Tomás Ó Flatharta

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Archive for the ‘Finbar Cafferkey’ Category

Philip O’Keeffe – A Comrade of Finbar Cafferkey – was arrested while travelling to Ireland to inform family of Mayo man’s death

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Philip O’Keeffe, an Irish citizen who fought with Finbar Cafferkey against Islamic State in Syria, was arrested by British counterterrorism police on his way to Ireland.

Readers are encouraged to support Philip in any way that is practical.

This report comes from the may 19 2023 issue of the Irish Times :

A former comrade of Finbar Cafferkey, the Irish man killed fighting in Ukraine, was arrested by UK counterterrorism police last month as he attempted to travel to Ireland to deliver the news of the Mayo man’s death.

Philip O’Keeffe, an Irish citizen who fought with Mr Cafferkey against the Islamic State in Syria while they were both members of the Kurdish YPG, is facing prosecution under contentious antiterrorism legislation after being stopped by the Metropolitan Police while travelling through Heathrow Airport in London on April 22nd.

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“It was all about FINBAR. the Irish environmentalist; DMITRY the Russian anarchist, and COOPER the American socialist” – Tribute to heroes fallen in Ukraine at Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris

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A report is here :

On Saturday, May 6, a delegation of activists and representatives of organizations participating in the French Committee of RESU (European Network for Solidarity with Ukraine 🇺🇦) held a tribute organized by the Collectif des Francophone Combatants du Rojava to three internationalist comrades who fell all three in Ukraine fighting against the Russian invasion . The homage took place at the cemetery of Father Lachaise. at 14:30 in front of the Federated Wall of the Paris Commune.
It was all about FINBAR. the irish independentist and environmentalist. ; from DMITRY the Russian anarchist, and from COOPER the American socialist. They fought against the Russian invasion that they judged to be the emanation of authoritarian imperialism covering itself with the varnish of “liberator”.
Some had previously fought in Rojava alongside the Kurds with other revolutionary militants.
We wanted to show our deepest respect for their commitment.

French Committee of the ENSU (RESU) : https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087563586225

Link to ENSU : https://ukraine-solidarity.eu/to-read/the-irish-lefts-response-to-russias-war-on-ukraine-debate-on-the-letters-page-of-the-irish-times-part-two

Against Half-Solidarity and False Pacifism – Statement of the Russian Socialist Movement on May Day

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Source : https://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article66416

This excellent statement diagnoses a political blight – False Pacifism – which has entered the bloodstream of significant parts of the Irish left and trade union movement. We are dealing with an international phenomenon :

We would like to highlight that such pacifism is false for several reasons. First, it is armed with old dogmas which are not reconsidered in light of current circumstances. Rejecting ‘concrete analysis of a concrete situation’, the Left devalues the concepts and principles of the Left movement, turning them into mere abstractions. “Anti-imperialism” is reduced to struggle with American imperialism and NATO expansion whereas pacifism is transformed from the instrument of struggle against the aggressor into the instrument of the appeasement of the aggressor. “False” pacifism promotes neutrality or limited support for Ukraine. However, we are convinced that the application of the same critical standards the Left apply to capitalist societies of the Global North means full-blown support of Ukraine since Russia is an imperialist aggressor which has already annexed part of the Ukrainian territory, killed more than 120 000 people and displaced millions of Ukrainian peoples whereas Ukraine is fighting a war of national liberation.

May Day is not only International Workers’ Day but also a day of solidarity with the oppressed peoples and civil disobedience against war. For example, one can remember the 1971 May Day protests against US imperialist aggression in Vietnam in Washington. During that time, the antiwar movement’s stance was clear: halt the war, complete the withdrawal of American troops, and support the right of the Vietnamese people to self-determination. Nowadays the Left is also leaning toward pacifism but its present iteration is much more ambivalent. While it still highlights issues of American imperialism, the prevention of nuclear war, and condemns militarization and war as means of resolving conflicts, it faces challenges in precisely identifying the aggressor and exhibits a willingness to tolerate Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territory and the continued presence of Russian troops there. Thus this version of pacifism is deprived of real solidarity with the oppressed peoples.

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Bakhmut Town; a tribute to Finbar, Cooper, and Dmitry – A ballad honours Finbar Cafferkey of Achill Island Co. Mayo

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In Bakhmut Town
To the tune of Roddy McCorley

Finbar Cafferkey from Achill Island County Mayo fought for the freedom of Ukraine and died in the streets of Bakhmut town.

https://soundcloud.com/user-310458959/bakhmut-town-a-tribute-to-finbar-cooper-and-dmitry

Oh come you who love freedom and a tale I’ll have you hear
Of comrades who came to Ukraine, as foreign volunteers
From Russia and America, Ireland and all around-
And side by side, they fought and died, on the streets of Bakhmut town

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Finbar Cafferkey – “Achill Island Man killed fighting Russian forces in Ukraine” – Russian Embassy in Dublin Threatens Irish Government

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Finbar Cafferkey’s death was front page headline news in one of the leading Irish daily newspapers, the Irish Times. The newspaper also reports :

Council of Europe says deportation of children from Ukraine is “genocide”

Irish Times, Friday April 28 2023, Front Page

Vladyslav Starodubtsev, a member of the Ukrainian organisation Sotsialnyi Rukh (Social Movement) issued the following tweet :

Vladyslav Starodubtsev (@VlStarodubtsev) tweeted at 8:36 pm on Thu, Apr 27, 2023:
Irish freedom fighter, who fought for Kurdish YPG and then in Armed forces of Ukraine (ZSU) died today. Glory to such persons, who are ready to defend a just cause and die for it. Glory to heroes
(https://twitter.com/VlStarodubtsev/status/1651656479089238037?t=hg_o8jGfkv05IuMtjkP_yw&s=03)

Finbar Cafferkey served with the same unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and died in the same battle as did his comrade, fellow internationalist, anarchist and revolutionary, Dmitry Petrov from Russia.

Taras Bilous – Sotsialnyi Rukh – wrote a long thread about Dmitry’s life.

Taras Bilous (@ahatanhel) tweeted at 7:19 am on Fri, Apr 28, 2023:
Dmitry was a co-founder of the Combat Organization of Anarcho-Communists (BOAK), which sabotaged railway infrastructure in Russia since the start of the invasion.

He send his last word to them for publication in case he died. 9/9
https://t.co/3fzN82woaO https://t.co/dZlDhMsQmr
(https://twitter.com/ahatanhel/status/1651833602705969152?t=kRxCMOkigOV2psgr7F47Yg&s=03)

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