Nothing to be ashamed of

The Council of Europe has called on Ireland to decriminalise abortion.

This week , the Council of Europe's Committee on Equal Opportunities issued a report saying all member states should guarantee women the right to a safe termination of pregnancy.

The report states quite clearly: “the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men considers that a ban on abortions does not result in fewer abortions, but mainly leads to clandestine abortions, which are more traumatic and more dangerous.”

Some people estimate that the number of Irish women who travel to England every year is about 7,000. Since some women obviously use false British addresses, or disguise their origins in other ways, the true figure can never be known.

Related Links: Choice Ireland — Irish Family Planning Association — Safe and Legal Abortion Rights Campaign I had an abortion

Townsend's interpretation of the famous Battle in Seattle, where the World Trade Organisation was shut down due to the emergence of what the media labelled the anti-globalisation movement has finally hit the big screen, and it doesn't get much bigger (in Dublin) than the prestigous Savoy Screen Number 1!

The whirlwind fictional interpretation of the event which launched the global phenomenon of Anti-capitalism has finally hit the big screen Stuart Townsend a famous actor from Howth (I don't think i've seen anything he's in!) has given what has been a fundamental part of our collective experience a fictionalised treatment and presented it to us in the cinema. This is important as he has given the whole issue a very sympathetic treatment even though he wasn't part of the protests back in 1999 in Seattle. The film gives a rapid history of who what where when and why of the WTO and the 5 W's of the movement which emerged to tackle it.

An anarchist dismisses religious belief as a means of understanding the world that has been "superceded by science", sparking a lively debate. Is this argument simply showing disrespect to believers, talking down to the proles, or is it really the case that religion is "a dangerous drug" which means "handing over your brain to a priest, rabbi, or imam"? Read the arguments and make your own mind up.

asylum seekers removed by gardaí

On Sunday May 14th, a group of up to 41 refugees from war-torn Afghanistan occupied St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin city centre after the Sunday Service. At least seven minors were among the group of men. The group were seeking refugee status in Ireland and decided to go on hunger strike after losing confidence in the asylum application process. Indymedia Ireland began its week-long coverage of this action with this report.

Last night, Saturday May 20th, at around 9:30pm, a large contingent from the Garda Public Order Unit, aka the riot squad, moved into the vicinity of the cathedral. Vans were parked in St Patrick's Close, obscuring the view of the cathedral entrance. The minors, who had previously been made 'wards of the court', i.e. taken into state care, were firstly removed by ambulance. The tension mounted at this point, as the hunger strikers had previously indicated they were prepared to self-harm if any attempt was made to forcibly remove them from St. Patrick's. However, after several hours of negotiation, the Afghans reluctantly came out without resorting to such drastic actions.

As the Garda vans arrived, a small crowd of counter-demonstrators had gathered near the entrance, chanting for the asylum seekers to be kicked out (audio). They were soon outnumbered by supporters of the Afghans, who quickly made their way to the cathedral when the news emerged that the Garda were preparing to move in. The men were put into Garda vans and driven away to chants of "let them stay". One man lay down in front of the vans as they were driving away, but was gently removed by Gardaí (audio). The counter-protestors at this point had been hurling missiles at supporters, and were separated from the main crowd by Gardaí.

outside Irish National Immigration Services

video in mpeg2, 1:24, 14.1 MB

http://obin.org/video/wawa/02-03-06-RARdeportations.mpg

Video was done yesterday (Mar 2 2006) on an action against deportations done by Residents Against Racism in Dublin, around 1pm. Sorry for the low quality.