 Ukraine Now Producing 10 Self-Propelled ... Fri Apr 19, 2024 06:15 | Anti-Empire
Russian Firms Rush to Buy Anti-Drone Def... Wed Apr 17, 2024 08:58 | Bloomberg
Ukraine Buys Huge Amounts of Russian Fue... Fri Jan 20, 2023 08:34 | Antonia Kotseva
Turkey Has Sent Ukraine Cluster Munition... Thu Jan 12, 2023 00:26 | Jack Detsch
New Israeli Government Promises to Talk ... Tue Jan 10, 2023 21:13 | Al Majadeen Anti-Empire >>
A Blog About Human Rights
UN human rights chief calls for priority action ahead of climate summit Sat Oct 30, 2021 17:18 | Human Rights
5 Year Anniversary Of Kem Ley?s Death Sun Jul 11, 2021 12:34 | Human Rights
Poor Living Conditions for Migrants in Southern Italy Mon Jan 18, 2021 10:14 | Human Rights
Right to Water Mon Aug 03, 2020 19:13 | Human Rights
Human Rights Fri Mar 20, 2020 16:33 | Human Rights Human Rights in Ireland >>
Fifty Ways to Leave the European Convention on Human Rights Fri Apr 19, 2024 17:28 | Dr David McGrogan
Rishi Sunak has once again been dropping hints about leaving the European Convention on Human Rights. This is not credible, says Dr David McGrogan: such a feat would require a Government far more serious than this one.
The post Fifty Ways to Leave the European Convention on Human Rights appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Pupil Suspensions Reach Record High as Experts Blame Effect of Lockdowns on Behaviour Fri Apr 19, 2024 15:30 | Will Jones
The number of pupils suspended from school has reached a record high as experts warn that bad behaviour has increased as a result of lockdown school closures.
The post Pupil Suspensions Reach Record High as Experts Blame Effect of Lockdowns on Behaviour appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Up to Half of Excess Deaths in U.S. Nursing Homes Were Due to Lockdowns and Mitigation Measures Fri Apr 19, 2024 13:19 | Will Jones
Up to half of excess deaths in American nursing homes were due to the impact of lockdowns and mitigation measures on frail residents rather than the virus, according to new analysis.
The post Up to Half of Excess Deaths in U.S. Nursing Homes Were Due to Lockdowns and Mitigation Measures appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Woke Activists Need to Read Their David Hume Fri Apr 19, 2024 11:16 | Dr James Allan
The great Scottish Enlightenment philosopher David Hume would have some things to teach today's woke activists, says Prof James Allan: about a mind-independent reality that has no truck with claims of 'my truth'.
The post Woke Activists Need to Read Their David Hume appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Farmers? Biggest Problems are Green Ideologues, not Climate Change Fri Apr 19, 2024 09:00 | Ben Pile
It's been a wet winter and this is bad news for farmers, says Ben Pile. But with agricultural yields increasing sharply over recent decades, there's no reason to link it to climate change or start catostrophising about it.
The post Farmers? Biggest Problems are Green Ideologues, not Climate Change appeared first on The Daily Sceptic. Lockdown Skeptics >>
Voltaire, international edition
The cost of war, by Manlio Dinucci Wed Apr 17, 2024 04:12 | en
Angela Merkel and François Hollande's crime against peace, by Thierry Meyssan Tue Apr 16, 2024 06:58 | en
Iranian response to attack on its consulate in Damascus could lead to wider warf... Fri Apr 12, 2024 13:36 | en
Is the possibility of a World War real?, by Serge Marchand , Thierry Meyssan Tue Apr 09, 2024 08:06 | en
Netanyahu's Masada syndrome and the UN report by Francesca Albanese, by Alfredo ... Sun Apr 07, 2024 07:53 | en Voltaire Network >>
|
Basque solidarity group refused use of alternative space in Dublin
 national |
rights, freedoms and repression |
press release
 Saturday July 11, 2009 11:31 by Diarmuid Breatnach - Dublin Basque Solidarity Committee
Basque solidarity group refused use of Seomra Spraoi. Dublin Basque Solidarity Committee accuses Seomra of allying itself with repression
Seomra Spraoi collective took the decision on political grounds to refuse Basque solidarity group the use of their space for a Basque festival. Dublin Basque Solidarity Committee accuses Seomra of breaking a previous undertaking to allow them a right to reply to objections raised against them and states that they are aligning themselves with the oppressors of the Basque people. The following is the text of the letter or protest about their decision sent to Seomra Spraoi by the DIBSC. No reply has been received in the month since this was sent.
