Poblacht na nOibrithe

Is digh linn gur mr iad na daoine mra mar timid fin ar r ngline. irmis!
The great only appear great because we are on our knees. Let us rise! Nuachtlitir irg Bal Feirste Earrach 2012

Judge Backs Sectarian Bigots

Two prominent irg activists were among 27 people convicted in a Belfast court in December of opposing sectarian marches. National vice-chairperson Rab Jackson, the partys Upper Falls representative Pdraic Mac Coitir and 25 others were found guilty by a judge at Belfasts Laganside Court of engaging in a sitdown protest in Ardoyne on July 12 2010. The pair, along with a number of other irg activists, were participating in the peaceful protest at the request of the Greater Ardoyne Residents Committee. Every year, the Orange Order and its sectarian hangers-on engage in a bigotryfuelled coat-trailing session through the nationalist north Belfast community, aided and abetted by the Six County Parades Commission and the PSNI. The trial, which led to the conviction of the activists, was fuelled by farce from its commencement. Despite the fact that the PSNI brought to trial people who were not even in Ardoyne that day and that the forces officers admitted under cross-examination that two separate crowds of hundreds of loyalists were also blocking the Crumlin Road on the day in question, the judge decided to convict 27 of the 32 defendants. All of the 27 received a 400 fine for blocking the Crumlin Road, with nine of that number, including Jackson, receiving a further 200 fine for resisting officers.

Pdraic Mac Coitir arrested by the PSNI in Ardoyne

Mac Coitir said the two irg activists would not be paying the fines. The Orange Order is a completely discredited secret society that demands to march through nationalist communities for no other reason than that of sectarian intimidation. This is why myself, Rab and other irg activists travelled to Ardoyne in July 2010 when requested to do so by local residents. We have no regrets as our actions on the day and we will not be paying any fine imposed by a judge who is completely indifferent to the ordeal nationalist residents are put through every marching season. Nationalists have every right to engage in peaceful protests, including civil disobedience, in order to prevent the incursion of sectarian cults into their communities. irg will continue to support this right and the right of everyone to live free of sectarian harassment.

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www.eirigi.org

One in Five Children Live in Poverty

Over 80,000 children in the Six Counties are living in poverty, according to a new report published in January. The report, produced by the Campaign to End Child Poverty, found that over 1 in 5 children in the statelet live below the poverty line the point at which families struggle to pay for basic necessities such as food, heating and clothing. That figure rises to over 2 in 5 in West Belfast (where 46 per cent of children live in poverty). Commenting on the report, irg representative John McCusker condemned the dire situation in which more and more families are finding themselves. He said, Its disgraceful that families are being forced to choose between feeding themselves or heating their homes, and its a situation thats more common than many people are willing to admit. In my local area in West Belfast, the figures for child poverty given in the report are appallingly high 64 per cent in Whiterock, 63 per cent in Falls, 56 in Clonard and 53 in the Upper Springfield. This already intolerable situation will only worsen as our communities feel the bite of the Tory/Stormont cuts agenda. People in work are having their pay frozen or reduced and, and people in receipt of benefits are finding these slashed. Add to this that more people are finding that their income cannot keep up with inflation and its clear that many families are struggling to afford even the basics. John concluded, The most vulnerable are suffering the most from the regressive economic policies of the Tories. This sorry state of affairs will continue only as long as people allow it. Workers are facing further attacks on pay and conditions, and people on benefits and tax credits will see all of these schemes cut as the British government and its Stormont administration continue with their austerity economics. Now is the time to say No more so we dont condemn yet another generation of children to a poverty-ridden existence.

With Britain in control of the Six Counties and the IMF/EU/ECB in control of the Twenty-Six Counties all of Ireland is now under an effective foreign occupation for the first time in almost a century. What could not be achieved with tanks and guns has now been realised with treaties and bailouts. The agenda of these joint occupations is clear the creation of a deeply unjust neo-liberal political, social and economic order an order which will see an ever increasing amount of power and wealth concentrated into the hands of an ever decreasing number of people. As 2012 begins the need for a reinvigorated Irish revolutionary republican movement has never been greater. The ideas at the core of Irish republicanism are as relevant today as they were when they first emerged in the 1790s. The vision of a free Ireland governed by the people for the people stands in stark contrast to the partitioned, occupied and deeply unequal Ireland of today. A new all-Ireland Democratic Socialist Republic represents the only viable and sustainable alternative to the division, poverty and chaos that the current system has produced. The building of a popular movement that will deliver such a new republic is already underway. Over the coming twelve months irg intends to accelerate that build, by increasing its campaigns of active opposition to the British and IMF/EU/ECB occupations.

Join irg
irg is an Irish socialist republican political party, which wants to see an end to the British occupation of the Six Counties and the dismantling of the unjust socio-economic system that currently exists in both the Six and Twenty-Six Counties. irg supports the creation of a new all-Ireland Democratic Socialist Republic based on the principles of sovereignty, democracy, liberty, justice, equality, community and international solidarity. If you are interested in joining irg or helping us in some way, please: Email: irg.bf@gmail.com Phone: 079 3595 0601 Web: www.eirigi.org