Workers Solidarity Movement

A younger comrade explained to me how he had travelled over 600 miles to be allowed into a field in Fermanagh to destroy a fence which had been specifically erected for that purpose. It was a sacrificial offering to the black block, complete with blunted razor wire so that they would not injure themselves in the thrashing.  Just when you thought this scene could not get any more surreal, hear this.  Beyond this field lay another barrier, and inside that fence there was a man from the security forces stating that if anyone attempted to get into this field there would be serious consequences.  As per normal in these situations, the violence was always going to come from those in uniform.  The stewards from the Socialist Party approached the black block and explained to them that the busses were leaving.

On a private island in the lake, far away from this absurd scene, the leaders of the G8 were meeting undisturbed.

Monday's Anti-G8 march and rally through Enniskillen should undoubtedly be viewed as a huge success by everyone who attended it. Giving the fact of how the media, both the press and television, has played a full role in subjecting the population to weeks of sensationalist scare stories, it was a surprise that anyone even left their homes on Monday as the G8 leaders flew into Fortress Fermanagh.

At the post G8 press conference, PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggot claimed the G8 summit in Enniskillen was the 'most peaceful and stable' in its history. The G8 gangsters may have left dazzled and wined by our local political class but beneath the media spin and smokescreen lies the ugly reality of a new Northern Ireland of one rule for the rich and powerful while the rest of us must accept our place in the ladder or face the consequences. We only need to look no further than the selective internment of Marion Price and others.

In the wake of this week's violent eviction of a squat in London, the state propaganda offensive is in full swing to intimidate and criminalise any opposition to the their savage anti working class agenda. Their divide and conquer strategy has been given an added boost by the organisers of this Saturday's march in Belfast city centre.

The media charm offensive has began as our local corrupt political class roll out the the red carpet to the notorious gang of eight, dealers of austerity, state terror and imperialism.  The beautiful tranquil lakes of Fermanagh will be turned into a ring of steel’ with security fencing extending for miles protected by an army of professional thugs and watchtowers to keep the rest of us plebs at bay.

The Security budget for the Fermanagh G8 operation, to encompass cities in Northern Ireland, including buildings, phone lines and whatever else may be deemed a ‘Security risk’, will add many millions to the already astronomical security budget .  There is £3.8 million for drones and £1.3 million for pop up hotels for the 2,500 extra Officers already drafted in.  The additional cost of subsistence and logistics involved in PSNI guarding 208 empty buildings in Belfast from a mythical anarchist plan to occupy them is no more than a ridiculous attempt to scare anyone who is against the G8 Summit. These sort of stories in the media are intended to thwart any attempts to allow for freedom protest.   The supposed economic gains of pantomime are alleged longer term investment that will be brought to the province in the way of business for some hotels! But the less visible costs include the cost of the loss of earnings for local residents for the three days of the summit, the road closures and disruption to people’s lives and privacy.

In response to yesterday’s Irish News (Mon 20 May 2013) front page article, “Police to Occupy hundreds of vacant premises in Belfast during G8”, the Workers Solidarity Movement condemned security forces scaremongering in the media.