Workers Solidarity Movement

The Workers Solidarity Movement held a small demonstration on June 20th in solidarity with political prisoners in the Russian state, outside the embassy of Russia in Dublin. On June the 14th the FIFA World Cup commenced in Russia while it interrogated and tortured framed political dissidents in its dungeons. We in Ireland cannot halt this injustice but we can show that the wider world is watching, that the brutality of the Russian state and the hypocrisy of FIFA has been noted. We can ask 'if I was falsely imprisoned and tortured, what would I want?'. That a group of people over 3000 kilometres away would take time to demonstrate their concern is what makes the human species great what makes our freedom possible. The movement for freedom is global and our bonds of solidarity cannot be severed by national borders.

On Saturday 10 June, loyalist supporters of the far-right anti-Muslim group, Britain First staged a march and demonstration in the name of ‘free speech’ for the founder of EDL (English Defense League), Tommy Robinson (whose legal name is Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon). Britain First is a militaristic, violent right-wing extremist group who specifically targets Muslims and migrant communities. One fascist group, Generation Identity, which is trying to organise in Dublin was also present at this loyalist organised protest, its lone flag sticking out in the sea of union jacks. [See video ]

On Saturday one of our photographers was assaulted and threatened at the ‘No’ campaigns’ anti-choice Rally for Life.  He wasn’t injured and although his camera was punched (see video) no damage was done but this is yet another example of how the No campaign, having failed to make any impact in the polls, are becoming nastier in their desperation.

The ‘Love Both’ anti-choice rally itself was very poorly attended, attracting around 1500 people.  The feeling in the crowd was one of tiredness and demoralisation with a few people even admitting out loud that the turnout was miserable.  Radical Queers Resist were holding a small silent counter protest opposite the entrance to the rally so after counting the crowd we headed over to this.

With just under two weeks to the Repeal referendum pro-choice activists from Belfast travelled across the border to help canvass Cavan for Yes this weekend.

The afternoon of April 16th, outside Pantibar in Dublin, the so-called Irish Centre for Bioethical Reform staged an anti-abortion protest targeted at LGBT people in particular – planning to target well-known LGBTQ+ spaces Pantibar, Gay Community News, The George Bar, and Outhouse (LGBT community/resource centre), with a bespoke banner including a Pride rainbow flag.

The ICBR might be better known to people in Dublin as a small group of people who display large banners with graphic imagery of late-term abortions intended to shock and shame those have had abortions, who might have one someday, or who might defend a person’s right to make that decision. And, of course, those who have miscarried are collateral damage in the process.

Saturday March 10th saw an anti-choice march pass through Dublin, part of their campaign to try to maintain the status quo where pregnant people and doctors can be jailed for 14 years for taking abortion pills in this country while others are denied control of their own maternity care. Polls show that few people support this position and its ‘let women die’ implications so the anti-choice campaign is trying to create the fiction of mass support in the hope that people will be more inclined to vote No.

Aware of this, WSM decided to put together a team to go out and document the march for ourselves including physically counting everyone who marched and using other techniques that give a good estimate of the numbers marching. Below we will bring you through the results of each of these counts and estimates but the headline item is that when the organisers claimed 100k had marched this was a blatant lie that we will show is even physically impossible.  We counted 8930 marchers. All of the other methods we used also limited the maximum size of the march to less than 15,000.

Strike4Repeal launched in January 2017, it exists currently as an ad hoc group of pro-choice activists, academics, trade unionists, artists and students. We directed a single demand towards the government: a national strike would take place on the 8th March unless a referendum on the 8th Amendment of the Constitution was called.

In December, we in Strike4Repeal came together once more to announce that a second strike action will take place if it becomes clear during Dáil debate that full abortion access will not be legislated for or if there is no straight repeal question on the ballot in the upcoming referendum. [ Video ] [Audio]

A new intention to #Strike4Repeal has been announced as we still wait for a referendum and as importantly to see what it is we will get to vote on.

Pledge to Strike 4 Repeal here: https://goo.gl/forms/DTDfA9tQ0kZ0HQ6F3

There are an estimated 20 to 26,000 undocumented people living in Ireland, as many of 5000 of them being children and young people. People in Ireland are generally horrified by the Trump's administrations war on the undocumented in the US but perhaps not so aware that exactly the same situation has been created by government policy here.

Young, Paperless and Powerful, a creative youth project for undocumented young people in Ireland held a solidarity rally last night with undocumented young people in the USA. The rally took place at the famine memorial on the banks of the Liffey in Dublin. YPP said in advance of the rally that in the US "young people are in the fight of their lives to defend DACA". [ Video ]