The Plough Vol 03 No 13

The Plough
Volume 3, Number 13
24 January 2006








E-Mail Newsletter of the Irish Republican Socialist Party

1) Editorial: Collusion
2) Thoughts for the Day
3) Labour News in Ireland
4) From the Newspapers
5) Letters
6) What's On

*******

EDITORIAL: COLLUSION

The British Secretary of State Peter Hain has said that the Finucane
family can forget about an inquiry into the solicitor's murder if they
will not accept the one proposed by the government.

The terms of the inquiry into collusion between the security forces
and Mr. Finucane's UDA killers has been a source of dispute between
the Finucane family and the British government.

Mr. Hain has told The Universe, a Catholic newspaper, that the inquiry
will be held under the controversial Inquiries Act or there will be
"none at all".

Under the Inquiries Act, ministers rather than chairmen of an inquiry
have the power to keep information secret thus destroying the
independence of the tribunal investigating the case.

The British government had rushed the Act through Parliament last
year. However, under it the ministers in charge of those behind the
murder will be in charge of Pat's inquiry.

The Finucane family has received widespread international support for
their campaign for an independent public judicial inquiry.

Retired Canadian Supreme Court Justice Peter Cory, who recommended the
inquiry into the 1989 Finucane murder, has indicated that the
conditions imposed by the Act are unacceptable and now more than eight
months after passing the Act, the British government has been unable
to find a judge who will agree to chair the Finucane inquiry.

There is now little or no chance of the truth of British government
direct involvement in the murders of Irish citizens now coming into
the cold light of day.

*******

THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY

Ø Beware those who wrap themselves in flags stolen off the coffins of
dead soldiers.

Ø From 1945 to 2005, the United States attempted to overthrow 50
governments, many of them democracies, and to crush 30 popular
movements fighting tyrannical regimes. In the process, 25 countries
were bombed, causing the loss of several million lives and the despair
of millions more. (Thanks to William Blum's Rogue State, Common
Courage Press, 2005).

Ø During the 18 months to 14 January, 1999, US aircraft flew 24,000
combat missions over Iraq; almost every mission was bombing or strafing.

Ø On 7 December, Maya Evans, a vegan chef aged 25, was convicted of
breaching the new Serious Organised Crime and Police Act by reading
aloud at the Cenotaph the names of 97 British soldiers killed in Iraq.
So serious was her crime that it required 14 policemen in two vans to
arrest her. She was fined and given a criminal record for the rest of
her life.

Ø Eighty-year-old John Catt served with the RAF in the Second World
War. Last September, he was stopped by police in Brighton for wearing
an "offensive" T-shirt, which suggested that Bush and Blair be tried
for war crimes. He was arrested under the Terrorism Act and
handcuffed, with his arms held behind his back. The official record of
the arrest says the "purpose" of searching him was "terrorism" and the
"grounds for intervention" were "carrying placard and T-shirt with
anti-Blair info" (sic)(Source for above: The Quiet Death Of Freedom,
By John Pilger, first published in the New Statesman
http://www.newstatesman.co.uk/)

Ø "I have no country to fight for; my country is the earth, and I am
citizen of the world." -- Eugene V. Debs

*******

LABOUR NEWS IN IRELAND

From Labour Start
http://www.labourstart.org/

MANDATE MEMBER SACKED BY DUNNES STORES FOR WEARING UNION BADGE

An employee of Dunnes Stores in the Ashleaf centre in Crumlin in
Dublin has been sacked by the supermarket chain for wearing her union
badge in the workplace. Joanne Delaney, a Shop Steward at the store
recently received an indefinite suspension from work for wearing a
badge identifying her as a member of Mandate, the Union which
represents over 40,000 workers in the retail sector and bar trade,
including staff at Dunnes. Joanne received a letter on 29th November
2005 informing her that she had been dismissed by the company.
Dunnes Stores has accused her of not complying with company policy in
relation to the wearing of her union badge on her uniform. The Mandate
member had been suspended by a manager at the store since 18th October
for refusing to remove the Mandate Trade Union badge from her uniform.
The suspended member was advised to attend a disciplinary meeting at
6.00p.m. on Friday, 21st October. However, the meeting was cancelled
due to the fact that she was accompanied by her Union Representative.
The Company has continually denied her the right to be represented by
a Trade Union Official at meetings with management.

Responding to the dismissal, Mandy Kane, Divisional Organiser of
Mandate said "This sacking is petty, vindictive and does the image of
Dunnes Stores no favours whatsoever. Relations with Dunnes have been
declining all the time. However, this particular case would seem to
indicate that the company has reached an unprecedented low point in
its dealings with its staff on the shop floor. Despite the efforts of
Mandate to seek a resolution to this issue over many weeks, the
company has continued to frustrate our genuine attempts to represent
our member through established procedures. Joanne has been told by
company management that her employment has been terminated because of
her refusal to comply with what they say is company policy. Mandate is
at a loss as to which part of company policy prohibits the wearing of
a badge on a staff uniform."

