On the Aftermath of the visit

galway | anti-war / imperialism | opinion/analysis

Saturday June 26, 2004 23:34

by Sedition

On the tasks needed to be fulfilled post-Bush's vist

Armoured tanks drove freely around Clare in a display unseen since the times of British occupation. The Gardai, in their luminescent jackets, were ubiquitous. Overhead, helicopters flew in constant observation of us protestors. Ten million euros were spent on one the states largest security operations. And all this for what? To protect the greatest threat to humanity in existence- a Mr George Walker Bush.
Listening to his interview with Carol Coleman yesterday and his press conference today, one could be lead to assume that George is really a “nice guy”, just given a lot of bad press by the media. However, Bush’s specious comments must be exposed for their blatant mendacity. A task that all of us, who took part at the demonstrations at Shannon and Dromoland Castle, should feel proud to have fulfilled. For this rapacious plutocrat should never be allowed to set foot on any country in this world without protest. We cannot allow him to escape the reality of humanity- this being, the fact that we do not want war, but peace.
I believe that this week following his visit is an important one for us. For, we must not permit the media to propagate a benign view of this visitor. Already I have seen ridiculous arguments printed questioning why people aren’t protesting against Al-Queda, terrorism etc. We must inform these papers that terrorism is not a spontaneous occurrence, perpetrated by evil men against basic freedoms. But, in actuality, a result of centuries of imperialism, racism, domination, and exploitation (in that order) by those who now feel shocked that a backfire has occurred.

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Comments (8 of 8)

Do protests make a difference?

Sat Jun 26, 2004 23:47

Check this out:

http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040626-012706-3604r

What kind of joker are you?

by Santa Clause

Sun Jun 27, 2004 00:21

Well they got this wrong anyway:

"Ronald Reagan brought Dublin to a standstill, cheered by more than 100,000 people."

That's a new one on me. In fact there was a huge protest march AGAINST Reagan, and virtually nobody supporting him. Even Kennedy did not get those kind of numbers.
That's UPI's reputation gone for a hop.

Where was everybody?

by Upset

Sun Jun 27, 2004 02:18

With the world's number one terrorist soiling our country, I expected the Irish people to come out in their droves.
Instead, we got our usual core-supporters and no more than that. A very poor showing.

Before the war we got 100,000 people out on the streets. We need to talk about what's going wrong. Personally, I blame the SWP and Sinn Fein for politicisng the anti-war movement.

UPI is one of Reverend Moon's crown jewels . . .

by ktruane

Sun Jun 27, 2004 11:21

kanderuane at eircom dot net

along with "The Washington Times", half the Senate,and the Bush Crime Family.

You have to read UPI the way that Russians used to read "Pravda"--only between the lines and with rock of salt!

Miracle worker

by long-time activist

Sun Jun 27, 2004 14:04

That "Reverend" Moon must be a miracle worker if he can turn what was a sizable protest against Reagan into a welcoming crowd of 100,000!
When Reagan came the government had to seal off part of the city with a ring of Gardai in riot gear to protect him. They did not fancy a repetition of that experience for the Bush visit, so they put him in a remote castle away from any big urban areas.

On the "news" article link

Sun Jun 27, 2004 14:46

I acknowledge that this news article is erroneous and right wing. However, it details the contempt that we Irish have for dubya. Further, since those who read this (i.e Americans) have the power to get rid of George in the next election, the fact that it emphasises our hostility can only be a good thing.

10 Million eh?

by Phil Boylan

Sun Jun 27, 2004 15:35

I believe that the actual figure was 2 million euros spent on security. A princely sum I might add, but nowhere near 10 million euros as mentioned in the article. If you want this stuff to be taken seriously, then start being completely honest. If its something you demand of the government[s] you oppose so much, the lead by example. Bsically it sullies your work.

Aftermath: Darfur??

by Michael Hennigan

Mon Jun 28, 2004 16:46

This week the UN Secretary General Koffi Annan will visit Sudan where an estimated 1 million Muslim Africans have been driven from their homes in recent months with the support of the Muslim Arab Government in Khartoum.

Earlier this year, Annan who was the head of the UN Peace Mission Unit in 1994, said that the world should not countenance another Rwanda.

Are there ever protests against political inaction and leaders who do nothing?

Ten years ago, it was still a year before the market carnage in Sarajevo prompted a reluctant Bill Clinton to engage the Serbs. Where was Europe and where would it be today?

The Muslim world is silent about the ethnic cleansing in West Sudan as it was against the past mistreatment of the people of Kurdistan, divided between the 4 countries of Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran.

So let us loudly oppose what is happening in countries other than Iraq, as well. Just because Darfur is not as big a media story as Iraq and we depend on news from brave aid workers and freelance journalists, it should not be ignored.

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On the Aftermath of the visit

Comments (8 of 8)