Yes, the comprador leadership of Provisional Sinn Féin have come along way since they were fighting to get 'gerrymandering out' and the ultimate goal of 'our civil rights will come'.
None have come as far as the former first year Butcher's apprentice Martin McGuiness. His antics over the last two years have led to unparalleled revisionism, even topping 26-county state propaganda of 'old I.R.A.= good.'
Martin has been pontificating about how it's time to move forward, there's a 'peace process' to do and attendance at these grandiose events will no doubt lead to a United Ireland, despite previsions antagonisms about 'going over to the other side' and bourgeois elections Martin McGuinness - YouTube.
Martin says that peace is the way forward. However, Martin was a man who, for example, called others softies and cowards for meeting with the British to discuss the ultimate goal of British withdrawal from Ireland, not ending up with civil rights, etc that I think we all can agree with, did not need a 30 year war for.
In any event, his speech in the 1986 Ard Fheis about the issue of abstentionism in Leinster House (remember, this was a time when PSF did not recognize the Free State government, how the times have changed) is quite ineffable. Ineffable in the regard that everything he said he and the comprador leadership of PSF wouldn't do, 20 odd years later, they have done. Some snippets of this speech really are worth noting.
What is also worth noting is that when McGuinness and Adams talked about how it was necessary to keep on fighting for freedom, they did so in the knowledge that the Provisional I.R.A were composed of mainly workinhg class youth, who were told when joining this was a war for Irish freedom, free from Britain. With so many provo's killed, was it all in vain? Did so many volunteers die for equality for Irish nationalists in a British state (a state which has inflicted more austerity on the population than the Free State, a state in which PSF govern, a failed state, a failed backward kip, but at least we get to administrate a failed backward kip, eh?)?
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I can give a commitment on behalf of the leadership that we have absolutely no intention of going to Westminster or Stormont.
And we're off.
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They argue that some TDs entering Leinster House will make it impossible to conduct armed struggle against British rule in the 6 counties. They tell you that it is inevitable certainty that the war against British rule will be run down. These suggestions deliberately infer that the present leadership of Sinn Fein and the leadership of the Irish Republican Army are intent on edging the republican movement on to a constitutional path. To bolster their arguments, they draw a comparison between a pre-1970s leadership of the republican movement which had surrendered before the war began, and the present leadership of this movement.
Shame — Shame — Shame.
These shameful individuals that McGuinness spoke of, turned out to be prophets. The bold is very key. While retrospectively it was correct, why did McGuinness allow his plans to take so long to come into affect? i.e his want of a constitutional and peaceful path?
Recently on a discussion on al-Jazzera, McGuinness said that in 1990, when proxy bombs were used by the provo's, he was meeting Thatcher's representatives to discuss alternatives and peace. This is 4 year after he gave this speech. Questions arise:
Why did he wait four years?
Why did he and Adams continue to promulgate that armed struggle was correct, while wanting to go down a Constitutional path?
Why were young men and women told that when joining, they were joining to for for the Irish republic and that Irish people have an inalienable right to take up arms? All in the Green Book.
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I reject any such suggestion and I reject the notion that entering Leinster House would mean an end to Sinn Fein’s unapologetic support for the right of Irish people to oppose in arms the British forces of occupation. That, my friends, is a principle which a minority in this hall might doubt but which I believe all our opponents clearly understand. Our position is clear and it will never, never, never change. The war against British rule must continue until freedom is achieved.
Never, never, never. But yet, it did change, in fact, it changed quite dramatically. 8 years later, the provo's would have all but capitulated.
The bold is key. Again, this is what young men and women were hearing when they listened to McGuinness and PSF representatives. They were not hearing 'our position is clear: we must have war until equality in this state is achieved.'
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But we are not at war with the government of the 26 Counties — the reality of this fact must be recognised by us all.
Refusal to address the southern government by its correct title i.e, they did not recognize the southern state as legitimate. How the hell did this all change and why? To win votes? A true gombeen party in the making, with a gombeen leadership.
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nd, in accepting this reality, we must also accept that after 65 years of republican struggle, republican agitation, republican sacrifice, and republican rhetoric we have failed to convince a majority in the 26 counties that the republican movement has any relevance to them. By ignoring reality we remain alone and isolated on the high altar of abstentionism, divorced from the people of the 26 counties and easily dealt with by those who wish to defeat us. Such a situation cannot be allowed to continue and this leadership is charged with the responsibility to make our struggle more and more relevant to Irish people.
