Posted by Jim on March 29, 2015
by Eoin Ó Broin
Eamonn McCann’s Irish Times articles are an odd thing. His casual disregard for the facts is matched only by his willingness to join the establishment chorus against Sinn Féin.
Writing in the Irish Times on 12 March Eamonn made a number of claims which are just plain wrong.
He claimed that Sinn Féin had pulled out of the Stormont House Agreement – not true.
He claimed that trade union pressure forced such a move – not true.
He claimed –albeit under cover of quotes from the DUP and Green Party- that Sinn Féin’s stance on welfare cuts was inexplicable and reckless – not true on either count.
And he implied that Sinn Féin was only now opposing welfare cuts – yet again not true.
He also misrepresented ICTU President John Douglas’s address to the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis – although to be fair he probably didn’t even bother to read the speech.
Such flagrant disregard for the facts –particularly when the subject is Sinn Féin- is commonplace in the right wing media.
But for a left wing activist to trade in such sloppy journalism is surprising… or is it?
Unfortunately Eamon suffers from that Trotskyite pathology of always have to attack your more moderate rival on the left, irrespective of whether the facts support your case.
Exposing ‘reformism’ and highlighting ‘class betrayal’ is the strategic imperative for revolutionary socialists such as Eamonn.
The reason is very simple – according to his analysis Sinn Féin is not a potential ally on the left but the main obstacle to the growth of the Socialist Workers Party and its electoral alliance People Before Profit.
As long as working class voters, in Derry and Dublin, support ‘reformist’ parties such as Sinn Féin then the revolutionary left will remain marginal and the prospects of the overthrow of the capitalist state will remain slim.
So at every opportunity ‘real’ socialists must focus their critical attention on the ‘reformist’ left in order to detach the working classes from their ‘misguided’ support for ‘reformist’ parties.
Commentary on all political events must be squeezed into this narrative. If that requires bending and breaking the facts to suit the pre-ordained script then so be it – all in the service of the revolution.
So what are the facts surrounding the latest crisis in Stormont.
Sinn Féin supports the Stormont House Agreement and we want it implemented in full.
As part of our long standing opposition to Tory welfare cuts we ensured that there would be real protections for those dependent on social welfare.
The DUP, as they so often do, are trying to renege on that deal.
Sinn Féin’s last minute opposition to the Welfare Bill was to ensure that they keep to the commitments to protect existing and future claimants.
The trade union mobilisation on 13 March was in opposition to two aspects of the Stormont House Agreement – the voluntary redundancy scheme and the possibility of a reduction of the rate Corporation Tax.
Eamonn is right when he says that thousands of public sector jobs will go under this scheme.
But what he conveniently fails to mention is that that the British government in Westminster has unilaterally cut the block grant to the Assembly by £1.5bn and has imposed additional financial fines on the Assembly because of our refusal to implement welfare cuts.
The origin of austerity in the North is not the Assembly but the British government in Westminster. They are taking the decision to cut spending. The Executive is then left to pick up the pieces.
Eamonn also fails to mention that if the Executive parties had not reached an agreement at Stormont House the Assembly would have collapsed, Direct Rule would have returned, and the scale and depth of Tory cuts would have been even worse.
Sinn Féin has consistently opposed the Tory cuts agenda being imposed by Westminster. We have also outlined a better way to manage our affairs.
Full transfer of fiscal powers to the Assembly and lifting the restrictions on borrowing from bodies such as the European Investment Bank would provide the Assembly with the tools to chart a more progressive policy path.
In the meantime Sinn Féin are trying to mitigate, as best we can, the worst impacts of the Tory cuts agenda.
You would have thought that a left wing activist such as Eamonn would know all of this and at least offer tactical support to Sinn Féin’s efforts while remaining critical of the Stormont House Agreement.
But then he wouldn’t be able to cry class betrayal and his paymasters in the Irish Times wouldn’t have another anti Sinn Féin voice to publish in their newspaper.
So the interests of Trotsky’s permanent revolution and the southern establishment’s defense of its political and economic privilege coincide in their mutual opposition to Sinn Féin.
Enter stage left Eamon McCann, shouting in the service of the system. How ironic.
Originally published in An Phoblacht in March 2015
Posted by Jim on
Paddy Clancy
The American Irish Teachers Association has initiated a petition to the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Commission in Washington to issue a commemorative stamp celebrating the American Declaration of Independence and the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic.
The United States Postal Service has a valued tradition of issuing U.S. commemorative stamps honoring significant events and distinguished persons. On July 14, 1989 the USPS issued a stamp in collaboration with the French government on the French Revolution. On February 26, 1999 the USPS issued a stamp commemorating Irish immigration, an issuance which was the successful outcome of a massive lobbying campaign by the Irish American community during the 150th anniversary period of Ireland’s Great Hunger.
The American Declaration of Independence is recognized for its great gift to all people in laying the foundation principles for a modern democracy, principles that influenced the aspirations of Irish patriots in their quest for freedom and independence.
The proposed model for the stamp would have illustrations of the Declaration of Independence and the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic flanking the Light of Liberty under a banner containing the words “Liberty’s Legacy.”