Brendan Archbold, National Official with Mandate explained that there
are well established mechanisms available to Dunnes Stores and
operated by the union which had been repeatedly by-passed by the
company during this whole process. "The decision by Dunnes to sack a
member of Mandate for wearing her union badge is symptomatic of a
wider campaign by the chain to undermine this union and to
systematically erode our right to represent our members effectively.
For a considerable period of time now, it has been clear to Mandate
that the company has wilfully and methodically sought to obstruct our
efforts to engage with them on a variety of issues. This is just one
example of the company’s deplorable attitude to Trade Unions. Issues
such as this have contributed to the souring of the industrial
relations environment in Dunnes Stores. The company continues to
ignore the principles of natural justice and the Labour Relations
Commission code of practice on disciplinary procedures as they work to
isolate and emasculate the union. Unless this matter is dealt with
satisfactorily from the union’s point of view, it has the potential to
escalate given the worsening atmosphere at the company" he concluded.

Galway hospital workers protest over outsourcing of jobs
24/01/2006 - 11:47:03

Workers at University College Hospital in Galway are planning a
lunchtime demonstration today to protest against the outsourcing of
jobs at the facility.

The IMPACT trade union claims around 100 clerical and administrative
jobs at the hospital have been outsourced to agency workers in breach
of negotiated agreements.

Today's hour-long protest is part on an ongoing series of
demonstrations arranged by IMPACT to protest against the hiring of
agency staff to conduct tasks normally carried out by health service
employees.

The union believes hospitals are engaged in such moves to get around
the Government's embargo on the recruitment of more public service staff.

24/01/06

SIPTU gains 15,000 non-national members over 18 months
By Niall Murray

THE country’s largest union has gained 15,000 members from the growing
number of foreign nationals working here in the last 18 months.

SIPTU general secretary Joe O’Flynn said the issue of exploitation of
foreign workers and evidence of falling pay rates in certain sectors
must be addressed in the upcoming talks on a new social partnership
agreement.

The union will hold a special conference next Tuesday at which the
national executive will recommend to delegates that it should enter
these negotiations. The Government invited the Irish Congress of Trade
Unions (ICTU) to talks a fortnight ago, but the support of SIPTU with
its 200,000-plus members would be vital for the strength of the wider
union movement.

Mr O’Flynn said that a large number of SIPTU’s non-national recruits
have come from the construction and services sectors to secure
representation and employment rights.

He was commenting after a TNS/MRBI poll found that almost four-in-
five adults believe that people coming here from the 10 EU accession
countries should need work permits.

The same survey, in yesterday’s Irish Times, found that 70% believe
that no more non-national workers should be allowed come here or that
their numbers should be reduced.

"These figures show more of a concern... that migrant labour should
not be abused to drive down pay and conditions," Mr O’Flynn said.

But he said the question of work permits for migrant workers, as
recently raised by Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte, would only arise
if the national pay talks failed to achieve the protections for this
group being sought by the union.

"I think he was saying that, if the Government is not prepared to act
in an open economy such as ours in terms of strict labour law
enforcement, then you would have to look at a permit scheme to protect
both migrant labour and Irish workers," Mr O’Flynn said.

*******

FROM THE NEWSPAPERS

*

Ethiopia: IMF favourite launches brutal crackdown

On October 7th 2004 Tony Blair praised his handpicked Commissioner for
Africa, Meles Zenawi, the Ethiopian Prime Minister for "the greater
freedom and democracy there is here today." There was a good reason
for such praise. Zenawi’s government had implemented almost every
recommendation the World Bank and IMF put forward for the country. And
Zenawi was so keen to support Bush and Blair in their war on Iraq that
he offered the use of Ethiopian air bases.

However, since June 2005 when Ethiopian soldiers opened fire on
demonstrators protesting the fraudulent May election results, the
country has been gripped by civil unrest. The last two months have
seen an intensification of the struggle with up to 40,000 arrested, a
ten-day general strike in Addis Ababa, daily protests being met with
beatings and deaths and continuing student strikes around the country.

The June protests in which at least 26 demonstrators were shot dead
were over the ruling party’s declaration that it had won the May
elections, despite the opposition winning a landslide victory in the
capital. Ephraim, a student activist explains:

"Most people hate Meles and his government, because of the continuing
crisis in the countryside where people every day are being driven off
the land because they simply can’t survive. Because of the lack of
political freedom, because of unemployment in the cities, because of
corruption – having to pay bribes to government officials to get
anything done, because of so many things. The vote for the Coalition
for Unity and Democracy are a protest against the government …
everyone knows the system is corrupt and have done for years. But we
were too afraid. Now finally, enough is enough and people are
beginning to fight back."

