Workers Solidarity Movement

These are two audio interviews with US anarchist Ashanti Alston who the WSM have brought to Ireland to speak at the Anarchist bookfair. Ashanti describes himself as a former member of the Black Panther Party and a former soldier in the Black Liberation Army, in connection with which he served 14 years in prison in the US. Today he is an active US anarchist who speaks at events all over North America, giving him a valuable perspective on the state of the movement today.

Media coverage of events in Israel and Palestine often depends on well-worn clichés that depict a bitter struggle between two homogenous and mutually exclusive cultures. The truth of course is far more complex and there is a small, but very vocal, opposition within Israel to the military Occupation of Palestine. One of the most visible and courageous forms of this opposition has been the refusal to serve in the Israeli army.

This interview with a Zapatista Educational Promote was carried out in the autonomous and rebel Zapatista community of Morelia, Mexico. 

This area of Chiapas have been in rebellion since the 1st of January 1994 and during this time the rebel movement has constructed a new education system. The interviewer is a WSM member who lives outside of Ireland.

Brendan Drum of the HSE had earmarked the St Mary’s Orthopaedic Hospital in Cork as next in line for his cuts. But workers at the hospital are intent on fighting back and not accepting this. Kevin Doyle interviewed Paula Walters, SIPTU member, and a hospital attendant with over 30 years experience at the hospital.

The 34th G8 summit took place in Japan July 7th to 9th 2008. Andrew Flood interviewed Diane K. a member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and the (US) Northeast Federation of Anarchist-Communists (NEFAC) who traveled to Japan from New York to take part in the summit protests and counter summit.

The Dublin Anarchist Bookfair – held this year on the weekend of 14th and 15th March – has firmly established itself as the biggest and most exciting event on the political left in Ireland.

Over 200 people packed into the Royal Dublin Hotel on Dublin’s O’Connell Street in early December for a public meeting on the topic ‘Democracy and Policing: How accountable are the Gardaí to the Irish people?’

On last Thursday night the Cork branch of the Workers’ Solidarity Movement hosted a talk from Leiser Peles, an anarchist from Israel who is active with the Anarchists against the Wall. The talk was held at the Metropole Hotel and was attended by about forty people.

In late May, we had the chance to interview Edith Soboul, of the federal secretariat of Altrernative Libertaire, our sister organisation in France. The interview dealt with the recent election of Sarkozy, the shift to the right in Europe and its impact on workers' and immigrants' rights, the tasks of the libertarians in France and AL proposals for the moment

'Voices of Republicanism' is a documentary on the current state of the Republican movement produced for indymedia.ie. Through discourse with activists from a wide range of political backgrounds and of varying ages we attempt to provide a small insight into the movement. This is a documentary through the words of people who were there and have seen it, those who still carry the torch of Republicanism and those who have made a break with the movement entirely.