“For the white man, one man, one vote, would be the greatest solution. It would encourage competition among blacks…and…eliminate the most important ground for critique abroad of the present regime. But it would not change the economic oppression of blacks. That would remain the same.”

It is over thirty years since South African leader Steve Biko said those words in an interview with journalist Donald Woods. In a recent book by Australian journalist John Pilger, Freedom Next Time, he closes a chapter on South Africa with those words, pointing out their uncanny accuracy at predicting what has come to pass.

Background: Indymedia – South Africa | Women’s Struggles | Shack Dwellers’ Movement | S.A. Anarchists | S.A. Communist Party | African National Congress | Congress of African Trade unions | Sinn Fein | Differences Within the Triple Alliance: Where now for the left?

Dublin City Council have joined those calling for an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of Terence Wheelock. Terence, who was from Summerhill in Dublin, suffered fatal injuries while in Garda custody in June 2005.

The Gardai have claimed that he hung himself, but this is strongly denied by his family who have pointed out many contradictions in the Garda story. The most glaring one is the report of a serious head injury which most likely came from a major blow Terence received to the head while in Garda custody.

There is an ongoing inquest into Terence's death taking place at the Coroner's court, but this has only a limited remit. With Garda brutality on display in Rossport, any independent inquiry which serves to limit State violence will be a big step forward for everybody - not just the people of inner city Dublin. The Wheelocks and their supporters will be continuing their campaign this weekend, distributing leaflets in Dublin city centre.

Previous Indymedia Coverage: Interview with Esther and Larry Wheelock | Wheelock family move out of Summerhill | First mention of Terence on Indymedia | Original report of Terence's death | 1st Anniversary March | John Maloney’s death in Garda Custody

In new twist, campaign is now found 'guilty by dissassociation'

Last weekend saw the mainstream media continue its barrage against the Shell to Sea Campaign by selling the line of nasty outside protesters corrupting innocent, misguided locals. With radical activists joining the local community for the long haul, the Rossport Solidarity Camp's long-term presence has reduced the impact of these smears, so an article targeting the camp is a welcome development for both Shell and its Government.

The prize for being first to publish the by now traditional fake infiltration story goes to the Mail on Sunday. While the muck-raking tactics are often the same, (they 'infiltrate' an open group) by sending along a young journalist pretending to be someone who cares, this case is interesting because the journalist they hired was one Warren Swords who had written articles critical of Shell and their activities in Nigeria.

Rossport Solidarity Camp website
Shell to Sea website
Shell to Sea on RTE’s failure to publish a poll bringing bad news for Shell

After waging a battle against Christian right-wing sect Faderhuset for several years, recent decisions in both the Copenhagen City Court and the National Court has ordered the current occupiers of infamous Danish social centre Ungdomshuset out on December 14th, 2006. This decision and the process through which it was made is hotly contested. This is obvious through both extensive coverage in mainstream Copenhagen social democratic newspapers like Politiken and in how opposition from the centre´s users more recently spilled over into street fighting when police attacked ( 1 ) a Reclaim the Streets demonstration.

Other links: Latest updates in English on Ungdomshuset site | You Tube video of solidarity action in Dublin | Youth Space Under Attack | A Short History of the Copenhagen Squatters Movement | A normally quiet Copenhagen scene becomes a whirlwind of activity | Danish Social Centre Under Threat | Early morning raids on Barca squats | Katsiaficas' History of the European Autonome Movement

Irish Efforts: Opening of Disco Disco | Closure of Disco Disco | Twelve Step Plan For Dublin Social Centre | Seomra Spraoi | The Leeson St Magpie Squat

Indymedia Ireland has come a long way since it first launched back in October/November 2001. We have been growing steadily in the number of stories, readers and contributors since then. We have covered many events and have been first with many stories that eventually broke through onto the national and even international scene. Every day, the website gets half a million hits. About 300,000 different people read the site each month. Lots of voices outside the corporate consensus are given a voice here and nowhere else.

As the site has grown, the Indymedia Ireland Internet Collective has grown too, suffering the usual growing pains of any organisation. In our case we have always tried to stick to our original objectives to be democratic, transparent and encourage participation and at the same time to try to adhere to the Global Indymedia Principles of Unity. Two years ago, we adopted a list of editorial guidelines to help us make objective editorial decisions. Now, we have agreed a number of structural changes, in order to make things run smoother and to make it easier for new people to get involved.

For this to work, and for us to keep on growing, we need your help.
It's that time of the year again when our bills are due, so we need donations to keep the website running. Our costs are very low; all we need is a couple of thousand euros a year to pay our hosting charges - all our members are volunteers and we put thousands of hours of unpaid labour into keeping things going. So, please, help us out by donating to our fundraising drive. Half of the money that we raise will be sent to Africa to assist in the set up of an Indymedia centre in Nairobi, Kenya, to coincide with the World Social Forum which will take place there in January 2007.
As well, make sure to check out the lists where people are working in the background on Indymedia - editing, making and planning independent media. Don't Hate the Media, Be the Media.