The official election results were delayed, despite the ruling party
claiming victory, until November 1, when mass protests erupted on the
streets of Addis Ababa. A ten-day general strike was declared.

"We were determined to support the strike and set up roadblocks with
huge stones and boulders, anything we could get our hands on,"
explains Addisalem, a voluntary worker in the capital. "It was very
frightening but also exciting as we closed down the whole city and for
a while all the soldiers could do was look on. We felt like the
Palestinians. This was our Intifada."

Unrest rapidly spread to other Ethiopian towns – Awassa, Jimma,
Dessie, Debre Birhan – and a national student strike was declared.
Thousands of people were rounded up and taken off to camps.

Tefara, a minibus driver who took part in the strike said,

"When the strike was over, I reluctantly went back to work. I didn’t
want to, but if I didn’t work, we couldn’t eat. I saw police rounding
up anyone in their twenties they could find. I was very scared. They
dragged me off the bus and sent me down to Zeway [a town south of
Addis]. I was put into the football stadium with thousands of others.
It was very hot, with no shelter from the sun. They kept me there for
a month. We had nothing to eat except stale injera [a type of flat
bread/ pancake] and shiro [bean paste]. I saw lots of people die from
beatings or just exhaustion."

There are still protests almost every day. A British doctor, visiting
Addis last month describes the situation

"I saw a lot of primary school students shouting, “Release our
leaders! Release our leaders!” All of a sudden I heard gunshots and
saw soldiers firing indiscriminately. Everyone just started running. I
was running too, I was scared for my life. The city’s still gripped by
these protests."

Ethiopia continues to be wracked by poverty. 85% of the population
live in rural areas as small farmers or agricultural labourers. GNP
per capita is around US $110 a year, less than 30 cents a day. Much of
the farming is near subsistence with a small surplus sold in the
market. Prices for coffee, Ethiopia’s main export earner, have crashed
in recent years as the multinational cartels have forced prices down.
The result is that many coffee farmers are ripping up their crops and
some are joining the mass migrations from countryside to town to swell
the ranks of the urban poor, who have little means of making a living
beyond begging or prostitution.

Life expectancy is 48 and falling. HIV infection is around 7% and
health care statistics are grim with no access for retroviral drugs
(except for the very rich). There are only 20,000 doctors (one per
3,500 people). In fact there are more Ethiopian doctors in Washington,
USA, than the whole of Ethiopia. School enrolment rates are amongst
the lowest in the world with fewer than 40% in primary school and less
than 10% in secondary school.

One of the main questions in Ethiopia is land reform. Small plot size
means that if the rains fail, the crop fails. While the opposition
might be gathering protest votes its programme for the country is more
IMF recipes. They want to privatise the land leading to even more
farmers becoming bankrupt and the probable reintroduction of
landlordism and more rural to urban migration.

A socialist solution would be to provide interest free loans, cheap
fertilisers and machinery to the peasants; to help farmers invest in
irrigation and encourage farmer co-operatives so that crops could be
diversified. The few large private farms would be nationalised and run
as model farms. There would be an investment in education,
particularly for women, and health care. Private factories would be
seized and run for local need not the obscene profits of the ruling
class. Power would be taken back from the hated police and army and
neighbourhood committees would organise its own militia.

Through the recent months of struggle, Ethiopian workers and students
are beginning to realise the power they have, but only a revolutionary
workers party can take that power to its revolutionary conclusion.
(FifthInternational.org Global Newswire 17 January 2006 ISSUE #274)

*

Moroccan AMDH asks for the release of Saharawi political prisoners

Rabat, 18/01/2006 (SPS) -- A Moroccan human rights organisation asked
on Tuesday for the release of 14 Saharawi political prisoners,
currently detained in the Carcel Negra in the occupied city of El
Aaiun. It expressed "concern" about the situation of human rights in
Western Sahara, reported Algerian Press Service, APS.

In q press release concluding the works of the meeting of its Central
Bureau on Monday, the Moroccan Human Rights Association (AMDH) asked
for the immediate release of all Saharawi human rights activists and
the stopping of all lawsuits engaged by the Moroccan justice against
Saharawi political prisoners.

AMDH underlined that it is following with "concern" the situation of
14 Saharawi political prisoners, whose trials will take place this
January the 24th after many postponements and a first heavy sentences
pronounced by Moroccan colonial court last December against the prisoners.

The press release of the Moroccan NGO’s Central Bureau also denounced
"all human rights violations they (Saharawi activists) underwent since
their arrest to their condemnation by an illegal justice".

