PRC-UTE
31st October 2006, 07:16
The Litmus Test of Republicanism
http://lark.phoblacht.net/CC301006g.html
Republican: n 1 of or supporting a republic
n 2 a person who supports or advocates a republic, usually in opposition
to a monarchy
Republic: n 1 a form of government in which the people or their elected
representatives possess the supreme power
n 2 a country in which the head of state is an elected or nominated
president [Latin "respublica", literally: the public thing]
adj 3 a democratically elected country, free from monarchy and the rule of
a monarch
Charlie Clarke, Irish Republican Socialist Party • 27 October 2006
The invasion of Ireland by the British some eight hundred years ago has
been the catalyst behind insurrection after insurrection to remove the
British colonial forces from these shores. The Irish natives were subject
to an imposed British monarchy, having to forfeit their freedom and
sovereignty in the face of defeat and that has been the way ever since.
So, with failed attempt after failed attempt, using the French, Americans,
Germans etc. as allies in their aid we find ourselves in modern times.
The 1916 uprising was probably the most poignant of insurrections in
recent years seeing the British answer to the Irish problem - bombardment
with heavy artillery. The leaders of the uprising, Pearse, Connolly,
Clarke etc. were killed by British firing squad days after their surrender
at Killmainham gaol in Dublin. A few years later, circa 1920-21 we
witnessed the split in the Republican movement with the Republican left
refusing to recognise the 26 county proposed settlement of the British,
and the Republican right accepting the terms of the British monarch and
becoming Free Staters. Republicanism was traded in return for
constitutional nationalism.
Today we find ourselves in the mirrored position of the Republican left of
1921. The right have yet again sided with the investor, property and
prosperity. They have been wined and dined by the bureaucracy of the world
forgetting that they once stood in tandem with the respectable working
class of Ireland. All connections with the proletariat have been severed
as they have accepted the embrace of the Celtic Tiger.
Aran jumpers and tweed jackets have been replaced by the Armani suit. The
heavily fortressed incident centres of the seventies and eighties have
been steadily replaced with multi-million pound buildings, fully equipped
with the state of the art, cutting edge technology. The hand-painted signs
have been replaced with impressive digital imagery canvassed high outside
the prospective buildings, a sure indication of prosperity and wealth.
So where does that leave us now. With the forthcoming Water Rates in April
2007, the GFA stalemate at Stormont, the outing of British agents burrowed
and strategically placed within the P$F and PIRA, and the pending
situation of the PSNI being accepted and endorsed by Provisional $inn Fein
the working class Republican surely feels more and more isolated and hard
done by as the politicians get concession after concession, carefully gift
wrapped in their fat cat salaries from the British. Prosperity has sided
with the Republican right at the detriment of the class that voted them
there, with the resounding chants of "et tu Brute" masking the cold steel
that has repeatedly stabbed them in the back.
Let's look at the issue of the British agents within the PRM. Hand picked
aids of the PSF pro-agreement leadership have seemingly been positioned
there since the eighties, enabling the British to obtain complete control
of the thinking and direction of the Party. Was the GFA that was hailed as
the process to end the war that plagued this country for eight hundred
years with cavalcades of scores of cars parading throughout the north a
victory for Republicans, or was it the carefully choreographed deal of a
British government intent on strengthening their hold on the occupied six
counties of Ireland? The latter is certainly a plausible option to give
careful consideration.
Another hardship for the proletariat is the pending water charges. This is
in addition to the 37% of the current rate bill going to the water service
for the water pumped into houses. The British government, have yet again
opted to privatise natural resources for profit. So what does this all
mean for the average working class family of north and west Belfast? Well,
it's quite simple.
>From April 2007 the population of the north of Ireland will be greeted
with their first water rates bill totalling somewhere in the region of
£350 - £500. Those who refuse to pay will eventually be fined and jailed.
