IAWM BUlletin: Beorge Gush

national | anti-war / imperialism | news report

Wednesday April 07, 2004 04:03

by iawm cyborg

.

IAWM Bulletin 06 April 2004
______________________________________________________________

- : Anger at Bush Visit Builds
- : US Secretary of State Powell admits that intelligence on WMD 'was not
solid'

____________________________________________________________________

As the final remnants of credibility crumble away even the Whitehouse
insiders are
deserting the arguments they made for invading Iraq. The WMD story is
totally
discredited with even US Secretary Colin Powell admitting that the evidence
'was
not solid'. Anyone with half a brain could have told him that after his 'son
et
lumiere' powerpoint show at the UN last year was just not believable. Only
Bertie Ahern seems now to be repeating the WMD lies - obviously he was taken
in by Powell's
cartoons of mobile laboratories!

Another great lie of the US/UK invasion was that the occupiers would be
greeted
by the ordinary Iraqi people - especially the Shia population - as
liberators. While
the vast majority of Iraqi of all origins welcomed the end of the Saddam
dictatorship,
there is no sign that anyone except a tiny minority view the 'coalition
forces' as
anything but brutal imperialist occupiers.

The lack of any democracy after one year of occupation, the obvious running
of the
country for the occupiers' own ends (oil, reconstruction contracts etc.) and
the
brutal way 'security' is enforced (dawn raids of private homes, encirclement
of
villages with barbed wire fences, check points etc.) have given the lie to
the
invaders claims of liberation.

Now the Shia population is beginning to fight back - with dreadful
consequences
for the occupation forces. Already in the first week of April more
occupation troops
have been killed than in the whole of February. The death toll was March was
the second
highest in any month since the end of 'major hostilities' and the fall of
Baghdad. Of
course, it is not the the likes of George W. Bush, Tony Blair, Richard
Pearle or
their Irish apologists, Bertie Ahern, Brian Cowen, or John Waters than are
paying
the price. The soldiers that face death and injury will almost certainly
never benefit
from the profits that will be made by this imperialist adventure.

______________________________________________________________

STOP BU$H CAMPAIGN
The IAWM has joined with the NGO PA, PANA and other organisations and
political
parties to mobilise against the Bush visit. The 'Stop Bush' campaign has
been
officially launched - see the website http://www.stopbushcampaign.org .

We expect that Bush will land at Shannon at about 2 am in the morning of 26
June
and then go by helicopter to another location probably in the mid-west (e.g.
Dromoland Castle) for the EU/US summit meeting at about 9 am - 11 am with a
departure from Shannon at lunchtime. Bearing in mind that this is still
conjecture
and that no definite plans can yet be made, the following has been decided
by the
STOP BU$H Campaign:

25 June 7 pm STOP BU$H Demonstration
Assemble: Garden of Remembrance, Parnell Square, Dublin

25 June 9 pm Cavalcade of buses and cars to Shannon and/or
Summit Location (depending on location and feasability)
from all cities and towns in Ireland
to unWelcome George W. Bush to Ireland

26 June Morning Protest at summit location

More local protests are possible and may be announced later.

______________________________________________________________
Activists have noticed a real anger among ordinary people that Bush has been
invited
here and that Ireland will be used as a prop in his election campaign.
Queues of people
have been lining up to sign the petition (down load it from our website at
http://irishantiwar.org/images/mid_section_content/petition.doc . You too
can help to
set up your local 'STOP BU$H' campaign.

______________________________________________________________

Upcoming anti-war events

21 April STOP BU$H Campaign Launch, Dublin North City
8 pm, St. Peter's Parish Hall, St Peter's Rd.,
Phibsborough, Dublin 7

14-16 May Demonstration and Alternative Environmental Summit
organised by
South East Social Forum

As part of Ireland's EU Presidency, the EU environmental ministers will
be meeting in Martin Cullen's constituency, Waterford on May 15th/16th.
The South East Social Forum is organising a protest and alternative
summit under the title of 'People and Planet Before Profit -
Another Europe is Possible'.

The protest assembles in the Glen, Waterford city centre at 2.45pm on
Saturday 15th May to march to the Waterford Institute of Technology
where the EU summit is happening. For more info see
http://irishantiwar.org/calendar/item.tcl?scope=public&calendar_id=734

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Comments (9 of 9)

Usual story

by Tad pissed off

Wed Apr 07, 2004 04:40

So, a 'Stop Bush Campaign has been launched'. Interesting. Funny how none of the non-IAWM anti-war groups around the country got to hear about this until afterwards. Cos it's just another SWP front with the NGO Peace Alliance and PANA as silent partners. Yet more bullshit from the rump IAWM. Nobody except for the 'acceptable few' selected by Richard Boyd Barrett and Kieran Allen were invited to partake in this founding. Were invites issued to the groups associated with Anti-War Ireland or the Grassroots?? 'No' is the answer to that.

Boycott, boycott, boycott the IAWM and its new undemocratic front.

Support the Anti-War Ireland anti-Bush protests and don't give even a smidgen of credibility to the rump IAWM.

Boycott, boycott, boycott the parasites on the anti-war movement. This is all about building up the SWP. Disgusting.

Ha, ha, ha!

by TPO

Wed Apr 07, 2004 04:49

Just visited the semi-literate IAWM Stop Bush site and found the following lie:

"The Irish Anti-War Movement is a national movement with over 2,600 members"

2,600 members? Really. So why is the IAWM in debt to the tune of over 5000 euros and how come its monthly income amounts to about 200 euros? Because there is no thousands of members. Fucks sake they don't even have functioning branches other than the SWP branches in Dublin that use the name every so often. 2,600 members! Don't make me laugh!! Lies. The only active IAWM members are all members of the SWP.

should read

by webmaster - IAWM

Wed Apr 07, 2004 11:43

As the final remnants of credibility crumble away, the IAWM bravely sends out more and more newsletters.