The 14 Saharawi human rights activists, the majority of whom were
arrested after the peaceful demonstrations started by the Saharawi
population in the occupied El Aaiun and in other Saharawi cities and
communities since last May 2005 to ask for the independence of Western
Sahara, were condemned last December the 13 and 14 to sentences going
between 6 months to 3 years, it should be recalled.

The defence of the Saharawi activists appealed against these sentences
and the trials will be undertaken this Tuesday the 24th of January.


Many international organisations, including Amnesty International and
Human Right Watch estimated that the Saharawi activists were condemned
after doubtful and unfair trials. (SPS)

Source: SAHARA PRESS SERVICE

*******

LETTERS

*

Bowing to Spontaneity

Dear Comrades,

What is the IRSP about? Should not we be about the POLITICAL
organisation of the working class in Ireland. Our aim is to provide
political LEADERSHIP to the emerging struggles of the people.

What are we concretely involved in at the present moment? When we look
about what our members do objectively, we see that on the ground they
carry out a lot of SOCIAL WORK. (ie organising children's day out,
reinsertion of former combatants etc) and COMMEMORATIVE ACTIVITIES (ie
plaque unveiling).

What is the political significance of those activities? As such,
social work carried out by our comrades is a legitimate activity. They
are doing - adapted to local circumstances - the same sort of work
that the Black Panthers Party carried out (like organising free
breakfasts), or Mao's directive to help the people in order to build a
red base.

However, where they can be criticised in that we have failed to
intrinsically relate them to the project of political organisation of
the working class and provide a political leadership. We are not
benevolent 'social workers', 'community activists' but TRIBUNES OF THE
PEOPLE.

One of our priority should be to clarify and make explicit how those
SOCIAL activities are strategically related to our central POLITICAL
tasks.

For example, how do these activities challenge the backward nature of
political and class consciouness in Ireland ? Do these activities
raise the political and class consciouness of the people? There is the
danger of comrades being complacent about the existing level of
political consciousness of the people and bowing to spontaneity.

I have the feeling that some comrades get involved in those activities
in order to prepare the ground for an ELECTORAL intervention. Have we
fully worked out the implications of a potential electoral
intervention? That should be clarified.

Because 'radical' councillors are not necessarily the same as
PROFESSIONAL REVOLUTIONARIES.

Let's say we had many more members, and all of them got involved in
every existing issue. What exactly are we trying to achieve? Do we
think that having IRSM members leading all those struggles will be
SUFFICIENT, in itself to bring about a social revolution whenever the
time is ripe? No. What we have there is an accumulation of various issues.

We need to understand what we are trying to achieve. According to
scientific socialism, capitalism is a dynamic system which destroys
the conditions for its own sustainability. From the point of view of
RISK MANAGEMENT it is far more volatile and prone to cause disasters
than other ways of organising society.

From this, we try to place Ireland within the global capitalist
system, the nature of its insertion. And also how the main local
social actors (the working class and the bourgeoisie) are inserted
internationally. We need to forecast from global trends when crisis
time is likely to hit the Irish social formation.

What are the central issues, the MAIN CONTRADICTION (as Mao would have
put it) affecting the balance of forces between classes in Ireland?
What is its principal aspect? Mentioning a whole series of issues from
water taxes to neutrality fails to identify the main contradiction.
(This is not a criticism of the political secretary, just pointing
that we need to do some further thinking.)

Then once the principal and secondary contradictions are identified,
we need to ask ourselves: what STRENGTHENS our class and political
current? What WEAKENS the enemy? Who is the principal enemy? Who are
our allies? An objective analysis of strenghts and weaknesses needs to
be developed.

These are just some thoughts to open political debate amongst our
comrades.

Comrade L.

[The above is a slightly modified version of a document by an IRSP
comrade. We include it to encourage debate and welcome responses to
this from our readers.]

*

REPUBLICAN SOCIALIST YOUTH MOVEMENT RAFFLE

The RSYM is selling tickets for a raffle will be April 17th, 11am at
Costello House. The prizes are a POW-made bodhrán (traditional Irish
drum), DVDs and assorted IRSM merchandise valued around 15 euro. The
price of each ticket is 2 euro, 1 pound or 3 dollars.

The funds raised from raffle ticket sales will help RSYM to acquire a
banner, badges, pay for their website and so on. It's important work
in establishing the IRSM's youth wing and all sales are greatly
appreciated!

For North American purchases, contact tj@irsm.org. For those in Ireland
and Europe contact sp@rsym.org.

Also, if any IRSM comrades or members can assist us in selling tickets
on their own, contact me and we'd be happy to give you more tickets
to sell.

*

Demand justice in Chile!

On September 11, 1973 in Chile a coup d'état led by General Augusto
Pinochet defeated the democratic government of Salvador Allende and
resulted in thousands of deaths, disappeared, tortured, exiled,
impoverished, repressed, discriminated, mistreated and exploited people.