And when PSF did eventually grow, it grew because they abandoned their principles and their ideology. They went from Gerry Adams calling for the expropriation of the means of production in the 80's, to middle class reformers shopping in Tesco on TV3 and multiplier effect capitalist solutions.
The main reason they have the amount of seats they do now in the Free State is because FF screwed up the country so much. FF still managed to get more seats though. The deluded PSF followers these days cite a few mickey mouse polls as evidence that the trajectory is changing, that they're going into government.
These delusions are comical. Basically one of the party's policy architects has stated that the future of PSF is in government with FF. A 30 year war for seats in Stormont (soon Westminster too) and a FF coalition, ultimately with the excuse 'well, FF has more power, it's not our fault we're closing the deficit this way' the same way the they now say 'we don't control the purse in the North.'
Excuse after excuse, failure after failure. Indeed, there's no depth the New Labour party of Ireland won't go too. Thankfully for them, they have fanatical followers in the mold of FF supporters. These specimens will always disagree with party policy, but still vote PSF, just as the Fianna Failures have these fanatical 'party before country' supporters.
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We are told, among other things, that we are counter-revolutionaries
Oh well, you were told right.
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The British government have a different opinion of us,
My fav part of this speech.
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They fear this movement, they fear this leadership.
Wait for it
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They have every right to fear us
Wait for it
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because, in or out of Leinster House, we led the most dangerous and committed revolutionary force in Ireland for 65 years. - place erupts into applause and hysterical cheers -
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The reality is that the former leadership of this movement has never been able to come to terms with this leadership’s criticism of the disgraceful attitude adopted by them during the disastrous 18 months ceasefire in the mid-1970s. Instead of accepting the validity of our case, as others who have remained have done, they chose to withhold their wholehearted support from the leadership which replaced them.
Compared to the evisceration of the provisional army and the decommissioning of arms.
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Don’t go my friends. We will lead you to the republic.
CAIN: Issues: Abstentionism: Speech by Martin McGuiness on the issue of abstentionism (Resolution 162), Ard Fheis, Dublin, (2 November 1986)
So there we have it. A 30 year way for absolutely nothing. The principles of PSF were fighting against a few things.
The Brits first of all. Now they are comfortably in the pockets of the Brits. Indeed, the Brits now laugh at Gerry Adams, that magnanimous negotiator. He negotiated the surrender of the provisional movement. What a negotiator he is. Go to 1:29 of this video. Words can not do it justice: Sinn Féin: A Lesson in Integrity - YouTube
They were fighting against imperialism. Yet, they are supporters of American imperialism, claim to be against Israeli so-called 'Apartheid', whilst cosying up to Israeli officials and Martin is big pals with a certain Henry Kissinger. Martin has also received a few pats on the back from George W. Bush as well as a love relationship with Bill Clinton, the latter supporting things and praising things that would make the British raise an eyebrow or two.
They claim they were fighting capitalism. Yet PSF are a big business party, with a middle class Keynesian economic leadership........and then there's Gerry, god knows what he believes when he's getting battered by Miriam O'Callaghan over economics. 'Different jurisdictions' and all that. When in power, PSF have inflicted on the people of the North crippling austerity. There are more jobless post GFA than pre-GFA making a mockery of the so-called 'peace process'.
They supported the bank guarantee of '08 as well, whilst now claiming to be against it. As the head of the ex-stickies now masquerading about as the Labour Party said to Pearse Doherty, 'there's only one person looking to burn the transcripts of the bank guarantee, deputy Doherty. And that is you, when you were running around telling everyone to put on the green jersey.'
They claim that they're republican. Yet they happily meet - after 2 years previously saying 'now is not the time', again, the comprador leadership have no principles at all - the antediluvian and sectarian Monarchy. Even though there was no need to do this, it apparently 'reaches out to the unionist population', a population in which the a majority are against the GFA, against a United Ireland and have a pathological hatred of the PSF leadership. Indeed, most polls show antagonism towards a united Ireland, as well as most not even identifying themselves as Irish in the 6 counties, a new identity is being born, with British and 'Northern Irish' squashing those who claim that they're Irish. But this will all lead to the much coveted united Ireland............
So what was it all for? Civil rights? One question I would like answered as I finish this thread is the following:
How did MMG go from leading the most revolutionary republican organisation in 65 years to talking about how he met his wife with Miriam O'Callaghan in front of a D4 audience on a Saturday night on RTÉ?
Ruling by Fooling is a Great British Art, With Great Irish Fools to Practice on' - James Connolly
Sinn Féin: A Lesson in Hypocrisy - YouTube