To: Seomra Spraoi Collective Irish Basque Solidarity Committees (Dublin)
10ú Meitheamh (June) 2009.
Dear Seomra Spraoi Collective,
We acknowledge receipt of your letter setting out the reasons why the Collective was unable to reach consensus on our application and therefore rejected it. Of course the method by which you reach decisions is your choice but we would point out that a very small minority can frustrate the wishes of many people if a consensus is to be achieved in all circumstances; indeed it can lead to an injustice being carried out or condoned by the organisation.
We have now discussed your reply to our application to stage a Basque festival at Seomra Spraoi and feel that we have been treated very badly by the Collective, that it has reached its decision in a profoundly unjust way and that the final decision was also profoundly unjust.
According to your letter, one of the reasons for the refusal was that we support self-determination for the Basque Country and that some of your membership do not support this. We feel that this is a fundamentally wrong position and fails to recognise the popular and democratic desire of the Basque people and the repression and torture with which their struggle is met.
You also stated that some of your members are opposed to the actions of an armed Basque group, ETA, and that was also a factor. We feel this is fundamentally unfair and not least because we have no connection whatsoever to this group.
We also feel that we were given no opportunity to reply to these objections before the final decision was taken, which was fundamentally unfair, despite assurances that we were given a number of times at our initial meeting with some of your members.
You state that while some of the membership feel that national liberation can be an exercise in self-determination which they would support, others do not. We would reply that this is an issue of fundamental importance and one upon which no progressive organisation can equivocate. We live in an era of imperialism and also during which some nations built states at the expense of others, suppressing the rights to self-determination of a number of other nations in the process. It is the duty of progressives to give solidarity to those struggles except in cases where they are led with the intention of attacking ethnic minorities or the workers, etc.
The French and Spanish states were built by their capitalist classes at the expense of the rights to self-determination of a number of other nations and, in fact, both of those states participated in suppressing the rights of the Basques and continue to do so to this day. The resistance to this takes many diverse forms such as in the areas of promotion of the right to national self-determination, native language, international solidarity and anti-imperialism, civil and political rights, sexual freedom; struggles against racism, fascism, exploitation of workers and especially of youth, violence against women, state suppression, state violence, torture, imprisonment, abuse of the environment, unemployment, bullfighting.
Forms of struggle are also very diverse: demonstrations, pickets, sponsored runs and walks, festivals, street battles, taking over of empty buildings for use as youth centres, strikes, prison protests, street posters, leaflets, newspapers, pirate radio stations, banners, graffiti, films, videos, songs, poetry, music, plays, ceremonies, visual art, schools and classes, sport, DVDs, pins and badges, and armed struggle (more about this particular one later). Many organisations, including many people of a variety of political opinions but united under the desire for Basque self-determination, organise these activities. The movement has a strong social base, particularly among the youth and, when they have been permitted to stand, an electoral showing of between 10% and 20% at different times.
Had we been given permission to hold our event, it was our intention to show examples of much of the above, as well of course as much of the ethnic cultural expression of the Basques, for the instruction and enjoyment of your members and of visitors to the event. We were deprived of the opportunity to do so and your members and users were deprived of an opportunity to witness them and to engage in discussion with us.
The Basque people are facing repression to a degree unprecedented since the days of Franco's rule. Six political organisations have been banned in recent years. In the same period hundreds of activists in political, cultural or social areas have been arrested and tried under unjust laws, many of them having first been tortured. The Basque anti-torture organisation TAT (itself temporarily closed down by the state for a period) presented the testimonies of over 60 separate victims in its report for 2008 and every year Amnesty International condemns the Spanish state for torture. During the same period also a newspaper and a radio station were closed down by the Spanish state while the activities of many cultural, political and social organisations have been severely disrupted. 765 convicted political Basque prisoners are serving long sentences dispersed over the territories of the French and Spanish states, far away from their families in the Basque country. Many more activists are awaiting trial and many of those are remanded in custody. Your decision means that Seomra will not be any part of offering solidarity to those people on any of the afore-mentioned fronts of struggle .
