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“Is voting in the referendum on the Fiscal Compact Treaty a waste of time?” This will be one of the items to be discussed at the Dublin Anarchist Bookfair which takes place this Saturday (26th May) in Liberty Hall.
The sectarian row over the former Girdwood army barracks site in North Belfast is part of a larger picture of sectarianism and segregation forming the bedrock of the status-quo, with our local political class depending on it for their very political survival.
In a recent report, Trademark, the Belfast-based social justice co- operative affiliated to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, "Sectarianism still remains a serious problem in Northern Ireland." The group conducted a major survey with more than 40 interviews in private sector companies and surveyed 2,500 workers in a large retail company as part of its study. It found that "low-level but persistent sectarian harassment is a feature of too many workplaces in Northern Ireland".
Organisers of the Dublin Anarchist Bookfair have announced that the Bookfair, to be held this Saturday (26th May) in Liberty Hall, will include a major Photographic Exhibition entitled “ A Decade Of Resistance: Images of Struggle 2002 – 2012”.
The exhibition will feature photographs by activists and photographers Andrew Flood, William Hederman, Aileen O’Carroll and Paul Reynolds and, according to organisers “documents an array of anti-capitalist, anti-war, pro-choice, environmental and other protests, starting with a mass trespass at Shannon Airport in October 2002 and ending with a Reclaim The Streets in Dublin in April 2012.”
In a new twist to the decade long struggle against Shell Rossport Solidarity Camp has revealed that Mayo County Council (MCC) has issued an eviction notice to the landowner of the field where the Rossport Solidarity Camp is located. Mayo farmer Gerry Burke has been threatened with fines of over €12,000 and two years in prison. Despite these theats the annual June Bank Holiday solidarity gathering will go ahead in a couple of weeks.
Anarchist organisation, Workers Solidarity Movement (WSM), has claimed that voting in the Fiscal Compact Treaty referendum “will not make one whit of difference”.
“The pro-side are calling it a Stability Treaty but if it’s passed does anyone seriously think that we are going to get financial stability?”, asked Gregor Kerr, WSM PRO. “On the other hand the anti-side are calling it an Austerity Treaty, but everyone knows that even if we vote no the austerity agenda will continue.”
Last night a WSM member along with members of the pressure group 'Republican Network for Unity' was stopped and searched under the Justice & Security Act. This happened while they were conducting an interview highlighting the growing problem of police harassment in a personal journalistic capacity.
On the 31st May, the Irish people will be asked to vote in a referendum on the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union, commonly known as the Fiscal Compact Treaty. The YES side in the campaign argue that this is necessary in order to maintain stability across the EU, and the NO side argue that this treaty represents an enshrinement and continuation of the austerity we have faced since 2008. However, both sides, either through ignorance, cynicism or malice, portray the limitations of people's agency and power as the ticking of a box on a piece of paper.
Issue 5 of the Irish Anarchist Review will be coming out in time for the Dublin anarchist bookfair. If your coming to the bookfair why not book multiple copies of this excellent publication to take away with you and give to friends or drop off in your local social center or other radical space. If your able to do this use our Contact us form to let us know how many you'd like to pick up at the bookfair. Please include a phone number so we can confirm this with you the night before and so avoid unnecessary carrying of bundles to the bookfair.
As well as various reviews the major issues covered in IAR5 include
The National Conference of the Campaign Against the Household and Water Taxes in May made some key decisions. The ultimate objective of our campaign should be to ensure that everyone who gets involved in it can have an equal input into our decision-making. This will make for a more democratic and far more efficient Campaign which large numbers of people will feel direct ownership of. That will mean a far stronger Campaign and one capable of winning. On Saturday we distributed this text which explains the case for direct democracy as a leaflet to those attending the conference.
Hundreds of people from all over Ireland are expected to attend the 7th annual Dublin Anarchist Bookfair which takes place in Liberty Hall, Dublin on Saturday 26th May. The Bookfair, organised by the Workers Solidarity Movement, will consist of a day of meetings, debates, discussions and films and will also host bookstalls and information stands from a large number of political organisations and campaigning groups.