The Plough Vol 01 No 48

The Plough #48
19 July 2004

E-Mail Newsletter of the Irish Republican Socialist Party

1. IRSP Slam PSNI/British Army "Heavy-Handedness" in Ardoyne
2. Community to Blame?
3. Teach Na Failte Opens New Office in North Belfast
4. What's On

*******

IRSP Slam PSNI/British Army "Heavy-Handedness" in Ardoyne

The IRSP in North Belfast have slammed the tactics used by the PSNI
and British Army in Ardoyne during the contentious 12th July Orange
parade.

This comes after recent disturbances resulting from the overturning of
the Parades Commission by the PSNI to allow the 400 UDA/UFF
coat-trailing bigots to return from their march via the Crumlin Road
at Ardoyne shop fronts. This decision had sparked fury from residents
and quickly turned to violence as we saw heavy-handed tactics being
employed by the PSNI.

An IRSP spokesperson, Charlie Clarke, who was at the scene stated,
"Once again we have watched the district of Ardoyne become a prison,
surrounded by a ring of steel and guarded vehemently by heavy-handed
PSNI/British Army riot squads.

"People of this community have been hemmed in from early morning and
are denied the freedom to move freely and conduct their business with
normality. This is because every year we face the backlash of
sectarian marches walking through this working-class republican area.
It is no longer acceptable and the people of this community have
understandably resisted.

"The PSNI overturned a decision laid down by the Parades Commission
and allowed the supporters to return through this area. About 400 well
known UDA/UFF volunteers representing K Coy. were flaunted under the
noses of the residents of Ardoyne and were heavily guarded by the
PSNI. Also with the crowd was a mob of drunken louts who began hurling
bottles and various other missiles into the protestors on the other
side of the barricade. It is only natural that with tensions running
as high as they were, fueled by the PSNI betrayal, that the community
responded in the way they did.

"When people realised that this was happening, they were met with the
cold truth of 'policing,' beaten down by police batons and manhandled
to the point of GBH. This certainly brings into dispute the
eligibility of the Parades Commission. The IRSP call for the immediate
resignation of those within the PC and the disbandment of this
ineffective organisation. Organisations who continuously make
decisions only to be overturned by the PSNI are not needed. We also
call for nationalist politicians to stand down from the Policing
Board. Once again we see the cold reality that the PSNI are not
acceptable in these communities and will continue to be so until the
full implementation of the Patton Report is in place."

The events that followed were described by Charlie Clarke to be "the
worst street violence that this community has witnessed in the course
of twenty years." He went on to add, "the fact that the paratroopers
were placed into position along Ardoyne Road at the top of Cranbrook
Court shows quite clearly that the PSNI were intent on causing
violence at this time. There was no need for the British Army to be
situated here in the very heart of demonstrators, and their presence
and the force that they adopted heightened tensions within the
community.

"I believe that this was a cleverly orchestrated tactic used by the
PSNI to move the focus from the Orange parades and place it upon this
community. I take this opportunity to commend the bravery and courage
of all the men, women and youths of this area who valiantly resisted
attacks from the PSNI/British Army. However, I remind those involved
that there remained a very real threat to the safety of civilians from
the retreating British Army, who undoubtedly would have reverted to
their first instinct to implement the use of live ammunition."

The area has been reported quiet but tense over the last few days with
a restrained calm being firmly in place. The spokesperson further
added, "two further parades are due to pass through the area within
the next few weeks and the IRSP will be monitoring very closely
developments within the area. The IRSP would also take this
opportunity to refute any such allegations that were made by the
gutter press journalism of the Sunday World that the INLA were
responsible for orchestrating the violence that occurred as a result
of the heavy-handedness of PSNI officers against this community whilst
forcing loyalists through their area. No such allegations could be
further from the truth."

Meetings with the community have been held and further meetings are
being organised in order to avoid another occurrence of last week's
violence.

*******

Community to Blame?

Much has been talked about the issue of contentious Parades and flags
being a community problem. In recent days statements from a wide range
of bodies including statements from two PSNI-RUC spokesmen claimed
that the communities could only resolve the issues. The implication of
this is that the "two communities" can sit down and resolve the
problem while the state bodies act in a mediating role. This is just
so much bullshit!