Some of your members apparently objected to the armed actions (or some of them) of ETA. Why that should have been held against us is a puzzle to us, since our committee has nothing to do with that organisation and does not have a position on its activities. It was totally unjust of your members to infer a relationship between our Committees and ETA and to use that inference in order to refuse us permission to use your premises. In fact, those who did so used exactly the same rationale as that used by the Spanish state to ban many kinds of Basque organisations without a shred of proof for their accusations. It is a matter of deep regret to us that the Seomra collective facilitated such unjust speculation and allowed it to play a part in the decisions of the collective.
We would further comment that should solidarity organisations be barred because some Seomra members disagree with the armed actions taken by some supporters of resistance movements, Seomra could not have allowed entry to organisations in solidarity with the struggles against South African apartheid, nor against colonialism and imperialism in Latin America, North Africa, Africa in general, Asia and Indochina, Israeli Zionism, nor in solidarity with movements of resistance to the US internally, such as for example those of the Black Panthers or of Native Americans.
Seomra had seemed to us to have very similar intentions to those who manage the occupied buildings of the Basque Country and of many others in Germany, Italy, Holland etc. But Seomra has diverged significantly from the solidarity ethos of those liberated spaces, most of which would not refuse access to a group such as ours and many of which would actively support the Basque resistance. Indeed, in this instance, Seomra has aligned itself with the oppressors of the Basque people, the French and Spanish states, rather than with progressive radical and democratic opinion.
Although our main objection is to the actual decision taken by Seomra in our case, we wish also to relate the process by which Seomra dealt with our application. We applied verbally and were informed that the request would be taken to a meeting of the Collective in a fortnight's time. That meeting either did not take place or the Collective required a written application. We filled that in and two weeks later we were informed that we had been accepted. Two days before the advertised event, we were told that it was being cancelled due to police repression of Seomra. We sought another date and were informed that now we would be required to make an application where not only the nature of the event but also the type of organisation would come under scrutiny. We attended the meeting of the Collective, answering all questions put to us and were told that our request would be forwarded to another meeting of the Collective. We sought and were given assurances that in the event of objections, we would be given the opportunity to respond to them before any final decisions had been made. Two weeks later the decision was made against us but we were not informed. A week later, after an enquiry of ours, we were informed (on May 1st!) that the decision had gone against us and that it was final, in breach of the previous assurances. It was another three weeks and after some correspondence before we received a letter outlining the nature of the objections.
When we first learned of the existence of Seomra Spraoi we were glad to hear of it, perceiving a similar spirit to that prevalent among many of the Basque youth centre squats. One of our members gave practical assistance on some occasions to the development of the new building and we promoted its existence to a degree within our circles. We are sorry to find that we were mistaken. While some progressive actions may continue now within Seomra there is a cancer eating away at its heart, the cancer of injustice. We have been treated unjustly and not even granted due bourgeois democratic process. We have not been granted the right to face those objecting to us or even to reply to the objections in writing before a decision was taken. The Seomra Spraoi collective should hang its head in shame.
We hope that you will bring this reply to the attention of as many of your members as possible and you have our permission to post it on all internal means of communication and on walls, notice boards etc. of Seomra Spraoi. For our part, we consider that this matter is no longer within the realms of confidential correspondence and we are free to refer to it publicly as we may wish.
