Workers Solidarity Movement

The forcible eviction of Occupy Dame Street has once again shifted the spotlight on Occupy Belfast who have moved from their original camp at Writers Square to an iconic and listed vacant former bank building in the heart of the city centre. WSM member and Occupy Belfast activist Sean Matthews asks what next for Occupy Belfast and whether it has reached a critical mass.

Over the past two months the Campaign against the Household and Water Taxes has grown from strength to strength. Since the start of government registration in January, campaign meetings across the country have been packed out. 500 attended a meeting in Cork city, only to be surpassed by a meeting of 700 in Waterford city a week later. Likewise, across Dublin dozens of meetings have been held in parish halls and community centres, all with the clear message of “Don’t Register, Don’t Pay”. Building on this support, the campaign has now distributed nearly 750,000 leaflets explaining the tax and why we must refuse to pay it.

The Campaign Against the Household and Water Tax (CAHWT) is on the cusp of a very significant victory – as indicated by the recent announcement that less than 20% of households in the Republic had registered with the Government to pay the new unjust tax.  This low level of compliance with Government orders is clear evidence that the Campaign has managed to tap into a rich seam of discontent.  Admittedly these are early days and the struggle has a while to go yet, but nonetheless it is an important and notable success.

In September last year, we held an interview with a comrade from the OCL, a Chilean anarcho-communist (platformist) organisation with a presence in the biggest cities of that country - Santiago, Valpara’so and Concepcion. This organisation has a policy of building up the movement amongst the popular rank and file, organising Frentes (Fronts or Networks) among the traditional popular factors in revolutionary struggle in Chile: workers, students and neighbours from the slums of the cities.

A report on the sucessful Campaign against the Household and Water Taxes (CAHWT) public meeting in Kildare:

Upon arriving at the meeting in the Derby House at around 7:30pm I found a number of members of the Kildare CAHWT branch making final preparations in the function room. A projector was playing a recording of an interview describing the continuing mismanagement of the Irish economic crisis.

At half past one on Saturday March 10 there were 4 members of the Newbridge Campaign Against Household and Water Charges assembled in the driveway of the Patrician Brothers monastery.We had two megaphones and a placard between us. Needless to say we were eagerly looking around for other members and people to bolster our numbers as the start of the march was scheduled for 2pm.

Today’s protest rally in Derry against the vigilante group Republican Action Against Drugs (RAAD) went ahead despite calls for it to be cancelled. Hundreds of people filled Guildhall Square to voice their rage against the recent shooting of two teenage cousins earlier in the week.

Relatives of those recently targeted, attacked and murdered by RAAD also attended the city centre rally calling for an end to the attacks.

Despite heavy sentencing in Belmullet district court two weeks ago, people continue blocking roads in Mayo. At 7.30am on Thursday 8th March, a group of people from the Rossport Solidarity Camp blocked Shell's haulage route between Ballinaboy refinery and Shell's tunneling compound in Aughoose. They set up a concrete lock-on which two people inserted their arms into, making it very difficult for gardaí to remove them.

Saturday 25th Feb. saw many Household Tax demonstrations held across Dublin and a mass leafletting in the city centre. This was part of the nationwide day of action that saw around 40 protests take place. We give some reports here from WSM members who were at some of the protests around Dublin.

The end of February saw 19 Shell to Sea campaigners, including a WSM member, being prosecuted on 80 charges for civil disobediance against Shell's decade long attempt to impose an experimental high pressure raw gas pipeline on the communities of Erris.  Over 8,000 euro in fines were handed down by this special sitting of the Belmullet court and Shell to Sea spokesperson Terence Conway was given two 3-month prison sentences under section 8 of the Public Order Act for blocking the road on two seperate occasions, a 'crime' that anyone following the struggle will be aware Shell's private security company committs three times a day with the co-operation of the Gardai.

(Image: Community show support in advance of the court cases, J Bender, RSC)