The Chimperor unites Ireland!

[veggiemama]

GWB unites Ireland!

From Labour, we have the following statement:

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The Labour Party has launched the Don't Count US In Campaign to provide Irish people with an opportunity to send a message to President George W. Bush. This website provides each of us with a number of ways to express our personal opposition to Mr Bush's policies, and to tell him that Ireland wants no part in his war. You do not act in our name, Don't Count Us In.'

Pat Rabbitte TD,
Leader of The Labour Party

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http://www.dontcountusin.com/

(And do be sure to click on the links to the left, naturally, to add your voice to the chorus!)

The Green Party calls the Chimp "the most dangerous man in the world:

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Speaking today in advance of the upcoming visit of President George W. Bush, Trevor Sargent TD said that, “If the President of the US is the powerful office in the world, then George W Bush is by his actions and attitudes the most dangerous man in the world.”

“I urge all law-abiding people who believe in justice and sustainability to come together in peace to protest loudly at the actions of the Bush administration. To protest loudly at actions such as the way George W. Bush is breaking international law by his invasion of Iraq, the way he is widely abusing human rights, and how decisions made by the current American administration are contributing greatly to the devastation of climate change.”

“An Comhaontas Glas, the Green Party in Ireland, in co-operation with our US colleagues and Greens worldwide, is determined not to see George W. Bush re-elected. His presidency has created more dangers for all people, including US citizens, worldwide. His lack of concern for climate change means that the heat waves which hit Europe last summer, killing at least 20,000 people and resulting in economic losses in excess of €8 billion, are going to get worse as time goes on unless the American people give Bush the Push,” concluded Deputy Sargent.

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http://www.greenparty.ie/pressroom/default.asp



Sinn Féin declares GWB "unwanted" on Irish soil:

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Sinn Féin Dáil leader Caoimhghin Ó Caoláin today sought a special Dáil debate on the "continuing gross violation of Irish neutrality" by the Irish Government in the context of what he described as the "unwanted visit" of President George Bush. He highlighted the admission by the Minister for Defence Michael Smith TD that the Government had allowed US troops to train on the Curragh for the past five years.


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http://www.sinnfein.ie/news/detail/5357

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions--ICTU--has issued a long statement entitled "Bush--A Menace to World Peace":

http://www.ictu.ie/html/news/releases/pdf/p230604.pdf

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The Conference of Religious in Ireland--CORI--has broadcast a sweeping statement against the Chimp:

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The Conference of Religious in Ireland has launched a scathing attack on the foreign policy of the Bush administration, claiming it poses a threat to international peace.

CORI said US foreign policy fails to give priority to the promotion of human dignity and the common good and is instead aimed at ensuring American dominance in a range of areas throughout the world.

It said this had created an escalated arms race, a disregard for international treaties and the promotion of “market fundamentalism”.

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http://212.2.162.45/news/story.asp?j=125459470&p=yz546xz85&n=125460356

The Workers' Party supports demonstrations against GWB and endorses protest in both the North and the Republic:

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The Workers’ Party has urged all those opposed to the US war and occupation of Iraq and the use of Shannon Airport for refuelling US military planes to turn out for the various demonstrations being organised in Co. Clare and around the country. The Workers’ Party will be participating in the various demonstrations and will hold a demonstration at the United States Consulate in Belfast tomorrow (Thursday) 12.30pm. A letter of protest will be handed in at the Consulate. Workers’ Party Councillor John Halligan (Waterford) said that the Bush visit is an insult to the majority of Irish people who opposed the war on Iraq and who are totally opposed to the military use of Shannon airport. We urge them to take this opportunity to make their feelings known directly to President Bush by making the protests as large as possible. “There is widespread opposition to the Bush visit across a broad spectrum of the Irish people North & South. The Workers’ Party urges people to attend the demonstrations either in Co. Clare or if they are unable to travel there to go to one of the many local demonstrations around the country from Belfast to West Cork and Waterford”, said Councillor Halligan. “Some of President Bush’s supporters are trying to portray this as an anti-American demonstration which it is not. In fact millions of Americans are opposed to the war on Iraq. These demonstrations give the Irish people the opportunity to object to US foreign policy under Bush and in particular the illegal war on Iraq, the ill-treatment of prisoners in Iraq and the internment of prisoners without trial at Guantanamo Bay” Cllr. Halligan said people should not be fooled by the Bush administration’s talk of ‘handing over sovereignty in Iraq’. “Unless sovereignty is vested in the Iraqi people and the occupying forces are removed the Iraq continues to be illegally occupied by the United States and its allies”, he said.

