By James Quigley
2016 Proclamation
To The People Of Ireland
On the eve of the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising and what could be an historic general election in the Republic of Ireland let us appeal to all republicans, socialist, democrats, all those in the anti water charge, anti austerity movement and all who hold freedom and sovereignty dear. Do notbe fooled once again by false promises made by charlatans and corrupt leaders. We are not talking about the devils we know like Fine Gael, Fianna Fail, and Labour. No, we are talking about Sinn Fein.
To honour the men and women of history who fought and died for freedom, for Republicanism, for sovereignty, for self determination, let us stop the march of this totalitarian party in its tracks and let us consign it to the dustbin of history for being the failed and corrupt entity that it has become.
Many believe that Sinn Fein is our only hope to win the anti water, anti austerity campaigns and to build a strong socialist opposition to the right wing austerity parties. This is what we have been conditioned to believe but it is far from the truth. Sinn Fein are not our only hope. We are our hope, not any party, especially Sinn Fein. In fact, if elected in numbers, Sinn Fein will be a barrier, to achieving our goals for many, many years to come. They will impede Irish Socialism and progressive thinking and community empowerment for decades. Firstly by giving false hope and secondly as it has shown through it's involvement in the Right2Water movement, if powerful enough Sinn Fein will sideline and demonise any left opposition, that stand against it's power and control.
Sinn Fein is like a cuckoo that uses the strong nests of others to lay it's eggs in. It uses, feeds of the host and then when the time comes, discards it leaving only it's brainchild in place. All to procreate it's ever changing philosophy and to build strong and powerful party. It has no morals or principles left, just tactics and manoeuvres to achieve it's end. It believes that the end justifies the means and any means will do. History has proven this. Sinn Fein will sacrifice anybody and anything to achieve it's goal.
Sinn Fein's goal is a totalitarian party, strong, powerful and dictatorial that cocoons it's leader safe in their illusionary images, protecting them against all dissenters and ostracising any who dare question their credentials. It's raison detre, it's principles, long since jettisoned in the Good Friday Agreement and even way before that when it cold-heartedly used the 1981 hunger strike to build it's political base. The cool calculating leaders, Adams and McGuinness in Northern Ireland betrayed their comrades for the Queen's shilling and the USA dollar and threw out all republican principles, joined up with the establishment and proceeded to administer imperialist rule.
Like the cuckoo they used and then discarded, the principles of the Irish Patriots, the 1916 rebels, the 1981 hunger strikers, all those republicans who suffered greatly through Irish history. What was it all for? Certainly not what we have in Northern Ireland today, ministerial jobs and Armani suits.
And the clincher is; Martin McGuinness, castigating the DUP, calling for sovereignty and opposing EU membership. Sinn Fein will campaign vigorously to retain membership of the EU, an extreme right wing body which along with it's international buddies, the IMF, has inflicted everlasting austerity on nation states. Gone totally are Sinn Fein's republican principles of sovereignty and self determination. Gone totally are any notion of socialism.
To grow, Sinn Fein, the party must consolidate it's southern electoral base and maximise it's Dail representation. The party is stagnating in the North and loosing control of it's base who are now seeing Sinn Fein for what it truly is.
To build in the South, just like it has done before, it will use anybody or any group and it will do, say and promise anything. That is why it is using the anti water charge and anti austerity movement.
It infiltrated the Right2Water movement at the outset and has been quietly pulling the strings ever since. All with this election and the party growth in mind. The only thing that matters is the growth of the party. Water charges, property charges, doesn't matter, they are all means to an end.
What better way to do this than to maximise the parties vote in the general election and to do this, use the growing discontent of the anti water charge, anti austerity movement. And the nearer we get to the election and the more Sinn Fein's share in the polls is dropping, the more it knows it needs the Right2Change candidates. Hence the call in today newspaper stating that Gerry Adams is ready to be Taoiseach and Sinn Fein together with their Right2Change fellow candidates can make this happen.
In order to get control of the Right2Water movement Sinn Fein fostered fear and disunity, impeded internal strategy and controlled individual members. It stunted the general growth of the movement by splitting it and ousting members who criticised them. It fostered the notion that only with Sinn Fein at the helm, could the movement succeed. It confused the movement's aims, firstly by it's leaders not being clear about paying the charges, secondly, by being unclear about Irish Water ( whether to get rid of Irish Water or not), and thirdly and probably the biggest barrier, was and still is it's stance on the water charges 'Boycott'. Sinn Fein leaders have never backed or called a boycott. Right2Change followed it's lead.
It is unbelievable that it took Sinn Fein until November 2015, in it's General Election Manifesto 2016, to state for the first time that they were against water charges and that it was calling for the disbandment of Irish Water. Up until then there was confusion as to what Sinn Fein were advocating. However, even after the launch of their election manifesto, confusion still remains because the fine print is still not clear even though we are just days away from the general election. This dithering has been further demonstrated in recent interviews where Sinn Fein spokespersons at the hurdle in trying to explain how the party was going to achieve the manifesto promises in relation to Irish Water. A wing and a prayer.
Sinn Fein are not a socialist party and they are not a republican party. This has been been clearly demonstrated in Northern Ireland and like there, Sinn Fein will do the same here. They are no more left than the Labour Party, or the once Democratic Left and like Pat Rabbitte, Sinn Fein will capitulate and administer an austerity economy just like it is doing in Northern Ireland. And just like Labour it may claim some kind of socialist tendency or like Fianna Fail some type of nationalist aspiration but in the heel of the hunt will join in a coalition with anyone in order to get it's hands on power.
Let us make this centenary year, one that Pearse and Connolly and all our brave forefathers would be proud of. Let us start afresh with our socialism, our republicanism. We might loose a fight but we will win the war. Do not vote Sinn Fein. Reclaim our pride.
The seven signatories of the Irish Proclamation (from the left): Padraig Pearse, James Connolly, Thomas Clarke, Thomas MacDonagh, Sean MacDermott, Joseph Plunkett & Eamonn Ceannt
All of the above men were executed by the British Government for their efforts in trying to secure a free Ireland!