UCD Students Take Action Against Oppressive Deportation Regime

by bluebob Tue Feb 17, 2004 10:28

Irish Times tells us it was about 30 students - most of whom were members of the socialist workers party. True?

by Another ucd student Tue Feb 17, 2004 10:56

While a number of members of the socialist party took part in the demo i dont think there was any more than about 5. It was a mixed group with people from the ADC, Labour Youth, Students Union, Global Action, SA and various randomers

by Pablo Tue Feb 17, 2004 10:56

Untrue. Lazy Journalism.

by Genuine activist! Tue Feb 17, 2004 11:12

Support anti-deportation, do not support mindless gobshites in the union and SWP who take such actions.
Is this report supposed to make the people involved look like working class heros.
I see them as sad D4 lads who can never effect political change. Sad people, very sad.

by ucd student Tue Feb 17, 2004 11:55

what the fuck has working class and d4 got to do with being opposed to mindless and draconian deportation laws. Typical jealous bitter type student. This protest shows the vehement anger at ordinary people against what they see as human rights abuses by an apparent minister for justice. Lets try keep this thread to the issue and not do what student and mainstream media will do with the issue......The question should be , were to next to try and oppose these awful laws.

by Darren C - SP (personal capacity) Tue Feb 17, 2004 13:03

And may i clarify at least 8-9 SP members were present and participated in the protests. Got a few 'friendly' blows from the cops myself! Well done to all those involved. Now lets get ready to mobilise UCD students for the Article 133 demo on Fri.

by no more of this in the name of ucdsu Tue Feb 17, 2004 14:01

I dont support trying to keep illegal imirgrants in this country. i think is very unfair that posts condeming last nights action have been removed. those who support the law on imergration have a right to be heard.

by Duine Tue Feb 17, 2004 14:26

Bhfuil sé seo fíor?
Bhfuil tuairimí "eile" a cheilt?

by abc Tue Feb 17, 2004 14:52

Sinn Féin Spokesperson on Human Rights and Equality, South Down MLA Caitríona Ruane has challenged NIO Minister John Spellar to clarify his position on Asylum Seekers after it emerged that he has shunned Asylum Seekers by withdrawing his constituency services from Asylum Seekers at his West Midlands constituency of Warley last year.

Ms Ruane said:

"It has emerged that John Spellar withdrew his constituency services from Asylum Seekers at his West Midlands constituency of Warley on the grounds that he was only prepared to see anyone who was 'on the electoral register' and that he regarded as 'proper constituents' who 'deserve any help' he could offer them. Such comments send out a very dangerous and worrying signal.

"Given the increase in racially motivated crime in the Six Counties it is vital that John Spellar publicly clarify his position on Asylum Seekers. Any failure to do so would only re-enforce the perception that within the NIO we have a Minister who is responsible for Human Rights who has scant understanding of the issues involved the vindication and promotion of the rights of all or in combating racism.

"Sinn Féin have called for the introduction of race hate legislation to be extended so that it covers incitement to hatred. In such circumstance anyone who promotes the idea that Asylum Seekers are not entitled to the same rights and protections as everyone else or are somehow not proper constituents and thus not deserving would be treading a very fine line.

"John Spellar has already lost the confidence of many nationalists over his role in supporting the killers of Peter McBride remaining in the British Army and now these latest revelations will only undermine any confidence in his ability to tackle major human rights issues such as the disgraceful detention of Asylum Seekers in Maghaberry or the major difficulties in a Human Rights Commission that is severely damaged and in urgent need to repair.

"In the context of over 200,000 people being wiped of the Electoral register his stance on recognising only people on the electoral register as 'proper constituents' also sends out a very very damaging signal. The British government are engaged in a massive act of electoral fraud and in John Spellar we have an NIO Minister who appears to regard people denied their democratic rights as not deserving."

by Fergus Tue Feb 17, 2004 16:05

On the door of the global disco "Ireland Inc." ?

