The Plough Vol 02 No 32

The Plough
Volume 2, Number 32
13 April 2005

E-Mail Newsletter of the Irish Republican Socialist Party

1) Moral Hypocrisy
2) Shannon Airport, Uncle Sam, Iraq & the Almighty "Dollar"
3) Migrant Workers Take Stand Against Racist Taunts
4) British Ministers Attempting to Bleed Us Dry
5) Socialist Priest Speaks Out After Death of the Pope
6) Letters
7) The Mythology of People Power
8) What's On

Apologies for the delay in this issue of The Plough. It was due to
circumstances beyond the control of the Editor.

*******

MORAL HYPOCRISY

Andersonstown IRSP spokesperson Tomás Gorman has reacted angrily
to a new British government campaign against benefit fraud that he
slams as "moral hypocrisy."

The new multi-million pound campaign launched by the Department of
Works and Pensions is being spearheaded by a slick media campaign with
T.V. and radio advertisements as well as billboards appearing with
the departments message and hotline number.

The campaigns website spells out its aims as "emphasising that benefit
fraud is serious problem" and "encourage[s] people to report those
committing benefit fraud."

The Department of Works and Pensions claim that they estimate that up
to £2 billion per year is "lost" through those who commit benefit
fraud, money that could be used in other departments such as Health
and Education.

Tomás Gorman however dismisses the campaign as "a cynical attack on
the working class." He went on to say, "This new wave of government
propaganda implies those who commit benefit fraud are responsible for
our social ills, decaying communities, poor health service, bad
transport systems, failing education systems. What this campaign fails
to acknowledge is that many working class people are forced to commit
benefit fraud because of the inadequate minimum wage granted by this
government and in some cases the exploitive 'under the counter' wage
offered by their employers. Some people who need to support their
families simply have to commit benefit fraud in order to survive."

"A report published by the Trade Union Congress in January of this
year spelt out the level of wage exploitation suffered by workers in
the UK and Six Counties. The TUG claims that £23 billion is owed by
employers to workers for unpaid working hours. On average workers are
owed an additional £4,650 for their time at the normal hourly
rate." Juxtaposing this £23 billion taken from workers and the
£2 billion that workers take every year, Tomás claims it is
quite clear who is being ripped off.

Whilst he acknowledged that there were some individuals who screwed
the system for purely selfish reasons, Tomás claimed that this was
small change in comparison to the British government's
misappropriation of public funds. "The working class people, when they
see or hear these advertisements, must remind themselves that our tax
money is being stolen in it Billions to pay for the imperialist
invasion of Iraq. Our National Insurance money is not being devoted
entirely to our welfare system but rather to pay for bullets for
British troops killing innocent people in Iraq."

In financial terms, the enormity of the UK government's commitment to
war in Iraq was made crystal clear by Gordon Brown to parliament in
March 2003, when he stated that Britain would spend "what it takes" to
destroy the Iraqi regime. In his address he stated, "Last year, I set
aside £1.7 billion to be drawn upon by the MOD for security and
military preparation...when action becomes necessary, I have set aside
an additional £1.6 billion, making a total of £3.3 billion."

The most shocking aspect of this figure is not that is so high, but
rather that it wasn't enough. Tony Blair's decision to send extra
troops to Iraq last year added a further £65 million pounds per
year to the war budget to add to the existing £1.5 billion per
year. So far the invasion of Iraq has cost the British and Irish tax
payers £6.5 billion and the cost is still rapidly rising. Tomás
Gorman claims that these figures quite simply show that the British
government's benefit fraud claims are "moral hypocrisy in its extreme.
Look at the British government's pledge to the Tsunami Relief Fund,
£50 million. This equals one and a half days military spending in
Iraq. This shows the motives of the British government and its
billionaire backers, profits before people. All of this money that has
been stolen from us to be used in Iraq will not come back to benefit
us in any way. This invasion was all about opening new markets and
opportunities for super rich businessmen. This £6.5 billion that
has been spent so far is gone for on war rather than the development
of our social structures is gone forever."

