New Irish Zapatista solidarity network forming

national | anti-capitalism | news report Tuesday June 07, 2005 15:10 by Zapatista Ireland Zap.Ire at hotmail dot com

A few individuals from both the north and south of Ireland inspired by the ideas of the Zapatistas have linked up with a view to establishing a solidarity network. We invite individuals and/or groups to get in touch and share their ideas as it takes collective effort to organise.

Inspired by the revolutionary activities of Emiliano Zapata (1879-1919) the EZLN, an unheard of grass roots organisation seized control of key areas in Chiapas in Southern Mexico in 1994 demanding social reform against foreign neoliberal business interests, the erosion of land rights and civil liberties. After a brief battle with Mexican State troops a ceasefire was declared and negotiations began and are still ongoing. Since the uprising the Zapatistas have consolidated their positions and begun the process of establishing self-autonomous zones despite the presence and perennial interference of some 70,000 state troops.

The philosophical figurehead of the movement is Commandante Marcos, a masked, pipe-smoking visionary with an articulate vision of alternative culture. Zapatista ideas have spread far and wide via the international conferences that originally began in Chiapas in 1996 but it is via the Internet that these ideas have travelled across the world and a massive networking system has arisen.

It has been seen time and again that the social struggles in other parts of the world are one and the same. The mass anti-globalisation and anti-war protests are part of the same struggle as are the indigenous farming struggles and local battles against rampaging capitalism. Herein lies the seed of this mass international movement.

A few individuals from both the north and south of Ireland inspired by these ideas have linked up with a view to establishing a solidarity network. We are aware that other such groups are already in existence but we have made no plans. Rather we invite individuals and/or groups to get in touch and share their ideas as it takes collective effort to organise. What will come of it remains to be seen.

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