“You Can’t Ride Two Horses At The Same Time"
On Wednesday [November 30] Éirígí members in Newry took to the streets with thousands of people in a display of support and solidarity with the working class.
The rally assembled at Daisy Hill hospital and marched through the city centre to the City Hall.
Colourful flags and banners belonging to the various unions were prominent throughout the route along with Éirígí flags and our ‘Stormont Isn’t Working’ banner which drew much attention.
The night before the rally, Éirígí members were busy in the centre of Newry putting stickers up regarding the cuts on public services. While they were engaging in this legitimate political activity the three activists were stopped & searched by the British forces (PSNI). The reason given for this stop and search was “due to the increased terrorist threat in this area”.
Éirígí activists across the North marched with thousands of working class people in protest at the anti-social policies being implemented by the London government and its Stormont administration. Yet Éirígí members preparing for this rally were held and harassed by Stormont’s anti-working class police force.
There were several main speakers at the rally, most notably the first speaker made reference to the Six County elected representatives and brazenly told them, “You can’t ride two horses at the same time!” . Her comments were met loud cheers with a rapturous round of applause by the thousands of people at the rally. The only ones who didn’t clap and cheer were the constitutional nationalists and Stormont supporters who stood awkwardly in the crowd not knowing where to look.
Speaking after the rally Éirígí’s Newry rep said, “The sentiments expressed here today are correct. The Stormont politicians cannot ride two horses at once. They have picked which side they are on. They are on the side of the enemy of the working class and should be treated as such.
“Éirígí are of the opinion that Stormont is unsustainable and the continued onslaught on public services is evidence of them dancing to the Tory tune and embracing, what can only be described as, Thatcherite politics with their constant attacks on the working class and our communities. Thatcherism, a theory that amounts to nothing less than social and economic vandalism, is alive and well in the halls of power.”
“These attacks on public services is yet another example of how ‘Stormont isn’t working’, along with fuel poverty, unemployment, health cuts and benefits cuts all of which are implemented at the behest of the British Tory government.
“The increasingly obvious signal is that a new political, economic and social order is required right across Ireland to bring radical, meaningful and effective improvement to the lives of working class people. Stormont is a clear impediment to that.
“Only by organising in our communities, in our workplaces and on the streets can we build sufficient strength to defeat this attack on the working class.
“The message must be made clear to the British government and those who are prepared to do their dirty work in the Six Counties – they will not get away with what amounts to murder.”