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2,000 strong break-away from student demo, occupy, resist!
The now infamous 86,000 hit youtube "blair witch" garda brutality video (login free repost)
Upwards of 25,000 students from across Ireland descended onto the streets of Dublin on Wednesday 3rd November, 2,000 students broke off and occupied the Department of Finance, here are 2 interviews with students present.
Upwards of 25,000 students from across Ireland descended onto the streets of Dublin on Wednesday 3rd November
for a protest called by the USI (Union of Students in Ireland).
Up to 2,000 students broke away from the march, many calling It ‘futile’, and participated in the occupation of the Department of Finance
and the sit-down protest staged outside.
The mainstream media coverage has left a lot to be desired both in terms of explaining the motives of the students who participated
in the break-away, and what happened to them while they were there. I talked to a member of Free Education for Everyone (FEE)
a grass roots group of students and college staff, set up to fight the re-introduction of fees while campaigning for genuinely free education for all
to find out their experiences of the day.
Why did you choose to break off from the march?
While the mass mobilization of students by the USI was certainly a step in the right direction, we felt their protest didn't go far enough. Simply marching students from point A to point B to listen to speeches from wannabe politicians calling themselves student leaders achieves nothing.
We also thought that by demanding a cap on the registration fee (which are tuition fees by another name), rather than their abolition and no further cuts to the maintenance grant, rather than the reversal of the cuts which are already crippling many working class students and their families, USI were tacitly accepting the government's austerity agenda: that ordinary people should pay for this economic crisis. Historically, the student movement has always demanded and fought for free education. This softening of demands by the USI leadership represents a sell-out of the student movement.
Why did you choose the department of finance?
The Department of Finance is intrinsically involved in both the criminal bailouts of private financial institutions using tens of billions of workers' tax and the vicious attacks being levelled against ordinary people - students, workers, the unemployed etc. - in order to pay for a crisis in capitalism that we didn't create.
What were you hoping to achieve?
By breaking away from the USI march and occupying the Finance Department we wanted to make a strong stand in favour of genuinely free education and in solidarity with working class people in Ireland and internationally who are facing savage cuts to their pay and social protections. We wanted to create a space in which students who wanted to engage in direct action and civil disobedience - to move beyond protest to resistance - were able to do so.
Did you expect the response you got from the Gardai?
In previous years, there has been a kind of grudging tolerance of student direct action from the Gardaí. Activists from Free Education for Everyone who occupied the Department of Finance two years ago and who occupied the office of Green Party TD Paul Gogarty were allowed to leave peacefully.
However, we have no illusions about the role of the Gardaí in terms of the suppression of dissent. In recent times we have seen massive police brutality against Shell to Sea protesters in Rossport, the baton charging of protesters attempting to enter the grounds of the Dáil, and attack dogs and batons used against protesters occupying Anglo-Irish Bank, to name just three examples.
The fact that the Gardaí decided to use this level of violence - including beating a female student unconscious; beating, kicking and using batons against protesters both inside and outside the building; using horses to trample students who were doing no more than sitting down on the road; and mauling students with attack dogs - against a largely peaceful (a few eggs and cans were thrown at the building) student protest represents a deliberate decision by the police to try and frighten people away from taking action. The State is clearly terrified that people will refuse to take their savage cuts lying down and that widespread grass roots resistance will emerge.
After the demonstration, Gary Redmond (president of USI) released this statement to the Irish Times:
“ USI is saddened by the actions of a small minority of people who staged a sit-in protest at the Dept of Finance, shortly after the USI protest march today. This anti-social behaviour was completely separate from USI’s demo,”
How do you feel about USI after Gary Redmonds statement to the Irish Times?
There's a famous piece of graffiti from May 68 in Paris that reads "Warning: ambitious careerists may now be disguised as progressives." That pretty much sums up the USI leadership. Wannabe politicians like Redmond want to use the student anger over cuts to education to further their political ambitions, which is why I found it ironic that he accused us of "hijacking" the protest. The 2000 students who stood in solidarity with us outside the Finance Department and refused to move when faced with police violence were for the most part not members of left-wing groups, but rather ordinary students who supported the stand we were taking and refused to be manipulated by USI careerists.
I found it particularly disgusting that USI chose not to condemn the police brutality against the students for whom they are supposed to stand. It's now abundantly clear that USI can't be trusted to fight for students, as it has done in the past (even taking part in occupations like ours). Students must act for themselves and organise at a grass roots level both at a campus level and nationally.
How have you been organizing the resistance for the demonstration up to this point and are you planning further actions?