The British have now began to push this legislation forward through
Parliament in what seemed as an unprecedented step to shaft the working
class of the north. Is this the case, as they say that if it is left to
Stormont it will never be implemented and the Devolved British government
residing in Stormont castle will face a deficit of millions of pounds for
their annual budget, or is this the real reason for the stalemate in the
GFA?
All the politicians who endorsed and signed up to the GFA, those Members
of the Legislative Authority of the British Empire in "Northern Ireland"
have already accepted the water charges. They have already signed up to
the implementation of these rates that charge for what in any third world
country is classed as a human right. The problem is though that they will
never be able to convince the working class that it is in their interests
to impose yet another extortionate levy upon an already heavy laden class.
The DUP and P$F in particular have placed the British government under
extreme pressure to impose these charges under Home Rule, knowing that
this would be a fatal blow to any future electoral campaigns that will
depend on the proletariat vote to sustain their majority position. This
way, both parties will have the strengthened position of laying blame
solely at the feet of the British, claiming, as we have already witnessed
in recent days that if it were to be left to the discretion of the
Stormont contingent then they would never impose this upon the working
people of this island.
So, if this is to be considered as the real reason for the hold up in
Stormont, then exactly what is the position on policing and the acceptance
of the PSNI by P$F and as Republican Socialists what ramifications will
any deal bear upon our movement and future contact with the PRM?
This is simple. I refer back to the definitions of both republican and
republic. As republicans Sinn Fein should have no problem in refusing to
accept the PSNI as a legitimate police service. They should quite easily
recognise that in order for the people to receive a fully representational
police service, one that is representational of the needs of the
proletariat and not biased against them in favour of capitalist investment
and the neo liberal agendas of any given country, then this must be
established by the people, for the people and from within the parameters
of a 32 county Socialist Workers Republic of Ireland. The fact that the
British are trying to represent the working class of Ireland in the PSNI
by establishing the Patten reports recommendations of 50/50 policing, 50%
Catholic and 50% other falls far short of a representational police
service. This is a lie.
On the other hand we have P$F asking the public what alternative is there
to policing? They have highlighted the vacuum in policing, they have
raised this in debate throughout the country and they are correct, in the
absence of a fully representational police service of all the inhabitants
of this island we are faced with a serious public order problem.
The people of Ireland need to be policed. They deserve a suitable and
acceptable police force. It is their right as citizens of a democratically
elected country. So, how is this resolved? Is there any legitimacy for
Republicans of whatever tradition in the PSNI, with the full
implementation of the Patten reports recommendations? The answer is a
simple, resounding and blunt "NO".
We as republicans must be on our guard at all times. The capitalist will
always try to deceive us. They will mask and cover up their true
intentions and hope to bribe us by appealing to that nature of self that
resides in every one of us. They will speak to us with honey coated words,
use complex language in order to confuse us and parcel up their poison to
make it look like sweet smelling fragrance. This is what is happening now.
They have taken Republicans to the point of no return. Constitutional
nationalists have masqueraded as republicans and are trying to dupe and
confuse the grass roots with words of grandeur, assurances of the end
dream of a 32 county Socialist Republic and blatant lies. They have chosen
once again to favour the investor, the rich, and the capitalist.
Real republicans can recognise this betrayal of republican beliefs, for
there is one test that cannot fail. Republicans are anti-monarchy. They
desire the complete withdrawal of the British from our island, both
economical and militarily. They demand the abolition of partition. Nothing
else can compensate for these demands.
