Akala interview on the Grenfell Tower Fire. A disaster because of Capitalism. Austerity is a matter of life and death that leads to tragic events like this.
At least 30 people have died police have revealed. At least 70 people , including children and entire families have been reported missing following the devastating fire. An investigation led by a senior detective from Scotland Yard's homicide and major crime command is under way with calls for "corporate manslaughter" arrests to be made.
The political dimension to the Grenfell Tower catastrophe became apparent on Wednesday as the government came under scrutiny over a failure to commission a review of fire safety regulations following a past inquest, which had raised questions about existing rules, spending cuts and mismanagement may also have contributed to the deadly fire, it has been claimed while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn questioned whether cuts to local funding contributed to the tragedy.
“If you deny local authorities the funding they need then there is a price paid by a lack of safety facilities across the country. I think there needs to be some very searching questions as quickly as possible in the aftermath of the fire,” he told LBC Radio on Wednesday.
Residents who witnessed the blaze as it began spoke of how cladding, added to the building in a recent ‘refurbishment’, appeared to be highly flammable, “catching up like a matchstick” according to one. Another observer referred to the “shoddy plastic things” on the exterior of the tower that “set up alight”. Reports suggest this cladding was added to appease luxury property developers.
.*The tale of Grenfell Tower is a tale of two Kensingtons. It is the story of how scores of people were left to perish in what is being described as a block riddled with fire and safety problems and disrepair, just meters away from some of the wealthiest streets in the country. ” * [HuffPost]
We cannot reasonably give in to pleas not to ‘politicise’ what occurred, for it was nothing if not fundamentally ‘political’. For example, residents of the property had repeatedly told the local council, controlled by Tories , that living conditions inside the building were ‘dangerous’ and that it was not up to standard as far as fire safety was concerned, but of course being poor people and people of colour their suspicions were simply not listened to. It has led to massive public anger at the landlords, the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO), who were warned repeatedly by tenants that Grenfell Tower was an accident waiting to happen. The Grenfell Action Group raised concerns about the fact that there was only one entrance and exit to the building complex, and in the event of a fire the fire brigade “could only gain access to the entrance to the building by climbing four flights of narrow stairs.” More than this, they also complained that “the fire escape exit on the walkway level” had been sealed. Grenfell will be seen to represent the inequality that is sweeping through our country at this moment in time. There is growing anger, people are demanding answers. Prime Minister Theresa May has been criticised for not showing enough humanity or compassion.
Theresa May's decision to carry out a public inquiry into the Grenfell tragedy ensures that the government has control over any uncomfortable revelations about the negligence and poor planning of the Grenfell estate by the Tory-run Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea.
By choosing a PUBLIC INQUIRY the government protects itself as well as those who should be held accountable. It also blocks any possibility of an INQUEST from taking place: the necessary process that would unearth the true causes of the fire for the public interest.
Prevent the government from whitewashing the truth and from keeping the UK's planning and regulation laws in the dark ages any longer. Stand with the residents of Grenfell as well as the residents of the UK's 4,000 other tower blocks and make sure this does not happen again.
My thoughts are with the victims this awful disaster. Donate to the crowdfunder to help the families of the Grenfell tower tragedy. Justice now, rehouse the survivors, prosecute those responsible.
The Sun newspaper, which by the way is an insult to journalism are offering to post free copies of their scum tabloid though your letterbox. All under the guise of free listings of games for the European Football Championship. Most considerate post workers will refuse to send it as a mark of respect for all the damage and pain it has already unleashed. It is and always has been a disgraceful paper, releasing daily a tissue of lies. Divisive daily torrents of hate. There commentary on the recent Grenfell tower fire disaster has been pretty dodgy, fulfilling their role for the establishment with innappropriate reportage of a tragedy which many people are viewing as a serious crime, who never ask questions about the disgusting disregard for the lives and safety of ordinary people.And lets not forget what they wrote about Hillsborough. “The Truth.Some fans picked pockets of victims,Some fans urinated on the brave cops Some fans beat up PC giving kiss of life.” just four days after their loved ones had died, four days after they had narrowly escaped death themselves, Liverpool supporters were confronted with those headlines. People actually believed those headlines. Lets not forget when 96 people had their lives crushed out of them.