The benefit fraud website gives the details of the 'Hotline' which the
public are urged to call, in strict confidence, to give information on
those they believe are ripping them off and explains the kind of
information the Department of Works and Pensions wish to receive about
fraudsters, i.e. name, address, when the leave home, do they wear work
clothes, uniform, etc.

Tomás Gorman felt that he had information on a fraudster and
decided to 'do his bit' and call the Benefit Hotline with his
information. "I dialed the number and listened to a recorded message
telling me that my call will be dealt with in complete confidence and
treated with respect. Shortly an American lady came on and thanked me
for calling and asked me what she could do to help me. I informed her
that I knew someone whom I felt was defrauding me of my tax money. She
asked me his name and I replied that he was called Tony Blair and that
he was spending £1.6 billion per year on a war that I and millions
of others didn't want. I informed her that he lived at 10 Downing
Street, London, SW2 and that he usually turned up for work wearing a
dark suit, shirt, and tie. The confused receptionist then put me on
hold for around five minutes at which point I lost patience and hung
up."

The claim that benefit fraud is a major cause of social deprivation
doesn't wash with the IRSP spokesperson. "How dare they try and blame
the working class for their failure to organise our society. In the TV
ads, we see emotive images of a mother in a run down neighbourhood, a
wheelchair bound man stranded because of a poor transport system, and
a schoolboy in a classroom all symbolically ripping up their needs in
society. Those images and the message they portray are valid but
rather than be directed at the working class communities, they should
be directed at Gordon Brown and Tony Blair for their misuse of public
money. Campaigns like this only deal with the symptoms of the biggest
social ill, capitalism. I urge all working class people to see this
campaign for what it is, smoke and mirrors for the capitalist system
and an attempt to create scapegoats for the failings of the British
government. More dangerously it is an effort to turn those in the
working class community against each other. This is clearly not the
way to a better society. The only way that we can improve the society
we live in is to agitate and organise at a grass roots level to create
a radically socialist alternative."

*******

SHANNON AIRPORT, UNCLE SAM, IRAQ & THE ALMIGHTY "DOLLAR"
By Charlie Clarke

It is an extremely worrying fact that more and more US troops are
passing through Shannon Airport on their way to Iraq.

As the situation in Iraq deteriorated during the year of 2004, an
increase of 30% was witnessed in US troop movements than that of 2003.
Over 158,000 US troops have passed through Shannon on chartered
commercial aircraft in 2004, in comparison to the 120,000 in 2003.

An amazing 18 million Euros has been generated in Shannon Airport in
charges last year, and a total of 43 million Euros since 2002, all a
result of this US military business.

All of these troops are armed and are carrying their weapons of war
with them. According to military analyst Tom Clonan, M16 rifles are
standard issue for the troops and these are likely to be carried in
the holds of the commercial aircraft. The M16 is personally adjusted
for each soldier and therefore it is highly unlikely that they would
be transported separately to the troops.

Possibly as many as half of the 150,000 troops who are currently
situated in Iraq, some of whom have been there almost a year, have
travelled through the Shannon route.

The increase from 2003 is due to heavy troop rotations in Iraq in
March and September last year. As troops were being rotated, the
numbers passing through Shannon soared, to nearly 17,000 in March and
over 22,000 in September. This is in comparison to the usual 12,000 in
any of the other months.

Another factor for the large increase is that the reservists are being
called into the war, which evidently comes direct from the US and not
from bases in Germany.

As Shannon is the nearest refuelling point to the US, it has been a
vital resource to the US military in getting their troops in "theatre"
in Iraq as quickly as possible and has enabled them to maximise their
fuel to weight ratio, allowing them to carry less fuel in exchange for
more soldiers and equipment, requiring less flights. This is only the
amount of troops that are being transported in civilian commercial
aircraft. A further 753 military aircraft has landed in Shannon in
2004 according to the statistics that were released by the Department
of Foreign Affairs, although they would not disclose the number of
troops that were carried on these flights.

