Large Turnout for Solidarity Event

national | miscellaneous | news report Sunday October 19, 2008 22:33 by Séamas nwsolidarity at yahoo dot com

Manorhamilton Hosts Major Event

An event organised by the North West Solidarity Network took place in Manorhamilton, Co. Leitirm has been hailed a major success and as the start of a series of activities and actions planned for the coming months and years.

An event, which aimed to bring together people to meet with and share ideas and practical experiences of solidarity took place on Friday 17th in Manorhamilton, Co. Leitirm. The event organised by the North West Solidarity Network, attracted a very large and diverse crowd. People came to explore the stalls of fair trade produce and book stalls, to hear from speakers and watch a documentary on Palestine.

A spokesperson for the North West Solidarity Network stressed that the purpose was to bring together people to increase awareness of and participation with National and International solidarity.

They stated that "the structures of imperialism are consistent, there is a unified purpose, individual states learn from one another and they wage continuous war against life on this planet in the pursuit of power and wealth. The struggles of people everywhere against the structures of the world order on the other hand are compartmentalised, fragmented and isolated. We are all encouraged to make no comparisons, make no links and to look at 'solidarity' as some form of charity, something 'we do to help the less fortunate'!. Our approach is that similar to a slogan that was used a few years ago regarding "crime" - "Imperialsim is a crime, together we can crack it!".

Representatives from the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) and Republican Sinn Féin (RSF) spoke passionately at the event and received a great reception.

Des Dalton, Vice-President, RSF, highlighted the internationalist tradition of Irish Republicanism, from 1798 through to the recent links between the Republican Movement and the people of Palestine. He pointed out that Ireland was still partitioned, with British rule solidly in place in the occupied 6 counties with local political administrators. RSF he outlined was an internationalist movement, accutly aware of and closely connected to people everywhere attempting to remove imperialist influence in their country. He outlined four general principles:

"1.The right of a people to national independence,"
"2.The right of a people to resist in arms the occupation of their national territory and defend their right to national self-determination,"
"3.The defence and protection of each peoples cultural and linguistic rights."
"4. The right of each nation to formulate and pursue a policy of neutrality independent of power blocs or ‘spheres of influence’."

"It is agreement and active support for these principles which is the basis of true internationalism.", he stated.

David Landy, IPSC, spoke about the practical work of the IPSC. He highlighted the fact that the work of the organisation is driven by ideas of the Palestinian people themselves. The IPSC are presently campaigning for a boycott of Israeli goods. They also lobby Irish politicians to put pressure on Israel through the structures of the EU.

The evening concluded with a screening of the film 'The Iron Wall' by Palestinian director Mohammad Alatar.

The North West Solidarity Network are a collection of individuals who pull together to enable activities to take place. They can be contacted at [email protected] for further information.