But the main reason the Dublin media Czech Anarchists win
Three Prague anarchists have won a court case protesting the violent dissolution of an unauthorised demonstration, writes Jean Dupont. On October 15, Prague municipal court decided that the District Council for Prague 1 broke the law on 30 August 1996 by using police to dissolving a demonstration called by Autonomie magazine.
"Not fulfilling the obligation of announcing a demonstration to the authorities is not a justification for dissolving it," ruled Judge Pechova. The court also agreed with the objectors' claim that until the police took action, the demonstration was peaceful. The police intervention resulted in a number of disturbances amongst the demonstrators, including a few camouflaged antifascists throwing paving stones at the police officers, some of whom were injured.
Ondrej Cakl, one of the three plaintiffs, said that the main point of the objection was to "point out how the autorities interhate her is because of her Northern nationalist background and what she represents.
Born a working class Catholic, she was once burned out of her West Belfast home by Loyalists.
Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams offered his support early in the campaign and this was the cue for a concerted attempt to damage her campaign by portraying her as a closet Sinn Feiner. At the head of the media pack was former leading member of the Workers Party and Sunday Times columnist Eoghan Harris. John Bruton, leader of Fine Gael, even questioned how a "non-Trish person" such as McAleese could become President. Fine
Gael were said to be behind the leaking of a couple of Irish Government documents accusing McAleese of being a Sinn Fein fellow traveller. The small proportion of the 26 County electorate which votes Sinn Fein supported McAleese.
That campaign misfired: it irritated the republican instincts of supporters of Fianna Fail, [the ruling, conservative nationalist party]. Many had been offended by the way McAleese had become their party's candidate, at the expense of Albert Reynolds. court case pret the right of citizens to assembly in the case of antifaschist and anarchist actions... This is not the only time that this happened. At any action taken by autonomous people, they always encounter state repression."
The demonstration on 30 August 1996 was called by Autonomie magazine, to protest the judicial harrassment of anarchist groups in Germany. Speakers from Czech Antifascist Action (AFA) and the Trotskyist group Socialisticka Solidarita demanded a "tougher attitude" by Czec state institutions towards fascist activity.
Earlier that month, seventeen members of the German group Autonome Antifa had been fined 3000 Dm for "membership of a criminal organisation." The group had organised the physical disruption of neo-nazi meetings. * Source: PIA, PO Box 176, 110 01 Praha 01, Czech Republic. <[email protected]>. www.geocities.com/ CapitolHill/Lobby/6580
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Clearly her Catholic conservatism did not go down well in working class areas. Indeed, this encapsulates the problems Sinn Fein have in relating to politics in the South: the majority of people want Irish unity but it
Sinn Fein is too closely associated in their minds with the repressive, Catholic outlook which for so long dominated the 26 Counties and which has now broken down in a series of clerical scandals.
What is now being demanded of McAleese is that she repudiate her nationalist sympathies and "reach out" to Unionists. In other words, that she helps sell the revamped partition emerging from the "peace" talks to doubting Southern (and Northern) nationalists. Britain wants the Irish government to repeal Articles 2 and 3 of the South's Constitution, thereby giving up the Irish "claim" to the North, Or, more accurately, recognising the British claim.
So, paradoxically, the election of the most pro-Irish unity candidate could prepare the way for a settlement which enshrines partition.
The other significant feature of the election is the way in which it cements the Sinn Fein/Fianna Fail Alliance. Gerry Adams is relying on this pan-nationalist front to force enough concessions from the British in order to sell a settlement to the base of the Republican Movement.
Fianna Fail leader Bertie Ahern will in the end dictate what the "nationalist family" will accept from the British in return for repeal of Articles 2 and 3. But even his legendary infighting skills won't save him from the political fall-out from the "peace talks".
Like Sinn Fein, Fianna Fail's reason for existence is Irish independence and national unity. They have not delivered on economic development except with the aid of huge and (short term) EU grants. Should they be seen to fail on the question of unity, then the gradual erosion of the party's support since the Haughey era could become a flood.
The Labour Party was the big loser in this campaign. Its candidate, Adi Roche, a soft focus do-gooder standing on a platform of good intentions, was designed to repeat their "success" with Mary Robinson in 1990.
She made little impact, apart from a few cringe-making remarks on opening the Presidential residence for music sessions. For most Labour supporters such sentimental blather couldn't blot out the memory of Labour's participation alongside the conservatives of Fine Gael in the "Rainbow" coalition.
From a historically high vote of 19% and 33 seats, Labour are back in opposition with 10% and 17 seats. To make things worse, the defeat in the Presidential election has ruined their hopes of supplanting Fianna Fail as the main opposition party. * Source: reprinted from Socialist Outlook Source: reprinted from Socialist Outlook
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