Today, 32 years later, the majority of the disappearances and
assassinations remain unresolved and almost all the murderers and
torturers enjoy freedom. We ask for your signature on this letter to
demand the end to impunity in Chile in order to build a democratic
society and future.

Demand justice in Chile!
SIGN ON NOW!

December 2005

Open letter to:

Hon. Ricardo Lagos E., President of Chile
Hon. Marcos Libedisnsky, President of the Supreme Court of Chile

We, the undersigned citizens of Chile and of the world, are deeply
concerned about the very slow progress of the process of discovery of
the truth, and of the trial and conviction of those responsible for
violations of human rights committed during the military dictatorship.

While we are pleased at the news that Augusto Pinochet will finally
face legal proceedings, it is nevertheless the case that the majority
of the individuals responsible for crimes against humanity are still
enjoying complete freedom, while their victims and their family
members continue to search for truth and justice.

Among the many pending cases are those of the officers and members of
the Chilean Air Force, led by Gen. (r) Edgar Ceballos Jones, who
first, under the cover of SIFA and DIFA, and later via the Joint
Command, disappeared dozens of people, summarily executed Jose Bordas
Paz and Alfonso Carreño Diaz, and tortured hundreds of civilians.
These victims even included fellow soldiers who refused to participate
in such vile acts, including the late Gen. Alberto Bachelet.

All of the documentation needed to try the authors of these acts is
already in the hands of the courts of justice. The fact that these
crimes have not been brought to justice is due only to the lack of
political will on the part of the three branches of government in Chile.

On the other hand, we salute the positive examples of Judges Juan
Guzmán and Carlos Cerda, members of the Supreme Court, and of Judge
Milton Juica and José Benquis, as well as many others, who we thank
for their professional ethics and their humanity. To them, to the
victims and their families, to national and international solidarity,
and to civil society and human rights organizations, we owe the few
advances that have been made so far.

Thirty two years should be enough time to resolve these cases and
bring the guilty to justice. If these cases can not be resolved by the
Chilean legal system, then it will be necessary to use international
legal mechanisms which are beyond the reach of national impunity.

*

Inigo Makazaga
27 Years Old, Serving Ext. (SP)

Iñigo Makazaga is a 27 years old basque imprisoned at Belmarsh
(London), under special security regime due to the serious charges
that are being made against him by the Spanish government for almost 3
years. After more than 4 years he is still waiting to face a demand
for extradition that is being carried by the Spanish government.

Iñigo has been in isolation regime at Belmarsh High Security Unit for
3 of the 4 years he is in this prison. During these years he has spent
around 23h a day in his cell. Last september a Judge reduced his
charges taking into account the weakness of the Spanish government’s
evidences and he was moved on January 2005 from Category A to Category
B but he is still waiting the decission about his extradition from the
Home Officer who is delaying it, in the meantime Iñigo is still in
Belmarsh. This situation is a continuation of an unjustified sentence.
Iñigo was an active militant in the basque student movement as well as
a member of an Herri Batasuna’s comitee (Basque left-wing party which
was banned under J. M. Aznar’s government).

He suffered mistreatment at the hands of the Spanish police when
arrested as he quotes: "they threatened to split my head open if I
didn’t state what they wanted me to, all the while they punched me in
the shoulders, in the chest, the ears and pulled my hair and threw me
against the wall and to the floor."

Iñigo is just one of thousands of Basques, who due to their political
actions, have had to seek refuge in different parts of the world, as a
consequence of the repression and conflict situation in the Basque
Country.

The Spanish media has already condemned Iñigo, violaiting his right to
be presumed innocent. Amnesty International and the UN human rights
comissioner name the Spanish State in their report about Torture
worldwide.

After 4 years in jail Iñigo is still waiting for the resolution of his
case. If Iñigo is extradited, he risks being yet another case of
Torture in the next report of these organizations.

Write a Letter or send a post card of support and solidarity to Iñigo:

Iñigo Makazaga
Prisoner No. FF7630
HMP Belmarsh Western Way Thamesmead
LONDON SE28 0EB

For more information on Iñigo's fight and the Basque Campaign against
Extradition: http://www.geocities.com/basquecampaign/extradition/index.htm

Basque Campaign London
http://www.geocities.com/basquecampaign/

Until All Are Free - We Are All Imprisoned!

*

FRONTLINE LATIN AMERICA No 2 A NEW QUARTERLY NEWSPAPER

In this issue:

Students and Coke: ‘Constructive Engagement’ The Big Debate
Reports on international resistance to Coca-Cola and Nestlé
Higher Education special
Indigenous resistance: A continent wakes up to its murderous history
BP on trial: Colombian campesinos take BP to court
Developments in Latin America: Bush in Argentina, FTAA dead in the
water, San José update,
Popular Women’s Organisation interview
Y MUCHO MÁS!

