At 3pm on Sunday 15 May éirígí will establish the Irish Freedom Camp at the Garden of Remembrance on Parnell Square. The freedom camp is being established to defend the memories of those who died in the fight for Irish freedom and the integrity of the ongoing struggle against British rule in the Six Counties. Windsor is scheduled to visit the garden on the day of her arrival in Dublin (Tuesday 17 May). The freedom camp will remain in place from the afternoon of 15 May until Windsor arrives on Tuesday 17 May.
The second éirígí-organised protest will take place as Windsor attends a lavish banquet in her honour in Dublin Castle on the evening of 18 May. The March on Dublin Castle will assemble at the site of Robert Emmet’s execution, beside St Catherine’s Church on Thomas Street, at 5.30pm on Wednesday 18 May.
Cathaoirleach éirígí Brian Leeson urged as many people as possible to join the Irish Freedom Camp.
He said: “Those planning to bring Elizabeth Windsor to the Garden of Remembrance hope it will mark the culmination of a forty year policy of ‘normalisation’ of the British occupation of Ireland. They intend to cynically use the memories of those who have fallen fighting for freedom to betray the very dream for which they died.”
"The least we can do is defend their memories and the integrity of their cause. Their fight was for a free Ireland, all thirty-two counties of it, yet 5000 British soldiers remain stationed on Irish soil, just one hour from Dublin.”
“If Windsor succeeds in visiting the Garden of Remembrance it will mark a black day for Dublin and for Ireland. The objective of the Irish Freedom Camp is to prevent the Windsor wreath-laying ceremony from taking place. If sufficient numbers of people join the protest the state will be forced to cancel Windsor’s visit to this most important of freedom monuments. We hope that the people of Dublin’s north inner city in particular will follow in the great republican tradition of that part of Dublin and join the Irish Freedom Camp.”
In relation to the March on Dublin Castle éirígí Dublin City Councillor Louise Minihan said that the planned banquet smacked of the arrogance that defines the political establishment in the Twenty-Six County state.
She said: ‘It is fitting that Dublin Castle is to host this night of excess. For centuries it served as the headquarters of the British occupation, a place to be feared and loathed in equal measure. And now in 2011
the British occupiers are to be lauded within its halls by the gombeen politicians and gangster bosses of the Twenty-Six Counties.”
‘And it is fitting too that our march on Dublin Castle will assemble at the site of Robert Emmet’s execution on Thomas Street. The contrast between Emmet's cause and what the Windsor banquet represents could not be more extreme.”
‘We are asking the people from all across Dublin and the rest of the country to join us for the March on Dublin Castle. For generations the ruling elite have neglected these communities and treated them like second class citizens. Now, at the height of the worst economic crisis in generations they decide to hold the most lavish of state banquets and spend countless millions entertaining Windsor and her entourage. And they are doing it within a stone’s throw of the very communities that are suffering the most because of the current cutbacks. It’s time for people to get on the streets for a protest that cannot be ignored and will not be forgotten.”
In a related issue, éirígí Councillor Louise Minihan accused Dublin City Council of political censorship in advance of the upcoming state visits by Elizabeth Windsor and Barack Obama.
She was responding to the revelation today that Dublin City Council have imposed an unprecedented blanket ban on the erection of posters in the entirety of Dublin City from May 15th to May 25th.
éirígí Dublin City Councillor Louise Minihan said the decision is outrageous and must be reversed immediately.
Cllr Minihan said: “This is an outrageous attack on the right to freedom of political expression, the right to organise politically and the right to assembly. It is a politically motivated decision with far reaching consequences for a wide variety of individuals and organisations who rely on postering to advertise their activities. Trade unions and community groups are amongst those who, alongside political organisations, will be hit by this blanket ban.”
“This dictat is a politically motivated decision introduced with the specific intention to hinder the organisation of protests against the Windsor and Obama visits later this month. No such political censorship was imposed by the council during state visits by other country's leaders including the most recent visit by Monaco's Head of State.”
Cllr Minihan concluded: “I am now calling on all Dublin City Councillors to publicly declare their position on this attempt to stifle legitimate political activity in Dublin city. I would also urge the Trade Union movement, community groups and all those who support the right to freedom of expression and the right to protest to resist this blatant attempt at political censorship by the City Council and demand its immediate reversal.”
* éirígí is an Ireland-wide, socialist republican political party, formed in 2006 to provide a vehicle for the national, social and economic liberation of the people of Ireland.