Tag Archives: Ireland

News, March 2023

March 2, 2023Nonviolent News2023, Ireland, Peace newsRob Fairmichael

Make a start on building a peaceful future with StoP

StoP, Swords to Ploughshares, is an all-island network working to oppose the arms trade and militarisation in both the Republic and Northern Ireland. It meets remotely every six weeks or so and therefore anyone can join in. It also organises seminars and demonstrations, with some events online including webinars on EU militarisation and Irish neutrality https://youtu.be/mqniPJg70xU and on human and ecological security https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpcK1QYLk6M Both individuals and groups can be involved. StoP is currently looking for a volunteer coordinator as this rotates; in terms of work there is probably the equivalent of under a day a month. Please contact StoP at stoploughshares@gmail.com if you are interested in being informed about StoP meetings and events or if you might be interested in the role of volunteer coordinator. More information about StoP can be found at: https://www.swordstoploughshares-ireland.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/SToPIreland/

CAJ: Retirement of Brian Gormally, misogyny, housing

A new director will be announced soon for CAJ/Committee on the Administration of Justice following the imminent retirement of Brian Gormally who has been in post for over a decade. Meanwhile CAJ’s newsletter, Just News, can be read online and the February issue includes coverage of an Equality Coalition seminar on the Scottish model for preventing misogynist crime where an official report recommends a stand alone act on the issues. Also included is a report on paramilitary housing intimidation which can be sectarian and/or racist. See https://caj.org.uk/publications/our-newsletter/just-news-february-2023/ CAJ’s annual report for 2022 is available at https://caj.org.uk/publications/annual-reports/annual-report-2022/

Glebe House volunteer workcamp, 29^th May to 8^th June

Glebe House is a peacebuilding focused residential and day activity centre, owned by Harmony Community Trust, in the Strangford area. Glebe House has been active for nearly 50 years and opportunities for young people and adults are provided to be part of a truly Shared Space. Working with Voluntary Service International, applications are invited for volunteers for a fun but busy workcamp. The ten-day opportunity will attract volunteers from across Ireland, the UK and further afield to come to work together to support HCT in preparing its beautiful 16 acre site for the busy summer ahead and around its Fun Day which will be held in the middle of the workcamp. Applications are welcome from all, but some people with disabilities may find being a full part of the camp challenging due to the work to be done, but Glebe House is open to seeing how that may be accommodated. Applications only through the SCI website https://www.workcamps.sci.ngo/icamps/camp-details/15579.html. Further information can be obtained from Andrew McCracken, Director at Glebe House email director@glebehouseni.com to arrange a call or zoom.

Organic Centre Rossinver

The Organic Centre nestled in the heart of rural Rossinver, Leitrim looks forward to 2023 with the hope of brighter days ahead. As an educational charity, it specialises in promoting all things organic, sustainable living and biodiversity. The Organic Centre was founded in 1995 by local organic growers, and farmers. Developed on a 19-acre green field site at the foot of limestone hills beside Lough Melvin, it became a pioneering organisation, at the forefront of organic growing, and action for climate change. From the beginning there were 6 weekend courses which took place in 1997. Now, the centre looks forward to almost 100 courses ranging from growing to recycling workshops, stone wall building, cheese making, cob oven building and more.

The calendar year hosts more than 6 free events including Biodiversity Day, and Apple Day. And coming soon is the well-loved Potato Day, a free family friendly event, on Sunday 5th March from 12-4pm, a great place to buy your potato seeds, with demonstrations, tours, and an onsite craft and food market. The Centre is delighted to launch its new seed collection, one of the biggest suppliers of organic seeds and one of the most diverse range nationally. Visit https://www.theorganiccentre.ie/page/whats-on-5 for more information on Potato Day.

The centre also hosts a one-year, full time fully funded course in organic horticulture, an opportunity to learn and be part of a movement, as policy makers nationally and internationally now begin to recognise the importance of organic agriculture for planet and health. The MSLETB Level 5 in Organic Horticulture closes for applications soon. Click on https://msletb.ie/further-education-and-training-fet/search-courses/?sfcw-courseId=361215 to find out more and register. Organise a tour of the centre as an away day with your work, school or family. Just ring 0719854338. You can for a walk on the new Fowleys Falls trail that now links up with the Organic Centre, a perfect day out. The Grass Roof Cafe with vegetarian and vegan menu, open every weekend is being run by inspiring young chef, Thien Laitenberger.

Check out the Organic Centre’s website and social media channels for more information on courses, events, and the onsite and online shop including Zero Waste and Craft sections. https://www.theorganiccentre.ie/

Reflections after the first St Brigid’s Day holiday: Afri Féile Bríde

The first annual bank holiday celebrating an Irish women, Brigid, took place on 6^th March in the Republic and a couple of days earlier was Afri’s 30^th Féile Bríde. Afri is working to ensure that aspects of Brigid’s life such as peacemaking and caring for the planet are not ironed out of the picture. https://www.afri.ie/category/reflections-from-feile-bride –2023/#more-79759 gives a short resume of the Afri approach and a link to an 11-minute video of the programme at the Solas Bhríde Centre, Kildare; this includes an appreciation of Brigid by Adi Roche. Meanwhile a short report and clip on St Brigid’s visit to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin on her feast day, calling for peacemaking action by the Irish government, can be seen at https://www.afri.ie/category/brigid-calls-for-peace-on-st-brigids-day/

Corrymeela: Horizons Volunteer Programme

The Corrymeela Horizons Volunteer Programme is an opportunity to spend a year living at the Ballycastle Centre welcoming groups, providing hospitality and delivering programmes for groups from different backgrounds, enabling them to explore how to live well together. During the year, Corrymeela provides support and training to enable the Horizon volunteers to develop their skills in working with a wide range groups. Former volunteers say that their experience was personally life enriching for them, whilst also benefiting them in their future lives and careers. Further details at https://www.corrymeela.org/volunteer and the closing date is 10^th March.

There is much more information on the Corrymeela website about forthcoming events, the ongoing programmes, news, resources, and full information about the meeting facilities available at the Ballycastle Centre. https://www.corrymeela.org/

British Royal Navy supply ship visits Belfast prior to H&W building

Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Tidesurge visited Belfast in mid-February as part of preparation for 3 new massive support ships being constructed at Harland and Wolff in the period 2025-2032. The role played by such ships in the British war machine was detailed by the captain of RFA Tidesurge, Karl Woodfield, in saying “We are part of the carrier strike group which enables the Royal Navy to deploy worldwide without any host nation support. It gives the Royal Navy its global reach.” https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/royal-fleet-auxiliary-ship-visits-belfast-ahead-of-support-vessels-contract-work/1924180595.html

ICCL on policing oversight, and on hate crime bill
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has written to the Oireachtas Justice Committee urging them to ensure that new proposals for improved Garda oversight are strengthened. The Policing Security and Community Safety Bill includes the establishment of a Police Ombudsman to replace the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC), as well as an expanded Policing and Community Safety Authority, and a new Independent Examiner of Security Legislation.  ICCL said that new Garda oversight bodies must have the powers and independence to ensure Gardaí operate within the law and with respect for human rights. They have raised a number of issues including exceptions which they consider too broad, and have pushed for the new Police Ombudsman to have the right to search garda stations.

ICCL also said the Commission on the Future of Policing could not have been clearer regarding the need to take prosecution powers away from Gardaí. Independent prosecutors should take cases. ICCL also raised the need for An Garda Síochána to start collecting and publishing data on its interactions with different minority groups, such as migrants and the Traveller community.  Read ICCL's briefing to the Oireachtas Justice Committee at https://www.iccl.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/230216-ICCL-Briefing-on-Policing-Security-and-Community-Safety-Bill-2023.pdf

l The Hate Crime Coalition, of which ICCL is a prominent part, has also welcomed the progress of the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence of Hatred and Hate Offences Bill) 2022. However ICCL Policy Officer and Chair of the Coalition, Luna Lara Liboni, has said ““If the legislation is to be effective, it is essential that it is properly implemented and reviewed. We are calling for a comprehensive review of the legislation within five years involving all relevant stakeholders, including impacted communities, civil society and criminal justice actors.” www.iccl.ie/

De Borda on beyond Brexit binary binds

A short paper, written by Peter Emerson, on “If but Brexit hadn’t been binary” is available on the de Borda Institute website http://www.deborda.org/home/2023/2/13/2023-5-if.html This looks at the mistakes made and how the issue could be reviewed using a multi-option ballot. There are many other resources on the same website.

FOE: Solar panels for schools

Thanks to work by schools and campaigning by Friends of the Earth, bureaucratic barriers to install solar panels on schools have been removed (in the Republic). Not only that, but the Government has now promised to provide funding for solar panels on every school. A short cartoon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdWsgSuMwao is available from FOE and it provides info and urges people to contact the Minister for Education to ensure the promise is met promptly. https://www.friendsoftheearth.ie/

l It’s International Global Climate Strike Day on 3^rd March, word search for details.

