Archive for the ‘Poland’ Category
The 1914 Howth Gun-Running in Ireland : History Lesson for 21st Century Leftists who oppose a supply of weapons to members of the Ukrainian resistance
According to many sections of the left in Ireland and abroad, Ukrainians should not be supplied with weapons to resist the Russian invaders. Conor Kostick, an anti-war activist and a historian, labels this policy “Evasionism”. Here are accounts of the July 26 1914 Howth Gun-Running, followed by an introduction to left-wing Evasionism.
Remembering The Howth Gun-Running
On July 26th 1914, guns purchased in Germany for the Irish Volunteers were brought to Howth by Erskine Childers upon his yacht the Asgard.
In Howth they were met by the Fianna Eireann led by Bulmer Hobson & Countess Markievicz with carts and wheelbarrows to unload the guns, members of the volunteers were also present in case the police showed up
The harbour master informed the authorities and the Dublin Metropolitan Police were called out.
The police called for military assistance, so a detachment of the Kings Own Scottish Borderers based in Kilmainham was sent.
A riot ensued between the authorities & the volunteers; the authorities were unable to seize the weapons as during the riot they were quickly led away by the Fianna Eireann.
On their return to the barracks, a crowd had gathered in Bachelors Walk and began heckling the soldiers who responded by firing a volley into the crowd.
Three people were killed instantly Mrs Duffy, James Brennan and Patrick Quinn with thirty-eight injured. One man died later of bayonet wounds.
The Bachelor’s Walk massacre as it became known caused revulsion across Ireland and swelled the ranks of the volunteers.
Conor Kostick discusses Evasionism :
There is a type of left argument around the war in Ukraine which has arisen in the West. It is one that condemns Putin’s invasion, but refuses to offer practical support to the people of Ukraine in resisting that invasion. It is the position one can read in Jacobin, or in statements by Chomsky, Corbyn, and the Stop the War Coalition in the UK. In Ireland we have the same type of response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine from People Before Profit and the Socialist Party of Ireland.
I will use the label Evasionist Left for this approach. It’s not clear how representative this trend is internationally, as many on the left do pro-actively support the resistance in Ukraine, e.g. parties such Razem in Poland; those associated with the Fourth International like Left Bloc and the Danish Red Green Alliance; and the main left party in Japan, the Japanese Communist Party.
Poland : Access to Safe and Legal Abortion – Polish parliament debate, June 22 and 23 2022
In Ireland – especially during the dark days of the anti-abortion 8th Amendment to the Irish Constitution ((1983-2018) – women had to travel abroad to get an abortion. In Ukraine today many women raped by invading Russian soldiers flee to Poland where they cannot get an abortion. The left wing party Razem is proposing legislation in the parliament to end the abortion ban in Poland. We must extend solidarity and support.
Razem reports :
A great challenge of immediate concern in Poland is the access to safe and legal abortion. Women’s rights to decide about their own bodies have been extremely limited in our country. Under current laws, abortion is permissible only in case of rape, incest or threat to the mother’s health and life. Additionally, as a consequence of social and political pressures, doctors often refuse to perform the procedure. This directly causes the suffering and deaths of many women.
Read the rest of this entry »Poland – Ireland – Ukraine : Parallel Abortion Stories : Two-thirds of Poles Support Legal Abortion in 2022
According to many reliable reports, a significant number of Russian invaders have raped and continue to rape Ukrainian women, many of whom flee to Poland, where abortion is illegal. The left wing political party Razem, which is represented in the Polish parliament, is taking legislative and grass-roots action. Like Ireland in the years of darkness created by the anti-abortion 8th Amendment to the constitution (1983-2018) – Women are forced to travel to obtain an abortion. The Polish state claims it is supporting the just resistance of the Ukrainian masses against the ethnic cleansing racist invader Putin. This claim is junk when we observe collaboration in action with the rapists in Russian uniform. International solidarity is required.
The left-wing Polish political party Razem reports :
Two-thirds of Poles support legal abortion! Right wing politicians, as usual, represent not citizens, but conservative concrete.
And Poles, just like Germans, Norwegians, Spanish or Ukrainians, have the right to decide for themselves! A right wing politician, priest or conservative should not decide about their bodies!
More than 200 thousand signatures of Legalna aborcja. Bez kompromisów have recently reached the Parliament and the bill will be proceeded before the holidays. It’s still going to be beautiful!
https://www.facebook.com/partiarazem
The European Network for Solidarity with Ukraine ENSU) is a good information source :
https://ukraine-solidarity.eu/703321b4901643b1bfd8b9e0793c6321
In Ireland – when abortion was illegal – numerous networks helped women to travel abroad to secure an abortion. Today in Poland, women from Ukraine – often raped by Russian President Putin’s brutal invading soldiers – are accessing clandestine pro-choice networks.
Imagine stepping across a border and discovering that reproductive rights you once took for granted are now a crime. For millions of Ukrainians, that discovery happened when they fled the war in their home country and set foot here in Poland. Ukraine has very liberal abortion laws. In Poland, it’s almost entirely illegal. But while Poland’s anti-abortion effort has the weight of the government behind it, there is another movement, one that’s secretive, underground and punishable with prison time. You see it right here on the border if you know where to look.
http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article62574
See also from Razem :
‘Declare it to a doctor, and it’s over’: Ukrainian women face harsh reality of Poland’s abortion laws
This article from the British Guardian Newspaper can be read here : http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article62437. The reporter, Weronika Strzyżyńska, advises :
Leftwing politicians recently suggested amendments to a recent bill passing through the Polish government on the reception of Ukrainian refugees, which would force prosecutors to issue the necessary documentation within a seven-day period. The proposal was rejected by the Sejm, the lower chamber of the Polish parliament.
Solidarity with refugees includes allowing women to access an abortion, especially when a woman reports she has been raped by members of an invading army. Ukrainian women do not have access to this service in Poland. Pressure must be put on the Warsaw government to change itds restrictive anti-abortion laws. The European Network for Solidarity with Ukraine is raising this issue, in conjunction with the polish political party, Razem. Links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_Together https://ukraine-solidarity.eu/
Women turn to aid groups for help, with many unaware their rights to reproductive healthcare have vanished upon crossing the border
Read the rest of this entry »Declaration from the Athens Conference on Debt and Austerity
Afri – Action from Ireland – is one of the groups that has signed the declaration below –
Source :
http://www.internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article2173
The attempt to make working people and the poor bear the costs of the crisis, while the very rich escape, will be opposed by those in the firing line. The people of Greece, Ireland and Portugal, but also Poland, Hungary, Slovenia and elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe, challenge the austerity policies of the EU and the IMF, oppose international financial power, and reject the slavery of debt. We call on people across the world to show solidarity with movements in these countries struggling against debt and the pernicious policies it brings in its wake.
Tomás Ó Flatharta 