all the more puzzling.

by hs - sp Thu Sep 02, 2004 00:09

yes that could be said, but unfortunately you didn't just say that, you preferred a little sectarian shit stirring. So instead of making a legitimate complaint you preferred to invent a swp sp boycott, yopu preferred playing politics than writing a report on what happened. Then on other threads you wonder why we aren't interested in an alliance at the moment. You mekon are a perfect example of why, many in the party believe a left alliance would degenerate into sectarian nonsense and you strenghten their case every time.

by The Mekon Thu Sep 02, 2004 10:55

Rave on. I just dont believe that the SP as a whole were unaware of this protest. As I have already pointed out at least 10 different organisations were able to attend the demo, many of these being tiny in comparison to the SP. If the SP had so wished then it would have had members at the event.

by RJP Thu Sep 02, 2004 12:07

Please just get on with it. You're all on the same side, all this constant bickering whenever anyone organises a "protest" is just pathetic.