The Wholesome Photo of the Month Thu May 09, 2024 11:01 | Anti-Empire
In 3 War Years Russia Will Have Spent $3... Thu May 09, 2024 02:17 | Anti-Empire
UK Sending Missiles to Be Fired Into Rus... Tue May 07, 2024 14:17 | Marko Marjanović
US Gives Weapons to Taiwan for Free, The... Fri May 03, 2024 03:55 | Anti-Empire
Russia Has 17 Percent More Defense Jobs ... Tue Apr 30, 2024 11:56 | Marko Marjanović Anti-Empire >>
Indymedia Ireland is a volunteer-run non-commercial open publishing website for local and international news, opinion & analysis, press releases and events. Its main objective is to enable the public to participate in reporting and analysis of the news and other important events and aspects of our daily lives and thereby give a voice to people.
Julian Assange is finally free ! Tue Jun 25, 2024 21:11 | indy
Stand With Palestine: Workplace Day of Action on Naksa Day Thu May 30, 2024 21:55 | indy
It is Chemtrails Month and Time to Visit this Topic Thu May 30, 2024 00:01 | indy
Hamburg 14.05. "Rote" Flora Reoccupied By Internationalists Wed May 15, 2024 15:49 | Internationalist left
Eddie Hobbs Breaks the Silence Exposing the Hidden Agenda Behind the WHO Treaty Sat May 11, 2024 22:41 | indy Human Rights in Ireland >>
Biden Proposes Sweeping Supreme Court Reforms as He Attacks ?Extreme? Judges Tue Jul 30, 2024 19:00 | Will Jones Joe Biden has proposed sweeping reforms to the U.S. Supreme Court accusing it of making "dangerous and extreme decisions" and losing the public?s trust.
The post Biden Proposes Sweeping Supreme Court Reforms as He Attacks “Extreme” Judges appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Reeves Scraps Winter Fuel Payments for 10 Million Pensioners to Fund Public Sector Wage Rise Tue Jul 30, 2024 17:00 | Will Jones Rachel Reeves is to scrap winter fuel payments for 10 million pensioners and ditch a cap on social care costs to fund a public sector wage rise, it has been announced.
The post Reeves Scraps Winter Fuel Payments for 10 Million Pensioners to Fund Public Sector Wage Rise appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
A Summary of Why the Czech Republic Vaccine Data are So Devastating to the ?Safe and Effective? Narr... Tue Jul 30, 2024 15:00 | Will Jones The Czech Republic record-level vaccine data are devastating to the "safe and effective" narrative, says Steve Kirsch, as he provides a new overview that explains why.
The post A Summary of Why the Czech Republic Vaccine Data are So Devastating to the “Safe and Effective” Narrative appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Keir Starmer?s Anti-Israel Policies Are Now No Different to Jeremy Corbyn?s Tue Jul 30, 2024 13:00 | Will Jones Unlike Jeremy Corbyn, Keir Starmer has never described Hezbollah as his friends. But other than that, when it comes to Israel there is now little of consequence to differentiate them, says Stephen Pollard.
The post Keir Starmer’s Anti-Israel Policies Are Now No Different to Jeremy Corbyn’s appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Is the Muslim Vote Abandoning Labour? Tue Jul 30, 2024 11:00 | Frank Haviland Is the 'Muslim vote' set to abandon Labour? With three quarters of British Muslims refusing to believe Hamas committed atrocities on October 7th, it's hard to see how Labour can retain them, says Frank Haviland.
The post Is the Muslim Vote Abandoning Labour? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic. Lockdown Skeptics >>
Voltaire, international edition
Netanyahu soon to appear before the US Congress? It will be decisive for the suc... Thu Jul 04, 2024 04:44 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N°93 Fri Jun 28, 2024 14:49 | en
Will Israel succeed in attacking Lebanon and pushing the United States to nuke I... Fri Jun 28, 2024 14:40 | en
Will Netanyahu launch tactical nuclear bombs (sic) against Hezbollah, with US su... Thu Jun 27, 2024 12:09 | en
Will Israel provoke a cataclysm?, by Thierry Meyssan Tue Jun 25, 2024 06:59 | en Voltaire Network >>
|
Call for unity in antiwar movement
national |
anti-war / imperialism |
opinion/analysis
Sunday November 21, 2004 20:32 by Mary Kelly
![Report this post to the editors Report this post to the editors](../graphics/report.gif)
The leadership of the protest movement have caricatured the position of direct activists and isolated us from the wider movement.