Commercial airlines are also providing charter services to the US
military to carry munitions and equipment. As with charter aircraft
carrying troops, these are the responsibility of the Department of
Transport. There were 816 landings of "foreign aircraft carrying
munitions or weapons of war" in 2004, according to the Department of
Transport.

According to the Irish Aviation Authority, 75% of ALL air traffic from
America to Europe has the permission to use Irish air space. Under a
new agreement instituted in mid January, Ireland has taken over a new
portion of air space to the north west of the country, as a result of
which it is estimated that 90% of all traffic from the USA will now
pass through Irish air space. As well as the 43 million Euro that the
airport has generated in un waived charges for commercial aircraft,
the Irish Aviation Authority has also cashed in on the deal with
millions that they have charged for overflights and landing
facilities. The total sum of which has been undisclosed to the public.

The Irish government need to re-address this issue and to stop the
facilitation of the US military through our airports and ports. The
Irish were loved throughout the world, now we face becoming the bete
noire race of Europe.

AHERN - KEEP UNCLE SAM OUT OF IRELAND!

*******

MIGRANT WORKERS TAKE STAND AGAINST RACIST TAUNTS

8 April 2005
Irish Republican Socialist Party, Derry

Migrant Workers Take Stand Against Racist Taunts

The Irish Republican Socialist Party has welcomed steps taken by
migrant workers at a Derry meat processing plant against barrage of
racist taunts. Over twenty workers downed tools on Friday following an
incident at Foyle Meats during a day which many witnessed the burial
of Polish born Pope John Paul II.

A spokesperson the IRSP in Derry said: "Our party fully supports and
endorses steps taken by a number of Polish workers at Foyle Meats. No
one, whether they are an Irish worker or a Polish worker, should be
subjected to any form of racist or sectarian remarks within their
place of work. To subject anyone to abuse or harassment on the grounds
of their religious beliefs of ethnic origin is totally wrong and we
must all oppose it wherever it raises its ugly head.

"The IRSP fully supports and endorses the direct action taken, such a
walkout itself by migrant workers was the correct line of defence to
take in such sorry circumstances. In their action they have drawn a
line to show that this can not and must not be tolerated within any
workplace.

"It was unfortunate that such an incident occurred but what we as
republican socialists take comfort in is the fact that other migrant
workers who are watching this latest development unfold will indeed be
finding confidence and strength from it. They will also find courage
in the actions of the workers involved and may even take similar
actions where they themselves work."

The spokesperson concluded by stating: "Our class must make a stand
against bosses who are cheating them out of a decent living wage, just
because they think that they can do such a thing to migrant workers.
Likewise we must also make a stand against all racist or sectarian
people who happen to work along side us and against similar insults or
attacks in the communities in which we live. None of it should be
tolerated."

###

Irish Republican Socialist Party, Derry
PO Box 1981, Derry, BT48 8GX
Tel.: 02871 262999
http://www.angelfire.com/space/derryirsp/
http://www.irsm.org/irsm.html

*******

BRITISH MINISTERS ATTEMPTING TO BLEED US DRY

6 April 2005
Irish Republican Socialist Party, Derry

British Ministers Attempting to Bleed Us Dry

The Irish Republican Socialist Party rejected claims made by NIO
Minister Ian Pearson as a 'joke' for attempting to bleed working class
people dry regarding the proposed introduction of Water Charges.

An IRSP spokesperson for the Derry Cumann said: "What this un-elected
British Minister is attempting to do is bleed the working class
people dry. Ian Pearson, like the rest of his cohorts in Westminster
and Stormont, seems to believe that our class can somehow endlessly
withdraw money from some mysterious crock of gold. It is simply a joke
at which no one on poverty wages or on social welfare payments is
laughing.

"This comes during a week when people who are already living on or
below the bread line were expected to be grateful for being given a
weekly increase in their benefits of fifty-five pence. Ian Pearson's
latest comments will be viewed as insulting and obscene by the vast
majority of our class and quite rightly so."

