Connolly Books, Thu 15 Oct, 7pm
43 Essex St East, Temple Bar, Dublin 2
SPEAKERS
Shezana Hafiz (CAGE Intl)
Tommy McKearney (CPI)
Rory Rowan (TCD)
The publication of the United States’ new counter-terrorism strategy in May this year made it clear that we are in the grip of a new transatlantic ‘red scare’ driven by the Trump regime. This document highlights the apparent national security threat posed by “violent left-wing extremists, including anarchists and anti-fascists” was quickly followed by an international conference on “left wing extremism” hosted by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the publication of a State Department report entitled ‘Cuba: The Capital of 21st-Century Communism.’
The ongoing trials of Palestine solidarity activists in Britain and Germany on farcical ‘terror’ charges and the recent arrest of US activist and philanthropist Fergie Chambers in Spain makes clear that this new ‘red scare’ rhetoric is part of a wider strategy of criminalising left wing activism, and particularly Palestine solidarity, that is not confined to US borders.
This panel brings together activists and researchers to reflect on how we can better understand this current wave of criminalisation by looking at how ‘counter-terrorism’ has been used to suppress dissent in the context of the Irish struggle and British state Islamophobia.