They simply have a disgraceful hidden agenda to every story. Daily releasing a pious debasing rhetoric that is simply offensive and unacceptable to the order of the Murdoch empire, that controls the flow of media to almost half the planet. Releasing abuse to benefit claimants, refugees, the disabled, transphobic, homophobic, islamophobic, that never shows any tolerance, decency or fairness, with a dirty right wing bias. It truly is gutter press of the lowest common denominator which offers no value at all to society. The Scum for a long time for me has been simply unforgiveable. There is no excuse for buying or reading The Sun. None whatsoever. The rag is like a swamp that needs draining. Fortunately I know enough people that do not want this paper, even for free. .
Let's send them a message.
If you receive a free copy of The Sun through your letter box please take the time wrap it in paper.
Masking tape the ends and to send it freepost to.....
Head Office Postal Address
News UK & Ireland Ltd... 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF United Kingdom Don't bother paying for the postage. They can take care of that shit at the other end. Please share
There's a dangerous squatter in the house
With a lust for power, playing with our lives,
In league with dark forces, even dodgier friends
Hope will try to stop her, driving us round the bends,
Spreading insecurity, contradictory policy
Getting into bed with DUP monstrosity,
She's like a bad joke wearing thin
Really irritating getting under skin,
Who said the naughtiest thing she'd ever done
Through fields of wheat as a child she once run,
Would be endearing if she had not spread misery
Pushed so many of us into grinding poverty,
This profiteer of capital and shares for personal gain
As she tears up her manifesto, she really has no shame,
Soon we'll feel a warm glow when she's gone
As time keeps the pressure on her to jog on,
Her policies of instability creating to much pessimism
At least we can thank her for bringing back socialism.
On June 12, 1964, Nelson Mandela received a life sentence for committing sabotage against South Africa’s racist apartheid government, avoiding a possible death sentence.
His political career had started in 1944 when he joined the African National Congress (ANC), an organization dedicated to protesting the South African government's policy of apartheid, and racist segregation. and he participated in the resistance against the then government¹s apartheid policy.. Apartheid cruelly and forcibly separated people, and had a fearsome state apparatus to punish those who fought against it. Racist laws were created to enforce a racially separate and unequal social order. The Reservation of Separate Amenities Act, for instance, imposed segregation on all public facilities, including post offices, beaches, stadiums, parks, toilets, and cemeteries, and buses and trains as well.
The Defiance Campaign in 1952 was the first large-scale, multi-racial political mobilization against apartheid laws under a common leadership – by the African National Congress, South African Indian Congress, and the Coloured People’s Congress. More than 8,000 trained volunteers went to jail for 'defying unjust laws.’ Volunteers were jailed for failing to carry passes, violating curfew, and entering locations and public facilities designated for one race only.
In early 1953, the Government imposed stiff penalties for protesting against discriminatory laws, including heavy fines and prison sentences of up to five years. It then enacted the Public Safety Act, allowing for the declaration of a State of Emergency to override existing laws and oversight by courts. Although the Defiance Campaign did not achieve its goals, it demonstrated large-scale and growing opposition to apartheid. Furthermore, the use of non-violent civil disobedience was part of an important international tradition, from the passive resistance campaigns started by Gandhi in South Africa continuing to the independence movement in India two decades before, to sit-ins and other non-violent protests in the United States civil rights movement .Mandela was arrested in 1956 on treason charges, but was acquitted.
The ANC was banned by the government in 1960, following the Sharpeville massacre. In 1961, the ANC executive approved Mandela's idea of using violent tactics and encouraged members who wished to involve themselves in Mandela's campaign. Shortly after this,Nelson Mandela founded with others Umkhonto we Sizwe , the armed wing of the ANC, ( abbreviated as MK, meaning "Spear of the Nation" ) believing that non-violent measures would not be successful, and was named its leader. Beginning on Dec. 16, 1961, with Mandela as its commander in chief, they launched bombing attacks on government targets and made plans for guerilla warfare.
Mandela was forced underground “adopting a number of disguises—sometimes a labourer, other times as a chauffeur. The press dubbed him ‘the Black Pimpernel’ because of his ability to evade police.”