There are no two communities -- instead we have a divided working
class who clash in deprived areas.

Blame is allocated equally by the great and the good. The reality is
that sectarian elements in unionism want to lord it over nationalists.
It is a case of "croppy lie down." They are aided and abetted in this
by a range of state bodies including the NIO, the police force, the
prison service and the intelligence agencies. Many employees of state
bodies acquiesce in sectarian attitudes and actions.

Six years on from the so-called historic Good Friday Agreement we do
not have justice, democracy or freedom. We have a biased police force,
a bigoted prison service, and an arrogant bevy of British overlords
making decisions for us, no democratic assembly and naked sectarian
hatred given free range every July. Unionism simply does not recognise
the right of people in the North to be either republicans or
nationalists. Like the Bourbon kings of France they have learnt
nothing!! July 2004 confirms that the state of Northern Ireland is in
essence still a cold house for nationalists.

Was it for this that men and women sacrificed the best years of their
lives in struggle in prison in exile and for many in death? Surely
there must be some within the Provisional Sinn Fein movement who
question the leadership driven peace process that has given them
electoral strength, but no influence?

At the end of the day the only class republicans can rely on is not
that class that sucks you in and then sells you out but the Irish
working class, the incorruptible inheritors of the fight for freedom

*******

Teach Na Failte Opens New Office in North Belfast

Teach na Failte has recently under gone expansion throughout the
country with its newly developed office opening in Ardoyne, North
Belfast.

Work was carried out by ex-prisoners and other voluntary workers from
the area with no receipt of financial help or assistance from funding
agencies. An amazingly high standard of workmanship was provided
throughout, a real credit to all those who undertook this project.

The office is manned from Monday to Thursday each week from 11am to
4pm with a team of dedicated voluntary workers aiming to tackle the
issues that pose problems to the ex-prisoner community and their
families.

Although this is a republican socialist project with the interests of
our ex-prisoners and their families in mind, Teach na Failte will help
anyone regardless of any political or religious background.

Teach na Failte also hopes to play a constructive role in defusing
sectarian tensions and interface problems in the North Belfast area
and are actively involved with other bodies and agencies in order to
maximise that influence.

Our offices can also be used by community groups who find themselves
without premises for their meetings and we would also intend to engage
with women's groups from the community and have a constructive role in
contributing to the needs of the youth of the area.

Teach na Failte wish to present to the public a higher profile for our
ex-prisoner population and provide a republican socialist outlook and
response to the problems they incur in their everyday life. Long term
training and education are priorities of Teach na Failte that will
assist the ex-prisoners to further their skills and employment
opportunities so they may reintegrate fully back into society.

We also endeavour to have an impact through the offices of mediation,
conflict resolution, and advice and counselling to the local and wider
community.

For further information please visit our website at
http://www.teachnafailte.org/ or by contacting our offices at 028 9075
1705. Alternatively, call into our offices at Unit 8, Flax Centre,
Ardoyne Avenue, BELFAST BT14 7DA for a friendly chat. All our dealings
are conducted with the utmost confidentiality.

Charlie Clarke
(Treasurer -- North Belfast Management Committee)

*******

What's On

*

Friday, July 30th

BALKANS SEMINAR

Democratic Dialogue is organising a seminar, in conjunction with the
Institute of Governance at Queen's University Belfast and the de
Borda Institute, on 'The Difficulties of Democracy Building, Identity
Formation and Ethnic Nationalism in the Balkans'. The seminar is to
be led by Rory Conces, an assistant professor of philosophy and
member of the International Studies faculty at the University of
Nebraska at Omaha, who is also editor of the International Third
World Studies Journal and Review. The event will take place on
Friday, July 30th, at 11.00am in room 101 Lanyon North (first floor,
Lanyon Building), at Queen's (directions from the porter's lodge at
main entrance). Prof Conces has lectured in China, Croatia, and
Kosovo; as well as having been a Fulbright Scholar in Bosnia and
Herzegovina. Approaching issues of ethnic identity from a political-
philosophical standpoint, his talk will be of considerable resonance
to Northern Ireland.