Diarmuid Breatnach,
Coordinator,
Dublin Basque Solidarity Campaign.
|
printable version
Digg this
del.icio.us
Furl
Reddit
Technorati
Facebook
Gab
Twitter
View Comments Titles Only
save preference
Comments (16 of 16)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16very very very dissapointed to hear this. i dont know where to start. That spokes person for the Basques touches on a lot of my feelings though. very dignified response to what must have been very disheartining for his group
"Although our main objection is to the actual decision taken by Seomra in our case, we wish also to relate the process by which Seomra dealt with our application. We applied verbally and were informed that the request would be taken to a meeting of the Collective in a fortnight's time. That meeting either did not take place or the Collective required a written application. We filled that in and two weeks later we were informed that we had been accepted. Two days before the advertised event, we were told that it was being cancelled due to police repression of Seomra. We sought another date and were informed that now we would be required to make an application where not only the nature of the event but also the type of organisation would come under scrutiny. We attended the meeting of the Collective, answering all questions put to us and were told that our request would be forwarded to another meeting of the Collective. We sought and were given assurances that in the event of objections, we would be given the opportunity to respond to them before any final decisions had been made. Two weeks later the decision was made against us but we were not informed. A week later, after an enquiry of ours, we were informed (on May 1st!) that the decision had gone against us and that it was final, in breach of the previous assurances. It was another three weeks and after some correspondence before we received a letter outlining the nature of the objections."
Clearly this is the main thrust of the argument and highlights many of the problems with consensus decision making that seomra spraoi has taken onboard uncriticly and unconsciously as an ideological or dogmatic leftover from the anti-globaliisation movement as well as the problematic nature of the meeting and decision making structures of seomra spraoi. I don't think you're the first individuals or groups to come up against this and hence why there's such a problem in maintaing attendance at meetings, though the collective seems to still be unaware of this as a contributing factor. Apart from this, while the social centre is still wary on using the dreaded 'a' word of 'anarchism', instead calling itself 'left libertarian', there are numerous and well written articles, books, position papers, etc. out there from an anarchist perspective and anarchist groups and individuals criticising national liberation. Not to forget that when you use such words as 'radical', 'progressive' and 'democratic' these may have different meanings for people of different political perspectives.
Also, the idea that there are numerous social centres in "Germany, Italy, Holland etc." that either support or uncriticly support Basque national self determination shows either a naivety on your part of the politics of these social centres and the people involved in them or a form of downright untruth and manipulation.
http://libcom.org/library/consensus-its-discontents
dont get where yer goin there above. i just see double standards, its used for palestinain and latin american support groups whose struggles are not exclusively or otherwise anarchist or left libertarian. the basque political activists suffer fierce anti democratic reppressive laws and thats me using the terns repressive and anti democratic in the most plain and general understading of the words I can put them in that i think most people would agree. if im not on the side of these against the might of the spanish and french imperialists i dont know where to be.... i dont condone every action of particular groups in fact i dont know much about the various parties and youth groups of the basque country other than they are very active and are always gettin severely hassled and persecuted. in fact im sure a lot on that seomra commitee would probably be thrown in to a cell for a few years if they were activists in the basque country.
... but if we are to come up with an alternative or a strong opposition in Ireland , to show another country is possible or another world is possible its gonna take left wing groups to give and take a bit. it is important that this social place is not seen soley as a place for anarchists or eco warrior thpes cos i know for one it will not attract ordinary Dublin working class youth. Fair enough if a few middle class richh kids wanna hang out there in their college years and talk shite or a few vegatarians go to munch grass or somethin but if thee is serious activists willin to use it for actual campaigns, it should be encouraged .... Il put up with your hemp jumper and smelly dreads if u let me use your space to highlight spanish terrorism in the Basque country. xxxxxxxxxx unite and fight. (dont say i was offendin the rasta community by sayin the above, ha, cos i know some plonker probably would)
"Organisation", in your comment you say that 'the idea that there are numerous social centres in "Germany, Italy, Holland etc." that either support or uncriticly support Basque national self determination shows either a naivety on your part (meaning mine -- DB) of the politics of these social centres and the people involved in them or a form of downright untruth and manipulation.'
One form of downright untruth or manipulation is surely to put words in someone's mouth and then criticise them for them. What we actually said was (paragraph in question quoted in full in case we should be accused of selective quoting):
"Seomra had seemed to us to have very similar intentions to those who manage the occupied buildings of the Basque Country and of many others in Germany, Italy, Holland etc. But Seomra has diverged significantly from the solidarity ethos of those liberated spaces, most of which would not refuse access to a group such as ours and many of which would actively support the Basque resistance. Indeed, in this instance, Seomra has aligned itself with the oppressors of the Basque people, the French and Spanish states, rather than with progressive radical and democratic opinion."
