Was it in vain?

A Chara,

Following on from Finbar Cullen's letter (An Phoblacht, 2 September), could I be permitted to cover some of the human, practical aspects that spring from the nationalist versus republican argument?

Like many, many others I became involved in our struggle initially as a reaction to that which I had witnessed on our streets. Quite soon, however, we were to learn from wiser counsel and from reading of and observing other liberation struggles that it was more than just defeating the Orange/unionist monolith and driving the `Saxon foe' from our shores. Our fight was to help establish a secular, socialist republic, one that would nurture all the children of the nation equally.

Of late, I have heard scant mention of this republic in any Sinn Féin statements. Instead they look forward to the establishment of a `United Independent Ireland'. Like Finbar, I have become alarmed at the apparent nationalist emphasis in recent statements and manoeuverings. What is this independent Ireland?

Statisticians tell us that, because of the higher birth rate amongst Catholics throughout the years, there will be a nationalist majority in the Six Counties within the next decade. Leaving aside the argument that all Catholics don't necessarily want a British withdrawal, there is no doubt that there will be a united Ireland within the foreseeable future by simple virtue of these demographic changes. What is really in questions is what form this new entity takes.

Looking to South Africa `post-Apartheid' we have a classic example of a people sold short. James Connolly warned against accepting a change in the colour of one's flag and other cosmetic adjustments in place of real revolutionary reconstruction of the whole socio-economic conditions. In South Africa they got a change of flag as well as a change in the colour of president and government but, at the end of the day, nothing of real substance has changed for the vast majority of the black population. International and native capital still dictate that they remain in total subjugation.

It is my contention that a united Ireland in itself is not worth one drop of anyone's blood or one minute in prison. If the republican leadership have decided to accept as their goal a 32-County Free State, what were 30 years of war all about? A united Ireland will evolve anyway. If this was the plan from the start, would it not have made more sense if we had all thrown our weight behind the fundamentalists and against all forms of birth control? A baby boom would have attained the same end quicker, quieter and with less suffering than any amount of car bombs.

I have spent a good number of years in prison. My family has suffered great hardship and harassment because of my activities and imprisonment. My own woes are unimportant. Paramount in my mind is the fact that as part of a broader movement I caused death and great pain to many, many people. That was my small part in a war that I had thought was waged to free all our people from persecution and exploitation. Was it all in vain?


Tommy Gorman,


Andersonstown,


Belfast

Insulting Dublin's voters

A Chara,

Please permit me to respond to some of the gross distortions in the article by Liz Allen and Sinead Grennan in the Sunday Independent of 5 September.

The article seems to be based on totally unsubstantiated allegations from political rivals of Sinn Féin, who are clearly rattled by Sinn Féin's dramatic progress in the recent local elections, and from Garda authorities who are being taken to task by local communities for failing to deal with the growing heroin problem, while finding time to harass those who are doing their best, without the Gardai's resources, to tackle blatant drug dealing in their community.

There is so much nonsense in the article that it is hard to reply to all of it, but let me concentrate on my own area of Finglas, which Allen and Grennan allege, is one of the areas ``policed by activists patrolling with walkie-talkies, various levels of intimidation, shots fired into homes and premises''. There is not one shred of evidence for any of this happening in Finglas and I know for a fact that it did not happen.

On the contrary, what has happened in some parts of Finglas is that, for several years, the vast majority of decent people have been tormented by a small gang of thugs, who have engaged in car stealing and burning, break-ins, robberies, assaults, and open drug-dealing. Residents have repeatedly rung the Gardai but have often been met with indifference or even hostility. It was only after years of frustration that locals approached Sinn Féin. We didn't respond in the dramatic way described in the Sunday Independent but, in an effort to unite and empower the community, we assisted them in organising public meetings to which ALL the public reps, Dublin Corporation and the Gardai were invited. At the meetings I asked people to report all instances of criminality to the Gardai. In turn the residents and myself asked the Gardai to respond to calls from local people. Hardly the ``armed units... wearing balaclavas moving through estates... targeting drug dealers'' of Allen and Drennan's imagination.