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http://www.workers-party.org/wpstory.asp?sn=768

From the Communist Party, we hear "Bush is not welcome":

The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, has invited George Bush to come here during Ireland’s term as president of the European Union. Ostensibly the occasion will be about EU-US relations; in the background will be a photo opportunity for Bush, to be seen to be interested in the Irish peace process—an ideal way to win over a few Irish-American voters, particularly if, as the polls are showing, the US elections could be very tight.
The backdrop for the visit will be the continued military occupation of Iraq after nearly a year and a half, with the death toll rising and with murder and mayhem on the streets of Baghdad and other Iraqi cities. The United States has managed to push more Iraqi police into the front line, and they are now paying a heavy price, along with Iraqi civilians. They have been playing games, both with the Iraqi “Governing Council,” religious fundamentalists, and Kurdish separatist groups. The outcome they hope to achieve is a weakened, fragmented and dependent Iraq.
Shannon Airport has become virtually an offshoot of the American war effort against Iraq. In 2003 the Government permitted 3,691 military aircraft to overfly Irish air space—a 50 per cent increase over the figure for 2002. In addition, 612 civilian aircraft carrying munitions were allowed to land at Shannon Airport in 2003, as well as 270 civilian aircraft carrying munitions permitted to overfly Ireland. In 2002 the figures were 1 civilian aircraft that landed carrying arms and 30 granted overflight permission.
In 2003, 125,855 American soldiers landed at Shannon Airport. This brought an income of more than €15 million to Aer Rianta, the state-owned airport company.
Irish neutrality has been all but torn to shreds by this Government. They have been spineless in the face of US pressure in relation to this aggressive, predatory war. The Taoiseach claimed that the people who marched in the giant anti-war peace march in 2003 were supporting his position and that the position of his Government was in fact a peace policy; in March this year he dismissed the same 100,000 peace marchers as “just the usual rent-a-mob”! Nora Owen, the former Fine Gael Minister for Justice, has called publicly for the invitation to Bush to be reconsidered.

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.http://www.communistpartyofireland.ie/sv/bush.html

The Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins says "The Bush gang is coming to Ireland for one reason and one reason only, and that is to try and influence the votes of some of the 30 million people in the United States who claim Irish ancestry."

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http://www.eubusiness.com/afp/040624102454.tue19xzy

And the Socialist Workers' Party has been organizing protests since the Chimperial visitation was announced:


http://www.swp.ie/html/home.htm

Thank you, George Dubya, for bringing all Ireland together!

[RebelOne]

1. I signed the petition at don'tcountusin.com.

And I urge everyone else to sign also.

[Maeve]

2. And this from one of the most pro-American of countries

You'll never beat the Irish!

When Irish Ties are Fraying

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

4. Thanks for posting the link to the NYT article, Maeve.

The tone of this paragraph says it all for me:

"How can there be so little enthusiasm for welcoming President Bush in as pro-American a country as exists on the face of the earth? Our intelligentsia is pro-American; American popular culture, far from being resisted as it is elsewhere in Europe, has been a precious modernizing influence on the grim patriarchy that dominated Ireland until recent times; our teachers and students work in the United States in the summer, our athletes train there, our doctors and scientists do postgraduate work there, we all have friends and relations there. No wonder Ireland shut down more completely than any other country in the world — schools, pubs, business, transport, everything — on its day of mourning for the Sept. 11 attacks."

There are many things I remember about the attacks of 9-11 and their aftermath, but the one thing that will always stand out in my mind is this: At the All-Ireland Senior Football Final on September 23, 2001 between Galway and Meath,the Artane Boys Band played the Star Spangled Banner after the Irish National Anthem. My husband and I were in a pub here in Chicago watching the game, as we do every year no matter what county teams are in the final. I wasn't the only person in that particular pub who had tears in their eyes at the sight of that thoughtful and lovely gesture from the people of Ireland.

I have family and friends in Ireland and to a person they all despise the Chimpster and everything he stands for and they are far from being a minority.

[veggiemama]

3. Update: AGTWU, SIPTU, and DCTU of one voice against *

<snip>

Siptu President Jack O'Connor, who is supporting the protests along with other union leaders, said that it was important to distinguish between "anti-Bush and anti-American feeling."

Mick O'Reilly, ATGWU Senior Industrial Organsior, said that President Bush was using the visit here as part of a re-election campaign to win Irish-American votes and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was "playing with fire" against the back-drop of the Iraq conflict which "is slowly making a mockery of our independence".

Des Bonass of the Dublin Council of Trade Unions called on President Mary McAleese not to meet President Bush, adding that the majority of people who elected her were opposed to his visit here.

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http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=9&si=1203439&issue_id=11039


President McAleese, however, WILL be meeting with Chimpy. The present Irish gov't doesn't care about "the people" any more that Bushco cares about Americans.
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