Mandela was subsequently arrested on Aug. 5, 1962, and sentenced to five years in prison for inciting a workers’ strike in 1961. A year later, in July 1963, the government launched a raid on the Lilliesleaf farm in Rivonia, which had been used as an ANC hideout. It arrested 19 ANC leaders and discovered documents describing MK’s plans for attacks and guerilla warfare.
The government charged 11 ANC leaders, including Mandela, with crimes under the 1962 Sabotage Act. At the Rivonia Trial, Mandela chose not to take the witness stand, instead making a long statement from the dock on April 20, 1964. In it, he explained the history and motives on the ANC and MK, admitting to many of the charges against him and defending his use of violence.
He concluded, “ "I do not deny that I planned sabotage. I did not plan it in a spirit of recklessness nor because I have any love of violence. I planned it as a result of a calm and sober assessment of the political situation that had arisen after many years of tyranny, exploitation and oppression of my people by the whites. During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
Mandela was found guilty on four charges of sabotage on June 11.His co-accused included: Walter Sisulu, Dennis Goldberg, Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Elias Mosoaledi, Andrew Mlangeni - all ANC officials and Ahmed Kathrada, the former leader of the South African Indian Congress. Lawyer for the defendants, Harold Hansen QC said: "These accused represent the struggle of their people for equal rights. Their views represent the struggle of the African people for the attainment of equal rights for all races in this country."
The following day, he and seven of his co-defendents were sentenced to life imprisonment avoiding the death sentence. Mandela and the other six non-white defendants were sent to the prison on Robben Island, a former leper colony located off the coast of Cape Town. Nelson Mandela and his comrades were effectively jailed for leading the liberation movement against apartheid , a system of white rule which they considered evil.,and for their stance on the human right to live in freedom and end oppression to black South Africans..
On the notorious Robben Island, Mandela lived in a tiny cell, received meager rations and performed hard labor in a lime quarry.Mandela’s prisoner number was 46664, the prisoners were never referred to by their names, but rather by their numbers .In South Africa at the time It was forbidden to quote him or publish his photo, yet he and other jailed members of his banned African National Congress were able to smuggle out messages of guidance to the anti-apartheid movement. Meanwhile outside thousands died in the decades-long struggle against apartheid, which deprived the black majority of the vote, the right to choose where to live and other basic freedoms. Yet Robben Island would became the crucible which transformed him,through his intelligence, charm and dignified defiance, Mandela eventually bent even the most brutal prison officials to his will, assumed leadership over his jailed comrades and became the master of his own prison. He would be come a symbol of hope and defiance not only in South Africa but across the world.
In the 1980s, exiled ANC leader Oliver Tambo, Mandela’s former law partner, led an international movement to free Mandela. Many countries imposed sanctions on South Africa for its apartheid policies. Conservative Prime minister Margaret Thatcher, who Mandela thankfully outlived, denounced Mandela’s ANC as a “typical terrorist organization”.
David Cameron a later Conservative leader and PM himself accepted an all expenses paid trip to South Africa while Nelson Mandela was still in prison while he was a researcher for the Conservative Research Department , which was funded by an firm that lobbied against the imposition of sanctions against the regime. I remember to when I was at college Conservative party members, who would proudly flaunt there ' Hang Nelson Mandela' badges. When the Tory's were displaying which side of human rights they were on, the future labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn was at the time a prominent anti apartheid activist ,a staunch opponent of the Apartheid regime and who was out on the streets marching and prepared to get arrested for the end of apartheid in South Africa and calling for the release of Nelson Mandela.
I along with many others at the time joined the anti apartheid movement, pressuring our Governments for his release, and for the end of apartheid, calling for sanctions against what for many of us saw at the time was a fascist state.The apartheid government, was denounced globally for its campaign of beatings, assassinations and other violent attacks on opponents and its oppressive treatment of its people. United Nations resolutions began to call for the release of "Nelson Mandela and all other political prisoners." By the mid-1980s South Africa was becoming increasingly isolated, with the UN supporting sporting and cultural sanctions and many western companies spurred to withdraw from the country by the efforts of anti-apartheid campaigners.