Further information from robin@democraticdialogue.org.

*

Saturday 31 July

As part of the discussions and debates at the West Belfast Festival
there will be a event about Racism, featuring prominent speakers.

Date: Saturday 31 July
Venue: St Mary's University College
Time: 2.00pm ­ 3.45pm

"Anti-Irish Racism and the Experience of Belfast's Ethnic Minorities
Today: Making the Connection"

Chair: Fr. Des Wilson

Speakers:
Dr. Robbie McVeigh, The Experience of Anti-Irish Racism
Claire Hackett, Falls Community Council's Dúchas Oral History
Archive

Video presentation on the Belfast historical experience of
sectarianism and discrimination.

The Experience of Ethnic Minorities Today

Armie Cerezo - Filipino Nurse
Jamal Iweida - Belfast Islamic community Anti-Racist activist
Bernadette McAliskey ­ Civil Rights, Ireland and the USA: Making
the Connection

*

August 2-7-2004

1) Resistance and Hope ­ Assisi, August 2-7
Call for the Anti-imperialist Camp, Assisi, Italy, August 2-7

Mankind is travelling in fear on a train towards the abyss. This
abyss is the mercilessly waged global war. The train is steered by
the United States of America, to be precise, by a group of
adventurers dreaming of a dead and mute world with one single God,
the dollar; with one single banner, that of stars and stripes; with
one single language, that of American oppression.

These adventurers are driven by a vision which neither admits
compromises nor half ways: the clash of civilisations not only with
Islam but also with anybody who believes in the co-operation between
the peoples and who consider peace as the holiest of all values. They
have given a name to their doctrine: "permanent and pre-emptive war"
which not only displays the warmongering character of the North
American regime but also the idea that the US were a superior nation
with a special mission namely to exercise the global predominance at
any cost. The alibi, which this doctrine builds on, is the terrorist
threat. Those who employ indiscriminate force against defenceless and
innocent civilians, those who consider a person guilty if it does not
believe in their God, might believe to be on a straight way to
paradise but surely contribute to the transformation of this world
into an inferno without hope. The only remaining hope of the world is
the Resistance, the struggle of the peoples for freedom and self-
determination.

The American aim is not only to subjugate the poor and oppressed
nations but also those who still enjoy some liberty. The Patriot Act
and the anti-terrorist Black Lists show that the most elementary
democratic rights are at stake also in the West and particularly in
the United States. Virulent racist and chauvinist crusades attempt to
criminalise the anti-imperialist and revolutionary forces as well as
the organisations of immigrants. They even want to silence the peace
movement.

The anti-imperialist Resistance has indestructible roots and dates
back to the very beginning of the imperial North American ambitions.
Where there is oppression there will always be revolt as well, where
there is dictatorship there will always be the struggle for
democracy, where there is injustice there never will be peace.

Today the Iraqi people is testifying for the Resistance keeping up
their heads against the American war criminals and their paranoid
designs to Guantánamise the world. The Iraqi resistance has taken
the way paved by the Palestinian Intifada. By building a united front
of all the fighting forces it will gain further strength transforming
itself into a national liberation war. This front, the embryo of a
future government of a liberated Iraq, will be able ­ once the
invaders are driven out ­ to call upon the Iraqis to elect a
democratic constituent assembly exercising the full and undivided
sovereignty of the Iraqi people.

The future of humanity depends on the outcome of the battle raging in
Iraq. The heroic town of Falluja, having chased away mercenaries
armed with the most sophisticated weaponry, shows that the Iraqi
people are able to win as the Vietnamese people won. The decisive
factor ­ in war even more than in peace ­ is not technological
superiority but what motivates the people to fight.

We have to unite with the Resistance of the Iraqi people to help
mankind to liberate itself from the North American menace.

The future of the world depends on the victory of Iraq!

