Artist takes issue with review
A chairde,
I would like to bring to your attention a review Sean O' Tuama
did for An Phoblacht of my Art Exhibition in last week's Fˇile an
Phobail. It was obviously clear that this man did not understand
the theme portrayed in my work, which was to reflect the hurt,
pain and injustices suffered by the nationalist/republican
community, emphasizing that these events and others should not be
forgotten.
To be an Art critic I think it is necessary to have some
understanding of the message the artist is conveying. His remarks
were something I would have expected from a British tabloid. If
he had any queries about my work, all he had to do was ask.
Besides the verbal attack and claim that my paintings were
inaccurate, something that I refute, O' Tuama had the audacity to
suggest that I was trying to trivialise the conflict, something I
would never do! I am somebody who has supported the Irish
struggle all his life and then to be castigated in this way is
totally out of order and offends me deeply!
s
John Kennedy (Illustrator)
SF & multinationals
A chairde,
Despite Mary Connolly's letter in response to my original letter
calling for Sinn Féin to desist from promoting multinationals
from setting up in Ireland I would like to further explain my
position.
Some may say I'm not being realistic in my call for Sinn Féin to
oppose multinationals setting up in Ireland. But much of what is
revolutionary sounds unrealistic until it's achieved, that's why
it is revolutionary. This is not a time to limit our vision or to
set boundaries to our future. When the Democratic Programme of
Céad Dáil Eireann called for ``the Republic to adopt all measures
necessary for the recreation and invigoration of our Industries,
and to ensure their being developed on the most beneficial and
progressive co-operative and industrial lines'' it did not
envisage allowing the total repatriation of wealth by
multinationals, as is the case at present. In fact it stated
``that the Nation's sovereignty extends... to all its material
possessions, the Nation's soil and all its resources, all the
wealth and all the wealth-producing processes within the Nation''.
Sinn Féin's Constitution as well as endorsing the Democratic
Programme calls for ``a just distribution and effective control of
the nation's wealth and resources''. Multinationals would be a
negation of that goal.
The primary aim of multinational corporations is profit and they
obey no moral or ethical rulebook as they ruthlessly pursue that
end, as many communities around the world can bear testimony too.
I will admit that they are, and will be, a factor of Irish
economic life, but it is not and should not be our role to
promote their greed in Ireland, or to encourage our economy to be
further dependent on their false promises.
We can demand a change in the conditions under which they operate
in Ireland, but don't expect a leopard to change its spots.
Overnight multinationals can create a wasteland of Ireland,
pollution wise and employment wise. Multinationals are only in
Ireland to further their goals. They are not philanthropic
organisations.
Aengus O Snodaigh
Dublin
Change society not drug laws
A chairde,
Michael Pierse's piece (6 August) discussing cannabis
legalisation used dubious arguments, lacked a philosophy, and
failed to distinguish between problems under capitalist society
and the completely different perspectives under a planned
economic society.
y law reform under capitalism cannot solve that system's
growing contradictions which get reflected in deteriorating
relationships of all kinds throughout society - more divorce,
more crime, more violence, more cynicism, more escapism, etc -
with drugs and alcohol increasingly prominent in all of this.
Stopping cannabis being an `illegal' kick by legalising it will
not halt the trend towards nihilism in the slightest.
Supporting bourgeois reform agitation (Independent On Sunday) on
anything is bound to be at the expense of agitating to overthrow
the capitalist system itself.
To agitate for greater personal self-indulgence in any
recreational activity when so much else is going wrong with
society would seem to be a particularly wasteful diversion.
Do people addicted to cannabis make better socialists? Are they
clearer thinking? More organised and reliable? More financially
secure?
Doesn't capitalism in general peddle drugs and booze so as to
keep the masses subdued, befuddled, dependent, and broke?
Imperialism has gone from the opium wars and gin palaces to the
CIA pushing crack-cocaine.
Criminal violence flourishes parasitically over every aspect of
capitalist society no matter how `laws' change - drugs,
prostitution, gambling, sport, money-lending, etc.
The closer capitalist society degenerates towards breakdown, the
more `criminal' disorder takes over.
y anti-working-class bias in police drug-busting tactics is not
an argument for legalisation of cannabis but for rejecting
capitalist-state law on everything and replacing it with a
socialist state.
Philosophically, why not just keep concentrating on trying to
turn people on to all the potential richness of life infinitely
more rewarding than a shallow drugs kick?
Royston Bull
(editor EPSR)
Cheshire
Don't legalise cannabis
A chairde,
Your correspondent Michael Pierse (An Phoblacht 6 August) is
correct in saying that anti-drugs activists in Dublin are against
the idea of legalising cannabis. This is in fact the policy of
COCAD. It is not however based on a ``knee jerk'' refusal to
confront ``accepted ideas'' but on the lack of any convincing
argument that legalisation would be of benifit to our
communities. Pierse's article presents nothing new in this
regard.