A shite corporate music policy + exorbitantly priced drinks helps keep people away.

Neat dress - mandatory.
And if you slip on the dancefloor - you've been warned - nocommodity is going to help pick you up.

Burn baby burn.

by Phuq Hedd Tue Feb 17, 2004 17:37

Looks like Brendan Farelly and Gene McKenna did a good job on this one.

-----------------------------------------------------------
McDowell forced to flee as students protest

GARDAI ran a gauntlet of angry protesters last night to whisk Justice Minister Michael McDowell out of UCD in a garda traffic van.

A number of gardai were assaulted as they went to the aid of the minister.

Mr McDowell travelled to the university complex to address young Progressive Democrat students in the John Henry Newman building on bouncers and the Irish security industry.

But he walked straight into a group of 'anti-deportation' protesters.

About 30 students began shouting at the minister and tried to get to him as he made his way into the building, but gardai intervened.

The minister remained in the building for about an hour and a half. When he attempted to leave, a bicycle lock had been put on the exit.

Protesters then began lying on the ground in front of the minister's car. He was led to a separate exit but the protesters again spotted him and, it is understood, more joined in.

A scuffle broke out and a number of gardai were assaulted.

When gardai got the minister into a traffic van some protesters tried to lie on the front of the van and hold on to the windscreen wipers.

Gardai then brought him to Donnybrook garda station for his own safety.

Later, a spokesman for Mr McDowell said his jacket had been pulled at one stage but he wasunhurt.

Brendan Farrelly
and Gene McKenna

by Phuq Hedd Tue Feb 17, 2004 17:44

It looks like a good level of activity at UCD these days. Good job by all involved in the protest. It's important that the minister knows that he's not welcome when he's busy implementing a two pronged strategy that hurts the working class:
1. Do nothing about punishing businesses that treat their workers poorly (whether they're legal or illegal)
2. Enforce spectacular and inhumane deportations of asylum seekers with no regard to common decency.

This two-pronged strategy means that Ireland will replicate the structure of the workforce in the USA where there are a huge number of illegally present, terrified workers who have no rights but whose presence is tolerated for the benefit of businesses apart from occasional raids, expulstions and other random actions in order to show that something is being done.

The presence of a class of workers without health-benefits, voting-rights and security of abode is destructive to any society and the ample evidence from other countries is that the only way to avoid this is to provide social-benefits, punishment to businesses, a lenient treatment of the individuals, a high minimum-wage and a rigourous work inspectorate.

by UCD head Tue Feb 17, 2004 19:57

I was lost amid the protest yesterday and can safely say Mc Dowells 'goons' REacted to a situation that was getting out of hand. So called peacefulll protestors were carrying on in an unnecissarily aggressive manner.

by sec4 Tue Feb 17, 2004 20:24

do ye really think anything ye did will influence anyone cop onto yer selfs and study the subjects ye are in college to study

by Carroll hater Wed Feb 18, 2004 11:08

In Earslfort Terrace yesterday James Carroll was saying that ministers should not be treated in that way. He also refused to say he is against deportations, he still maintains that he will not 'waste' his time on issues like deportations.

James Carroll is a careerist hack that needs to be stopped as he will waste our money on free drink and junkets for his mates as his friend Aonghus Hourihane did.

FIGHT CUTS
FIGHT DEPORTATIONS
VOTE COGAVIN

by Fergus Wed Feb 18, 2004 20:51

Check the link for comments on immigration by the Justice Minister's brother - Moore McDowell who is also an economist at UCD.

by gobeen Thu Feb 19, 2004 04:17

If these people were in charge, nobody would ever be deported.

by UCD Student Thu Feb 19, 2004 08:03

I think he's brilliant. I think he's doing exactly the right things.