In 1980 a new campaign for Mandela’s release was initiated inside South Africa by the Sunday Post newspaper. In the 1980s Mandela received an avalanche of honours from all over the world, especially in Britain. In 1981 Glasgow City Council was the first of nine British local authorities to make Mandela a freeman of their city. Streets, gardens and buildings were named in Mandela’s honour. Over 20,000 mayors from cities on every continent signed a declaration calling for his release. And how can I forget the seminal song "Free Nelson Mandela" which was released in 1984 by the Coventry band the Special AKA, which became a focal rallying call. Free Nelson Mandela - Special AKA
In 1985, President PW Botha offered to release him, who had been moved to Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town, on the condition that he renounced violence. Mandela defiantly refused, saying, “Prisoners cannot enter into contracts. Only free men can negotiate.” The Anti Apartheid Movement launched the ‘Nelson Mandela: Freedom at 70’ campaign at a concert in Wembley Stadium in 1988. Rock stars played to a capacity audience and the concert was broadcast by the BBC to over 60 countries.
Though not entirely without controversy.In Britain, members of the ruling Conservative Party proposed a motion in parliament criticising the BBC for carrying an event that “gave publicity to a movement that encourages the African National Congress in its terrorist activities”. Next day 25 freedom marchers set off from Glasgow for London, where they arrived on the eve of Mandela’s birthday. A quarter of a million people gathered in Hyde Park to hear Bishop Desmond Tutu call for Mandela’s release. On 18 July a special service was held in St James’s Piccadilly and thousands of cards were delivered to South Africa House.F.W. de Klerk became president in 1989 and began to dismantle the policies of apartheid and release the ANC prisoners. On Feb. 12, 1990, Nelson Mandela was released after 27 years in prison.
He was named president of the ANC. In April he came to London, where he was welcomed at a second Wembley concert. He thanked the people of Britain and said the support he had received from the Anti-Apartheid Movement was ‘a source of real inspiration’. Mandela had become an icon of the freedom struggle. His release unleashed a wave of support for the ANC and heralded the beginning of the negotiations which led to a free and democratic South Africa.and in 1993 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The following year, the ANC emerged victorious in South Africa’s first democratic elections with universal suffrage. Mandela was named the first President of post apartheid South Africa.
He used his position to stand with other oppressed people speaking out on behalf of the Palestinian people expressing his support for a two state solution, while being adamant that Israel must leave the West Bank, Gaza and Syria’s Golan Heights.Speaking at the International Solidarity Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People event in Pretoria in 1997, Mandela declaimed: “We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.. Yes, all of us need to do more in supporting the struggle of the people of Palestine for self-determination.” In 1999, he toured the Middle East, visiting Palestine. In Gaza he closely identified the South African struggle for freedom and liberation with the Palestinian struggle: “The histories of our two peoples, Palestinian and South African, correspond in such painful and poignant ways, that I intensely feel myself being at home amongst compatriots … The long-standing fraternal bonds between our two liberation movements are now translating into the relations between two governments.”It is worth pointing out that during apartheid era South Africa, Israel regularly traded arms and security information with the regime.
He also criticised US President George W Bush over Iraq, saying the sole reason for a possible US-led attack would be to gain control of Iraqi oil. The US stance on Iraq is "arrogant" and would cause "a holocaust", he said at the time. He also said UK Prime Minister Tony Blair - who supported Washington over Iraq - was in fact the "US foreign minister",He accused both the US and UK governments of undermining the United Nations. "Why does the United States behave so arrogantly?" Mr Mandela asked. "Their friend Israel has got weapons of mass destruction but because it's their ally they won't ask the United Nations to get rid of them. He also said war "would be devastating not just to Iraq but also to the whole of the Middle East and to other countries of the world". . "They just want the oil," Mr Mandela went on. "We must expose this as much as possible."
Nelson Mandela not only used his voice to protest against injustices at home, but attacked injustices across the world too.
In 2002 Mandela reiterated his opposition to acts of terror, and reminded readers of how appalled he had been by the barbarism of the 9/11 attacks, but argued that those responsible for bringing down the Twin Towers must be “apprehended and brought to trial without inflicting suffering on innocent people”.
