Assembly Elections and SP, SWP and Greens Activists

national | miscellaneous | news report Thursday May 01, 2003 12:45 by Killian Forde

Well?

Now that the Assembly elections are to be cancelled will the SWP, SP and Greens mobilise against this 'parking' of democracy?

We all worked together, fairly well it has to be said, on the anti-war stuff, we have had a poorer record on effective co-operation on other issues, e.g local charges, however I think we would all agree that a Government(s) that continually suspend democracy (four times) and postpone elections (twice) because the likely result is not to its satisfaction is, at least, dangerously malleable on the principle of democracy and at worst, fascist.

Lets face it the SP and Greens have extremely lame, unrealistic and effectively fence sitting policies with regards to 6 counties/Northern Ireland. I would like to hear the grassroot attitude to the suspension of elections from these party members and also what actions they think they would support to ensure that the elctions and the democractic process is rescheuled.

I, like an awful amount of republicians feel that the rest of the left in Ireland would be screaming blue murder and highly active if a similiar patterns of events that has occured in Ireland over the past, say 6 months, had taken place in a small African or Asian country.

It is time for the left to engage positively with this issue of Ireland. I know that the conflict, its causes, effects and legacy is difficult to deal with for many Irish people of all religions, however we cannot 'wish it away' and at the same time satisfy our need to want for the world to be a better place to live by exclusively focusing on overseas deserving areas or peoples who are being abused or disenfranchised.

Heres hoping for some positivity this time 'round.