Disruptive Women arpilleras exhibition

From now until 5^th August there is an exibition of arpilleras on the topic of Disruptive Women, spread across three venues – the Ulster Museum (Belfast), Flowerfield Arts Centre (Portstewart) and Ulster University Magee Campus Library (Derry). The arpilleras are from Conflict Textiles and Fundació Atenau Sant Roc, looking at women who have broken the mould, challenging violence and human rights abuses and working for justice and fairness. There will be associated events in the different locations. https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/conflicttextiles/

Billy King: Rites Again, 307

March 2, 2023Billy King, Nonviolent NewsBilly King, Iraq war 2003, Ireland, Nuclear power, ParamilitariesRob Fairmichael

Billy King shares his monthly thoughts

Hell o again, writing that reminds me of the story about the church bulletin which mentioned that a meeting would be gin with a prayer. Anyway, on with the show.

They haven’t gone away (unfortunately)

The attempted killing of a senior PSNI detective in Omagh, and the very serious, critical, injuries he received, are an unpleasant reminder that paramilitaries have not left the stage in Northern Ireland, they are still waiting in the wings. This was presumably a very targeted murder attempt in that he had probably been the senior officer investigating some of the comrades of those who attempted the killing. He was not only an easy target – putting footballs away after being involved in regular training of young lads in football – but it was an attack on someone who was involved in youth work and sports training in his spare time.

Republican paramilitaries who reject the Good Friday Agreement may be small but they still have some capacity to hit hard, and if they had had ‘more luck’ in other operations then the injury or death count could be larger. Loyalist paramilitaries however have a larger ‘on the ground’ presence in some Protestant working class areas, and a larger involvement in illegal activities such as drug supply and dealing. Twenty-five years after the GFA they are still a feature of life.

While various programmes have tried to help paramilitaries move on, and most have, the reality is that paramilitarism is still a feature in Northern Ireland, and the return of paramilitarism on a greater scale an even bigger threat if the wind blew the wrong way. It strikes me that part of what provides self justification for them is the way that past violence on ‘their’ side (republican, loyalist and state) is justified. But another reason is the lack of understanding of the possibilities of nonviolent struggle – which is where us peace activists come in. However it is uphill all the way when so much effort is put into inculcating violence and the military on a larger scale – e.g. Queen Elizabeth’s funeral was basically one massive military event.

It is not just in Northern Ireland, obviously, that this applies. And the small voice of the advocates of nonviolent change and struggle is usually drowned out by a myriad of other voices which are both more numerous, better placed and better funded. But we will keep trying to have our spake even if there is a gale force wind taking our voices away from those who matter.

Twenty years after the Iraq war

Doesn’t time fly when you are having fun-damental questions about the nature of western society, anyway it is now two decades since the USA and Britain invaded Iraq, and two decades since a considerable part of the world, in the big demos of February 2003, told them not to do it. So is peace protest a lost cause? Not necessarily. Protests did put down a marker, raise consciousness about the illegitimacy of the war, and hopefully make our great leaders think twice about doing it again. Of course the whole debacle of the war itself, and aftermath, also emphasised its ill judged nature and it ruined what reputation Tony Blair had (he decided to back the USA, no questions asked)..

However the margin between ‘success’ and ‘failure’ in stopping a war can be very small. Milan Rai, who is editor of Peace News in Britain,, has an easily accessible article in the February-March 2023 issue of Peace News, available at https://peacenews.info/node/10508/how-we-nearly-stopped-war He has also written books about the Iraq war – before and after, including Regime Unchanged (Pluto, 2003) which discusses the issues in the article in greater detail.

In this article he details the wobbliness of the British government coming up to the war, and the fact that parliament was given a vote only because of the public pressure through demonstrations and the like. Had UN weapons inspectors been allowed to do their job (as opposed to being ordered out by the USA when going to war) this might have held up the whole affair and shown conclusively that Iraq did not have Weapons of Mass Destruction (the Weapons of Mass Distraction on the other hand included a ‘dodgy dossier’ from the British government claiming the unclaimable on this matter). The work of the weapons inspectors might have taken a few months – but the USA wanted war and it was not going to wait.

Milan Rai goes on to contrast the lobbying which went on of Turkish parliamentarians against the war, successfully, compared to the lack of lobbying of Labour MPs in Britain, most of whom voted for the war. “In the run-up to the British parliamentary vote on 18 March, the British anti-war movement did not mount the same kind of national lobbying effort as had taken place in Turkey. Neither the Stop the War Coalition, dominated by the Socialist Workers Party, nor the direct action wing of the anti-war movement, largely anarchist, believed in lobbying, and no other anti-war body took the lead. Stop the War concentrated on conventional marches and rallies. Much of the direct action movement was focused on protests at military bases; some of the rest focused on ‘Day X’, what to do when the war started. All of these were valuable activities. What was missing was a push to have a parliamentary vote on the war, and then to lobby MPs intensively. As it was, a majority of Labour MPs voted for war.”

Had Britain not jumped on the war bandwagon the USA’s position would have been much more difficult in terms of perceived legitimacy (I say ‘perceived’ because the war had no legitimacy at legal or strategic levels). But the above contrast between Turkey and Britain also leads us to the conclusion that no nonviolent tactics should ever be excluded from the panoply of what we might use. Lobbying, if done in sufficient numbers and with sufficient strength, can work.

Wars are relatively easy to get into and very difficult to get out of. This, tragically, applies to Russia and Ukraine today.

What springs to mind

Spring isn’t quite sprung yet but our snowdrops are nearly over, daffodils/narcissae are coming into flower or in full flower, and the days are noticeably longer. The spring is a great season anywhere but in Ireland April, coming up soon, is on average the driest month so a really great time to be out and about and ‘doing things’ in the great outdoors – mind you February has been a lot drier than usual too.

During Covid there has been a rediscovery of aspects of our own backyards, literally and metaphorically. Ireland doesn’t have the summer sun and heat of many countries to the east and south but if you are moving (walking, running, hiking, cycling, swimming etc) once you get going, if you are suitably equipped, then that should not interfere with your enjoyment. Ireland is green for a reason and that reason drops out of the sky in the shape of rain.

Spring is the season of new growth and all of us can be a part of that, almost whatever the circumstances. Window boxes and tubs can have a surprising variety of flowers or some salad vegetables growing. You can even grow sprouting seeds, highly nutritious, without any soil or compost. If you have space but don’t want a garden you have to do too much work in then a fruit tree or too can do wonders in terms of an enjoyable crop. And a wild garden may be home to a myriad of creatures and, with a little bit of thought, be another wonder with perhaps just a path (manufactured or cut) to have easy access..

My only plea in all this is to think organic and avoid adding to the chemicals which are far too present around us already. Going organic can on occasions mean more work but it is also more rewarding and nature will thank you. Something called the internet can assist you in finding out more and places like the Organic Centre in the north-west (see news section this issue) is a valuable resource.

A long time ago, like the 1960s and 70s, to ‘dig’ something could be to get it, to appreciate it. It was slang emanating from the USA, possibly coming from even further back, the 1930s and 1940s. ‘Dig’ has several meanings but one theory is that this sense of ‘dig’ comes from the Irish ‘an dtuigeann tú’, and wouldn’t you know that we would get in there somewhere. Whether you are into digging or no digging gardening and horticulture you can cooperate with nature in whatever way you fancy and ‘dig it’. It may even put a spring in your step and it certainly won’t soil your reputation; to have green fingers is always an accolade. [Any more puns like that and I’ll be digging a hole to climb into, or take a dig at you – Ed].

Nukes are puke

Ireland, thankfully, avoided an inappropriate nuclear power plant at Carnsore Point at the end of the 1970s (it wasn’t a ‘sore point’ with activists when Dessie O’Malley’s successor as responsible minister dropped the plans). You can learn more about the anti-nuclear power movement then from an edited version of a thesis by Simon Dalby on the INNATE website at https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/pamphlets/ and on the INNATE photo site at https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/albums/72157607158367565

However every so often there is a letter in the Irish Times, and the issue raised elsewhere, of a small new-tech nuclear plant being The Answer to Ireland’s quest for ‘green energy’ and power when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine. If things were only as simple as that. Firstly, nuclear power is far from green and there are no known ways to keep waste safe for tens of thousands of years – think of the time from when Jesus was around and take that forward by a large multiple – no one is quite sure how long with the nuclear industry talking about 10,000 years but others clearly saying much much longer. Bequeathing such waste to our descendents seems totally callous and irresponsible. Secondly, while modern plants may be safer than heretofore, the unexpected still happens; think Fukoshima (or even think Chernobyl in the Russia-Ukraine war) – we don’t know what could happen. Thirdly, new nuclear plants are notoriously slow to be built and by the time Ireland would have one coming on stream we would have had to have green energy properly sorted earlier.

But this whole matter was dealt with recently by John Fitzgerald, a very competent but not exactly radical economic analyst in the Irish Times, https://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/2023/02/10/nuclear-power-is-not-the-right-solution-to-irelands-energy-needs/ and the title says it all – “Nuclear power plants are simply too big to be viable in Ireland”. It is a perceptive and analytical piece although lacking mention of ‘the unexpected’, as mentioned above.

Anyway, Fitzgerald states “As the Department of Finance noted 40 years ago, nuclear generators come at a minimum scale, which is huge relative to the size of the Irish electricity market. In order to guard against the risk of a breakdown in such a single large plant, we would need to maintain equivalent generation capacity as a backup, which would be very costly. Nuclear plants are simply too big to be viable in our small electricity market……..Having invested massively in wind power, we need backup that can be readily powered up when the wind doesn’t blow and powered down again. Nuclear generators lack that flexibility – they are always on. So nuclear is a poor fit for Ireland’s energy needs.”