On December 5, 2013, the world was shocked and saddened by the transition of Tata Madiba Rohlihahla Mandela at the age of 95. Although Madiba had been ill for many months and his condition required round-the-clock medical attention, his passing was nonetheless a great loss to the people of South Africa, the African continent, and indeed to the world.
Mandela was eulogized by people throughout the world. Inside South Africa an extended period of mourning was declared and the former African National Congress (ANC) leader and first president of a non-racial South African state was given a state funeral.
Memorial services were held throughout South Africa. Millions poured into streets and stadiums around the country to sing the praises of their leader who had spent twenty seven years in prison for his believe that the African people should be liberated from national oppression and economic exploitation. A true revolutionary never dies, for anyone who risks his own life for the oppressed and the poor, will live as long as there are hopeless people in this world. A man who was willing to die for his cause, who spent 27 years in jail for his beliefs and refused to leave until better conditions for his country were met. He made his enemies respect him because of his bravery and loyalty, and didn’t prosecute the same people who abused him when he had the power to do so. Instead, he forgave them. Though his status was larger than life he lived humbly as a citizen in the country he loved. His example taught us the importance of forgiveness and the true meaning of representing the people with honor and loyalty. He showed us that one person’s actions can have an extraordinary effect on this world, and our world today surely needs more like Mandela!
Nelson Mandela's spirit could never die, and his light will never fade. His sacrifice, courage and philosophy will be an example for anyone who wants to impact the world in a positive way.Nelson Mandela Day which is marked every year on July 16th, the day of Mandela's birthday not only celebrates Nelson Mandela’s life, but it is also a global call to action for people to recognize their ability to have a positive effect on others around them. It marks Nelson Mandela’s contribution to peace through his active involvement in resolving conflicts, promoting human rights, international democracy and reconciliation, and in addressing racial issues.
Sad news today, as I hear the news that the actor Adam West, best known for his portrayal of Batman/Bruce Wayne in the 1960's Batman series has died peacefully. a personal hero of mine from childhood.West’s career suffered after he was typecast in Batman-like roles after the show ended its 120 episode run in 1968, but he rebounded in later years with voiceover work, most notably playing the mayor of Quahog in Family Guy. West had been battling leukemia for years, although he ultimately lost the battle. He was 88 years old. R.IP.
A Poem for Adam West/Batman
Na na na na na na na na
the man I knew as Batman has gone,
ever so camp but cool
inspiring and iconic,
dashing and charismatic
superhero of Gotham city,
with his sidekick Robin
fought for truth and justice
a caped crusader of peace,
underneath his mask
a human spirit called Adam West,
the joker has released his last calling card
but this dark knight put up a good fight
went out with a big mighty POW.
The torys have agreed to to form a power sharing agreement with a party the DUP which really is a nasty piece of work. It was founded, for one thing, by the bigot Ian Paisley, his son succeeded his father as North Antrim MP in 2010. He is also a member of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, which his father led.and its goal is to keep Northern Ireland in the UK. It supported Brexit, and has a number of other odious stands, opposing equal rights for LGBT people, in a 2007 interview, Mr Paisley expressed his views on same sex marriages. He told Hot Press magazine he was "pretty repulsed" by gay people and lesbianism. and his party is also against women's rights , climate change deniers among many things.(see here, here, here, and here for documentation). There new leader and Theresa May's mate Arlene Foster was meeting with loyalist UDA terror group boss Jackie McDonald for UDA members election support, just 48 hours after the UDA had shot a man dead in front of his three year old son in a Sainsbury car park.
Just engaging with these very real terrorist sympathisers is simply vile, we seem to now to have a coalition of hate. All very frightening and chilling.
However, a note of caution, lets remember that the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) can't vote on English laws (due to the EVEL law passed in 2015)https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/laws/bills/public/english-votes-for-english-laws/
technically there can't be a coalition with the DUP due to the peace agreement and our promise of neutrality, so there is a "supply of consent"- so the tories are a minority government.
And to be fair Theresa May warned us all of a coalition of chaos propped up by terrorist sympathisers, she just forgot to say she would be leading it. She also said we should fight extremism, this then is what we must do then, we must continue to resist these dark forces. Not in our names.