Grassroots student activist networks such as Free Education For Everyone (FEE) and Students In Solidarity (SIS) worked intensively to build for this protest on their respective campuses. In my own university, Maynooth, we handed out hundreds of leaflets encouraging students to join the left bloc and take a radical stand in favour of free education. We also employed social networks such as Facebook to help build support for the demonstration.
While Wednesday's occupation was a huge success, we cannot allow this to be the high point of student resistance. Further actions are being planned for upcoming demonstrations as well as protests on our campuses.
Do you think students in Ireland and the UK should act in solidarity with each other, if so, how? if not, why not?
Absolutely. Ordinary people across Europe are facing precisely the same kinds of attacks from governments who use the crisis in capitalism as an opportunity to erode our hard won social protections and to transfer wealth from their populations to wealthy elites. An injury to one is an injury to all: we must stand together in solidarity to resist the austerity agenda being pushed by European elites. Students in Ireland and the UK should build closer links both with one another and with resistance groups across Europe. We also must support and encourage one another through our action: by taking action on the streets we show each other that none of us are fighting alone.
The USU and NUS have organised a demonstration on the 10th of this month, do you have any messages for the students who are resisting tripling fees?
Students cannot rely on their supposed representatives within their unions to fight for them - they need to act for themselves and build a real grass roots resistance. Refuse to politely lobby for small concessions, but rather fight for your right to free education by every means available to you. Good luck comrades.
------------------------------------------- Leah, a UCD student who was also on the march on Wednesday, talks to me about her experience of the Day. She ended up part of the occupation and as a result witnessed many students being violently attacked and was beaten herself as they evicted the students from the Department of finance.
You were part of the occupation of the Department of Finance on Wednesday, how did you end up there?
Leah: I was at the Dail and heard people were at the Department of Finance so myself and some friends went to see what was going on.
What happened when you got there?
Leah: When I arrived at the Department of Finance there were about 2,000 people outside and what seemed to be 25 people occupying the lobby. I tried to gain access to the lobby but was shoved back and disallowed access for 'health and safety' reasons. The protesters outside rushed the Gardai at the door and about 10 of us got inside.
Once inside, we stood as it was too packed to sit.
We chanted and it became relatively calm for about 10 minutes.
Suddenly the Gardai entered the lobby, and began brutally removing everyone.
I was at the very back so I witnessed everyone being punched, beaten with batons, kicked before they got to me.
People were screaming.
I heard one person scream that their finger was going to be broken as a Garda was pulling it backwards.
One man was dragged out by his beard.
A woman sitting next to me was beaten on the head with a baton and lost consciousness. Having not noticed that they had knocked her out, they treated her as if she was resisting being moved and they repeatedly kicked her in the side as they moved her and threw her out into the street.
As the Gardai began to descend onto me, someone turned up to help me and got punched in the face.
The grabbed me, and as they were dragging me out I heard a Garda say 'grab her by the hair' and another say 'kick her'. They did both.
I was thrown out into the street to find it in complete disarray.
People blood soaked, crying.
A sit down protest had been initiated outside. As protesters gave peace signs Garda swept in with brute force, batoning people indiscriminately.
One man fell to the ground, as I went to help him up I was batoned on the side.
We were forced back to a point were we were up against a wall
The Garda continued to try to force us back, hitting those at the front. Even as people screamed that we could not retreat any further, the Gardai continued to use force.
An avenue opened, and we escaped.
I went to the Dail after to witness another sit down protest.
The NCAD (National College of Art and Design) SU president took it upon himself to represent everyone at the sit in and thanked the Gardai for being so patient.
He had not witnessed what had happened a few meters away.
Did you expect the response you got from the Gardai?
Leah: No, what would have been the outcome if the guards had not used such brute force? A peaceful occupation of the front lobby of the dept of finance, not a blood bath.
Why do you think you were met with such violence on Wednesday?
Leah: A mixture of issues really…
The very fact that such force was used to suppress us highlights the states fragile position,
I feel like when a student movement is so brutally suppressed, the power structures that exist must recognize the threat of the movement.
They were trying to beat the resistance out of people and send a clear message to anyone else resisting the cuts...
because the power structures that exist no only too well, as they made the decisions anyway, that these cuts affect all of us,
not just students.
No victories,
no matter how small,
can be seen to be won by any opposition to the state.
Its a time of high tension, the government are losing support everyday. The power structures that exist need to maintain complete control at this fragile point in time, which it seems will be upheld by the kinds of force I witnessed on Wednesday.
Do you plan on further resisting to the fee hike?
Leah: Of course, if fees are brought to 3,000 and the grant is reduced, it will ensure that only those with money will have access to third level education.
