If you ask me

national | miscellaneous | news report Thursday May 09, 2002 20:40 by Malcolm Little

A report of todays protest and march coupled with some of my own general observations.

Today’s march passed of without incident, it was an impressive turnout, but I won’t hazard a guess at figures, and now I feel it is important to reflect upon the day’s march and several issues that it raises. Firstly, I feel that Globalise Resistance have been vindicated in calling for today’s protest, I for one felt all along that the only adequate responses the fascist tactics of the gardai was to immediately mount a demonstration so as to show them that freedom is not easily subdued.

As to today’s speakers, on the whole they were fairly mild in their remarks with Daithi Doolan and Ciaran Cuff engaging in some hollow phrase mongering for the upcoming election. I feel Joe Higgins deserve a special mention for making clear that the attack on Monday was not an isolated incident but in fact represented what is an inherent part of the strategy for building a corporate run Europe subservient to the market and its major beneficiaries.

However, I feel the protest raises some serious questions, chief among which is ‘what now?’. Anyone with a grain of sense and a pinch of experience knows that today’s protest will have no major effect on the gardai’s internal investigation. Also the government already has a draft bill for the appointment of a garda ombudsman and if they proceed to bring it into force after the elections well it will only be s superficial change, then what will today’s protest have achieved.

What is the objective of RTS, it is for at least a while to demonstrate that another world and way of life is possible. Which is both admirable and essential, but it is also futile so long as some sections of the movement insist that it is ‘non-political’. It is anything but non-political it is a challenge to the entire social system that we now live under which is why it needs to be better organised.

I too am of the firm belief that a better world is possible, but being the dinosaur that I am I believe that in order to realise this new world we need organisation and the old world will have to be removed by force. I also believe that ultimately it will be the working class who bring about this change, which is why I was extremely happy to see a lot of lads just of the building sites on the march today.

All in all I commend everyone who turned up today, I think we did make a point and we showed the gardai up for what they really are. But it’s not enough; if we want to change the world what do we do next? I most certainly don’t know, but I do know his much that united comrades we can face any challenge before is.

The old world is dying, the future is ours unite and fight!