The spokesperson concluded by stating: "Paying twice for our water may
have little effect on his wallet or that of the wallets of his puppet
Stormont MLAs. One thing is for sure it will have a detrimental impact
in the homes of ordinary working class men, women, and children who
have little or nothing to exist on already."

###

Irish Republican Socialist Party, Derry
PO Box 1981, Derry, BT48 8GX
Tel.: 02871 262999
http://www.angelfire.com/space/derryirsp/
http://www.irsm.org/irsm.html

*******

SOCIALIST PRIEST SPEAKS OUT AFTER DEATH OF THE POPE

4 April 2005
In Defence of Marxism

Socialist Priest Speaks Out After Death of the Pope
By Erik Demeester

Erik Demeester interviewed Remi Verwimp, who is an activist of a
special kind. He is in fact a priest who belongs to a group called
Christians for Socialism in Belgium inspired by liberation theology
and Marxist ideas. As a lecturer at the Theology and Society Workshop
(Werkgroep Theologie en Maatschappij) he has developed a critical view
on the Catholic Church and especially on the latest pontificate.

Before he started to analyse the 27-year pontificate of John Paul II
Remi wanted to put the last months of suffering of the Pope into a
broader perspective.

"The two month long agony of the Pope and the media hype around it is
a great mise en scène designed to identify his suffering with that
of Jesus Christ. But that is wrong. The suffering of John Paul II and
that of Jesus have nothing in common. The Pope suffered and died from
illness and old age. Jesus suffered as a result of his resistance
against an oppressor, the Roman Empire. Jesus did not just die. He was
arrested, tortured and finally murdered because he rose up against all
forms of exploitation. Jesus was killed for his beliefs and his
actions! What a difference with this man who just passed away. Those
last months of mise en scène are very typical of the theological
policy of the Vatican that is built around the figure of the suffering
Jesus. The political dimension of a Jesus who struggled against
oppression and injustice is put in the shadow. In its stead we have a
mysticism that can be applied to whatever form of physical suffering.
Jesus' example is being depoliticised."

"Yes, the media hype around the death of the Pope surprised me a bit.
But I think they've gone too far. I hear not a few people reacting
against this and becoming more critical."

In fact, an Internet poll published yesterday by the Flemish Catholic
paper De Standaard, indicated that almost half of the respondents
thought that John Paul II was not a good Pope.

Asked to explain how we should interpret the mass gatherings of
Catholic worshippers in front of the Vatican, Remi notes:

"Many people have been alienated by the Church as an institution and
by its practices. On the other hand those massive gatherings and
mourning all over the world cannot simply be explained with the media
hype. Today there is a deep quest for spirituality and religion in the
world. People are looking for shelter and a meaning to life. We live
in a society where people feel isolated and abandoned. The searching
man or woman does not find an answer. They are looking for strong
figures and personalities. John Paul II seemed to give an answer to
those people. In that sense religion is the opium of the people. This
poses the question on how to deal with religion. We know that religion
is used - and that is what the Pope has been doing - to wrap
a nice, beautiful but protective veil around the edifice of power,
dictatorship and injustice. It is used to cover up structural
injustice."

Remi does not doubt for one minute that the Pope's activities were
very political and right wing, if not reactionary:

"During his pontificate the Pope had established under his direct
initiative some 123 different religious organisations that are all
right-wing, conservative and reactionary. Some are linked to Opus Dei
but others have their own dynamic like the Egidius community, the
Tiberiades and so many others. They are based on small communities and
preach a fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible. Their aim, which
is also the Pope's aim, is to replace the old territorial structures
- parishes for instance - of the Church that are now
experiencing a general emptying out. The fact that John Paul II
refused access to the clergy for women also strengthens this tendency.
In Belgium for instance 2000 jobs aimed at helping community based
Christian groups have not been filled as a result. Meanwhile the 123
new right-wing religious groups receive all the necessary aid. Those
are the groups who also organise those world events of young people
called World Days of the Youth around the figure of the Pope. We
should nevertheless not be impressed by those gatherings. The media
presents them as the proof that the Pope is loved by young people. It
is not difficult to obtain this result of massive turnouts if those
123 organisations from all over the world come together at one place.
Of course even amongst those circles of young and mostly right-wing
people there is a desire for spirituality in a world full of
insecurity and uncertainty."

