Irish Army plan to march with Starry Plough

national | anti-capitalism | press release Tuesday April 04, 2006 00:48 by Derry IRSP - Irish Republican Socialist Party derryirsp at hotmail dot com

The Starry Plough is the flag of the Citizen Army and of the Irish Working Class

The Irish Army plans to march with Starry Plough in Easter Commemorations. Republican Socialists object, citing the army's role in maintaining partition and upholding a capitalist state. "The Starry Plough is the flag of the Citizen Army and of the Irish Working Class."

Derry IRSP Statement
3.4.06

Derry IRSP spokesperson Martin McMonagle has reacted angrily to the suggestion that the Free State Army are to carry the Starry Plough flag during the government's planned Easter commemoration in Dublin this year.

"The Starry Plough is the flag of the Citizen Army and of the Irish Working Class. It is not the flag of a capitalist and corrupt state. Bertie Ahern's plan to wrap himself in the flags of republicanism and socialism will fail as the people will see through his ploy and his futile attempts to portray himself and his government as republicans and socialists. The use of the Starry Plough by the Free State army is an anthema to all things socialist."

Mr McMonagle went on, "This is an army that for they years that the free state has existed has been used to hunt down, imprison and murder Irish Republicans and Socialists without censure. This army was formed to protect a partitionist statelet and does not hold the values that the Starry Plough flag represents, in fact the Free State army is now nothing more than cheerleaders for the US led Nato. We in the IRSP demand that the free state forces abandon their plan to carry the flag of the Irish Working Class during the Easter commemoration.

He concluded by saying: "The fact that the partitionist state plans to hold this event is bad enough for Irish Republicans but is adding insult to injury by carrying the flag of the Irish Working Class. They have no right to do so and will only earn that right when they stand by the ideals of James Connolly and the Irish Citizen Army which is a long way off at present."

ENDS