The American Irish Teachers Association is urging all Irish organizations and individuals to write to Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee, 475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Room 3300, Washington, D.C. 20260-3501 in support of the commemorative stamp celebrating the 1776 Declaration of Independence and the centennial of the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic.
Posted by Jim on March 28, 2015
A secret British army undercover unit may be redeployed to the north in
the run-up to the centenary of the 1916 Rising, according to reports.
It has been reported that up to 60 members of the Special Reconnaissance
Regiment (SRR) have already been returned to the Six Counties in advance
of commemorations this year to mark the 99th anniversary of the
insurrection against British Rule on the streets of Dublin.
Officially MI5 carries out the majority of intelligence gathering work
for Crown-force agencies in the north. However, in the past the British
army has also carried out its own military-grade spying operations.
The 14th Intelligence Company, a forerunner to the SRR, was involved in
suspected shoot-to-kill incidents and has been accused of carrying out
political assassinations with loyalists. Other British army units,
including the Military Reaction Force, were heavily involved in
directing sectarian killings. Members of the unit are believed to have
killed several innocent Catholic men after it was set up in 1971.
Reports of the deployment comes as it appears increasingly likely a
leading member of the British royal family will attend one of the major
commemorative events in Ireland in 2016.
Sinn Fein has criticised the idea. Earlier this month, party delegates
backed a motion against inviting any British royal or government member
from attending any official state event during the 1916 Rising
commemorations at their annual conference in Derry.
But Dublin government officials have expressed concern that the
anniversary of the Rising could spark a resurgence of interest in the
Irish national cause.
“Let us seek to ensure that the Ireland 2016 commemorative programme
does not become an unnecessarily divisive issue,” the 26 County Foreign
Minister Charlie Flanagan wrote this week. He said he wanted to invite
“international friends and partners” to reflect on the events
surrounding the rising.
His comments were echoed this week by Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness, who
said centenary commemorations must be inclusive and reflect all
perspectives of the event.
The deputy first minister stressed the need for a “mature and
inoffensive” approach as he launched his party’s plans to mark the 100th
anniversary of the Rising next year.
Noting the colours of the Irish tricolour, Mr McGuinness said: “The
orange part of the flag is as important as the green and I think we are
very proud to be part of that generation of Irish republicans that is
prepared to appreciate that, is prepared to accept that as we face into
difficult challenges.”
The publicity event saw uniformed re-enactors dramatise some of the
events of 1916, including the declaration of the Republic on the steps
of the General Post Office (GPO) in Dublin.
Mr McGuinness said the leaders’ vision of a republic remained
“unfinished business”.
“So the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising is a time to build – it is a
time to rededicate ourselves to the achievement of the Republic declared
in 1916 – so let us imagine and achieve that better future.
“I have been an Irish republican for over 40 years and over that very
lengthy period of time this is absolutely the most exciting time to be
an Irish republican because of the growth of support for our party
because of the desire to use our mandate wisely for the purposes of
bringing about our primary political objective, which is the unification
of our country by purely peaceful and democratic means. I think all of
this is achievable.”
Posted by Jim on
Taoiseach Enda Kenny [Irish Prime Minister] has met families of civilians who were murdered by members of the Parachute Regiment in the Ballymurphy Massacre over a three-day period in August 1971.
The Taoiseach was welcomed by families at the location of the shooting dead of four of the eleven civilian at the Manse on Springfield road. He was shown the close proximity of the murder scene to the then Henry Taggart Army Barracks, the Taoiseach commented himself that it was not more than 25 yards. He also took the opportunity to lay flowers at the scene and took a moment for reflection. This walkabout in Ballymurphy was followed by a private meeting with families and political representative, including Alliance Party, Sinn Fein and SDLP as well as Fr Tim Bartlett representing the Bishops office.
Commenting afterward John Teggart said ” The meeting went extremely well, the Taoiseach lived up to his promise to come to Ballymurphy and meet with us, it was an opportunity for him to see firsthand the locations of our loved ones deaths and I think he was moved by it. We also had the opportunity to brief him on the progress of the campaign and the new evidence that has come to light since we last met in January 2014.”
The new evidence is the report by Dr Laurence Rock former consultant in the RVH casualty department, who has stated that had Joan Connolly received proper medical attention she may have survived her injuries.
The recent acquittal of Terry Laverty who’s case has demonstrated that no “riot” took place and that the Army personnel lied to secure a conviction.
The ordering of Coroner Kitson of the exhumation of Joseph Murphy.
Briege Connolly added that the Taoiseach has committed himself to again fully endorse the independent Panel Proposal and he has agreed to call on British Prime minister David Cameron to meet with the families. We are delighted to hear that he is making progress on drawing up an all party motion in the Oireachtas, in support of the Ballymurphy Massacre Campaign, which he will be putting forward at the end of march.
The PSNI and The MOD have consistently delayed and obstructed the disclosure process and documents have been over redacted making them useless in many cases, families raised this with him today. The Taoiseach has reassured the families that he will be raising these issues with the Prime minister as a matter of urgency. He has already committed the Irish governments full resources to the Kingsmill families in terms of disclosure, which the Ballymurphy families welcome. The Ballymurphy Massacre families have called on David Cameron to show leadership and follow the example of the Taoiseach in this matter.