STOP BU$H CAMPAIGN

The SWP has joined with the NGO PA, PANA to walk around Dublin against the Bush visit. The 'Stop Bush' campaign has been officially launched - see the website http://www.stopbushcampaign.org .

We expect that Bush will land at Shannon at about 2 am in the morning of 26 June and then go by helicopter to another location probably in the mid-west (e.g. Dromoland Castle) for the EU/US summit meeting at about 9 am - 11 am with a departure from Shannon at lunchtime.

Bearing in mind that this is still conjecture and that no definite plans can yet be made, the following has been decided by the STOP BU$H Campaign:

25 June 7 pm STOP BU$H Walk-a-thon Assemble: Garden of Remembrance, Parnell Square, Dublin for some fond memories

25 June 9 pm Cavalcade of buses and cars to Shannon (grrr... we object to doing anything in Shannon, how inappropriate of Bush) and/or Summit Location (depending on how close to Dublin it is) from all cities and towns (where SWP hives exist, ie. Dublin) to unWelcome George W. Bush to Ireland

26 June Morning Protest at summit location by other people like the Grassroots

More local protests are possible and may be announced later.

Is this for real?

by Dave O

Wed Apr 07, 2004 12:26

I can't believe that PANA and the NGO Peace Alliance agreed to this inane statement on the Stop Bush website (and if they didn't, as seems likely, it shows the level of their interest and involvement).

"Stop Bush Campaign Home Page
[Download Petition] [Download Leaflet] [Download Letter]

The Stop Bush campaign is jointly organized by the Irish Anti War Movement (IAWM), Peace and Neutrality Alliance (PANA) and the Non Governmental Organizations Peace Alliance (NGO Peace Alliance). This campaign was set up to appose the visit of George W Bush to Ireland in June.

Why are we focusing on Bush and not on Al Quida? To some people it will appear that this campaign is misguided by focusing on George W Bush's visit to Ireland and instead the campaign should focus on the inexcusable attacks on civilians carried out by Al Quida. The reason that this campaign focuses on Bush is that in order to defeat organizations which use terrorist tactics the world must address the underlying causes of terrorism whether it is carried out by the state or organizations like Al Quida.

Bush has steadfastly refused to look at the underlying causes of terrorism. Since the attack on the Twin Towers he has carried out two wars and both times he has claimed that this would end the terrorist threat to the US and improve the human rights of the people who lived in these countries and in both cases he has been proved to be a lire!

It is simply impossible to just walk into a country, wave a magic wand and make the bad men go away. History teaches that in order to solve conflict the parties involved in that conflict must come to an arrangement where they can live together. This campaign is apposed to Bushe's visit because a person who has ignored the teachings of history is doing so because he is engaged in empire building on the deaths of innocent civilians. "

why did we get into bed with swp in the first place

by arrghh

Wed Apr 07, 2004 15:40

i previously didn't have frist ahnd knowledge of the swp tactics but i do now...

ok so you not supposed to exclude anyone but there hierachal idealogy is exactly against ours so they arn't reallyon our side at all...

why are the ngo stil with em, surely we can work with em better

A disgrace

by Sean

Wed Apr 07, 2004 19:36

The manner by which this campaign - 'Stop Bush Campaign' - was established is a disgrace and it was obviously done in this way in order to exclude those anti-war activists (the MAJORITY within the movement now) who have abandoned the IAWM and become fed up with antics of the SWP.

RBB hardly wanted Fintan Lane, Caoimhe Butterly, Tim Hourigan, or all the other serious activists/leaders, in the room while they were trying to pretend that they (IAWM) still represent the anti-war movement in Ireland. It would soon have become apparent that the only people they (the IAWM) represent are the SWP and some deluded people from the IPSC.

IAWM bull is right. The majority of Irish anti-war activists want nothing to do with this discredited SWP media vehicle. It has no real membership and no support outside of the Irish Times.

The IAWM is finished

by Mary

Wed Apr 07, 2004 19:52

People should concentrate on establishing Anti-War Ireland (AWI) and organizing local anti-war groups.

Let the SWP alone to do their own thing.

A brief mathematical excursion

by An anti-war activist

Wed Apr 07, 2004 22:27

Ok, let's believe that the IAWM/SWP managed to sign up 2,600 people last year. I don't believe they have this number, by the way, but let us indulge the fantasy for a moment.

Subs to the IAWM/SWP are E10 per year, so we should be looking at an annual income of E10 x 2,600 = E26,000.

Err, so where is it? What has this huge sum been spent on? Let's see some accounts. I want to know where this money has been directed because I know where it DIDN'T go.

That said, I don't believe the 2,600 figure. The IAWM/SWP has no active branches at this stage beyond those SWP branches in Dublin and elsewhere that use it as a flag of convenience when it's useful for the purposes of public profile.

Is Colin Coulter still treasurer of the IAWM/SWP? If so, will he answer these queries and present a financial statement? It's an honest request.

Hand it over

by Joe

Thu Apr 08, 2004 03:20

If the IAWM has that amount of dosh then they should hand at least two-thirds of it over to Anti-War Ireland. Anybody that signed up for a direct debit to the IAWM did so because they were supporting the anti-war movement not an SWP front organisation. I'm sure most of those people would prefer that their money went to Anti-War Ireland and not the SWP and its cronies.

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IAWM BUlletin: Beorge Gush

Comments (9 of 9)