I get so angry when a tiny clique of socialist freaks make the headlines with their stupid stunts.

by TCD student - one world Thu Feb 19, 2004 14:48

I was very impressed by the two ucd speakers on liveline on tuesday.I think one of them said that it was just a tussle,playing it down while the other set the context in which the action was taken,that of the death of those deported.NICE WORK LADS.

by ec Thu Feb 19, 2004 16:03

Maybe they are decommissioned ansbacher men?

From Unison.ie: Hairy-looking students getting Bertie's goat . . .

HAIRY-looking students who haven't seen the inside of a college for 20 years are tracking Bertie Ahern, according to the Fianna Fail leader.

It seems the long-suffering Taoiseach and his harassed ministers cannot even venture onto a university campus these days without being confronted by a group of hirsute scholars.

And through the maze of ungainly locks, canny Bertie can see which politician they support.

In the Dail yesterday, he came out with it straight. He said every time he goes to any university, he is met by "hairy-looking students" who support Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins.

This revelation emerged during a query about Justice Minister Michael McDowell's experience earlier in the week when he was heckled by some students at UCD.

Mr Higgins - whom the Taoiseach alleges has hordes of students at his beck and call to be dispatched to any university anywhere, anytime - said it had been reported that the students pulled at the coat of the minister.

"This may have been a misunderstanding," Mr Higgins said. "They may have been trying merely to touch the hem of the great man's garment."

Labour Leader Pat Rabbitte said they were all glad to see Mr McDowell had been "ferried home safely from UCD to his family in Ranelagh in the back of a Garda van".

by mcdowellisaprat Fri Feb 20, 2004 12:47

If you contrast the the 30 protesters at UCD who only really sat infront of his car and shouted slogans before being attacked by the cops with the treatment 60+ immigrants got, who's doors were knocked in, hauled out of their beds in the middle of the night and summarily deported before dawn. It is quite clear who the real aggressor is.

I found it quite ironic that McDowell came to talk about how bad bouncers were when protesting him were 12 bouncers and about 20 cops.

by dailreporter Fri Feb 20, 2004 12:52

Mr J. Higgins: The haste in which the Minister is pushing this Bill through Dáil Éireann (Parliament) is not just indecent but obscene. The Government, when it comes to targeting the vulnerable, cannot hasten enough. However, when it comes to targeting the landlords, the financiers or the legal robbers of the people of this State, we have no such haste. Owing to lack of time, I will go immediately to the most repugnant sections of this Bill, sections 9(2)(c), (d) and (e), which state that "a non-national shall comply with the following requirements as to registration".They read as follows:

(c) he or she shall, if about to change his or her residence, furnish to the registration officer for the registration district in which he or she is then resident particulars as to the date on which his or her residence is to be changed and as to his or her intended place of residence;

(d) on effecting any change of residence from one registration district to another, he or she shall, within 48 hours of his or her arrival in the other registration district report his or her arrival to the registration officer for that district;

Section 9(3) is the worst part of this section. It states that if a non-national has no residence, meaning no fixed abode - his or her regular residence, if you like - he or she shall attend at the office of a registration officer and, so far as possible, supply the particulars that would be required under this section if he or she were resident in the district of that officer, and shall report to the registration officer for any other district in which he or she stays for more than 24 hours.

The last place provisions such as this were notoriously enforced was Stalinist Russia. A person had to inform the KGB of every move he or she made. It was notorious for visitors from abroad, so-called aliens or non-nationals. To find a Minister, who probably deludes himself into thinking he is a paradigm of liberalism of some sort, imposing a provision such as this is quite incredible, but worse is to come. Section 9(4) beggars belief. It states:

If a non-national who is required under this section to register or report is lodging with, or living as a member of the household of, any other person, it shall be the duty of that person to take steps (either by giving notice to the registration officer of the presence of the non-national in his or her household or otherwise) to secure compliance with the terms of the Act.