Stormont is a British settlement. It has copper fastened partition. It has
strengthened the British claim to the north of Ireland. It has heightened
sectarianism and split republicanism. It is nothing more than a devolved
legislative authority of the British Empire. Republicans have bought into
that with their involvement in the GFA. They are trying to sell this
settlement as the ideal republican victory, as a road to the promised
republic, and the PSNI as an acceptable police service. We must remember,
the PSNI are, and will remain to be, the British Crown Forces and a
permanent reminder of the occupation of our land.
http://lark.phoblacht.net/CC301006g.html
Republican: n 1 of or supporting a republic
n 2 a person who supports or advocates a republic, usually in opposition
to a monarchy
Republic: n 1 a form of government in which the people or their elected
representatives possess the supreme power
n 2 a country in which the head of state is an elected or nominated
president [Latin "respublica", literally: the public thing]
adj 3 a democratically elected country, free from monarchy and the rule of
a monarch
Charlie Clarke, Irish Republican Socialist Party • 27 October 2006
The invasion of Ireland by the British some eight hundred years ago has
been the catalyst behind insurrection after insurrection to remove the
British colonial forces from these shores. The Irish natives were subject
to an imposed British monarchy, having to forfeit their freedom and
sovereignty in the face of defeat and that has been the way ever since.
So, with failed attempt after failed attempt, using the French, Americans,
Germans etc. as allies in their aid we find ourselves in modern times.
The 1916 uprising was probably the most poignant of insurrections in
recent years seeing the British answer to the Irish problem - bombardment
with heavy artillery. The leaders of the uprising, Pearse, Connolly,
Clarke etc. were killed by British firing squad days after their surrender
at Killmainham gaol in Dublin. A few years later, circa 1920-21 we
witnessed the split in the Republican movement with the Republican left
refusing to recognise the 26 county proposed settlement of the British,
and the Republican right accepting the terms of the British monarch and
becoming Free Staters. Republicanism was traded in return for
constitutional nationalism.
Today we find ourselves in the mirrored position of the Republican left of
1921. The right have yet again sided with the investor, property and
prosperity. They have been wined and dined by the bureaucracy of the world
forgetting that they once stood in tandem with the respectable working
class of Ireland. All connections with the proletariat have been severed
as they have accepted the embrace of the Celtic Tiger.
Aran jumpers and tweed jackets have been replaced by the Armani suit. The
heavily fortressed incident centres of the seventies and eighties have
been steadily replaced with multi-million pound buildings, fully equipped
with the state of the art, cutting edge technology. The hand-painted signs
have been replaced with impressive digital imagery canvassed high outside
the prospective buildings, a sure indication of prosperity and wealth.
So where does that leave us now. With the forthcoming Water Rates in April
2007, the GFA stalemate at Stormont, the outing of British agents burrowed
and strategically placed within the P$F and PIRA, and the pending
situation of the PSNI being accepted and endorsed by Provisional $inn Fein
the working class Republican surely feels more and more isolated and hard
done by as the politicians get concession after concession, carefully gift
wrapped in their fat cat salaries from the British. Prosperity has sided
with the Republican right at the detriment of the class that voted them
there, with the resounding chants of "et tu Brute" masking the cold steel
that has repeatedly stabbed them in the back.
Let's look at the issue of the British agents within the PRM. Hand picked
aids of the PSF pro-agreement leadership have seemingly been positioned
there since the eighties, enabling the British to obtain complete control
of the thinking and direction of the Party. Was the GFA that was hailed as
the process to end the war that plagued this country for eight hundred
years with cavalcades of scores of cars parading throughout the north a
victory for Republicans, or was it the carefully choreographed deal of a
British government intent on strengthening their hold on the occupied six
counties of Ireland? The latter is certainly a plausible option to give
careful consideration.
Another hardship for the proletariat is the pending water charges. This is
in addition to the 37% of the current rate bill going to the water service
for the water pumped into houses. The British government, have yet again
opted to privatise natural resources for profit. So what does this all
mean for the average working class family of north and west Belfast? Well,
it's quite simple.
>From April 2007 the population of the north of Ireland will be greeted
with their first water rates bill totalling somewhere in the region of
£350 - £500. Those who refuse to pay will eventually be fined and jailed.