Had hardly any sleep, but when UK prime minister Theresa May called a snap election five weeks ago, her decision was widely portrayed as a masterstroke. The Tories, it was almost universally agreed, would romp home with a huge majority and a sweeping mandate for more savage austerity and a “hard Brexit”. Labour would be wiped out for a generation, if not for good. The Corbyn “experiment” would be finished, and the right would either take back control of Labour or break away to form a new centrist party that crushed the rump of Corbynites in parliament. The most powerful media in the country threw everything at it.
But out there across the country something important happened. People who had never voted before found hope, despite a frenzied right wing media, they made a difference.We must come together now to do whatever we can to stop a Tory/DUP "Thatcher-on-steroids" government. This is our moment. We can't afford to take any more of their flaky unstable sentiments, we must keep pushing for more political change, we have the tory's on the run,we must keep building the foundations for radical progressive change. Everything now is up for grabs, we must keep opposing ideological austerity,whatever happens next though we keep fighting back this is not the end. We are living in highly unstable times, we must continue to keep up the pressure, we can still bring this government down, for the many not the few.
Politics in Britain is now in a state of flux, but the policies of a hard Brexit have been rejected, we can now change history, towards a more equal fairer society, we have nothing to lose, we must keep faith, pushing forwards. The conservatives vision of uncertainty and division can be stopped,the dawn has broken on a new kind of politics. Have a good day, lets continue to live in hope.
"There is no final victory, as there is no final defeat. There is just the same battle. To be fought, over and over again. So toughen up, bloody toughen up.” - Tony Benn.
The return of cassette boy, It's been just over a year since Cassetteboy — the comedy YouTuber known for remixing politicians' words to a musical backdrop — last posted a video on his channel. hope it's not to late, long have I loved this artist's inspiring cut ups.
Here are some previous examples of this wonderful craftsman's work, just in case you think I'm leaping on a bandwagon :-
In desperate times people demand another way
Beyond the stealth that devours our lives,
The cruel division of current leaders creeds
Tory polices creating much worry and dismay,
Spreading poverty and indignity
Wanting us to beg and get down on our knees,
There are too many scars and cracks
Hidden away by a right wing media,
Time to abandon this transparent vision
Spare us all from fatuous condescension,
We can shed our tears, walk again with honour
Garlanded around us red roses of hope,
Build a future of kindness and fairness
After May has gone, sing celebratory song,
Living and defending one another
For the many not the few.
Irish republican and socialist leader. James Connolly was born on June 5th 1868. For a man so linked to Irish history, Connolly was actually born in Edinburgh, Scotland. The area he lived in was nicknamed ' Little Ireland' and was one of the city's slum areas. He subsequently spoke with a Scottish accent throughout his life. His parents were originally from County Monaghan and their life in Edinburgh was hard. He left
school for working life at the age of 11, but became one of the leading
revolutionary theorists of his day.
James Connolly joined the British Military at age 14 to escape his extreme poverty. Seven years later at the age of 21, Connolly left military life and eventually settled in Dublin in 1896.
In 1903 Connolly emigrated to the United States,living for a brief period in Troy New York with a relative, and worked for an insurance firm as a salesman. But by 1905 he left Troy to persue his ideals of organizing a militant working class movement and soon joined the newly formed IWW ( Industrial Workers of the World ), as a member and full-time organizer.
A prolific writer of historical, cultural, political, economic, and social analysis, as well as a one man editor and publisher of his own books and newspaper, many people of opposing political beliefs within the Labor movement and the Left valued and praised Connolly's insightful views.
Connolly did not consider himself an Anarcho-Syndicalist, however in 1908 when a split in the IWW occured between the Marxist Daniel De Leon and the Anarcho-Syndicalists, Connolly sided with the Anarcho-Syndicalists.