Of course Ireland does need generating capacity not dependent on wind or sun and that can be provided by a variety of sources including different forms of tidal power. These need developed rapidly, along with storage including pumped water and batteries. And we are, to begin with, arguably the best suited location in Europe for wind power to begin with. You would like to think that such an article as that by John Fitzgerald might mean the end of letters advocating nuclear power but some people just love a high tech, ‘simple’ solution, except it isn’t a solution at all.

–

That’s me for March and I’ll see you again in a month’s time, until then take care of yourself, others and the planet, Billy.

News, February 2023

February 1, 2023Nonviolent NewsIreland, Peace news, Shannon AirportRob Fairmichael

Shannon: Horgan and Dowling acquitted of criminal damage

After a ten day trial at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin, Edward Horgan and Dan Dowling were found not guilty of criminal damage for a nonviolent action at Shannon Airport almost six years previously. On 25th April 2017, the two peace activists were arrested at Shannon Airport and charged with causing criminal damage by writing graffiti on a US Navy aircraft. They were also charged with trespassing on the curtilage of Shannon Airport. The words “Danger Danger Do Not Fly” were written with a red marker on the engine of the warplane. It was one of two US Navy aircraft that had arrived at Shannon from from Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia. They subsequently flew on to a US air base in the Persian Gulf having spent two nights at Shannon.

The jury of eight men and four women accepted their arguments that they acted with lawful excuse. Judge Martina Baxter gave the defendants the benefit of the Probation Act on the charge of Trespass for which they were found guilty, on condition that they agree to be Bound to the Peace for 12 months and make a significant donation (€5,000 each) to a women’s refuge in Co Clare.. Both peace activists said they had no problem being “bound to the peace” and making the financial contribution (donations to charity are often used in Irish courts instead of a formal fine).

Perhaps the most important piece of evidence presented in the case was a 34 page folder containing the names of about 1,000 children who have died in the Middle East. This had been carried into the airport by Edward Horgan as evidence of why they had entered. It was part of a project called Naming the Children which Edward and other peace activists were undertaking in order to document and list as many as possible of the up to one million children who had died as a result of US and NATO led wars in the Middle East since the first Gulf War in 1991. It was pointed out that at least 38 prosecutions of peace activists had taken place since 2001 in relation to Shannon while no prosecutions or proper investigations had taken place for breaches of Irish legislation by the US military and Irish authorities.

Meanwhile US war planes continue to refuel and stopover at Shannon. A Shannonwatch spokesperson said “Over three million armed US troops have transited through Shannon Airport since 2001 on their way to illegal wars in the Middle East. This is in violation of Irish neutrality and international laws on neutrality.” As Shannonwatch states, “The military misuse of Shannon continues.” More details at http://www.shannonwatch.org/

20^th anniversary celebration of Pitstop Ploughshares

On Friday 3^rd February at 6.30pm in the Teachers’ Club, 36 Parnell Square West, Dublin, there is a celebration of 20 years since Pitstop Plougshares disaarmed a U.S. War Plane at Shannon en route to the invasion of Iraq. It starts with a showing of ‘Route Irish’, then speakers at 8pm, and music from Joe Black & the Roj Light at 9pm. More info: phone or text Ciaron at 083 416 2590. Free entry and there will be a bar.

Afri Féile Bríde; Darkness, Dawning, Light

The 30^th Féile Bríde will be on Saturday 4^th February when those speaking/performing will include Adi Roche, Emer Lynam, Adi Roche, Tommy Sands, Justine Nantal, and Luka Bloom. As usual/normal it will take place in the Solas Bhríde Centre, Kildare town. Full details and booking information are on the Afri website at www.afri.ie The event will begin at 10.00 am with a Ceremony of Light in the Square in Kildare, and then registration at 11 am.

Social Change Initiative on tackling hate and extremism

Material from the Social Change Initiative in Belfast on tackling the far right appears on their website at https://www.socialchangeinitiative.com/extremism including material from Britain, Ireland and Greece.

CAJ: NIO ‘gaslighting’ victims

CAJ, the Committee on the Administration of Justice, and academic colleagues have strongly criticised claims by the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) that the latest amendments to the UK’s legacy bill address some of the ‘principal concerns’ about the legislation. About the amendments, Daniel Holder of CAJ said “Some are just window dressing and others would actually make the bill worse. “ See https://caj.org.uk/latest/nio-gaslighting-victims-with-claims-legacy-bill-amendments-address-their-concerns/ and other items on the CAJ website.

ICCL: GDPR, Garda surveillance

ICCL has previously criticised the lack of GDPR enforcement against Big Tech, and the European Commission’s failure to monitor how the GDPR is applied since it became enforceable in 2018. The European Commission has now committed to examining every large-scale GDPR case, everywhere in Europe. It will measure how long each procedural step in a case is taking, and what the relevant data protection authorities are doing to progress the case. The Commission will do this six times per year.

ICCL is deeply concerned about some elements of the proposed Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022 and how the Bill’s passage through the Oireachtas is being managed. The Bill is part of a wider programme of reform of An Garda Síochána, which ICCL welcomes and supports. However, the Bill will also significantly expand the surveillance powers of An Garda Síochána, including covert surveillance, and ICCL is concerned that these changes are not subject to sufficient scrutiny because the Bill is being rushed through the Oireachtas. https://www.iccl.ie/

Development education and the economic paradigm

The Centre for Global Education (CGE) and Irish Development Education Association have organised an online seminar to debate the content of Issue 35 of Policy and Practice: A Development Education Review which is on the theme “Development Education and the Economic Paradigm”. The speakers are: Celina del Felice (Chair); Harm-Jan Fricke; Anders Daniel Faksvåg Haugen; and Irene Tollefsen. Tuesday, 14 February 2023 from 12.00 – 1.30pm. To register visit: https://www.ideaonline.ie/development-education-and-the-economic-paradigm CGE is at https://www.centreforglobaleducation.com/

Mediation: ‘S’ questions model

An MNI training with Gerry O’Sullivan on mediation questions takes place on 17^th and 18^th April (online, mornings) and 24^th April (face-to-face, all day in MNI offices Belfast). The focus is on knowing how to formulate and ask incisive questions to get to the core of a conflict, challenge entrenched thinking, and shift perspective.. Fee £330, booking/further info at https://mediation-northern-ireland.idloom.events/GOS

Opposition to Coillte deal with Gresham House

There has been significant publicity in the Republic about – and opposition to – a proposed deal between Irish Foresty Board semi-state Coillte and investment firm Gresham House. Word search for details. The Woodland League, for example, states they “see it as a land and public funds grab to benefit overseas investors, using Coillte as a sub-contractor with no tangible benefits to the Irish People, Farmers, or Nature” and “In fact we see in the overall Coillte Forestry Strategy target to plant an area the size of Carlow, 250,000 acres by 2050, that it will lock us into a sitka spruce nightmare for another 100 years.” A petition on the current issue is available at https://www.saveourforests.ie/ and see also https://thewoodlandleagueforestinabox.ie/

Eco Congregation Ireland annual review

https://www.ecocongregationireland.com/2023/01/29/eci-annual-review-2022-now-available/ gives a short annual review of ECI’s work. ECI encourages churches of all denominations to take an eco approach to worship, lifestyle, property and finance management, community outreach and contact with the developing world.

INNATE resources

A listing has been made of INNATE online resources available on both the main and photo/documentary sites, see https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/INNATE-online-listing-2023-for-web.pdf This includes a brief mention of archival material deposited with PRONI, the Public Record Office for NI.

lA paper by Geoffrey Corry on the evolution of Glencree is available at https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Glencree-memories-1970s-G-Corry.pdf

Thales missile contract, H&W order confirmed

As well as news of a £223 million order to Thales in Belfast from the British Ministry of Defence for hand-held anti-tank weapons (NLAWS, see Nonviolent News Supplement to No.305, January), it was confirmed in mid-January that Harland and Wolff will be involved in the construction of three massive Royal Navy supply ships. https://www.harland-wolff.com/news/naval-shipbuilding-to-return-to-harland-wolff-belfast

Feasta: Wellbeing frameworks

Ireland, as elsewhere, has been developing a wellbeing framework that contains a dashboard of indicators on how Ireland is doing in many different areas, including health, education, employment and the environment. In Feasta and the EHFF’s Bridging the Gaps podcast, Seán Ó Conláin and Caroline Whyte speak with Margreet Frieling, the knowledge co-lead at the Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEAll), about her experience in New Zealand. https://www.feasta.org/2023/01/31/bridging-the-gaps-2023-podcasts-on-ecology-health-well-being/

World Beyond War virtual film festival, 11-25 March

World Beyond War is showing A Force More Powerful, Pray the Devil Back to Hell, (on Liberia) and Beyond the Divide (on the division between army veterans and peace advocates). Watch the film in your own time, then join Saturday evening discussion (Irish time). Variable fees for tickets, full info at https://worldbeyondwar.org/filmfest2023/

Russia: No civilian alternative to conscription in mobilisation

No legal or practical provision exists for alternative civilian service (ACS) during mobilisation, despite the Russian Constitution guaranteeing this right for every citizen. This has led to military recruitment offices refusing applications for ACS and sending conscientious objectors to military units. Obviously this is also not an easy ‘way out’ for those called up but opposed to the war in Ukraine. See https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2022/russia-no-legal-provision-alternative-civilian-service-during-mobilisation for details.