The British have now began to push this legislation forward through
Parliament in what seemed as an unprecedented step to shaft the working
class of the north. Is this the case, as they say that if it is left to
Stormont it will never be implemented and the Devolved British government
residing in Stormont castle will face a deficit of millions of pounds for
their annual budget, or is this the real reason for the stalemate in the
GFA?
All the politicians who endorsed and signed up to the GFA, those Members
of the Legislative Authority of the British Empire in "Northern Ireland"
have already accepted the water charges. They have already signed up to
the implementation of these rates that charge for what in any third world
country is classed as a human right. The problem is though that they will
never be able to convince the working class that it is in their interests
to impose yet another extortionate levy upon an already heavy laden class.
The DUP and P$F in particular have placed the British government under
extreme pressure to impose these charges under Home Rule, knowing that
this would be a fatal blow to any future electoral campaigns that will
depend on the proletariat vote to sustain their majority position. This
way, both parties will have the strengthened position of laying blame
solely at the feet of the British, claiming, as we have already witnessed
in recent days that if it were to be left to the discretion of the
Stormont contingent then they would never impose this upon the working
people of this island.
So, if this is to be considered as the real reason for the hold up in
Stormont, then exactly what is the position on policing and the acceptance
of the PSNI by P$F and as Republican Socialists what ramifications will
any deal bear upon our movement and future contact with the PRM?
This is simple. I refer back to the definitions of both republican and
republic. As republicans Sinn Fein should have no problem in refusing to
accept the PSNI as a legitimate police service. They should quite easily
recognise that in order for the people to receive a fully representational
police service, one that is representational of the needs of the
proletariat and not biased against them in favour of capitalist investment
and the neo liberal agendas of any given country, then this must be
established by the people, for the people and from within the parameters
of a 32 county Socialist Workers Republic of Ireland. The fact that the
British are trying to represent the working class of Ireland in the PSNI
by establishing the Patten reports recommendations of 50/50 policing, 50%
Catholic and 50% other falls far short of a representational police
service. This is a lie.
On the other hand we have P$F asking the public what alternative is there
to policing? They have highlighted the vacuum in policing, they have
raised this in debate throughout the country and they are correct, in the
absence of a fully representational police service of all the inhabitants
of this island we are faced with a serious public order problem.
The people of Ireland need to be policed. They deserve a suitable and
acceptable police force. It is their right as citizens of a democratically
elected country. So, how is this resolved? Is there any legitimacy for
Republicans of whatever tradition in the PSNI, with the full
implementation of the Patten reports recommendations? The answer is a
simple, resounding and blunt "NO".
We as republicans must be on our guard at all times. The capitalist will
always try to deceive us. They will mask and cover up their true
intentions and hope to bribe us by appealing to that nature of self that
resides in every one of us. They will speak to us with honey coated words,
use complex language in order to confuse us and parcel up their poison to
make it look like sweet smelling fragrance. This is what is happening now.
They have taken Republicans to the point of no return. Constitutional
nationalists have masqueraded as republicans and are trying to dupe and
confuse the grass roots with words of grandeur, assurances of the end
dream of a 32 county Socialist Republic and blatant lies. They have chosen
once again to favour the investor, the rich, and the capitalist.
Real republicans can recognise this betrayal of republican beliefs, for
there is one test that cannot fail. Republicans are anti-monarchy. They
desire the complete withdrawal of the British from our island, both
economical and militarily. They demand the abolition of partition. Nothing
else can compensate for these demands.
Stormont is a British settlement. It has copper fastened partition. It has
strengthened the British claim to the north of Ireland. It has heightened
sectarianism and split republicanism. It is nothing more than a devolved
legislative authority of the British Empire. Republicans have bought into
that with their involvement in the GFA. They are trying to sell this
settlement as the ideal republican victory, as a road to the promised
republic, and the PSNI as an acceptable police service. We must remember,
the PSNI are, and will remain to be, the British Crown Forces and a
permanent reminder of the occupation of our land.