Choosing to plug the financial debt by ensuring that the poorest in our society are not entitled to an education does not equate to a fair or just country, and it is certainly not democratic.
The real implications, full extent and true destructiveness of only those who can afford education having access will not be seen immediately, but it will destroy our social fabric and that is why we need to be active in fighting for something better - at it's most basic level a society which cares more about people than markets.
Wednesday’s events just show that if we want democratic control over our own lives, we will be physically attacked.
The USU and NUS have organized a demonstration on the 10th of this month, do you have any messages for the students who are resisting tripling fees?
Leah: The police train for this kind of thing, we should to.
We need legal observers, and medics, and more independent media.
Know your rights, look after each other, and give yourself space to debrief. There is a long fight ahead, big solidarity from an Irish student.
Since Wednesday, countless images can be found online of gardai drawing batons, charging into crowds on horseback and intimidating protestors with dogs. The video content is the most shocking of all. A facebook group set up following the demonstration ‘Demand Public hearing on Garda brutality against students in Dublin’ has become a valuable resource of video and personal accounts of what happened on the day http://www.facebook.com/GardaAttackStudents
Fair play to all involved in wednesday occupation etc..
Lets be clear without this occupation the protest would have gotten no more than a passing mention on the news. It would have been written off as privileged students trying to protect their own situation especially with that careerist Redmond as spokes person for USI .
Because of the sit-in we have had many hours of media coverage given to the issue of education in our society. Students will be radicalised by the unfolding events in this country. It is important to make sure these issues are used to mobilise students to take over their own student unions. If you can radicalise the SU's you can really make it easier to bring this movement forwards. SU's are generally well resourced and are taken quite seriously by the media. Its not the be all and end all of student activism but a big help to it.
by Friendly neighbourhood anarchistFri Nov 05, 2010 19:16
The real problem with USI isn't Gary Redmond or anyone else, it's the lack of grassroots organising on campuses that is. Accomplish the latter, and the former becomes redundant.
Sitting down is a bad idea when your opponent is prepared to beat the crap out of you with batons and shields and indeed ride horses into you. I hope a lesson is learned from this. Stand up.
Standing up makes you more mobile. Be mobile, don't stand waiting for them to hit you. Don't initiate violence. Even using defensive violence is a bad idea unless you know what you are doing. No kamikazi runs at the cops.
Be prepared to fight back against the horses. Its not nice but being ridden down by a horse may prove fatal. Ball bearings thrown on the road will bring down horses.
Again, don't initiate violence but having a strong handle on your placard may prove useful for self defense.
This is the Irish Times front page story of the violence the next day ...
SEÁN FLYNN and CONOR LALLY
Thursday November 04 2010
THE LARGEST student protest in a generation was marred yesterday by violent clashes in which bricks, beer cans, eggs and placards were hurled at gardaí.
The Union of Students in Ireland (USI), which mobilised over 25,000 for the protest, distanced itself from a group of breakaway protesters involved in clashes outside the Department of Finance on Merrion Street, Dublin.
The USI blamed “left-wing” groups for the “destructive and anti-social violence” which it said would only divert attention from its campaign against higher student fees.
Supporters of Sinn Féin, the Socialist Workers Party and republican socialist group Éirígí were prominent among about 50 protesters who made it inside the Finance building, only to be swiftly ejected by gardaí.
Gardaí in riot gear drew their batons and mounted officers were deployed during clashes with several youths that lasted about 45 minutes.
Some protesters suffered cuts to the head and bloody noses during the scuffles.
One garda was admitted to hospital with a broken nose, while two others were treated at the scene for minor injuries.
There were three arrests. The suspects were taken to Pearse Street Garda station, and one had been released without charge last night. The other two were charged with criminal damage and breach of the peace offences and released.
Gardaí believe a core of “militant and aggressive” protesters not connected with the USI had hijacked the event.
The article suggests:
1) The Garda were subject to vicious violence from the students.
2) The students concerned were a group of left-wing nutjobs.
The unwritten conclusion from this Irish Times article is clear - the violence against the students was justified.
With the subsequent emergence of video and still footage evidence of what actually happened it has become clear just how violent the Garda were on the day. Also those involved have spoken out who witnessed the violence and their version directly contradicts that given in the initial Irish Times piece. So the Irish Times (and RTE for that matter) have been badly wrong-footed in their coverage and since tried to reclaim a veneer of independent journalism. But for most people now that veneer is wearing increasingly thin.
The above IT piece is a clear example of how the 'paper of note' is little more than a propaganda rag of the establishment. It has all the characteristics of a hatchet piece of it's comrades in the gutter:
1. Put the emphasis on the violence against the authorities. ("bricks, beer cans, eggs and placards were hurled at gardaí.")