"Those reactionary objectives of the Pope are more sharply revealed in
his early alliance with the American President Ronald Reagan. When he
became president he published the so-called Santa Fe document. This
was in 1980. It was a policy report on National Security based on the
situation in Latin America. Part of the measures elaborated in this
document to combat 'Evil Communism' in Latin America was to oppose the
Christian rank and file groups who preached liberation theology. The
Pope and Ronald Reagan were in complete accord on the objectives. John
Paul II succeeded to marginalize during his pontificate the numerous
supporters of liberation theology through a policy of appointments of
right-wing clergymen and repression against people like Ernesto
Cardenal, the priest who was a minister in the first revolutionary
Sandinista government in Nicaragua in 1979. This situation made it
very difficult for groups like Christians for Socialism to develop
their work. It had a very negative effect."

"It is true that the Pope also condemned the foreign debt of the
poorest countries and that he favoured the cancellation of those
debts. He also criticised the war in Iraq, but this was probably a
tactic to protect the small Christian community in that country. Yes,
he has even criticised capitalism but only its outer forms, the
symptoms, and the consequences. He never really condemned the
capitalist system as such. He took a very different attitude in
relation to the regimes in Poland and the Soviet Union. If you
believed the media, you would think that the Pope pulled down the
Berlin wall single-handedly! John Paul II considered communism as the
worst sort of atheism, which had to be combated fervently. That
determined his support for the leadership of Solidarnosc, the Polish
trade union that fought the Polish regime. This Pope was a very
right-wing political leader of the Catholic Church."

What about the new Pope?

"I expect nothing from a new Pope, except that he will continue and
strengthen the right wing and conservative legacy of John Paul II.
There can be no doubt about it. We on our side as critical Christians
need to go and rediscover the Bible. Our Bible has been expropriated
of its content as an instrument of the poor and the dispossessed in
the struggle against injustice. Of course we nourish our inspiration
from other currents such as the socialist ones. Nevertheless we have
to reclaim Jesus as someone who struggled against the institutions and
the structures of oppression."

*******

LETTERS

Next month Peter Cassells is visiting NZ and the top union bureaucrats
in the CTU here (Congress of Trade Unions) are inviting unionists to
attend a special presentation in Wellington by him on partnership in
Ireland.

Down here, there's not a great deal of interest in government circles
in partnership. Since 1984, when the Labour government launched the
biggest attack on workers since the Depression, the trend has been to
just attack the working class and dump the old pre-1984 forms of
collaboration and not really replace them with new forms.

The employers and government basically rely on the fact that a lot of
workers are demoralised, that union membership has massively declined
and that the top union brass are totally supine. So they're not under
any pressure to come up with new forms of collaboration which might
have the veneer of even union participation let alone partnership.

Partnership is, however, the current buzz word of the aging
Armani-suited yuppies atop the union movement here (the head of the
CTU and the head of the largest union, the Engineers, are both yuppie
lawyers).

Anyway, do any of you guys have any stuff you could get to me by email
about partnership in Ireland and its results. We’d like to do a
leaflet for this meeting.

I think I had a couple of copies of 'Red Banner' with stuff on
partnership, but I'm not sure if I still have them.

Hope all is well with all of you,

Phil

[Philip Ferguson, philip.ferguson@canterbury.ac.nz]

*******

THE MYTHOLOGY OF PEOPLE POWER

London Guardian
1 April 2005

The Mythology of People Power: The Glamour of Street Protests Should
Not Blind Us to the Reality of US-Backed Coups in the Former USSR
by John Laughland