SUBSCRIBE TODAY! UK subscription rates: £5 per annum

JOIN THE COLOMBIA SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN!
Member subscription includes membership to the Colombia Solidarity
Campaign
Individuals: waged £15.00, unwaged £7.50, organisations £30/60/120.

Mark category of required subscription and return with payment made
out to 'Colombia Solidarity Campaign', to Colombia Solidarity
Campaign, PO Box 8446, London N17 6PJ

*******

WHAT'S ON

Bloody Sunday in Derry
Wednesday 25th January 2006

8.00pm FILM
The Salt of the Earth (1954, US, 94mins, Feature)
Directed by Herbert Biberman-one of the "Hollywood Ten" jailed for
refusing to cooperate with McCarthy’s Congressional inquiries the film
tells the story of a strike by Mexican-American workers over dangerous
working conditions. It was banned in the US for its daring political
content which anticipated the civil rights and feminism movements by
nearly ten years.
Venue: The Gasyard Centre, Lecky Road

Thursday 26th January 2006

8.00pm DRAMA
Political Assassinator In a world increasingly structured by military
power what are the physical, psychological, and spiritual consequences
of being a soldier, of forgoing moral considerations and saying "My
country right or wrong"? Political Assassinator takes the
Israeli/Palestinian conflict as the context for a riveting exploration
of the nature of War in our time. Performed by Yoram Mosenzon this is
a chance to see a world class artist at the height of his powers
taking on a crucial question.
Venue: The Playhouse, Artillary Street

Friday 27th January 2006

8.00pm THE ANNUAL BLOODY SUNDAY MEMORIAL LECTURE
Towards a Just Ireland The annual Bloody Sunday Memorial Lecture will
this year be delivered by Alan McBride, whose wife Sharon was one of
ten people killed in the IRA’s bombing of Frizzell’s fish shop on the
Shankill Road on the 23rd October 1993.
Venue: Main Hall, The Guildhall, Guildhall Square

Saturday 28th January 2006

12.00pm PANEL DISCUSSION
What Justice Demands of Saville
A panel of local people who witnessed events on the day or lost a
loved one will give their personal views on what the community needs
to be able to heal the wound of Bloody Sunday and move on. Panel:
Mickey McKinney (family member), Eamon McDermot (journalist) and
former Bishop of Derry, Edward Daily. The event will be chaired by
Angela Hegarty who will also offer her view as a lawyer and human
rights activist.
Venue: Main Hall, Pilots Row, Rossville Street

1.00 – 5.00 CONFERENCE
Dealing with the legacy of the conflict, dangers and opportunities?

1.00 – 1.45 Introduction
1.45 – 3.30 Workshops x 3
3.30 – 5.00 Report Back

With the welcome withdrawal of the proposed NI Offences Bill, the
establishment of the Historical Enquiries Team and news that the
Police Ombudsman will also investigate ‘historic’ cases we ask where
now for families who have lost loved ones to state forces in the
conflict.
Following the opening discussion the conference will then break up
into workshops, reconvene with a report back and draw the event to end
with a closing discussion.
Venue: Main Hall (Introduction & Report Back), Pilots Row, Rossville
Street

2.30pm PANEL DISCUSSION
FOR SALE - By Auction, A Small Offshore Island, Its People, Its
Environment, Its Integrity Where the Pentagon calls the shots in
Shannon, Shell imprisons farmers from Mayo and warmonger Raytheon is
welcome to Derry, are you for sale? This event will see a panel of
activists speak about the campaigns against corporate power and
corporate greed and the alternatives to doing nothing.
Venue: Main Hall, Pilots Row, Rossville Street

4.00pm DISCUSSION
Anarchism, the State and Justice
Can justice really be achieved if we get someone else to do it on our
behalf – a lawyer, an NGO, a priest or a political leader? Are the
means we use to achieve social justice as important as achieving
social justice itself? And how important are the different political
philosophies – reformism, nationalism, republicanism, and socialism -
in getting to our goals? From the same tradition that inspired Emma
Goldman, Mahatma Gandhi, Noam Chomsky and Leo Tolstoy, the Workers
Solidarity Movement set out the case for Anarchism.
Venue: Committee Room, Pilots Row, Rossville Street

7.00pm FILM
Death in Gaza (UK, 2004, 80 mins, Documentary)
Written/Reported by Saira Shah, Filmed/Directed by James Millar, this
is his poignant and unflinching look at the lives of three Palestinian
children caught up in the cycle of violence, dramatically culminating
in the director’s own death at the hands of the Israeli Defence Forces.
Venue: Theatre, Pilots Row, Rossville Street

