“The methods of these groups only serve to provide a cover for the failed policies of the main political parties and strengthen the hand of those who wish to pursue repressive measures in working class communities.
“Working class people in Omagh and across the North must stand united against this killing and sectarian forces in both communities. The trade union and workers movement must take the lead in uniting ordinary people against attempts to drag us back to sectarian conflict.”
Money for education and health not for warThe decision to deploy military aircraft and naval vessels to join the UN action to implement a no-fly zone in Libya has been condemned for "spending millions of public money to defend the interests of oil companies while public services are cut to the bone at home".
East Belfast Socialist Party spokesperson and education worker Tommy Black today attacked Minister Caitriona Ruane after revealing that promised new school buildings in East Belfast will now be scrapped.
The decision by the Minister to scrap plans to build a much needed new building at Victoria primary school is a slap in the face for the local community. Assembly cuts have already led to the closure of Beechfield Primary School, the closure of Ballymacarratt Library, funding cuts to the Playzone facility at Ballymac Community Centre and also the scrapping of new buildings at Strandtown Primary school.
IT DOES not come as much of a surprise to most people in Northern Ireland to hear that, yet again, the Assembly has managed to make a monumental mess of things. But the decision of Environment Minister Sammy Wilson to ban the broadcasting of a government TV ad encouraging people to switch off electrical appliances when not in use in order to save energy has left even the most hardened political cynics open-mouthed.
News stations around the world have broadcast the story in disbelief. Wilson’s reason for this unprecedented move was that the ad was just more “insidious New Labour propaganda” about the impact of climate change. Incredibly, Wilson has said that the world-wide “uninformed hysteria” surrounding the issue was “a con” which had been launched into without examining the “science and implications”. Yet he ignores the overwhelming scientific evidence linking human activity to global warming and virtually universal acceptance that emergency action is urgently required to prevent a major environmental crisis.