2) Iraqi presences and programme of Assisi

This year's Anti-imperialist Camp will have its focus on the Iraqi
resistance. The Iraqi Patriotic Alliance (IPA) will present its
efforts to build a common political front of all forces struggling
against occupation. For the Iraqi Democratic Communist Current, which
is a component of the IPA, Ahmed Karim will be present and for the
Iraqi Communist Party (cadre) Nori al-Moradi.

A global meeting of all the forces and committees in open support of
the Iraqi resistance is scheduled. The preparation of the
international day of action for the resistance scheduled for
September 25 will be one of the topics on the agenda.

The preliminary programme:
http://www.antiimperialista.com/en/view.shtml?category=48&id=1083700704&keyword=+.

*

Tuesday 3 August
"Palestine -- What Future?"

Speaker: Diana Buttu (legal advisor to the PLO)
Introduced by Martin McGuinness, Head of Sinn Fein Negotiating Team

7.30pm-9.30pm St Mary's University College, Belfast

[Biog: Diana Buttu is a Canadian/Palestinian lawyer and peace activist
who has worked as a legal advisor to the Palestinian Authority's
negotiating team. The child of Palestinian refugees, she holds a
doctorate from Stanford University on refugee issues and is a
recognised authority in this field and in the field of international
law. She has participated in many speaking tours in Canada, the United
States, Europe and the Middle East.]

Wednesday 4 August
PALESTINE DAY

St Mary's University College, Belfast

11.00am - 1.00pm
The Media and the Middle East

Film: "Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land," (including Noam
Chomsky, Robert Fisk and other prominent media experts, on the Middle
East).

This will be followed by a panel discussion chaired by Prof. Bill
Rolston, involving prominent media personalities. (We are trying to
get the Glasgow Media Group who recently published research on the
media's coverage of Israel.)

1.30pm-3.00pm
Discussion: "Children of Palestine: No Past, No Present, What Future?"

Chair: Paddy Kelly, Children's Law Centre
Speakers: Oisin Coghlan, Christian Aid;
Brian Dooley, Amnesty International;
Naomi Wayne, Jews for Justice for Palestine.

Followed by the official West Belfast launch of new charity
'Palestine's Child'.

Hosted by Tim McGarry of BBC TV fame, and a member of the infamous
Hole in the Wall Gang.

3.30pm-4.30pm
Belfast premiere of the film: "Arna's Children".

This highly emotional and dramatic documentary film released last year
follows the lives of children in Jenin, Palestine, over a number of
years, from their involvement in a youth drama theatre to resistance
and death on the streets of Jenin.

*

Saturday 7th August

5pm at Conway Mill, Conway Street, West Belfast

Organised by the World People's Resistance Movement in co-cooperation
with Feile An Phobail/The People's Festival (West Belfast Festival).

"5in Réabhlóid i Neipeál Muileann Mhic Con Midhe. Le
haoichainteoir ó Neipeál. Socraithe tri Ghluaiseacht
Fhrithbheartaiochta Mhuintir an Domhain."

-Speech
-Discussion
-Video of Mass Rally in Katmandu
-Literature tables

Since 1996 the masses of Nepal have carried out an anti-monarchy
anti-imperialist revolution under the leadership of the Communist
Party of Nepal (Maoist). This revolution has advanced with an amazing
speed. During recent months the party has successfully led several
countrywide strikes involving millions achieving total shutdown! Most
of the countryside is under the people's power-red base areas. The
People's Liberation Army advances and the masses of people exercise
new political power, engage in a new economy in the interests of the
masses and enjoy a new rich culture. People's power is growing, the
old state and its imperialist backers are shivering and hopefully soon
people of the world will have their first red base country to advance
their world revolution.

Come to this Meeting to hear and to discuss the Revolution in Nepal
and to watch a video of a Mass Rally in the Capital of Katmandu!

How to get to Conway Mill

Go to Castle St Black Taxi rank in underground car park next to
Iceland supermarket. Take Black Taxi up Falls Rd. Past Divis Tower on
left. Carry on up to Garden of Remembrance -- you'll see the tricolour
flag + monument -- Conway St. is exactly opposite. Large red brick
building on right behind dole office. Go to rear entrance through
gates + car park).

*******

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*

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