9.00pm DRAMA
Political Assassinator In a world increasingly structured by military
power what are the physical, psychological, and spiritual consequences
of being a soldier, of forgoing moral considerations and saying "My
country right or wrong"? Political Assassinator takes the
Israeli/Palestinian conflict as the context for a riveting exploration
of the nature of War in our time. Performed by Yoram Mosenzon this is
a chance to see a world class artist at the height of his powers
taking on a crucial question.
Venue: Theatre, Pilots Row, Rossville Street

9.00pm SOCIAL EVENT / FUNDRAISER
The all important fundraiser social event that gives people a chance
let their hair down or gel it up. Live bands & DJs
Social Event @ the Gasyard Centre:
Venue: The Gasyard Centre, Lecky Road

Sunday 29th January 2006

11.00am MEMORIAL SERVICE

Wreath Laying Ceremony and Prayer Service – everyone welcome.
Bloody Sunday Monument, Rossville Street

2.30pm ANNUAL BLOODY SUNDAY COMMEMORATIVE MARCH
The Annual Bloody Sunday Commemorative March, followed by rally at
Free Derry Wall. At the close of the rally the organisers are asking
people to light a candle (3637 in total) in memory of all those people
who lost their lives as a result of the conflict. Candles will be
provided freely. Speakers: representative from Sinn Fein, SDLP and
Mark Thompson (Relatives for Justice) Chaired by Kay Duddy, sister of
Jackie Duddy who was one of the fourteen killed on the day.
Assemble 2.30pm Creggan Shops

Note: On Sunday 29th Café Creggan on Fanad Drive, Creggan will open
from 11am to 3pm serving lunch and dinner.

The Bloody Sunday Centre has moved from Foyle Street to Glenfada Park
in the Bogside. The Centre will be open to the public at 9.30am to 4pm
every week day from Monday 23rd January. Phone number 028 71 360880

For further information on the programme of events please contact
Adrian Kerr @ the Bloody Centre 028 71360880

Bloody Weekend Organising Committee

Dublin Protest - Bloody Sunday Rally

A Rally will be held at the GPO in Dublin on Saturday January 28th
from 1PM to 3PM ,
to remember the 14 people massacred by British forces in Derry on
January 30 , 1972 .

All welcome!

Scotland Protest - Bloody Sunday Commemoration

MARCH & RALLY

SUNDAY 29TH JANUARY 2006

ASSEMBLE 10.30AM SHAMROCK STREET, GLASGOW CITY CENTRE,

(RALLY POINT: ROYSTONHILL)

SPEAKERS IN ATTENDANCE, ALL WELLCOME!

*

Wednesday, 25 January

Challenging the Invisibility of Black and Ethnic Minority Women in
Ireland (January 25, Dublin)

A seminar organised by AkiDwA on Wednesday 25th January 2006 From
10.00 am- 5.00 pm at the Ripley Hotel, Talbot Street, Dublin 1.

CONFERENCE BACKGROUND
While the invisibility of black and ethnic minority women continue to
be apparent, women from different backgrounds who have chosen Ireland
as their home continue to empower themselves through organising and
networking. Majority have and are prepared to speak out mainly on
issues that affect them in their lives.

With little or no resources these women uses whatever they have to
improve their lives and that of their communities. This conference is
being organised by Akina Dada wa Africa (AkiDwA) to give such women
space to speak for themselves, share their experiences and as well
strategise on how they can make greater impacts.

The aims of the conference are
To provide solidarity, support, awareness and to build links with
black and ethnic minority women active in the areas of their own
development
To provide a platform for black and ethnic minority women where they
can speak out
To challenge stereotypes and the invisibility imposed to black and
ethnic minority women
To provide practical strategy on how to move forward.
BOOK LAUNCH
Herstory - A book that consist 10 Migration stories of African women -
will be launched in the afternoon of the seminar. The stories narrate
how lives of these women use to be in Africa, what caused them to
migrate and the migration Journey. The publication of the book was
funded by Ireland Funds.

*

Sunday, 26 January

VISIT PALESTINE (80 minutes Film)
Sunday 26th January 7pm Tricycle Cinema, 269 Kilburn High Road, London
NW6

Tickets £8 and £7 - BOX OFFICE Telephone 020 7328 1000

"An astonishing piece of work, a wonderful film...quite unlike
anything I've seen." - John Pilger

What drives a young, well-educated Irishwoman to volunteer as a "peace
activist" in the Middle East? Caiomhe Butterly is one of a growing
number of volunteers who risk their own safety to intervene in the
long-running and bloody conflict between Israel and Palestine. Several
internationals, including her, have now been injured. Some have died.