IFOR Council report

A short report on the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) Council meeting held in Juba, South Sudan, in November is available at https://www.ifor.org/news/2022/12/23/ifor-quadrennial-council-press-release-1 The Council was preceded by a public conference on “Armed Conflicts and Peaceful Transitions in Africa: Lessons from Southern Sudan and around the World”.

Death of Brendan McAllister

We very much regret to record the death of Brendan McAllister on 13^th December last, after a short illness; he was inter alia first director of Mediation Northern Ireland, and former victims commissioner. He was a long time peace and reconciliation activist from Newry. See also https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/2022/12/14/brendan-mcallister/ and the Billy King column in email/web editions of this issue.

Editorial: Neutrality – Opting in

February 1, 2023Editorials, Nonviolent NewsEditorial, Ireland, Neutrality, Opting in, Positive, PossibilitiesRob Fairmichael

Irish neutrality, and neutrality in general, is depicted by the powers that be as a passive opt out from the real issues of the day and shouldering the burden of keeping the peace through military means. There is, and has been, a concerted effort to depict neutrality as outdated, limited in any case (“military neutrality” only while the establishment pushes for full involvement with NATO/EU military structures), and irresponsible in the modern world.

Even a publication like The Economist (based primarily in London) has been getting in on the (rather tired) act, saying “Neutrality looks increasingly like a simplistic answer to complex geopolitical questions…..Switzerland or Ireland throwing its weight behind Ukraine is unlikely to have the same effect. [[As the USA moving from neutrality in 1941]]. But it would be a welcome decision to join the real world.” (The Economist 21/1/23) And so it goes.

We would argue that it is the militarists who refuse to join ‘the real world’. They have numerous fantasies: their faith in armaments is unshakeable; their belief that the burgeoning EU empire will be a force for good; their belief that militarisation makes you ‘safe’. All these are beliefs that are fantasies They spend enormous sums of money on the latest armaments while not dealing with the real needs of human security and justice, locally (in Europe) and globally. And it is NATO expansionism, and outdated concepts of democracy (see Peter Emerson’s article in this issue) as much as Putin’s belligerence and chauvinism which has led to the disaster that is Ukraine today, although undoubtedly Russia is the brutal aggressor.

There is no end to the war in sight for Ukraine. For Russia, which invaded Ukraine expecting an easy victory, to roll over and admit defeat would require a major change in Russia itself and specifically overturning the power of Vladimir Putin, or engineering a situation where he has no choice (nowhere near the situation currently). The death toll is currently likely to be over a hundred thousand, perhaps with the same number again wounded. How many hundred thousand more will be massacred before it ends? We do not hear the true numbers of Ukrainian military killed just as Russia downplays its numbers of dead. And so attrition and bloodbath continue, with the west seemingly willing to fight to the last drop of Ukrainian blood, and Vladimir Putin not really caring how many Russians get killed if it advances his cause.

Where do we ‘break into history’ with a mediated response or indeed with nonviolence, nonviolent resistance, and nonviolent civilian defence? ‘Never’ say the militarists who project ‘peace’ as coming after the current war, and then make no moves to build peace. A case for nonviolent civilian resistance in Ukraine – and Ireland – was made in Nonviolent News previously https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/2022/04/01/nonviolent-resistance-to-invasion-occupation-and-coups-detat/

Of course neutrality – if it is taken to be an ‘opt out’ – can be a retreat from engagement with the ‘real world’, and the more Irish neutrality is circumscribed by Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and others, the more worthless it becomes. But it could be as dynamic, and even more useful, than in the time of Frank Aiken (see the Afri booklet. “A force for good? Reflections on neutrality and the future of Irish defence” and the article by Karen Devine there) who took a fearlessly independent, anti-imperialist and progressive line.

Ireland can do the same again. It does not have to stand with the big boys. While in recent decades it has stood against landmines and cluster weapons, its one remaining feature which might be considered positive for international peace is its military peacekeeping role in conflict and post-conflict situations. This has been a source of Irish pride and can be further developed with work on unarmed accompaniment and peacemaking.

Peter Emerson’s ideas, at the end of his article in this issue, about nonviolent action by state and representative figures might seem fanciful but why not? If we are committed to peaceful resolution of conflict (as stated in the Irish constitution) then why can it not be practised in new and innovative ways?

But it also needs stated that the practice and theory of mediation has developed significantly since Frank Aiken’s time and this is another area where Ireland should be active in a very significant way. Why is Ireland not involved in seeking resolutions to the war in Ukraine? Why is it not talking to Ukraine and Russia and seeing and seeking, behind the rhetoric, whether there are any prospects for at worst a ceasefire and at best a resolution? Who else is doing this seriously? There is a role there that Ireland should be playing – in relation to this and other conflicts and potential conflicts.

While involvement in mediation is voluntary, a ‘soft power’ state like Ireland can clearly indicate it does not easily take ‘no’ for an answer. In negotiation it is important to separate ‘positions’ from ‘interests’ and the negative take on possibilities represented by positions should not mean there is no possibility of getting an agreement if there are sufficient carrots, on both sides, to cater for longer term interests. Even Russia’s claims that the annexed eastern provinces of Ukraine will be forever part of Russia could be subject to negotiation and face saving, say if people there were offered Russian citizenship if they wanted it but the areas concerned were a relatively autonomous part of Ukraine.

Neutrality is projected by the powers that be as an opt out. Those who wish to protect, defend and develop Irish neutrality see it as a very definite opt in – to the pursuit of justice and peace. And neutrality should not be used to justify or copperfasten unjust solutions – mediation theory,for example, is clear that it should not be party to possible resolutions which are against any party’s human rights. And it should be clear that the possibility of Ukrainian neutrality, with guarantees, can-and should be part of a solution, as with previous proposals that Turkey was involved in. The rejection of Ukrainian neutrality as part of a deal has come from ‘the west’ as much as anyone in Ukraine.

Ukrainian neutrality, with guarantees, is an obvious policy to pursue in relation to ending the war, that and relative autonomy for the east of Ukraine which was already part of the Minsk deals but never implemented. Even now such a deal, properly packaged, could allow Putin to claim success in Ukraine while the reality of the aftermath of war is much grimmer.

Expecting victory for Ukraine, and contributing to it with tanks, is upping the stakes including the risk of Russia or indeed the USA resorting to the use of nuclear weapons, ‘tactical’ or otherwise. https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-end-of-the-world-is-back-frida-berrigan-on-nuclear-abolitionism/ As we have pointed out before, the USA and ‘the west’ are expecting Russia to accept something – NATO in Ukraine – the equivalent of which (Soviet missiles in Cuba in 1962) was violently rejected by the USA with the very real threat of nuclear war at that time. We are back full circle to being close to that situation.

There is a massive, perhaps burdensome but also wonderfully liberating, role that Ireland can play on the world stage. This is not fanciful. Ireland already has a reputation as being friendly and different. That role can be built on as a force for peace, to be a big cog in peacemaking machinery rather than, as the current direction indicates, a small cog in a warmaking machine which will clearly add to the world’s woes as time goes by..

We can actively opt in to peacemaking and peacebuilding. It is going along with the militarists which is the real opt out and which accepts the inequities and violence of the world. We can demand better and an imaginative and dynamic policy which works to build peace globally. The great sadness is that the Irish establishment and political leaders are captured by false visions of what ‘European unity’ and military power mean. It is as though ‘serving neither King nor Kaiser’ has given way to serving both of them simultaneously.

Ban Ki-moon famously said that the world is over-armed and peace is under-funded. In terms of international mechanisms, security and peace should be sought through a reorganised and renewed United Nations rather than partisan and violent military alliances like NATO – or the growing EU military capability. Ireland can opt to be for peace or prepare to go to war. It cannot successfully ride two horses at the same time and in riding the militarist horse it will betray the positive legacy of neutrality which has been bequeathed to it. Ireland can and should build up neutrality in constructive, imaginative and fruitful ways and contribute to the possibilities of world peace..

– – – – – –

Archival, documentary and campaigning materials available from INNATE

February 1, 2023Nonviolent NewsArchival material, Campaigning material, INNATE, Ireland, Nonviolence, Online materials, PeaceRob Fairmichael

The two INNATE websites https://innatenonviolence.org/ (the ‘main’ INNATE website) and https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland (the INNATE photo and documentation site) have a substantial amount of material available on a broad understanding of peace, nonviolence and related matters. The following listing can only be considered partial but it is indicative of the contents; it is listed alphabetically in relation to each site.

As always, INNATE is happy to consider additions to its online material. Please contact innate@ntlworld.com This information also appears at https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/INNATE-online-listing-2023-for-web.pdf

INNATE photo and documentation site

https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland

With a total of nearly two and a half thousand entries (as of January 2023), finding what you might want, or be most interested in, can be difficult so it is recommended that most users go to the ‘Albums’ (groupings of photos/entries on a theme). Below is a listing of the albums and their main content, however when clicking on ‘Albums’ online they are not listed alphabetically so you will need to scroll down to the ones you want. Some albums are very limited but photos are grouped this way to make them more accessible. Album can overlap, i.e. one entry can appear in a couple, or more, albums.