Before his denunciation yesterday of the "prevailing influence" of the
US in the "anti-constitutional coup" which overthrew him last week,
President Askar Akayev of Kyrgyzstan had used an interesting phrase to
attack those who were stirring up trouble in the drug-ridden Ferghana
Valley. A criminal "third force", linked to the drug mafia, was
struggling to gain power Originally used as a label for covert
operatives shoring up apartheid in South Africa, before being adopted
by the US-backed "pro-democracy" movement in Iran in November 2001,
the third force i s also the title of a book published by the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace, which details how western-backed
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) can promote regime and policy
change all over the world. The formulaic repetition of a third "people
power" revolution in the former Soviet Union in just over one year -
after the similar events in Georgia in November 2003 and in Ukraine
last Christmas - means that the post-Soviet space now resembles
Central America in the 1970s and 1980s, when a series of US-backed
coups consolidated that country's control over the western hemisphere.
Many of the same US government operatives in Latin America have plied
their trade in eastern Europe under George Bush, most notably Michael
Kozak, former US ambassador to Belarus, who boasted in these pages in
2001 that he was doing in Belarus exactly what he had been doing in
Nicaragua: "supporting democracy".

But for some reason, many on the left seem not to have noticed this
continuity. Perhaps this is because these events are being
energetically presented as radical and leftwing even by commentators
and political activists on the right, for whom revolutionary violence
is now cool. As protesters ransacked the presidential palace in
Bishkek last week (unimpeded by the police who were under strict
instructions not to use violence), a Times correspondent enthused
about how the scenes reminded him of Bolshevik propaganda films about
the 1917 revolution. The Daily Telegraph extolled "power to the
people", while the Financial Times welcomed Kyrgyzstan's "long march"
to freedom. This myth of the masses spontaneously rising up against an
authoritarian regime now exerts such a grip over the collective
imagination that it persists despite being obviously false: try to
imagine the American police allowing demonstrators to ransack the
White House, and you will immediately und erstand that these
"dictatorships" in the former USSR are in reality among the most
fragile, indulgent and weak regimes in the world.

The US ambassador in Bishkek, Stephen Young, has spent recent months
strenuously denying government claims that the US was interfering in
Kyrgyzstan's internal affairs. But with anti-Akayev demonstrators
telling western journalists that they want Kyrgyzstan to become "the
51st state", this official line is wearing a little thin.

Even Young admits that Kyrgyzstan is the largest recipient of US aid
in central Asia: the US has spent $746m there since 1992, in a country
with fewer than 5 million inhabitants, and $31m was pumped in in 2004
alone under the terms of the Freedom Support Act. As a result, the
place is crawling with what the ambassador rightly calls
"American-sponsored NGOs".

The case of Freedom House is particularly arresting. Chaired by the
former CIA director James Woolsey, Freedom Ho se was a major sponsor
of the orange revolution in Ukraine. It set up a printing press in
Bishkek in November 2003, which prints 60 opposition journals.
Although it is described as an "independent" press, the body that
officially owns it is chaired by the bellicose Republican senator John
McCain, while the former national security adviser Anthony Lake sits
on the board. The US also supports opposition radio and TV.

Many of the recipients of this aid are open about their political
aims: the head of the US-funded Coalition for Democracy and Civil
Society, Edil Baisalov, told the New York Times that the overthrow of
Akayev would have been "absolutely impossible" without American help.
In Kyrgyzstan as in Ukraine, a key element in regime change was played
by the elements in the local secret services, whose loyalty is easily
bought.

Perhaps the most intriguing question is why? Bill Clinton's assistant
secretary of state called Akayev "a Jeffersonian democrat" in 1994,
and the Kyrgyz ex-president won kudos for welcoming US-backed NGOs and
the American military. But the ditching of old friends has become
something of a habit: both Edward Shevardnadze of Georgia and Leonid
Kuchma of Ukraine were portrayed as great reformers for most of their
time in office.

To be sure, the US has well-known strategic interests in central Asia,
especially in Kyrgyzstan. Freedom House's friendliness to the Islamist
fundamentalist movement Hizb ut-Tahrir will certainly unsettle a
Beijing concerned about Muslim unrest in its western provinces. But
perhaps the clearest message sent by Akayev's overthrow is this: in
the new world order the sudden replacement of party cadres hangs as a
permanent threat - or incentive - over even the most compliant
apparatchik.