Where in there did we say that these centres "either support or uncriticly support Basque national self determination"?
Indeed, Seomra itself did not have to take a position in favour of national self-determination; they were only asked to open their space to a group in solidarity with an oppressed people who wished to impart cultural and political information on the conflict to the people.
Oh I'm sorry, so when you were talking about Basque resistance and said "The resistance to this takes many diverse forms such as in the areas of promotion of the right to national self-determination, native language, international solidarity and anti-imperialism, civil and political rights, sexual freedom; struggles against racism, fascism, exploitation of workers and especially of youth, violence against women, state suppression, state violence, torture, imprisonment, abuse of the environment, unemployment, bullfighting." you weren't really talking about national self determination? Eh? Or is it all those other forms of resistance and not that one?
Maybe you mean those social centres supporting Basque squat resistance or those internationalist tendencies within the various social centres in Euskal Herria. It's not the 80s anymore btw and you'll be less likely to find people in these social centres in "Germany, Italy, Holland etc." supporting an anti-imperialist line. It's all about social revolution/insurrection nowadays darling.
However, I did like the part "Indeed, in this instance, Seomra has aligned itself with the oppressors of the Basque people, the French and Spanish states, rather than with progressive radical and democratic opinion." Great example of the logic of "anti-imperialism". People can quite easily support groups such as anarchists against the wall, without having to support calls for palestinian self determination or my enemy's enemy is my friend logic and still maintain an internationalist line of thought, activity and solidarity.
All that said, if this; "Indeed, Seomra ... were only asked to open their space to a group in solidarity with an oppressed people who wished to impart cultural and political information on the conflict to the people." is all you wanted, I don't see what the big hoo hah on the part of seomra spraoi is all about.
Dear "Organisation", I'm afraid you have once again misunderstood. We never said that the Basque movement is not for self-determination; it is, and supporting the right to that is the bottom line in our committee. The paragraph you quoted in your second posting was penned to show the amplitude of the movement and the social fronts on which it fights. The movement believes that it can only address the social, economic, etc. issues when the Basque people have the right to run the country without outside interference.
The misquoting of our letter by you in your first posting was in reference to the attitude of the "liberated spaces" in Europe and my restating of the paragraph in question from our letter has, I think, clarified the matter for anyone taking the time to read it. We stand by the assertion that most of those spaces would not have refused our Committee the use of their venue.
Indeed that was all we asked for from Seomra and if you can't understand what the fuss by Seomra is about then perhaps you should address your comments to them.
In my opinion within a liberated space, to show solidarity with oppressed people should reach consensus. To condemn repressive states which violate people's human rights should reach consensus.
As pointed out by the basque committee's spokesperson, this was not an application to promote the struggle for National Liberation of the Basque country, but to raise awareness of the ongoing violation of civil liberties that basques suffer daily as a people.
Why then deny them access? What individuals within a group think regarding armed struggle, national liberation, etc. it's their own thought. That surely happens in the social centre as well.
I was looking forward to visit the social centre, but this surely has shocked me deeply and i hope there will be a bit of thought put into what i see as an unfair and mistaken decision.
The individuals involved in the collective should not necessarily have to agree with the exact political line of the organisations using the seomra. The important thing is that groups that are accepted generally correspond to the ethos and aims of the centre (ie that they are broadly left and progressive) and that they do not have authoritarian leadership structures (ie that they are in some way participatory and democratic). Otherwise there is a serious danger of ghettoisation and ideological censorship. We have to realise that a wide variety of theoretical perspectives exist within the Irish left and indeed the left generally. Disagreeing with the details of somebody's political viewpoint doesn't strike me as sufficient grounds to refuse them access to an autonomous social centre such as the seomra. I understand that many libertarians might be anti-nationalist and that's fine, but that should not blind them to the necessity of supporting, often critically, peoples in struggle and those who show solidarity with such peoples.
"The movement believes that it can only address the social, economic, etc. issues when the Basque people have the right to run the country without outside interference.
