Royston's Response

dublin | summit mobilisations | opinion/analysis Monday April 19, 2004 16:45 by lish - dublin grassroots

Sent a letter to the lord mayor march 30th asking for clarification on his comments about having no problem with peaceful protests "against EU enlargement " quoted in the news of the world the previous Sun.

(this was before his later comments to the northside people that anarchists should be banned from dublin. aileen has since replied to him on that.)

below is the letter sent to the lord mayor & his reply.


March 30th 2004

Dear Lord Mayor,

In my capacity as one of the spokespeople for Dublin Grassroots, one of the groups organising events for Mayday 2004, I am writing to you in relation to a quote attributed to you by The News of the World of Sunday March 28th.

On page 21 you are quoted as saying in relation to Mayday protestors:
“Those who have genuinely held views against the expansion of the EU have every right to stage peaceful protests in Dublin or any other city.”

Dublin Grassroots is looking for clarification as we recognise that tabloids often misquote and it is not likely, given the information available on our website and quoted in various publications, that you believe that events being organised around Mayday to highlight three issues :EU Immigration Policy, Militarization and Privatisation are in fact against EU expansion.

The organisers of this Mayday’s events welcome the accession countries and also welcome all of the non-EU citizens living in Ireland, as well as those who arrive in the future. We believe that this is a very crucial time of change for Ireland and to ensure the best future for the whole community we must show our commitment to the equal rights of all people in Irish society. As the constitution states, all children shall be cherished equally.

Regarding this we are very concerned by the government’s call for a referendum on citizenship for Irish-born children as we find this proposal to be divisive, racist and inconsistent with the ideal of the “Ireland of a thousand welcomes” planned for Mayday.

We believe that the implementation of such an amendment would constitutionally discriminate against sections of Irish society and lead to disparity and unequal opportunities which would inevitably cause major problems in the future.

In regards to the sensational tabloid stories surrounding Mayday events we would ask you to view the actual programme of events at http://geocities.com/eufortress

We await your response,

Yours Sincerely,

Liz Curry
Spokesperson for Dublin Grassroots.


16 April 2004


Re: Mayday Protests 2004


Dear Ms. Curry,

Thank you for your letter of 30th March last and I note the contents of
same.

In relation to the Mayday protests I would like to clarify my views on
this
issue by saying that every citizen has a right to make a peaceful
protest about
important issues that concern them. I have no objection to the proposed
events
being organised around Mayday as long as they are peaceful and don't
cause
widespread disruption in the city. I am also aware from the contents of
your
web site that you are not opposed to international integration but
disagree
with the direction that the EU is currently taking.

I hope this clarifies my position on this matter.

Yours Sincerely,
______________________
Councillor Royston Brady,
Lord Mayor of Dublin.