[John Laughland is a trustee of http://www.oscewatch.org/and an
associate of http://www.sandersresearch.com/.]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1449869,00.html

*******

WHAT'S ON

*

Saturday, 16 April

Bring Them Back! March for the return of Athlone Mothers - Saturday
16th Apri 12:00 - From Burgess Park (near Golden Island) To St.
Peter's Square

Iyabo Nwanzi and Elizabeth Odunsi

Having fled the danger and turmoil of Nigeria, Elizabeth and Iyabo
settled in Athlone in the summer of 2001. Both women have become an
important part of the town's life. They sought to build a safer,
better future for themselves and their children by studying English,
Mathematics, and Computer Applications in a Vocational Training
Opportunities Scheme. They looked forward to the day that they they
would be allowed to work and support themselves in their adopted
country.

Now, more than ever, this country needs people of moral integrity, a
sense of justice and a respect for those around them. Elizabeth and
Iwabo are such people. They have embraced the life and culture of
Athlone. They have become good friends and neighbours. Their children
have spent the last four years at school with our children; they are
classmates, school friends and teammates; they have grown up
together.

To see the families of Elizabetha and Iyabo torn apart and separated
from their friends, to see their dream of a future free of abuse and
fear crushed and to see their children hiding in fear is beyond
comprehension. Our immigration and asylum system has failed them, our
state has failed them and anyone who remains silent on their plight is
failing them.

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr. Michael
McDowell has said that if the children of Elizabeth and Iyabo are
presented to him he will return them to Nigeria. To give these mothers
a choice between bringing their children into danger or being
separated from them indefinitely is inhumane.

We ask you to add your voice to ours in calling for the return of
Elizabeth and Iwabo. Help us to speak for those who are not being
heard. Help us to reunite these Athlone mothers with their children.
Elizabeth and Iyabo and their two youngest children must come back to
Ireland.

They must come home to Athlone, now!

*

Saturday, April 30

Comrades - The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign is inviting all
interested parties to join us for a strategy meeting re the June
Ireland/Israel soccer match on Saturday April 30th, probably in the
Teachers' Club. Time TBC, but probably around 12.30.

In solidarity - Raymond Deane, Chair: IPSC

*

Saturday, April 30

National May Day Demonstration - Solidarity with Migrant Workers

Republican Socialist Contingent

Assemble: Saturday April 30th 2pm, Garden of Remembrance,Parnell
Square, Dublin.

This year's May Day trade union demonstration will take place on
Saturday April 30th meeting at 2pm at the Garden of Remembrance in
Parnell Square.

The demo will march to Liberty Hall and is on the theme of solidarity
with migrant workers. The march itself has been called by the Dublin
Council of Trade Unions.

Bring Your Work Mates, Friends, Family, Flags (Starry Plough/Red) and
Solidarity!

Irish Republican Socialist Party, Dublin
PO Box 10081, Dublin 1, Ireland
Telephone: 0876 320 323
Email: dublinirsp@hotmail.com
http://www.dublinirsp.150m.com/
http://www.irsm.org/irsm.html

*

Sunday, 1 May

May 1: May Day Rally for Jobs, Not War - Bring the Troops Home Now!
Union Square (New York City), 1pm.

Join us May 1 to say, "Jobs, Not War!" Thousands of working people,
trade unionists, veterans, youth, and antiwar activists will take to
the streets on May Day - International Workers Day - to
demand jobs, housing, and education, not war and occupation.

http://www.TroopsOutNow.org/

On March 19, thousands of activists, students, veterans, and community
organizers joined in a historic march from Harlem's Marcus Garvey Park
to Central Park to demand an end to the illegal occupation of Iraq.

