|
 |
The IRA cease-fire and republican
politics
The 'Irish peace process' is now well into its second year. It has
brought respectability for Sinn Féin but little of consequence
for the Irish working class - North or South. Gregor Kerr a
member of the National Committee of the Irish Anti Extradition
Committee in the late 1980s, looks at events leading up to the
cease-fire and Sinn Féin's pan-nationalist strategy.
Sectarianism in the north and the
fight against it
This talk is about sectarianism in the North. Sectarianism is
something that has existed to a greater or lesser extent in Ireland
since the plantations and must be overcome if socialism can be
introduced
The IRA and its armed struggle : A
Bloody Long War
Gerry Adams is no longer an MP. The politicians and media pundits are
over the moon with joy. In the immediate aftermath we were subjected
to a barrage of questions and comments. Will there be an escalation
of the armed struggle? Will there be a ceasefire?
Articles 2 & 3: What would you
do with them?
In an upcoming referendum anarchists will oppose the deletion of
Article 2. We do so, not because we support the 26 county state over
the 6 county one, but because we are opposed to the partition of
Ireland.
After
Warrington: A new Peace Movement?
Peace 1993 has started with the analysis we are offered again
and again by our rulers and the media. Paramilitaries, especially
republican ones, are portrayed as gangsters and psychopaths used and
manipulated by cynical "godfather's of crime".
The Downing street declaration and
the republicans
The peace negotiations represented the culmination of two trends.
Firstly there is increasing war weariness and disillusionment among
nationalists. On the British side a second factor has come into play.
The massive bill for the devastation of several parts of the business
heart of London prompted the British government to begin talking
Ireland, Sinn Fein and the peace
talks
The peace talks represent the ditching of Sinn Féin's left
gloss and a return to good old nationalist politics, pure and simple.
It was always time to
go..Troops out now!
25 years ago, on Thursday, August the 15th, 1969, 400 soldiers from
the Prince of Wales Own Yorkshire Regiment took up positions around
Derry city.
Nationalism...No Thanks
Anarchists are for the defeat of British imperialism. But we want
more, we stand for the creation of a new society in the interests of
the working class and against the bosses, both orange and green.
Republicanism and anarchism -
a talk delivered just before the cease fire was declared
While the prospect of an end to political violence would doubtless be
welcomed by the vast majority of people living on this island and
especially by the population of the 6-Counties, it is important for
all of us to realise where the so-called "peace process" is leading
Whats happening in the six
counties?
Last Autumn the speed at which events in Northern Ireland were moving
wrong-footed pundits across the political spectrum. British soldiers
shouldered arms and swaped hard hats for natty berets, loyalists
attacked police stations, Gerry Adams was "Mandelifeid" (to coin a
phrase) into a serious statesman with a cute North Belfast brogue.
A new loyalist party?
David Ervine of the UVF linked Progressive Unionist Party, Gusty
Spence and Gary McMichael of the UDA's Ulster Democratic Party are
all talking about is a new working class loyalist political party.
There is much talk of how the ordinary working class Protestant has
gained nothing from the old loyalism, of poor housing and the lack of
respect shown to them by the "fur coat brigade".
..Time to stop beating the Orange
drum
Orange sectarianism is not without a material base, and it is not
some sort of frightened reaction to militant republicanism. Unless we
understand the basis for sectarianism we will not be able to uproot
it. When Protestant workers accept loyalist values they are joining
an alliance with their bosses.
One year on: Evaluating the Ceasefire
The IRA ceasefire is approaching its first anniversary. That
year has been striking for two things, on the one hand the success of
the 'peace process' in turning Sinn Féin from demonised
pariahs to lauded peace makers. On the other hand, the failure of the
process to produce any substantial gains for the nationalist
community.
Troops out : Prisoners out
We welcome the cease-fire. The "peace process", however, has little
to recommend it. It represents little more than arguments over who
exactly will administer capitalism in Ireland.
Dump the politicians off your
backs
The problem for the unionist politicians is that, unlike the period
of the Anglo-Irish Agreement, when over a hundred thousand could be
mobilised in demonstrations, now they are unable to organise any
significant opposition.
Neither Orange nor
Green
Sinn Féin's politics offer little more to Northern workers, as
a class, than the politics of the fringe loyalist groups. Both aspire
to getting a better deal for the poor and oppressed in their
communities but neither are capable of delivering, as they are
limited to rhetorical appeals to the workers of the other side to
"see sense"
It's still an Orange state
Again this year loyalist parades were forced through nationalist
areas destroying any illusions that the British state is neutral in
the 6 counties.
Bombs are no solution
After the end of the IRA cease-fire what sort of politics are needed
to bring permanent peace
For starters in No 50.
News of the activities of the WSM in the Winter of 1997; in the
unions opposing Partnership 2000 and marching in the Bloody Sunday
Commemoration in Derry.
Irish nationalism is not for
us
Anarchists are for the defeat of British imperialism. But we want
more, we stand for the creation of a new society in the interests of
the working class. This is very different from the politics of
nationalism, of Sinn Fein
The real difference is not between
Catholic & Protestant but between
rich and poor
Some republicans seem to be genuinely surprised that the 'peace
process' collapsed. How can anything be expected from the British
state which was responsible for Bloody Sunday, for smashing the
miners strike, for running down the NHS
Gerry Adams..A man you can do
business with
The latest meeting between the Confederation of British
Industry (CBI) and the Sinn Féin leadership took place on
March 25th. Whatever the Sinn Féin
leadership and the CBI are constructing together it's not part of a
path which leads to a united socialist Ireland.
