Spartacist statement in defence of Mary Kelly

national | anti-war / imperialism | opinion/analysis

Wednesday November 24, 2004 20:50

by John - Spartacist Group Ireland

syc_dublin at hotmail dot com

Hands off Mary Kelly! Drop the charges now!
US/Britain our of Iraq now! UN stay out! For class struggle against the capitalist rulers at home!

On 28 October, Mary Kelly, a 52-year-old nurse and mother of four, was found guilty of “criminal damage without lawful excuse” for damaging a US military aircraft at Shannon Airport on 29 January 2003. Her sentencing is scheduled for 1 December and she faces up to ten years in prison. She admits striking the aircraft on the nose cone, landing gear and engine cowl with an axe but argued in her defence that “I did what I have done with lawful excuse” to save human life and to prevent Shannon Airport being used to support the invasion of Iraq. Nearly 113,000 US troops transitted through Shannon in the first nine months of this year. It is estimated that by the end of the year, just under 350,000 US troops will have passed through Shannon in the past three years (ie, since the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq). Mary claims this use of Shannon is a violation of both the Irish constitution and international law.

Her first trial, in June 2003, ended in a hung jury on the criminal damage charge, despite Judge Carroll Moran basically instructing the jury to convict her. However, the Director of Public Prosecutions ordered that she be tried again. Her second trial, in June 2004, collapsed when her legal team abandoned her because they refused to pursue the defence she wanted, in particular asking for disclosure of the advice given by the Attorney General to the government regarding the legality of allowing the US imperialists basically unlimited access to Shannon Airport. In her latest trial (again before Judge Moran) she was forced to defend herself because she was unable to obtain new counsel who would defend her in accordance with her wishes. Judge Moran gutted her whole defence by ruling that “You can’t call evidence on political matters or the war in Iraq” and refused her permission to call expert witnesses like former UN weapons inspector Denis Halliday who was to testify about the thousands of deaths caused by US bombing of Iraq and the UN-sanctioned starvation sanctions. The judge was playing his role as part of the Irish state which is intent on making an example of Mary Kelly because her actions exposed the complicity of the Irish government in the US/British colonial war against Iraq. The Irish government supports imperialist war because it is in the economic interests of the Irish capitalist class it represents. The conviction of Mary Kelly is intended as a sinister threat to all opponents of imperialist war. From the perspective of workers and the oppressed Mary’s actions were not a crime! We of the Spartacist Group Ireland demand the charges against Mary Kelly, and all anti-war protesters like Eoin Dubsky and the Ploughshares/Catholic Worker 5 be dropped. Hands off Mary Kelly!

As opposed to individual “direct action” we stress that a more effective way of opposing the Irish bourgeoisie and the use of Shannon by the US imperialists would be to mobilise the social power of the proletariat, in particular the airport workers who should take industrial action to prevent the transit of troops and war materiel through Shannon. However, the pro-capitalist trade union misleaders, while often featured speakers on the platforms of the class-collaborationist Irish Anti-War Movement, didn’t dare mobilise the power of the workers against the war because it would disturb their cosy “social partnership” with the Irish capitalists. Indeed, the current leaders of the airport workers’ unions won’t even lift a finger in defence of the jobs of their own members who are currently under attack.

We understand that war is an integral part of the capitalist system and seek to use examples like the use of Shannon by the US military and the vindictive prosecution of Mary Kelly to expose the myth of Ireland’s “neutrality” and the futility of looking to “our” government to oppose imperialist war. Rather, it is only by becoming conscious that the Irish capitalist class has interests diametrically counterposed to those of the working class that advanced workers can be won to the perspective of building a revolutionary vanguard party to act in the interests of all the oppressed and for the overthrow of the capitalist system.
We call on opponents of the colonial occupation of Iraq to protest on the day of the sentencing hearing, Wednesday 1 December. Demonstrations have been called for Limerick Court House and at the Government Buildings in Dublin.

Mary Kelly’s supporters are asking for donations to her legal defence to be sent to: Legal Defence Fund, account number 50400007, sort code 98-60-20, Ulster Bank Ltd, Limerick. Messages of support can be sent to Mary at keltoi@graffiti.net or PO Box 9260, Dublin 1, Ireland.