You do realise that this isn't just a small difference but a rather huge one for anarchists in terms of ideas, approach, tactics, startegies and goals as well as the prefigurative nature of most anarchist politics?!
Anarchists might indeed consider this a major difference but I don't necessarily think this is sufficient grounds to refuse space to a group like the Basque Solidarity campaign.
The substantive issue here is this: What are the criteria to decide who may use the Seomra and who may not?
Obviously this is for the members of the collective to decide and I realise that it's a thorny question. I'd suggest that there be two main criteria:
1) The group is progressive (politically or culturally on the left) and does not operate with a profit motive
2) The group does not have an authoritarian structure and is open to everybody
These criteria will weed out most religious, authoritarian socialist and right-wing groups as well as those who wish the centre to make money. However, they leave space to accept groups that don't necessarily share the exact political perspective of every member of the collective (probably impossible anyway).
Personally, I think there is another debate here as well about the attitude of anarchists towards national liberation struggles but I don't consider it to be substantive in this context.
Think about it - with the logic being used here Connolly would never have been permitted use of the Seomra. What about Subcomondante Marcos? He does belong to the Zapatista Army of National Liberation after all. Would you turn him away at the door? Solidarity with the Palestinians is okay. How about with the Kurds? If so, how about the Basques? If there is a hierarchy of political principles opposition to imperialism has to be near the top of the list.
I think it would have been better to give the space over to the Basque group and let each group learn from each other. I think it would have been beneficial to have some sort of dialogue between the sides about where they stood on the question of national liberation movements and how they fit into the different shades of radical political beliefs. Closing the door on movements that share similar progressive viewpoints really doesnt help, and ultimately creates divisions rather than solidarity. So both sides might come away not having changed their overall viewpoint much, but might have learned or understood the other side better.
I think it wouldnt have even been such a big deal to let them use the space once to see how it went (isnt the space all about experimentation and opening up dialogue in the city?), and then if people still genuinely felt uncomfortable about it, prohibit them from using it again in the future. In different contexts and histories, people see the enemy or the oppressor with different faces - and people should be willing to learn from that. Would James Connolly have been barred from giving a talk in Seomra Spraoi because of his republican ethos? Would the Zapatistas be welcome in Seomra Spraoi, despite the fact they are explicitly "The Zapatista Army of National Liberation"? In some situations, the state is the oppressor, and the people see the creation of their own state, their own space if you will, as tantamount to being able to decide their own future.
My advice to the Basque group is just to go and look for another venue, and encourage others to do the same in the future.
Wow, that was strange, the two of us saying the same thing about Connolly & The EZLN, I was still writing my comment when you posted yours, I didnt see it, honest! :-)
This looks kind of awful. I really think the Seomra group should reconsider this decision. I understand that as anarchists you don't share the perspective of the Basque group and it's a tough decision to have to make but, dammit... see points well made above. I hope it's a one off decision made under pressure and not the start of an authoritarian rot. Some more transparency as to how the decision was arrived at might help defuse the bomb of depression this creates.
This is a very quick personal response as someone who has been involved with Seomra Spraoi for a while now. Its NOT a statement on behalf of Seomra Spraoi.
" Dublin Basque Solidarity Committee accuses Seomra of allying itself with repression"
Yeah, we are currently awaiting a big cheque from a Summer Fundraiser organised by Special Branch and i hear IRMS are throwing us a few badges to sell.
Seriously though. I can understand the fustration and perhaps even anger that groups/individuals might feel if their proposal to use the space is not accepted. However its important to challenge myth making on public fora.
Firstly im happy to put my hands up on the less than professional manner of communication, in terms of times of responses etc. Could this be improved, probably yes But we aren't full time professionals. We are a tiny collective with even smaller resources that manage to run a reasonably successful social center for the anti athoritarian anti capitalist millue and beyond. We have no illusions of being perfect, and for all the smears of not being 'working class enough' we work as hard as anyone in the city making a contribution to building radical and empowered movements for change.