This is quite incredible. A non-national may be lodging in a flat with a few other Irish workers and the Minister is turning them into policemen for the State. This is not the Stalinism of the 1970s or the 1980s, but of the 1930s. It is quite incredible. Fortunately, I could not go to Stalinist Russia when it was in its hard-line phase because with my philosophy of democratic socialism, I possibly would not have come out safely. I went there shortly after it fell and they still had some of the bad habits-----

Mr. McDowell: They might have given the Deputy an ice pick as a souvenir

Mr. J. Higgins: -----and, therefore, we were subjected to rigorous screening. This will be carried on by the gardaí who will have the right to go into a hotel or otherwise where non-nationals are staying and demand to look at the register and to take it with them. It is absolutely incredible. They will be able to arrest non-nationals without warrant. This means pinpointing people living on this island on a racial basis. That is, in practice, what it will come down to. Gardaí will not approach every white person on the street but one can be sure people of a different colour will immediately be singled out as being non-national and subject to these checks.

This notoriously resembles what used to happen on the underground in France, and possibly still does. Fleets of special police move in to target immigrants which means targeting people of different colours. It is absolutely incredible that the Minister, who fancies himself as a liberal, would push this kind of legislation through under the guise of controlling, or regulating, immigration in this State.

I ask the Minister to think again about these reprehensible and noxious provisions included in this Bill. If he wants to bring in a Bill regulating, or providing for, people who are not born in this State residing here, that is fine. He can bring it before the House, we can have a proper debate on it and the same democratic provisions can be open to them as are open to everybody else. The Minister should not scapegoat them in this noxious way by including such provisions in the Bill, and I have only had time to point out a few.

by Mullah watch Fri Feb 20, 2004 13:07

McDowell cracking Trotsky jokes.
Who's been reading up on his communist history.

by Joe Fri Feb 20, 2004 13:41

McDowell seems to have spent some time actually reading indymedia.ie He has made at least one public reference to the content here. He's probably reading this message right now in his office with his dick in his hand.

by hadsumthinsimilar Fri Feb 20, 2004 13:50

I'm not sure about his dick but according to the rhyme I always thought he had no balls

by ucd student Fri Feb 20, 2004 16:18

James Carroll and some guy called 'Curley' are putting down a motion on SU council next week condemning the ADC for the protest and calling for its abolition.

All anti racist class reps need to make sure that they are at this council meeting.

by ucd hack Sat Feb 21, 2004 17:41

i dont like the word peaceful activists being used in this piece afterall it was these so called peaceful activists who tried to push, trip up and tear the clothes of an elected minster for state. god sake did yer mothers never teach ye a bit of respect. if ye want to get to a minister there are more effective ways of doing so. this way only gives the student union of ucd and ucd students a bad name..... please for yer own sake cop on.........and please stop with the James Carroll bashing, he beat the SP fair, square and democractically on wednesday night....get over it and move on!!!

by Starstruck - UCD Left Mon Feb 23, 2004 21:07

As above....McDowell may say hes not a racist but his policies towards those less fortunate than him certainly are.
Well done to everyone involved and of course congrats to the Left again as Fergal and Ciaran ruled the day last Wednesday.Unlucky Darren and his camp[aign team but fair play for not pretending to be anythin other than yourself.
UCD Left-from strength to strength!

by ucd head Tue Feb 24, 2004 12:22

Carroll didn't win the election fairly, he played a dirty and negative campaign. Ask anyone on the left they will tell you that Carroll and his Ff campaign team spent their time spreading lies.

by :-) Sat Feb 28, 2004 16:54

can we present Minister Mc Dowell with an ice pick? "ad hoc" like.
would it be a mountaineers or a barman's ice pick you're looking for Minister?

by Ah yeah Sun Feb 29, 2004 22:46

So is anyone feeling a wee bit silly after clainimg James Carroll was setting out to get rid of the ADC at the next SU council??
The students of UCD are one of the most intelligent electorates around, they're not going to be fooled by a few manipulative lies from a campaign team. Cogavin's team found out the hard way. Stop moaning lads, James Carroll was voted into office by an overwhelming majority, so good luck to him!