Éirígí Welcomes EU Referendum Result And Calls For British Withdrawal From Ireland And Irish Withdrawal From The EU
Speaking from Dublin Cathaoirleach Éirígí Brian Leeson said,
'Today's result can only be seen as a defeat for the business and political elite of Ireland, Britain and Europe. The EU superstate project has been struck a massive blow by millions of working class people across England, Scotland, Wales and occupied Ireland.
Over the last decade Éirígí has consistently highlighted the deeply flawed nature of the EU. In three separate referendums in the Twenty-Six Counties we have encouraged voters to reject an EU superstate that is militarised, anti-democratic and fundamentally wedded to a destructive neo-liberal ideology.
Over the last number of weeks our activists have again been on the ground in Belfast and elsewhere distributing tens of thousands of leaflets and posters calling on people to oppose the EU superstate by voting Leave.
Despite the hysterical scare-mongering of Sinn Féin and the other pro-EU parties our activists succeeded in getting the socialist Leave message to the people on the ground. I commend them for the part they played in today's historic result.'
Calling for a British Withdrawal from Ireland and an Irish withdrawal from the EU Leeson said,
'Like Connolly and the others leaders of the 1916 Rising we believe that the Irish people should be in full control of their own destinies, free from external interference from London, Brussels or Washington. Without such control the people of Ireland will not be able to build the democratically-controlled economy and fair society that they are entitled to and deserve.
The British occupation of the Six Counties and the de facto EU control of the Twenty-Six County state represent twin barriers to the creation of a Republic that will genuinely cherish all the children of the nation equally.
We correctly identified that a Leave vote had a once-in-a-generation potential to trigger a constitutional crisis within both the EU and the British 'Union'. That position has been vindicated by today's calls for referendums in Ireland, Scotland and elsewhere.
The momentum from today must now be built on to restore full national democracy and freedom to Ireland. We use the opportunity of today's result to again demand that the British ruling class respect the inherent and indefeasible Right of the people of Ireland to collectively decide their own future without external impediment.
The creeping transfer of sovereignty from Ireland to the anti-democratic institutions of the EU must also be halted and reversed. The campaign for a full Irish withdrawal from an irreformable EU must now be built in parallel to the campaign for a withdrawal of the British state from Ireland.'
Leeson concluded by saying,
'The constitutional status quo in Ireland, Britain and Europe is now in a state of flux that has not been seen in decades. The ruling elite will do all in their power to limit that change, to shut down people power and their demand for a just society.
The forces of the progressive Left in Ireland need to seize the moment and push for maximum constitutional, political, social and economic change. We in Éirígí are ready to play our part in driving that change and building an independent socialist Ireland.'