The Militant(logo) 
    Vol.62/No.23           June 15, 1998 
 
 
Sinn Fein Youth Holds National Conference  

BY JACK WILLEY AND ANNE HOWIE
NEWRY, Northern Ireland - Fresh from recent protests against police harassment and other political actions, 98 Sinn Fein Youth activists from across the island, north and south, came together here May 30 for a national conference on "Republicanism Today." Sinn Fein is the political party in the forefront of the fight for a united and democratic republic of Ireland.

"First and foremost, we are an activist organization, holding street protests around the most important questions facing youth today," stated National Organizer Eoin O Broin at the conference.

Three large banners used in recent protests hung from the front of the conference hall, demanding "Free all POWs," "Neamhspleachas - Independence," and "Disband the RUC," referring to the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the police force imposed in Northern Ireland by the British government.

Sinn Fein Youth protests have been aimed primarily at the RUC and the British army troops that occupy the six northern counties of Ireland.

On May 22, SFY in Dublin held a demonstration outside the Garda [Irish police force] Special Forces Branch headquarters protesting the increased harassment of Sinn Fein Youth activists by the Special Branch, the political police. SFY in Dublin and across the island have also participated in demonstrations organized by Saoirse, which fights for the release of all Irish political prisoners, as well as actions calling for the demilitarization of the northern six counties of Ireland and an end to the forced partition of their nation by British imperialism.

On May 24, six SFY activists demonstrated at the Antrim- Donegal football match during halftime, unfurling banners demanding, "No change on Rule 21" and "Disband the RUC." Rule 21 of the Gaelic Athletic Association prohibits members of the occupation forces from participating in sports within the association. This action took place leading up to the vote in the GAA over whether to lift the rule. It also followed a national action May 17 by more than 50 youth in Omagh calling for the disbanding of the RUC and opposing changes to Rule 21. Maintaining Rule 21 has been a major campaign of SFY in recent weeks. Many nationalists see any changes to the rule as part of legitimizing the British occupation forces in the northern six counties of Ireland. On May 30, the GAA voted to maintain the rule until changes are made to the RUC.

Discuss questions facing Irish youth
Speakers at the two panel discussions at the conference were Caoimhghín O Caoláin, a member of the parliament in the Republic of Ireland; Martina McIlkenny, who will stand as a Sinn Fein candidate in North Belfast; Matt Carthy, a SFY leader in Dublin, Anne Speed, Sinn Fein National Women's Officer, and others.

O Caoláin spoke about the declining social conditions of working people in Ireland. He said many economists call Ireland the "Celtic Tiger" because of economic growth in the 1990s. "However, the stripes on the tiger's back spell inequality. Those who benefit from the current growth are few and far between." In the North, O Caoláin pointed out, workers faced additional problems such as anti-Catholic discrimination, which results in male unemployment for Catholics being twice that of Protestants.

He called the proposed minimum wage currently being debated in the British government a slap in the face of all working people, especially young workers. "They are debating whether or not to set a minimum of 3.60 [$6.00] an hour for workers 25 years and older," O Caoláin noted. "For workers under 25, the wage would be 3.20 an hour, and no minimum for young people under 18 years old. We can lead youth in the North and South of Ireland in a campaign to demand a minimum wage of no less than 5 for all working people regardless of age," he said. Six SFY activists hung a banner demanding a 5 minimum wage during this year's May Day march in Dublin.

Carthy spoke about the scourge of heroin addiction, especially in Dublin and its devastating effects on the lives of many Irish youth. "Unemployment, poverty, and drugs play a prominent role in youth life, especially in urban areas," he said. "Heroin use is a symptom of social inequality, not the cause of it. Punishment does not solve the problem - only getting proper health services, and making those services available for young people now."

The second panel discussion, under the title "Independence: national, local and personal," included talks about the role of British imperialism in Ireland and about the fight for women's rights.

Most of the discussion period following the presentations focused on the Good Friday Agreement, which was recently approved in referendums by large majorities in both the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland. Questions included: "How do we avoid getting caught up in the quagmire of electoral politics?" "Didn't the Unionists vote `yes' to put us in a corner?" "Does this mean the republican movement is abandoning armed struggle?" "Where does Sinn Fein Youth fit in youth movements in Europe and the world?" O Caoláin said the legislative assembly that the agreement provides for will be "a battle a day." But he stated that Sinn Fein was going there to "fight for justice, equality, and freedom."

On the motivation of the Unionists who voted yes, O Caoláin said "[Ulster Unionist Party leader David] Trimble was dragged kicking and screaming to sign the document. Some of them recognize that this is as good as it gets for them." Speed pointed out that in similar circumstances in apartheid South Africa, then-president F.W. de Klerk "didn't see where the process was going. The struggle pushes it forward. Our job is to push them further than they want to go."

On the issue of "decommissioning," that is, the demand that the Irish Republican Army (IRA) turn in its weapons as part of a political settlement, Matt Carthy said it was up to the British government to decide whether there will be a resumption of the armed struggle. "Sinn Fein is a political party. We have no arms to decommission. The IRA has stated many times that if the British government does not move toward a peaceful transition to a united Ireland, with all troops out and all weapons put aside, they will never turn in their arms."

On the question of other youth movements internationally, Carthy explained that SFY works closely with Jarrai, the youth organization of Herri Batasuna, the main political party fighting for Basque independence from Spain and France. SFY and Jarrai have sent delegations to the Basque Country and Ireland to learn more about each other's national liberation struggles. Eoin O Broin said that in addition to Jarrai, Sinn Fein Youth have met with an Ogoni group from Nigeria and sent a representative to Cairo earlier this year for a meeting of the World Federation of Democratic Youth.

Conference marks further progress
This conference marked another step in the building of Sinn Fein Youth. Since forming last August, SFY have held three national conferences, including this one and a couple educational weekends. Sinn Fein Youth grew out of the advances made by the nationalist movement over the past half a decade and the growing need for an organization capable of drawing in young people looking to fight for independence. It formed out of the attempts to launch and build Glor na nOG, a predecessor of SFY, in 1996 and out of collaboration with the Basque organization Jarrai.

Niall O Murchú, the National Development Officer of SFY, explained that the leadership is focusing on consolidating functioning local groups in Northern Ireland and in Dublin. "Although this has been our focus, we have been quite surprised by the interest we've found throughout Ireland," O Murchú said.

"New groups keep forming. Most of our members are in their teens and are not members of the party. SFY gives them an opportunity to check out and get involved in the republican movement, with whatever amount of time they want to commit."

In an interview after the conference, Martin, who asked that his last name not be used, explained what his group in Leitrim is organizing over the summer. The Leitrim group formed two weeks before the conference. "We plan on mobilizing for the marching season much more than nationalists did last year. In the south, many people do not know the truth about these triumphalist marches, but more are finding out."

Martin was referring to parades organized by the Orange Order and other rightist organizations that favor maintaining the union of Northern Ireland with Britain. Many of these supremacist, anti-Catholic marches go through Catholic neighborhoods in an attempt to intimidate supporters of a united Ireland.

In addition to mobilizing young people to protest the Orange marches, SFY are launching a protest campaign of actions against the harassment and arrests of Sinn Fein Youth activists. More than 30 people have been arrested and many others are receiving harassing phone calls by the Royal Ulster Constabulary in the North and the Garda Special Branch in the South.  
 
 
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