[NYTr] Republican Socialists Boycott San Fran St Pat's Day Parade
 
Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2007 18:50:11 -0500 (EST)


Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
sent by Peter Urban (IRSP) - feb 1, 2007

Republican Socialists Boycott St. Patrick's Day Parade

For the first time since 1983, there will be no republican socialist
organization marching in the San Francisco St. Patrick's Day parade
this year.

The International Republican Socialist Network had been intending to
carry on the tradition of a series of republican socialist
organizations in San Francisco of marching in its annual St.
Patrick's Day parade this year. They had made plans to build an anti-
imperialist contingent to participate and focus their mobile unit in
the parade on the 30th anniversary of the death of Irish Republican
Socialist Party and Irish National Liberation Army founder Seamus
Costello and the 20th anniversary of the death of Thomas 'Ta' Power,
who led the INLA to adopt a policy subordinating it to the political
direction of the IRSP before being killed by renegade ex-members of
the INLA in the service of reaction. Those plans were cancelled,
however, when they received their application to participate in this
year's parade.

The reason for the change of heart was the announcement that that the
theme of this year's parade was to be: "Be Irish for the Day,
Honoring the Armed Forces of the United States." Said a spokesperson
for the IRSN, "we fail to see how being Irish has anything to do with
support for the vehicle of American imperialism around the world."

"We in the IRSN have supported the efforts by the Irish people to end
the use of Shannon airport as a refueling station for U.S. military
air craft and the organizations in Ireland protesting the carnage
unleashed by British and American forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Accordingly, we feel it would be inappropriate to participate in this
year's parade, lest it be viewed as an endorsement of its avowed
honoring of the U.S. military.

"The Irish people continue to wage a struggle against imperialist
domination of their nation. To link being Irish with support for the
world's most destructive imperialist entity is an affront," he
concluded.

The group also said they were extremely suspicious of the scheduling
of the parade this year. The San Francisco St. Patrick's Day parade
has been held on the Sunday before St. Patrick's Day for as long as
can be remembered, even when St. Patrick's Day itself was on a
Sunday, the parade was on the Sunday before. This year, however, the
parade was scheduled for Saturday, March 17th--which brought it into
direct conflict with plans to participate in international protests
against the war in Iraq planned for that day. The unusual scheduling
of the parade, in fact, forced San Francisco anti-war protesters to
schedule protests for March 18th, instead of the day the rest of the
world will engage in such protests.

Said the IRSN spokesperson, "We believe that this extraordinary
change from the traditional Sunday before St. Patrick's Day to
Saturday, March 17th, coupled with the decision to declare the
purpose of this year's parade to be to honor the U.S. military to be
no coincidence.

"We see this as a slap in the face to the anti-war sentiments clearly
held by the overwhelming majority of San Francisco's residents. As
such, it sullies the image of the Irish people and their heroic
history of struggle."

The IRSN said that they would still hold their annual 'margaritas and
nachos' party, which has long been a whimsical, not-very-Irish, post-
parade celebration, despite not marching this year. They will also
participate in the anti-war demonstrations to be held in San
Francisco the day after the parade.

ENDS
       
                                *
================================================================
.NY Transfer News Collective    *    A Service of Blythe Systems
.          Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us         .
.339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012     http://www.blythe.org
.List Archives:   https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/
.Subscribe: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr
================================================================