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Rights, Freedoms and Repression
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Gardai violently attack eirigi occupation of Anglo Irish dublin |
rights, freedoms and repression |
news report
 Saturday May 15, 2010 12:26 by JB - WSM - personal capacity wsm_ireland at yahoo dot com
 Appears 'no toleration' poilcy in place for bank bailout protests Gardai have again attacked campaigners protesting at the bank bailouts this time with batons and dogs. This morning around 7am four people got onto on the overhang of Anglo irish Bank and chained themselves together with a banner read that read 'People of Ireland Rise Up.' In the last half hour a force of some 50 police, secret police and dogs attacked them and their supporters on the ground with batons, fists and feet. At least six were arrested as a melee broke out on Dawson street. The initial attack seems to have started with ten Gardai, one with a video camera, removed two of the windows frames and came out onto the ledge. They yanked the four people chained together around, a witness on the ground described how he was 'afraid that someone was going to fall off the ledge, it seemed very reckless". |
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Comments (38 of 38)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38Eirigi have occupied the roof of Anglo Irish Bank.
Just got a text saying
"We've occupied the roof of Anglo Irish bank. get to stehens green as soon as you can"
As usual the Gardai have jumped to protect the banks and showed up in force. In an over reaction they turned up with six public order vans, which they have pulled onto the footpath blocking pedestrian view of the bank. These are backed up with 3 patrol cars and three special branch cars. This
In a bizarre twist the dog unit has also turned up too. Go down and show solidarity.
Garda response to rooftop protest by four éirígí activists. At the time of writing they are still on the roof of the porch. Join the protest at 2pm today.
Garda
More Garda
Yet more Garda
And the secret police
Just heard from an eirigi comrade that the cops have taken away the roof occupiers, and started battering the crowd of supporters. Things were a bit confused on the phone, but it appears that at least three people have been arrested. No word on injuries etc - I'm told footage is coming soon.
Garda burst out windows onto roof of porch. Put rooftop protesters into headlocks and kicked shit out of them. Public order unit then weighed into thirty or so people on the ground. At least seven arrested. Garda riot squad have gone nuts. Heard a number of people have been injured.
People should make their way into town asap. Bastards cannot be allowed away with this.
Just did an interview with someone there over the phone, report is new article at http://www.indymedia.ie/article/96643 Protest at 2pm going ahead, planning to cover this live at http://twitter.com/wsmireland
Live coverage starting in about 30 minutes via http://twitter.com/wsmireland
No "OFFICIAL"reports yet? Wonder why that is. Because the state and the media are the one and the same. Congratulations to Indymedia for reporting state repression.
We have nothing to lose but our chains
Good luck to the eirigi lads. Keep up the good work.
No mention yet on the RTE website. Marian Finucane only heard about it about 12.10, saying that someone had rung in to say there were Gardai outside Anglo Irish Bank and some people were on a ledge.
RTE have said on the 2pm news that seven people have been arrested.
""Garda have just waded into crowd at Anglo Irish protest but retreated when crowd stood firm"
Link to report on RTE website
(Saturday, 15 May 2010 14:04)
"All seven have been taken to Pearse Street Garda Station where they are being held in relation to public order offences"
Seven arrested at Anglo Irish protest
http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0515/angloirish.html
Let them Fall.
My mobile phone is Finnish.
My car is Japanese.
My language is English.
Almost everything else I own is made in China.
I bank with a Dutch bank.
I do not need to bale out a "Tesco" just because it calls itself " Irish Tesco."
AIB,BOI, etc should have been told to go to hell and go bankrupt.
Plenty of other good banks around.
"Sean Fitzpatrick effergy burnt outside Ango despite Garda attempts to stop it http://twitpic.com/1o06oy"
Freedom of expression
The bus drew up at St. Stephen's Green, the rioters so insignificant in number have failed to curtail the traffic on the Green.
The photos are good but do they really tell people the reality. Circa 2.30 p.m. what can be witnessed is as follows:
Mostly young males (two few women and families too mention) brandishing either Red Black flags or Eirigi flags stand outside the portic of the ESB main door. The effigi is hoisted and hanging from a rope. He wears the suit, the shirt, the shoes and the grey hair. The revised Proclamation headed NAMA Republic can be seen along side a poster with Sean Fitzpatrick behind bars. It would not be untrue to say that if numbers were counted, Gardai equal protesters and Gardai remained behind the 'gated' borders calmly watching the Effigy being burnt.
The photos have huge potential to reflect an unrealistic scenario.
Standing adjacent to the Green and given the time all I can say is it provided a Great Tourist attraction for Dublin and I got a laugh from some tourists beside me.
I forgot to add about the Horses. One beautiful dapple grey and another Chestnut with mounted Gardai nicely position to curb 'the masses in protest'. Take it from me and I have been on Peace marches, there were only a few at this march. The Gardai no doubt enjoyed the burning of the effigy as they too are taxpayers. The tourists definitely were amused and not participative.