2. Smear a scapegoat minority within the protestors (a core of “militant and aggressive” protesters not connected with the USI had hijacked the event.)
This has since been proven to have no basis in the facts of what actually happened. But the intended propaganda effect of the piece was no doubt still effective in that large swathes of middle Ireland who will have read the piece will have come away after reading it thinking that 'bad' lefties got a legitimate hiding from the 'good' cops. This process of legitimating state violence on the part of the Irish Times has been brilliantly thwarted partly by the video evidence but also by the courageous voices of those witnesses who refused to be silenced. The power of that witness has cut through the propaganda lies more forcefully than anything else.
Fianna fail propaganda machine RTE, O Rielly's papers, Usi president, Gardai, and many more. They controll every facet of Irish society their quango's appointment of friends to every committee in the country.
They have been brutally assaulting the people in Erris for years with their assault troops . They made a big mistake in giving our students the same treatment.
the students are the future of this country. it is they who will have to sort out the mess that these criminals have got us into.
THE GARDAI DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO ASSAULT A PEACEFULL PERSON. They can arrest and charge if their orders are not obeyed.
Any person that is assaulted has the right to defend themselves.
BUT of course this will be presented in court as an assault on a garda and the Judge will allways back the truthfullness of our FF keepers of the peace.
This country needs a complete makeover and the crooks must be held accounable for their crimes. That means all crony crooks as well.
It comes to a point where you have to say, "enough is enough;"
and be willing to fight (in whatever way you understand and feel able to do) for the freedoms which you think you have.
The institutions are such that they will always, eventually, try and restrict your free will and impose their own law; and unless you are willing to stand tall and reject their ludicrous demands, they will keep coming. Fair play to everyone who was at yesterday's march. The state is nothing without the support of its people.
so...mr "whatever works" do you prefer marching harmlessly from a to b in an easily ignored government friendly protest that can be played down as if it never happened in a complicit media?
Wednesday November 10, 2010 02:20
by Squirrel
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Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 161-0 holly&leah
Fair play to all involved in wednesday occupation etc..
Lets be clear without this occupation the protest would have gotten no more than a passing mention on the news. It would have been written off as privileged students trying to protect their own situation especially with that careerist Redmond as spokes person for USI .
Because of the sit-in we have had many hours of media coverage given to the issue of education in our society. Students will be radicalised by the unfolding events in this country. It is important to make sure these issues are used to mobilise students to take over their own student unions. If you can radicalise the SU's you can really make it easier to bring this movement forwards. SU's are generally well resourced and are taken quite seriously by the media. Its not the be all and end all of student activism but a big help to it.
The real problem with USI isn't Gary Redmond or anyone else, it's the lack of grassroots organising on campuses that is. Accomplish the latter, and the former becomes redundant.
Sitting down is a bad idea when your opponent is prepared to beat the crap out of you with batons and shields and indeed ride horses into you. I hope a lesson is learned from this. Stand up.
Standing up makes you more mobile. Be mobile, don't stand waiting for them to hit you. Don't initiate violence. Even using defensive violence is a bad idea unless you know what you are doing. No kamikazi runs at the cops.
Be prepared to fight back against the horses. Its not nice but being ridden down by a horse may prove fatal. Ball bearings thrown on the road will bring down horses.
Again, don't initiate violence but having a strong handle on your placard may prove useful for self defense.
Agree completely. Next time we need to be prepared to defend ourselves.
Green Party TD and Free Education for everyone have been having a discussion on twitter.
Gogarty: fair play to USI and students, points well made. But those muppets in FEEE/Swp/ysf/sp/eirigi always seek to rain on the parade.
FEE: enjoy your time in the Dail. Not long left now. Love, FEE http://bit.ly/d9lRee
Gogarty: After I leave can I invade your office, detain someone, use the computer and try to pervert course of justice. Up USI down FEEE!
FEE: we asked your secretary to leave. she chose to stay. At least you'll have free cheese when you're chucked on the dole.
http://twitter.com/paulgogartyTD
http://twitter.com/edufactory
Further contributions are welcome.
Yeah the usual propaganda about protesters from Gogarty. "we want nice polite protests that can be safely ignored".
The fact is, NVDA is the only kind of protest that gets us anywhere. And Gogarty and FF know it well.