Connolly hated sectarianism, which he considered one of the greatest obstacles preventing worker anti-capitalist unity. One of his writings that reflects this belief ;"The development of the fighting spirit is of more importance than the creation of the theoretically perfect organization. That indeed, the most theoretically perfect organization may, because of it's very perfection and vastness, be of the greatest possible danger to the revolutionary movement if it tends, or is used, to repress and curb the fighting spirit of comradeship in the rank and file.Connolly also was distrustful of centralized government, best reflected in his statement that ;
'Without the power of the industrial union behind it, democracy can only enter the state as the victim enters the gullet of the serpent.' Connolly came back to Ireland at the
invitation of a small socialist group.
Here he soon made his mark as a talented organiser, speaker and writer.
It was James Connolly above all who was responsible for the alignment
between
working class organisations and the goal of irish independence.Connolly
wrote brilliantly on the necessity of socialism to the cause of
Irish independence, as well as all manners of topics relevant to the
world socialist movement. He
believed it was the working class who could shake the foundations of
the British empire, for the benefit of all the oppressed of the world.
James Connoly addressed meetings in north Wales, after which the
celebrated Welsh socialist and local Independent Labour Party leader
Silyn Roberts recalled :
"Gyda Larkib ym 1911 y cyfarum ag ef ac y dysfgais ei edmygud a'i
garu. Un o drysorau gwerthfawrocaf fy llufrgell yw copi o'i gyfrol
Labour in Irish history, a roddwyd i mi ganddo a Larkin i gofio am eu
hymweliad a Chymru". "I met him with Larkin in 1911, and learnt to admire him and love
him. One of the greatest treasures in my library is a copu of his volume
Labour in Irish history, which he and Larkin gabe me as a momento of
their visit to Wales", With James Larkin, he was centrally involved in the Dublin lock-out of 1913, that paralyzed commerce
and transport for many weeks. During the general strike Connolly
organized the Irish Citizen Army amongst striking workers, in a self
defense response to wide spread beatings of striking workers by the
Irish police and British military. The Irish Citizen Army became the
nucleus of the Dublin Division of the Army of the Republic during the
1916 Easter Rebellion against British rule of Ireland.
With the outbreak of war, Connolly became increasingly committed to
formenting an insurrection against British rule in Ireland; he had
gradually changed from labour organiser and agitator into military
commandant and theorist. In mid-January 1916 he reached agreement with
the Irish Republican Brotherhood Military Council to co-operate in an
insurrection the following Easter. He joined the Council, and on the
day before the Rising its members appointed him vice-president of the
Irish Republic and Commandant-General, Dublin Division, Irish Army.
Connolly proved himself to be the most effective and inspirational of
the rebel leaders during the insurrection. On Easter Monday, 24th April,
he led the Headquarters Battalion from Liberty Hall to the General Post
Office and commanded military operations there throughout the week –
supervising the construction of defences, determining and adjusting
strategy, summoning reinforcements and deciding on the disposition of
his forces. That only nine volunteers in the post office garrison died
during the fighting is testimony to his talents. He himself took
constant risks with his own safety but even after being severely wounded
on 27th April, he remained, as Patrick Pearse said, "still the guiding
brain of our resistance".
At noon on Saturday 29th April Connolly supported the majority view of the leaders that they should surrender as he 'could not bear to see his brave boys burnt to death'.
His expectation was that the Risin's organisers would be shot and the
rest set free. Under military escort, Connolly was carried to the Red
Cross Hospital at Dublin Castle where hours later he signed Pearse's
surrender order on behalf f the Irish Citizen Army. He was
court-martialled there, propped up in his bed, on 9th May. At his trial
he read the following brief hand -written statement which said :
“Believing
that the British Government has no right in Ireland, never had any
right in Ireland, and never can have any right in Ireland, the presence,
in any one generation of Irishmen, of even a respectable minority,
ready to die to affirm that truth, makes the Government forever a
usurpation and a crime against human progress. I personally thank God
that I have lived to see the day when thousands of Irishmen and boys,
and hundreds of women and girls, were ready to affirm that truth, and to
attest to it with their lives if need be.”
As spring was turning
to summer, a city still coming to terms with the death and destruction
of the Easter Rising was being forced to accept yet more blood-letting.