Citizen who lost money ... via the banks
Seven members of Eirigi have been arrested for alleged public order offences outside Anglo Irish Bank in St Stephens Green today. A protest against NAMA organised by Eirigi is taking place today at 2p.m.
All seven are to appear at the Bridwell court this afternoon at 4.30 and eirigi appeal for members of the public to be there to support those who are to be charged.
Yay, great report! Cynicism as the contemporary ideology of global capitalism. Seems to have taken its grip the strongest in Ireland. Great to know that effective protest movements always start off with militant protests of 200,000. Oh wait, it doesn't quite work like that nor does indymedia commentator reactions (and tourist ones for that matter, what?! A pointless aside, as if some tourists having shown enthousiasm and even participating would have made a difference) counter that, just impeding it.
'Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will' as Gramsci said. It seems here all we have is all round pessimism. Thanks but no thanks, we have enough of that already.
All out on Tuesday.
Picture taken at around 3:30pm today.
2 million would follow.
Some of the anti-protest commentary here and on politics.ie reminds me of the words of Fredrick Douglass, American slavery abolitionist, editor, orator, author, statesman and reformer:
"Those who profess to favor freedom, yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightening. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one; or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will."
Fair dues to Eirigí
Good timing and lets hope we're all there on Tuesday with a sense of unity and solidarity.
No doubt tomorrow's Sindo will have a double dose of moralism relating to the events of both today and Tuesday last.
Jail the Bank Chiefs who created this economic mess not the Protesters.
The swp jokers whose theatrical attempt to “storm” the Dail on Tuesday must take some responsibility for this attack on the Eirigí activists. They have given the Gardai a perfect excuse to violently attack even peaceful protests. In contrast, this protest was a better planned action and much more likely to attract public support. The sight of a small number of young male and female Gardai being “attacked” by protesters didn’t go down well with people but there would certainly be sympathy for protesters attacked by heavily armed riot police while engaged in a peaceful protest.
Think that thats a bit OTT the Brendan. Suggesting that the SWP need to take some respondsibilty for other people getting roughed up today is a bit like saying the Greeks should take some respondsibilty.
If ya have issues with the SWP, fair enough, many people do, but lets not descend into farce altogether.
Soundmigration, Eirigí had a very similar protest at Anglo a couple of weeks ago and the reaction of the Garda was totally different, peaceful and no arrests. Do you not think that the Gardai will be mob handed next Tuesday night? Maybe it’s a nice comfortable position to be able to blame “the pigs” on everything. Unfortunately when the jokers have left the stage it’s the real activists that will have to face the consequences as can be seen today.
Firstly I'd like to say that Garda actions at Anglo today seems totally excessive. It was 4 people making a point. They should have been just let have their say and politely asked to leave. If they didn't leave one or two gardaí should have been left there and come night-time they'd be down. The Garda reaction seems heavy handed.
I do agree that the antics of last Tuesday is linked to today's incident. The SWP's "storming" of the Dáil was not properly planned (where all SWP members even aware they were to do it?) and is now starting to prove to be counter productive. Éirigí seem to be enjoying provoking a reaction from the Gardaí. The WSM seem to be looking for a reaction from the state next Tuesday. (as an aside - on Tueday what did you expect the cops to do? let them into the Dáil? batons are going to be used if small numbers of people just run at cops!)
I think these actions are counter productive. Yes, you got a headline. Tuesday was all over TV3, RTÉ were covering the Éirigí occupation from today. But on a medium term basis, what does this achieve? If you want to do direct action, why not plan for MASS direct action involving hundreds. I know a number of people that are raising questions about attending protests. Could these actions actually discourage people attending protests?
Next Tuesday may attract a number of particularly angry people that are sick and tired and generally frustrated of lack of mass action. But it could turn off the vast majority of woring class people.
I don't beleive that anarchists and Éirigí have a working class orientation. There is this almost mythic belief in "the deed". Somehow provoking reactions from Gardaí is a way to achieve change in society. Absolute nonesense. There is a need to do the patient, and to be honest difficult, work of building a base of support in trade unions and in communities. Build for a mass occupation of Anglo-Irish, or of the Dáil.
Well done again to Eirigi for a bit of innovative protest and for showing the public what a police state we live in. The response of the Gardai was totally over the top. A group of people standing on a ledge - arrest them and brutalise them - I think it shows a fear within the government and their cronies about the protests and a determination to be violent in order to put people off protesting.
The sinister forces that run this country - and I dont mean the half wits in Leinster house - are determined to keep us all in line and that not one of them will ever suffer for bankrupting the country.
Keep it up!
The over-reaction by the Gardai against the Eirigi activists, following on from the attempted storming of the Dail earlier in the week, shows that their paymasters are keen to keep the masses in their place and avoid anything even close to Greece protests breaking out here.
Were the WSM also taking part in the protest? Or are there anarcho syndicalists that I'm not aware of? Or Does the red and black flag hold another significance that I'm not aware of?
The attack I refer to is against the early morning protest at Anglo, held by Eirigi. The pics you refer to are taken at the later protest.
