Workers Solidarity Movement

 Thirty years on from the end of the dictatorship many people who suffered repression are still afraid to speak.  And that in part is because repression became a taboo subject for many families.  This of course is what the dictatorship wanted.

A group of 50 protestors, mainly asylum seekers, has gathered outside the Mosney Centre in Co.Meath to protest at the planned movement of some of the internees to other facilities in the country.

Earlier this week the government announced its intention to give away the last exploration blocks in the Irish sea to private corporations under its "open door" policy.  Today in Erris Shell starts the latest round of its long attempt to impose an experimental raw gas pipeline on the community, back from its defeat early in the new year when the long running community protests forced An Bord Pleanala to block the original ludicrous route for the pipeline that took it through the village of Rossport.  Meanwhile the community continue to resist Shell with borehole drilling being stopped for three hours on Monday as protesters evaded security at low tide.

Israel's attack on the Mavi Marmara, Turkish Flotilla of IHH (Humanitarian Relief Foundation) this morning struck a very dangerous cord with Turks of all sides, it also received the mixed reaction of a very divided and confused society . Turkey has had a love and hate relationship with Israel from the beginning, being one of the first states to recognize the State of Israel.There is a considerable amount of USA/CIA backed liberal opposition to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's and his party AKP's repositioning of Turkish foreign policy from being "the only friend of a loner aggressive child in the class" to being a friend of Syria and Iran. This reaction takes place despite the obvious backing of his party by the USA in Turkey. Similar opposition has been expressed about Erdoğan and Brazilian President Lula's deal/ mediation with Iran to nuclear fuel swap deal last week.

Protests are to take place in Dublin, Sligo, Galway, Belfast, Derry,  Monaghan & Cork today against the act of international piracy by the Israeli military last night when they attacked a flotilla bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza . The Globe & Mail is reporting that 19 people have been killed in an attack staged last night. The flotilla of six ships called the “freedom flotilla” includes one from the Ireland called the Rachel Corrie, named after the American activist murdered by the IDF in 2003. At least 8 Irish people are on board various ships in the flotilla.

In the context of previously reported Gardai violence against bank bail out protests the WSM decided to mobilise for the Right to Work protest on May 18th and published a call for an "anti-capitalist block" on the demonstration, to assemble on Stephen's Green, a few hundred metres away from the Dail and a half an hour earlier than the scheduled time for the RTW march.  This was done for a couple of reasons - firstly because the announced starting point for the RTW march was the Dail, which was also the march's destination. Thus it seemed that a static rally with speeches from notables was to be the order of the day and these are normally felt to be fairly grim and turgid affairs to anyone who has attended a few.  Secondly because the WSM wanted to differentiate itself from the SWP-controlled RTW event and create an alternative pole of attraction for radicals.

The week before last Erris fisherman Pat O'Donnell was jailed for seven months for his part in the communities ongoing resistance to Shell's attempt to impose an experimental gas pipeline on them. Across the country local Shell to Sea groups have been holding solidarity protests and other events for Pat. In Dublin this has included two protests and a public meeting in UCD. Meanwhile Shell have been forced to admit a temporary defeat in the face of local opposition and call off the construction they have planned for Glengad this year.

This audio interview, conducted by mobile phone on Monday evening, covers the protests at the COP15 summit in Copenhagen.
Ronan who was a member of WSM in Ireland has been living in Denmark for a year and a half and is involved in a new Libertarian Socialist group and the local infoshop in the autonomous Youth House.

This audio consists of 10 brief interviews with public sector strikers made during the national strike on 24th November 2009. Picketers at various locations across Dublin talk of what the strike is about, the effects of the cuts and how their unions organised for the strike.

Wednesday 9th December saw the greatest budget attack on workers in Ireland in a couple of decades with services and pay being slashed. Many unions and other organisations called protests outside the Dail from the early morning to the late evening. WSM members took part in these protests throughout the day and provided live updates, photos and video from them via our twitter account which you can view or listen to in this article.