France, Alternative Libertaire AL #248 - Southern Ireland: Mark, activist of the Workers Solidarity Movement: "The most important movement for decades" (fr, it, pt)

France, Alternative Libertaire AL #248 - Southern
Ireland: Mark, activist of the Workers Solidarity Movement: "The most
important movement for decades" (fr, it, pt) [machine translation]

South Ireland is undergoing a social movement of struggle with demonstrations of over a 
hundred thousand people, which, in view of the population, is very important. It is to 
refuse the introduction of a tax on water, leading to what households pay their water 
consumption, while a share of taxes is already enshrined therein. Mark, an activist of the 
Workers Solidarity Movement (WSM), sister organization of Alternative libertarian, answers 
our questions. ---- AL: What is your feeling about the fight? ---- Mark: This is the most 
important movement in southern Ireland for decades at least (maybe since the last century, 
with the exception of support for the struggle against British imperialism in Northern 
Ireland to the most times strong as when hunger strikes). This move comes after six years 
of austerity and growing since last summer. For six to seven years, mobilizations have 
emerged and have stopped, yet each time larger and more militant than before.

This fight is unique compared to previous mobilizations, because it was not initiated by 
the organizations of the radical left, it started with the spontaneous organization of 
working class neighborhoods to prevent Irish Water (company establishment by the state) to 
install water meters (including the installation is actually done by private contractors, 
one of them, GMC Sierra, is the property of the millionaire Denis O'Brien, who has also 
many media). The company obtained a court injunction forbidding to gather at least 20 
meters from asks counters work (in many cases, they are installed front entrance doors, 
making it impossible to enforce this prohibition). Police and some private companies 
employees safety, wearing masks, came to try to intimidate and threaten, but people 
continued to prevent the installation of meters. Throughout Ireland, there are groups 
called leprechauns counters, which operate at night to remove the meters already installed.

This week, 17 people were arrested in connection with an event of there three months, 
during which the car of the Deputy Prime Minister was surrounded for two hours. The State 
claims that it was a kidnapping, people protesting think it's a bad joke. Among those 
arrested, there Paul Murphy, Socialist Party deputy / anti-austerity Alliance and also 
five teenagers, one 14 years. The arrests took place early in the morning with 6, 8 or 10 
policemen for each person. Recently, there has been an event in Dublin to denounce it.

What is the position of WSM?

It is that the price of water is already paid through taxes, there is no reason to change 
that, and if not, it is a step towards privatization. The fight showed the politicization 
of tens of thousands of people, maybe more. We want to encourage forms of 
self-organization and rely on them to build a non-payment campaign, to make it impossible 
to collect the tax. By engaging in the movement, we ask the question: "When we win, how do 
we proceed? "We hope this can give rise to a long-term anti-capitalist mass movement 
without being recovered by electoral politics.

What is the contribution of WSM in this fight?

WSM is small compared to the magnitude of this movement. But we contribute in two ways. 
First, we are committed where we live to prevent the installation of the meters (when 
there are protests in this direction and when possible) and organize boycott campaigns (we 
are working to encourage communities to the base to that everyone sees himself as an 
organizer). Second, we use our Facebook page, which has more than 48,000 followers, to 
counter the media and state propaganda and to spread our positions. This gives an 
influence to our ideas well beyond activist circles.

What is the role of anti austerity Alliance (AAA) and Right to Water (Water Law)?

The AAA is mainly composed of the Socialist Party (SP, Trotskyist group, whose sister 
organization in France is the Revolutionary Left) and some supporters (probably 300 
maximum). The AAA still three deputies, all from SP, and 14 councilors. AAA is a broad 
front of an alliance SP. She emerged from the campaign against tax on water and housing 
(CAHWT) in 2013, when the campaign was broken and after WSM, which was part of the CAHWT, 
has left it. AAA calls for a boycott of the tax on water and supports the protests against 
the meter installations as WSM, with the difference that it wants to recruit people for 
his own campaign "We will not pay" controlled centrally, instead of supporting the 
communities organizing themselves.

A broad front Trotskyist rival, the People Before Profit (BPB), is controlled by the 
Socialist Workers Party, which has a deputy and also 14 councilors. It is strictly for 
boycott, but said less strongly as it tries to make alliances with unions and other groups 
as part of the campaign Right to Water. This campaign brings together a large group (some 
unions, PBP, AAA, the Provisional Sinn Fein and others), but it is not a mass 
organization, it's just a committee with leaders of each organization. It organizes most 
large events, but it does not call for a boycott of the tax and some disappeared from the 
scene, although it is trying to build an electoral alliance because it has no other 
perspective as opposed . PBP and SWP support this strategy rather than the AAA.

Sinn Féin (provisional) is the largest opposition party having a position against the tax. 
Officially, it does not call for a boycott and a purely electoral perspective, although 
some members may call it independently. Since the demonstrations, their public 
representatives say they do not pay, they will support those who decide to boycott, but do 
not call people that.

What is the place of self-organization?

There are variations in the level of organization of local groups against the tax. In some 
neighborhoods, they form spontaneously to oppose the installation of meters. So they are 
very strong for boycott, but should be encouraged to convince other people. In other 
quarters, there is a strong anarchist influence (Stoneybatter in Dublin, Mahon in Cork, 
Dun Laoghaire near Dublin), or some influence (Rathfarnham in Dublin). I also work to 
build influence of anarchist ideas in Drogheda where I live. But it is one of the few 
areas where Freemen anti tax, a right-wing movement, are strong. In general, there is a 
direct anarchist influence or not, most autonomous groups are organized along the lines of 
direct democracy and direct action against the counters and the boycott.

Interview by Laurent Esquerre (AL-northeast Paris)

http://alternativelibertaire.org/?Irlande-du-Sud-Mark-militant-du