In the interest of an effective movement that hopes to realise its aims, this needs to be corrected urgently From the early days of the Peace Camp Jan ’03 to preparing for sentencing on Dec 1st ’04, I have always seen the necessity of being part of protest movement and antiwar activities. The protest movement has been a vital part and first step towards public recognition of the crime taking place at Shannon. The bigger the protest, the more focus on the crime.
I have always believed that direct activists and protestors are part of the same movement with the same aim; to get the US military out of Shannon.
It is a mystery to me why direct activists have been viewed by one side of that movement as being ANTI the protest movement. That has never been my view.
I support the fundamental axiom of the worldwide Ploughshare movement ‘we are in the courts/jails for you, you are on the streets for us “. and this has always been a prominent statement on Ploughshare literature in Ireland.
Why is it that the voice of direct activists has been misread, caricatured and reduced to a call for direct action only? This has never been my position.
Why is it that nobody has consulted me when making pronouncements about the position of direct activists generally, my own case in particular?
The unfortunate unhappy reality is that it is the direct activists, myself particularly right now, who have been deserted by the protest movement, not the other way round.
Not all people in the movement are ready or willing to take direct action and face the consequences of the State’s terror. It is an obvious fact that people are at different stages of consciousness and different levels of constraints that allow them to choose such a course of action. ( for eg parents with young dependent kids, personal and work commitments ).
So of course we need a diverse protest movement to allow all who oppose the US military at Shannon to participate and amongst other things to support those who have taken direct actions.
Instead what has happened is the reverse.
The leadership of the protest movement have caricatured the position of direct activists and in effect isolated us from the wider movement. This has been achieved on the basis that we are insisting on one course of action i.e.. direct action and no other.
I repeat, this has never been my view.
‘We are in the jails for you, and you are on the streets for us’. Daniel Berrigan, his brother Philip and others pioneered direct action resistence during the Vietnam war. The Swords into Ploughshares movement has spread world wide ever since. It has always had a complementary relationship to the protest movement. Unfortunately, that has not been the case in this country.
It is extraordinary that I have to write this letter to make my position clear even at this point. But as late as this week at a public meeting, I have heard this misleading position posited from a member of the IAWM as if it were my position, ie that direct activists only recognize DA as being valid. This is most emphatically NOT my position!
It would be great if we lived in a world where direct action is widespread. In such a world, the US military would long since be gone from Shannon.
May I suggest that the protest movement needs to start supporting those of us in court and facing prison sentences. This can be done by
1. Giving us a platform where we can explain our positions correctly, and can highlight the extent of the crimes being committed in Shannon .It has been a great education to learn Irish and International law, and how they support direct action. This knowledge needs to be shared.
2. Fundraise.
3. Come to the trials!
4. Meet with the key antiwar activists in the world today who have been coming to testify at my trials.
5. Attend the public meetings where these extraordinary people have been speaking, publicise the events as well as the contents of their speeches.
6. Publicise the details of my recent trial.
None of this has happened. Ramsey Clark, Denis Halliday, Daniel Ellsberg, Scott Ritter, Curtis Doebbler Professor Horst Guenter have all been at my trial yet none of the IAWM have been there, nor has it advertised in any significant way the coming together of these very eminent people from 3 continents to bear witness to my lawful action.
That work has been left to me and a handful of loyal supporters.
It is extraordinary that such a distance of 'misunderstanding?" exists between the Irish antiwar movement and direct activists. In the interest of an effective movement that hopes to realise its aims,it needs to be corrected most urgently.
|
View Full Comment Text
save preference
Comments (15 of 15)