You can also use the word search facility in the top menu bar and this is useful where there is no obvious album to search or you are looking for a specific person or organisation not featured as an album. Where possible website links are given. Information about use of the material featured appears on the site (under ‘About’ on the top menu bar)

lAfri – Nearly two hundred photos from Afri events and famine walks over the years.

lAnti-Nuclear power movement – Mainly photos and documentation from late 1970s but also photo essay on wind turbines at site of erstwhile nuclear plant at Carnsore Point.

lAVP/Alternatives to Violence Project – Mainly from the international conference in Ireland,2014, but also on work in Bolivia and India.

lBishopscourt Peace Camp, 1983-86 – Photos and documentation from this peace camp at Bishopscourt RAF base, Co Down.

lChurches Peace Education Programme (1978-2005) – A small number of photos and documents on this important resource.

lCND and nuclear disarmament – Mainly 1980s photos and documentation, also Faslane in the ‘noughties.

lConflict Textiles – Comprehensively documented on its own website, this is a selection of photos from Conflict Textile events and exhibitions.

lCorrib Gas, 2011 – A short photo essay on ‘security’, monitoring and resistance at the Co Mayo site.

lCOP 26, Glasgow, 2021, a photo essay by Larry Speight.

lCorrymeela Community – A selection of photos of people and events, and documents from over the years.

lDawn (1974-85) – Scenes from producing Dawn magazine, events, and documentation.

lDealing with the past – A small selection of photos, on Northern Ireland and some international.

lDisarmament and resistance to war – A broad sweep of photos and documents from around Ireland.

lDrumcree Faith and Justice Group, Portadown – A small selection of photos and material from this important local group in the 1980s-1990s.

lEcology and green resistance – A limited but fascinating selection from actions and events.

lFellowship of Reconciliation – Photos from some International FOR events and some documentation on Irish/Northern Irish FOR (1949-1998)

lG8, Fermanagh, 2013 – Photos from Belfast and Fermanagh alternative events/demonstrations.

lGender and peace – A selection of photos on this frequent elephant in the room.

lGlencree Centre for Reconciliation – Documents from around the start in 1974 plus photos from the 1980s and recently.

lHuman rights – A small selection of photos mainly from Northern Ireland.

lHumour and satire – A miscellany showing the lighter side of entries on the site….

lInclusive and consensus decision making – A small selection with essential links.

lINNATE history – A selection of photos and entries on INNATE’s events and history since 1987.

lINNATE seminars and conferences – Photos of participants and documentation.

lIrish neutrality – A broad selection of photos and documentary entries.

lIrish Pacifist Movement (1936-1969) – Documentation and history.

lJustice Not Terror Coalition, Belfast, 2001+ – Opposition to the ‘war on terror’, post-9/11.

lKilcranny House, Coleraine (1985-2012) – Photos from this ecologically-focused peace centre.

lMediation – Some important photos and documentation from the start of focused mediation in Ireland in the mid-1980s, including MNI/Mediation Northern Ireland and MII/Mediators’ Institute of Ireland.

lMen, gender and nonviolence – Photos from international trainings for men by the Women Peacemakers Program (WPP), 2009-10

lMonitoring and accompaniment – A wide range of photos and links to informative material (see the information at the top of the album)

lMuseums for Peace, Belfast, 2017 – People and events from their 25^th anniversary conference.

lNonviolence training – Photo from training events at home and abroad.

lNorthern Ireland Peace Forum (1974-88) – Documentation.

lNorthern Ireland, Troubles and Peace in – Several hundred photos and documents mainly from and about the peace and reconciliation movement, and also the general situation.

lNorthern Ireland peace process – A small selection of newspaper items, 1994-2007.

lPax Christi – Documentation and a few photos, mainly 1970s-1990s.

lPeace and Reconciliation Group (PRG), Derry, (1976-2015) – A small number of photos and documents.

lPeace miscellany, 2009-10 – A small number of photos from this time.

lPeace People – Photos from 1986 and documentary material from the beginning in 1976.

lPeace trails – A small but informative selection on peace trails, including Belfast and Mayo.

lQuaker peace work and witness – A limited number of photos on primarily Irish Quaker peace work.

lRaytheon Derry campaign, 1999-2010 – A wide range of photos from the succesful campaign to get arms company Raytheon out of Derry.

lSean MacBride – A small number of writings or interviews, taken from peace movement sources from the1980s, and one Afri event photo.

lThales arms company – Photos of demonstrations at the Castlereagh, Belfast plant.

lTom Weld artwork – Some examples of his map like work on peace and human rights.

lTrade Union/ICTU NIC action for peace – In relation to Northern Ireland and abroad.

lUS/NATO military bases, conference against, Dublin 2018 – People and events.

lWar Resisters’ International – Mainly from the Dublin 2002 international conference.

lWitness for Peace (1972+) – A small number of documents and cuttings.

lWomen Together (1970-2001) – Mainly documentation but also some photos.

lWorld Beyond War international conference, Limerick, 2019 – People and events including a visit to Shannon Warport.

INNATE main website

https://innatenonviolence.org/

Nonviolent News is the main INNATE resource with all issues available since 1990 (it was occasional until 1994 when it became monthly). It went online in 2003 when the email and web edition became longer than the paper edition which became the first two pages of news only (older issues appear as PDFs). It is still produced in email and web editions (with the same content in both) and a shorter paper edition.

The INNATE website changed to WordPress in 2021 but all the previous material is available – you just need to click on the button to the right of the home page to get to the older site. If word searching for something you may need to do it on both the new and the old sites.

Resources are listed alphabetically below, with an indication where necessary of their location.

lAn alternative defence for Ireland (Dawn, 1983)

Perhaps somewhat out of date this still indicates it can be done…. https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/pamphlets/

lBishopscourt Peace Camp 1983-86

A short 4 page broadsheet analysing the history and context of this peace camp. https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/pamphlets/

lChristian Nonviolence – a study pack (1993)

Originally produced by the Fellowship of Reconciliation and Pax Christi, this is a useful introduction to the topic. Nonviolence and other religions have been explored in some ‘Readings in Nonviolence’ in Nonviolent News. https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/pamphlets/

lConsensus for small groups

An introduction and worksheets including tools that can be used. https://innatenonviolence.org/workshops/consensussmallgroups.shtml See also https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/52550857618/in/dateposted/

lCorrymeela House Belfast

A short history of/tribute to Corrymeela House in Belfast which closed in 2014. https://innatenonviolence.org/readings/2014_11.shtml

lDawn Train

PDF copies of all 11 issues are online with contents listing at https://innatenonviolence.org/dawntrain/index.shtml This includes material on facilitating political discussion (Sue and Steve Williams, DT No.11), what enabled people in the North to change their views (Mari Fitzduff, DT10), and much more about peace and nonviolence at home and abroad.

lEco echoes

A compilation of some of Larry Speight’s columns from Nonviolent News married with his keen eye photography. https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/pamphlets/

lMichael Davitt, Land War and Non-violence

An 8-page pamphlet from Dawn (1979) exploring this important person and topic. https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/pamphlets/

lINNATE annual reports

All you never wanted to know about INNATE with a page per year. https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/annual-reports/

lMusical musings on Irish history and culture (2002+)

An exploration of violence, nonviolence and social change in Ireland through music and ballad, by Rob Fairmichael. https://innatenonviolence.org/resources/musical.shtml

lNonviolence – The Irish Experience Quiz

A fun way to challenge our perceptions of Ireland over the centuries – with questions on one side and answers on the other. Link at https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/resources/

lNonviolence in Ireland – a study guide

This can be used for individual or group study with links to material and questions for thought or discussion. Link at https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/resources/

lNonviolence – An introduction

What it says on the tin – an introduction to nonviolence from INNATE

https://innatenonviolence.org/resources/intro/index.shtml

lNonviolence Manifesto from INNATE

Short and to the point in 2 sides of A5. Link at https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/resources/

lNonviolent News since 1990

– News section – monthly news, all issues since 1990 online, covering a wide range of peace, nonviolence, green and human rights news and initiatives from around Ireland, with links where possible.

– Editorials – Commentary on current issues at home and abroad.

– Eco-Awareness – Larry Speight’s incisive commentary on green issues since 2004.

– Readings in Nonviolence – Reviews and material of many different aspects.

– Billy King:Rites Again – Idiosyncratic commentary on the world, the flesh and the divil else.