The turnout for this demonstration confirms that the antiwar movement
has entered into a new phase of organizing against the war. It
confirms that the greatest attention must be paid to reaching out to
communities most impacted by the war and by the policies of the Bush
Administration. These communities are the targets of the budget cuts.
They are also targeted by military recruiters, who exploit economic
hardship with false promises of opportunity. As a result, the children
of these communities are dying disproportionately in Iraq, paying the
ultimate price for a policy of greed and empire.

On May 1 the Troops Out Now Coalition and the NYC Million Worker March
are calling for a Jobs, Not War!

Bring the Troops Home Now! rally in Union Square, NYC.

May Day grew out of the struggle of working people in this country
more than 100 years ago for an 8-hour workday with a full day's pay.
All over the world, working and poor people march on May Day to send
the message that workers are united and have the right to a job, a
living wage, health care, housing and education. Workers have a right
to pensions and social security. Immigrant workers and the unemployed
should have the same rights. On May Day 2005, let's bring back that
fighting spirit.

This is an important opportunity to link the struggle against the war
with the struggle for jobs, healthcare, and education here at home.

Now, more than ever, the antiwar movement needs to be in the streets
to oppose the Bush Administration's agenda of endless war. Two years
ago, George W. Bush took the U.S. into war under the pretense that
Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Now, his Administration is
claiming that Iran and North Korea possess weapons of mass
destruction. It is important that we expose any talk of removing the
threat of nuclear weapons as just another justification for a
pre-emptive war against the people of Iran and Korea.

As the Bush Administration gears up for new military adventures,
working people at home are under attack, as budgets for education,
housing, and healthcare are slashed, the cost of living rises, and
jobs are disappearing.

For more than 100 years, May Day has been a day for working people to
be in the streets, united in the struggle for jobs, healthcare, and
housing. Join us in the streets, May 1 in Union Square!

What you can do:

1) Endorse the May 1 Rally:
http://www.troopsoutnow.org/may1endorse.html

2) Help get the word out. Download flyers at:
http://troopsoutnow.org/literature.html

3) Donate: http://www.troopsoutnow.org/donate.html

4) Organize transportation from your area:
http://www.troopsoutnow.org/volunteer.html

http://www.NoDraftNoWay.org/

*******

Please feel free to comment on the contents of The Plough. We welcome
political comments and criticisms.

If you know of anybody who might wish to receive The Plough please
send his or her e-mail address to johnmartinps@eircom.net.

If you wish to receive back copies of the The Plough please e-mail
to johnmartinps@eircom.net stating which numbers you wish.

To unsubscribe to The Plough please send e-mail
entitled "unsubscribe" to johnmartinps@eircom.net.

It is the policy of The Plough to acknowledge information and
articles from other sources.

Subscribe to the bi-monthly
"The Starry Plough/An Camchéachta"
P.O. Box 1981, Derry, BT48 8GX, Ireland.
THE VOICE OF REPUBLICAN SOCIALISM!
Email: starry_plough@hotmail.com
Website: http://www.irsm.org/irsp/starryplough/

Fighting Fund/Donations
To: The Starry Plough
First Trust Bank, Derry, BT48 6BU
Account No. 14986015 Sort Code No. 93-86-10

http://www.irsm.org/irsm.html (Pairtí Poblachtach Sóisialach na
h-Éireann)
http://www.wageslave.org/jcs/ (James Connolly Society)
http://www.marxists.org/archive/connolly/ (James Connolly Archive)

The Republican Socialist Forum from Derry IRSP
http://rsmforum.proboards23.com/

Republican Socialist Online Merchandise - A website that offers a
central place to go on the Internet to find good quality items with a
distinct Republican Socialist theme. Proceeds from sales from this
effort go towards the IRSM and its various projects.
http://www.angelfire.com/folk/irishshop/

*

Support the IRSP

Standing Order Form

To the Manager First Trust Bank, Andersonstown.

Please pay First Trust Bank Andersonstown Branch, Belfast, and credit
to Irish Republican Socialist Party, A/C Number 70490021, Branch Code
93-84-75

The sum of:
Amount in words:

Commencing date: and thereafter every month till further notice.

And debiting A/C number:

Name (Please print clearly):
Date:

Address:


Signature: