Shannon protest

national | miscellaneous | news report Monday March 03, 2003 08:46 by Frankie

My thoughts on the protest in Shannon on Saturday

I managed to get to Shannon on Saturday, in spite of the dire warnings of violence it turned out to be quite a good day. The Gardai presence was unreal, I had my bag searched on the way to the airport, on the route to the airport I saw guards in riot gear with full shields lining the fence. I thought the decision of the main parites to withdraw support was an absolute disgrace, giving in to the right wing media who try to characterise us all as lunatics.
I thought that all the publicity about attacking the fence played into the hands of the cops. After 100,000 plus turnout in Dublin there is a real chance of building a huge movement, but there is also a chance that it could be thrown away by alienating that support. The turnout on Saturday was extremely dissapointing, and the organisers of the fence protest must acknowledge that they also played a part in this, however deep their convictions.
I sincerely hope we dont see a repeat, I read in the IAWM leaflet the call for work stoppages and college portests in the event of war breaking out. To walk out on your workplace takes real courage, if thousands were to engage in this the establishment will be petrified. But last Saturday they must have been rubbing their hands with glee. I sincerely hope lessons will be learnt