Labour Youth supports occupation of Raytheon Weapons Factory

by Isaac Sun Aug 13, 2006 00:58

You say you oppose the Lebanon war. You say you support these protesters. But look at the facts. Cllr Aidan Culhane (Dublin South candidate) came out in defence of Israel's "right to defend themselves". He also slurred Anti-War protesters as being pro-Hezbollah and pro-bombing Israeli civilians. This is a man that has the backing of LY College radicals! Your Party want to go into Coalition with the Pro-War Fine Gael Party. What will the Foreign policy of a Rainbow Coalition be? I'd say it would be the Policy of Shatter/Culhane. Your Party in UK supports Israel. It's facilitated thier Arms Importation. In Israel your Party are in Government. Your Party are bomobing Lebanon. Are you going to Expel the Britsih & Israeli Labour Parties??? Or are you going to continue bringing PES/IUSY Flags on Demos???

by Ly Radical Non-College Person Sun Aug 13, 2006 10:46

Eh what college radicals are these, the same ones openly berating Culhane who stands outside the stance of the party as a whole? Culhane has ashamed himself and any support he had has been lost with this stance.

Irish Times letters (not hyperlinked as content is not free);

August 12th
Madam, - Perhaps you would allow us to counter the attacks made against Michael D. Higgins and other progressive elements within the Labour party by Cllr Aidan Culhane and former TD Alan Shatter (August 10th). Their attempts to label the left in the Labour Party as anti-American is derisory, disingenuous and tangential to the points at hand.

Indeed, Mr Shatter's moral outrage at the provision of missiles to Hizbullah by Iran does not seem to be mirrored by any similar disgust at the US government's supply of nuclear and other weapons to Israel.

His apologia for Israel's slaughter of civilians has been clear for some time. But it is a surprise and pity that a Labour Party representative, not least one competing with him for the Dublin South constituency, agrees with such a reactionary analysis.

While we agree with Cllr Culhane that the civilian deaths are an outrage, it is important to note that over 90 per cent of them are Lebanese. These statistics are completely at odds with Cllr Culhane's baseless claims that "Israel's capacity to wage war seems more than matched by Hizbullah's capacity to fire rockets".

As activists who have been previously supportive of Cllr Culhane's election campaigns in Dublin South, we are dismayed at his reactionary and over-simplistic arguments based on Israel's "right to defend itself".

Perhaps he would do well to steer clear of the politics of spin and media and instead return to the basic engagement with left-wing politics which previously maintained a Labour seat in Dublin South. - Yours, etc,

DERMOT LOONEY, Greenhills; ENDA DUFFY, KAREN O'CONNELL, KATRIONA CONWAY, Stillorgan, Co Dublin.

August 9th
Madam, - I read with great interest your report on the exchange of views between Michael D Higgins TD and Labour councillors John McManus and Aidan Culhane on the conflict in the Lebanon (The Irish Times, August 5th). As the PRO of the UCD Labour Party, the largest Labour branch in Aidan Culhane's Dublin South constituency, I call on him to support the Labour Party position so ably articulated by Michael D Higgins.

Now is the time for an all-out effort to build an alliance for peace and tackle the causes of the conflict that have had such appalling consequences for the civilian population in Lebanon. Theories about clashes of civilisations are a distraction at best and deserve to be exposed and rejected. - Yours, etc,

PAUL DILLON,
Milltown,
Dublin 6.

August 3rd
Madam, - Given that in recent days those who have found it difficult to condemn the actions that have led to so many civilian deaths have stopped just short of declaring the inevitability of a war between civilisations and belief systems, or more specifically between the West and Islam, it might be useful to recall the words of Prof Benjamin Barber in his book Jihad vs McWorld (1996):

"Jihad forges communities of blood rooted in exclusion and hatred, communities that slight democracy in favour of tyrannical paternalism or consensual tribalism. McWorld forges global markets rooted in consumption and profit, leaving to an untrustworthy, if not altogether fictitious, invisible hand issues of public interest and common goods that once might have been nurtured by democratic citizenries and their watchful governments. . . Today. . .we seem intent on recreating a world in which our only choices are the secular universalism of the cosmopolitan market and the everyday particularism of the fractious tribe. "

We desperately need a moral and intellectual commitment that does not lock us into such a desperate and arid choice. Cllr John McManus (August 1st) would be better seeing the task of the left in such a project rather than tacitly accepting the bogus inevitability of the clash of civilisations. Those of us who believe in undertaking the task of developing a position for the left in relation to the Middle East and the task of building peace are not offering a knee-jerk anti-Americanism. We do, however, regard it as an act of moral honesty to condemn the indiscriminate loss of civilian life.

Falling back on the cheap option of the easy accusation of anti-Americanism is something one might expect from Mr Alan Shatter, but not from a member of the left, even the revised left. - Yours, etc,

MICHAEL D. HIGGINS, Dáil Éireann, Dublin 2

by Chris Bond - Labour party of ireland/Democratic Socialists of America Mon Aug 14, 2006 00:25 chrbond at gmail dot com Chicago, Illinois

Labour youths position on the war in iraq and on isreali agression against palestine and lebanon is quite clear. Labour youth have also adapted a policy against the recent rightward drift in some of PES/Socialist international sister parties, and one in support of activists trying to re-establish left wing values in those parties, why dont you try and build the broader struggle against war and agressive foregin policy istead of constantly wasting your time bashing other groups on the left.

by Anon Mon Aug 14, 2006 15:26

If you're going to publish an article then at least do your research so that what you publish is accurate.
The Derry facility produces Air Traffic Management software and infrastructure support software. It's not a factory and it doesnt produce any hardware or parts for missiles.
The crux of the protest with Raytheon Derry is that the company produces these components else-where and that the work done in the Derry facility can support this, therefore they are a viable target for protest.

by Isaac Wed Aug 16, 2006 23:53

Chris You got My identity wrong. If you make false accusations it only Demeens you in others eyes. LY will always invite Criticism while the are proud of their International Connecton. At anti-War Protest IUSY flags were displayed. Chris is proud of being in US affiliate. I guess if he were in UK he'd join Blair. If in Israel would he support the Government party?? Labour Youth are not all that Left-wing. Just look at Their site. LY have pictures of Pat 'Work Visas' Rabbitte and Jack 'Partnership' O'Connor in their Living Waaage Campaign. They also hijack SU campaign Pics. The Tom Jonson School will have unreconstructed Stalinist Cuban Ambassador to speak. Even naming an event after Johson is right-wing. He was a supporter of "Labour Must Wait".

by Chris Bond - DSA/Labour youth. Thu Aug 31, 2006 00:37

''Chris is proud of being in US affiliate''

I am very proud to hold membership of the Democratic Socialists of America one of the most progressive and dynamic left wing groups in america, if you knew anything about us (The DSA) you'll find that its a broad Dynamic Democratic Socialist Group consisting of Trade Union activists, activists of Colour, GLBT rights campaingers, anti war activists and women's right's campaigner, their policies are firmly grounded in the need to challenge the Democratic/Republican Corporatist hegemony, and are active in trying to establish socailist values in america such as better wages and conditions for ordinary workers, a stronger labor union movement Universal education and healthcare basic welfare provisions and production for human need not profit.