Greens tackle Sinn Fein and SDLP on support for World Economic Forum

national | anti-capitalism | press release Friday January 16, 2004 22:46 by Peter Doran - Green Party pfdoran at hotmail dot com www.greens-in.org 04890874256

Didn't Sinn Fein Youth support opposition to the WEF in Dublin?

The Green Party leader in Northern Ireland, Dr John Barry has tackled the Sinn Fein and SDLP leaderships for their decision to address the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Dr. John Barry, said,

“The decision by Martin Mc.Guinness and Mark Durkan to attend and give legitimacy to an organisation dedicated to supporting a corporate-led economic globalisation is nothing short of irresponsible. One of the criticisms the Green Party has of local political leaders and parties here in Northern Ireland is how parochial and in-ward looking they are. Sadly, here we have a case of local politicians speaking at a world event, but one that will only add legitimacy to a right-wing agenda for corporate-led economic globalisation which will further erode living standards and livelihoods not only in the developing world but here in Northern Ireland. Once again the failure of our local ‘ethnic entrepreneurs’ to address the real issues affecting employment, investment, agriculture and public services, facing Northern Ireland is plain to see. Will these parties who profess to have a ‘social justice’ agenda use the opportunity at Davos to condemn the policies of corporate-led economic globalisation or will they rather be meekly grateful for yet another stage to articulate their failed ethnic politics in front of the great and the good?

In regard to Sinn Fein, the Green Party wonders what many of its young activists who were involved in the successful protest against the visit of the World Economic Forum to Dublin last October, must think of the leadership’s decision to now go and support the very institutions they were protesting against? Sadly, like on so many other issues, Sinn Fein speaks with forked tongue, not just in negations with other political parties, but also to its own membership. Unlike Sinn Fein, the Green Party has been consistently against the World Economic Forum and has worked with others within organisations such as the Irish Social Forum and European Social Forum to do this.

Sinn Fein activists who are against corporate-led economic globalisation need to ask themselves whether the party they belong to is ultimately a narrow ethnic party, prioritising a local agenda of Irish Nationalism rather than a progressive one, consistently challenging the forces of economic and social injustice, whether they be local or global”