For those whio missed it, here's Gogarty's "deputy stagg fuck you" remix
http://soundcloud.com/ihasaflavour/fuck-you-deputy-stag...er1-1
It's the only thing he ever did that was any way useful ( in that it provided 5 minutes of entertainment to the Irish people )
What a complete and utter asshole
Enjoy the remix. And make sure to kick the stupid bastard Gogarty out come election time.
my arse
Apparently UK police kill one individual every week
video here
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/150305.html
This is the Irish Times front page story of the violence the next day ...
SEÁN FLYNN and CONOR LALLY
Thursday November 04 2010
THE LARGEST student protest in a generation was marred yesterday by violent clashes in which bricks, beer cans, eggs and placards were hurled at gardaí.
The Union of Students in Ireland (USI), which mobilised over 25,000 for the protest, distanced itself from a group of breakaway protesters involved in clashes outside the Department of Finance on Merrion Street, Dublin.
The USI blamed “left-wing” groups for the “destructive and anti-social violence” which it said would only divert attention from its campaign against higher student fees.
Supporters of Sinn Féin, the Socialist Workers Party and republican socialist group Éirígí were prominent among about 50 protesters who made it inside the Finance building, only to be swiftly ejected by gardaí.
Gardaí in riot gear drew their batons and mounted officers were deployed during clashes with several youths that lasted about 45 minutes.
Some protesters suffered cuts to the head and bloody noses during the scuffles.
One garda was admitted to hospital with a broken nose, while two others were treated at the scene for minor injuries.
There were three arrests. The suspects were taken to Pearse Street Garda station, and one had been released without charge last night. The other two were charged with criminal damage and breach of the peace offences and released.
Gardaí believe a core of “militant and aggressive” protesters not connected with the USI had hijacked the event.
The article suggests:
1) The Garda were subject to vicious violence from the students.
2) The students concerned were a group of left-wing nutjobs.
The unwritten conclusion from this Irish Times article is clear - the violence against the students was justified.
With the subsequent emergence of video and still footage evidence of what actually happened it has become clear just how violent the Garda were on the day. Also those involved have spoken out who witnessed the violence and their version directly contradicts that given in the initial Irish Times piece. So the Irish Times (and RTE for that matter) have been badly wrong-footed in their coverage and since tried to reclaim a veneer of independent journalism. But for most people now that veneer is wearing increasingly thin.
The above IT piece is a clear example of how the 'paper of note' is little more than a propaganda rag of the establishment. It has all the characteristics of a hatchet piece of it's comrades in the gutter:
1. Put the emphasis on the violence against the authorities. ("bricks, beer cans, eggs and placards were hurled at gardaí.")
2. Smear a scapegoat minority within the protestors (a core of “militant and aggressive” protesters not connected with the USI had hijacked the event.)
This has since been proven to have no basis in the facts of what actually happened. But the intended propaganda effect of the piece was no doubt still effective in that large swathes of middle Ireland who will have read the piece will have come away after reading it thinking that 'bad' lefties got a legitimate hiding from the 'good' cops. This process of legitimating state violence on the part of the Irish Times has been brilliantly thwarted partly by the video evidence but also by the courageous voices of those witnesses who refused to be silenced. The power of that witness has cut through the propaganda lies more forcefully than anything else.
Fianna fail propaganda machine RTE, O Rielly's papers, Usi president, Gardai, and many more. They controll every facet of Irish society their quango's appointment of friends to every committee in the country.
They have been brutally assaulting the people in Erris for years with their assault troops . They made a big mistake in giving our students the same treatment.
the students are the future of this country. it is they who will have to sort out the mess that these criminals have got us into.
THE GARDAI DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO ASSAULT A PEACEFULL PERSON. They can arrest and charge if their orders are not obeyed.
Any person that is assaulted has the right to defend themselves.
BUT of course this will be presented in court as an assault on a garda and the Judge will allways back the truthfullness of our FF keepers of the peace.
This country needs a complete makeover and the crooks must be held accounable for their crimes. That means all crony crooks as well.
Video's here:
Student tuition fee protest breaks into Conservative HQ.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk9SAsP1LA4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zBK-v3uzaY
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11726822
Link To Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xyaoLT3kU0
It comes to a point where you have to say, "enough is enough;"
and be willing to fight (in whatever way you understand and feel able to do) for the freedoms which you think you have.
The institutions are such that they will always, eventually, try and restrict your free will and impose their own law; and unless you are willing to stand tall and reject their ludicrous demands, they will keep coming. Fair play to everyone who was at yesterday's march. The state is nothing without the support of its people.
nvda is NOT the only way,if nvda works,which i dont believe it does ,then it works.
confining yourself to nvda is bullshit.
so...mr "whatever works" do you prefer marching harmlessly from a to b in an easily ignored government friendly protest that can be played down as if it never happened in a complicit media?