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Comments (12 of 12)

Sparts where they are wrong

by spart watch

Wed Nov 24, 2004 22:40

Maybe people will show some respect for the Sparts and actually listen to what they are saying if they actually get involved in the movements of the working class instead of just hanging around the youth members of the SWP and SP.

Sparts - come the revolution the working class wont just start istening to you even if you are right. You need to be active in the workplaces and communities and earn workers respect now if you are going to be in anyway relevent in the future.

Poor Sparts

by Ostensibly Revolutionary Gimp - International Bullshitist Tendency

Wed Nov 24, 2004 23:00

aw leave the poor sparts alone, theres only three of them and theyre a long way from home (germany, america, scotland, mars, middle earth). Who would keep us awake at all those boring SP and SWP meetings, if they werent there to denounce all and sundry. And their newsletter is just fantastic...such bile, such sectarianism, such close print, such juicy gossip.

I agree

by Michael Jackson Defence Committee

Thu Nov 25, 2004 13:19

I agree, revolutionary gimp. Who else but the Sparts could come up with gems such as

Defend North Korea's right to nuclear weapons!

State out of the Bedroom!!

Two, four, six, eight, defend the Chinese Workers' State!!!

and not forgetting,

Down with Bourgeois Age of Consent Laws!!!!!

John's a traitor

by Real Spart - For a World Bolshevik Party

Thu Nov 25, 2004 13:25

He ends his appeal to send donations to Mary's Legal Defence Fund.
No self respecting Spart would urge you to donate money to a rotten Capitalist Bank account.
Down with this sort of thing.

Yeah, that's right...

by Memory Dredger

Thu Nov 25, 2004 14:30

Don't they always set up a 'Partisan Defense Fund' whether or not the victim of injustice actually wants one.

More Spart slogans...

'China don't be catspaw of US Imperialism! Honor your Treaty with Vietnam!'
'Defend Jalalabad! Reject the Veil!'

Spartacists

by Khalid Farouk

Thu Nov 25, 2004 16:55

I think sometimes people can be too hard on the comrades in the SGI. they may be small and as a result be unable to have the same form of activity as the SP and SWP but politically they are not bad and much better then the SWP. Their writing style might be unique but they are not scared of criticising people like the Labour Party and Greens unlike the SWP who seem to be a left wing split from the British Liberal Democrats! I would also commend their defence of the gains of the Bolsehvik revolution, something the Labourites and the SWP refuse to even aknowledge

Pray tell

by Dufus

Thu Nov 25, 2004 17:50

"I would also commend their defence of the gains of the Bolsehvik revolution"

Enlighten me, what where they?

What's this? Nobody calling Mary a spart... how come?

by Nobody calls her a Spart?

Thu Nov 25, 2004 21:41

When RSF offerred Mary Kelly support some people here jumped on the news to attack Mary Kelly. Where are you now? C'mon... surely she's a spart now too?

Mary Kelly - you rock!

New Fundraiser Account Mary Kelly

by Paula Hayes - Fairview Against the War

Sat Nov 27, 2004 00:28

pwhayes at indigo dot ie

(01) 272 0865

Three mistrials have escalated debt to an alarming level. Funds are urgently needed.

Donations please to:

Peace Defence Fund
IBAN Account Number
IE 45ULSB98602050400007

Thanks for support

by Mary Kelly

Mon Nov 29, 2004 18:18

thank you very much for the excellent leaflet you have circulated and for putting the news out there.
very appreciated!
Mary Kelly

I dont agree but yet I do

by Al

Mon Nov 29, 2004 22:57

While I dont agree with your actions Mary I also dont believe that you got a completely fair trial and Im afraid I think you will get a sentence based on politics as apposed to normal legal practice. Of course I could be wrong, you might get a more lenient punishment than the norm for the same reasons.
Your defence also has my interest, I will have to look into that further.

sparts

by tim

Fri Dec 10, 2004 10:22

Maybe the Sparticists could broaden their appeal by merging with those radical Sparticus holiday guides?

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Spartacist statement in defence of Mary Kelly

Comments (12 of 12)