If any of these intrepid reporters had bothered to talk to any of the thousands of residents who attended public meetings in Finglas [or Cabra, Darndale, Tallaght or the Inner City], they would realize how ludicrous it is to allege that they were forced to contribute money and to take part in marches and demonstrations. Why, then, did these people vote in their thousands in a secret ballot for Sinn Féin, the party that was supposedly threatening them?

When Allen and Grennan complain that ``other politicians from mainstream parties say Sinn Féin did what no other party had managed before - mobilised votes in disadvantaged communities'', they betray their motivation and that of their sources. That is Sinn Féin's growing electoral popularity and our ability to give a voice to all the people, including those who have been marginalised and ignored by the political establishment: How terrible!


(Councillor) Dessie Ellis


19 Dunsink Rd,


Finglas,


Dublin 11

Some oil bonanza

A Chara,

I was delighted with your article by Robbie MacGabhann entitled Record Gas Find (An Phoblacht, 19 August). I believe that it's high time that the dealings our previous governments have had with multinational oil companies came under the spotlight.

Having worked in the oil industry in both the British and Norwegian sectors of the North Sea, I can honestly say that the latter system is second to none. A well-paid, highly-motivated workforce with good career prospects, working with the best and latest equipment, fills the coffers of the Norwegian government's finance department. The British sector, while also highly developed, compares dismally to the Norwegian system.

In the past, while exploration took place in Irish waters, I, along with many of my fellow Irish oil industry workers, have had to sit by on the dole, although qualified with up-to-date certification (with the exception of one brief period during the summer of 1997 when we were employed) while all vacancies were filled by foreign nationals. I doubt that such a situation would have been allowed to develop with any other country's natural resources.


Patrick J. Fitzgerald,


County Waterford.

No religion

A chara,

I reject the assumption in Gerry McGeough's book review (An Phoblacht, 2 September) that all his republican readers are either practising or `lapsed' Roman Catholics. I also resent his urging me to ``keep the Faith''. It is not my faith.

As republicans, people's religious beliefs and practices, or their lack of them, should not concern us. We must respect the civil and religious liberties of all. In my view, Gerry McGeough's article was an unwelcome excursion into the religious field by a republican journal.

Perhaps Gerry feels an obligation to bring republicans who happen to be `lapsed Catholics' back into the `fold'. He is entitled to pursue that mission but our paper is not the place for it. My advice is to keep religion out of An Phoblacht.


Mícheál Mac Donncha,


Dublin.

Live animal exports

A Chara,

Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) is extremely concerned at the decision by Kerry County Council to seek the use of Fenit Harbour for live animal exports.

According to press reports, the motion had been proposed by Councillor Martin Ferris of Sinn Féin. So far, this year over 246,000 animals have been shipped alive from Ireland. Long journeys, whether to the Continent or further afield, are in themselves stressful for the animals and we know that the laws on the welfare of animals during transport have all too often been systematically flouted.

Serious animal welfare problems have been exposed in both the EU and non-EU live export trade. In late August, CIWF investigators came across a truck-load of sheep in the Italian port of Bari waiting for transport to Greece. The sheep were left in the truck in blistering heat for 48 hours without being given any water. Eventually, 55 sheep died. Furthermore, recent EU Commission investigations carried out in France and Greece found that EU legislation on animal welfare was not being enforced.

There are also problems with slaughter standards in some Continental countries. CIWF and other animal welfare organisations have filmed animals being slaughtered using inhumane and illegal methods in Spain, Greece, Italy, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Animals shipped alive to the Middle East will spend a week to 12 days on board only to face slaughter at the journey's end. In 1997, CIWF filmed appalling scenes of cruelty to Irish and other EU cattle in Lebanese slaughterhouses. We still await Minister Walsh's reaction to this video.

CIWF understands that Sinn Féin does not yet have an official party policy on live farm animal exports. We would point out that there is a humane, viable and advantageous alternative to the cruel live export trade - meat exports. As well as protecting the welfare of farm animals, slaughtering in Ireland would also keep jobs at home in meat processing and the allied industries. As we approach the end of the 20th Century, isn't it time Irish farming took this giant leap forward and `sailed away' from live animal exports?

We would be interested to hear the views of Sinn Féin's

agricultural spokesperson.


Aoife Ní Fhearghail,


Campaigns Officer,


Compassion in World Farming,


Ireland.