Each of these sections can be accessed independently or within the relevant full issue.

https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/category/nonviolent-news/ and pre-2021 issues at https://innatenonviolence.org/news/index.shtml

lNonviolence in Irish History

Dawn magazine’s pamphlet from 1978 still has important information and a wider message challenging the view of Irish history only being about violence. https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/pamphlets/

lMy kind of nonviolence (2012)

Fifteen people from around the island give their view on what nonviolence is about – a direction is perhaps evident, but no party line. https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/pamphlets/

lThe nuclear syndrome – Victory for the Irish anti-nuclear power movement

An extract from Simon Dalby’s thesis on this significant late-1970s movement looks at questions of organisation and strategy. https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/pamphlets/

lPeace groups in Ireland through the years

An up to date listing first issued in 2022 giving a very brief profile and links or suggestions for further information. Link at https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/pamphlets/

lThe Peace People Experience, 1987

An in depth study looking at the overall story after a decade of the Peace People, where the money went, the story of local groups, and interviews with key personnel. https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/pamphlets/

lPeace trails

Links for at home and abroad in a couple of newsletters on peace trails. https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/peace-trails/

lPosters

Designed for home printing, there are well over a hundred small/A4 size posters which cover a multitude of issues in the fields of peace, nonviolence, violence, green issues, human rights and justice. https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/posters/

lWorkshops/Training in nonviolence, and group work and dynamics

A wide range of material for workshop use – which can also be used for personal study – including one on nonviolent tactics to use in relation to a campaign, the stages a successful movement may go through (‘Workshop on strategising’), and gender and violence.

https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/workshops/

lVegetarian and vegan cuisine

A short guide for those looking for new ideas for food in this area of importance to countering global warming. https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/pamphlets/

Materials passed to PRONI

INNATE has passed older archival material to the Public Record Office for Northern Ireland (PRONI) which is based in the Titanic Quarter in Belfast. The volume would be equivalent to about 7 boxes of material of 45 x 35 x 30 cm. A small amount of this material appears digitally in the INNATE photo and documentation site on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland

Since it requires attendance at PRONI to access this material no comprehensive listing is given here but a full list of material passed to PRONI is available on request to innate@ntlworld.com What follows is a brief indication of its contents. The PRONI reference numbers for the material are D4828 (deposited 2021) and PTE 83/2022 (for additional material deposited in 2022). It includes Northern Ireland ‘peace and reconciliation’ material as well as internationally-related peace material from both sides of the border in Ireland

D4828

Includes dated peace movement ephemera (leaflets, cuttings, papers etc) from 1970s to 2018 and a wide variety of specific files and some photos.

PTE 83/2022

Includes more Dawn and INNATE materials and extensive materials on the Peace People used in the preparation of ‘The Peace People Experience’ pamphlet (1987).

Nonviolent News supplement, January 2023

January 6, 2023Nonviolent News2023, Ireland, Peace newsRob Fairmichael

SUPPLEMENT to Number 305, Belfast 6^th January 2023

–Please note this is a short supplement with mainly time-limited or immediate information, not a full issue.

Louie Bennett memorial event, Dublin

On Saturday 7^th January, at 2 pm, Afri will lay a bouquet of flowers at the bench in St Stephen’s Green commemorating Louie Bennett (1870-1956) . ‘As we emerge from the Decade of Commemorations,’ said Professor John Maguire of Afri, ‘it would be difficult to find any other person who so vividly embodies the complex strands of our heritage, or the challenges of creatively reworking that heritage in today’s fraught world.’ Louie Bennett had a long and distinguished record of activism, for women’s right to vote, in opposition to war and militrism, and for the rights and welfare of women workers (she was the first woman to be president of the ICTU, a position she held twice). As Afri mention in their announcement, the memorial bench in St Stephen’s Green is curved, reflecting her belief in encouraging conversation. www.afri.ie

Afri Féile Bríde; Darkness Dawning Light

The 30^th Féile Bríde will be on Saturday 4^th February when those speaking/performing will include Emer Lynam, Adi Roche, Tommy Sands, Justine Nantal, and Luka Bloom. As usual/normal it will take place in the Solas Bhríde Centre, Kildare town. Full details and booking information soon on the Afri website at www.afri.ie The event will begin at 10.30am with a Ceremony of Light in the Square in Kildare.

Belfast Military-Industrial complex thrives

Thales in Casttlereagh, Belfast has been given a £223 million contract from the British Ministory of Defence for hand-held anti-tank missiles. Thales will assemble these ‘next generation light anti-tank weapons’ (NLAWS) for Saab. Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris expressed his delight at the news and the managing director of Thales in Belfast, Philip McBride said ““Once again, Northern Ireland is demonstrating its significant role in the UK defence enterprise.” Thales employs around 600 people. More details at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-64057780 and https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/belfast-weapons-factory-receives-contract-to-produce-anti-tank-missiles-42235861.html

FOE-NI address change

Friends of the Earth in Northern Ireland has moved to a new office; Gordon House, 22-24 Lombard Street, Belfast, BT1 1RD. Otherwise their details remain the same. https://friendsoftheearth.uk/northern-ireland

Tools for Solidarity

Tools For Solidarity is a not-for-profit organisation based in Belfast and the main focus is to support artisans in the poorest parts of the world and mostly in the countries of Africa. This act of solidarity enables them to become more self-reliant and have some hope for the future. You can read up on TfS work and history at https://www.toolsforsolidarity.com/ including their latest, informative, newsletter at https://www.toolsforsolidarity.com/publications/newsletters/

AVP/Alternatives to Violence Project: Annual report, coordinator

AVP have issued their annual report for 2022. 36 prison based volunteers and 22 community based volunteers were involved in the running of 41 workshops in all Irish Prisons except Cloverhill and Arbour Hill. Around 60 courses were assessed and completed this year in Cloverhill and Mountjoy prisons. AVP trained 32 new facilitators (22 prison based and 10 community based volunteers). 22 new community volunteers have taken part in some training and most of them are very close to completing it. Innovations in the year included a 3rd level ‘Female Awareness’ workshop which was piloted twice in the Dóchas. AVP expects to be able to offer up to 500 participations in our training across Irish prisons in 2023, apart from other programme.

The coordinator left her position at the end of the year and AVP is recruiting a new coordinator. The ad for the position will be in LinkedIn and Activelink. In leaving she said “I am extremely grateful to AVPers for the privilege of having worked with you all, these 7 past years, thank you for the meaningful work, the learnings, the laughs, the connections, the deep conversations, the friendship, care and love! May our AVP community keep learning, connecting and growing! Democratic Dorothée”. See also https://avpireland.ie/

Eco Congregation Newsletter

There are 19 pages of news from around the country’s churches in relation to their ecological involvement and other information in the Advent issue of the Eco Congregation Newsletter which can be opened at their website https://www.ecocongregationireland.com/

–The next, full, issue of Nonviolent News is for February with a deadline of 1^st February

News, December 2022

December 2, 2022Nonviolent NewsIreland, Peace newsRob Fairmichael

A force for good?

“A force for good? Reflections on neutrality and the future of Irish defence” is a new 62 page pamphlet from Afri, launched in Leinster House at the end of November. It is essential reading for anyone interested in Irish foreign policy and contribution towards peace in the world. The contributions include a preface by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mairead Maguire (who also writes another piece on ‘The true cost of violence and war’). The pamphlet’s substantial input includes a detailed account by Karen Devine of Frank Aiken’s legacy and lessons for the conflict in Ukraine. John Maguire contributes an open letter to Lt-General Seán Clancy, Irish Chief of Staff, Tarak Kauff surveys Irish neutrality as a global force for peace, Iain Atack and Carol Fox consider some other important details of the situation, before John Maguire considers the woolly thinking behind the Commission on the Defence Forces report. The pamphlet ends with the Downpatrick Declaration.

This pamphlet clearly analyses the Irish government’s drift to NATO membership and EU militarisation while reflecting on positive policies for peace in the past (Frank Aiken) and considering how Ireland could play a meaningful role in European and world peace in the future. Paper copies are available from Afri at €10 including postage at https://www.afri.ie/donate/ It will be on the Afri website in due course. Afri , 8 Cabra Road, Dublin D07 T1W2, email admin@afri.ie and website www.afri.ie

Palestine: New Irish Anti-Apartheid Campaign launched

The Irish Anti-Apartheid Campaign for Palestine has called on Ireland and the international community to publicly recognise that the State of Israel is committing the crime of apartheid against the Palestinian people, and to take concrete measures to end this crime against humanity. The coalition, made up of 18 civil society organisations, trade unions and academic experts committed to working collaboratively to end Israeli apartheid against Palestinians, was launched in late November in Dublin by Independent Senator Frances Black, a long-time campaigner for Palestinian rights. Groups involved are: Academics for Palestine, Action Aid Ireland, Afri, Amnesty International Ireland, Centre for Global Education, Comhlámh/Comhlámh Justice for Palestine, Gaza Action Ireland, Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Jews for Palestine, Kairos Ireland, Sadaka – the Ireland Palestine Alliance, SIPTU, TCD BDS,Trade Union Friends of Palestine, and Trócaire. See https://www.trocaire.org/news/new-irish-anti-apartheid-campaign-calls-on-ireland-to-take-action-on-israeli-apartheid-against-palestinians/ and web search.

The Steel Shutter revisited: Northern Ireland encounter, 1972

A Belfast conference on 1^st December 2022 looked at the encounter group workshop of precisely fifty years previously involving four Belfast Protestants and four Belfast Catholics (including facilitation by ‘the’ Carl Rogers). The 2022 conference was organised by Michael Montgomery of PeaceFire www.peacefire.us and the original one hour ‘Steel Shutter’ film is available on this website. The conference examined numerous aspects of encounter groups and storytelling and their ongoing relevance for conflict situations and divided societies. See also https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/52536717565/in/dateposted/

H&W militarise again

There was a time that Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast made British naval ships, possibly the last was HMS Fearless which was completed in 1965. Unfortunately it looks like H&W may be returning to this practice of making ships for the Royal Navy. While it is not a done deal yet, an announcement in mid-November indicated that 3 new British navy supply ships, each 216 metres long, in a £1.6 billion contract may see the final assembly taking place at Harland and Wolff which forms part of a preferred bid by a consortium of three UK firms. If proceeding work may begin in 2025 and of course there will be many jobs created but jobs contributing to ongoing militarisation. Word search online for more information.

