Republican News · Thursday 28 August 2003

Still demanding the right to vote

Historic Civil Rights march reenacted

The 35th Anniversary of the first Civil Rights march from Coalisland to Dungannon took place on Saturday and was marked appropriately, with another march. This time, the route was reversed to point out that the British government has reversed the dearly won right to vote by cancelling the Assembly elections.

The march commenced at Ann Street in Dungannon and went up through the Square, where the first march had been blocked from entering by the RUC. It then proceeded down the Dungannon Road and into the Square in Coalisland, where a rally took place and speakers included Sinn Féin's Francie Molloy and Barry McElduff, and Breandán Mac Cionnaith of the Garvaghy Road Residents' group.

Francie Molloy, now a Sinn Féin member of Dungannon council, said " I was a steward on the first march 35 years ago and I was delighted that so many took part on Saturday and that not even the rain could dampen their spirits.

"There were a lot of other events on over the weekend and it is holiday season. But despite this many people took part in the march, many of the original marchers, prisoners, councillors and many young people who were not even born when the first march took place, but who identified with the issues attended.

"I was disappointed at a number of speakers who were invited to speak but didn't even bother to reply. The only replies came from Martin McGuinness and Bernadette McAliskey, who were on holiday.

"Austin Currie was invited but never replied but then went on radio afterwards to criticise Sinn Féin; it's a pity that he didn't come and say what he had to say in person."

The theme of the march was around the right to vote. "The original was one man one vote, a demand won at a very high cost to the nationalist community," said Molloy, "and now we find the British government backtracking by cancelling the election, thus denying everyone the right to vote.

"I would like to thank everyone who took part. You have kept the issue alive and have once again sent a message to the British government that there can be no backtracking on the people's right to vote."

Francie reminded the crowd that the other issues in 1968 included gerrymandering and that today this is still an issue, as the British government is trying to disenfranchise voters by taking them off the register. "Don't allow this to happen again," he urged. "Make sure you fill in the registration form in September - Defend your right to vote and don't allow the Brits to backtrack by gerrymandering the future elections."

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Postcard campaign for elections

The Wolfe Tone Society (WTS) has launched a postcard campaign in Britain aimed at pushing Tony Blair to reinstate the electoral process in the North.

The card has a politically cutting cartoon on the front - by An Phoblacht political cartoonist Cormac - and has a prewritten message on the back and is addressed to Tony Blair. It requires each person to just sign and send it.

"We want people to show their anger at the abolition of the democratic right to vote that Tony Blair has taken away from the people," says Denis Grace, WTS convenor. "The Good Friday Agreement is an internationally ratified agreement and cannot be withdrawn and used as a hostage by Tony Blair.

"Tony Blair portrays himself as a person who brings human and democratic rights onto the international stage, and yet he has been found to be wanting in these regards on his own doorstep.

"The campaign is timely, in that Gerry Adams was in America recently attempting to bolster support there for the Six-County elections. With the growing lobby of support we feel that the postcard campaign will make an impact, and we urge as many people as possible to send a postcard in. We will send them out to readers, and we urge people to take more then one and pass them on to friends and family. They can be obtained by calling the WTS on 0208 442 8778 or e-mailing us at wts@brosna.demon.co.uk. Please give your address and postcode, whichever method you use."