James Connolly Festival: Peace & Irish Neutrality

Last night’s public meeting took place in a Packed Theatre covering the subject of Peace & Irish Neutrality. The speakers were Clare Daly MEP, Edward Horgan Shannonwatch, Roger Cole PANA and Jimmy Corcoran from the Communist Party Of Ireland.

Speaker after Speaker spoke about the dearth of reasonable discussion among the mainstream media with regard to the Proxy war between the US and Russia and the wanton deaths of the people of Ukraine. The emphasis was clearly how this State should be using its seat on the United Security Council to promote a diplomatic solution to this war and yet the Minister for Foreign Affairs seems unfit to do what the Irish people want.

Ms Daly received a round of applause for heroic efforts in promoting peace and dialogue and standing up to what can be only be described as the disgusting and vilified attacks by the Irish Media on her and her fellow MEP Mick Daly.  Mr Horgan from Shannonwatch pointed out how Shannon Airport is be used for facilitate this war as only recently US Arms were being transported via Shannon to Ukraine. This is clearly in violation of Irish Neutrality. Mr Corcoran pointed out the role Western “news” media have mounted such a constant barrage of anti-Russian propaganda that it is almost impossible to hold an alternative view. Sports, the arts, education have all been co-opted into US imperialism’s struggle to maintain its hegemony. To ensure total adherence to the US world view, RT (formerly Russia Today), the Russian media channel, has been banned from western airwaves. US imperialism has declared Putin a war criminal and stated that the war is the result of Russian expansionism.

There is no room in this narrative to look at the eastward expansion of NATO, the coup in Ukraine in 2014, or the attacks on the Donbass. This is not to support or justify the Russian military action but to acknowledge that the causes of the conflict have much to do with attempts by the United States to maintain its position as the leading world power against China and regional powers such as Russia