Protests in Cork at Dutch navy visit

At the end of November, protests were held by the Irish Neutrality Campaign at visits to Cork by 4 warships from NATO member the Netherlands (including their largest naval ship). See https://www.echolive.ie/corknews/arid-41015759.html and https://tripeanddrisheen.substack.com/p/four-dutch-naval-vessels-dock-in Protesters pointed out that the Netherlands has supported NATO belligerance and the visit was a breach of Irish neutrality. In addition, PANA, www.pana.ie, pointed out that “The recent Fine Gael Ard-Fheis passed a motion effectively to scrap the Triple Lock on sending Irish soldiers on overseas missions, by eliminating the need for a UN mandate for such missions. Rather than equip our forces appropriately for genuine defence and UN-directed peacekeeping, our government seems intent on merging them with EU/NATO ventures such as PESCO, Battlegroups etc.”

Swords to Ploughshares: Human and ecological security

The hour long recording of the StoP/Swords to Ploughshares webinar in early November on “Human and ecological security: an alternative to war and militarism” is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpcK1QYLk6M Speakers were Diana Francis, John Maguire and John Lannon.

Ukraine war used to justify arms race

In the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, western governments pledged unprecedented financial support to militarism, citing the threat posed by the war as justification. However, as the research in the report below shows, western states are already vastly superior in terms of military expenditure and defence capacity to other nations. Prior to the war the combined military spending of NATO members was 17 times that of Russia and four times that of China. Increased military spending does nothing, quite the reverse, to deal with issues of world poverty and global warming. This report by he Transnational Institute and Stop Wapenhandel, “Smoke Screen – How states are using the war in Ukraine to drive a new arms race” , is available in summary form and download link at https://www.tni.org/en/publication/smoke-screen

Afri calendars

Having a meaningful calendar around your home or work space may give you a daily lift – and a reminder of appointments. Afri produce a calendar which highlights the importance of all of us getting involved in tackling such pressing issues as climate change and militarisation. To order (at €7 per calendar plus €2.50 postage cost within Ireland) go to www.afri.ie/donate/ and click the donate button at the bottom of the page ‘donating’ the cost of your purchase and indicating the number of calendars you would like to order in the message box; remember to include your postal address. Email admin@afri.ie

WRI Prisoners for Peace

1^st December and the period around then is when the War Resisters’ International particularly remembers conscientious objectors and prisoners for peace (their work to support them is all year around however). This year it has a particular focus on Russia and Ukraine – not surprisingly given the numbers imprisoned or facing imprisonment there. See https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2022/2022-prisoners-peace-day and links there.

USA military empire database

World Beyond War have put together an interactive database of USA military bases worldwide. As they say “Some of these physical installations are on land occupied as spoils of war. Most are maintained through collaborations with governments, many of them brutal and oppressive governments benefiting from the bases’ presence. In many cases, human beings were displaced to make room for these military installations, often depriving people of farmland, adding huge amounts of pollution to local water systems and the air, and existing as an unwelcome presence.” See https://worldbeyondwar.org/no-bases/

CGE: Why are INGOs not talking about the global economy?

Material from the Centre for Global Education’s October workshop on why Irish NGOs are not critically engaging with issues of the global economic system, neoliberalism, as the ‘root cause’ of poverty is available at https://oneworldfestivalni.com/events/why-are-ingos-not-talking-about-the-global-economy/

2022 Pax Christi International Peace Award: Concordia

Concordia Social Projects has received the PCI 2022 peace award. The organization is present in several central and eastern European countries, and works directly to help vulnerable and disadvantaged children and their families. See https://paxchristi.net/2022/11/08/2022-pax-christi-international-peace-award-concordia-social-projects/

Chernobyl Children International

Chernobyl Children International/CCI are appealing at this time of year for financial support for their work in Ukraine and Belarus. For full information, and options to donate, see https://www.chernobyl-international.com

Cyber safety for women

Women – and men – may be interested in this very detailed cyber security guide https://www.wizcase.com/blog/comprehensive-online-security-guide-for-women/

Editorial: Neutrality – being the best we can be

December 2, 2022Editorials, Nonviolent NewsEU militarisation, International policy, Ireland, Irish neutrality, NATO, PeacemakingRob Fairmichael

Ireland faces a choice as to whether to be a small bit player in a militaristic EU/NATO alliance or to plough a perhaps sometimes lonely but much more fulfilling role as an active agent for peace in the world. But any loneliness would only be temporary because of the friends it would make – as it is, an Irish passport is one of the most acceptable around the world because of Ireland’s past positions and ‘soft power’. Those who think that NATO and the EU are agents bringing peace need to consider the process of 20^th and 21^st century history – and extrapolate from current EU stances to the EU becoming a bullying superpower on the world stage, similar to the USA, later in the 21^st century (just look at the current role of Frontex). The development of the EEC/EU as a force for peace in Europe is well and truly lost in the past.

It is hard to establish exactly where the Irish government and establishment push for full military and foreign policy integration with NATO and the EU comes from. Wanting to be with the ‘big boys’ is certainly part of it. This editorial will, further on, give some quotations from Afri’s new “A force for good?” pamphlet on Irish neutrality. But we would go further and raise the question of whether this fixation stems partly from an inferiority complex, perhaps coming from Ireland’s colonial past. The revolutionary generation in the Free State/Republic had an emphasis, naturally enough, on anti-colonialism and anti-imperialism (Karen Devine’s contribution in the Afri pamphlet is a brilliant summary of the positive aspect of this in Frank Aiken’s thinking and action). But as EEC membership beckoned, neutrality became considered by some politicians as backward, regressive and not what was needed in Ireland – in a sense a ‘culchie’ option – making its way in a world dominated by the USA and a rich Europe.

In the Afri pamphlet, Iain Atack and Carol Fox do refer to the idea that to be ‘good Europeans’* has been part of the thinking in abandoning neutrality (along with other factors). But what does being a ‘good European’ mean? Supporting militarisation and the arms industry? Being uncritical of the development of the EU as a military superpower closely aligned with NATO?

With formerly neutral countries in Europe joining NATO, surely there is a greater need than ever before for Ireland to take a neutral and active stance for peace. It is simply nonsense to think that the only possible international role Ireland can play in the future is a small, even insignificant, member of a large military alliance. The promulgation of Irish neutrality goes back as far as Wolfe Tone. Eamon de Valera played a significant role in the League of Nations. As the Afri pamphlet points out, the drift to Irish EU foreign policy and military integration has led to relative neglect of the UN – and, we might add, perhaps a wasted role as a UN Security Council member. Ireland has played a significant part in the development of peace internationally. Current directions will lead to the total negation of that role and Ireland simply being another cog in a great western militarist machine. It is already happening – for ‘NATO in Ireland’ see https://www.thejournal.ie/irish-defence-forces-nato-evaluation-artillery-5927841-Nov2022/

There are many ways that Ireland can play a positive role in peacemaking in the future, all of which are either dependent on, or would have a contribution made by, Irish neutrality. Building up a skilled team of mediators for different levels of conflict is one such role, engaging before there are even ‘rumours of war’ or armed conflict. Engaging with different parties or governments before conflicts have got ‘hot’ is another related area of work. Pushing and working for the further development of international law in relation to war is a further area – and working to get existing laws implemented and respected. Nonviolent peacekeeping can be explored as well as Ireland’s well-established – and respected – role in military peacekeeping.

This is only scratching at the surface of what is possible, even for a small country like Ireland, and all could be achieved for a small fraction of the additional money which the country is going to spend on army and armaments – which is irrelevant to Ireland’s human and ecological security needs (see the video of the StoP webinar on this, mentioned in the news section). Our politicians and elite seem to suffer from a total failure of imagination and seek no more than being a very small cog in a very well-oiled, and destructive, military machine.

Now, on to a few quotes from Afri’s pamphlet (see news section in this issue). The title of Joe Murray’s Foreword says it all: “Ireland should be a voice for Demilitarisation, De-escalation and Disarmament in the World”. Karen Devine points out that “Ireland used her postcolonial identity and history to gain support from other UN members. A fiercely-guarded commitment to independence from big power pressures, facilitated by an equally strong commitment to neutrality, produced radical and far-reaching proposals for peace in central Europe. Frank Aiken’s formulae for peace are vitally relevant to resolving the Ukrainian situation today……”

Mairead Maguire is quite clear that “Contrary to its claims, NATO is not a defensive organization. Its purpose from the start has been to act as an instrument for US world domination and to prevent all challenges to US hegemony.” John Maguire meanwhile teases out what has been going on in Ireland: “The….strategy involved: Government denials at every stage that referendums were necessary; joining NATO/PNP without the manifesto-promised referendum;’reform’ of the Referendum Commission’s mandate, from presenting the arguments For and Against to magisterially pronouncing on ‘The Facts’ – and above all the blatant rejection of two legally binding referendum results, Nice 1 and Lisbon 1.” John Maguire also usefully uses the image of a funnel: “The abiding image is of a funnel; such debate as cannot be prevented is guided – if necessary, simply shoehorned – into an ever-narrowing channel; a travesty in what our constitution still confirms is a republic.”