In this film, she describes witnessing the aftermath of the attack on
Jenin in April 2002. The film follows her work, the main emphasis
being "the accompaniment of communities at risk". Despite being
threatened, shot in the leg and deported later that year, she is
determined to go back. In the interim, she brings her story back to
her native Ireland at public meetings, receives a Time Magazine
"European Hero Award", and travels to post-war Iraq to visit the
Palestinian refugee camps. She arrives back in Jenin, shortly before a
young woman from that community, Hanadi Jaradat, blows herself up in a
suicide bombing in Haifa.

Activists such as Butterly are usually stereotyped as lunatics,
meddlers or saints. This film offers an insight into a brave, honest,
determined yet self-critical woman who takes direct action to the
limit, with no quest for glory. She also serves as a conduit into the
everyday lives of Palestinians, who are also usually presented to the
viewer in a one-dimensional way, as fighters or victims, heroes or
fanatics. The film gives us a rare chance to see what she calls "the
spaces of beauty and joy" created by a people under occupation.

*

Wednesday, 8 March

International Women’s Day Wednesday 8th March 2006

Day and Evening events

Marking the 70th Anniversary of the Spanish Anti-Fascist War 1936-1939

The Clarion Call; Women & the Spanish Civil War: A talk and
photo/poster presentation will be given by Angela Jackson, in the
Central Hall, Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education on
Wednesday the 8th March 12.30pm to 15.30pm. (Refreshments at
12.30pm:)Edwina Stewart will introduce Angela Jackson and question
time/debate will be chaired by Myrtle Hill.

The BIFHE are hosting this event in the College Square East, as part
of their Centenary celebrations. On show for the first time will be a
photographic exhibition "A HUNDRED YEARS OF WOMEN AT THE TECH"
contrasting women who attended the college in the early part of the
20th century with women who attend the college in the present day.
(Leaflet will be available shortly).

Angela Jackson, a doctor of History from the University of Essex, now
lives in the Priorat, Catalonia. She moved there in 2002 after
visiting the area to research for her book, British Women and the
Spanish Civil War. (Routledge, London, 2002) Her interest in the
history of the cave hospital near the village of La Bisbal de Falset
led to the publication of a further book in Catalan and English,
Beyond the Battlefield (Warren & Pell, Pontypool, 2005). She continues
to be involved in the subject of memory and remembrance of the war
though her work as president of the association ‘No Jubilem La
Memòria’. The work of the group so far has included the production of
a documentary based on interviews with International Brigaders and
local people, the organisation of commemorative events and lectures,
and the collection and exhibition of photographs taken in the area
during the civil war.

Edwina Stewart was a teacher in Ashfield Girls School and Comber High
School. Following in her parents footsteps (they were founder members
of the Communist Party of Ireland) Edwina continues her membership of
the CPI, and it is in this capacity that she knew some of those
families whose relatives went to fight in Spain against fascism. Her
mother Sadie Menzies was involved in the International Women’s Day
events in the late 1940’s. Edwina was also honorary secretary of the
Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association from 1969 until the late
‘70’s. And as she says "I joined practically every peace and
solidarity organisation and I’m not finished yet." (Cited by Marilyn
Hyndman in Further Afield: Journeys from a Protestant past 1996) In
1962 as a serving teacher, Edwina was a student in Commercial Studies
at the ‘Tech’ in Belfast.

Myrtle Hill, who returned to study as a housewife and mother, is
currently Director of the Centre for Women’s Studies at Queen’s
University, Belfast. A senior lecturer in social, religious and
women’s history, she has published widely in these areas; her most
recent book is Women in Ireland: A Century of Change, Belfast, 2003.
She continues to work on various aspects of Irish, particularly
northern Irish women’s history, focusing more recently on the
complexities of how events are recorded and remembered. As coordinator
of the University’s Access Programme, she maintains a strong interest
in the promotion of opportunities for mature students.

Social Event: 8th March: In the evening there will be an IWD event
held in the John Hewitt pub in Donegall Street 7.15pm to late. "Into
the Fire" a film about American Women’s involvement in the Spanish
Civil War will be shown, followed by musicians/singers/poets,
Geraldine Bradley, Paul Bradley; Chad Dughie, Victoria Gleason &
others plus a poem sent by Sinead Morrissey. All proceeds from this
event will go the International Brigades Commemoration Committee who
intends to establish a memorial to those Belfast people who died
fighting with the International Brigade in Spain. (£6 waged & £2.00
unwaged)

Relatives of the International Brigade, who went to Spain from Ireland
will invited to the events which are supported by the International
Brigades Commemoration Committee; BIFHE; Belfast & District Trade
Union Council; and partly funded by the Northern Ireland Women’s
Rights Movement. These events should appeal women’s organisations,
students, historians, trade unionists, academics, & political activists.

All People Welcome

*******

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