Statement By Fightback (Ireland) Wed 24th June 2009
We share the revulsion of the hundreds of Belfast workers who
demonstrated on the Lisburn Road against these racist attacks in
Belgravia Avenue and Wellesley Avenue over the last week. We applaud
the efforts of those workers who gathered together and offered their
moral and practical support to the Roma people who were forced from
their homes by the fascist thugs using the name of Combat 18 – the
British fascist terror group.
Fascism and racism prey on the most disenfranchised and downtrodden
layers of society, attempting to divert the attention of the youth from
the real enemy, the capitalist system, which can offer the youth of
South Belfast little other than unemployment or poverty wages, drugs
and sectarianism.
Racism only serves to divide the working class, setting worker
against worker on the basis of the colour of their skin, nationality or
religion. We fight for the maximum unity of the working class in the
face of the real enemy, the one, which brought us the banking crisis
and the economic slump, rising unemployment and house repossessions, in
other words the Capitalist system. Racism and fascism offer no way out
for working class youth, just another blind alley, but a dangerous one
that needs to be fought by the Labour movement.
We are concerned that the response of the PSNI was merely to remove
the Roma families from the scene. This isn’t the first set of attacks
in the area and this tactic ultimately means that unless the roots of
the problem are dealt with then the next set of poor migrant workers
who end up in the Village will face the same problems.
Racism and fascism are a threat to all workers, catholic or
protestant. Just as unemployment or low wages, poor housing, cuts in
jobs and services affect all of us. We need to fight Racism and fascism
just as hard as we would fight to defend our families from the threats
of redundancies or pay cuts. The occupation of the Visteon plant and
the 2006 postal worker’s dispute show how workers can unite and fight
together. It’s not the first example of workers unity and it won’t be
the last.
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End racist attacks
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For workers unity to fight the fascists
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Fight for a real future; for real jobs and training for young people
Visit the Fighback (Ireland) Site – Click here