Despite
his severe wounds, on 12 May 1916 he was transported by military
ambulance to
Kilmainham Gaol, carried to a prison courtyard on a stretcher, tied to a
chair and executed by the British
military by firing squad to the outrage of many people
in Ireland and across the world. It certainly significantly contributed
to the mood of bitterness in Ireland. His body (along with those of the
other rebels)
was put in a mass grave without a coffin. The executions of the rebels
deeply angered the majority of the Irish population, most of whom had
shown no support during the rebellion. It was Connolly's execution,
however, that caused the most controversy. Historians have pointed to
the manner of execution of Connolly and similar rebels, along with their
actions, as being factors that caused public awareness of their desires
and goals and gathered support for the movements that they had died
fighting for. It was the death of their leaders, and particularly of
Connolly, that sparked the flame of Irish
republicanism across this island, launched a mass rebellion, and
ultimately led to the creation of an Irish republic. Of all the executions carried out during the 1916 Easter Rising, none
raised as much public anger then or since as the execution of James Connolly
Though considered by many historians to be an " Irish Nationalist ",
Connolly did not believe in ignoring class divisions in the name of
nationalism. That Ireland could not be free until the working class of
Ireland was free.
In the aftermath of his death Kerry journalist Liam MacGabhann penned The Poem of James Connolly in
1933.
MacGabhann, who was born on Valentia Island in 1908, wrote the stirring
piece from the view of a soldier in the firing party ordered to shoot
Connolly.
In 1916 a Welsh regiment on its way to the Western Front was
diverted to Ireland as backup for troops trying to crush the rebellion
in Dublin. MacGabhann heard a story about a young soldier, a son of a
Welsh miner, who was part of that regiment and was included in the
firing squad for Connollys execution and felt utter guilt and shame
because of it.
In the aftermath of the ghastly deed this unnamed
Welsh solider tracked down Connolly’s widow and children to ask for
their forgiveness. as she later recalled, he told Lily:
" I am a miner. My father was a miner, and my grandfather was a miner
-they were both very busy in the trade union. How can I go back home?
They would know about James Connolly even if I didn't. I haven't been
home on leave. I can't go home. I'd let something slip, and they'd know
I'd killed James Connolly.Oh,why was I chosen tokill a man like that?"
Lily replied : James Connolly has already forgiven you. He realised you were being forced, he realised you were only a working class boy".
MacGabhann took this anonymous Welsh soldier as the
voice for his poem who reflects on his participation in the execution of
Connolly with heavy regret.
The Poem of James Connolly - Liam MacGabhann
The man was all shot through that came today
Into the barrack square;
A soldier I – I am not proud to say
We killed him there;
They brought him from the prison hospital;
To see him in that chair
I thought his smile would far more quickly call
A man to prayer.
Maybe we cannot understand this thing
That makes these rebels die;
And yet all things love freedom – and the Spring
Clear in the sky;
I think I would not do this deed again
For all that I hold by;
Gaze down my rifle at his breast – but then
A soldier I.
They say that he was kindly – different too,
Apart from all the rest;
A lover of the poor; and all shot through,
His wounds ill drest,
He came before us, faced us like a man,
He knew a deeper pain
Than blows or bullets – ere the world began;
Died he in vain?
Ready – present; And he just smiling – God!
I felt my rifle shake
His wounds were opened out and round that chair
Was one red lake;
I swear his lips said ‘Fire!’ when all was still
Before my rifle spat
That cursed lead – and I was picked to kill
A man like that!
Today,
James Connolly is regarded as one of Ireland's greatest heroes. He was a
revolutionary socialist and militant unionist who dedicated his life not
just to the cause of Irish liberation, but also to international
socialism. He inspired not only the republican and socialist tradition in Ireland but
anti-colonial & anti-imperialist movements around the world.
In the history of the international working class movement we should
remember James Connolly as a hero and martyr who acted on his
beliefs.
Today, a statue of James Connolly stands in pride of place at
the centre
of Dublin. A brass engraving of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic
also sits at pride of place in the window of the General Post Office
headquarters, where Connolly made his stand for the liberty of his
nation and the working class during four fateful days in April 1916. .
I
will end with this final quote from him :-
"A revolution will only be achieved when the ordinary people of the
world, us, the working class, get up off our knees and take back what is
rightfully ours." Andy Irvine - Where is our James Connolly
