A-Infos (en) Irish anarchists on 'Peace agreement'

[Workers Solidarity Movement <wsm_news@geocities.com>]

 ________________________________________________
      A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
            http://www.ainfos.ca/
 ________________________________________________

  Statement of the Workers Solidarity Movement
      on the May 22nd Irish referenda

    Irish anarchists say there is no choice

ON MAY 22nd the people of Ireland, North & South
will be asked to vote on the 'Good Friday'
agreement.  There is a great desire for peace
which is being used to pressurise us into
choosing between two completely flawed
alternatives.  The agreement, which was drawn up
in secret by our so-called 'representatives',
does not challenge the sectarian divisions which
have bedevilled this country.

In fact the structures proposed in the agreement
actually institutionalise sectarian divisions.
Politicians elected to the proposed Assembly
must declare themselves either 'unionist' or
'nationalist' - those who refuse will not have
their votes counted in measuring the cross
community support necessary for passing
legislation.  We are supposed to line up behind
Catholic/Green or Protestant/Orange banners and
seek the best deal for 'our community'.  The
concept of working class interests is not even
considered.

What the agreement proposes is bringing some
nationalist politicians into a power-sharing
arrangement with some unionist politicians.  The
division between rulers and ruled, between
bosses and workers, between rich and poor
remains.  The biggest change will be a few
nationalist faces sitting down with bigots like
Trimble and Taylor, to make laws which preserve
the dominance of the rich over the poor.

ARTICLES 2 & 3

The proposed amendments to Articles 2 & 3 of the
Southern Constitution mean nothing to us.  They
were put into De Valera's 1937 constitution to
give it a bit of nationalist window dressing
while the Southern ruling class made its peace
with British imperialism and got on with the
business of exploiting the working class.
Articles 2 & 3 have never made one whit of
difference to the real lives of anyone on this
island.

Those urging rejection of the agreement have no
alternative to offer, just more of the same
conflict that has ruined tens of thousands of
working class lives.  The republican forces of
the 32 County Sovereignty Committee, Republican
Sinn Fein (RSF) and Irish Republican Socialist
Party (IRSP) have nothing but increased
communalism and sectarian tension to offer.  The
loyalist opponents - whose rallies are attended
by vocal supporters of the Loyalist Volunteer
Force (LVF) death squads - want a return to a
time when Catholics lived in fear and on their
knees.

In a typically undemocratic manner we are not
being allowed to support or oppose the many
individual componants of the agreement, we are
only allowed to vote for or against the entire
complex package.   The Workers Solidarity
Movement calls for abstention from this
referendum.  Neither a 'yes' vote nor a 'no'
vote will advance the cause of workers unity and
socialism.

REPUBLICAN & LOYALIST CEASEFIRES

We do call for the continuation of the IRA and
loyalist ceasefires.  There must be no going
back to the failed 'armed struggle' which gave
us nothing except repression, suffering and
increased sectarian hatred.

The task of anarchists, socialists and trade
unionists is to unite our class in a struggle
for working class interests.  When working class
people begin to ask what kind of country they
want to live in, and what kind of country they
want their children to grow up in, the politics
of anti-imperialism will start making sense to
people who up to now have been trapped in green
and orange communalism.

Our struggle is for liberty, we are for the
removal of the British Troops from Ireland - and
the destruction of the sectarian Orange state in
the North and the Green conservative state in
the South.

FOR A UNITED IRISH WORKERS' REPUBLIC

We remain committed to a united Irish Workers
Republic, run by working class people in their
own interests, and democratically controlled
through a federated system of workers and
community councils.  Nobody has the right to
wage war on our behalf, working people
themselves must discuss the future they want and
fight together for that future.  Our struggle is
for liberty, and no minority can impose liberty
on the majority.  The emancipation of the
working class is the task of the working class
itself.

Issued by the Workers Solidarity Movement
P.O. Box 1528,
Dublin 8.
wsm_ireland@geocities.com
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/wsm.html

This document and previous statments on the
'Peace Process' may be found at
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/once.html

--
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
           Workers Solidarity Movement

http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/wsm.html
EMAIL: wsm_ireland@geocities.com

If you putting any of this material on a web page or reprinting it
elsewhere _please_ include the URL above

The latest Workers Solidarity is on the web at
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/ws98.html



	***A-INFOS DISCLAIMER - IMPORTANT PLEASE NOTE***

A-Infos disclaims responsibility for the information in this message.


			********
		The A-Infos News Service
			********
		COMMANDS: majordomo@tao.ca
		REPLIES: a-infos-d@tao.ca
		HELP: a-infos-org@tao.ca
		WWW: http://www.ainfos.ca/
		INFO: http://www.ainfos.ca/org