The Local and the National | Mind Your Language | Lá Breithe Richard

 

Thelocal and the national

Ihave been doing a wee bit of canvassing in the General Election in the South.The response has been positive. There are clearly some who see electioncampaigns, including this one, as opportunities to write Sinn Féin’s obituary.Sorry to disappoint. Like all parties fighting elections there will be momentsof gain and moments of pain. That is in the nature of electoral politicsespecially in volatile times. However, if your political ideology and theleaderships connection with the base is strong then all challenges can beovercome. That’s one of Sinn Féin’s strengths.

Thereis clearly a desire in the South for fundamental change. The challenge forrepublicans is to persuade Increasing numbers of people across this island, whostrongly desire progressive social change that Sinn Féin is the vehicle toassist that process.

Thesecitizens want and deserve an Ireland that embraces equality and inclusivity forall citizens. They were a significant force in referenda, which secured theright to equal marriage and bodily autonomy for Irish women. They are among thechange makers behind the demonstrations against the genocide in Gaza andLebanon. They will also be crucial in the unity referendums provided for in theGood Friday Agreement.

Thereare others who sow fear and division. They seek to exploit the anger of thosedisadvantaged people who have been failed by the state. Sinn Féin hasfirmly rejected this divisive agenda. 

Ilearned a long time ago that building support means engaging with citizens andwith communities. Progressive politics needs to be about empowering citizens.Public services need to be provided in partnership with the public in an openand transparent citizen centred way. So too with the need to move toward IrishUnity. Sinn Féin is committed to bringing this about. But we are not on ourown. There are lots of United Irelanders out there. 

Forexample, in July the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the implementation of theGood Friday Agreement published a landmark report on Unity. It called fora whole of government approach, led by the Department of An Taoiseach. TheCommittee called on the Irish government to immediately begin planning forthe unity referendums on constitutional change. 

Thethen Taoiseach Simon Harris ignored the Report. So did An Tánaiste MicheálMartin. Neither of these men are United Irelanders. We need to elect aTaoiseach – a woman - who is. 

Thiselection is an opportunity for republicans to match the local and national, thesocial and economic with an all island approach. It is time to build a societywhere the needs of working people and their dependents are prioritised, wherehousing, health and other public services are accessible, and where everyonehas a real stake in the future.

Itis also time to take decisive steps toward the reunification of our country. AsJames Connolly said its time for the re-conquest. Sinn Féin has a Plan tobring this about. A plan that will promote constitutional,legislative and political change. 

ASinn Féin led government will engage positively with the BritishGovernment to set the date for the unity referendums. We will appoint aMinister of State for reunification; produce a Government ‘Green Paper’ in thefirst 100 days setting out our vision for a new and United Ireland; initiate adiplomatic offensive to promote unity through international forums, includingthe United Nations, and the European Union. We will draw on the resources andenergy of our diaspora. A Sinn Fein led government will also establish aCitizens’ Assembly or Assemblies on our constitutional future. 

Thechoice in this election is crystal clear - another government led by Fine Gaeland Fianna Fáil. In power now one way or the other for a century. Or a newgovernment led by Sinn Féin. 

 

MindYour Language. 

ThroughoutIsrael’s genocidal war on the Palestinians countless social media posts byIsraeli politicians, officials and its occupying forces have highlighted theracism that underpins Zionism and that is being used to dehumanise thePalestinian people.

Theuse of the language of hate is an integral part of Israel’s assault on Gaza,the west Bank and now Lebanon. Israeli government Ministers and their soldiersregularly use abusive language that labels Palestinians as animals, rats andsnakes, as well as primitive and immoral. In this way they seek to justifytheir war crimes.  

Throughouthistory monarchies, dictatorships, empires and states have employed suchlanguage to defeat those they wish to conquer. The Irish people have enduredthis approach by English governments for nine centuries. We were the barbarianswho needed to be civilised. We were the ape like creatures who could be left todie from starvation in An Gorta Mór or who were forced in our millions toemigrate to places where – No Irish Need Apply. 

Priorto and during World War 2 the Nazis used language to demean and humiliate Jews,gypsies  and gay people; those with disabilities and others they wished totorture, use as slave labour, imprison in concentration camps and then toexterminate. They were sub-human, rats, beasts. Not people. 

Inour time and place we have witnessed the use of the language of hate todemonise and dehumanise northern nationalists. It was employed by the Unionistregime at Stormont and by successive British governments as they applied thetactics of collusion, torture, internment, and shoot-to-kill.

Wewho were on the receiving end of that also need to mind our language. Termslike Orangies or Huns should have no place in our vocabulary. So, we haveto oppose the language of hate and dehumanisation in our own place.  

 

Wemust also reject and stand firm against it when used against the Palestiniansby the Israeli state or its western backers. The incoming new Irish governmenthas a responsibility to lead by example in Europe. This means movingimmediately to enact the Occupied Territories Bill and demand that all EUmember states initiate sanctions against Israel.

 

Lábreithe Richard

Richardis seventy-two. He reached that lofty age on Sunday. If he lasts for a few moremonths he will have lived longer than any of his ancestors in his branch of thehistoric clann of McAuley. That’s quite an achievement. Congratulations RG.  Ihope you live forever. 

Richardhas been my leader for almost fifty years now. We first met in the Cages ofLong Kesh in the mid-1970s. He was in Cage 12. I was in Cage 11. He was the PROfor the Sentenced Republican Prisoners. I was doing bits and pieces of writingfor Republican News and other publications. So everything I wrote I had to sendto Richard for clearance. Contrary to his cuddly, easy going imageRichard was extremely strict. He still is. So some of my more fancifulflights of fancy never got past his centrist and censorist eye. 

Everyweek I dispatched my proposed drafts to him by ‘pigeon’. A pigeon was awell tied snout (tobacco) tin containing a copy of my musings and afew pebbles for ballast. We hurled our pigeons from cage to cage. This was aline of communication that the screws could not penetrate. If you were a goodthrower, that is. 

OccasionallyRichard would order me out to the wire to give me my instructions or to explainthe PR line to me. He was very good at his job. I often wondered what thePrison Authorities thought of prisoners having a PRO. One English PrisonOfficer confided in me one day that he never came across a prison like LongKesh. He was right.  There was no other prison like Long Kesh. 

Laterwhen we left there I started working for Richard on the outside. He remains myboss to this day. In between times he also became a good family man, a father,a grandfather and a great grandfather. He loves music. His phone. Films.Kindle. Sci-Fi fiction. Talking. 

Heis a work horse for the republican struggle. A great researcher. A fine writerand a reliable source of knowledge, advice – usually good advice – and he has ashrewd political brain. Most of the time. 

Heis also one of the good guys. Positive and dependable. Usually good humoured.He and I were exiled in Dublin when I was a TD, for two Dáil terms. Weshared living quarters. A bit like The Odd Couple. We also travelled the worldmaking allies for Irish freedom and supporting other struggles. So I am pleasedto call Richard my friend and to wish him a hearty Lá Breithe Shona. Don’tlet the old man in mo chara.