No group can demand to use the space as a right. (of course they can demand but we are under no obligation to do anything for anyone). That said, any political grouping or (any other groups) that seek to use the space can make a proposal to the collective for consideration and discussion. That proposal is discussed, in terms of how that group fits with the ethos of the project, and and how willing groups are to actually become involved with the running of the project. As much as possible seomra spraoi seeks to avoid being merely a service.
Several groups so far have not been given the go ahead to use the space. None have been as vitriolic in response as the Dublin Basque Solidairty Committee. For the conversation to be moved onto a public platform like indymedia, and describing Seomra Spraoi as 'cancerous', or for siding with Franco would be laughable if it was not clearly a considered attempt to smear the work of a small number of people. Im pretty sure many people involved with Seomra Spraoi would be happy to turn up and support a Basques Solidarity festival but im totally unclear about the thinking and multiple intended outcomes of posting this to indymedia. Perhaps Dairmuid (or any other member of the committee should they be reading this) can furnish us with the thinkings of the committee on just exactly why the decision was made to post such a letter to indymedia, and what the expected/hoped outcomes where by doing so.
During discussions of DBSC using the space, there was a divergence of opinion within the collective, and for us a functioning collective we are unwilling to create problems for ourselves solely to accomodate the demands of other groups external to ourselves, and where it is unclear what the ongoing outcomes might be. This seems a pretty rational choice for us, if not an easy one. It doesnt even need to be couched in political terms, or need political justification. The primary solidairty is one that allows our small collective to continue functioning, and improving. We get multiple requests every wk, and decisions like this are taken time to time.
Its somewhat disengenuios to piont others to ask Seomra Spraoi what the "fuss" is about, when clearly the intention by posting the above letter to indymedia, as well as Diarmiud personally tagging Seomra Spraoi events notifications on facebook with links to the letter, seeks to itself create fuss. It certainly is not the modus operandi of anyone with a titter of wit about dialogue and conversation. A less generous interpretation is a attempting to use internet sites to provoke some sort of mini crisis ( ala the comments about the 'bomb of depression') that will see the decision taken reversed. The undercurrent of athoritarianism is explicit and noted. It suggests that the political divide between how people choose to "do" their politics runs deeper than perhaps is commonly publically voiced, and worth further examination (though im not doing it here).
Seomra Spraoi as a collective is under no obligation to start having discussions online about decisions we make. We certainly dont have the time, or energy. We have open meetings and anyone can come along and get involved with the project, and the invitation is there to all readers. All the transparency is there, as well as the toilet cleaning, cooking, getting rooms ready for groups, etc etc. We arent a virtual collective. I have even less inclination is attempting to have a dialogue of the deaf, where loud opinion and mud raking replace open honest communication with mutual respect.
It seems that Dairmiud feels that DBSC is isolated and doesnt recieve the support from the radical left it deserves. An earlier article posted by DBSC on this site a few week ago outlines that clearly. Im unsure myself, and have to defer to that opinion, but to my mind, if the committee is willing and happy, through its co-ordinator, to be posting rants and half baked allegations, smears and innuendo, its certainly not within Seomra Spraoi's gift to reduce that sense of isolation. Im not in a position to offer advice, but its merely a personal/political observation.
It actually would be good to hear from other members of the Committee, as it seem to be one person doing all the talking on their behalf.
I sincerely wish the DBSC all the best in organising of the festival. Im sure if seomra spraoi was approached in an attitude of solidarity we wouldnt have a problem promoting the events to our large list of sympathetic contacts.
What characterised Mark’s reply above all, despite its length, was a refusal to address the two political reasons given by Seomra for their denial to the DIBC. Also at issue was the manner in which Seomra made their final decision without giving DIBC an opportunity to reply to objections, despite a previous undertaking to allow that. In the absence of addressing those issues, Mark’s reply employs unsubstantiated allegations and even an attempt at personalising the issues.
The salient facts of our refusal are worth re-examination, since much energy is being spent in avoiding them, which were because of
(a) DIBSC support of self-determination for the Basque Country and
(b) some of the Seomra collective decided (without any justification whatsoever) that there was some kind of connection between DIBSC and the armed group ETA).
We regret not being able to give this matter our attention until now. Our reply in full is posted today on http://www.indymedia.ie/article/93475