Brendan
Comrade, even if I concede your point that Eirigí's actions today were more worthy or more focused than the spontaneous event of last Tuesday, supported by both the SWP and Eirigí, It doesn't change the fundamental nature of "armed bodies of men" employed to defend capitalism and its ruling class.
My Nigerian neighbour has his window smashed by thugs and when the cops are phoned (twice) they don't even show up! I witnessed a serious assault by four armed men on an individual in Balbriggan outside Tesco last June... cops called and they sent a cycle cop... no action taken and no witnesses interviewed. The victim wasn't even taken to hospital, he was told to get up and carried home by people who have a serious aversion to the authorities. The problem was that he needed medical attention yet no intervention was made by said cycle cop garda, and she even cancelled the ambulance when they phoned for confirmation.
However, when we demonstrated against NAMA last October ,outside Anglo Irish, there were no shortage of Garda resources, which included a heavy presence of mounted Gardaí.
I do admit however that "Union Member's " view is closer to the more oft/regular attitude of SWP comrades to NVDA. And that last Tuesday's events represent a departure, certainly the verbal defence of such is somewhat inconsistent with the usual SWP rhetoric regarding mass direct action and the implementation of such strategy. We do need to attract the maximum amount of people on demos and that includes mums and dads with kids. However that's a practical point not a moral/moralistic one.
We play into the hands of the real perpetrators of crimes in this land when we become divided over these actions. As I said earlier, last Tuesday's event involved both Eirigi and SWP members. So, the dichotomy is false.
Unity is strength.
Comrades,
I have to disagree that our aim should be to attract families with kids. A protest is not a carnival. Our aim is to express anger and to elicit some kind of change, not to have a fun day out for the family. Bringing your children to a march pretty much guarantees that nothing more is going to happen than a bit of a walkabout with some shouting.
Union member
You seem to be of the opinion that éirígí are somehow not in agreement with the idea of building a mass movement to effect a real revolution. Where did you get the notion of éirígí having some sort of fixation on the (propaganda of the) 'deed'? éirígí has been consistent in what it has said about the task of building a real force for change.
From its website:
"The transformation from a capitalist to a socialist system cannot be achieved without the active support and participation of the mass of the people. Campaigns have the potential to empower, politicise and mobilise the people, who alone can provide the dynamic for such a transformation. Through campaigning on political, social, economic and cultural issues, éirígí aims to contribute to that dynamic.
"éirígí believes that a Democratic Socialist Republic can only be established and sustained through the collective action of a progressive social movement incorporating local communities, organised labour, cultural organisations, campaigns groups and political parties. The very diversity of such a coalition will be its strength. éirígí will be part of such a coalition, working on shared projects with other progressive individuals and groups in Ireland."
Are you suggesting that what éirígí did yesterday was somehow in conflict with that perspective? Are you seriously suggesting that groups like éirígí do nothing until the 'masses' have awoken, after patient work in the 'mass organisations' and communities?? Sounds like something out of a textbook
Whether it be the October, Cuban or 1916 revolutions, it has historically, maybe quite unfortunately but a reality nonetheless, that as Margaret Mead once said: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has"
Why aren't you arguing that your union supports these demonstrations, building momentum and support, and widening the movement as we go?
You do believe in the mass occupation of Anglo/the' Dáíl' after all, don't you??
Regards,
CS
The gardai use of violent force was not over reaction it was PLANNED ACTION, the government have sanctioned thugery in the Gardai Siochana. Peacefull protestors in Erris have been recieving this treatment for years. Since the day of ( the rosary) at Bellanaboy a selection of gardai most prone to thugery and violence has been formed and will be used to put down protests even if they are entirely peacefull. THEY ARE USED TO FORCE THE PUBLIC NOT TO PROTEST BECAUSE FIANNA FAIL DOES NOT LIKE IT.
WELL DONE EIRIGI .
Keep up the fight against traitors and thieves but remember that when you publicise an action the gardai thug battalion will be forwarned and will be deployed.
SO PLAN ACCORDINGLY.
By the way union member.
As to your "Somehow provoking reactions from Gardaí is a way to achieve change in society" jibe, I think you had better wise up, or face the fact that comments like that put you on the side of reaction.
If that is what you really believe, then you will never be part of any real social change as you don't really understand what that entails (a priori police defence of ruling class etc.) That you can jump to blaming peaceful protesters for being attacked is deeply offensive.
That is not to say that we would have expected otherwise. However, it is a leap to blame protesters in the manner you have: 'sure if ye weren't there then the cops would have had no reason to attack ye'.
No wonder the trade union movement is so impotent, with attitudes and reactions like yours. I was at the DCTU 'There is an alternative' meeting and it was an unmitigated joke
There will be no social revolution if it is left to the apologetic social democrats
CS
Eirigí is doing something very right. Their action showed up on the front page of The Sunday Business Post today. Anytime you show up in the business section-- you are onto something.
Thanks Eirigí.
.
One of these fine days the gardai are going to cross over the other side , well they should ,after all didn't they also become
victims of the rogue banking system which their monthly pay slips should show .oh , i almost forgot, eat bread is soon
forgotten .