John Teggart can be contacted on 02890230222
The Ballymurphy Massacre Film is being shown today in Rome as part of the Irish film Festival
Posted by Jim on March 26, 2015
by Michael J. Cummings
According to a 2015 FORBES magazine survey 41 million Americans claim Irish heritage . Far fewer, of course, know anything about that Irish heritage either here or on yonder shamrock shore. I was one of them. In 1972 I listened to Bernadette Devlin speak in NYC and, as the expression goes, that has made all the difference. Over many St Patrick’s Day celebrations since, I have observed that around the feast day many important things are going on in America and in Ireland that usually go unnoticed by most celebrants. Take, for example, this year.
THE THREE AMIGOS
Remarks about the Anglo-Irish conflict of His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Vice President Joe Biden and a Goldman Sachs analyst Kevin Daly were widely quoted in the media. This is unusual in itself as none of them have been known to say anything of significance about Ireland’s conflict before. The Cardinal claimed the IRA and ISIS were alike. Apart from its disregard of the facts, virtually no one, even ex-British Army types, agreed with the analogy. In Washington, Vice-President Biden greeted N. I. Assembly leaders with “..if you are not wearing green you’re not welcome here” or words to that effect. Not the affable Joe’s finest hour! Goldman Sachs rolled out their ‘house’ Irish face, Kevin Daly, to explain why he thought the policies of Sinn Fein in Ireland would be troublesome for Ireland’s economy. This from the firm at the center of the mortgage meltdown which stopped America’s economy in its tracks!! Decades ago British leaders were behind a patently false article in the ECONOMIST magazine in order to scuttle talks about a re-united Ireland. You can be sure Mr. Daly is but a prop in that larger struggle.
WASHINGTON WATCH
It is customary for the British to have some royalty prancing around America and this year it was ‘Chazz’ and ‘Cammy’ who had a private audience with President Obama. At the same time, the State Department was canceling a scheduled meeting with Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams. Ironic No? Royal relics are ushered into the Oval Office while the door is shut in the face of a Member of the Irish Dail and the elected leader of a political party….for a meeting the Department scheduled! Added to this farce we have Dana Millbank of the Washington Post reporting on a press conference of U. S. Representative Price by citing St Patrick’s Day as “..the festival of inebriation.” A pathetic performance by the Department of State and a predictable performance by the Post. Britain’s dark forces at Whitehall… behind so much of the mayhem and slaughter in the North of Ireland… must have been doing cartwheels in Trafalgar Square.
MEDIA MASSAGE
Her Majesty’s Government has always been concerned that their dirty war in Ireland is covered up and that their treacherous role in Irish history be ‘cleansed’ in publications. Their influence in this respect is masterful and this St. Patrick’s Day was a shining example of their prowess. The NEW YORKER magazine published a long article by a Patrick Keefe who rehashed an old news story about a 1972 IRA killing not long after the British Army murdered 14 civil rights protesters in Derry and shortly after Britain’s Widgery Report not only absolved the murderers but blamed the victims. All the British buzz words were there. For example, “the Troubles’, as if Britain’s murderous reign was the equivalent of constipation. Or labeling as “one of the worst atrocities” the IRA execution of a British Army informer. The ‘atrocity’ label clearly belongs without question to the British Army 1974 no-warning bombing of Dublin and Monaghan killing 33 (mostly women and children shopping) and injuring 300. Or my favorite, citing “British repression” in quotes as if there was any question of the three decade record of their injustice and violence. The author noted that there was no response to his requests from Sinn Fein as though there was any need to respond to his tired tripe and smear.
Not to be outdone, the WALL STREET JOURNAL ( writer is a subscriber ) offered for their celebration of St Patrick’s Day a book review of R. F. Foster’s book VIVID FACES which generally panned Ireland’s revolutionary leaders. Like so many previous British smear artists the reviewer chose to highlight the homosexual tendencies of some of the leaders. The Anglophile newspaper that quotes Winston Churchill or Margaret Thatcher with utter abandon can be most scholarly and observant on many matters but not when it must follow a British diktat on Ireland!
Members of Congress hastily held a public hearing of the Helsinki Commission in Washington to explore England’s many delay tactics in addressing issues of the past in N. I. and their many failures in protecting human rights and promoting justice. Key witness Patrick Finucane’s widow Geraldine has become an international symbol of how America remains incapable or unwilling to demand the British bring her husband’s killers to justice. Chairman Chris Smith (R-NJ) did not explain the absence of the Department of State’s human rights officials at the hearing . Nor did he explain how the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (S. 284) which he sponsors could sanction British officials for that murder and others. Perhaps for another day.
So you see there are other things about the Irish heritage of Americans going on around St Patrick’s Day besides parades. Hopefully in the not too distant future more Americans will become aware of such activities and demand change. When Gerry Adams addressed an audience in NYC with his first visa, he told them that the game-changer was radically opposed by the British not because they were afraid of him but because they were afraid of Americans. Now if only half of those 41 million Irish Americans could make that truth a reality.
Michael J. Cummings