In the Afri pamphlet, Tarak Kauff concludes his piece “Stand up Ireland, defend your neutrality. The global community needs you to do that.” Ireland may be a little island falling off the edge of Europe but Tarak Kauffman’s admonition shows that such a matter is of much greater significance. As peacemakers we can stand tall. As warmakers we will collude with, and hide under the coat tails of, the great powers, and contribute to the militarist mania infesting the world.

* INNATE’s printable poster on being ‘a good European’ can be found at https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/posters/ under “Europe and World…[EW]”

Billy King: Rites Again, 305

December 2, 2022Billy King, Nonviolent NewsCommentary, Ireland, PeaceRob Fairmichael

In the damp of Irish weather you might not always recognise relatively warm weather outside of summer, but the autumn has been just that. In the garden, leaves and foliage have been very slow to die back and perennial plants to take on their winter garb (or lack of it). ‘Our’ lilac – actually in a neighbour’s garden – still has quite a few leaves on it and the new growth which came after it got chopped back in the summer looks perfectly green and healthy. Marigolds and rudbeckia are still flowering away. The gorse/furze/whins/aiteann outside the city looks like it is coming into nearly full bloom. A few decades ago you could have expected a hard frost before the end of October – I define a hard frost as probably something below -2° although in practice I see it as when all the nasturtiums turn to mush. Last winter there was no ‘hard frost’ at all. It’s global warming at work, and in the Irish context that can mean more rain and wind. And you may want to issue a religious or secular prayer that the Gulf Stream doesn’t stop or Newfoundland here we come…..

Reconciliation

Reconciliation is an interesting word and concept, conciliation is too but what does it mean and especially in the context of the North? Rev Norman Hamilton, a former Presbyterian Church in Ireland moderator, recently accused the various governments and politicians of not having a clear definition https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/politics/ex-presbyterian-moderator-asks-london-dublin-washington-and-ni-politicial-parties-for-their-definition-of-reconciliation-3906790

There are technical definitions of reconciliation in relation to accounting and legislative processes but relevant definitions in this context include “The act of reconciling parties at variance; renewal of friendship after disagreement or enmity” and “the process of two people or groups in a conflict agreeing to make amends or come to a truce” – obviously in the context of the North, however, we are talking about group processes, so “the process of making two people or groups of people friendly again after they have argued seriously or fought and kept apart from each other, or a situation in which this happens” is a bit more apposite (as opposed to opposite). We probably all need to work on our own definitions of reconciliation, and indeed our understanding of forgiveness (another difficult one to be clear about).

I am reminded of the old cartoon about a character expressing thanks for advice they were given about dealing with interpersonal conflict rather than letting it fester. Asked how they resolved the matter they stated, “I killed the bastard”. No, not funny except just possibly in a fictional circumstance of someone doing the unexpected. And doing something positive and unexpected is an excellent way to promote reconciliation. A positive gesture or undertaking can be a great way to assist travelling to reconciliation. Actually listening to each other in the North, as opposed to talking at each other, could be such a gesture.

The U?S of A

There are bodies which proclaim themselves unreformed and unreformable. However realities change over time even if systems do not and the US political system seems singularly inappropriate for the 21^st century, likewise the idea that you need a billion dollars, or thereabouts, to even enter the presidential race, and before that there is a long race to enter the bigger long race.

I have been following events there with some interest especially in the Trump era and afterwards, including Republican moves to get into key election posts where they can call the shots (sic). I know US democracy, such as it is, is teetering on the brink. But I was astounded to read an article in the Guardian where all three writers took quite pessimistic views on the topic of how close the USA is to civil war https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/06/how-close-is-the-us-to-civil-war-barbara-f-walter-stephen-march-christopher-parker?CMP=share_btn_link

Of course definitions of ‘civil war’ do not need to move to images of Gettysburg, it can be assassinations, turmoil of various kinds, political violence. The ‘U’SA is certainly already very divided and did have what amounted to some sort of coup attempt within the last couple of years in the Capitol invasion of 6^th January 2021. Where the legitimacy of the decision making process in the political system is already hotly contested then there are certainly Big Problems.

Will mob rule trump or can the USA move to a more democratic system? I am not sure of the answer to that one. There are strong labor, civil rights, peace and other movements within the US which are often not recognised. But whether they and those on the left and centre of the political class can avoid meltdown is an unfortunate question to have to ask.

The extent to which the USA is being overtaken as an economic superpower is also relevant. People may go with the ‘bigger pie’ argument of economic development, unsustainable as that is, and many people have gone with Trumpism, it would seem, because of hits they have taken economically. However the Donald is not as much flavour of the decade in US Republican circles since the US mid-term elections didn’t show he was delivering the goods (in terms of people he was backing doing well) but it would be a brave person to write off Trump. To mix metaphors, you can’t keep a rotten apple down.

Edumbification

There are many questions about the economic development model in the Republic and its reliance on multinationals but there is no denying that It Has Worked to a considerable extent in helping to bring wealth. And why did it work? Relatively low taxation, a largely English speaking environment, membership of the EU, and an educated population attracted the, mainly US, multinationals. And where did the population get educated? Partly from (what were) the regional technical colleges, now technological universities, established from the start of the 1970s, but also because of an emphasis on education within many families.

However the relative lack of investment in education in the Republic is a danger for the future, as quality may decline in some instances. But in the North under the current British government regime, and no Stormont, there are going to be actual cuts as opposed to inflation eating away at educational spending power. This is so short sighted as to be dangerously myopic.

A recent survey by the ESRI https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-63779243 showed economic productivity in the Republic to be 40% higher per head than in the North – there are some uncertainties about the role of multinational profits in this but the study tried to take this into account. “An additional economic modelling exercise undertaken by the authors suggests that almost all of the productivity gap can be explained by lower levels of investment and skilled workers in Northern Ireland. Low investment and relatively low levels of skills are chronic problems in the Northern Ireland economy, although there has been some improvement in skills in recent years. The authors suggest that if firms in Ireland were faced with the same labour market as exists in Northern Ireland productivity levels would fall by an average of 30% and as much as 60% in some sectors.”

Cutting spending on education, at any level, is simply crazy. Skilled workers have to be paid for and their skills built up from the first day of kindergarten and primary school, not in a rat-race way but in terms of allowing the potential of the child or young adult to develop. For the North to have to cut back on education at any level, and in the economic context most directly post-secondary education, is totally crazy. But that is where things are at, and it is sadistic as well as sad for those whose life chances will be stymied by such cuts.

Celebrating murderers

Celebrations of gunmen who have killed others in the Troubles are common in Northern Ireland, in numerous different formats including especially murals and ‘wayside shrines’. However the writing is certainly not on the wall for violent murals like the new UVF one on the Shankill Road, Belfast which celebrates two arms-toting men and a red poppy wreath (on the latter my comment is ‘no comment’). Naturally the daughter of someone murdered by one of the gunmen is distraught; having the killer of your father openly celebrated must be painful beyond the imagination.

However the law, as interpreted, says this mural is legal. It is certainly not a moral mural but it is judged legal by the police who have said that while it is abhorrent it does “not constitute the offence of Encouragement of Terrorism under the Terrorism Act 2006, or other offences.“ If that is the case then the law is a wal-ly and needs to change. How paramilitarism is remembered and celebrated in the North is deeply problematic and paramilitary memorialisation is a key way in which territories are defined and marked, something which has to be overcome if divisions and hatreds are ever to be transcended.

Maybe in time in Northern Ireland we can come to celebrate togetherness in a vibrant and meaningful way which overcomes and leaves far behind the divisions which exist but marks our common humanity. Last time I looked, Catholics and Protestants in the North, or however you describe those two cultural-political grupings, were both human beings and members of homo not-too-sapiens.

Leprechauns and leps forward

It would be remiss of me, given the news item about The Steel Shutter film and 50^th anniversary conference in the news section of this issue, not to mention a little saying by one of the participants involved in the original event. Belfast community worker Sean Cooney, who was in the 1972 encounter group, used to talk approvingly, in the community context, about “the leprechauns – the people close to the ground”! My only surprise in mentioning this is that he is the only person I have heard using this expression or joke.

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Well, the year is drawing towards a close, not a year to look back on with any fondness in relation to building peace and progress at home or abroad. In fact with the ecological crisis closing in on us there is a more than a sense of trepidation. But I wish you a peaceful and pleasant Christmas/New Year and, well, a peaceful world in 2023…..and if I wish you a Preposterous New Year then what I wish for is some people stepping outside of their constraints to do the radically positive actions which are needed to transform the dire circumstances we face. Imagination and not procrastination is what is needed in many areas of life and the world. I hope you have a great break over Christmas and New Year, and c u in 2023…. Billy

Human and ecological security – a webinar on 9th November

November 3, 2022UncategorizedEcological security, Human security, IrelandRob Fairmichael

See details also in November issue of Nonviolent News