In essence Michael Pierse fails to grasp that what many
communities in Dublin are confronted with is a culture of drug
abuse that has taken root over a twenty year period. This culture
is based on concepts of ``turning on'', ``getting a buzz'', ``getting
out of one's head'', etc, and it is a culture in which poly-drug
use is the norm. It is impossible to understand how singling out
one drug intimately associated with this culture, even if less
harmful than others, and trying to make it ``socially acceptable''
will assist in undermining the culture and channelling young
people in positive directions.
Pierse's argument that the proceeds from the sale of cannabis
would provide necessary revenue to the government to fight the
scourge of heroin is, at best, incredibly naive. The exchequer is
awash with cash at the moment and yet we have seen no concerted
effort to tackle the socio-economic problems of communities which
have borne the brunt of the heroin epidemic. What, obviously,
needs to be addressed is the growing gap between the rich and
poor in Ireland but making the use of cannabis by young people
``socially acceptable'' has no role to play in this.
Pierse is correct in saying that the Gardai have been ineffectual
in tackling the supply of heroin and have clouded this with
statistics relating to the seizure of cannabis. Not only
cannabis, I might add, but also ecstasy, speed, etc. The slick PR
of the Gardai is, of course, of concern to all anti-drug
activists but it is not, surely, an argument for the legalisation
of whatever drugs they are seizing.
In conclusion, I would point out to Michael Pierse that anti-drug
activists will never be impressed with appeals to liberalise drug
laws while the one country in Europe which has gone down that
road has become a haven for just about every major drug dealing
scumbag we have managed to drive out of Ireland.
Experience would seem to suggest that a liberal attitude to ``soft
drugs'' reflects, at the end of the day, a liberal attitude to
drugs in general.
dre Lyder (Secretary)
COCAD.
Cork Street
Dublin 8
Children: a republican perspective
A chairde,
As republicans it is imperative that we all live up to our
responsibilities to children in today's society. Children are
undoubtedly the most vunerable members of society. It is
encouraging to see that Sinn Fein's Women's Forum has recognised
and is attempting to address these responsibilities. They are
presently attempting to secure funding for counselling support
for prisoners' children and spouses, amongst other projects.
It is important that we recognise the impact that living in a
police state (which the Six Counties undoubtedly is) has on
children, especially when this causes them to seperate from any
member of their family unit, or results in them having to leave
their normal place of residence. This can be a source of great
upheaval in a child's life. Children in these circumstances need
all our support and assistance. It is important that we should
focus on their needs.
As society changes and develops, children are exposed to danger
from different sources. Technological advancement is a beneficial
aspect of modern society but it can be a concern when this
technology is used to convey society's unwholesome elements. An
example of this is the widespread availability of pornographic
material on the internet. The accessibility of this technology
even to children is another cause for worry.
There has been a marked increase in the incidents of sexual
assault commited on children in this country in recent years.
Sinn Fein should be congratulated on passing a motion at this
year's Ard Fheis calling for a national paedophile register to be
available to relevent authorities. It would be a very positive
development if current governments implemented this policy at a
national and international level.
All things considered, Sinn Fein in its wider role in the
community is playing an active part in looking after the needs of
society's most important members - its children.
Colette Nic Aoidh
Galway
Independent sensationalism
A chairde,
We, members of the Association of Nigerian Asylum Seekers in
Ireland (ANASI), wish to express our concern and dismay at the
article titled ``Asylum seekers fake torture - Nigerian plot to
falsify torture and rape evidence for asylum'', which appeared in
the front page headline of the Independent newspaper of last
Sunday. This type of sensational journalism promotes ignorance,
racism and xenophobia within Irish society against non-nationals
like us.
ANASI strongly view the generalisation of a particular negative
incident to ``a sizeable proportion of Nigerian asylum seekers'' as
most pathetic, very unfortunate, grossly unfair, very
discriminatory and entirely in bad taste. We believe it is
morally wrong and professionally unethical for the Gardai and
Department of Justice officials to be using information gathered
during interviews of asylum sekers in this manner knowing full
well such action can heighten the present negative attitudes of
the populace towards Nigerian asylum seekers, and cloud objective
decision making on subsequent applications. We demand to be
treated as individuals rather than resorting to generalisation.
The Association therefore questions the rationale at this point
behind the release of a comparative data of Nigerian and Romanian
asylum seekers to the press when in recent past, reputable NGOs
have repeatedly requested statistical data on asylum seekers'
applications pending with the Department of Justice on a
country-by-country basis without success.
ANASI
10 Upper Camden Street
Dublin 2
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