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Scots for Joe and Clare

category international | bin tax / household tax / water tax | press release author Friday September 26, 2003 03:09author by SSP - SSP

scottish trade unionists and activists

Scots for Joe and Clare

Free Joe and Clare
Scottish trade unionists and socialists demand the release of Joe Higgins and Clare Daly
Protest statement sent by Scottish trade unionists and socialists to Fingal County Council in Ireland, on 21 September 2003.


We, the undersigned, demand the immediate release of Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins and Councillor Clare Daly who have been jailed for one month by the High Court in Ireland. Their only crime has been to stand by the people they represent and oppose the bin charges so unfairly levied upon the people.

Free Joe Higgins and Clare Daly
Scrap the bin charges
End double taxation
PCS (Public and Commercial services)
Janice Godrich - National President

Alan Brown National Executice Committee

G Thompson - Assistant branch secretary

M McCann - Chair Lanarkshire PCS,

Thomas Currie

Steve Waz - shop steward Edinburgh

UNISON
Ronnie Stevenson - Convenor of shop stewards Glasgow City social services department

Brian Smith - shop steward Glasgow City

Margaret Bean, Education officer North Glasgow hospitals

Ian Leech - West Dumbartonshire Council branch

E Wardrope - shop steward Glasgow

Mary Rolis

Gerry McGinley - Stirling Council Scottish chair voluntary sector committee

Donnie Nicolson

Marlyn Tweedie

Jim McFarlane - Chair Dundee City branch

Jim Main - shop steward Glasgow City branch

Ann Lynch

Arthur Nicholl Assistant Secretary Dundee City branch

M Mcintosh

Colin Torbett – Chair North Ayrshire branch

Caroline Palitti

John lamm

RMT (Rail Maritime and Transport)
Dougie Kinnear - President of Scottish regional council

G Martin shop steward

Graham Cambell

John Milligan national executive,

Amicus (Engineering union)
Iain Hogg

Andrew Gray

Willie Black - shop steward Edinbugh

John Starrs -shop steward Glasgow

AUT (Association of University Teachers)
Gregor Gall - University of Stirling branch executive

Tricia McCafferty,

CWU (Communication Workers Union)
Derek Durkin - Edinburgh No 2 branch secretary

Gary Clark - minority grade branch secretary Edinburgh

Ian Johnston

Fraser Coats - shop steward Airdrie,

EIS (Educational Institute of Scotland)
Ray Gunnion - Chair Motherwell EIS

Allan Armstrong - Executive council

Donald Anderson

EIS - CLA ( College Lectures Association)
James O' Donovan - Scottish President

Pam Currie

Malcolm Wilson National executive

S Marriot,

FBU (Fire Brigades Union)
James Scott - Glasgow Govan firestation

D McKintosh

NUJ (National Union of Journalists)
Ken Ferguson - Scottish Executive Committee

TGWU
Richard Whyte - General Executive Council

Keith Baldasarra - Glasgow City Council No 2 branch

K Stewart shop steward

Keir McKechnie

N Bean

Neil Lennon

UNIFI (Bank workers)
Mike Dyer - shop steward Glasgow

Sean Scott - Irvine,

Trades Councils
Rab Paterson - Midlothian trades council chair



All trade union positions are in a personal capacity



Scottish Socialist Party
Tommy Sheridam MSP

Richie Venton - national industrial organiser

John Lanigan

Ally Hendry

Alice Sheridan

Graham Mciver South of Scotland organiser

International Socialists (Committee for a workers International)
Executive Committee members

Harvey Duke

Philip Stott

Sinead Daly

Alan Manley

Comments (7 of 7)

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author by random input - (reg user under alias)publication date Fri Sep 26, 2003 03:51author address author phone

this is not strictly relevant to this thread... but

i would like to say that much as indymedia annoys me (as in, the usual so-and-so are this and so-and-so are that) the coverage of the bin tax has been quite brilliant. we don't hear any of this on the news (radio or telly). all we hear is "arrests" and "more disrupters" etc. the only place to actually find out what is REALLY happening is via indymedia.

i have to say thank you to indymedia (ie everyone who contributes), the wsm, and the sp for all the reports.

i do have one question though, and i mean it in the most fraternal manner possible - why are the socialist workers so quiet on this issue? i'm not being funny, i read all the left wing papers (yes even the starry plough!) but i'm confused as to why the swp are not more prominent on indymedia. that doesnt apply to Joe C who i know posts here regularly, but where are the rest of them - and their contributions to the bin tax debate? as far as i can gather they are aruging for different tactics, but not being in dublin i don' know what they are arguing *for*. as i say , i honestly mean this in the most fraternal way possible.

but as a random punter (ive put a few comments up under various diff names) i have to say that the dying down of all the sectarianism is a welcome change. to see comrades working together is beautiful. really beautiful. but why do i have the feeling that it won't be long until it all starts up again?

do you reckon this will teach us anything????

author by Simple Simonpublication date Fri Sep 26, 2003 04:09author address author phone

It's staring you in the face. Indymedia Ireland is run by the SWP. That's why there's this blaring silence from them.

author by random inputpublication date Fri Sep 26, 2003 04:35author address author phone

i thought indymedia was run by an evil anarcho-militant-zionist-antisemetic-independent-centralist demi-god ?

author by fubarpublication date Fri Sep 26, 2003 10:32author address author phone

I may be anarcho but e same fae me, I had thought the Socialist over here namby pamby bunch of conformists - i may have been wrong

Free Joe & Clare
Build Homes Not Jails

author by swimmers - .publication date Fri Sep 26, 2003 11:14author address author phone

were long ago driven off the site by the trendies in RTS and that, the socialist party people fought back though so they are still round, though the infighting between the trendies and the SPers got really nasty towards the end. I'm sure it'll be back though. As long as something is happening indymedia is great, in a vacum though all thats left is the infighting.

author by Badmanpublication date Fri Sep 26, 2003 15:15author address author phone

The SWP think that indymedia is beneath them. They post announcements here but only one member (Davy Carlin) ever deigns to deal with feedback. The SWP have very little to say about the bin tax because they have been sidelined by events. They are still trying to push the campaign down the march / petition route, but the campaign is by far the strongest in the areas where they have little or no presence and most people, activists and non-activists alike, clearly see that it is time for action, therefore the SWP have become irrelevant to the campaign.

The SP for their part have seen both sides of indymedia; the open nature of it means that anybody and everybody is open to criticism. On the other hand it also means that when there are large social struggles, we get to see the other side of the story that the mainstream won't cover on indymedia.

Incidentally the depiction of RTS 'trendies' fighting it out with trots is grossly inaccurate. Most of the squabbling on the site in recent times has been between LP/SP, SF/SP and ex-SP/SP. The thing is that some people just can't deal with criticism without assuming that it's all a conspiracy.

author by swimmers - .publication date Fri Sep 26, 2003 21:00author address author phone

who said anyhing about about that, i just said the spers and the trendies were fighting. Never said anyone planned it. And they are, theres a thread with a trendy slagging off the bin charge campaign for being boring etc happening right now. seems to me people are accusing people of accusing others of conspiricy if that makes sense!)


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