What's
another (Irish) life?
British army officers let the cat out of the bag.
Unionist MP supports anti-Catholic threats
Look Who's Talking Now
[Spring 1998]
The result of the talks will almost certainly be to make sectarianism
official and institutionalise it. We will see Unionist and
Nationalist politicians going into competition for investment from
the multinationals and the E.U. for "their" areas
Statement on the May 22nd Irish referenda ('Peace agreement') (May 1998)
Hobson's choice : The "Good
Friday Agreement" & the Irish Left (October 1988)
The "Good Friday Agreement" was passed by an overwhelming majority of
voters North and South. The agreement presented something of a
Hobson's Choice for the Irish working-class - which route to an
entrenchment of sectarianism do you want to take? Here Gregor
Kerr looks at the reactions to the agreement of the Irish left.
Peace deal offers sectarian war
or sectarian peace [Summer 1998]
The huge vote, North and South, in favour of the 'Good Friday
Agreement' shows that the vast majority do not want a return to
pre-ceasefire violence. Can this agreement get to the root of the
sectarian problem and deal with the hatreds, fears and suspicions
that have bedevilled our country?
No More Omaghs (Autumn
1988)
For almost three decades we have seen too many "tragic mistakes" like
Bloody Friday, Birmingham, the La Mon Hotel, Enniskillen, the
Abercorn restaurant, Claudy, the Shankill Road, etc. etc. Planting
bombs in town centres means treating the risk of casualties as
"acceptable"
Marching
to nowhere :Stirring Up Sectarian Hatred (Summer)
It is a great tragedy that once again this July the working
class population of Belfast's Lower Ormeau will be mobilising to try
and stop the Orange Order from marching down their road. A tragedy
because the Order should never get that far.
The Orange Order: An enemy of
all workers (Summer)
The reality of the Orange Order is that it is a counter-revolutionary
institution set up and maintained to target not just Catholics but
also 'disloyal' Protestants.
The more things change, the more
they stay the same (Autumn)
George Mitchell has flown in to Belfast and begun a round of meetings
with political parties in the North in a supposed "review" of the
Good Friday Agreement.
The Executive is still no
way forward
There will be a lot of huffing and puffing, but it is hard to see
Sinn Féin walking away from the 'peace process'.
Decommissioning, in some form or other, will probably happen &endash;
but not in a hurry
Statement on intimidation of
members of the Republican Writers Group (Nov 2000)
The Workers Solidarity Movement is totally opposed to the
intimidation of members of the Republican Writers Group in Belfast.
RWG : Defend
Freedom of Speech
On the morning of Wednesday 7th February, Anthony McIntyre - a member
of the Irish Republican Writers Group (IRWG) - was physically
attacked and injured by one of the leading participants in the recent
Sinn Fein led pickets on his home in West Belfast.
'Good Friday' - 3 years on has
anything changed?
3 years on from the 'Good Friday' Agreement, and with the 6 Counties
facing into a general election, it's a good time to ask whether
anything has really changed on the Northern political landscape
Sectarian intimidation
& North Belfast
The horrifying ongoing scenes of sectarian intimidation outside Holy
Cross Primary School in the Ardoyne area of North Belfast have
shocked everyone.
Sectarianism in North
Belfast
As an Anarcho-Syndicalist, living in North Belfast I was interested
to see Gregor Kerr's recent article, 'Sectarianism and North Belfast'
in Workers Solidarity.
Crime and community
policing
The term 'community policing' has been much abused in recent times,
most particularly in the North of Ireland where it has become
shorthand for vicious punishment beatings and shootings. In this
article Gregor Kerr takes a look at the issue of community policing -
what it is and more importantly what it isn't. The question of what
levels of real community policing would actually be possible or
allowed under capitalism is looked at, and the debate about crime,
anti-social behaviour and reactions to it in an anarchist society is
touched on.]
Morons in Power
If only these clowns got as offended by hospital waiting lists,
sectarian thuggery, pensioners living in poverty, and all the other
suffering that the Sinn Fein-Unionist-SDLP-DUP coalition presides
over each and every day in the Executive
Religious sectarianism in
Northern Ireland and how to deal with it
It goes without saying that any political theory is only any good if
it passes the test of real everyday practice, - I want to put forward
these few ideas on tackling religious sectarianism
Sectarianism deepens in
North
The results of the 2001 Life and Times survey in the north of Ireland
confirm that sectarian attitudes are spreading and deepening.
Colombia 3 - wrong people in
the dock
The trial of the Colombia 3 has produced a frenzy of speculation in
the Irish media about whether they are guilty or not, and how this
might effect the 'peace process'.
Republicanism in Crisis
&endash; Is There An anarchist alternative?
Since the beginning of December and the collapse of the latest
attempt at the creation of a power-sharing devolved government in the
North, and more particularly since the Northern Bank robbery, the
political establishment has been striving to outdo each other in the
stridency of their condemnation of the Republican Movement. Text of
talk given to Cork WSM public meeting
|
|
|
See also
 |
Articles include
|
